So far on this trip in China, The Wife and I thought that we have been eating way too many big, extravagant meals. The pounds were piling on. However, none of this would compare to meals we would have in Wuhan. The Wife was originally from this city of 8
million which I had never heard of until I met her. Most of her extended family still lives there. We would be spending several days there, just as we had done the last couple of times we had visited China.
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| After lunch, we drove over to Han Street. |
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| It's a 1.5 km strip where many international stores are located. |
Currently, the largest movie theater complex in China is here. That surprised me because I was always under the impression that Chinese people just watch pirated movies at home. At the "Square of Bosom Friends" (seriously, that is the name), there is a public performance stage where random locals were singing karaoke. I may not understand Mandarin, but I do know that there are some really tone-deaf people in Wuhan.
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| Like most pedestrian areas in China, there are plenty of... |
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| ...statues and displays to amuse children and adults alike. |
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The Girl fulfilled her dream
of "marrying Mommy." |
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As hard as I looked, I couldn't find the
circus where these clowns came from. |
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I had a staring contest with John McClain.
He won. |
We skipped the Madame Tussaud Wax Museum
(there seems to be one in every city in the world) and went to The Alive Museum
instead. Visitors to this place pose in front of large dioramas to create interesting and humorous scenes. The Alive Museum originates from
South Korea where the bulk of the stores are located. So far it has only spread to three cities in
China (surprisingly not in Beijing, Shanghai, or Hong Kong), Southeast Asia,
and Istanbul. We had to rush through the museum because of time and
because the battery on our camera was dying (which defeats the whole point of
the museum). At the last scene, the
camera finally died.
For dinner, The Father-In-Law had invited several of his
old friends to a fancy restaurant called
Mr. Xie.
Starting in 1966, China was engulfed in the Cultural Revolution. Chairman Mao was convinced that bourgeois
elements had infiltrated the upper echelons of Chinese society. He wanted to purge China of capitalist and
traditional ways of thinking and institute communism orthodoxy. One policy he instituted was the “Up to the
mountains and down to the countryside” movement. The idea was to take the “more privileged” youths
from the city and send them to the countryside.
For an entire decade, recent high school and college graduates were sent
into the far fetches of China toiling away on farms and factories. Not only did policies such as this set the
country’s progress back several years, it also destroyed the potential for a
whole generation of Chinese youths. It
was such a failure that by 1981, even the communist government of China
admitted that it was a mistake.
Unfortunately for The Wife’s parents and their friends at
that dinner gathering, they were part of that “lost generation.” While The Mother-In-Law was sent to a rural
farm directly after high school, The Father-In-Law at least finished college by the time of the Cultural Revolution.
For the next 11 years, he toiled away in a remote factory as a mechanic
eventually working his way up to becoming a technician. The other elderly men with him were his
co-workers and friends at the factory.
All of them had promising dreams derailed by the disastrous policies of
the Cultural Revolution. When it all
ended, these people had to reinvent themselves. A few, like The Father-In-Law, had some opportunities available because of his college degree. Others like The Mother-In-Law only had high
school degrees making their prospects much dimmer.
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| Only a few of the In-Law's friends were able (or still alive) to make the gathering. |
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| Shao kao xia (spicy grilled shrimp) |
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| "Gold Medal Garlic Sweet Ribs" |
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| Noodles with shrimp |
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| Seaweed and pork soup |
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| Lotus root with beef |
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| "Golden Lotus Root Element" (fried lotus root balls) |
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| "Fruit Also A Baby Food" (braised napa cabbage) |
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| Stir-fried greens |
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| Stir-fried dried bamboo shoots. |
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| "Taiwan Three Cups Chicken" |
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| "Health Yam" (long yam) |
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| Stir-fried lotus root |
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| Deep-fried lotus root with goose liver sauce |
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| Mi ba ba (rice cake) |
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| Braised tofu |
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| Stir-fried lily flower, ham, and peanuts |
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| Wu gu zha liang...again |
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| Fruit to finish the meal |
Our server was awful. She had a permanent scowl on her face. She seemed annoyed whenever we asked for something. Additionally, I cannot see why people continue to order the
wu gu zha liang. The corn is not sweet, and the peanuts and potatoes are bland. In contrast, the rest of the food was very good. The Boy liked the "Gold Medal Garlic Sweet Ribs" so much he ate almost an entire plate by himself. He also broke his braces in the process too. The lotus root balls and the deep fried lotus root pieces were also excellent. The cost for that entire meal was about 1,200 RMB.
