“It's been a pretty tough day," he said. "No sense making it worse with a salad.”
― Susan Juby
Home to Woefield
I had a salad for dinner last night. You know you're getting older when healthy choices become conscious ones, and they become so much harder to stick to. Like blogging, which I have forgotten to do for more than a few months.
My salad left me craving for sugar a few hours after. And then I came across this set of photos taken when I met a friend for mid-morning doughnuts at the little cafe across the street, and I forced myself to be thankful for the days when I could eat a doughnut, pair it with really good coffee, and not feel guilty about it.
Happier times indeed.
From my observation, the older you get, the more you like the word cozy.
Holly Goldberg Sloan
Counting by 7s
There's this restaurant at the Korean business center that has the coziest spaces, complete with large tables, comfy sofas and private booths that are large enough to sleep in. I think it sits between a Korean BBQ and a Chinese hotpot restaurant, but the decor, both inside and out, screams English cafe. I've never done any sleeping the two times I was there, but I can definitely say if I had to choose a place where you can order shepherd's pie and sleep if you feel like it, this would be my choice.
This is also a great place for some girl talk. Sometimes girls just need a cozy nook to chat and giggle and be serious all at the same time. Took a few snaps of the details while I was there for a quick afternoon drink with T, a good friend who's been teaching in CQ for years.
Too few photos, too short a time to spend there, the good thing is that it's only two bus stops from where we live.
We discovered Bakery 5 last year, and were pleasantly surprised to know that they've expanded to open a couple more branches all over the city. Last week, we dropped by their Nanbin branch because we were starving after getting stuck in the middle of the Chongqing International Marathon bus rerouting, and it was the only chain that we had tried before. I try to avoid eating at new restaurants if am starving. If the food isn't that good I usually end up hungrier than when I came in.
Baker 5 has a great view of Nanbinlu, the river and the cityscape acrosss the river. This part of town is also not too crowded, unlike Jifangbei or Guanyinqiao, and there are lots of art studios and galleries inside the mall. Hop a bus and two stops later, you arrive at Madame Tussauds, too! No wonder a lot of families like to spend the weekend here.
Bakery 5 serves great comfort food, like salads, pasta and breads and sausages all set in a single plate. They also have a great selection of fruit teas. Pair all these with a great view and you get a pretty enjoyable weekend by the river.
The feels! The feels I have for this Japanese restaurant that serves the best fried pork chop in the land! This was a happy accidental discovery by myself and JP while we were walking around GuanYing Xiao. We entered Sunshine Mall and discovered that the fourth floor was the default food floor, since that's where different restaurants, from Japanese, Thai and even an American-style pizza place kept shop. This place is extra memorable, because this is where I used chopsticks on rice FOR THE FIRST TIME! It boggled my mind, in the past, to see people picking up rice with the finger dexterity of acrobats-- I knew that I could never do it. And I didn't for years, until one day when I was so hungry and the pork chop looked so good that I knew I would have to learn how to pick at rice with chopsticks if I didn't want to starve. The servers, who are young, very friendly Chinese kids, always look happy to see us, so it's no surprise why I look forward to weekend lunches in this place.
travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel,
Sometimes I look back at moments like this and realize how these milestones came out of random walks and unplanned trips that led us to discoveries that we would revisit over and over again, and there is nothing but gratitude for moments like these. Chongqing is a city of hotpots so finding these gastronomic havens is something that I will always be thankful for.
“Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria's mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once.”
― Anthony Bourdain,
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
So there's this really small noodle shop just around the corner from where we live in Chongqing and it serves the best spicy beef noodle soup! The meat is soft, the noodles firm and it is the right amount of spicy. This place is where I really learned how to eat noodles with chopsticks. For the longest time, I have shied away from learning how to use chopsticks because I thought I can live with dishes that do not require eating with them, but that was all before I tasted their noodles.
The place is fairly small, with just about six or seven tables and there's only one person behind the counter. She takes your order and prepares it in the kitchen. But the service is fast and the noodles are always done right when she serves them. Gaaah, my mouth is watering just thinking about them! This shop is one example of local eats that make this place really interesting to be in. There's a McDonalds, a few Western style bakeshops and even a Seven Eleven nearby, but after some time, you get bored with fastfood (and it makes you sick!) and you want to try out what the locals are having. For those who want a tamer version of Chongqing's hot and spicy fare, a visit to this small noodle shop is a must.
travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel,
One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.
~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright,
Pavarotti, My Own Story
I don't know why food gives such comfort, even if they can't give you hugs or tell you that things will be OK. During the most stressful times of my life, I unconsciously turned to food as a way of rewarding myself for getting through the day. I packed a few pounds, certainly, which is why I am glad that the usual sources of stress are lying low and for now I am able to breathe. But I thank God for food, glorious food, whether its homemade
paksiw or sweet and cheerful cupcakes. Edibles just make my day.
Got these cupcakes and cinnamon bun from Sans Rival. Although I go there for the silvanas and the sizzling beef steak, I didn't know that their cupcakes were also pretty good.