big trouble in little china

My culinary experience is improving dramatically. I had been getting into this rut where I would walk into the grocery store in my neighborhood and not want to buy anything there. I'd proceed to make myself get the handful of shit I always get and leave as soon as possible. But I think it's just my town. Madrid seems to have everything, though it may cost you dearly, and you may need some insider information. Once in a while you score big. A Korean guy in my spanish class told me about this market where he was buying Kimchee really cheap, and he said they had lots of other stuff to. It is really hard to find as its in a very cryptically marked brick building, but inside is a traditional spanish market which consists of stalls operated by various sellers. Despite the traditionalness, it turns out theres alot of foreign stuff there also including 500g blocks of tofu for 0.60 euros! Incredible! Previously I had chalked tofu up as unattainable because it cost 3.50 for 250 grams! I aint a rich man. But this tofu is made in madrid and even cheaper than the states.

I also got a tipoff from some expat blog about a secret chinatown underneath plaza de Espana. The plaza is a nice small park with a monument to Cervantes, and I have noticed, much like the blogger, that there were two dodgy looking staircases going underground in the plaza, supposedly to a parking lot. When you go down there, there is a chinese travel agency, a bar which serves chinese food, and a full blown asian market. The first thing I saw in the window was Huy Fong Sriracha! It cost dearly, but come on, that is worth it. If you take the time to shop around for stuff you will find some incredible bargains, and enormous differences among brands. I was feeling triumphant as I left, and right as I emerged from the stairs to the street again I saw the critical mass (bici critica here). My first impulse was to body check one of the riders to the ground, like the cops do in New York. Or maybe flip out and drive a car right at them like they do in Seattle. But instead I just checked it out and hooted and hollered. It looked like a fun group, maybe 300-400 that I saw, and there must have been at least 50 pirates among them...must be the local CM style. I know alot of people think these rides are counterproductive, but I just think : how fun to dress up as a pirate, team up with 300 of your friends and ride at will on the streets of the capital. That can't be that bad can it?