Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

"Seize the day, trusting tomorrow as little as possible." 
~Horace Odes I.11

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So, while other graduates have enter the big, bad world of work, Mandi and I remain unemployed, with little or no desire to settle down into any career just yet.   We're staying in London for a while, and we've decided to take things one day at a time - strictly no planning, no organising, no "to do" lists. So far, so good. We're spending our time trying out new cafés and seeking out the unknown.  Mandi draws and contemplates the big questions about life, love and eternity, while I read, write and pretend to think equally deep thoughts, and we're both here to share it all with you (you fortunate people).

We kicked off our adventures on Monday night with a trip to a Sichuan restaurant called Sanxia Renjia on Goodge street, in order to satisfy our noodle cravings.  I've never had much Sichuan food – I only knew it was like Chinese, but spicy.  Even though I expected my hot and sour noodle soup to be, well, hot (and sour), I was not prepared for the bowl of chilli oil-drenched noodles that came out, teeming with dried chillies and garnished with a liberal scattering of freshly cut chilli.  I guess the little image of a chili on the menu was there for a reason after all.  Mandi played it cool, opting for the more sensible house special chow mein, although she then asked them to make it extra hot.  Fortunately for Mandi, they didn’t manage to make the noodles hot and so served her dish with a bowl of chilli on the side.  She tucked in, and realised pretty soon that when the waitresses said ‘not very hot’, what they actually meant was ‘don’t worry, the spice will numb you mouth so quickly you won’t feel the scorching pain’. 

I eyed up my bowl of chilli with noodles for a while, then decided to face the challenge.  After the initial choking as I instantly bit into a chilli seed and scrambled for my jasmine tea (much to the amusement of the waitresses), I began to acclimatise and even started to enjoy my dinner.  I’m proud to say Mandi and I both finished our meals – which, coincidentally, were delicious underneath all the heat.  I also suspect that we are wimps when it comes to spice… maybe we should work on that!  

Sanxia Renjia, 29 Goodge Street (website | map)

The restaurant also provides a karaoke bar for private hire, although our entertainment for the night was provided by the waitresses, who chatted freely about the two of us.  Well, that was Mandi’s entertainment at least.  Since I don’t understand Mandarin, my amusement depended on the possibly drunk and definitely underdressed girl running to and from the karaoke room in a half-hearted attempt to evade the amorous pursuits of a young gentleman.  Isn’t it wonderful how the combination of alcohol and a girl who’s forgotten to put on her jeans can fuel a young man’s passion?

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