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 Good meal,  Saturday, 23 February 2008 I went to Igosso for the first time yesterday. I had wanted to go there on new year's day but they were closed, and then on the day before CNY I tried to take my son there for lunch but the cooks were outside setting off firecrackers so I did not want to make them work. Yesterday after work, we stopped at Tesco's with my wife and then since it is across the road decided to try this place.

Overall the food was good although i think I was happier with my selection than my wife with hers. I had a Caesar salad which was pretty good. She had a sliced octopus with pesto which was also good but the portion was too small. For main course I had a blue cheese pizza which was excellent and she had some kind of chicken which was OK but a bit in the fatty side. For dessert we were a bit disappointed as they had no chocolate cake or NY cheese cake. In the end she had a normal cheese cake and I had a couple of excellent cookies. With a bottle of red Cotes du Rhone, and couple packs of cigs, this dinner cost us just about RMB50o. I think it was worth it because the food and wine were pretty good and so was the atmosphere and the service. I had read in a couple of previous reviews the service was bit slow, but I thought it was OK and they were quite attentive always replenishing your water glass and so on and spoke decent English.

Overall the best western food I have had so far in Dalian.

 Pretty good ice cream,  Wednesday, 20 February 2008 I tried this ice cream parlor at Olympic Square (next to Samba) and at Peace Plaza and both locations are the same in terms of quality. This is much better than any other ice cream which can be found in supermarkets around here.

I thought the taste was pretty good especially the cherry and hazelnut flavors. The price is a bit expensive for one scoop (RMB15) but OK for two (RMB22). It is also much cheaper than Haagen Daz for example and I must say that I will definitely go back. Also my son also found it delicious.

 The place to buy steak,  Monday, 11 February 2008 I have become quite partial to Mykal (at least the one downtown next to Dashang). First off, it is right next to my office. Secondly they have a lot of good imported products usch as beers, juices, chocolates, cookies, ..etc. As good a selection as Metro albeit more expensive.

It is much better than Carrefour for two reasons: it is clean and not crowded so the experience is much better. Compared to Metro, it is more convenient in terms of locations and also there are no forklifts in the aisles, and you can buy stuff by the units although it is true the froze foods section is a bit more limited.

The real reason to like Mykal though is the fresh meat. I have never had one needing to throw away and it is good quality stuff which is cut in the proper way. So if you long after a good steak, head to Mykal.

 Amusement at labour park,  Monday, 11 February 2008 We live right behind this park at fengqiao yuan so we thought we would go and take a look. Our first idea was to go and try the advertised ski slope but ten it turned out to be quite expensive (RMB110 per person) and quite boring looking and neither of our kids were enthusiastic about it, especially when they have spotted the amusement area. All the rides were quite old but apparently fun enough for a 4 year old to have a good time. Disneyland it is not but then again especially if you live downtown, it is a good place to go and kill a couple of hours outdoors and enjoy the sunshine.

 Superb zoo,  Monday, 11 February 2008 My kids love zoos so I thought we would go and have a look at the Dalian one. We have just arrived from Beijing and the zoo there is terrible even if my kids still like it.

One word of warning, winter time is not the best time to visit any zoo but especially this one as it is so close to the sea and the wind can get quite cold. Also, the electric vehicles and the train that make visiting this zoo easier will not re-start before April 1. And some of the attractions are closed, ie. the elephant show

Another thing is that this zoo is in a pretty hilly area so be ready to walk up and down. Visitors with small kids should really go with a stroller as small kids will get quite tired.

Having said that, what we saw of it was magnificent. The setting is really superb and the animals have a lot of space to live. The enclosures for the lions and the tigers are really large. Of course, it is still a Chinese zoo so you still have the option to purchase a goat or what have you to feed the animals which may bother some foreign visitors.

The free-feeding area is really nice and you walk with emus and lamas roaming free around you.

You should make sure to look at the map before (which I did not do) as there are several distinct areas to this zoo. Today we only saw the newer part but we will be sure to be back to see the rest.

The price was quite high for China and we paid RMB280 for 6 adults and 2 kids and it would be more expensive in summer when you have to also buy a cable car ticket and there are shows and the train and so on. What really annoyed me about the price was the fact that dlzoo.com which is the zoo's website lists the entrance as RMB20 per adult in winter which is obviously a very outdated price. The management ought to update that.

But in conclusion, this was a very nice place to visit.

Lastly, a word of warning. Zone 1 is closed until the end of April. We tried to go there this weekend to see the monkey pits but were then told by a guard that only zone 2 is open until early April