Shanghai is a transient place in many ways. People come and go more often than you'd think, with short-term positions, internships, holidays, and the recent financial woes of the world. So it's not uncommon to have to say goodbye to friends as they move away, and mentally prepare to do the inevitable making new friends later.
The last couple of nights have been dedicated to saying goodbye to a friend who is moving to Taiwan (one of the major reasons he's leaving is actually the state of the internet here, which is tragic for us in many ways), as well as some "bonus" money that I received (but more on that later). He kindly offered up anything in his kitchen that we wanted to take away. I was mentally going through things I might need, when I suddenly said... "Wait, do you have a rice cooker?"This was met on all sides by horrified exclamations of "You don't have a rice cooker?!" "What kind of Asian are you?!" (Okay, that second one might be something I would have said had I been the exclaimer.) And, it's true. We've never had one in my apartment, mostly because my flatmates aren't Chinese and don't really cook rice (if they cook at all). It was a noticeable omission when I arrived, but, to be honest, I've been cooking pretty good rice on stovetops for so long now that I never got around to to investing in one (transient lifestyles don't really allow for carrying a rice cooker in your backpack - although it has been done). So last night after dinner I went over to my friend's place, and came out with the culinary haul you see here. A rice cooker! A set of steamers! A freakin' spatula! I didn't even need a blender, but this one is an upgrade. Sweet. I will miss my friend, but I always appreciate free stuff. Especially small appliances.
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