Hi there! Pickle Deli Square is a collection of my experiences living, eating, and traveling the world. Currently an expat based in Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
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The surprisingly quick process to get out of quarantine, and the long, disgusting road ahead with re-entering the apartment after nearly a year away. The main culprit: a dead rat and all of its poop.
A special day celebrating with couple breakfast favorites and the luxurious surf-and-turf lunch. The dinner was one of the less special ones, though.
Some new people move in across the hallway, and it feels a bit less lonely, a bit less like I’m the last person in the classroom to finish an exam!
Some interesting differences from last Sunday’s meals: different proportion of rice in the container, more tender mushrooms in the mushroom soup, and enjoying some dishes like the Hong Kong-style braised chicken feet a bit more.
The first day of repeated meals, meaning reencounters with some old favorites, like this curried fish ball stuffed with crab meat.
How I’ve organized my life in a hotel room, and some packing tips for doing hotel quarantine.
Another artistically beautiful soup, and a list of reasons why I’m actually grateful for hotel quarantine.
New favorites (lunchtime black pepper beef) along with returning old favorites (millet cake), and a dud (corn).
Surf-and-turf day! (Well, actually many days are surf-and-turf days, but today there were prawns and pork belly!)
The first day of quarantine, with the “Western” meal option being given to me by default.
What it’s like to enter a quarantine hotel, and learning how to use “the bucket” when going to the bathroom.
Taking almost 5 hours from landing to getting to the hotel, the arrivals process in pandemic-era Shanghai-Pudong merits a post all on its own.
A 15 hour 55 minute journey during COVID times from San Francisco to Shanghai, with a stop in Seoul-Incheon for crew change.