*****
The following day, a few of us headed back to our old stopping grounds in Wuhan—the Walmart. Back in the U.S., I wouldn't be caught dead in a Walmart. The prices are great, but the stores are always packed with the dregs of American society. We are more of a Target family. Before going, we had breakfast from some local vendors.
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| Dou pi (glutinous rice, meat, etc fried in a tofu skin) |
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| Noodles with vegetables, fruits, and nuts |
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| You tiao (fried breadsticks) wrapped in glutinous rice |
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| Mi ba ba |
In the past, we have always enjoyed the Walmart in Wuhan because it was
always a convenient place to find products common throughout China but scarce in the U.S. It wasn't like an American Walmart where some
old, senile guy in a blue vest waves to you as you enter. No, the Walmart in China used to be a jungle
filled with bins of overflowing exotic animal parts, putrid but authentic
smells, and a cacophony of large crowds yelling in Chinese. On a hot summer day, the book section used to
be jam-packed with people spending their entire day there reading since that
was their only access to air-conditioning.
We used to go to Walmart to stock up on spices, candies, and food
products that we couldn't find back in the U.S.
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| One of the twelve Walmarts located in Wuhan |
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The magnetized wheels on the shopping
cart allow it to travel up the escalator. |
Later that afternoon, we made a trip to some of our old haunts in the city.
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| We visited a mall that specializes in electronics. |
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| However, we weren't exactly there to buy a new computer. |
In the past, there used to be
plenty of vendors secretly selling movie-quality bootleg DVD’s or computer software. Nowadays there were only one
or two of them with almost no worthwhile merchandise. Obviously, the ease of downloading
things online via bit torrents has made piracy easier. However, one of The Wife’s
cousins explained that the younger generations are actually willing to pay full price to
see movies in a theater. At 50-100 RMB per person, the cost is similar to what we pay back in the U.S. However, China has become more prosperous. The people there now have enough disposable income to afford to see movies in the theater. In fact, the Dalian-Wanda Group, the Beijing-based conglomerate that operates Chinese movie theaters, made so much money that they
bought AMC, the second-largest theater chain in the United States.
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| Later, we visited a shop that sells music CD's at reasonable prices. |
I was a bit surprised to see a store like this would still exist in a world where MP3's can be downloaded from iTunes with a few clicks of a computer mouse. On closer inspection, I realized that these were really just elaborate bootlegs. The albums were just compilations of an artist's work wrapped in fancy packaging. I'm pretty sure that none of the musicians and singers have seen any royalties from these sales.
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Despite the lower prices, there
really wasn't anything worth
buying unless you like Kenny G. |
That night, The Wife’s youngest cousin treated us all to a
very popular restaurant called
Hai Di Lao Hot Pot. Although the food is good, the biggest
selling point is its focus on service.
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| When we arrived, all of the tables were occupied. |
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| The large waiting area was already packed. |
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| While they wait, diners can have their nails done for free. |
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| Computers were available for visitors to play computer games. |
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| There were also plenty of activities for little children |
To fully utilize their facilities, we made sure we came an hour before our dinner reservations. We were led to a private room that The Wife's cousin had reserved for our group. While we waited for the rest of the family to show up, I introduced The Boy to
Counterstrike, a first-person shooter game that I used to play a decade ago. The Wife and The Girl waited forever to get their nails done. There were 17 people in line ahead of them, and the queue wasn't moving fast.
