There are a lot of weird foods in China. Some are things
that have no equivalent in the US. Durian, dragon fruit, dried pig face or
this: avocados with handles.
They look more like maracas left by a mariachi band than something you’d eat.
But then there is food that is weird just because it’s in China.
Take for instance, pasta with pesto sauce.
At this new shopping center near our home, there’s a western
style restaurant called the Cabana. Not
“western” as in a cowboy motif, but “western” as in offering American style
fixins, with forks and knives yet.
The Cabana has everything short of toilets with seats (many
shopping center restaurants don’t have their own restroom facilities).
We were delightfully surprised by Cabana’s lip-licking menu. French Fries, Mini Pizzas, Jimmy Dean style breakfast sausage and even Pasta with Pesto.
The best part was, the prices were insanely cheap.
So we placed our order, the American way, by pointing at the glossy pictures in
the over sized menu.
Within minutes, the food came out of the kitchen.
That’s when I got suspicious.
First off, they didn’t even have time to boil the water for
pasta, let alone, toss in the sauce.
Which lead to my second question: Where in China are they
getting basil for pesto?
Granted, China has a lot of imports, both the faux pas and
the real deal. Cheetos Cheese Puffs. Armor and Hatchet Baking Soda. Tang breakfast drink with a Nestle’s logo.
I bet they get smuggled in on trucks like this:
But fresh basil?
Forget it.
That’s about as rare as an avocado without a handle.
Or Nike shoes without a Nike apparel Tag:You think this is an official Nike store?
Anyway, back to the bootleg food. The entrees at the Cabana must be pre-made, like the
stuff from Olive Garden .
So my next question is, where are there any Olive Gardens in
China?
I don’t know how the pesto pasta got to Kunming and I don’t
want to.
It’s probably from the same guy who gets us the “soon to be released “Hollywood
movies.
Whoever you are who gets the pre-fab pesto pasta into Kunming, China, our taste buds thank you.
September 4th, 2012 at 8:00 am :)