On Saturday I tasked myself with finding a reliable food source. That meant finding a Carrefour. I deemed it too far and on Sunday found another, higher quality supermarket closer to home. But Carrefour still proved to be a slight treat with their attempts to translate the meaning of certain products in the cereal aisle. If I were to ever create a band, I just might call it "Bird's Nest with Rock Sugar", "Pearl Powder" or "The Essence of Chicken."
I also bought some microwave diners which proved to be bust. That prompted Sunday's quest to find something of higher quality. I called an indirect family friend, Rita, who told me of City Shop and Element Fresh. City Shop is an expat supermarket and there's one not too far (a 15 minute walk). Somehow my feet did not lead me there today; I went to the Grand Gateway in search of Element Fresh and instead discovered Ole (and later went to Element Fresh). Rita told me that Element Fresh was on the ground floor, and, in European understanding, thought that meant the basement and not that the first floor as it is the United States. This is how I discovered Ole, which is a brand new supermarket of Whole Foods similarity (and for that matter, most other mid to high end Western supermarkets). Yes, it is expensive, but it's the only place I've found that has organic milk imported from Australia (which has to be safer than domestic milk...)
I bought this soup mug Saturday night because the apartment lacks any kind of cutlery/plates/bowls, etc. At Ole I bought throw-away plates, plastic cutlery for I think about 10 rmb. At least now I can have a pretty decent breakfast with bread, butter, honey and tea.
Next post will be on People's Square, which I visited Sunday afternoon. I think this experience of finding food has started to turn some gears in my head in regards to efficient urban planning (or how inefficient it can be)...