Opening of Vivian's Dad shop

Well it is a big deal when a business is started.  We were asked by Vivian to attend her Dad's shop opening. 

We woke up this morning and it was raining and very very cold.  So we got dressed warmly and went out to catch a taxi.  Well do you think we could get one quickly.  NOOOO.  Because everyone is taking a taxi as it is raining.  Well eventually Paul walked to the middle of the road to flag one down.

We got to the Shop and felt very welcome.  Vivian's dad offered us tea, black, with no sugar, in small little Chinese tea cups.  It really warmed us up.

These are some of Mr Wang's China.

  
  
  

Helen, then Daisy, then Kathy arrived.  First red flowers arrived, which is a common sight for a new opening.  Then it was fireworks time.  It was freaking loud.  We don't have fireworks like this in SA everyday.  (Fireworks go off for everything here in china.)

  
  
  

  
Once that was done, Vivian's dad took us all out to lunch.  It was raining and pouring.  Cold, cold, cold. 

It was amazing.  The restaurant was traditionally Chinese.  A beautiful layout.

  
  
  

 There was also a great spread of food to choose from.  Vivian had to go and choose the foods that she wanted cooked.

  
  

We all sat at a round table and the food was put on a big Lazy Susan and you just keep turning it and taking what you want.  We had a private room as well.  Very nice.  We crumbed shrimp, fish, vegetable salad, dumplings, oysters, muscles, clams, snails, stuffed fried tofu, pork pieces with beans,  mealies, yams, butternut, tofu-vegetable-clam soup, sweet deep fried pumpkin sticks, corn-beans-peas, and we washed it down with rice tea and red wine. 

  
  
  
We toasted the shop for great success and then you have to tap your glass on the Lazy Susan. (Instead of saying 'cheers'.)

 

 

I ate a snails.  Yes, Sarah and I tried snails.  Not too nice.

 We arrived there at 12pm and left at 5pm.  Thank you Vivian and Mr Wang (Vivian's dad).

We caught our taxi back home.  It was cold and windy.  Sarah's hands were going white. (ha ha).  The streets looked beautiful.

 

 

Stay tuned for next weeks post.  I am going on a teachers retreat to a 5 * hotel and we are having 5 Chinese friends over for lunch on Sunday.

 

A Family Walk to the Park

It has been a wonderful afternoon.  We, Paul, Lisa, Kerry and Sarah, took a stroll to the park.  But we first went past a restaurant that specialises in dumplings.  But all vegetable.  No meat.  When you ask for pork, we got tofu pork.  But it was delicious all the same. We were also served cabbage soup, but what it is is the water the cabbage is cooked in.  It tastes like dirty water, so none of us drank it.

Trying to order off the menu

Kerry on her Lenovo translator

We really enjoyed the dumplings.

When we walked in everyone stopped and stared at first.  Then there was a scurry to assist us.  And they did.  The lady that seemed in charge was on the phone and a little while later, a gentleman whom I think was her husband arrived.  He sat down and introduced himself and started speaking in the little English that he knew.  We ordered 3 plates of dumplings so we could all share them.  Needless to say, there were twenty dumplings per plate.  We ate, we enjoyed and we were satisfied when we left.  The owner did ask us to please come back soon.  And we will.

Then once outside the wind was terrible.  It was cold and bone chilling.  But we headed to the park to walk off the food we had just eaten.  It was lovely spending time together and taking some family photos.  We didn't know it, but we had walked for 2 hours.  

  
  

Some lovely family photos were taken  .

 

  

 

  
  
So busy taking photos we did not see the bridge move.

    

  
Rushing now to get off.

  
Thank goodness it was chained to the walkway and didn't go far.


  
  
  
  
This little boy hid behind Sarah when he saw we were having a photo taken.


  
  
  

    Sarah trying to pic up Kerry but they both landed up in laughter.

Sarah practising her driving face.
  
  

 

Eventually we landed up a Si Ma Ter (RB Mart).  Went and bought a few things and then caught a taxi back home.  This was definitely a day well spent.