Mexican Night... China Style

It was Mexican night tonight @ the Johnson’s in China. To make tacos in China takes lots of planning… let me walk you through the process:

Our taco prep for this week started last week when I happened on avocados at METRO the German stock-up store. Avocados, which are usually grown in Mexico (consider the carbon footprint on those babies!!) are found in one of two places in Qingdao: Metro, where, when they carry them, they come four to a shrink wrapped pack, cost about a dollar each, and are green and hard and take at least a week to ripen. The second location is the International Shoppe in the complex just west of us, where the clever tai tai who is the proprietor has cornered the market on the Western shopper. In her small shop she stocks everything from cheese filled hotdogs from the USA, to Wheatabix from the UK to the dreaded marmite from down under. She also has a nice selection of organic veggies, which is where the elusive avocado may make an appearance. Hers are priced at 15 Yuan, which makes them a little over two dollars apiece. She also routinely stocks Old El Paso tortilla wraps ($6 USD for 8 wraps, thank you very much!)

Then, it’s off to the Japanese meat market for a pound of ground beef 28.8 yuan/500 grams. Pricier than meat sold elsewhere, but sold in a much cleaner environment, with music playing quietly overhead and helpful clerks in crisp white aprons. The clear glass windows leading the back of the meat market are reassuring; as the visible meat processing area is suitably clean… a far cry from other supermarket experiences. There, I must sort through pig trotter and chicken necks before coming upon the ground red meats. All the while, I am using my small cart for leverage as I vie first for a place in line, and then ignore the funny looks I get when I order in halting Chinese. There is often a rhythmic thudding and simultaneous splattering sound, as, on this side of the glass, a lad from the meat counter in a blood splattered apron chops large cuts of meat into smaller portions.

By yesterday, my avocados from Metro had finally matured. I must note that Sean was not originally a fan of guacamole. For him, avocados used to rank up there with other weird foods I like. (Blue cheese and hummus come to mind.) But over the course of our eleven years as Mr. and Mrs., he has bravely branched out… his most recent foray into a love for good guacamole. For our Rockin’ Guacamole, we have relied faithfully on our friend Mrs. Betty Crocker, whose simple red cookbook has been with us from the start (as her splattered and stained pages signify.)

Our Rockin’ Guac is a great compliment to soft shelled tacos, but really goes best with tortilla chips, which are, as you guessed, also hard to find, and expensive when they are found. I decided to bypass the International Shoppe tai tai (she, had, after all gotten our money on her overpriced tortillas) opting instead for the small Mexican restaurant in Tai Dong a section in the older part of the city.

Bea and I, armed with my newly acquired bus pass, jumped the #232 to Tai Dong at the bus stop just outside the gate to our complex. We live near the start of the route, and had our pick of seats. 50 minutes later, when we arrived in Tai Dong (a ride that takes about 20 minutes in our private vehicle) it was crowded with many people standing in the aisle and stair well of the bus.

We shared a nice lunch at the Mexican joint, which, I must also add, had some of the cleanest restrooms in Qingdao. I know we seem to mentioned toilets a lot in our correspondence, but with a recently potty-trained pre-schooler, we make many trips into toilets around town, and most of them aren’t very pretty (nor do they smell nice.) I will stop there and not elaborate… although I could. So, the toilets (which are actually squatties) at the Mexican restaurant are a bizarre highlight for me as we happen on a nice restroom so infrequently!

We purchased a big bag of their tortilla chips to go, along with a huge dollop of their homemade fresh salsa and found ourselves nearly ready for our taco extravaganza. Fortunately, most of the other taco essentials: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, and olives are relatively easy to come by. The taco seasoning pack is one of many I brought back in my suitcase on our recent trip to the States.

At 5:30, around the time Sean is usually arriving home, he called to say he was still at his desk, but soon on his way.

Undeterred I gleefully shouted, “Its taco night!”

“Okay…” he said, not quite sharing my enthusiasm.

I encouraged him to stop by K-mart (the not-so-creative name of the Korean mart) to grab a cold Corona out of their refrigerated section. (Two potential tangents: First, you can actually buy an individual bottle of beer here. Second, an American, buying Mexican beer, at a Korean shop in China.)

With extra time, I decided to unite the troops.

“We’re having a Taco Night party!” I informed the girls.

“Yeah!!!” they shouted, and the wheels began to spin in their little blond heads.

“Let’s shut off all the lights and surprise Daddy!”

“Let’s light candles!”

“Music!” I exclaimed…. And ran to the computer to complete a play list… Jimmy Buffet, James Taylor’s “Mexico,” some Dora the Explorer songs in Spanish (which Eliza later told me to eighty-six because, she said, they were for little kids.)

When Sean arrived home the room was dark, except for the flicker of candlelight. The sounds of a mariachi band playing Mexican Hat Dance were blaring from the small desktop speakers.
The girls and I burst out of the playroom.

“Surprise!!” the four of us yelled. And, to his credit, Sean got it. (The poor guy is never perhaps sure what his crazy wife and playful daughters might be up to next.)

“Taco Night,” he exclaimed and joined the frenzy in the kitchen. The girls sipped Kid Rita’s-- Juice in sugar rimmed martini glasses. (Mango, apple and grape juice for Millie, Eliza and Bea respectively.) Mom joined them with a shaken libation of her own, and Sean asked for more guacamole and washed it down with a cold Cerveza. When we had had our fill of taco, salsa and chips the party moved back to the living room where the girls had a dance party… culminating with a rousing rendition of “Tequila!”

That’s our Mexican night… China style!