Coffee House And Restaurant

Today we were out most of the day shopping and dining. First, we went to Walmart to pick up a few items – mostly juices and soymilk for the kids. For lunch we went to a restaurant that specializes in Chinese flatbreads – all delicious. Then we met up with four of Kenton’s classmates from high school at a coffee café. This was a very nice place – each sitting area had a table, one or two sofas, and chairs. As seems to be our usual, we got a private room. Our room had a window for one side, and a table which over half the seating was long sectional sofa. The coffee was expensive – 200 yuan for a small pot (over $27 for a little bit more than what would be served in Starbucks’ largest cup). We were treated by one of Kenton’s classmate, a guy who went to Russia for six years to study – more about him later. Fruit juices were ordered for me. My favorite was called the phoenix something or other. It was made with crushed exotic fruits. I had two of those. The kids had a blend of strawberry and lemon juices. They also had two huge servings of French fries. A plate of fresh cut fruit, along with different nuts and dried fruits were also served. This café/restaurant was opened by a Taiwanese person. I was very impressed with the place.

Right after we finished at the coffee place, Kenton’s classmate who studied in Russia wanted to treat us to an early dinner. He took us to the finest restaurant that I had seen yet in China. We were greeted at the door by three beautiful women dressed in gorgeous red ‘qi paos’ (traditional Chinese dresses). Then we took an all glass elevator to get to our private room. The room was huge, again with a large circular table. There was a sofa and glass coffee table at one end, and a large flatscreen television at the other end. The third wall was glass windows. Our room had a private bathroom – the floors and walls were marble, along with the countertop. There was also a room where the waitresses waited to serve us. These waitresses were wearing white ‘qi paos,’ made with regular silk, while the ones at the front door had fancy embroidery on theirs. Way too much food was ordered, considering there were only five adults and three kids who had their fill of French fries earlier. They say that the person who opened this restaurant is a known mafia person. Whoever he is, he definitely knows how to create an exceptional dining experience. We were there for almost three hours.

A bit on Kenton’s classmate. After high school, this classmate’s parents sent him to study in Russia. He learned the language and even tried to do a bit of business while he was a student. Apparently, students are not allowed to do business there. He was put in jail overnight on three different occasions. He said that each time while in jail, the Russian police made him take off all his clothes. Apparently this was in order to humiliate him. After six years in Russia, he returned to China and started one successful business after another. No one knows how wealthy he is, but just last week he bought the rights to use 1000 acres of land, which in US dollars cost about $1.8 million. Here in China, to do business, you can buy the rights to land (rent) for around 30 years. After that time, whatever buildings and technology is on the property goes to the government. It really is amazing at how fast new housing, factories, and offices are being built around here.

The boys: The boys enjoyed both the coffee place and fancy restaurant. Each time, they had a comfortable place to sprawl out on and rest. They also were able to play computer games, and even watch a kids cartoon channel on TV. At Walmart, Kevin got a second Transformers toy, and Justin got a set of 12 small racing cars. It was a long day for them, and they were out by the time we returned home.