Tag Archives: food

Rail Food


Posted by Patrick Okens

Contemplating stew in the Mongolian dining car. Note the furnishings.

Dec. 5 – Aboard Train 077 to Novosibirsk

The Beijing-Irkutsk journey taught me not to rely on the dining car.

Given how good the fare had been in China, what was served from Beijing to Erlian was abysmal. Small portions of rice and vegetables, pathetic chicken(ish) balls, damp lettuce in lukewarm soy sauce. It was all free to first and second class passengers, but no real effort was made to impress. A surly waitress shooed us out as soon as we finished. There was warm beer if we wanted it (we didn’t). More fun was the barely drinkable Great Wall red wine. We had two bottles – the first numbed our palates for the second. The best part was that the dining car had no corkscrew, and only two glasses. The ever-practical Swiss got their Army knives out, and we were in business using teacups. Of course, the waitress made them pull the corks for all the other diners too. The Swiss asked for tips, but received none.

The Mongolian dining car was a wonder of carved wood walls and furnishings. The food was decent, but scandalously priced if paying in U.S. dollars – I had not bothered to get Mongolian money since I was just passing through the country.

Noodles and tea. Just don't spill any on the customs declarations!

But I was pleased with the supplies I had brought along. Enough for the distance, not too much to be an encumbrance. So for the journey to Novosibirsk, I have; tea, oatmeal, trail mix, chocolate, instant noodles, salami, Maasdam cheese, and apples. We’ll see how soon the Vodka starts to flow. Wish me luck!


Shanghai Shopping Mall


Posted by Patrick Okens

Nov. 17 – Shanghai

 The Raffles City mall, just off People’s Square downtown, just happened to be in my path as I stepped out of the Metro. I hate the lobotomized sameness of shopping malls. But when you’re barely 36 hours into China, you’ll see something new no matter where you go. So I went in.

 The place had a gloss that made it exciting. And when I saw the chrome stork figures in the fountain, and the candy-red handrails on the escalators, I really started to pay attention. Here’s where the power of the fabled billion-consumer market can really be felt. Every single shop offered an astounding variety for each item. Want a pair of New Balance trail shoes with Vibram soles? Pick your colour; not just white or black. But pink, red, brown, yellow with green, magenta with orange, you name it. The Shanghainese are famously fashionable. Not just in their dress, but hair also. I guess when everyone is born with straight black hair, the drive towards the perm, the bouffant, and various dyes can be powerful. There’s a wig, or a salon appointment waiting for you at Raffles. And if you want to work on the rest of your body, there’s a large health club on its top floor, complete with lap pool.

 It’s amazing what you can do with a food court if you really try. Not for them the grimy, greasy, tray-top fare that counts as edible in North America. Shanghai is known for its sweets, and the smell tantalized me as I passed the clean, shiny stalls. I had the best mall food experience of my life, probably. Sizzling Korean beef with kimchi and rice. Not to be outdone, the washroom provided the most civilized squatting experience I’ve ever had.

 I walked a big distance in today’s soupy humidity. Shanghai’s downtown, on a Thursday afternoon, was optimally frenetic – lively without being oppressive. The  Yuyuan shopping district is clearly geared at tourists, but somehow avoided the tacky, tawdry feel such places usually have. Shanghai’s broad riverfront promenade, the Bund, is the domain of tour groups, families, couples. I rested my feet, looking at the sand barges churning the Huangpu river, and at the smog-veiled skyscrapers beyond.