Dispatches From China: Casa Sweet Casa y Fideo Chino

By Hector Flores @chicanochino, NewsTaco

It has been nearly 3 full weeks since my arrival to the Middle Kingdom (as the Chinese refer to their country) and I feel completely settled in and accustomed to my surrounding community. Apartment? Check. Transport to and from work? Check. Iron to make sure I look crisp and clean. Got that too!

Apartment hunting was not something I was looking forward to since my last experience in Qingdao left me with a 4 bedroom monstrosity that cost nearly as much to maintain it as it did to rent it. This time around, I was paired with a new teacher to China and we decided to rent something small, clean and close to our school. We found a comfortable 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment overlooking a busy river complete with nice walking paths and loads of greenery. (See pictures)

Our neighborhood is essentially a bedroom community to the congested megalopolis of Guangzhou and has the elderly vibe of Boca Vista, Florida, sans the Seinfelds and Constanzas. Instead, we have the Lee and Yang familias. Loads of families have settled here, bringing along grandparents to help raise their children. Needless to say, the community is up early and lights go out when the sun goes down. Nothing like partying till the break of…7:30pm.

A jazzy couple from California are renting a nearby flat and are about as adventurous they come. Becky and Neal go on long walks through our neighborhood aiming to get lost, stumble upon new a restaurant or enticing street food vendor. On a recent urban hike, we decided to eat at the ubiquitous Muslim noodles restaurants located throughout Chinese cities, lan zhou la mian which literally translates into Lanzhou pulled noodles. Yes folks, these are freshly pulled noodles, yanked and cajoled into shape upon ordering.

Ordering at Lanzhou Pulled Noodles is simple, they have a picture menu. This fast food may beat McDonalds, not only at a speedy delivery but also nutritionally since your food is always made to order. Point at a dish and 2 minutes later. Bam. Served. Take that Golden Arches!

While there are KFC, McDonalds and a variety of other American or western places to eat, nothing beats getting to know China and the culture better than sitting down with the locals and eating as they do. As my new friend Neal commented recently while happily digging into a heaping bowl of fresh noodles, “The Italians don’t know noodles, THESE are noodles!”

Next update: haggling, bartering and street vendors

Hector Flores is a writer, producer and entrepreneur finding his way through the modern maze that is China. After reading Rudolfo Anaya’s travel memoir “A Chicano in China”, he was inspired to blog, tweet and post on his own adventures as a curious chicano in China. Mr. Flores blogs and posts at www.chicanochino.com, tweets @chicanochino and can be reached at chicanochino@live.com.