liuzhou

My local supermarket has a team of highly trained oenophiles who scout the vineyards of the entire known universe, dedicated to sourcing the worst wines in the world. Then they inflate the prices to the point where I could fly to Europe and pick up a bottle cheaper than they sell it. Let me be clear. 99% of Chinese wine drinkers haven't a clue what wine should taste like. It's merely a status flaunting gesture. Legends abound of people buying bottles of Chateau Lafite and mixing it with Coca Cola - they are true. The most popular domestic wine is Dynasty. Skip the first two letters. Nasty Wine I dropped by today in search of anything but wine, but noticed this: A German sparkler, not of the highest quality, but a decent everyday bubbler on special offer. Instead of ¥129 (USD $19.50) a bottle, they are offering two for ¥150 (USD $11.30 each ). I bought four. So that's what I'm drinking, while reserving my last bottle of the real thing - Champagne until Christmas day. I should point out that China does produce some excellent wines, but in very limited quantities. Their day is coming.

I have a couple of glass things which I do use for oven stuff like cottage pie or fruit crumbles. Pretty much everything else is stainless steel, except for my woks which are cast iron, but what I really like to use is wood. Obviously in limited applications, but for serving or mixing bowls, there is just something that comforts my inner primeval. Ditto bamboo, cos that is what I can find most easily here beyond the bamboo curtain.

@JoNorvelleWalker @Thanks for the Crepes @Smithy Correct link here. Nah! I can live without one.

There is a long and glorious history of this kind of thing. Fake reviews of fake books, movies, music albums, concerts etc. Followed by people claiming to have championed the artists in questions long before they were "popular". Nothing new. TripAdvisor is, however, full of nonsense. The entries for my city bear scant resemblance to reality.

@Okanagancook's post three or four back inspired my breakfast this morning. Sadly, my bacon isn't home made, but the bread is. I haven't had one of these for some time due to a dead oven, so no bread. Oven has been replaced and I'm back in business. I like my bacon crisp (near burnt.)

Twenty years ago, I had a raging toothache and went to what I was told was China's best dental hospital, in Xi'an. They gave me an anaesthetic which was apparently fake, as it had as much effect as a glass of water. Then they proceeded to extract my tooth with a hammer and chisel! The most traumatic event in my long life. I got through the post-stress-disorder and general agony by the judicious use of my native land's finest product. Single malt whisky, which a friend happened to have brought me from Scotland. Luckily my friend isn't mean and brought me two bottles!

The weather is changing. Warm in the day time, but temperatures plummet at sundown. So, comfort food for winter. Mince and tatties. Mince with carrot, onion. Shanghai Worcestershire sauce, mustard mash and stir fried cabbage.

Some time back, I mentioned on the dinner thread, that my friend J called me asking me to cook her dinner as she had just had dental treatment and was in considerable discomfort. I ended up making her shrimp and spaghetti which was slightly beyond al dente. She found that soft enough to eat.

豆瓣鲜鱼 dòu bàn xiān yú - Braised fish in chilli bean sauce. 菠菜 bō cài - Spinach 米饭 mǐ fàn - Rice

Sorry, no. I just found it in the hotel foyer as I was waiting for the group to gather together and took a quick snap with my cell phone. Next time I'm back that way, I can ask, but it may be a while.

Some of you may remember the Dong Art topic from two years ago. These are the same people who produce that art. On the trip I discovered something I hadn't seen before. All over China, people produce bamboo trays for various uses. I found that the Dong have started using them as canvases for their paintings. Here are some which were on sale in one location. There was a Dong man painting them in-store. In those pictures they are weaving. Those trays are about 12 -18 inches in diameter. The next is much larger and depicts one of the 100-Family Feasts I attended and posted up-thread.

Literally it reads "Care for the grass underfoot. Do not break twigs or flower heads." I would translate it non-literally but pragmatically as "Keep off the grass. Do not pick flowers." The hotel's "translation" has been supplied by a Chinese computer translation program like Google Mistranslate.

