liuzhou

Linguine with a spicy pork ragu (pork, tomatoes, onions, chilli, anchovies, Chinese chives, black pepper). Seconds and thirds were had.

I have a zero click butter cutter. . . . . . . . . . . It's called a knife. Works every time.

Indeed. Dishwashers are all but unknown in China. My friends think it's a great joke when I try to tell them such things exist. Not that I'd want one anyway.

Around 20 terry towelling, regular size but I almost never use them for drying dishes, though. Also have about 12 small (8"-10" square) ones for minor spills and occasional hot pot lid picker-uppers. Always one of each hanging from the handles of the cupboards below the main prep counter.

Tonight's dinner was a blatant, but ultimately failed attempt to pretend it's still summer. It tasted fine, though. Pork in a lemon, coriander, garlic and olive oil marinade/sauce. Rice and spinach salad.

This morning, I had my wontons in a more conventional manner. In a spicy broth with spinach. THe wontons contained pork and shiitake.

Indeed. The best pizza I ever ate outside Italy was right here in town. The place was operated by a local who had lived in S. Korea for many years. S. Korea knows its pizzas. He had come home to semi-retire and made stunning pizzas (without corn or Kewpie). No one bit. The place was near empty every time I went and, inevitably, after about a year it closed down. Three months later, Pizza Hut opened and there were long lines down the block to eat garbage. I wept.

Another winter warmer - steak and kidney (-pie) with carrots, onion and a chilli pepper which happened to be lying on the counter. Boiled spuds and cabbage. With a drop of fermented Italian grape juice.

Yeah! Corn on everything. I hate corn! I've given up eating any kind of pizza in China. They have no idea what it is. Even when I insist on no corn. I get corn! I lied and said, "I am allergic to corn and I will probably die from analectic shock if you serve me even one tiny fragment, then my family will sue you for everything you will ever earn in your miserable life," I claimed "Oh, you mean you only want a little corn." No! I want zero corn. Less than zero" "Maybe you prefer a durian pizza slathered with ridiculous amounts of sweet Japanese mayonnaise, instead" At that point, Yum Foods! and I parted company. I mean "Yum Foods!"? Apart from being a blatant lie, does anyone over 11 years-old use"yum" as a real word?

Generally, I prefer the smaller ones, given the choice. Sweeter without being sweet, if you know what I mean. MY neighbours won't forgive me though. They are all convinced that clams may only be eaten with mustard greens in soup or they well spend eternities in hell, if they are lucky!

If it does, it'll be a first. I have standards. Astonishingly low standards, but standards nonetheless.

Successful, global fast food chains, as we know, localise their food to the particular territories they operate in. I thought it may be interesting to see some examples. Pizza Hut, here in China, is currently offering this. The 'headline' reads "Nine Tastes Together" and the sub says something like "China Come Together". So, it's a gastronomic trip around China. The 9 sections of the pizza are (L-R, Top- Bottom): Xinjiang Cumin Lamb (Mutton) Shaanxi Cured Beef Harbin Red Sausage Sichuan Gongbao Chicken (Kung-Po Chicken) Beijing Duck Shanghai Fried Shrimp Yunnan Mushrooms Macao Roast Pork Cantonese Char Siu Did I eat it. Certainly not. Sounds and looks terrible! What have they come up with in your neck of the woods?

This surprised me. I thought it would be OK, but it surpassed my expectations. It is a simple clam soup with noodles (hiding underneath). I made a cheat chicken stock using bouillon powder, added some shallot and chilli and lots of ground white pepper. Let that simmer five minutes then in with the clams, some baby bok choy and rice noodles. Really warmed me up on a cold noon and left me with a happy mouth. I added a bit more broth after taking the photograph.

Many of my local stores have these. Despite the languages on the packaging, they are Chinese made and apparently popular. One bite and it's all over, perhaps.

Steamed Wontons (馄饨 hún tún) with Sriracha sauce (from Sriracha). Not American Sriracha.

Cod with a caper/lemon/butter sauce and shishimi togarishi spicing, puréed broccoli with garlic and more butter, rice.

Great, if you have an 18th century doctor. Mine died last week. 268 years old. Liver failure. Joking aside, wine strength has also changed.

You may consider this to be an odd dinner. So do I, but it's what I fancied. Prawn scrambled egg and duck fat fried potato. The eggs were from ducks, too.

Chicken with olives (black and green), onion, garlic, lemon juice and coriander leaf; rice.

Cue Canned Heat - On The Road Again Dinner in a Chinese fast food place by the expressway on the Tropic of Cancer. The line is marked on the road. Roast duck, cabbage and shredded carrot and daikon radish over rice. The rice and carrot/daikon is hiding under the duck and cabbage. Could have been hotter, but tasty all the same. More rice than I could eat. Cost: The equivalent of $1.23 USD

Head chef resigns over ‘spiking’ vegan meal comments How to destroy your business in one Facebook comment! Whatever, you may think of veganism, this was pure stupidity. Death threats aren't OK, but what an idiot.

I wasn't sure where to put this, but wanted to share it. At first I thought of the Food Funnies topic, but it wasn't funny for the woman involved. So here it is with a topic to itself, unless someone else can think of somewhere it fits better. Watch what you swallow! Crohn's disease patient in fact had Heinz sauce sachet perforating intestine.

I haven't ever posted the link, but had seen it. Thanks for linking to it again. I have been to Hongxi and Kaili. They are just over the provincial border from the places I visited in this topic. I should be back in the places up-thread early next month if all goes to plan. The food I showed here was all restaurant food. I should be able to get back to everyone with more home cooking, although it's not so different.

Yesterday, I had a frustrating, annoying day. A meeting I had set up and spent hours planning was cancelled with no reason given, ten minutes before it was due to start. I was on my way when I got a text message saying "Cancelled" and nothing else. Earlier, I had bought some pork intending to stir fry it with some black fermented beans, chilli and Sichuan peppercorns etc , but, when it was time to cook, I was in a foul mood, thought of going out to eat but it was miserable weather, so I ended up just cutting the pork into sort-of-cutlets and frying them. With boiled spuds and wilted garland chrysanthemum greens. Then I felt better. But I'm still waiting for an explanation or apology or reschedule. I love my work, but sometimes I have to deal with a**holes. (Sorry, but there is no other word.)

January the Tooth, 2018 Home made chicken liver paté on toast (home baked bread). Eaten at home.