Entry #6 - Sunday pt. deux

In we strolled to the restaurant (I didn't get the name) and they first wanted to seat us on the first floor. Some discussions ensued, and we then proceeded upstairs. The upstairs was a bit nicer with a large waiting staff dressed in navy blue flight-attendant style outfits - really cool. More negotiations as we moved to progressively better seating until we were next to the 4 deluxe window tables (that nobody seemed to be able to sit at). Frank and Cindy navigated the menu and on our suggestion picked out their favorite dishes. Some attendants soon brought us out each a steel bowel over a flame with water and some various seasonings in it. We were told that normally, you would just get one big hot bowl, but Frank said that he wasn't 100% and thought separate ones would be best. As the bowls slowly came to a bowl, the army of workers brought us out many different plates. First a large "greens" plate of spinach, lettuce, and other greens. You pick those up (w/ chopsticks of course) and put them in your bowl to cook. After a 30-second wait, they are ready and you retrieve (using chopsticks) and dip in a fish paste. It was tasty, but Mike and I both went sparingly on the paste for our dipping. Other plates soon followed - prawns, lamb, Chinese dumplings, and a gooey glob of what we were told were small shrimp. Each item was delicious and Mike and I each raved about how nice it is to have fresh EVERYTHING - I will really miss that when I return home. A Chief then came by and delicately, but swiftly, carved up a specialty - Peking Duck. It was fantastic. Later we had a soup and finally, a pineapple-coconut ice cream bar. What a lunch. Again, I ended up eating way too much as was relatively uncomfortable for the next couple of hours.
During dinner, Frank received a call that his one-year-old daughter wasn't feeling well, so he left to go home after our lunch. Cindy would be taking us shopping (which as it turns out is one of her favorite pastimes - go figure). The shopping center was close to the restaurant (and walking distance from our hotel). We first entered a large "Boston Store" style store - very western like with the standard makeup and perfume area greeting it's guests. There were many floors to this store where I could picture Lisa shopping for days - little did I know this was to be the tip of the shopping iceberg.
It stands to reason that if the computer store was enormous, then surely the shopping area for clothing/etc. would be equally large. It was - really large. We entered this area by going down escalators similar to the computer store, but this time, at the bottom, we were confronted by a dizzying maze of hallways with little shops on either side. Cindy told us she got lost the first time there and had to phone a friend for help - we chuckled, but soon realized why - the shopping area had to go on for miles(!) in every direction and Mike and I were at the mercy of Cindy. If we would have become separated, we would have still been lost when our flight leaves in a week (that isn't an exaggeration). The air down there was a bit stale with occasional area of food courts with a strong fried smell permeating ones nose. The mass of customers was relentless as we progressed deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of endless stores. We eventually exited, and after a brief stop in a sporting goods store (Mike forgot shorts - and we were invited to play Basketball on Tuesday night) we called it a day. One quick side note here. I needed to use the restroom in the sporting goods store (which was like a smaller Nike-town). The worker walked me to a back room where a couple of stalls were evident. Out walked a lady from one, and then I went in... I had read about these public toilets, but had yet to experience one. It was a small tiled area (4x4) with a porcelin center area the size of a toilet bowl. But the bowl, was recessed into the floor! There was also a small hose to wash down the area when you were done - kinda weird. Anyhow, just had to document that experience. Cindy stayed to no doubt shop some more, but Mike and I staggered back to the hotel passing a KFC, and a McDonalds (no I didn't stop... this time). Mike and I called it a day around 3:45pm and that was the last I saw him until breakfast at 7:20 this (Monday) morning. I took a nap until around 7pm, watched Shanghai Noon (one of my favorites), and ordered rooms service - California Burger and a Cheesecake. Both were delicious, but I should have trusted my stomach and stopped half way through. I made it until 9:30pm and fell asleep for the night.