It was so damn good and reminded me how much I miss sammiches. Finding a proper sandwich can be quite a labor in China. We have Subway, but Subway is mediocre shite. Don't get me wrong...I eat at Subway like once a week: 6 incher; Italian herb bread, spicy Italian (double meat), all veg, cheese, and mustard. With a side of cookies, preferably the chocolate, chocolate chip cookie. Hell, I'm thinking about ordering that tonight. On a side note, most places deliver. in China. There are delivery companies (I use e.le.me, pronounced "eh la ma") that will go to a restaurant for you and bring the food right to your door. Typically, it is cheaper to order delivery than go to the restaurant yourself, which seems rather odd to me.
So I'm not a huge fan of Subway, but living in China there are certain things you start to miss, things that you never really thought about before. I've always loved subs, but I never imagined living in a place where subs weren't common. Sinking my teeth into that Philly reminded me of being home. Of times going to Harris Teeter during my lunch break and grabbing a quick sub. Or going to Katz Deli and filling my belly with a Reuben. I remember first coming here and pizza being hard to come by, which luckily has changed in present day Dalian. They had Pizza Hut when I first came here, but Pizza Hut is shit in China (besides the cheap breakfast with unlimited coffee, which is pretty amazing and now that I'm thinking about it has been ages and my calendar is being marked as I type). I remember the first time eating Papa Johns in China. It felt so wrong because I hate their CEO and everything he stands for, but their pizza in China is good and does in fact not taste like cardboard. Brooklyn, a nice local pub, has the best pizza in town and that's been open for well over a decade. Pizza has been here since I've been here, but the availability and choice has drastically increased. Western restaurants seem to be popping up everywhere these days, as evidenced by the Philly cheesesteak place.
I am ashamed to say that I shop at Walmart on a regular basis, mostly because it is a 5 minute walk from my flat and they have a good selection. Never in my wildest dream would I imagine saying I truly love Snickers and Doritos. Burger King has an immaculate burger called the Whopper, for those unfamiliar. KFC has buckets of chicken (delivered freshly to your door). You forget how much you love something, before it's taken away from you.
If I had to weigh out all the pros and cons between living here and back home, I would most likely choose China any given day. Life is more comfortable and convenient here, but there are just certain things you wish wouldn't be so difficult. I am glad to say I can easily choose between IPA's at my mates pub whereas a few years back it took hard work and determination to find just a single IPA, but it still isn't as convenient (or cheap for that matter) as going down to Total Wine in the Promenade and picking up a 12 pack of Torpedo. It's these consumable goods that draw some connection from my new life to my old life. There will always be a part of me that is American, and that piece of me will always have an attraction to junk food. I wonder what products I will miss when I leave this place...
No comments:
Post a Comment