Week 2 was less shocking and surprising than my first few days here. I actually managed to spend my time in the office doing some sensible work and used late afternoons to explore some more of Baoding. I found an amazing restaurant, which serves outstanding Chinese food while still having a great atmosphere and interior. A combination you don’t find too often around here. The only downside is that the menu has no pictures. Unfortunately, I also forgot to take pictures of the Gaudi-esque interior. The only one I took was of this strange mushroom dish which tasted quite okay.
My foreign colleagues – a few European designers from the Shanghai studio – had no idea of the restaurant’s Chinese name, so they simply called it ‘Gaudi’.
Eating out is mostly cheap and often very delicious in China. Still, I tried myself in the new home’s kitchen this week and with some help and advice (I cant even read the instructions on the package!) I managed to produce Jiaozi (dumplings) for dinner.
The absolute highlight of this week though was the arrival of my moving crate.
The slight damage was only on the outside. All the contents were in good shape. The clothes smelled slightly like a Fedex warehouse, but nothing that my fancy Korean washing machine couldn’t fix. Most important content of the box: my coffee machine!!
This weekend I had an amazing breakfast with coffee.
So after week 2, I have to admit – life in Baoding can be quite nice and relaxed, once you get over the initial cultural shock.