Chicken noodles. Chicken breast stir fried with garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, chilli, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, coriander/cilantro (including the roots) and noodles.

And finally. On the Friday morning, we arranged a late start at 9:30, but I woke long before that, as is my habit, and after a quick breakfast of oil tea, steamed bread, boiled egg etc, I headed out into the cold early morning and wandered around the hotel grounds. Apart from a river view and a bizarre (but common) mangling of my native tongue, there wasn't much to see. So, I returned to hotel, put on more clothes and examined some of the artwork around the foyer as I waited for the others to join me. Eventually, everyone arrived and we headed into the town centre, which was but a stone's throw away. We started at Sanjiang Wind and Rain Bridge. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the best such bridge, that at Chenyang village. Although it is sometimes said to be ancient, the current bridge was actually erected in 1916 after the previous one was swept away in an exceptionally severe flood. There is only one road to that bridge and it is un-passable at the moment as they are resurfacing and widening it. As I've said before elsewhere, the bridge is made entirely without nails and apart from the concrete pillars on which it rests is all wooden. Here is Chengyang Bridge But as we couldn't get there, we made do with Sanjiang Bridge. I was disappointed because I know several people in that village and had hoped to see them. Next time! The Sanjiang bridge is made in the traditional way, but non-traditionally is a road bridge on one of the main roads out of town. We strolled across the bridge, which is only seven years old and went to a Dong culture museum. Perhaps the most interesting exhibit is a mock-up of a Dong wooden house interior. Bedroom Belongings Kitchen Dining Room Granary Although this is a recreation of a Dong home, I have stayed in many real homes and this is an accurate simulation. Then we went to see this. The town's drum tower. Again a totally wooden structure with no nails. Looking up inside. By now it was almost time for lunch, but first a visit to a teashop, where we sampled some excellent teas and some of us made purchases. I came away with this. This is 虫宝茶 chóng bǎo chá, literally insect treasure tea. The treasure is that it is insect excrement. The bugs, caterpillars of a type of moth, eat the tea leaves and when they come out the other end the droppings are gathered and dried, then used to make a refreshing cup of tea! They are mixed with regular undigested tea. It is considered medicinal and effective against stomach complaints. I tried a cup before buying this jar. It tasted like tea but with a sort of fungal taste in the background. Not bad. Then lunch: Again, as required, we started with oil tea. Fish hotpot Tofu to add to the fish hotpot Steamed chicken with its offal. Some kind of pork and vegetable dish. It was strange. Shrimp Mixed vegetable Taro Then we saw the diplomats off by high speed trains and headed back home - a three hour drive. But not before another brief shopping trip here. where we met this ugly and not very intelligent chap who was doing his best to mate with a traffic cone. and I bought a big mushroom. Ganoderma. Back home, we were peckish again so hit the local hotel restaurant for a nice bowl of the city's speciality - luosifen (螺蛳粉 luó sī fěn). Snail noodles. Then home. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and met some nice people.

Camellia tree seeds are pressed to make tea seed oil, which is used both as a cooking oil and as the basis for the oil tea. This oil is used to fry regular tea leaves, green or black according to preference. I find black tea is the more common. The fried tea leaves are then used to make tea in the usual manner, by adding hot water and leaving it to steep. Green onions, garlic and salt are usually added. Sometimes, pork offal is cooked in the tea, then discarded. Cooked glutinous rice is dried in the sun then fried in the same tea seed oil which causes it to puff up in a similar manner to popcorn. Peanuts and soybeans are also stir-fried. It is then served as shown above. It is not at all greasy in the mouth.

After the dinner and that awesome farewell we headed back to the county town and a very nice hotel. The whole trip was arranged and paid for by the local government for some very important foreign diplomats, so we were well looked after. Normally, when I'm in this area (about once a month on average) I do stay with local families. I enjoy that a lot, but it was nice to have a bit of luxury for once. I'll show the hotel in tomorrow's post. I still have to sort out the photos.

