Thursday, November 30, 2006
The Root of Procastination
Pre-paid arrangements are everywhere in China and it includes electricity. When ours went out, we had to call up the landlord who would then take us down to the station to buy more. Sometimes, he would be able to make it over in half an hour. Other times, he couldn't make it until the next morning. When the latter happened, it usually meant that we/I had to camp out at a cafe with Wi-Fi to get work done. It was during one of these episodes that it finally dawned on me - insight on procrastination. If I needed certain resources in order to perform my work and I had access to those resources 24/7, I could "afford" to waste some of it doing meaningless things and still possibly have enough time left to finish the work. In a society lit up by electricity and constantly connected to the Internet, if we do not become stricter with the budgeting of these constantly accessible resources, we could be exposing ourselves to a type of moral hazard.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Caveat Emptor
There is this Xinjiang restaurant operated by a group of Hui people about three minutes walk from my apartment. Being as close as it was, as cheap as it was and serving a unique set of entries, Jon and I grew to like the place until now. It was another normal for us in Beijing: we couldn't decide where to go for lunch.
"Hey, we haven't gone to the Xinjiang plan in a while," Jon says.
"Let's do it then."
The noontime crush was over and there were only two other tables of customers when we arrived. Since the weather has begun to turn chilly here in Beijing, Jon and I opted for the indoor seating. After ordering some naang and a few other Xinjiang dishes including lamb kebabs, we saw it - the "dirty" little secret.
Into the restaurant walks one of the workers with a large clear plastic bag filled with some redish-gray substance. Upon closer inspection, we determined it was lamb meat for the kebabs. The worker sets this bag, which must have weighed anywhere from 30 to 40 pounds on a table. After combining a few other unused tables to form a large rectangle, he then proceeds to rip the bag apart and to our mutual horror, spread the mound of meat across the uncovered, sanitized table with he bare hands. The meat was molded into five smaller mounds and assigned to a kitchen worker, who then went to work impaling the meat on bamboo sticks.
"We should have known."
"I feel betrayed."
"Yeah... well, it was good while it lasted."
"Hey, we haven't gone to the Xinjiang plan in a while," Jon says.
"Let's do it then."
The noontime crush was over and there were only two other tables of customers when we arrived. Since the weather has begun to turn chilly here in Beijing, Jon and I opted for the indoor seating. After ordering some naang and a few other Xinjiang dishes including lamb kebabs, we saw it - the "dirty" little secret.
Into the restaurant walks one of the workers with a large clear plastic bag filled with some redish-gray substance. Upon closer inspection, we determined it was lamb meat for the kebabs. The worker sets this bag, which must have weighed anywhere from 30 to 40 pounds on a table. After combining a few other unused tables to form a large rectangle, he then proceeds to rip the bag apart and to our mutual horror, spread the mound of meat across the uncovered, sanitized table with he bare hands. The meat was molded into five smaller mounds and assigned to a kitchen worker, who then went to work impaling the meat on bamboo sticks.
"We should have known."
"I feel betrayed."
"Yeah... well, it was good while it lasted."
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Ravenous Hordes
In celebration of our successful in-class presentation, Jon, Anna, and I went prowling for a nice place to eat (in local parlance: fubai). At Jon's suggestion, we decided on a Beijing outlet of a Shanghai restaurant chain called "Shanghai Dayu Tiebanshao" which roughly means "Shanghai Big Fisherman Teppanyaki."
Their business model is interesting. For a 150 RMB, you are treated to an all-you-can-eat-and-drink bonanza replete with sashimi, select cuts, plume wine, sake, and coconut juice. It apparently works because it seems 150 RMB is a price high enough to deter people who have a tendency to eat till they're ready to explode. When you can get a big serving of beef noodles for 8 RMB, it's hard to justify spending 150 for a meal unless it's for a special occasion. There was only one thing they could not anticipate: hungry American college students with dollars to spend. Hey, 20 bucks is not a lot to lay out for food when pizza and a pop will run you 10+ in NYC right? It was clear they were losing money after Jon and I toasted each other through six bottles of warm sake, two glasses of plume wine, and 12 glasses of coconut juice to wash it all down while enjoying all the other fare on their menu.
NOTE: Despite the copious consumption of alcohol, we did carry ourselves with dignity and treated our servers with courtesy befitting our station as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. of A.
Their business model is interesting. For a 150 RMB, you are treated to an all-you-can-eat-and-drink bonanza replete with sashimi, select cuts, plume wine, sake, and coconut juice. It apparently works because it seems 150 RMB is a price high enough to deter people who have a tendency to eat till they're ready to explode. When you can get a big serving of beef noodles for 8 RMB, it's hard to justify spending 150 for a meal unless it's for a special occasion. There was only one thing they could not anticipate: hungry American college students with dollars to spend. Hey, 20 bucks is not a lot to lay out for food when pizza and a pop will run you 10+ in NYC right? It was clear they were losing money after Jon and I toasted each other through six bottles of warm sake, two glasses of plume wine, and 12 glasses of coconut juice to wash it all down while enjoying all the other fare on their menu.
NOTE: Despite the copious consumption of alcohol, we did carry ourselves with dignity and treated our servers with courtesy befitting our station as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. of A.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
Everyday parlance speaks a lot about the times. It is no secret that corruption is a problem in China. The term for it is "fubai." Amongst my local friends, the term "fubai" takes on a separate meaning. It's their word for "party." Used in a sentence: "Let's go fubai this weekend!" In translation: "Let's go corrupt ourselves!" Abbreviated as "fb" (no, not facebook), this word is a much better descriptor of what actually goes on, isn't it?
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Two Questions and Two Right Answers
The distinction between nationality and ethnicity is blurry in China. When people ask me where I am from, I reply, "I'm an American." "No, where are you really from, really." My response, "Well, you should have asked! I was born in Taiwan. My grandparents came from Guangdong province, but if you wanted to know my ancestral home, that would be in Heibei. Now, if that answer fails to satisfy, I can beginning tracing it back until we arrive at the African heartland!"
They listen to the end of "Taiwan." At which point, I sigh and brace myself for the two questions that I know are coming.
Question 1: How do you like China?
Proper answer: Yes, I like it very much! (irony: this is not a yes/no question)
Question 2: We are all Chinese people aren't we?
Proper answer: Yes, yes, my brother! Let us hold hands and sing Kumbaya!
They listen to the end of "Taiwan." At which point, I sigh and brace myself for the two questions that I know are coming.
Question 1: How do you like China?
Proper answer: Yes, I like it very much! (irony: this is not a yes/no question)
Question 2: We are all Chinese people aren't we?
Proper answer: Yes, yes, my brother! Let us hold hands and sing Kumbaya!
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