Sunday, December 5, 2010

Sometimes, Not Even Food Solves The Problem

The fact is, I am a Scrooge when it comes to money. I don't like buying things. I don't like buying things I don't need, and I don't like paying more than I absolutely need to for the things I do need.

I keep mental lists of all the places in town it's cheapest to buy things. It's cheapest to buy oatmeal at a mom & pop dry goods store. It's cheapest to buy fruit and vegetables at the big wherehouse market on ZhongZheng. It's cheapest to buy dish soap at the 10 NT shop two blocks from school, and it's cheapest to buy meat at the Welcome market any time after 5:00PM, when they mark it down.

I'm a sucker for a bargain, which is why, when something is not a bargain, my reaction is completely adverse. Enter, last night:

James and I went stomping around for the bus for the mountains, which we discovered is located...DUN DUN DUN...on the other side of the train tracks. We had never been to the other side of the tracks before. It was crazy. It was intimidating. It was Vietnamese and Thai?

Apparently, the other side of the tracks is where all of the Southeast Asian immigrants do their thang. (Or their Trang, or Tran, or Nguyen.) We were so excited because as in the Bay Area, immigrants = good food. After a day of romping in the mountains, we picked out a funky looking Thai place and sat down.

Big uh-oh when the menu was opened and the prices were double the prices at our favorite Thai place on the other side of the tracks. And at the place, the waitress is angelically nice, whereas at this one, the man was mildly stand-offish. I asked if we could leave, and we did. Hungry and stranded in Southeast Asia OZ, we doddled up and down the street, not particularly happy. We walked into a Vietnamese restaurant only because we were tired and ready to eat.

The menu was not only in Chinese but in Vietnamese...which is no help because I don't speak Chinese or Vietnamese. 


This is where the night gets funny, I promise. James found something with beef and rice he wanted to eat, so he ordered it. I was stumped and tried to ask the woman "What do you like to eat?" but somehow she had no idea and just pointed at random things on the menu. I nodded when she found something she said was noodles and vegetables and really good. We crossed our fingers.

Still pretty grumpy from the overpriced Thai menu and wandering around in the dark, that's when the Vietnamese karaoke started. Ear shattering, whiney, and incoherent, the six metrosexual Vietnamese guys sitting at the table across from us were loving it. We sat there in shock, unable to talk about how awful this all was.

The food came to the table. One dish was seafood and rice, and the other was celery and something like greyish ramen noodles. The best part: both dishes had been generously sprinkled with giant pieces of organ meat - hearts, livers, etc. Also greyish. Sweet Gods of Dining, WHY?!?

Have you constructed the visual yet? Grubby restaurant with a group of possibly flamboyant, possibly simply attracted to very outlandish hairstyles, males, screaming Vietnamese karaoke, while the miserable white people choke down their livers and celery.

You just have to laugh sometimes.

25 comments:

  1. Hey CPK...

    Glad to hear your peering across the "tracks" - sometimes the best place for adventure. What doesn't kill us only makes us stonger (organ meats!) and good material for another chapter of "The Frugal Famished Traveler" guidebook under your belt. I'll start working on the cover layout and keep a travelouge on our upcoming Euro adventure - maybe chapter 6? "Half Price Christmas Crackers For Three"!

    James - thanks for being such a food sport. Caitlin - love you baby girl.

    dad

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  2. I don't like spending money on what I don't need to. Just get Ms.Kenney to send you lots of money so you don't need to buy cheap oatmeal. :]

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  3. I don't like to spend money on what I don't need too. Because I need to save money to buy something a want.

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  4. I had to watch "A Christmas Carol" this week, this is a good play to watch I love it. Scrooge is really greedy but he is cool.

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  5. I like how you remember where to get everything at its cheapest. Finding stuff at its cheapest is a good way to save money.

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  6. Its good that you have a list of where the best places are to shop. You save a lot of money, that's great

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  7. I like how you like to save money and that you don't spend money on what you don't need. The Vietnamese restaurant you went sounded horrible, which sucks. You find a restaurant that sells "pho", which in an inexpensive rice noddle soup that is very good.

