are you a coco girl?

lately our eating habits have changed. we’re spending less time in small restaurants and more time in what might be provisionally called high-end chinese chains, which are located in new upscale malls. unlike upscale malls built in the late 90s, which emphasized designer shopping, but american fastfood dining (in diwang, for example, the chains include kfc and tgi fridays and there’ a taco bell in the mix), these new malls seem to have better teashops and restaurants. the food is better, the decor is nicer, and the spaces more relaxed; the emphasis is on pleasurable dining, but pleasure all around. indeed, these new malls offer some of the cleanest and aesthetically pleasing environments in shenzhen. my latest occassional hangout is coco park, or 购物公园 (shopping park), where super cow provides really tasty grilled meats and several japanese resturants tempt me. at the garden city mall (花园城), next to the shekou wallmart, another chain 6,000 restaurant (六千馆) serves a delicious twist on the hotpot. it is located next to a very popular dim sum restaurant, where on weekends families and friends wait as long as an hour for a table.

in jr high and high school, i spent an embarrassing amount of time at the rockaway mall, watching movies and eating junkfood. roughly 25 years later i find myself once again mallratting, but this time it really is for the food.