Happy Birthday, Harsh! 祝你生日快乐！
On November 17th, we had an excuse to put our party hats on – feast, laugh, and be merry. The Shenzhen gang came together to celebrate our good pal (and my neighbor) Harsh’s birthday.
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It’s common to celebrate birthdays in China with birthday noodles 生日面, which symbolize a long life. I guess we slipped in the friend department (Sorry, Harsh! Maybe next year!) because Harsh didn’t get any birthday noodles, oops. We did, however, dine family-style at a neighborhood favorite – a northern-style Chinese restaurant. Nom nom.
Harsh's birthday meal!
Once we were all deep in our food comas and about to burst, we continued the celebration with “Western” birthday cake in front of our apartment. If you have ever tried cake in Chinatown, you might be able to relate to my use of the “. For the most part, desserts in China always look incredibly appealing. Yet, when you bite into them, they tend to taste like sweet fluffy air…Anyone ever experience this? Yeah, it’s totally deceiving. Every time. Harsh’s triple layer chocolate encrusted birthday cake was no exception. #ThoughtThatCounts. My advice: stick to China's savory food and local specialties. It's delicious!
Our group of friends truly celebrates cultural diversity. Pictured below, we represent America, the Philippines, Tunisia, and India. In the group photo above, we also reppresent Latvia, Zimbabwe, Korea, the UK, and Taiwan.
