Mandarin the best buffet around Vic.

So after weeks and weeks of promises and failure to deliver, I finally managed to corner my friend Viki and forced her to take me to "Mandarin" the Chinese buffet place in Vic.
My only past experience of buffest place was one in Nottingham which was spectacular, and one in Middlesbrough called the "Banana Leaf" which basically serves what tastes like fried rat fried in batter.
My expectation here was built up so much, I only expected the best! And this is what I received.

Although Viki knew about the place already she was telling me how much we could eat in one sitting, however being an expert on food myself, I decided to give her some "Tips" for buffet survival.  "Ok Viki!" I said, "Before we start let me give you some sound advice....”  She rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Don’t be a rookie, stay away from your chips, dips, fried stuff and breads; these are your "Fillers".  Places like this relay on you hitting the fillers early.  Go for your seafood and meats first and maybe a little sushi and anything that looks expensive, but don’t be a hero!”  Again Viki rolled her eyes, something which leads me to believe that she might not be taking my advice seriously. 

First plate she heads for the battered calamari....  "Nooooooooooooooooooo" I shouted as I flew through the air Matrix style to head her off at the pass.  In bullet time slow motion I flew past her by accident misjudging my distance.  Too late, she forked the calamari ninja style; she had fallen at the first hurdle, a rookie error.

I headed for the prawn crackers and non cream based dips, along with the sushi and sashimi, devouring a plate full and I had only just started, Viki however was showing signs of batter sweat on her forehead from over indulgence in the fillers.  We both headed for our second serving we hit the fish products, where a very nice guy cooked them Tepanyaki style albeit a little too much salt (this forces you to drink more water *filler)
But the fish was pretty fresh and wholesome.

After this plate, Viki was giving up however unperturbed she headed back to the fried section whilst I started on a nice steak from the grill.  Once we had finished this plate Viki headed for the desserts.....  "Dessert??  Are you crazy?"  I said,”I have only just started".  Viki was done, finished, final, finito!
I however was back to the fish, followed by some sushi, and finally the dessert after two hours of enjoyment.

I am defiantly going again.  Click on the web link to see them in action on the Tepanyaki Grill.

http://mandarinvic.com/index.php

"Ok now Viki before we start let me give you some sound advice..... Don't be a rookie, stay away from your chips, dips, fried stuff and bread. Those are your fillers. Go for the expensive stuff first and don't be a hero!"

Finally.... I Got My Catalan Socialist Independentist Red Estelada Flag

and she is a beauty

Back in the Bloggersphere

Yes I certainly am.  After a month or so of craziness with the loss of internet at the start coupled with work coming in and then the sudden death of my computer I have got out of touch with the blog space and I’m not pleased at myself for it.  However I’m back and will try to blog at least one a week.  Promise.

Im not dead!!!

Sorry for the lack of updates to my blog.   These past few days have been a little busier than usual and im trying to expand my classes into various areas. 

I do have stories to tell of the last few weeks like my suprise meeting with Spongebob in Pineda De Mar and how i found out that Mickey mouse has boobs.

Keep watching this space.......

What a beautiful day and happyness ensues.

I woke up too early this morning, fidgeting around at 6am getting angry with myself for not being able to drop back off to sleep.  At seven I decided to rise believing a short sharp coffee would blow away the cobwebs, it didn’t!  I just kept on getting angry with myself for no apparent reason, and then I remembered that I had a Catalan class at ten, so at half past nine I packed up my bag and off I went.  Walking through the cold morning air of Osona reminded me a little of England just minus the rain and smackheads asking for a faaaaag.  I arrived at my Catalan class only to find it was Catalan for Spanish speakers.......  Jooooooodeeeeeer.  All was not lost, I actually worked faster than most of my classmates anyway and I got everything right!  As you can imagine I left on a high note.

Walking back into the main square of the town I had forgotten it was market day and my eyes lit up as I saw row after row of market stalls selling everything from cheese, vegetables and bread to Snails and wild mushrooms picked fresh from the forest.  It really is a sight to behold and if I remember next week I’m going to take my camera and get some quality pictures.  I walked towards my favourite coffee shop in order to have a little early lunch break before starting to prepare my classes for the day.  As I sat outside under an umbrella protecting me from the sun and looking out over the amazing scenes of the market it suddenly dawned on me how lucky I am to be here, everything I have seen and experienced in the last two weeks has been heaven.  Yes I realise when the winter arrives next month it will be just as cold as England but the sun here in winter is still warm on the skin and you can still sit outside a cafe or a bar with a jacket.  I still have more mountains than days of my life to discover.  I still have many places to visit and experience the local food.  It might not actually be, but I really feel like the luckiest person alive.

Taking a walk with Josh to Nuria.

"Im thinking of going walking" said Josh,  "Count me in" Said me, "Ok we can go at 6:00am or 7:00am" said Josh, "eeeeerrrr ok.............7??"  i sat back in a cold sweat looking at the computer, i was supposed to be going to musica viva on the evening and i wasnt meeting my friends untill 11pm.  I caluculated that if I met them for a few drinks and watched a couple of bands I might get to bed at 5am leaving me a good two hours sleep......  Becoming a 'Yes Man' may have been a bad idea. 

I woke up feeling like death and waiting in my shorts in a cold foggy usual morning in Vic I was wondering if  Ihad made the correct choice.  However after climbing for a few hours in the morning sun, I realised why i made the move here.

Musica Viva's best band for me

Having spent the weekend watching various Spanish and Catalan bands and hip hop artists i decided on my favourite.  The best of them all was actually a local band who i was introduced to by my friend Irma, their name eludes me at the moment but i will remember.  Their final song of the night was simply devine on the ears, a beautiful mix of vocals and guitar building in to a goose bump finish.

A Realtime tour of my town independència de Catalunya style

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muTMLuGWrp8

Grafit/Graffiti

Just came across this awesome graffiti on my way to the supermarket.

Musica Viva

Setting up yesterday for the big event.

More pictures of Beautiful Vic

Stay Awake

So it took a week but my body clock is shifting!  Do you as a guiri understand the concept of time shift??   Seriously!  If you are Catalan, you can stop reading now because this does not apply to you.  I started here going to be at 23:00 on time every night, now i find myself at 00:47 sitting here with the whole house like its seven........  No wonder they need siesta, they are always knackered.   I will write more tomorrow........  Apparantly there is a music festival  Musical Aviva.  (pronounced music-a-bib-a)

Just cant stop smiling

After spending to morning finding a good milk shop because they drink UHT here i realised that i really have not stopped smiling since i arrived.  From the moment i stepped of the plane untill now i have this insane grin on my face.

On a side note i bumped into a Catalan who had been in Middlesbrough last year, although he knew i was here, he looked shocked that i was.