Well, last night, due to extreme laziness and general disinterest in cooking, Chrystin and I attempted to have Chinese food in España.
Pros:
- free delivery!
- that whole not having to cook thing. Plus, capitalizing on our epic laziness, we opted for the plastic plates and forks. I think that really makes the para llevar (take-out) experience, right?
- In theory, the menu is the same as an American Chinese food menu. For example, they have “rollos de primavera”- spring rolls! Also, recognizable were won-tons, various chicken and pork dishes, noodles, etc...
Cons:
- Remember how I dropped that “In theory” into the pro’s column... well, guess what? As always in Spain, you never quite know what’s gonna end up on your plate. So, “arroz frito,” aka fried rice, implies that the rice will, in fact, be fried. Sadly, this is not the case here. Instead, we had some steamed rice. Maybe when they were writing the menu they just weren’t sure of the word for “steamed,” because I sure as hell don’t know it.
- The won-tons were, in actuality, just some of that Indian bread, naan, that was deep-fried. Sometimes, small treats, such as meat or some kind of vegetables, were hidden inside. I don’t actually want to think about the sorpresas de carne (meat surprises, hahahha).
So is this what its like for a Chinese person to be living in America? Seeing a sign for the Jade Pacific and getting excited for some traditional Chinese food and then... let-down?
Wait... if I’m used to Americanized Chinese food.... do you think that maybe I ate authentic straight-off-the-boat-from-China-but-in-Spain Chinese food last night and I am just unused to such authenticity? Also, what do you think those meat surprises were? I've seen how they treat their mascotas (pets) here, and that thought is scaring me a little.
Either way, when I go to a Chinese restaurant in Spain, I’m totally ordering a scorpion bowl.
