Tokyo

Who knew Japanese people could be so much fun?! Three dogs, all dressed up, are being pushed through the crowded streets of Tokyo in a baby buggy. So cute!

I took this photo in Tokyo in January 2012. Yes, it was winter and they needed clothes to stay warm. :-)

Coffee and culture

I love Asian furniture and decor. I've got some in my apartment. So imagine how happy I was to encounter a brand-new beautiful coffee-drinking place just a few blocks away! Caffeine and culture, all in one convenient stop.

It looks vaguely familiar

Why is it that Chinese restaurants in America, run by Chinese people, serve food that tastes absolutely NOTHING like Chinese restaurant food in China? It is a mystery, a travesty, a shame. Chinese food in China is awesomely delicious. In America it tastes like cardboard.

This is not just my opinion, but every American I know who has ever spent a considerable chunk of time in China will tell you the exact same thing. It is not just one restaurant in America that fails the flavor test, they ALL do, regardless of what city or state it is in. It's as if these Chinese people moved to America to open restaurants and were told that Americans won't eat the real thing were they to cook it. So they are handed a recipe book of tasteless concoctions that resemble Chinese food (by sight) and are told to make the substitute recipes instead. That's what I imagine happens anyway. I don't know what really happens. 

See the above meal? Well, the spring rolls were pretty good, but then again I've never seen a spring roll in China, so I'm not sure where the whole concept of spring rolls comes from. There are no fortune cookies in China either. Or metal utensils.

The rice was bad. The "kung pao chicken" was bad. Even I, a so-so cook, can make tasty versions of both of those in my own kitchen, so why is it that these restaurants can't master the skill?

And look at those pretty British-style dishes. They don't use those in China either. You'll never see a tea cup in a real Chinese restaurant with a handle on it. You'll never see a big plate either.

Yeah, yeah, I'm being picky. But that's because this is a REVIEW! And I'm giving a major thumb's down.

But I do thank God that even though my taste buds were not impressed, I had food to fill my stomach that day, and good company at the restaurant with me. 

When in America, I recommend that you stick to hamburgers joints. When you want good Chinese food, get on an airplane.

The restaurant being reviewed is not named in order to save the restaurant embarrassment. Some "reviewer" I am, huh?

Talkin' Texan

In Texas, you can buy your bullets and your ice cream all in one convenient stop! And if you have lived in Texas all your life, you probably don't even realize how strange that is to the rest of the world.

And while we're at it, can I just say I don't feel comfortable with the words "chips" and "bait" being on the same line? I'm picturing worms crawling around on tortilla chips, bait nachos if you like.

This is not even the weirdest sign I saw in Texas this past summer. The prize surely goes to a restaurant near the Tyler airport that either sells Chinese or Mexican food or both -- Pancho Panda. 

Texas, you got a few weird things going on, but I love ya anyway! I'm happy to be a sixth generation Texan, with relatives that lived there when it was a republic. 

The flight

I had three flights on my way back to the Middle Kingdom. The first two were relatively short. The long leg of the trip is always the one I am concerned with.

I could feel your prayers, because on the Pacific leg, I got two seats to myself, a window seat and an aisle seat. And you'll be glad to know that these two seats were connected to each other! It would have been hard to enjoy two seats that were located in different parts of the plane.

Very few others on the plane had two seats like I did! I felt really blessed.

When I get an extra seat like that, I say it is a seat for Jesus. I imagine him sitting there next to me, giving me a pre-flight pep talk. I feel his presence, and I thank him for being there.

Once into our flight, we hit a batch of turbulence, so, ya know, I decided to channel a little Carrie Underwood and I started SINGING to Jesus. Maybe you know the tune: "Jesus, take the wheel...." 

And he did! So at that point I imagined Jesus walking up to the cockpit to help out the pilots and letting me have his coach class seat for extra leg room for myself. He's generous like that.

I did all my talking and singing to Jesus quietly in my heart, because I didn't want fellow passengers to misunderstand and freak out, resulting in me being met at my destination airport with people wearing white coats.

We arrived at my destination airport an hour and a half early. My driver that had come to meet me was also an hour and a half early, and so I got back to my apartment earlier than expected -- and there I was greeted with a doggy celebration like none you've never seen before!

God is good.