Lunch at Tai’an City 泰安

After one an a half hours of walking down the central staircase at Mount Tai, my knees were beginning to hurt, probably as a result of the continuous pounding it receives from this particular hike. I would have thought that going down would have been a piece of cake but it was not as easy as i though it would be. I tend to walk a lot in China and this trip seems to be another one of those. At the midpoint, you have a choice of either going down the stairs or taking the bus back down. I needed to meet my friend of one last lunch before I leave Tai’an City.

I didn’t know where were were having lunch so I just head straight for my hostel. As it turns out, I needed to get off at some school past the McDonald’s but apparently I missed it as the bus was already heading for Dai Temple. The funny thing is, my friend was expecting that I would be on the bus going the other direction. After that misunderstanding was cleared up, I got back on the same bus going the opposite direction and got off at the correct stop. It was difficult because the road was under construction so I won’t be able to tell which bus stop I was at.

Finally, food, my friend ordered beforehand since restaurants here close promptly after peak hours, which is good, since I was already hungry from all that walking. This meal is a branch of Shandong cuisine focusing on seafood. My friend order fried sole, pork with sea snail, egg soup and some kind of veggie dish. The veggie dish was nice, though I can’t really remember what it was made of. The pork with sea snail felt like one of those Cantonese dishes in Asian Chinese restaurants. Fried sole reminded me of home since my mom cooks that every now and then and I love it.

It was my last time to see my friend and I don’t know if she will be heading off somewhere else. I deeply appreciate her taking the time to show me around, at least around Dai Temple. Free meals are always appreciated.

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