liuzhou

The dinner in question is now at over at the Filming Dinner topic.

Me too. You get used to it. The restaurant was air-conditioned though.

Yes. It was 37ºC/98.6F and very humid. It always is here.

I sat chatting with a young woman who spoke excellent English. During the conversation she mentioned she had studied in Beijing, but then did a master's degree in St. Andrews. I was so surprised. She is the only Chinese person I know who has even heard of the place. Then I surprised her by telling her that I was born in St. Andrews. Small world, indeed. Then we noticed that two tables had been set for dinner and food had appeared from the restaurant kitchen below. Cauliflower with bacon. Braised Tofu Skin Beef with baby lotus roots Stir fried green chilli with salted black beans. Poached chicken Chicken Soup Pickled vegetables and jujubes Garlic scapes with tiny river shrimp and of course snails. The television crew descended on our table and I was presented with a bowl of Luosifen and some stewed ducks feet. I was given strict instructions not to eat any until the director said the Chinese equivalent of "Camera! Action!" This took a while, although I was permitted to sample the other goodies on offer in the meantime. Finally I was Instructed to take a mouthful of luosifen and make suitably appreciative noises. I was given the go-ahead and dived in. Three second later the director shouted "Cut!" This went on three or four times until he was satisfied. Then he moved on to other people eating other dishes. Finally, he decided he was hungry and went off to join another table and we got on with enjoying our meal. I realise I was being the token foreigner again, but hey, a free dinner! Delicious and a lot of fun.

No. They are river snails.

Back upstairs, I found that a load of food ingredients had arrived and were spread out on various tables. One glance and I knew exactly what they were for. The yellowish stuff is dried tofu skin. This is formed when making tofu and the bean and water mix is heated then left to cool. This skin forms on top like skin on boiled milk, and is scooped out and dried. The box front left holds the unprocessed skin, while top right is another box of the same stuff fried. The red bag contains the other ingredient from the river. River Snails We also have: Dried rice noodles Garlic, ginger and chilli. The holy trinity of local food. Spices There were also chickens , pork and green vegetables on other tables. In a corner a large pot was bubbling away on a portable burner. It contained a bright red stock containing Meaty Pork Bones Chicken River Snails and the holy trinity, spices and pickled bamboo shoots. This is the stock for Liuzhou's signature dish - Luosifen (Snail noodles) 螺蛳粉 luó sī fěn. Dinner was almost ready.

I was going to post this in the Dinner topic, but I realised it was going to be a long story and didn't want to hijack the fine entries over there. Dinner last night was interesting, but strange. For reasons known only to themselves, the local television station decided to make a short program highlighting the local food specialities. They took over this lovely organic restaurant in a forest park area to the north of the city. We climbed up to the the third floor passing various dining rooms. until we reached this large room at the top. These people are not eating. They are working. This is apparently how many people it takes to make a short television program. Lighting people, food stylists etc. Cameramen, too. They were taking still shots at the time. It became apparent that I wasn't needed at this point, so I went for a walk around the restaurant grounds. The restaurant is right beside the river which is in itself a symbol of the city. An old name for the city was 龙城 (lóng chéng), which means Dragon City, so-called because the river is said to resemble a dragon's tail looping through the city. I don't know. My local bakery is still called Long Cheng Bakery, for example. The restaurant is at the red dot top right. I live at the blue dot in the centre. The river is also the source of the restaurant's fish and one other important ingredient that I will come to. The chickens and ducks live right beside the restaurant. As do the vegetables and the fruit. Then I went back inside to see what, if anything was happening.

Yes, I noticed it was you who asked. But don't worry, I had forgotten that I answered, too!

On page 6 indeed. To be more precise here.

Actually, I left Scotland long before Deep Fried Mars Bars. Or the Bangles.

Why do you think I left?

Please tell me that's not blueberries with the chicken!

It's 11pm here in the land of the rice eaters and I just got home from an epic dinner - with a twist. I'm exhausted, so I'll post the many details tomorrow, but here's a teaser.

