I is for ...**

Ice cream!! You wouldn't think that milk products would be that popular in a country that has high rates of lactose intolerance, but it does*. Luckily for those hot summer days, there is an incredible selection of frozen, prepackaged ice cream in a wide variety, available on just about every corner of the city. This bar is one of my favorites. It contains chestnuts and sweet red beans which is a definite departure from chocolate and strawberry. There are also corn flavored ice cream, and melon like popsicles (not so tasty and really weird consistency)available. Meiji and other Japanese companies "invent" these ice cream products- they are manufactured in China. They are inexpensive; for about 50 Canadian cents, you can satisfy your sweet tooth, or contribute to your daily calcium intake.


* We also saw the evidence of the high rate of milk consumption in China last year when the contamination of milk products with melamine resulted in very high incidences of kidney failure in infants.

** My super sincere apologies for missing the September 1 deadline for submitting this post and for being noticeable quiet on the blog front. The Chinese government has been incredibly touchy about current events in China and the possible repercussion of having blogger, facebook and other sites open for world wide accessible informal discussions about the events of the country. As a result, I have been caught behind the wall, with no way to do anything but just look at them (I've found some sneaky ways to view but not alter). I'm in North America for another couple of weeks, so I will try to post some things in advance.