Ice skating

During class yesterday, our teacher asked us if we wanted to go ice skating. I was startled at first to hear about this, since I never associated Xiamen with anything as frigid as ice. I didn't know there's an indoor ice skating rink at the top floor of the China City mall, which opened earlier this year. I visit the mall from time to time because there's a large Carrefour supermarket in the basement, good for some hard to find items like good quality yoghurt and chocolate. I never payed much attention to the other shops in the mall, hosting some exclusive luxury brands like Cartier and Longines, although many stores are still boarded up with "Coming soon" signs.
We took off directly after class with a group of seven, including both of our teachers, 4 classmates and me. The others were not interested. In good Chinese tradition, we first went to eat something. On this occasion we visited a tastefully decorated Hong Kong style dim-sum restaurant on the waterfront opposite Gulangyu island. A nice place which I never visited before, also in a new but much smaller mall, which also hosts some foreign outfits, including a Starbuck's Coffee sprawling across 3 floors. After satisfying ourselves on a nice selection of appetizers and a subsequent 20 minute stroll along Zhong Shan Lu, the most famous but rather boring shopping street in Xiamen, we arrived at the Christmas decorated skating rink. As a promotion, there is no entrance fee on weekdays until December 22nd. The normal entrance fee is 50 RMB, including the rent of skates
I had not set foot on ice for ages, so it took a moment to find my balance on a pair of hockey skates, but soon I felt comfortable enough to let go, and I was zipping across the ice like a pro. Luckily, there was no loud music like at those roller skate rinks which are also very popular in China, and much more common. I've been a few times with Xiao An, in Nanning. Loads of fun! Here in Xiamen on the ice with my teachers, classmates, and a lot of cute girls was also great fun! I was the only white boy on the ice (these 4 classmates all being Asian), so I got a lot of attention, with girls practically lining up for some hand-in-hand rounds. Well, I'm exaggerating a bit here, but it was a good opportunity to practice Chinese :)
All this skating made us feel hungry again, so afterwards we took off to a famous old seafood restaurant, near the #8 market, the biggest fresh market in Xiamen. I had visited the market before, but never went to this restaurant. Our teachers selected a good array of shellfish and other local delicacies, including sandworms （沙虫）, although the latter were somewhat disappointng. The razor clams were very good though, and so was the squid on bean curd. A great impromptu night out, thanks to my sweet teachers!