Yes, absolutely.

In cities, 99% of people use these: fuelled by either bottled gas or, more recently, piped gas. My apartment has piped gas which does throw out at a higher pressure, giving me more heat. Also popular in recent years are free-standing portable induction cookers necessitating flat bottom woks. These are mainly used for hot pots, which do not require such high heat, but can be conveniently placed on the dining table. I do, however, see people using them every day for stir frying at their workplace - usually outside small shops where the staff rustle up lunch. In the countryside , naked fire burning in an old oil drum is very common. Fuelled by gathered wood or by coal briquettes. The briquettes were common in the cities 20 years ago, but have largely been outlawed for environmental reasons. Beijing smog 20 years ago was almost entirely domestically produced.

We get those here too. They are known as 蛇皮果 shé pí guǒ; literally: snake skin fruit in Chinese. I have a series on unusual (to me) food finds on my blog and Snake Skin Fruit was the first entry back in November 2011.

I'd better tidy up and put the kettle on, then. Turn north at Hong Kong.

My local convenience store this afternoon L to R: Stewed Pig Ears; Stewed Pig Head Skin; Five Spice Pig Skin

I'm 99% sure it's a calligraphy brush holder. That it is from Taiwan and features the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove is a big give-away. That image is very typical of Chinese brush holders. Here is an example , although this one is carved bamboo rather than ceramic: Brushpot with depiction of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, China, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century AD, bamboo - Ethnological Museum, Berlin Public Domain Image via Wikicommons Many more here. Tiki mugs didn't emerge until the 1960s - and far from China.

@Lisa Shock One of my more eagle-eyed friends has spotted that your find is from Taiwan made by the Taiwan Pottery Company.

So much for my guess. It is a poetic couplet, but describing the scene. In modern Chinese we think it is 文章华国 诗礼传家 which in my rough translation reads Magnificent national writing Spreading poetry's gifts The couplet is generally used as a kind of metaphor to exhort people to pass Chinese culture on from generation to generation. and/or to exhort the young to learn from their elders.

@Lisa Shock I can confirm it is Chinese. The larger script is an old, now obsolete Chinese script, most of which I can't read. (This is no guarantee of age, though.) The smaller writing is more modern Chinese, but not very clear. The only bit I can make out is 竹林七贤 in the second picture. This refers to The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (240--249AD ), as does the image. I'm guessing the old writing is part of one of their poems. I would agree it is probably some sort of vase or perhaps a calligraphy brush holder. I will ask friends who know more about these things (and have better eyesight than me) and let you know if they come up with anything. Can you give me its dimensions, please?

Tonight did not go as planned. Does it ever? I decided to go Thai. First up a bowl of Tom Yum Soup ( ต้มยำกุ้ง ). This was my downfall. I intended to follow it with a Chicken Massaman Curry ( มัสมั่น ) which I was cooking concurrently. But back to the soup. The recipe claimed to serve three to four people. Obviously a mistranslation, because I ate the first bowl and decided that another one was in order. That left just enough for a third bowl which obviously I ate, too. They must have meant three to four bowls! Anyway, by the time I finished that, I was feeling rather full, so the partially cooked curry is now resting in the fridge to allow the flavours to mingle and will doubtless turn up tomorrow night for your viewing pleasure - and my eating pleasure. Until then, here is soup bowl number one. Shrimp, squid and oyster mushrooms in the usual broth with galangal, lemongrass, fish sauce and lime juice. I know the shrimp were fresh because I carried them home live from the market and they wriggled and squiggled right up until they were dropped into the broth.

Thanks. And I was looking at it with antique eyes. I remember the first time I was in Bavaria, about 40 years ago. I arrived from Vienna rather late at night, went straight to my hotel and to bed. In the morning around 7 am, I found my way to the breakfast room where I had a similar breakfast, but what sticks in my memory most was the chef/waiter/manager/owner asking me: "and what would you like to drink? Tea, coffee or beer?" Then I knew I would like it there!

What are the dark sausages? Some kind of blood sausage?