liuzhou

As a quick rule of thumb in Scotland, if you wander into a random fish and chip shop and there is a menu featuring deep fried pizzas or, heaven forbid, deep-fried Mars bars or burgers, then you are for sure in the wrong place. They obviously have no respect for food. There is almost certainly somewhere better nearby. Research is key. @Duvelfound the seafood shacks, but I'm afraid missed some great fish and chips. A short distance from St. Andrews and on a pleasant route to Perth would have been to stop in here, one of the best F&C places in the UK. Check out their menu. That is what a proper F&C menu looks like. Yes, it has pizza, but they're not deep fried. I'd stick to the seafood, though. And remember, everywhere has bad rip-off food.

Not in my experience. They are salted and vinegared at the point of sale and not before. Just as well, as I don't take vinegar on mine.

St Andrews, my birthplace and childhood home. Fisher and Donaldson is a local legend. Wonderful bakery.

It is worth pointing out that very few fish and chip places sell the notorious deep-fried Mars bar and most of them sell them to foreign tourists. The natives not so much. Bit like all the clowns in Yangshuo eating snake bile glands because that's what the locals do. Except the locals never touch them.

One of Scotland's healthier inventions. Bad pizzza battered and deep fried.

Welcome to the UK. That is standard.

As an avowed Caledophile, I can say that haggis crisps taste nothing like the delights of real haggis.

52. 烤鱼 (kǎo yú) I surrender. The list refuses to give up. About 6 years ago, there was a sudden craze for 烤鱼 (kǎo yú). It was sold in restaurants, but also in roadside shacks throughout the area. Groups of people would gather in the evenings over a few beers and order up their 烤鱼 (kǎo yú), sharing in its delights. Here is an example that I ate in a corrugated iron hut in the middle of nowhere, somewhere south of Liuzhou. What you see is probably a pile of vegetables, mainly bean sprouts, but buried under that mound of vegetables is the actual 烤鱼 (kǎo yú) – roast fish. Normally, the fish is grilled whole 罗非鱼 (luó fēi yú), tilapia and depending on the size of your group, there will be be one or more of the critters. The dish bears the influence of Sichuan, being spicy with 豆瓣酱 (dòu bàn jiàng) and chilli peppers. Luxury versions sometimes include snails. Tilapia The vegetation usually includes cow peas, garlic, ginger, greens and I can spot some lizard's tail, aka chameleon plant, heartleaf, or fishwort, Cordata Houttuynia, a local favourite. In Chinese, it is 鱼腥草 (yú xīng cǎo), which literally translates as “fish smell grass”. Taro is also often added. Lizard's Tail With the weather turning chilly, a quite a few tilapia will be be going to bed in a mess of bean sprouts over the next couple of months or more. It hasn't lost any popularity.

‘Surprisingly tasty’: putting Neanderthal cooking to the test

Tonight, I made my first dinner in over a month. Kept it simple. Pan fried pork tenderloin (brined), rice and a salad of 'a drop of red' leaves with a lemony dressing.

What will turn up next?

Same in the UK

Today, I was delighted to lay my hands on a half kilo of Jinhua ham offcuts and trimmings for a mere ¥31.57. This compares to the ¥140+ I would normally pay for an equivalent amount of sliced ham (or the ¥1,000 for a whole 3.5 kg ham), yet these bits and pieces are perfect for soups, sauces or even omelettes, salads etc.

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. ✅