Obamarific!

My friend Tony and I took a daytrip out to the city of Yiwu (义乌), approximately 3 hours away from Shanghai by train. I have fun pictures of the Shanghai South train station and of the Yiwu International Trade City (mega-mall of Chinese suppliers), however I'm dying to post this one picture - Obama pens! Clearly, they are not sanctioned by the Obama administration. Maybe someone wanted to produce a batch as gag gifts, or maybe they sell really well in some developing country, who knows! I had a little chuckle when I saw these, a real gem.

Craving

Sometimes, a good hearty sandwich can really hit the spot. It was one of those days, and we headed to City Deli to enjoy a Reuben (bottom) and Vietnamese sub, the Banh Mi (top). The Reuben was great - bread that was sturdy enough to hold everything together without being tough, soft layers of pastrami, sauerkraut, melted cheese and a sweet thousand island dressing. I believe the original Reuben recipe calls for corned beef, but this variation was just as good. The Banh Mi was not the best Vietnamese sub I've ever had (shout out to New Asia in Richmond, BC!), but this one has character. I liked the combination of pate with the sweet roast pork and it had a good portion of the pickled vegetables. The bursts of spicy from the jalapenos rounded out the sandwich nicely. Craving sated!

Hazy Days