Thursday, July 30, 2009

Sandwiching Fortunes

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A couple of weeks ago, I was running a few errands before the monthly meeting of my local SF club. One of the last things I did on my way was to swing by China #1 to get some lunch.

I ordered one of the lunch specials, mainly because it was lunchtime, and it was the best value. This time, I ordered the shrimp egg fu yung.

When I got home, I decided to do a little experimentation. I grabbed a couple of slices of bread, and used one of the pieces of egg fu yung to make a St. Paul sandwich. I didn't add anything else at the time -- just the bread and the egg fu yung. I just wanted to get an idea a general idea of this sandwich.

Interesting concept, really. I'll have to keep this in mind the next time I order egg fu yung. I may have to get a little creative with what else to put in the sandwich.

My friend Linda had told me that China #1 was the place where she had acquired all of the fortune cookies that she had given me. I could see what she meant when I got home. When I opened the bag, I found three fortune cookies inside. Now, she may have needed only one fortune cookie per meal, but I don't mind if I get more than one.

Originally, I was going to write about this the following day. But I placed the fortune cookies where I would easily find them -- and, of course, I quickly and promptly managed to misplace them. It wasn't until earlier today that I rediscovered where I had placed them. And now, here are those fortunes:

"With integrity and consistency -- your credits are piling up."
"You display the wonderful traits of charm and courtesy."
"You have an important new business development shaping up."

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Wok Around The Clock

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Yesterday, I found myself in the mood for Chinese for dinner, and near a restaurant I hadn't tried before. The restaurant in question is King Wok, which is in St. Matthews. It's a little off the beaten path for me; I only discovered it a few months ago after The Zone moved to the same shopping center.

Well, I went by The Zone yesterday looking for a couple of comics. I realized that it would probably be a good idea to eat before I went to work, as opposed to trying to eat in between customers. (It turned out to be a smart choice.) I had been meaning to give King Wok a try, and I decided that now would be as good a time as any.

I went with my fallback -- a shrimp lo mein combination platter. As I think I've mentioned once or twice, you would have to really try to screw up shrimp lo mein.

They didn't screw it up. Plenty of shrimp. The combination platter came with fried rice and an egg roll. The fried rice had a little more onion in it than I prefer, but it was tolerable.

When I first looked, I didn't have a fortune cookie. I was eating at the restaurant, so I went back to the counter. When I asked the guy at the counter for a fortune cookie, he gave me two. Here is what the fortunes inside those cookies said:

"Go for the gold today! You'll be the champion of whatever."
"No job is so simple that it cannot be done wrong."

Hmmm . . . that first fortune sounds tailor made for John Scalzi.

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Overstuffed

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I went to #1 Asian Buffet in Mid-City Mall for dinner earlier this evening. I hadn't been there since I started this particular online journal last year. I think tonight's dinner may be a reminder why I haven't been there in so long.

I feel overstuffed. Uncomfortably so, as a matter of fact.

I don't think I ate more than I normally do at any Chinese buffet. But instead of that comfortable, satisfied feeling I usually have, right now it feels like I have a large lump of spent uranium in my stomach.

Oh, well, it will go away soon enough. And I did get a fortune cookie, with the following fortune:

"Spirit guides accompany you."

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Saturday, July 18, 2009

Shrimp On The Run

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Yesterday, I made a quick stop by China 1. My stomach made that annoying gurgle and rumble that told me that it needed something right now, irrespective of what my plans for later dining might be.

I was in the mood for a light snack more than anything else, so I got a small order of shrimp lo mein. Something that would be quick and filling for at least a little while. And it did the trick.

Of course, packed along with the noodles and shrimp was a fortune cookie. Here's what the fortune said:

"It is very good karma to practice random acts of kindness."

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Million Dollar Fortune?

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I turned on the TV this morning, and I happened to catch part of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. I caught it just as a new contestant came on, and I wanted to see how well he would do, so I kept watching.

At one point, Meredith Viera was interviewing the contestant, and he mentioned that after he got the call from Millionaire that he was a contestant, he and some friends went to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate. And according to the contestant, this is what his fortune cookie said:

"You are going to come into a large sum of money."

Now, this makes for a good story, but part of me has to wonder if this guy was stretching the truth just a little. That's almost too big a coincidence. On the other hand, he is going to get at least a decent sum of money. When this particular episode ended, he had just answered (correctly) his 10th question, which guarantees him at least $25,000.

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Twice As Nice

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You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything for a little over a week. There is a simple reason for this. I have been going a variety of different places to grab lunch for work. I have been on something of a burrito kick recently. They have the advantage of being self-contained and (usually) not that messy, but Qdoba and Taco Bell don't give out fortune cookies.

Yesterday, though, I was near China 1 when I thought about getting something for lunch. It was early afternoon, and I ordered one of the lunch specials, shrimp with lobster sauce. I also got to work early enough where I could eat before clocking in. The food definitely tastes better when it's hot.

Lunch came with fried rice, and for once it wasn't overly oniony. Definite plus there.

I'm not quite sure what lobster sauce is, but it was pleasant. There were plenty of shrimp, along with peas and chunks of carrots. I usually mix whatever sauce remains after eating the entree with the rice, but this time, it seemed to be easier to do the blending beforehand, and eat everything together.

I also had a slight surprise at the end of the meal. I found two fortune cookies in with my meal. Here is what the fortunes said:

"There is no glory unless you put yourself on the line."
"You will soon take a very pleasant and successful trip."

That first one sounds like a fancier version of "No guts, no glory," doesn't it?

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