liuzhou

Kon gee. In IPA, ˈkɒndʒi:

Chicken with capers, olives, garlic, white wine and coriander leaf. Served with orzo and asparagus.

More dairy. A roundup. I never buy the yoghurt on offer. It is oversweet and very watery, but that's how they like it. I make my own. I buy this fresh milk from a local bakery. It is from cows raised in Liuzhou. The milk is rather low in fat, so I add some When I'm too lazy to go to that bakery, I buy this instead from a local corner shop. I failed to mention that there are also a number of hawkers selling milk products on the streets, especially in the mornings. This one hangs around outside the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. She has been there for years, so must be making some kind of a living. All she sells is milk and bottled water. Maybe finally (probably not), my cheese platter a couple of Christmases past. All bought in China.

Dairy continued. Also hugely popular in recent years is milk tea (奶茶 - nǎi chá). All these outlets on just one street are selling it! They are very busy in the evenings, but I took these pictures early in the morning, so not many customers in sight. and of course, still on the same street, Micky D gets in on the act selling milk teas and ice cream (also dairy!) from two kiosks. Here is one. to be continued.

6. The Chinese don't do dairy! Ha! Ha! Ha! They most certainly do! Every supermarket in town's largest amount of aisle and floor space is full of dairy products. Milk (牛奶 - niú nǎi or 乳汁 - rǔ zhī), yoghurt (酸奶 - suān nǎi), cheese (奶酪 - nǎi lào or 芝士 - zhī shì). You name it. Here are some pictures of the dairy section in just one of the supermarkets. Now, why would the supermarkets dedicate so much valuable space to stocking something no one wants? They aren't that stupid. Who is buying it all? Millions of lactose intolerant people? Historically, most Chinese people didn't do dairy (although some did, especially in Inner Mongolia and Yunnan provinces where they have had their own cheeses for centuries). About 20 years ago, it changed dramatically. Health and medical authorities started promoting dairy for its perceived health benefits, including raising calcium levels. It really took off. Pizzas arrived and became hugely popular despite some weird toppings on top of the cheese. Many will remember the China milk scandal in 2008 which resulted in Hong Kong having to ration foreign-produced milk powder to mainlanders who were close to rioting to get the stuff. It is often claimed that most people in China are lactose intolerant. Nearly all who claimed to be so were self diagnosed and actually just weren't used to dairy or didn't like it. Lactose intolerance is a diagnostically detectable medical condition, not a fashion! to be continued

Maybe later.

No. Just rinse them.

What @KennethTsaid.

I did have a toaster oven but it died a few months back and I haven't gotten round to replacing it yet. I do have a low powered microwave (400W) and use it. I put the skin between two sheets of kitchen paper and nuke it for two minutes on full power.

It is almost always home made - usually daily. I've only ever seen it once in a supermarket.

Store bought/cooked Beijing Duck. On the large round plate is the duck meat with re-crisped skin. The smaller plate has the pancakes for wrapping and cucumber, mooli radish and scallions. The sauce bottom left is plum sauce - not hoisin sauce!!! And because I'm strange some soy sauce top right for dipping the assembled wraps. The carcass and neck etc are in the fridge to make duck stock tomorrow.

Chilean hass avocado just how I like them - olive oil, seasalt and black pepper.

5. Soy Sauce Usage I'm not sure how widespread this is, but in the UK, many if not most Chinese restaurants have a bottle of soy sauce on each table, alongside salt and pepper, allowing the dinner to adjust the taste to their satisfaction. In China, soy sauce is only used in the kitchen (with one exception which I'll get to). I've often eaten in Chinese homes, and never seen soy sauce near a table. Or salt and pepper. This very amusing clip from The Joy Luck Club is flawed in that there would never have been that bottle of soy sauce on the table, which is the climax of the joke. The exception I mentioned is in places selling jiaozi or other items requiring a dip. There will usually be a separate table or counter with soy sauce, vinegar, chilli, garlic coriander/cilantro, chopped Chinese chives etc for the customers to construct their preferred dip. Alternatively the dips may be pre-prepared by the kitchen.

This lot rolled up at 8:30 pm last night. A gift from a friend in Guangdong Province. Top: L-R: Crab flavoured broad beans, Macadamia nuts, Melon seeds, Walnuts, Beef flavour broad beans, Almonds. Botton: L-R: Peanuts, Pecans, Japanese chestnuts.

4. Black Bean Sauce I searched the supermarkets to find a bottle/jar of Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Sauce to take a picture to decorate this comment. Not in the least to my surprise, I failed to find any, or any other brand. Although some LKK products are available, not that one, for the simple reason that no one wants it. Black bean sauce is very popular, but not from a bottle. The sauce is made fresh in the wok each time, using the ingredients individually. Fermented black beans or 豆豉 (dòu chǐ ) are easily found, cheap and keep for months. They are fried along with the main protein or vegetable. Garlc, ginger, soy sauce, etc are also incorporated - i.e all the things in LKK's bottle except the "caramel color, modified corn starch, xanthan gum." Pork in Black Bean Sauce

All the sushi places in China are owned and staffed by Chinese people.

I passed by the local Pizza Hut earlier today and noticed they had posted their breakfast menu in the window. Here is an extract.

I'd believe the first one. I see people using spoons every day!

Which brings me to this. 3. Chinese people steam stuff in bamboo baskets. Er? In 25 years in China, I have never seen anyone use bamboo baskets in a domestic kitchen. None of my friends have them and I've only seen them on sale once - in a culinary curio shop. They were used in the past by shops and stalls selling steamed buns, but even that is now a thing of the past. Nearly all those places have switched to metal baskets as they are longer-lasting, easier to clean, more hygienic etc. They are sometimes still used to serve dim sum, but the food is probably still steamed in metal baskets, the bamboo ones being just for presentation.

2. Chinese people regularly steam their vegetables because it's healthier. No. They don't. Most vegetable dishes and sides are stir fried, preferably in lard (rendered pig fat). They do so because it saves waste and because they say they taste better that way. They are right! Lard fried spinach

Egg rolls are American-Chinese, but spring rolls (春卷 - chūn juǎn) do exist in China and are often served as a dim sum in Cantonese restaurants and are popular at Chinese New Year. They are different from what I understand to be the typical American egg roll. They have a much thinner skin and are smaller. I prefer the Vietnamese ones.

No, that is not what I mean. That is exactly how many people eat rice in China.

I agree. I have no problem with mixing things up. I do it all the time. But I don't pretend my food is German because it has a sausage in it, for example. Guangxi doesn't really have its own cuisine, but is split in two. Southern Guangxi food is more Cantonese, while the north is more akin to Hunan and Guizhou. Liuzhou is on the cusp of the two, but leans more to the north. I can recommend Carolyn Phillip's book, All Under Heaven for more on the different regions of Chinese food. She kindly included me in her list of acknowledgements after I made small suggestions regarding the local food in Guangxi.

Yes. The local government, banks etc. have a three hour lunch break. 12 until 3.

Dried and pickled bamboo shoots are very common here. As are fresh.