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05 Nov 2009 02:29
11:44 am November 5th, 2009food_pornvanessafrida
When my spicy char siew ramen arrived…I was still very skeptical. Apprehensively I took a slurp of the soup and I was in broth heaven!! It was super duper good…very very thick…full of punchy flavour. I couldn't believe it was a chicken base broth.
The ramen was cooked perfectly….the texture was very “springy”…..and now to the char siew. I have heard the phrase “oh the meat just melts in your mouth” and well can I say I haven’t actually experienced that much…but I sure did when I tasted this char siew. Very thinly sliced pork slice…with a nice marbling of fat….every little sliver I popped into my mouth slowly melted on my tongue…it was out of this world. Pity the ramen came with only 1 slice of char siew….i am so ordering a side the next time, and yes there will be a next time. Click here to read more about the famous ramen shop and more pictures
12:23 am November 5th, 2009violet_tigress112:17 am November 5th, 2009violet_tigress104:17 am November 5th, 2009officialgaiman http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/author-comes-home-and-displays-many.html
posted by NeilI went to XinjiangProvince in Western China to continue researching my Monkey/China book. This is the photo I took of a scenic building that, I discovered when the men came out to arrest us, turned out to be a police station. If you're in Kashgar do not take pictures of this building. Trust me on this.
This is what I was researching and working on. (As seen in a little town square, on the way to Yarkand):
Xinjiang Province is going to be hard to write about. It's like walking into the Arabian Nights in some ways, and like going back in time in others. It was especially like going back in time on this trip, as, following the Uighur riots in Urumqi in July, the Chinese Government turned off the Internet, text messaging and all international phone calls in or out of the region. I had a great guide who was terrified I'd talk politics, and I rapidly discovered that everything except conversations about the spice-sellers in the market...... or discussion of the pomegranate crop, counted as politics. It made my journey even stranger than it might have been already.
While I was there my camera started misbehaving: I hadn't even realised it had a motor in it, but the motor started vibrating gently, producing some very beautiful shots that weren't really what I wanted...Like this shot of a lady in Yarkand market selling peppers and tomatoes that seem to have turned into jewels.After a great deal of reflection I decided not to buy a camel in the market in Kashgar. Here are two camels I didn't buy.
In the Russian market in Urumqi I bought a new camera I don't like anywhere nearly as much as my old, sporadically-vibrating one.
I went from there to Jinan, Wuqiao and Beijing.This photo, taken in Beijing was one of the highlights of my trip -- and was one the main reasons I went back to China. I wanted to talk to Liu Xiao Ling Tong (the stage name for Mr Zhang Jinlai), who played Monkey in the Chinese television version of Journey to the West. (Here's his blog.)More photos of China and Singapore in my next post, I hope. In summary: Singapore was wonderful, but the visit was much much too short: we were there for about 50 hours altogether. Once again, the food was amazing and the people delightful.
Then I went to Chengdu. I don't have photos on my camera of the Galaxy Award ceremony, or the speech I gave at Sechuan University, or the visit to the Earthquake Zone and the talk I gave to the kids there. (Science Fiction World and I are starting a library for them.) (If I can get some photos I'll put them up.)And I was not able to take photos of the encounter with the fourth holiest Buddhist in China, because he is not to be photographed.So instead here's a photo of Amanda Palmer, who joined me for my last few days in China, on the side of a mountain having been recognised by some happy Chinese tourists...
...Let's see. A quick handful of links...A theatrical production of Neverwhere in Chicago next year is producing a fascinating visit-to-London blog over at http://neverwhat.blogspot.com/.I'll be at the Arts Festival in New Zealand in March. Here's the Town Hall event - http://www.nzfestival.nzpost.co.nz/writers-and-readers/town-hall-talk-neil-gaima n, and it looks like I'll be doing some other events while there. It may sell out fast, so if you're interested, get tickets early. (And do not miss Margo Lanagan, who will also be there, for she is an Incredibly Good Thing.) ....Through most of this summer I was playing with a Lomography Camera. The kind with film in, where you have no idea what you took until it's developed. (The one I used was an LC-A+.) I'm starting to love the results, especially when everything comes in slightly oversaturated. They look like pictures of dreams.
(Middle photo of the amazing bubble by Miss Holly Gaiman. Who is fundraising.)
(And you can, of course, click to embiggen the pictures.)...And finally, people sometimes write in and point out that, when I return home, I post pictures of my dog, rapturously dashing somewhere or dancing or stick-wielding to welcome me home. "Why do you not ever post pictures of cats?" they ask.Good point. Here is Coconut welcoming me rapturously home:
Here is Princess, doing her version of a rapturous welcome, glad that I have not forgotten the trick that she taught me to do, during my time away. The trick involves turning on the tap in the guest bathroom and letting her alternately drink and attack the water with her sharp teeth, until she gets bored:I'm sad to say that while I was away, Hermione died. She was the surviving member of the two mad cat sisters who live in the basement library and Do Not Mingle, and she was almost eighteen. You can see her in this Photosynth of my library downstairs (needs Silverlight). It feels strangely unbalanced to be in a house without Pod and Hermione in it.
There. Goodnight.11:01 pm
Hailey. Eating tofu.
10:07 pm November 4th, 2009positivegSo I came home the other day to find that my dog had chewed away at the corner of our hot tub cover. I've since got him to stop doing that by attaching balloons to it (he hates them), but the part he got to still looks pretty ratty. My roommate (who owns the house) told me not to worry about it, but I'm kinda curious if something like that can be fixed, and if so, how? I realize pics would go a long ways here, but I'm not sure at the moment where I left my camera. The material is some type of brown vinyl, like what a motorcycle seat or would be covered with. Is anyone here experienced with upholstery repair, or able to recommend some sort of mobile repair service? I'm just west of Troutdale.10:22 pm November 4th, 2009my_palimpsestHey DP'ers!I will soon be leaving our fair city to return to my ancestral homeland (Montana) in order to make NO money as an Americorps Vista member. So, I'm looking for someone to fill the lovely room I'm leaving behind. The house is near Reed College, and just three blocks from the 75 line. The roomates are all really nice, chill people and the overall environment in the house is drama-free and a lot of fun. Here is a link to the Craigslist ad: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/roo/1451985677.htmlLet me know if you're interested!10:19 pm November 4th, 2009casadetodd11:47 pm November 4th, 2009trashy_eatsstacycat69Its late, its cold outside, and I wanted chocolate. I had nothing except chocolate chips. And waffles. Whole grain freezer burned waffles, to be exact.Toasted waffles. Spread chips on waffle. Topped with second waffle. Sandwich.Yum! I think if I were to get a waffle iron, I would be having waffle sandwiches quite a bit :) Best thing between two waffles?08:35 pm November 4th, 2009violet_tigress1
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