Zai naili Noodle Loft?

So much for our plan. After an hour of searching-- on the correct street-- we had to give up and eat somewhere else. Val and I took the subway to Dawanglu, which is closer to downtown, and were optimistic in our search. The restaurant was located on Xidawang Lu Street, according to our handy maps. I really want to write to the editors of the guide book, and tell them this isn't working. We then walk to exactly where the restaurant should be, granted there are no numbers to identify building addresses, making this even more 'fun'. We ask some people where we can find it. The first woman shooed us away. Great, thanks. Then some men pointed us to cabs, which we considered anyway. We proceed to show them our maps and the restaurant name in Chinese. Laughter (of course) ensued, followed by one guy busting out his cell phone to bargain a price for the trip (which could not have been far, according to the book). We were desperately hungry at this point so we said yes. Then they just proceeded to talk to each other and so we left. After a little debate, we opted to go to a respectable looking restaurant we had seen up the road.

I believe the quote from Val was "We failed". And we did not give up easily let me tell you. We were really frustrated with ourselves. I'm sorry that you will see that word many times over the course of my experience here but really, that is the most applicable word. As hard as one tries to adapt to their surroundings, it is exhausting and tries your patience time and time again to get out and do some pretty simple things, like find some lunch. I am not about to eat every meal in the dining hall (yuck) just because it's the easier thing to do. I want to experience restaurants all around the city, and try different cuisine styles. It's the getting there and the finding it that is so difficult at times. We don't have a guide to say "We're going here tonight, follow me" anymore, though those three days were pretty nice. We haven't found a single person on the street who has given us correct directions (today included).

The restaurant we ended up at was pretty nice. Especially when we found that there were doors and a woman to open them for us versus the usual plastic flaps of many little cafes (and the dining halls). We found ourselves with four waiters and waitresses anxious to take our order. It was weird getting that attention. The menu had English on it, so I assume that they have some foreigners at some time or another come in to eat. One waitress could speak a little English so she was ours for the meal. She kept trying to get us to order the restaurant specialty, fish head soup, but we passed. We ordered some braised duck along with these really good soft pita type chips and rice. Oh, ox tendon is good, too, in case you run into it somewhere. We bypassed the whole pigeon in broth as well as the pig's feet but I may have to try those on another day when I'm not about to pass out from starvation and heat exhaustion (it's 94 F today).

As I looked out the window from our table, I watched a parking attendant direct someone out of their parking spot on the sidewalk. Yes, people here park their cars on the sidewalk instead of parking garages or lots. They have these moveable ramps that they just slide down to wherever the car is parked, and off it goes. There are also full lanes for bicycles and people on foot (I know some cycling friends would really appreciate this at home).

Now our stomachs are full, and though we're tired we have already made the pact that we will find this Noodle Loft. But this time we'll be taking a cab!