The Final Puzzle Piece

We found it!  The last puzzle piece!  If I found out there would never be another Christmas again, I would be okay with it!

Today Josh refused to take a nap (shocker). So, he went to bed early and  long story short, he was woke up at 11:00pm ready to play.

We have been wanting to get out and see what our area looked like at night ever since we got here.  Tawny suggested we take a walk and try to put Josh back to sleep.

Of course as you all know most good ideas revolve around food.

There is a very wonderful meal in China called a 宵夜(xiāoyè).  It's pretty much Taco Bell's 4th meal, China street food style :).  The carts are decked out with gas, long skinny grills, woks, and a nice arrangement of food.  Small folding tables are set out on the sidewalk with little stools to sit on.  There is something so delicious about this simple way to prepare a meal.

Tawny and I were really hoping to find some street food around our apartment.  We walked around quite a bit, but the streets were dead.  The main road that goes in front of our complex is pretty big and there are large pillars where the subway runs above ground in the medium.  For this reason, you cannot really see the other side of the road.  At one point we were walking and I got this smell of Chinese BBQ.  It was brief, but I smelled it.  I stopped walking and looked at Tawny, she had smelled it too.  We looked around but didn't really hear any noise or see any people.  We figured maybe it was coming from a nearby restaurant or someones home.

Anyways, I will ge to the point.  We eventually ended up walking on the other side of the road, mainly because Josh was not asleep yet.  We were just minding our own business when out of no where we looked up and there were 6-7 of these carts full of food, men drinking and eating, guys frying up noodles, and a few people BBQing!!!  It was one the happiest moments I have had since we have been here.  The best part was that it was seriously right across the street from our complex.  Oh so wonderful.

We walked up and back down the street checking out the 3 people cooking noodles.  We picked the guy that looked like he had the best ones (although to be honest, I imagine they all pretty much taste the same).

While Tawny was getting her noodles I went to one of the guys doing some BBQing and got one of my favorite things, a steamed bun, sliced, put on a stick, seasoned, MSGed, and BBQed.  It is so simple, yet so good.

I do not care what anyone says about MSG, there is something about it that makes food better. Mmmm.

Now the next task is to see what time every night these guys start showing up to cook.  We may have to start eating a late lunch so we can have a late dinner!  We really did find the perfect apartment!!!