liuzhou

Have a couple of glasses! You'll soon loosen up!

You are not the first to like my teardrop plate. I have a bigger one, too. @Anna Nis a big fan. I'd show you a picture but I haven't done the washing up yet!

Apologies! The water bottles contain 18 litres! Brain fart! Have edited. How long they last varies. Right now it's in the 30s ℃ and will be for months, so I go through more than in the cooler months .

Yes, but not much. You know we love to chew on bones round here!

I understand, but very few places do have potable water supplies. Many places don't have water! As you know I've lived in a few countries, in most of which you don't want to be drinking tap water. Otherwise, we generally have the same municipal services here.

Because, as in most countries, tap water is not potable. People only drink bottled water. If the tap water is boiled it's OK, so can be used for cooking, but purists don't do that either. I don't even brush what teeth I have left with tap water! Every time I run out, I call the water guy and he brings me an 18 litre bottle and installs said water in the machine. It isn't mineral water, but purified water.

I am delighted to report that China has stepped into whisky distillation. It's early days but they have got off to a roaring start. Sadly, this is not a joke.

Bullfrogs. I did buy more than three.

Sichuan spicy frog snack food.

Almost every home and office in China has one of those. I'm sitting right beside mine (at home) now.

Jamón de cebo Ibérico

I'm going to assume you know what lettuce and tomatoes are. 😁 The DEFINITELY NOT C@RN is a beautiful, if small, example of what round here we call 苦瓜 (kǔ guā) otherwise known as bitter melon.

Snacked me up some salt and pepper red prawns, except the pepper was Sichuan peppercorns.

Small shopping bag today. Cost me ¥5.40 which is 80 cents USD

Indeed

Certainly not. Known as 'okoke', it is relatively common. Not usually made in a rice cooker, though.

My rice cooker is a no gō area!

China does not have Jasmine rice.

I'm told the Kunming "Panda Express" is no longer there.

Here's one that may stump many people. Each 'leg' is about 4¼ inches / 11cm long. The one with the pointed foot is marginally longer than the other. It is made for a very particular purpose.

Already happened. https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/largest-us-chinese-restaurant-chain-panda-express-enters-china or maybe not https://www.thatsmags.com/china/post/31822/did-american-chain-panda-express-open-its-first-china-location Certainly there have been attempts to open American-Chinese restaurants in China in the past. I remember the first, an independent, opening in Shanghai several years ago. It lasted about twenty minutes.

Me too. In similar fashion.

I've mentioned 沅陵 (yuán líng) before. It is a little known town in West Hunan, near where I lived 25 years ago., and is populated largely by members of the Miao and Tujia ethnic minority. I have a few friends living there. This morning I unexpecedly received this: On the left are the local sausages and on the right is 晒兰 (shài lán), the wonderful ham only made and sold locally.

Pakistan's beloved mangoes are at risk as climate change shrinks harvest

Scotch eggs are not Scottish. They are English. The word 'scotch' in the name is not a reference to Scotland but another word, meaning to chop or cut and refers to the coating of the egg which is finely minced (chopped).