Meat on a stick

Being from Texas, I have realized that I have a desire for meat. Perhaps it was how my mom packed my lunches, which always included a sandwich with some type of deli meat sliced very thing, a small bag of chips, some type of fruit, a bit of dessert, and usually a water or juice or something. My time in Abilene only amplified my desire for meat with its oh-so-wonderful West Texas BBQ (with sauce Noel, not just cooking over a grill). Last night, I went out to eat with Stephen and some friends. Stephen also is a foreigner that lives on the other side of Wuhan. We went to eat at his favorite Chinese BBQ. At this BBQ, they cook over the food over coals. They had a table set out with raw meats (lamb, pork, and beef [beef = water buffalo]), and several vegatibles (potato, green onion, tofu, bread, lotus, and a few more). You pick what you want, and then The Man grills it for you. It isn't BBQ like West Texas BBQ, he uses a type of spicey Chinese dry rub. It was very tasty. That wasn't the best part though. This restaurant is located in the heart of a Chinese walking market. It was something just out of the movies. Smoke filling the street, people on all types of scooters-- 2 stroke, 4 stroke and electric, lots of pedestrians, small vans, human-powered carts, and the most amazing smells you can imagine. Of course it was dirty, of course I ate on a plastic table on the street, of course there was trash in the gutter. It didn't matter, because we were men, eating meat in a Chinese street restuarant.

PS (Noel, you would like Stephen and Kelli. They have been married for 3 years, all but 6 months of it has been in China, and they love being married. It was so good to talk to him last night, and to hear him talk about all the good times they have had together.)