Things I love, things I hate (II)
I love street food in China. My favorite, pan-fried buns. I love the table size cast iron pan. I love stealing glimpses of the white sesame buns when the cook had to periodically lift the cover and rotate the pan. I love the sound of buns sizzling in their own juice. I love the eruption of steam when the cover is finally lifted, revealing the offering of a culinary delight. The balance of paper thin skin on the top, crispy fried bottom, a perfectly proportioned pork filling bathed in a pocket of soupy ecstasy is a full sensory experience to be held.I hate people taking pictures in museums. I hate it when they use camera with flash. I hate it when they take photo without flash. I hate it when they take pictures of each other standing in front/next to the art. It is almost as bad as craving "XXX was here," another common practice in China. The place for occipital appreciation of art is debatable. I hate when they take it with cell phone cameras. I saw someone today in Shanghai Art Museum literally took a picture of every painting in one gallery. Along with the cell phone camera is the annoying sound of the fake shutter and the subsequent ring tone telling you and the person you just took the upskirt picture of that the picture has been stored. I hate them all.
I hate the RMB 30 coffee in Starbucks, and the suckers, including myself, that crowd their multi-storied shops.
I love the elderly couple who grabbed my attention in a crowed street that a RMB 5 bill has fallen out of my pocket.
I hate the ubiquitous quartet of high-end shopping high rises anchoring every large intersection in Shanghai.
I love the hundreds of people lining up to buy shrimp and crab filled rice balls so they can share this traditional meal with their family on the first fifteenth of the lunar new year.
posted by hedgehog @ 9:54 AM
1 Comments:
You had me at pan-fried buns! I actually salivated over your vivid and accurate description of one of the major highlights of Shanghai, rivaling the Bund, Pudong, and Nanjing Lu.
I realize I'm one of those people you hate... I remember taking pictures of you at a modern art museum in Shanghai. :)
I felt the same way about China, not just Shanghai. There were days that I just loved the fact that there was a starbucks in Beijing that I could go to for consistent caramel macchiatos. Other days, I seethed at this international corporation for putting their logo within the walls of the Forbidden City.
Some days I marveled at how old culture could infiltrate modern development as I watched niuyangge groups practicing under the overpass. Other days, I wondered cynically why the drums and cymbals couldn't keep simple time since they practiced their loud clanging every... single... night.
This love/hate relationship we build with China is a caricature of many of the relationships in our lives...
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