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| The staff provided the kids with a free... |
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| ...to pass the time. |
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| ..Rubik's Cube, doll, and pencils... |
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| There were plenty of free snacks such as this savory custard. |
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| Our waiter provided us with iPads which displayed their menu |
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| The hot pot was split between mild and spicy broth. |
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| Different spices are available to personalize the dipping sauce. |
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We all donned aprons to protect our clothes
as eating hot pot can be a very messy affair. |
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| Our waiter gave us plastic bags to protect our phones and cleaning clothes for their screens. |
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| Sliced beef |
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| Sliced lamb |
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| This type of tripe is best cooked for only a few seconds. |
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| This variety of offal needs to be cooked for many minutes. |
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| Egg dumplings |
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| Tofu noodles |
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| Chicken slices with sesame seeds |
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| Sliced beef |
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| A Spam-like processed meat |
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| The Boy and I enjoyed the pork brains. The Wife and The Girl wouldn't try them. |
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| Fish head and tofu |
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| Shan yu (eel) |
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| Small crabs |
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| Assorted shellfish |
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| A large bag full of shrimp paste... |
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| ...was piped out to make shrimp balls. |
Although we were stuffed from all that food, we still had to make room for some more noodles. Hai Di Lao is known for their "Noodle Dance." Throughout the night, I had seen this guy do it at several other tables in the restaurant. I'm pretty sure he was pretty tired and his heart wasn't quite into it by the time he got to us.
Overall, the restaurant experience was very fun for the entire family. The total cost was about 1,100 RMB for our large group. The nail treatment is definitely overrated as the staff couldn't get through the queue of people in the 3-4 hours we where there. The service and the freebies really was a welcome change to the sullen waiters that we had experienced throughout China. Hai Di Lao is definitely a success story in China. However, I'm not sure all the nuances of the restaurant really transfer to their branch in
California.
*****
This would be our last full day in China so we planned on taking it easy. We had a late breakfast/early lunch. Afterwards we just hung out with The Wife's family.
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| Mi fen (stir-fried rice noodles) |
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| Fried tofu |
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| Lotus root and eel in a spicy sauce |
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| Daikon and pork sparerib soup |
Most city dwellers in China either walk, ride bicycles or scooters, or take mass transportation to get around. Ownership of a car has usually been reserved for the wealthier people. That has all started to change in the last few decades. A decade ago, most of the cars were crappy domestic brands or Peugeots, Citroens, or even Fords. Nowadays, everybody in China seemed to be driving German. The streets were filled with Volkswagons, BMW's, Audi's, Mercedes, and even Porches. After several years of saving up, The Wife's oldest cousin finally bought her first new car. She promptly proceeded to get in an accident that same day.
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| 'Tis but a scratch! |
For dinner that night, it was our turn to treat the whole family. We went to a high-end chain restaurant called
Xiang-E Qing that serves Hunan and Hubei-style food. This establishment had long been a favorite of government and military officials. With their deep expense accounts, these civil servants could afford to pay the extravagant prices. However, Xi Jinping, the new premier of China, launched the austerity program in early 2013 to curb the graft, gluttony, and corruption within the government. Almost overnight, companies that catered to luxurious tastes began hemorrhaging money. XE Flavour, the company that owns Xiang-E Qing, reported losses of $92 million in 2013 after being profitable the year before. We were curious to see how good their food was before financial woes would force them to shut their doors.
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| Our private room at Xiang-E Qing also included a large television and several couches. |
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| Duck tongue marinated in a brown sauce |
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| Jellyfish |
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| Spring water tofu |
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| Lotus root and pork rib soup |
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| The restaurants version of rou jia mo... |
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| ...the Chinese hamburger. |
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| Stir-fried greens |
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| Chives shredded lettuce |
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| "Scented Hand Rabbit" |
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| "Dry Pot Hunan's Ass" (donkey meat) |
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| "Golden Garlic Lotus Root Folder" (fried lotus root) |
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| "Pepper Salt Spareribs" |
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| "Garlic Fan Steamed Shrimp" |
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| "Pearl Pumpkin Meatball" |
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| "Green Pepper Duck Blood Soup" |
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| Sturgeon steamed with a black bean sauce |
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| Braised river catfish |
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| "Lotus Dent-shaped Pancake Meat" (braised pork belly with buns) |
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| Noodle soup |
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| Fried glutinous rice cakes |
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| After a couple of days together, the cousins were playing with each other like old friends. |
The food was a bit disappointing. I expected the communist big-wigs to eat better than that. They didn't have half of the interesting items that we tried to order from their menu. I presume that the financial woes have caused them to cut back on how much they keep in stock. Nevertheless, we still spent about 1,200 RMB. I thought that the pumpkin meatballs, the pork belly buns, the
rou jia mo, and the duck blood were all pretty good. The donkey, rabbit, and fish dishes were all pretty bad.