I've seen it many times over the last 20+ years and I'm still in awe.

@IowaDee I've just been told that the tufts you asked about are indeed cotton.

If you mean these serving containers then you are not seeing things. They are bamboo just as you describe. Bamboo containers are often used by the Dong, not only for serving. Rice and other foods are often steamed in bamboo containers too. They say it improves the taste.

When we arrived in Sanjiang we were led into a theatre where we saw yet another Dong musical extravaganza. This was a professional production billed as a Love Story and although it was OK, it didn't have the magic or thrill of the amateur performances done for love rather than money which we had been watching for two days. So, I thought I'd now take the opportunity to fill in a little detail of the Dong people's food culture. Like the Miao, they very much like their oil tea, made from Tea Seed Oil (Camellia oil). Do not confuse this with the inedible, indeed toxic, tea tree.oil. Dong oil tree is slightly different from the Miao's version. They include spices, ginger and, in particular, garlic. I'm never sure which one I prefer. Usually the one I happen to be drinking at the time. Most Dong people consume this every day and they also share the Miao hospitality rituals associated with the oil tea, offering it to all guests until they can take no more. They also tend to tease guests by serving the tea without chopsticks and seeing how they deal with the rice, peanuts and beans etc which it contains. If a young girl offers a boy a bowl of oil tea, but with only one chopstick, then it has a meaning much more than simple hospitality. I can only politely translate it as "Take me, I'm yours!" Sanjiang county has around 1 million hectares (287,000 square miles) of tea plantations.The best tea is picked in early spring and Sanjiang tea comes to perfection earlier than that in most of China. It is therefore called "No. 1 China Early Spring Tea" and has won many awards. They also enjoy sticky rice cakes made from glutinous rice and sugar. Really sticky, tooth destroyers. I've only eaten them once. It took me weeks to separate my upper and lower teeth! Pickled foods are also very popular and not just vegetables. They also pickle fish, pork etc. Oil tea and pickled foods are mandatory at festivals and weddings. Unlike most Chinese people, the Dong eat a lot of raw food, especially in summer. Carrot, bamboo shoots, tomato and cucumber are chopped into small pieces and mixed as a salad with a vinegar, salt and sugar dressing. They also eat raw fish and even raw pork in a sushi style. Perhaps the strangest is their Herb Soup. This uses various wild herbs and half digested grasses from the stomachs of goats. They believe that this has medicinal properties especially for stomach ailments. The Dong name translates as "Dong Stomach Medicine". I've never had it. After the show, I had a beer and went to bed. Tomorrow, I will post the final instalment which will include one more gustatory novelty.

