Dinner with some Good Friends

Not much has happened over the past few weeks.  I have been busy with my classes by preparing presentations, studying for midterms and other tests.  The other night some of our friends from our classes wanted to experience some of the food that we make in America and in return, they would cook some traditional Chinese food.  We had originally planned to make a type of pasta dish, however, when we went to the market off campus they didn't have the same type of pasta that we have in America.  So we had to improvise and came up with different breakfast foods.  I had decided to make them some french toast because of the limited resources we had at the market and in the small kitchen we have in our dormitory.  

The girls started cooking for us first because it took longer to prepare.  They cooked us a version of scrambled eggs with garlic and soy sauce, sauteed onions with pork in orange sauce, and beef with garlic and onions.  They also prepped some chicken wings and set them aside for later.  Once they were done it was my turn to cook.  I know french toast isn't exactly a traditional food in America but they have never had it.  I told them it was very easy and showed them how to cook the french toast.  The market didn't have any syrup or anything so it was just plain, however they enjoyed it.  One of the girls, Monica, liked it so much she made it when she went to downtown for the weekend and poured honey on it instead of syrup.

Other friends started showing up and brought even more food.  They went down to the local shops and picked up some fried rice and some BBQ things like chicken satay, fried fish balls, and chinese sausage.  After I had cooked the french toast, Rich Lutter made some egg and sausage breakfast sandwiches that were also very delicious.  

We were all very full from our other dishes but then the girls started to cook the chicken wings.  It took a little while so it gave us a chance to digest our food.  The chicken wings were marinating in garlic and soy sauce and then cooked with Coke.  I was a little skeptical with the Coke-flavored chicken but it turned out to be pretty good.  It was a little too sweep for my liking but everyone else enjoyed it.  After we ate all the food, we just sat and talked about the differences in cultures, things to do while in China, and various other subjects.  It was a very entertaining night for everyone and we are planning on having an actual BBQ once the weather gets nicer.