On the Quest for Hummus I

As you can probably guess from the title, this is quest for Hummus I because it was a complete failure. I guess to be accurate, the search was for chickpeas...the only ingredient missing for my hummus concoction and definitely the most important ingredient. In the past week, I made hummus from chickpeas that had been sitting in my fridge for longer than I'd like to acknowledge. I saved 5 cans for a rainy day and then after a few BBQs and a hungry morning, I was left with nothing. I hadn't eaten hummus for nearly 2 years, and now after consuming it for 3 days out of a week I'm left with wanting more. I didn't think much at the time that it might be my last hummus for a small while...
 I began my journey taking the back road to my destination, and was interested by the small pizza place built into apartment buildings. If I hadn't eaten lunch prior to leaving the house, perhaps I would stumble in there to see what all the huss and fuss was about, but for now I continued walking the path to the long forgotten market...


And it turned out, the market was long forgotten
It might be a little hard to see from this poorly taken photo, but it appears the market has been shut down. You might notice the sticker there is of Santa Clause, and there is nothing inside, except for some chips and such not pictured here, so presumably this place has been abandoned.


My next stop was at Leo Young,
an overpriced foreign import market
 
I try to avoid this place like the plague because everything is far too expensive, but I put my cheap attitude aside if the market could supply me with those coveted chickpeas. To no avail, this is all I saw in the canned foods section...

So there is enough Spam for a life time but no bloody chickpeas. I decided to look at the booze to see if that would make me happier and I came across this...
Not
that
I
would
buy
any
spirits
at
a place
like this
but I had
a gander
nonetheless.


My next destination was some small Korean market, which I had little hope for but it was on the way home.

Ain't Nuttin' Hurr

I quickly went to Sungiven a few doors down almost immediately after.

Also, Nuttin'

I was ready for disappointment and was met with yet another can of corn kernals.

I didn't mention this before,
but the other places
I went seemed to all have canned corn
for whatever reason.
I am not quite sure
on the Chineses' fascination
with corn kernals.
Many Chinese fascinations
remain a mystery
to me
even to this
day.

I continued the journey at the good ol' Wally world, because everything good comes to an end at Walmart
 
I am ashamed to remark on the frequency of my weekly Walmart visits, but I digress. I was pretty sure I wouldn't find anything here, but at least their beer selection was cheap. Of course, the foul spam made another appearance. Corn kernals were also there,but I couldn't be bothered looking at them for much longer.

I forgot to take a picture of the woman making fresh sesame paste, but here is a can from the other day. So, at least Walmart provided me with one of the key ingredients.
The following day, I made up for failure in my chickpea succoring with a nice steak salad with chickpeas, avocado, caramelized onions, and general goodness.

My mate and I continued the evening by deciding the bathhouse would be a great option. The distance from the restaurant to bathhouse was an easy few minute walk, so we decided to take a much more convoluted path by going down to the seashore and back. Walking along the seashore, we looked out to the city
 
Though it is a bit hard to see here, this photo perfectly encapsulates three key areas: First, there is the area to left where there is a small amusement park and a bar on top of the bumper car track. In the middle, is Xhinghai square which is the largest square in China. Finally, the glowing purple area to the right is the bridge that connects Wanda square to Jinshatan.

When I first saw the bridge many years ago, looking out at the ocean from Xhinghai square, I found it to be quite ugly and couldn't quite understand the purpose of the obstruction. The purpose became quite clear, which was to reduce traffic, a goal that was certainly reached. Still, I thought it looked quite ugly. Over time, it began to grow on me. The fluorescent lights illuminating the cars and the vast, empty ocean began to become beautiful for a reason I can't quite explain in words. This feeling reached a zenith last New Years when the bridge was closed down for a fireworks display.

We continued walking through the backstreets, searching for a new way to find our destination. We came across this scene that captured my eye; something about this windy road seemed so perfect. Just to the right of it, was a "haunted house" where homeless people allegedly live.

Further down the road, we came across this hostel.

Up the road to the left, was the bathhouse which I sadly did not take a picture of, but I promise I will next time. I remember the first time going to a bathhouse after years of putting it off. Being naked around a bunch of men seemed too odd for my Puritanical, American morality. Once I came over these insecurities, I discovered the beautiful sensation of the 90 degree (Celsius, sorry Yankees) sauna and the 0 degree shower. That feeling of ecstasy switching between the extreme temperatures does something miraculous to the body.

I will continue my quest for chickpeas sometime this week. I could easily just ask my missus where to buy some (probably through Taobao, the Chinese Amazon), but there is just something more exciting about making things in life more difficult for the sake of filling up your free time.