Departure Delayed

We got up today at a leisurely hour and headed out for a very yummy local breakfast. Since it was after the main breakfast rush, we didn't have to wait long. This is good because these creations take a little time.

First you start with a crepe batter on a hot griddle:

Followed by an egg:

And then a sprinkle of fresh cilantro:

Next turn it over and start brushing on the sauces:

I counted three, but she was working so quickly it was hard to keep track. And she was cooking two at once!

Best to be careful because one of those sauces is very spicy. We asked her to go easy on the chilies.

The final ingredient is a fried crispy wafer that adds a very satisfying crunch to the whole thing:

Then the crepe is folded five times, to give it as many layers as possible. Layers is definitely a recurring theme in the food here.

 

And then whisked into a bag:

Following breakfast I received a rather ominous email from Air Canada. They were apologizing for the inconvenience because of the flight disruption and offering a discount coupon as compensation. What disruption?

After a little digging we found out that our flight was cancelled. Uh oh. And because it's Sunday the Air Canada office in Beijing is closed. And we can't call the North America number. All very unhelpful.

We made a Skype call to our friends Leigh and Evelyn and luckily they were home. They were extremely helpful, waiting patiently for a return call from Air Canada. Seems there were also weather problems on the East Coast which were keeping everyone busy.

To keep everyone calm while we waited for word from Air Canada we went shopping, returning to the Silk Market. It worked like a charm. In between I was emailing back and forth with Leigh and finally found out that Air Canada had created a new flight later in the day to replace the cancelled flight. Phew. Except there was no way of finding this out from Beijing.

I almost headed out to the airport just to see if I could find a live person to tell us how we would get back to Vancouver. Very happy I didn't need to.

My one disappointment was that with the delayed flight I don't get a double birthday. Oh well.

Our friends dropped by our hotel late this evening and wished me a happy birthday. That was nice, especially after the stress of the cancelled flight. They've been so incredibly helpful in planning this trip and making so many of our experiences possible.