She can't have the liver

I would like to take a moment to announce that I am now the very, very proud owner of a brand spankin' new, red and white bicycle. 

And she is loverly. 

Complete with a black basket, and a lovely little back, rack-thing that's designed to have things strapped to it. 

I am in love. 

And, perhaps most importantly, my once thirty minute commute is now a trifling ten minutes. I now have time in the morning for a leisurely cup of coffee, instead of being reduced to it gulping down. 

I could, if whimsy struck me, stop off on the corner for a bit of friend breakfast bread. (Not that that's something that sounds particularly appealing to me, mind you) Or even, if I decided, stop off at 7/11 and procure some sushi. Which is something that my coworkers do weekly, but I've never had the time for; 7/11 being on the opposite side of a rather busy intersection. 

We have Super Husband to thank for this revelation in speed and beauty. 

As our second anniversary is nearing he decided (after much hint dropping, and a bit of outright telling him that I wanted a bike) to surprise me with my very own Giant. 

Isn't he just marvelous? 

Yes. Yes, he is. 

I have gotten many a compliment already, and I've only had it for four days. 

But on to other things... things like:

We decided, on Friday evening, to try a restaurant that we had walked past a few times, but never ventured into. They have chuan'r, and what looks like naan grilling to one side, and lovely golden wallpaper all around the restaurant.

The owners, and waitstaff, are not Chinese, but I'm not sure exactly where they're from. 

The menu sports mostly Chinese dishes, but with a slightly Middle Eastern twist. 

My assumption is that they're from Kazakhstan, because there is a large Kazakh population here in Beijing. 

So, we went in, and proceeded to scour the menu. We chose foods mostly at random, playing Chinese Roulette, and were pleasantly surprised. The cucumber remains one of my absolute favorites, in a slightly tangy sauce, it's really, very good. As was the meat and fried bread pieces in a basket. I thought when ordering that they were hunks of potatoes, but the seasoned bread was even better than any potato.

We did, however, heed the recommendation of the man grilling the chuan'r and order the lamb kidney. He pointed it out especially to Super Husband, and did a thumbs up. So we ordered it, along with a naan, and some other meaty selections.  

When our kebabs arrived the man put the kidneys on Super Husband's plate, and said, in no uncertain terms, although not in English or Chinese, that I was not to be allowed to partake of that particular choice meat. 

No skin off my back, as I wasn't exactly clamoring for the chance to eat kidney. But it was a little strange. I've done some research, but we're still not exactly sure if it was some slightly sexist insistence that the best piece of meat go to the man, or if there are some purported health risks associated with the consumption of kidney meat. Either way, Super Husband ate, and very much enjoyed the kidney on a stick. 

Yesterday, Sunday, we hopped on Line 10 and headed down to the Canadian International School for their Christmas Bazaar. 

I have to say, I was underwhelmed. Maybe I was spoiled by the bazaars we used to have in Jakarta, but this was, while well thought out, not worth the 10rmb required at the entrance. 

Sporting not even 50 booths and watery hot chocolate, well, I was disappointed.

We did however find the Bread of Life Bakery, 100% of whose profits go to charity, and purchase a pecan pie from them. 

We haven't sampled said pie yet, but it looks good. My only complaint would be a lack of sufficient pecans. But this is Beijing, after all, and as I hadn't seen a single pecan previous to the ones gracing this pie, well, beggars can't be choosers. 

And on that note, I'm going to beg off, and buy myself a coffee at the corner shop.

Happy Monday, all.