Tea in China

This weekend we took the light rail system right up to the mainland! In case you were wondering, the Kowloon Peninsula is actually a part of the "mainland" continent of China, so technically I already live on the main land mass, it's just crossing the border into communist China that makes us call it the "mainland". Hong Kong Island (what everyone associates HK with) is exactly that, an island off the mainland of China.

This time we weren't waved down and directed to go through the visitors line (but at that time, it gave me great pleasure to smile, produce my HK ID, and continue to the Resident line). We got through customs with no problem. Breakfast at Dunkin Donuts!! How nuts is that-- there's one in China? Did not go for the pork floss donut.. yek. I cannot remember if I had DD over Christmas at home, so it may have been almost a year since I've tasted their perfect blueberry munchkins coffee!

Tripp and I met Todd Downey (you may remember from previous posts he is our 1st Pres friend from Columbia whose son plays basketball with my brother-- he lived several years with his family in China on business! Small world, right! He treated us to a d-i-v-i-n-e meal during Chinese New Year in SoHo... I can still taste the risotto...)Anyways, he is currently working in Shenzhen, the city we crossed into.

Tripp and I love Shenzhen, but all we know is the spaaaa and shopping. Mandarin is the only langauge (signs, menus, maps) and taxi drivers and local people really do not speak any English, so that is what has prevented us from exploring more.

Which was one reason it was great to have Todd-- he gave us the local's tour! He took us to a tea house in his old neighborhood, where we stuck out like sore thumbs, but people in the diners and shops saw Todd and waved a familiar greeting. The Chinese woman at the tea house had an intricate set and ceremoniously washed our tea cups and handpicked the leaves to make our green tea. She and Todd could not converse with words, but instead with smiles and gestures. We spent several hours with her, enjoying the green tea and watching the world go by. Qin Yi, Todd's friend, joined us and he laughingly told me I paid too much for the Tory Burch wristlet I thought I got an absolute bargain on.

Todd took us through the streets of his neighborhood, pointing out dining establishments that serve dog (yikes!) and showing us where his kids hung out when they were living there and the school his wife worked in. He is very adventurous and unafraid!

Tripp, Todd, and I ate dinner around a table with a propane tank underneath it and a burner in the middle of the table. It is similar to Hong Kong "hot pot" in that you add the ingredients to the bubbling liquid and let it simmer and cook. We had free range chicken-- all the parts of the chicken were in there!-- and added meatballs and veg and potatos. We had to call Qin Yi on Todd's cell phone so he could order for us over the phone and he ordered his favorite sticky rice and came to the restaurant at the end of our meal to say goodbye and take home the leftovers.

I loved how protective Qin Yi was! He glanced over the bill, then called the waiter over to take away a charge of something we would never know to take away. Todd picked up some Ralph Lauren polos when I was haggling over DVDs, and Qin Yi told us next time to let us go with him to get a cheaper price. Everyone I have met here has been so eager to help me out and I know I am very blessed to have these new friends in my life!