Soft boiled eggs for breakfast

Soft boiled eggs, on toast, for breakfast!

Big deal, you might think. The minimum culinary challenge for any man.

Well, here in Jinan, in my tiny windowless benchless kitchen, it was no small achievement.

Let me tell you why.

• I didn't know whether the eggs I bought were already cooked. At least they didn't float - that was a good sign!
• I didn't have a small saucepan - but I did have a large thin stainless steel pot.
• The electric hotplate instructions are all in Chinese, and I had to buy an adapter for the plug, and even then, force the plug into it.
• Bread that is not impossibly sweet is difficult to obtain in Jinan. The only knife we are issued with is a large Chinese chopper.
• I didn't have a toaster. But I did have a large thin stainless steel pot! I used chopsticks to turn over the cooking bread.
• I had some (expensive) butter, to be spread with a large Chinese chopper!
• No egg cup, but hey, soft boiled eggs are great just spooned over the toast. But no teaspoon! I did have a chinese ceramic spoon, which is totally unsuitable for the task.
• No salt or pepper, but a splash of soy sauce instead.
• No knife and fork. (Eating softboiled eggs on toast using chopticks is stupid.) So fingers sufficed.

Scrumptious!

(It's so much easier - and probably cheaper - to eat out.)