WARNING!!! ...Fluff Topic!!

I don't cook Humus.  That's for beginners.  I'll start pickling lemons now for chicken with lemon and olives.  Only need about 100 spices that aren't available here.  Oh, yeah, the Xi'an shopping trip. 

Then I'll commence with preparing the eggplant for "Sultan's Delight", the lentils for Ladies thigh köfte and prepare the cig borek. Not to mention the marinade for the lamb to make Iskender kebab...

I'll start stocking up for the great China bake-off.

Great pie Eric.  I can almost remeber what they tase like, What can you do with chocolate?

I'll start stocking up for the great China bake-off.

Great pie Eric.  I can almost remeber what they tase like, What can you do with chocolate?

Hopefully, and I am sacrificing dustbunnies to Mithras to ensure this, I should be able to take the two-week train China bonanza trip in November. Wo zhi dao, China is horribly cold at that time but I don't care.
Acjade, I am one of those lucky chaps who can make anything, as long as I have the proper ingredients and recipe. I can do whatever you would like me to do with chocolate.

Moroccan "pickled lemons" are not pickled in vinegar, they're pickled with salt.  No heat involved, just time and acid.  But it is really good.  I also make Chick-pea soup, bistella which is savory pie with chicken, eggs and almonds, etc.  He'll never win.

Yeah, well, we'll see how it stands up against stuffed köfte and dolma...you haven't got a chance...

While lovely, in my part of the world that would qualify as a "tart".

You are talking about the pie, right?

Well, ETR is a bit ascerbic, but I don't have first hand knowledge of his social calendar, so I'll have to go with dessert.   

Well, ETR is a bit ascerbic, but I don't have first hand knowledge of his social calendar, so I'll have to go with dessert.   

No, I am sweet as cotton candy. But I do think it was pie, not the other thing that was meant.

I can do whatever you would like me to do with chocolate.

Sounds intriguing.   

I want to be a judge, too.  You must have many judges.  It's a very subjective thing and the more judges the fairer it will be.

Tian na!!! Guess 'Shroomy and I will have to cook for the entire Saloon...can't think of a group I would rather slave away in a kitchen for.

Right guys, need advice. I just looked at the Currency converter and it seems that the Yuan has decreased in value since my sojourn to to the Forgotten Pearl of the Orient, Nanchang. A pearl covered in crap, grime, garbage and refuse, but a pearl nonetheless.
So, here is one for the financial wizards of the Saloon.
two week trip to China. Start Shanghai, train to Nanchang, then off to Suzhou, further up to Beijing, further up to Jilin, head back, fly home from Beijing. I'm trying to make a budget and the prices in my Lonely Planet guide may be obsolete by now. I'm not a backpacker, hostels are germ ridden sink-holes not fit for human habitation. I would have to stay at semi-nice hotels, ie. no visible roaches and western toilet.
21000 DKR is about 30000 RMB. Is that enough, too much or not enough to save up?

Eric, This $$ question might be better asked in the BarRoom....more exposure and some reasonable answers.

Umm Eric.... I think maybe you missed the word "fluff" when reading the tread topic here... You're only going to get nonsense answers in here... 

More than 2000 rmb a day Eric? That will be plenty. You could pretty much stay at 5 stars for your whole trip with that much. Are you including your airfare in that? That's like 6 months pay here for some of us.

No, the airfare is seperate. But as the trip gets planned, I'm beginning to realize that we may have to take a few more domestic flights than I had previously intended. Lawyer found some place in Guizhou that she would like to see...apparently it's like Yangzhou, before it got too touristy. Not that I mind Yangzhou, I've been there and we're also going there. She wants to see the ijiang river. Not taking the cruise from Guilin to Yangzhou, too time consuming and a bit boring, at least that was my impression when I took it. No specific need to go to Guilin either, unless one is dead keen on seeing how a town turns into one huge brothel after nightfall. We probably need to do some more planning and estrict ourselves, since now we're going froim one end of China to another.
Yeah, I know it's close to several  momths pay for FT's, but it's the only vacation I will get in 2009. The Turks only give me 20 days of paid vacation, so I want to enjoy it as much as I can and that means good hotels.