Meat-On-A-Stick Misadventures

So far, every time I've made plans, I haven't been able to get half the things I've wanted done. It's partly because Harbin in winter is both hilly and icy, and all these clothes and heavy boots can slow things down even more. It's also because I'm easily distracted and often spot an interesting side-road which leads to a two-hour detour.

Case in point? I went to the main branch of Bank of China this morning to change some travellers' cheques, then decided to have a look at the interesting-sounding French cafe which was on yesterday's to-do list. Halfway there, I saw a cafe called 香香春饼 (fragrant spring pancakes) and popped in. The food was a lot like Malaysian poh piah, which is to say shredded vegetables and meat wrapped in round flour pancakes. Nothing special and I didn't even get a picture.

Back on the street, to get to 中央大街 (Central Big Street), you have to circumnavigate Harbin's main train station, or go under it. Life on the border of Soviet Russia necessitated the building of an extensive network of bomb shelters, which, this being peace-time China, have been converted into a dizzying warren of small shops and eateries. After an hour among the DVDs, fur coats, and plastic toys, I ran to the nearest exit, jumped in a taxi, and came home. Why?

Last night, while hanging around waiting for my new washing machine to arrive, I decided to pop downstairs for a quick bite. I was drawn to a crowded stall selling various meats on sticks. Bypassing the unidentifiable, I opted for three sticks of beef, three sticks of squid, and a sausage. The squid and sausage were pressed on a skillet with a dash of oil, then slathered in some sort of chilli paste and presented with a couple of squares of tissue-paper. The beef sticks - meaty chunks alternated with small cubes of beef fat - were grilled over a small coal barbecue, and sprinkled liberally with chilli powder and another unidentifiable brown powder flavoured salty.

This poor culinary decision caught up with me at around 10am this morning. I briefly considered the local amenities - facilities designed from the putrid-blackened-holes-in-the-floor school of thought - and came back home. So, the visit to the French cafe has been postponed again...