A lot of guys will keep an eye out for pretty girls when they are out and about. Girls may keep an eye out for some new shop or something interesting in a store window. I keep an eye out for new and/or hidden restaurants.
I recently discovered what must be a very old restaurant. In fact it's so old looking that even though I had passed it many times, I always thought that it was closed down. In my defense it's in an area where there is nothing else. It used to be a small shopping area but all those stores have long since closed, so I just figured this one was also closed.
Well even though it's a bit scary all by itself and looks very old and not appealing, I decided to give it a try. The biggest reason I wanted to give it a try is because I realized that I can now read everything on the menu. In the past if i go to a new restaurant, i'm always the annoying foreigner. Since i couldn't read, i could only ask what they had and go through the list to find something i want. A usual exchange goes like this...
Me: "Hello, do you have lunch boxes?"
Owner: "Yes"
Me: "Do you have pork chop?"
Owner: "No"
Me: "Do you have fish?"
Owner: "No"
Me: "What do you have?"
Owner: (lists what they do have)
Me: *after hearing there is nothing I want* "Oh that's ok, thanks anyway." *leaves*
Owner: *under their breath after i leave* "Annoying foreigner!"
But now I was able to just look at the menu and order what I want. Although while I was there looking at the menu, I knew that I shouldn't eat there. It's one of those old places that doesn't even have a exhaust for the cooking fumes, so you can just feel the carcinogenic fumes going into your lungs. To make me even more uncomfortable, while preparing my food, the lady coughed into her hands and then picked up my egg to cut it and put it in the lunch box.
Well the food was just ok. But I decided to go back to give them another shot for dinner. Mainly because if you can see the sign, they are open from 11am to 10pm straight. This is great for two reasons. First, most places take a break in the afternoon, and second, most places close pretty early. This means I wouldn't have to rush myself to get lunch and dinner before places close, I could go here if i missed the normal eating times. Also they have curry on the menu, and some good curry can make a place for me, even if it's a scary health hazard.
So I went back to get the curry. I was very excited as they give you a lot of meat and potatoes and carrots, however I was quickly let down. It was so salty. So much so that I was actually crunching the salt in my teeth!
So sadly this place did not make the list, but it did boost my chinese reading confidence, and it did give me a day of eating food not from the usual places. So for that it's still a win in my book.
Always worth giving a new place a chance, you never know you could discover a diamond in the rough. I'm on the look out for donut shops that I have not tried. I have eaten some truely horrible donuts in my day, but just two weeks ago found a great place. You never know until you try.
