Saturday, July 26, 2008

Of Paperwork and Foreign Food

Jia and I returned to Shenzhen yesterday from our short trip to Guangzhou and the US Consulate. I have no idea if everything we submitted was in order--and we probably won't know anything for about six months or so.

I also had to register to vote via absentee ballot for November's Presidential election--a more difficult process than I anticipated. Chinese addresses tend to be much longer than US addresses, and don't fit too well on the lines provided on the form. The form also has US postage paid, which doesn't do me much good since I still have to pay full Chinese postage. Why can't the consulate submit these forms for expats?

As for better news, we spent some extra time in Guangzhou to eat. After the consulate visit, we went out with some new friends to 1001 Nights next to China Hotel (special thanks to my former co-worker for recommending it). For 58 Yuan, they have a great lunch buffett with plenty of hummus, pita, and Middle Eastern barbecue. Unfortunately, while the food is a decent deal, the drinks are not--an extra 15 Yuan for a can of Coke.

No trip to Guangzhou would be complete without another stop to Danny's Bagel--still my favorite restaurant in the city. We had a meatball parm and Greek pita (smoked chicken, cherry tomatoes, and other vegetables), which were great. Danny mentioned that he sold the bagel business because it wasn't profitable, but assured me that he was looking into making smaller batches of bagels for the future to keep customers happy.

No comments: