liuzhou

I think she meant the company is Latvian, if not the fish.

51. 甲龟 (jiǎ guī) I should have guessed that as soon as I hung up my hat regarding Guangxi Cuisine, something would turn up which needed mention. Someone mentioned 甲龟 (jiǎ guī), turtles, something I never ate in the UK, (although there was ‘mock turtle soup’, whatever that was all about). However, I have made up for my turtle omission since arriving in Guangxi. It surprises visitors to see live turtles and terrapins crawling around tanks in my local supermarkets but they are a popular local choice. The reptiles are farmed locally under strict conditions to ensure quality and that food safety standards are maintained. Only a few farms are authorised to export the beasts, mainly to Singapore, although that represents a tiny proportion of the output, Annual domestic consumption is estimated to be between 130,000 – 150,000 tons. Singapore imports only an estimated 200 tons per annum. The turtle carries a load of symbolic meaning in Chinese mythology and culture, representing tranquillity, steadfastness, longevity, tenacity, endurance, wisdom and wealth among other attributes. For these reasons turtle soup is often served at wedding banquets. Turtle Soup at Wedding Banquet In fact, it’s just as well the turtles have the symbolism, because they don’t have much in the way of meat or flavour. If gelatinous, chewy textures appeal to you, as they do to many Chinese palates, then turtle is for you. There are streets here in Liuzhou where every restaurant is selling turtle. The soup is always served with the carapace (top shell), presumably to assure you it is real, although of course it does no such thing. They could have been reusing the same shell for years.

Thanksgiving menu at Plaza Hotel NYC, 1899: All in “cents.”

50. 菜单 (cài dān) Well, I can’t believe I got to 50 posts. I think I’ve exhausted my resources, so unless something pops up, I’ll call it a day here and finish by showing two typical locally flavoured menus (菜单 - cài dān). These aren't fine dining, but reasonably good quality family dining at a fair price. The first (Shatang1), I translated back in 2005 for a local restaurant I frequently frequented. The second (Shatang 3), is more just a list of dishes any restaurant should be able to put together. It was compiled and translated in 2016 from the menus of two adjacent restaurants near my home. Both feature local cuisine plus a scattering of ‘imports’ from other regions as, is Guangxi style. Please ignore the prices – they are way out of date. The files are in PDF format. Should you prefer DOCX or anything else reasonable, please let me know by PM and I'll do my best. Shatang 1.pdf Shatang 3.pdf

Heavier, but I guess the process is basically the same.

The list price has to be the actual price the product is offered at over a specified extended period. You can't go making stuff up.

Goodness. Is that legal? It wouldn't be in the UK or China, for that matter. I'm not au fait with the details of China, but in the UK, goods must have been offered at only a higher price for a specified number of days before any 'sale' price can be advertised. The details of that prior price and dates must also be included in the advertisement. Unless if they've changed it since I've stopped paying attention.

Made from rice. Negligible nutritional value, I'd guess. Ditto, roughage. Convenience. ✅

You can't compare Scotland and Canada. The scale is so different. Canada has almost 4 million square miles; Scotland has 78,000, much of which is mountainous. Of course, camp sites are more spacious in Canada. There is more Canada!

49. 梧州纸包鸡 (wú zhōu zhǐ bāo jī) Traditional 梧州纸包鸡 (wú zhōu zhǐ bāo jī) Another speciality of Wuzhou city is actually a Cantonese version of ‘en papillote’, the supposedly-French method of cooking meats or vegetables in a ‘paper’ bag. But with a difference. There are records of the technique being used at least 2,200 year ago as a tribute to the emperors’ court. In 203 BC, the state of Nanyue was founded with Panyu as its capital. Panyu later became Guangzhou, present-day capital of Guangdong (Canton). At the celebratory banquet at the time of the founding, 梧州纸包鸡 (wú zhōu zhǐ bāo jī), paper wrapped chicken was served as the main dish. Wuzhou’s first paper-duck chicken restaurant, 粤西楼 (yuè xī lóu)*, opened in 1916, before going on to domestic, then international fame. 100 years later, in 2016, the dish was included in Guangxi's Intanglible Culture list. Authentic Wuzhou paper-wrapped chicken utilises local free-range 黄毛鸡 (huáng máo jī), ’yellow chickens’, so-called due to their feather colour. These birds are raised for 120 days before being sent to the kitchen, as opposed to around 40 days maximum for regular broilers. The birds are chopped up on-the-bone and marinaded in dark soy sauce with ginger juice, star anise, fennel seed, tangerine peel, red grain rice, scallions and other seasonings.. White rice wine is added and the chicken wrapped in small bundles with edible paper. These are then fried with peanut oil and served. Each diner gets their own bag. Traditional 梧州纸包鸡 (wú zhōu zhǐ bāo jī) Today, the dish tends to be made more in a French en papillote style – one dish cooked in a bag for every table. The bag is also more likely to be foil than actual paper. I prefer the old way, but I guess the emperors had more disposable cash and help than I do. Individual bags for hundreds of people would have been costly. Modern 梧州纸包鸡 (wú zhōu zhǐ bāo jī) *粤 (yuè) refers to the old union of what is now Guangdong and Guangxi. The restaurant’s name means ‘west yue’ which later became Guangxi.

Glad to have you and this topic back. The Scot in me feels obliged to point out that Scotland produces 'whisky'; not 'whiskey'. This is not mere pedantry or a case of a simple spelling disparity betweeh British and American English.. The Scots (and the Japanese) consider whisky and whiskey to be two different drinks. They are made from different ingredients in a different manner. The Irish aren't sure!

48. 一点红 (yī diǎn hóng) / 叶下红 (yè xià hóng) 一点红 (yī diǎn hóng) or 叶下红 (yè xià hóng), Emilia sonchifolia, also known as lilac tasselflower or by many other names, is probably native to east Asia, but naturalised in all the world’s tropics. The Chinese names both refer to ‘a drop of red’, this presumably being in respect of the flowers. Considered a weed most places, it is used both medicinally and culinarily in China. It is always foraged from the wilds. 一点红 (yī diǎn hóng) Medicinally, it is used to treat snake bites, as well as fever, sore throats and diarrhea. In the dining room, the young leaves are served as a green vegetable, usually stir-fried. I’ve also had it in a broth with century egg – a nice dish accompanying Zhuang Lemon Duck in Nanning. The leaves are always picked before the plant flowers and can be eaten raw in salads, but the Chinese don’t do that.

They are usually served just as is - sauceless. A fuller description of the oil tea appears in this earlier post.

Congee, also spelled conjee or conji is actually an Indian word. It comes from the Tamil word 'kanji' meaning the water the rice was boiled in. It was borrowed into English in the 17th century, possibly via Portuguese. I'd guess the Taiwanese you heard using 'congee' picked it up from English. Congee in its modern meaning and 粥 - zhōu are the same. Zhou is also used in Taiwan - most Taiwanese use Mandarin, but it is muê (糜) in Taiwanwese and may have yet other names in other native dialects. It is 'jook' in Cantonese - 'zuk1' in jyutping transliteration.

The Last Supper (hopefully). I passed my tests and will be going home at 9 am tomorrow morning. 香菇炒鸡 (xiāng gū chǎo jī) - Stir-fried chicken and shiitake. Served with rice and stir-fried Chinese cabbage.

47. 巴马瑶族自治县 (bā mǎ yáo zú zì zhì xiàn) 河池 Hechi (hé chí) prefecture lies to the west of Liuzhou and borders Hunan and Guizhou to its north. The prefecture has an 85.23% ethnic minority population (2021) including the only 毛南族 (máo nán zú) Maonan ethnic group and 仫佬族 (mù lǎo zú) Mulao ethnic group autonomous counties in China. The Maonan population numbers a mere 107,166, being one of China's smallest ethnic minorities, while the Mulao is 207,352 (2018 figures). These two groups live alongside the Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Dong, Shui and Han peoples. Over 67% of the population are Zhuang. South-west of Hechi city, close to the border with Baise prefecture lies 巴马瑶族自治县 (bā mǎ yáo zú zì zhì xiàn), Bama Yao Autonomous County, home to the Yao minority. The county is famous within China for being the location of the largest longevity cluster in China and one of the world’s largest. With a population of only around 240,000, the county has more than 80 residents over the age of 100 (as of 2021). The official standard for longevity set by The United Nations is over 75 centenarians per million people. Of course, scientists have investigated why so many people reach these ages, without any definite answer being reached. The people do live simple lives in relatively unpolluted areas and work hard physically. Their diet is simple and largely consists of vegetables. Only at important festivals do they break out the meat, favouring roast suckling pig. Bama Suckling Pig Hemp seed also features heavily in their diet, being added to their rice porridge etc and is also processed to provide their main cooking oil. Hemp Seeds Basically cannabis, but a form negligibly low in tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC), the active agent in the stoners’ lifestyle. The local water supply has been examined for clues with no significant results, although this hasn’t stopped a Nanning company selling Bama bottled water to the gullible seekers of long-life, something particularly valued in Chinese culture. I'm guessing the key factor is probably genetic, something the visitors can't buy into. The local authorities are also cashing in, turning the area into a Disney-esque longevity theme park with thousands of tourists destroying what they came to see. I’ve never been. They mainly survive on c@rn! My longevity would be severely curtailed!

46. 早饭 (zǎo fàn) Breakfast, 早饭 (zǎo fàn), we are told, is the most important meal of the day. Maybe, but it’s also when people tend to be most conservative. When travelling in foreign parts, many of us are excited to get down with the locals over lunch and dinner. Breakfast, maybe not so much. My breakfast instincts run to bread (toasted) and eggs. Real bacon (i.e. British or Irish). A good sausage, perhaps. Black pudding. In China, I have had to overcome my instincts. I’ve tried ersatz versions of western breakfasts with mixed results. Chinese Soy Cured Bacon with Eggs and Mushrooms - Home Made Bread Tourists can usually find poor imitations of western breakfasts in their hotel buffets. Your fried egg may have been cooked the night before and the bacon is sure to be limp and cold, but hey ho! It’s proper breakfast. The toast will be cake and the butter rock hard. The coffee will be straight from Mr Nestlé’s jar. In the meantime, Chinese guests will be enjoying something very different. So, the question is what? What do the Guangxi people eat for breakfast if it isn’t bacon and eggs? The most popular round here is probably 油条 (yóu tiáo) with 豆奶 (dòu nǎi). 油条 (yóu tiáo), dough sticks are a simple batter formed into long batons and deep fried in very hot oil. It is served warm, often cut into pieces with scissors. The accompanying 豆奶 (dòu nǎi) is soy bean milk, served warm. Very popular with the locals. I don’t mind the sticks of dough, but you can keep the milk. Youtiao (Doughstick) and Dounai (Soy Milk) The dough sticks are also sometimes served with 粥 (zhōu), aka 稀饭 (xī fàn). This is grain porridge – most often rice porridge. You probably know it as congee, a word from Tamil. At its most basic, it is 白粥 (bái zhōu) which is simply plain rice cooked down to porridge consistency in water. Some people like this, but most pep their porridge up with additional items: minced lean pork, chicken, seafood, century eggs, green vegetables, pumpkin, etc. Century Egg and Minced Pork Rice Porridge Black rice may be used or the grains could be millet or mung beans (not technically a grain, I know). Other grains and combinations of grains are possible. See here. Also, popular are 包子 (bāo zi) or steamed stuffed buns. This is as near to bread as you are likely to get. Unstuffed buns, called 馒头 (mán tou) are also popular, if slightly less so. Over the years I’ve become quite partial to 包子 (bāo zi) for breakfast, especially 肉包 (ròu bāo), which are stuffed with minced pork. There is a list of varieties in this post. Baozi Mantou In addition, 小笼包 (xiǎo lóng bāo) are popular. Xiaolongbao literally means ‘small basket buns’ and consist of tiny bite sized baozi, usually pork but also sometimes crab. They often get confused or conflated with Shanghai’s soup dumplings, but they are more accurately known as 汤包 (tāng bāo). Xiaolongbao Dumplings, either 饺子 (jiǎo zi) or wontons, 馄饨 (hún tun) or 云吞 (yún tūn) are also eaten for breakfast, the former steamed or boiled, and both often in soups. Wonton noodle soup is findable, but not huge here. Wontons in Soup Noodles in soup though, are very popular. Liuzhou people will eat 螺蛳粉 (luó sī fěn) for breakfast, but more often go for less powerfully flavoured noodles such as 桂林米粉 (guì lín mǐ fěn) etc. Fresh Pork Noodles for Breakfast In ethnic minority and tourist areas such as Guilin city, you are going to be offered oil tea, 油茶 (yóu chá) for breakfast. Go for it! Oil Tea - Guilin Other breakfast items include 豆花 (dòu huā, literally 'bean flower' or 'tofu flower'), a very soft, jellified form of tofu served as a desert. It comes in a white form, often with a ginger based sauce or with a black sesame sauce. This is one for the sweet toothed. Tofu Flower Desert The famous 煎饼 (jiān bǐng) pancakes from northern China, particularly Beijing are not that common here. People seem to prefer 葱花饼 (cōng huā bǐng), scallion pancakes. 葱花饼 (cōng huā bǐng), scallion pancakes Most of these breakfast dishes are sold by an army of street vendors who turn up at dawn and hang around until after 9 am selling to people on their way to work. Most restaurants tend not to open until around 10 am, although you will be able to find your rice porridge or noodle fix. Breakfast Sales - Liuzhou Porridge Lady - Liuzhou I can’t go without mentioning the king of breakfasts. Being in an area heavily influenced by Cantonese cuisine, of course we have 饮茶 (yǐn chá) or ‘morning tea’ establishments. I guess many thought I was going to say Dim Sum, but the name of the meal is 饮茶 (yǐn chá) in Mandarin; or 飲茶, in the traditional characters used in Hong Kong. It is Yum Cha in Cantonese and means ‘drink tea’. Dim sum (点心 / 點心 (diǎn xin in Mandarin)) is the food eaten as a Yum Cha meal. These places open as early as 5 am and by noon it’s usually all over. They get very busy (mostly with elderly people) and are incredibly noisy. If it’s your thing, you will get your fill of har gow, siu mai, lo bak go, cheong fun and many other dishes to help your tea go down. There is a good introduction to dim sum here. Personally, I find the experience over-rated, but you may well disagree. If you are travelling on to Hong Kong, I’d wait till you get there.

I eat duck eggs all the time. Anything you can do with a chicken egg can be done with a duck's to advantage. Additionally, they are great salted or as tea eggs. etc. I posted about duck eggs just yesterday, here.

晚餐 (wǎn cān) Dinner: 芹菜鱿鱼 (qín cài yóu yú) - Squid with Celery

中饭 - Lunch (Monday) 茄椒闷鱼块 (qié jiāo mēn yú kuài) - Tomato and Chilli Braised Fish (no idea what kind of fish, almost certainly freshwater, but not bad, at all. 节瓜肉 (jiē guā ròu) - Waxed Gourd with Pork - I actually ordered this by mistake. Had it yesterday! 青菜 (qīng cài) - Statutory Unidentified Greenery Some good news (probably). If the results of a test tomorrow are satisfactory (as expected), I'll be going home on Wednesday!

45. 火锅 (huǒ guō) Hotpot Advertisement - Mala Fish Hotpot, Organic Chicken Hotpot, Lamb Hotpot, Dog Hotpot. Eating out in China is nearly always a communal event and by far the most popular way to do so is by getting stuck into some 火锅 (huǒ guō), literally ‘fire pot’, but known in English, of course, as hot pot or hotpot. This is especially so as we get into autumnal weather and winter. Of course, hot pots are not confined to Guangxi; they are popular all over China. The two most famous are Mongolian and Sichuan/Chongqing* hotpots and these are both available here with the latter being the more popular. However, both in restaurants and in the home, the locals like to include many of the foodstuffs I have already mentioned here, as the part of the meal. Liuzhou Hotpot Restaurant For anyone who doesn’t know how Chinese hot pots work, a quick summary. A pot of boiling broth is placed in the centre of the table (nearly always circular) and various food items are cooked by the diners therein. The list of possible ingredients is virtually limitless. Sichuan style hotpot often uses a 鸳鸯锅 (yuān yang guō), a two compartment pot and utilises a ‘red’ and a ‘white’ broth side by side. The ‘red’ is fiery hot from chillies and Sichuan peppercorn whereas the ’white’ is more or less chilli free. Take your pick. Yuanyang - Two Chamber Hotpot Dish Liuzhou hotpot is closer to the Sichuan style than to Mongolian, but has its own twists in the choice of ingredients. Here is a partial list of available vegetables from one such local hot point joint. I have excluded the major proteins as they tend to be universal: beef, lamb / mutton, shrimp, fish, seafood, duck, chicken, frog, rabbit, dog etc. Surprisingly rarely pork, although offal is common. Sliced Mutton for Hotpot - It cooks in seconds. Not all hot pots come in a full broth; many are in a more dry format, such as this frog hotpot. * It is disputed but many say that Sichuan hotpot originated in Chongqing. It is kind of irrelevant because at that time, Chongqing was part of Sichuan anyway. It was separated in 1987. The hotpot does, however also get called Chengdu hotpot after Sichuan's capital.

I'm not sure it's 2000s. There have always been ignorant boors. Maybe getting worse, though.

I find the deep frying adds crust enough.