Job Discussion Forums

[MyTurnNow]

Churrascaria, perhaps? It's the Brazilian name for this type of restaurant.

I've really been surprised to find how widespread these restaurants are here. But I guess they go along with the new-prosperity meat binge China seems to be on...

The ones I've tried have all been pretty good. Gaucho-style slow-roasted silkworms....yummmmm-yum!

Still not Western breakfast, though.

MT

[MyTurnNow]

What this place really needs is a diner- a good old-fashioned Route 66-style greasy spoon.

I'm surrounded by Chinese culture, cheap beer, and beautiful girls. I've found a bookstore that occasionally gets in a good book written after the 19th Century. I have a job working for actual decent people, at long last. Fascinating travel is (normally) within easy reach. I can watch "South Park" and "The Simpsons" now...the diner would make life complete.

Someday I dream of opening one here. Bottomless coffee, 24-hour breakfast, chicken-fried steaks, honest-to-God cheeseburgers, lemon merengue pie, a jukebox, newspapers, waitresses who call you "Hon"...

Ah, well, just a dream...

[Minhang Oz]

I suppose its a matter of what you grew up with....breakfast cereals are not big,being found in the foreigner-only shelves of the biggest supermarkets,but then when did you see you tiao and xi fan back home?I've breakfasted widely in China,and much of it isn't too bad.Bread sticks and soymilk are ubiquitous,innocuous,and calm the hunger pangs.The flakey flat bread cooked in a 44 gallon drum,not dissimilar to an Indian tandoor,isn't bad.Guilin people love their soupy rice noodles at all hours,but particularly for brekky-spicey if you want.Zong zi,a mass of sticky rice with some pork filling,steamed in a bamboo leaf,is filling and tastes good.My favorite is guo tie,which are large jiao zi cooked in a huge,flat pan until the bottom is crunchy.Adding vinegar is a must.Boiled eggs are a safe bet when traveling.Bao zi-steamed buns with various fillings-are cheap and tasty.I've had some so-called Western breakfasts in hotels,and you're much better off gastronomically and financially heading for the streets with the locals.Cook your own?Well,here in Shanghai it's easy,although I still see the odd crazed Canadian wandering around Carrefour looking for maple syrup,or a fellow Oz in need of Vegemite.As for decent affordable coffee,local Hai nan and Yun nan grown stuff is cheap and was available even 6 years ago in Guilin-it should be locatable in most places.As for needing 4 Camels to face "the little darlings"......well,have you thought about a shift in career direction?

[MyTurnNow]

It's EXACTLY a matter of what you grew up with. I think breakfast is the one time when even those of us who are otherwise comfortable here crave things a bit more familiar and easy to cope with. Certainly true of me.

You've used terms like "soupy rice noodles", "spicy", "mass of sticky rice" and "vinegar" in the context of "breakfast". This is quite a challenging leap for a lot of us. Even things that sound familiar will not be much like what we expect...for example, those "breadsticks" you refer to are a very far cry from what readers not yet in China have in their minds right now.

I love China and I love living here. But there are difficulties and challenges. Not necessarily bad...just....weird.

As for "the little darlings", I can't blame anyone for dreading to go hear their 100,000th 11-year-old mumble the same litany of "Thereare3peopleinmyfamilymymothermyfatherandiIlikeeathamburgerandplaycomputerIlikewatchfootballgame." as the 5 kids before him, then returning to his pursuit of the neighboring kid's eyeballs. 4 Camels aren't nearly enough. I've certainly made a shift in MY career direction: I will not accept any job that involves teaching kids. I want students who actually want to learn. And I find them.

MT

[Seth]

[MyTurnNow]

Seth,
I can find the cream cheese but I'd KILL for the bagel. There's a special place in Hell for the Chinese baker that came up with the hamburger-buns-with-holes-in-the-middle that only LOOK like bagels.

Sounds like you've gotten a load of the Children of Privilege. One of the reasons I won't teach kids anymore. Private school tuition is pretty high, so the kids in them tend to come from very well-connected families. Ironically, the wealthier and better-connected the family is, the less they are probably paying for their classes...schools tend to give discounts or even freebies to the scions of families in local or provincial government, or in influential Bureaus.

Also, the richer and more powerful the family, the likelier it is that the kid is hopelessly spoiled and completely out of control. And your ability to discipline them in your classes will be proportionately diminished or completely eliminated by greedy, terrified, spineless management/owners. You find yourself forced to just take it.

All of these things were true in the private chain school where I taught kids for the last time. 3 letters, starts with an 'A'....

MT

[MW]

Let's see -

This morning started at 5:30 a.m. with american coffee, american powdered cream, chinese sugar.

Then as my transfusion took hold and my eyes opened and my confusion left, I fried a couple of chinese eggs, some chinses potatoes with chinese green onions and chinese garlic, had a glass of fresh chinese apple juice, an orange from Sunkist (California), and oh yes, a chinese maorning cake.

Yes, breakfast in China is so american!

[Dragon]

Dear Comrade MW,
It is nice to hear your breakfast is good and that you are maintaining your strength. Keep healthy comrade.
Dragon