Kitchen Wench

Well, at least in Alicia’s world. And if you inhabit that world, you know that I love those little cheese and potato filled dumplings native to Russia, Poland, and probably several other post-Soviet nations. Simple, filing, and delicious with a side of fried onions and sour cream.

However, the neighborhood I live in is short on Poles and heavy on Salvadoran immigrants, who make something called a “pupusa.” Pupusas are little doughy pancakes filled with cheese and/or meat, fried, and served with a side of vinegary cabbage slaw (called curtido). Aside from bearing a striking similarity to a pierogie (cheese, dough, chewy, fried, comes with side of vegetable matter), pupusas are cheap: $1.50 - $1.75 a piece. Two or three pupusas make a for a very filling meal; it’s doubtful that you could eat any cheaper in this totally overpriced city.

There are at least five or six restaurants within spitting distance of my underground bunker English basement apartment. Though I have not sampled them all (my digestive tract can only handle so much cheese and oil), here are a few favorites.

Haydee’s Restaurant
3102 Mount Pleasant Street NW, Washington, DC 20010
For the uninitiated, Haydee’s looks a bit suspect on the outside, but the inside is filled with funky murals, green booths, and twinkling lights. Haydee’s serves two flavors of pupusa–cheese and pork and cheese, $1.75 each.

Ercilia’s Restaurant
3070 Mount Pleasant St NW, Washington, DC 20009
Ercilia’s serves seven different kinds of pupusas, starting at $1.50 a piece. While I prefer the dough at Haydee’s, I like Ercilia’s tangy curtido and the fact that it comes with fresh tomato sauce. Flavors include cheese, pork and cheese, bean and cheese, bean and cheese with rice flour dough (instead of corn masa), bean and loroco (a plant from Central America; I personally find the flavor unappetizing), cheese and loroco, and shrimp.

I can’t believe I haven’t posted in this since Shanghai. That’s shameful. Here’s a brief tour of what happened in the last two weeks.

I returned to Beijing for my final week and spent most of it buying a new wardrobe for myself, swing dancing multiple nights a week, and eating all my favorite foods for one last time (sizzling eggplant with lots of garlic and minced pork, crispy Japanese tofu in sweet and sour sauce, Korean bbq, bottled green tea, and “plain” yogurt that tastes just like a sweet Indian lassi).

I spent my last 4 days in Hong Kong, with a day trip to Macau, which has some fascinating history and a whole lot of casinos. In Hong Kong I ate Indian food twice–at the Delhi Club in Chungking Mansions and at Branto (all veg) on Lock St in Tsim Sha Tsui. I cannot get over how much they’ve cleaned up Chungking Mansions (this slummy block of old apartments and the only place to find “cheap” hostels, mostly inhabitated by East Indian and African folk). It’s better lit; the floor isn’t sticky; there’s much less hawking; and there are security guards that help you navigate the weird maze of buildings, shops, and elevators that only go to odd or even floors. I suppose it’s for the best, but part of the charm was the weird, sketchiness of the place. It’s worth a visit in any case, though I really liked the food at Branto, and the atmosphere was nicer. They had delicious fresh mango lassis.

I also had my fill of dim sum and ate 3 servings of mango pudding in 3 days. Hong Kong is definately not designed to be eye-level; all these great restaurants are tucked away on the 2nd floor of rather run-down buildings. Half the time I walk past the signs because I forget to look up.

One thing I love are all the fruit juice stands on the street. For 5 or 6 HKD you can get freshly squeezed juice, smoothies, and tapioca drinks. There are also all sorts of little dessert shops (in TST and also dotted around Mongkok) that specialize in various fruit and geletin concoctions. They’re delicious on a hot, sticky day (which is most days in Hong Kong).

But, the bottom line is, it’s all over now.  I’m back home and recovering from my jetlag. I think my life might suddenly become a lot less interesting. We’ll see.

So, I’ve been pretty bad about posting lately.  Needless to say, I survived spring break unscathed only to be hit with a paper when I got back. 

 This last weekend has been fabulous.  We traveled to Shanghai for the weekend, most of which I spent tromping up and down Nanjing Lu, the Bund, and French Concession, not to mention burning a giant hole in my wallet at the Yu Gardens bazaar (touristy stuff and some sweet clothes) and Xiang Yang market (a treasure trove of knock off handbags, jackets, and shoes).  I also soaked in a little culture at the Shanghai Art Museum, which is currently featuring a selection of works by modern Latin American painters.  

We also hit up some of my favorite spots from my last trip, including Simply Thai in Xin Tian Di, and Number Five bar on the Bund.  We also listened to the jazz band at the Peace Hotel, which is composed of adorable geriatric Chinese musicians.  The playing wasn’t the great, but I felt like I’d just stepped back in time (aided by the purchase of a retro-style dress earlier that day).   The jazz at Number Five was much better and featured a very nice vocalist, though the chill atmosphere almost had me passed out in my oversized leather chair.

However, the greatest amount of my time was definately spend stumbling around the JC Mandarin Hotel buffet, wide-eyed and drooling.  I don’t even like buffets.  I have eaten at an awful lot of buffets on this trip, and it’s safe to say that it was probably the best I’ve had thus far.  The food was actually so delicious that I became paranoid about supply shortages and began hoarding plates of pizza, cheese, and museli.  (Hey, everybody else was doing it too.)  The JC Mandarin was also the first hotel I stayed in that actually had a bathroom scale, allowing me to monitor the progress of my rapidly expanding waistline. 

Sadly, we left Shanghai on Monday, a little bit poorer and a little bit fatter.  I’ll miss the fabulous restaurants, trendy bars, shopping, glitz, glamour, European architecture, beautiful subway system, and cab drivers that wear uniforms and white gloves. 

I already miss the buffet.

First off, Beijing is great. 

Second off, I ate some absolutely delicious German food here last night, at this place that translates to Schindler Fillingstation, a few blocks from the Xi Shui silk market.  The potato salad was out of this world: tangy, vingary, sweet, bacon-y.  I had pork filet with mushrooms over spatzle with cheese.  It was salty, creamy, and delicious.  We also had some wonderful German beer (Erdinger) and great Riesling as well–lots of flavor!  I’m not a dark beer fan, but the Erdinger wasn’t bitter at all.  As much as I love Chinese food, this has probably been my best meal here so far.  I think we’ll definately be eating there again.

In other news, tonight I am Shanxi bound, slated for one of the most ridiculous schedules I have ever seen (sightseeing from 6 am to 8 pm?!).  Who knows if I’ll have time to write, let alone sleep.  In any event, I’m sure the forthcoming stories will be interesting.