Let the countdown continue! #8...MSG

Zsuitsi/Eggplant in sweet sauce

Number Eight: MSG...so good.  A few evenings before Christmas, i went to dinner with a couple work colleagues. Micheal E is a New Yorker who has lived in China for nine years.  He likes literature and is well...loud.  Will is my neighbor and new friend who studied politics and likes to debate about pretty much everything.  Both having been in this city for a while (years+, only God knows why so long), they are quite familiar with local findings/can order things without pointing at the menu pictures.

My dinner was interesting. We argued and ate. The restaurant we chose was seedy and smokey and smelled like old beer.  The spice in the air was sting the eyes spicy. The conversation was intense and comical at the same time. What they ordered for us was delicious.  And through our bouts of yelling and debating we enjoyed a side by side test of dishes with and without MSG.  And I don't have to tell you the outcome because you read the title of this post.

MSG is delicious!  and though, I haven't done too much research...and will try to avoid it (MSG) in the future... as its apparently very bad for you (who knew) makes one eat too much (not uncommon for me) and the next day MSG doesn't feel so good (maybe MSG is a long distance cousin of  vodka), but in the moment, MSG is the right choice.

This is a steaming skillet of sliced potatoes and chili peppers.  Mmmmm. MMMMSG.

Yup, the eatin' in china is good.  There are endless meaty selections, they love bacon, but for me its the vegetables.  They use a lot of eggplant, potatoes and green beans and generally the dishes are really colorful, pleasing to the eye.  Obviously, my food-centric self is quite pleased in China.

Also, if you are sick of Chinese food (hasn't happened to me yet), the pizza is great.  I enjoyed Pizza Hut with an old friend from Knoxville the other night.  Dr. Zhong was my professor who lead the study abroad trip I attended here to China six years ago.  He is from Beijing and was here for Christmas so we met up for a nice non-Chinese dinner.  It was really cool to see a friendly face from home.

Bon appetite!