The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
May 6 - A Brew (Or Two) at the Barossa Bar
On the third floor of the Chenghuang Pagoda we found what looked like a fully-equipped restaurant -- totally shut down. This could be a great location (historic building, killer view) ... and a really poor one (limited market, difficult access). Do you think this is the restaurant the sign was referring to ...?s
By the time we left the temple area, we were tired, hot and seriously in need of a frosty beverage. Finding a cool place to accomplish this is not always easy, but we found a shady cafe by the lake and settled in to relax, watch the people and wait for the sun to set. Very civilized.
Well, OK ... maybe just one beer. Of course a) they were 1250ml each -- essentially small pitchers and b) it was buy two, get one free! (For the metrically-challenged, 1250ml equals about three and a half 12-oz. cans). At least they kept us fully-stocked with peanuts!
In what seems to be a contradiction, Chinese dining rooms are brightly lit, almost to the threshhold of pain while the lighting level in Chinese kitchens would seem to promote eye strain for being so dim. The explanation for the dining room glare is "So people can see that they are clean" which makes the kitchen lighting even more inexplicable. The red sign was over the urinal.
© 2008 Restaurant Doctor
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