We had a team lunch today where we decided to head off-campus to a local farm-to-table restaurant. We had a bit of an adventure finding the place, but got to walk through a beautiful farm/park while we found our way.
I don’t know what kind of fruit this is, but they’re huge– like cantaloupe-sized. They also had kumquats and other little citrus fruits, and persimmons.
The restaurant was part of the Fairmont Yangcheng Lake resort, and it’s actually right next to a giant lake, as the name would suggest.
Kunshan’s claim to fame is the hairy crab that comes out of this lake. Apparently, it’s the best hairy crab in existence. I pledge to find out for you at some point before I come home.
The restaurant was typical Chinese-style, which means they bring out big plates of food for everyone to share, and it comes out as it’s ready, so you just sit around nibbling on plates that get passed by you for an hour or so. I ate a lot of delicious things, including pork belly with dates, something that translated literally as “chicken head soup” (that as far as I could tell was vegetarian and not soup at all), rice and pork meatballs, and bamboo shoots. There was also “lake eel,” which grossed me out a little. I mean, it tastes fine, but eels are scary and you have to spit out the spine. I tried it though because I’m game for all of it.
After lunch, we got a ride in a fancy golf cart back to the hotel, where it was easier to find a cab back to campus.
Just look at all these cuties.
I’m very much enjoying learning how to joke with my colleagues. There are a lot of things that I’ll never understand because I am not Chinese, but so many things translate (linguistically and culturally) and are funny anyway, and even in a culture where you don’t know much, a joke at your own expense is still appreciated– and I’m good at those.
Bucket the cat is a hit with my colleagues, too. They all feel sorry for Tom for getting stuck with a cat while I’m gone, and everyone agrees that he is a very handsome boy with a very funny name.
0 Comments