*****
The following day, we left early to start our long journey back home. Our flight from Wuhan to Shanghai was fine, but our plane was delayed an hour leaving Shanghai partially because they were slow turning over the plane. To make things worse, our United airlines flight was delayed another 30 minutes due to high winds in Chicago. We had thought that the 2.5 hours would be plenty to make our 6:30 PM connection flight. However, with these delays and the excruciatingly slow baggage handlers at O'Hare Airport, we only had 30 minutes to make it to our gate. Instead of taking our luggage to be transferred to our connecting flight, the United Airlines people told us that we had to talk with a customer representative. After waiting 10 minutes in line, the representative, who had a lousy attitude, told us that there would not be enough time to transfer our luggage to the connecting flight so we would have to be rescheduled for another flight. The only option he gave us was another United flight that left a full 24 hours later!
Since we both had patients to see the next morning, we felt that was not an acceptable option. We said screw it to our checked bags and begged the representative to call the gate and tell them that we were coming. Even with the two kids with backpacks and heavy carry-on luggage, we still took the tram several stops to our terminal and sprinted for what seemed to be a mile until we got to our gate at 6:30 PM...only to see the jet bridge pulling away from the airplane. In between gasps, we asked the attendants why they couldn't wait a minute or two as they knew we were coming. He told us that they would have kept the door open for a few more minutes, but "nobody called us."
We were directed to United Airlines customer support center where we waited in line for 1.5 hours just to speak with a representative. In line were several other people from our Shanghai flight who also missed their connection. We also mulled the option of renting a car and driving home, but that would take 8 hrs and cost over $500. Eventually the representative was able to get three of us on the next flight back home which was not going to leave until 10:45 PM that night because of delays. One of us was placed on standby. While that option was chancy, at least it was better than leaving the following evening as we were offered previously.
We waited for the next two hours and finally received joyous news that our one standby member was going to get a seat! We were literally boarding the plane when the United attendant pulled us out of line and informed us that all four of us no longer had seats. Apparently the pilot declared the flight would be "weight restricted." The attendant was dumbfounded about the decision because the weather had calmed down for several hours already. In addition to not letting us aboard, they actually pulled four other passengers who were already seated off the plane! The airline made the decision who to remove based on who paid the lowest fares. None of us could figure out why that plane would leave with eight empty seats. While we were once again disheartened and upset, the other four passengers were also completely enraged. The supervisor in charge from United Airlines made things worse by being a jerk and not speaking with the affected passengers. He ended up dumping off the responsibilities of rescheduling us with an underling who was the only friendly person from United that we spoke with all day. The airline's policy was that we shouldn't get compensation or hotel vouchers as it was not their fault that we missed our connection. No amount of explanation about the delays from Shanghai would change their policy. Fortunately, the friendly attendant took pity on us and gave us a taxi and hotel voucher. She was also able to book us on a flight that left at 6 AM the next morning.
By the time we left the airport it was about 1 AM. We were able to get three hours of sleep at the hotel and made our way back (we had to pay for the $50 cab fare that time) to catch the early morning flight. This time the flight was on Delta and went without a hitch. Unlike United Airlines, Delta just felt right.
Sadly, this wasn't the first time that I have had problems traveling from Shanghai to Chicago on United. Out of the three times that I have taken that route, this was the second instance where I couldn't make the connecting flight and had to stay overnight. From now on I will never ever fly United to Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
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