Hot is the word of the week

The past couple days have brought heat, though not in the same ways.

Yesterday, we went out looking for dinner - so we decided on Baidu Kaorou, a chain restaurant where you grill your food at your table. We went there when the place opened last year, and had not been back since.

Apparently, we should have gone back earlier, because it was gone.

So instead, we went off to a nearby place we had never been to - but is notable for its year-round outdoor seating. It was crowded inside, so we took a table in that area. On one side of our table was a 4 foot glass wall facing the street; on the other, a walkway for servers and the window into the restaurant. The heat was in the table, literally; the center of the table was a flaming pile of charcoal, which kept us mighty warm throughout the meal.

The menu was diverse, and without pictures. We ordered a few things we knew they had, and then asked for a recommendation. In theory, I like asking servers, because they should know what is best. However, in China, that often does not work. Rachel asked for something not too spicy, and without many bones. So what did we get? Pork knuckle stew. It actually tasted pretty good, and we fished all the veggies out of it. But there was still a lot of pork knuckles in there when we left...

We are calling it the Shao Kao Date Restaurant - because it has food like you get in the night market, but in a setting that is worthy of bringing a date to. You actually get a real chair!

The second heat came in the form of weather - today the sun came out, which brought scrumptious warm air and a pleasant afternoon. I'm hoping that winter is breaking!

-alan