Visitors in Chengdu

It's been a week since MIL's arrival. She came with DH's cousin who also acted as a translator. So far, things have turned out better than expected - they haven't been too shocked culturally and neither have we killed each other :D

In the past week, we've probably exhausted all our usual restaurant haunts (which also goes to show how many we know). Hotpot, Sichuan, Cantonese/Sichuan, Japanese Tonkatsu, American, more Sichuan.... I've even ordered home delivery from the down-to-earth local eatery just round the block which they seemed to like. And to my delight, they have even taken to dumplings (饺子) eaten with vinegar & soy sauce. This is evidenced by them actually buying a pack of frozen dumplings from the corner convenience shop for lunch on their accord!

Nonetheless, a fix of Western food is always a nice reprive. Last night, I made roast beef & roasted vegetables a la Italiano for dinner and judging by the mood & second helpings, it was a welcomed change.

Last Saturday, we decided to do some touristy stuff so we rented a car & driver who took us to the nearest panda facility in Chengdu. Despite a couple of marked enclosures on the map, there was basically only 1 enclosure within the entire park where those adorable bears were found. Sigh. That aside, the pandas were awfully cute. How can anyone think otherwise? Those pear-shaped lumbering frames especially when they are sitting are the epitome of huggable, squeezable cuteness. But what stole our hearts that afternoon were the tiny hapless cubs in the nursery and the dude who lounged in the 'jacuzzi' for ages while silly tourists gawked & clicked pictures.

Today, we went to the WangJiangLou (望江楼) park right across the river from where we stay. We call it the bamboo park because of its clusters of tall, willowy bamboo. [It is DH & minibeanie's fav haunt on weekend mornings, mainly because mummy usually (ok, make it always :D) decides to sleep in on weekends. Usually, DH parks themselves in 1 of the few tea gardens there, have his favourite 竹叶青 green tea and read his book if minibeanie allows it.] Anyway, so all of us went there today, had our teas in a tea garden by the river and altogether had a nice walk even though it got rather sweaty at the end.



minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month & 2 weeks old