About an hour and a half later, somewhat behind schedule, we arrived at Guandong village (冠洞村 guàn dòng cūn), a traditional Dong village in the east of Sanjiang Dong county. We were here for something very special. The villagers were hosting a 侗族百家宴 (dóng zú bǎi jiā yàn), "Dong People Hundred Family Feast". We rolled into the village and were escorted to the place of honour facing this drum tower. Totally built of wood, without nails, these are to be found in every Dong village. In fact, they have a saying that a village without a drum tower isn't a village, just a bunch of houses. The drum tower was used to sound warnings or to send signals. Today they are community meeting places, courts, places of worship etc. The centre of village life. . In front of the tower, the villagers put on a short performance for our benefit. Like the Miao people, the Dong also have a Lusheng culture and their music is very similar. As you can see their dress is different from that of the Miao. Here they are singing a song about weaving. After this they bring out tables to fill the square in front of the Drum Tower. At this point, I went for a wander. Behind the drum tower, is the 'main street' - actually, the only street. Here I met this charming young man who babbled away to me in the Dong language - not one in which I am very proficient.. I returned to find this. Everyone has taken up position at a table. I joined the one on the left. Each family in the village makes a meal for one table. This chap made ours and happily served us. Real Dong style home cooking. This means that every table is having a different meal, although of course there are duplicated dishes. But the way it works is that you start out at the table of your choice and sample the delights on offer. Our table had: Daikon radish and carrot Fried carp(?) with tomato and chilli Tofu cubes stuffed with pork and cabbage Cured pig fat Mixed offal and greens in a hot pot. Lizard's Tail Vegetable Now, you might be thinking "I wonder what the other tables have that I might prefer." No problem. You can just get up with your bowl and chopsticks and wander around the other tables. If something takes your fancy, you just join whoever is there. They will most probably offer you a cup of home-made rice wine and encourage you to eat more. Then you can wander off again and search for another table which looks inviting (they all do!) This is not only acceptable behaviour, but expected. Here are some things I found on other tables. Some kind of steamed gourd. Smoked fish Bean Sprouts 蛋饺. These are like jiaozi (potstickers) but the skin is egg rather than pasta. Mini-omelets. and many more The men take to walking around proposing toasts to all the women; while the women do the same to the men. Most just continue eating. Finally, we are full and it is time to leave. This is the bit that tugs my heartstrings every time. As the guests leave, the entire village follows them to the village gate singing their farewell song. I feel it's important to say that they are not doing this only for the benefit of tourists. No money changes hands. It is simple, pure hospitality to strangers. It's not a movie set. This is real life for these people. I feel overwhelmed every time I experience it. And so privileged to be able to share in it. We head for the county town, Sanjiang. Where more adventure awaits us.

Last night. Pork with salted black beans, garlic, ginger, scallions, Shaoxing wine and soy sauce. Served with wilted spinach and rice.

The rest of the trip follows on this topic. I have separated the trip as the two ethnic groups involved, while sharing some things, are mainly quite different.

Note: This follows on from the Munching with the Miao topic. The three-hour journey north from Miao territory ended up taking four, as the driver missed a turning and we had to drive on to the next exit and go back. But our hosts waited for us at the expressway exit and led us up a winding road to our destination - Buyang 10,000 mu tea plantation (布央万亩茶园 bù yāng wàn mǔ chá yuán) The 'mu' is a Chinese measurement of area equal to 0.07 of a hectare, but the 10,000 figure is just another Chinese way of saying "very large". We were in Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, where 57% of the inhabitants are Dong. The Dong people (also known as the Kam) are noted for their tea, love of glutinous rice and their carpentry and architecture. And their hospitality. They tend to live at the foot of mountains, unlike the Miao who live in the mid-levels. By the time we arrived, it was lunch time, but first we had to have a sip of the local tea. This lady did the preparation duty. This was what we call black tea, but the Chinese more sensibly call 'red tea'. There is something special about drinking tea when you can see the bush it grew on just outside the window! Then into lunch: Chicken Soup The ubiquitous Egg and Tomato Dried fish with soy beans and chilli peppers. Delicious. Stir fried lotus root Daikon Radish Rice Paddy Fish Deep Fried in Camellia Oil - wonderful with a smoky flavour, but they are not smoked. Out of Focus Corn and mixed vegetable Fried Beans Steamed Pumpkin Chicken Beef with Bitter Melon Glutinous (Sticky) Rice Oranges The juiciest pomelo ever. The area is known for the quality of its pomelos. After lunch we headed out to explore the tea plantation. Interspersed with the tea plants are these camellia trees, the seeds of which are used to make the Dong people's preferred cooking oil. As we climbed the terraces we could hear singing and then came across this group of women. They are the tea pickers. It isn't tea picking time, but they came out in their traditional costumes to welcome us with their call and response music. They do often sing when picking. They were clearly enjoying themselves. And here they are: After our serenade we headed off again, this time to the east and the most memorable meal of the trip. Coming soon.

I have now added the entertainment videos to my previous post.