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  8. That does not sound like your ideal night and i don't think that is how you wanted it to be. Eating livers and hearts of animals does not sound appealing at all. And as for the guys singing karaoke for me that probably would have been very entertaining. I love reading your blogs and I can't wait for the next one!
    -9th grade student

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  9. Omigod, that sounds so hilarious! I'm sorry, but that visual almost made me burst in the middle of class - of course I kept my calm. All I can picture now are gray organs. I've actually had grayish noodles and I must say, you shouldn't knock it till you try it. It's pretty yummy. Laugh out loud. Well that sounds like a horrific night and I hope you have a better one. But, really that is hilarious. Horrid singers and weird food, sounds like a normal night in my house! Haha.
    -9th grade Student

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  10. I don't know about you, but I grew up with organ meat <3. Just kidding.

    "but somehow she had no idea and just pointed at random things on the menu."
    I do that too! When I don't know what I want to get from China Town!

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  11. Is good to save a lot of money, I did it too, hope you can save more money that i have been save.

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  12. It may be Christmas saying its time to be less of a scrooge about it and be more enthusiastic of it or it may attempt to smite you again.

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  13. Well saving money is a great way to live and also looking for bargains is what i would do too. I also believe that i have never had organs in my food because I'm Vietnamese so I never tried it before. Hope you survive that day and will post what other eventful days you have.

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  14. I can't believe that the waiter was saying the organ meat was good!! I don't think I would try the organ meats with gray noodles. Well it's a good thing that you know where the cheap stuffs are. Sometimes stores/shops charge you more for what you can buy for less.

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  15. Hey im in your moms class.Its nice how you save money it actually does help for other goods that you might need. I try to save money sometimes but it just doesn't work. well it was nice reading your blog.

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  16. Hi, I am Eric from your moms 5th period computer class. I like how you to save money I would like to do that but I am always spending my money on clothes and shoes. when you don't spend money on what you don't need is cool but I personally spend money on a lot of stuff I don't need. anyways I think you should post more stuff

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  17. Hi, I'm Stephanie from your Mom's 6th period class. I can relate to how you like to save money because my parents are the same way, haha. They know exactly where to get their greens, their pastry and everything else. I love your sense of humor, though, haha~ (especially the thang/Trang/Tran/Nguyen thing, I lol'd :D) I also love how you describe stuff in a really humorous way, like the six metrosexual guys, haha. Anyways, I'm sorry for the off experience, I do hope you find a better place for dinner next time. D:

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  18. I find this blog so interesting. I found the beginning rather entertaining. I'm a senior and I find myself spending money on the most unnecessary, unessential items, it drives my family mad. I'm sorry you ended up not having the best experience but , trying new things is what's important. I hope to be able to travel one day just like you. Take care!

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  19. Hi,I'm Vicki from your mom's 6th period class. I thought that this blog was pretty interesting because I like to save money too so I understand how you feel. I hope you find a better place to eat next time. =)

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  20. I am in your mother's 6th period class, and I find your sense of thriftiness inside myself, as that can be very beneficiary. Yummy, organ meat, oughta try some of that sometime. Great luck with your adventures, and hope to travel someday.

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  21. Hi, I'm Kim from your mom's 2nd period class. I honestly love almost all the Vietnamese food, but the restaurant you mentioned sounds horrible. I think keep on saving money is a pretty good idea, we should tell others that too because people usually buy stuff that sale, but the next day they realize that they don't need it anymore. It is like whenever they see something in bargain, they should ask themselves whether it is necessary or not before they decide to go to the cashier.

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  22. Hi, I am Kyna from your mom's 3rd period class. I think that you are good at saving money. Also, I love eating Vietnamese food but I think that that place you went to is trying to rip you off. Have fun eating and saving money.

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  23. Organ meat, I would have opted for some chicken noodle soup. Maybe it would have been helpful to pack a lunch/ dinner instead of going to random restaurants. If I had to choose between the gray noodles or starving, I would have just eaten the noodles sprinkled with huge peaces of organ meat.
    Harrison

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