we were so grateful to be in a hotel that was not the hotel juilong, shanghai that we forgot for the moment we were still in china (in xi'an) and went down to enjoy a meal in the western restaurant. a smiling welcome and apology that all the tables were large (there had been a wedding in the afternoon), eight seater, circular with a turn table in the middle. the menu was limited but we were pleased to order smoked salmon followed by steak and frites (me) and pizza (lou). we created a lot of toing and froing by asking for white wine and ended up with half a bottle of great wall semillon 1996. an odd sherry taste to it. i blamed the cepage, lou said it was 'gone'. maybe we should blame jean louis? :) poured beautifully complete with napkin over the arm once she had organised a tray with cloth, two glasses.....
the smoked salmon arrived in a flower shape laid over ice cubes covered in cling film. the salmon was just this side of the deep freeze and any flavour had been frozen out of it many months before! even the soy sauce served alongside couldn't revive it! but the steak and chips and pizza were very good. and the girls keen to please and a bill of &17.80.
we took excellent coffee in the dreams bar and i nipped across the road to a tiny shop for a bar of chocolate to go with it!:)
the chinese lunch included with yesterday's tour had been excellent so we really should go with the flow and carry on wielding the chopsticks while we're here...it's what they do best! :)
meanwhile our latest guide, grace, has a rough grasp of english and is fine when she remembers the text. 'she needs a shilling in the meter' whispered lou after she lost her thread and had to repeat her introduction to get back on track! like an actor she needs a prompter...or an ipod!
today the terracotta 'warriors', the only reason we are in xi'an. and more rain?
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