Food, Glorious Food

CHEEEESE.

Let me qualify: Upon my acceptance to a program in China, I was warned on a weekly basis that my cheese addiction would have to be curbed upon entering this country, since dairy was not a big part of the Chinese diet and cheese was in short supply.  WELL, friends, I have delightful news to report: Since HK has a gei daaih (quite large) ex-pat population, grocery stores must cater to each nationality's needs, meaning that the best stuff in life (read: cheese, butter, chocolate) is imported from all over the wooooorld, so we not only have cheese, we have the some of the best cheese in the world!!  I have a better selection here than I would in many places in the US! 

I did a dance for joy yesterday during our trip to CitySuper (Hong Kong's equivalent of Whole Foods) when I walked in and saw the cheese section, not only for the smorgasbord of dairy products, but specifically for the spotting of Red Leicester cheese, my favorite cheese from Britain.  It brought back memories of sitting in Covent Garden two years ago, drinking cheap wine and eating bread and cheese as we watched street performers.   As I sat in my common room this evening sharing my beloved cheese with my flatmates, I was truly content with life.

I was also delighted to find Cadbury chocolate, the most delicious chocolate from Britain, on the grocery stores shelves here as well (it's actually a different Cadbury than the one we have in the States - I promise to bring a load back when I come to visit so everyone can try some!).  Luckily, I don't even have to venture out to CitySuper to find this, I can just go to the Park and Shop on campus, and they have a whole wall of Cadbury chocolates!  So all in all, I'll be just fine on the dairy front while I'm here.  (And yes, they do have macaroni and cheese here in the grocery stores, so that addiction will also continue for the next two years... sigh)

Of course, all this being considered, I have been so busy running around, acquiring my favorite Western foods, that I have not yet stocked up on good Chinese food to cook at home.  Allyson and Camille are slowly but surely teaching me cooking techniques, so I'll let you know when I get brave enough to cook a Chinese dish.  Until then, it will be lots of bbq pork rolls and shrimp dumplings on the outside and lots of pasta and cheese on the inside!  But all of it is nom nom nom good.

Talk to you again soon!

xoxo

Jenny