Today, we skipped breakfast at the hotel because I didn’t want to be surprised again like I was yesterday, and went to have a croissant and something to drink nearby at a small bakery and coffee shop which we saw yesterday and thought was worth a try, especially after reading the text „Love arrives through the softness of the bread“ somewhere on their wall. And indeed it was worth it, with a small caveat. The products were all listed very nicely and had Chinese text as well as English text under them. We saw, for example, that one product was called „Potato Chilli Spicy Bagel“, one was called „French Puff Pastry Egg Tart“, one was called „Cheese Sausage“, and so on. It was clear from the English titles which ones were meat-free and which were not, right? Well, nope! What happened is that we ordered a few products which were indeed meat-free. But when I started to take a bite from the „Potato Chilli Spicy Bagel“, I saw a slice of sausage inside it. I immediately told the two girls there that there was a piece of sausage in my bagel, which was supposed to be meat-free according to the English title. She apologised and said that the Chinese title mentions the word sausage in it, but that the English translation doesn’t mention it, and that it was indeed their fault. She wanted to return my money for the bagel. I said there was no need, but that she should reprint that bagel name with the correct name also in English, as there might be foreign vegetarians entering their shop in the near future who could avoid such an experience. She apologised again and, because I refused the money back, she gave me an extra „French Puff Pastry Egg Tart“ for free. I didn’t want to accept it, but she very much insisted.
We wanted to avoid such a scenario at the hotel and ended up having it at this bakery, where we thought this would not happen at all. This happened only because we are vegetarians and don’t specifically describe up front that we don’t want to eat meat at all. In the case of the bakery, of course I could have said this up front, but come on, we saw a product clearly saying that it had sausage, and then we saw the one saying only Potato Chilli Spicy Bagel. It didn’t even cross my mind that this one would have sausage in it! Lesson of the day: In China, if you are a vegetarian, be sure to mention that you want to eat food that is meat-free, or ask if a product is meat-free. Regarding this point, I also want to mention that it is important to ask even about the broth. For example, yesterday and today, we went and enjoyed the wild mushroom hot pot (today I tried for the first time also a mushroom bier; it was sooo delicious). There were two types of broth, one called wheat broth, which was vegetarian, and one called „bone broth“. Yesterday, when we ate there for the first time, when I told the girl working there that we didn’t want to eat meat at all and that she should show us which dishes were meat-free, she initially showed us the „bone broth“ as well. Maybe she thought that we just don’t eat meat, but that there is no problem if the broth is the result of boiling water with bones in it; who knows. I think it is fair to say that in China, vegetarians don’t have it easy if they don’t communicate several times to make it very clear that they dont want to eat meat (and fish for that matter).
After that, we bought two tickets for 80 CNY (11 Euro) and visited the Mu Fu Mansion, which reminded us of the Forbidden City in Beijing. We spent a few hours there, taking several beautiful pictures and being amazed by the architecture, colors, and the beautiful way of life our ancestors had. After that, we walked through different parts of the old town, bought some souvenirs, and enjoyed delicious fruits such as watermelon, lychees, coconut, and small bananas, which are so delicious and affordable here in China.
I was telling Dipty that Chinese young women have pretty faces and slim bodies, and that the clothes they wear are, in general, so comfortable and soft-looking (in fact, I even saw and touched some Chinese clothes in a store, and they felt so „airy“ and comfortable). The Chinese young women look very feminine and of a gentle nature, as I heard Russian young women also are, I continued. Dipty looked at me and replied: You are forty, have a belly, and white hair, Dr. Jurj.
Next time I come to China, I need to visit that Shaolin temple in Henan, which Putin also visited a few years ago, so that I can reduce my belly; but not from physical training as you might think, but from a good laugh with some of the Shaolin monks there who understand the meaning of life. Imagination is my richness.
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