China, a Year of Dining

[basquecook]

The burgers are really good and a welcome source of bread that you can start to miss while traveling in China.

Wikipedia says this about them.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rou_jia_mo

Edited November 17, 2014 by basquecook (log)

[liuzhou]

I'm sorry but the Wikipedia article does not match my experience. I can assure you that, in all my time living in Xi'an and revisiting almost annually over the last 18 years that beef was much more common than pork. Lamb was more common than pork, too. And I have never, ever seen a chicken version.

Even wikipedia has flagged that the article has "some issues". As so many do.

[rotuts]

((  BTW:  FD :  im never going to get to taste anything as interesting as I see here.     However, keep the stuff comming !     ))

[basquecook]

Thank you. Don't especially like burgers so stir-fried beef/pork on a bun is much more appealing.

Edited to add

Can't help a little cross cultural thinking here. The perfect vehicle

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/149192-the-bread-topic-2014-–/?p=1995255

 

 

thanks for the link, Anna.. Baking is something that i am not wired for.. I am so envious of your talents.   Longly looking at all the great breads.  

[liuzhou]

Anyway, wikipedia aside,here are my memories of Qingdao.

[liuzhou]

 

 

Can't help a little cross cultural thinking here. The perfect vehicle

http://forums.egulle...14-–/?p=1995255

 

Yes Anna, they sound and look very similar. Would work, I reckon.

Edited November 17, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[basquecook]

after several failed attempts.  internet is terrible at this new hotel.. will try to add more stuff tomorrow..

[basquecook]

and now it works again

 

 

Today for lunch, we had a quick one.. We were not that hungry but, i over ate anyway.. Apparently, about a year ago, my suppler's sister in law purchased a chain out of Shanghai.. they specialize in duck soup.. I was expecting really nice pieces of duck in a soup.. But, it was duck blood and i guess intestine, in a duck broth with clear noodles..  it was really good.. in addition to the soup, they have fried chicken, soup dumplings, meatballs, fried rice and like a tea soaked egg. 

 

when you walk in, the place smells funky.. like, i most likely would have walked out had I not known the proprietor.  

 

It's fast food but, good.. In addition, the kitchen was cooking sichuan food for the staff so, we got a bowl of this sour fish head soup with sichuan peppercorns.  obviously, that was my favorite. 

 

\\

 

Not the best i have had but, really pretty good. 

 

 

soup was delicious.  added some hot peppers obviously. 

 

 

I at first forgot it was supposed to be a duck soup, then i was eating the blood and it was good.. i remembered what the soup was and realized, there are no duck pieces.. just parts and such 

 

 

the star of the show.. this is what the kitchen is eating.. really, some stellar sichuan food.  

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2014 by basquecook (log)

[Darienne]

Add my thanks to the others for this fascinating journey of yours through Chinese food.  We live near a small provincial Ontario city and the Chinese food there is so bad..."all you can eat buffets" and nothing else.  DH and I make our own Chinese dishes at home.  No doubt, nothing authentic, but we like them.

I still can't imagine eating some of the things you enjoy...

[basquecook]

Thanks so much Darienne!!! 

 

I wanted to share this meal from the other night as it had another burger type item.. these were like butter buns.   This was another new thing for me. 

 

 

We had a blow out dinner it was saturday night and they usually gather with their friends.. Small business owner and pilot was our host.. Fun people, interesting conversation but, really, it's the food i came for.  it's a blur of rice wine shots, cheers and smiles and just all around fun.. 

 

Their menu looked like a People Magazine.. It was a glossy magazine that was thick.. There were pages and pages of dishes.. it was pretty amazing actually, just to see it all.. most of the items were also written in english.. 

 

started with cold dishes.. a bean noodle.  

 

 

 

tongue and tripe sichuan style

 

 

mushrooms. this was really lovely

 

 

smoked chicken was the only dish i didn't really like that much

 

 

this was cool.. these buttery buns that you fill with pork.. fantastic 

 

 

never met a fish head i didn't like..  this was the classic hunan red and green pepper

 

 

stuffed eggplant

 

 

tofu stuffed with pork meatballs

 

 

potatoes

 

 

corn cakes

 

 

wonton soup type soup

 

 

 

inside

 

 

At some point this huge bread bowl of french vanilla custard was presented.. it was to melt and then there were large cubes of bread that soaked up the ice cream and we all ate it at the end.. 

 

 

of course the meal ended with a big plate of noodles.. i have this trick where i use a spoon and sort of loop and twirl the noodles around my chopstick like one would do while eating Spaghetti.. They seem to really get a kick out of this.  

 

 

 

I am sure i left out at least 5 dishes..

[Anna N]

thanks for the link, Anna.. Baking is something that i am not wired for.. I am so envious of your talents.   Longly looking at all the great breads.

Thank you but there are far better bakers on eG. I so enjoy looking at the huge variety of foods you share with us.

[Darienne]

Fish heads question:  how much of this 'thing' do you eat?  The entire, entire head?  Eyes too? 

I guess I'm not ready for this dining experience.  Ya got me at tripe...

 

ps.  I admit it.  I'm a plebe.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Darienne (log)

[basquecook]

The cheeks are the most coveted part of the fish. When and an entire fish is served to the table there is a pecking order as to who receives them. So, fish heads here you get two orders of cheeks. By the time the fish head dish is complete there is just a small pile of bones. There is a lot of meat. Eyes are completely edible. The "bones" that are left are long translucent pieces of cartilage that have small bits of meat attached and also little puddles of sauce on them that are great to suck on. It's just meat and bones and sauce. Head, body, it's all from the same fish.

[basquecook]

So we took another flight yesterday.. It is really strange what goes on in these airplanes.   I hate rules for the sake of rules and China is chock full of them.. well, everywhere is chock full of them but, it seems like there is an over abundance here..  For example, when you fly in interior China on say, some scary ass airline with broken seats and ashtrays still in the arm rest and these floppy aluminum can looking wings, there is some strange customs that occur.. For example, the windows need to be open during take off and landing.. The over head lights about the aisle seats need to be on.  All of the seat belts need to be clicked closed.. Not the ones the passengers are using but, the empty seat seat belts need to be clicked closed..  I also discovered, you can't  take your shoes off during the flight.. I had my shoes off, the shoes under my seat, wearing clean socks and all, minding my own business when, the stewardess came over and whispered in my ear,  "do you mind if i take your shoes from you"     It took me a minute to realize, she was asking me to put my shoes on.  

 

Also, I wonder what happens to the stewardesses in China after they reach the age of 25.   I have never seen an old stewardess, i have never seen a stewardess that was not rail thin.. Like, scary thin,. Like so thin, they can pass by the drink cart without turning to the side. 

 

Also, you can not fly with a lighter, or matches in your suitcase the put underneath the plane.  A buzzer and alarm goes off and then they rip through your bag to find the matches.. i don't know how that happens but, they have a sensor that shows matches and lighters and some alarm goes off.. This happened to me a few years ago and i have seen it happen to people at the airport..  Very strange.   

 

Just some observations.   

 

I arrived at the airport and met a driver.. I can always tell when i am near Zhangjighang because i see the castle.. A castle you say?Yes, it's a bright and cheery castle that looks like Disney World.. Unfortunately, it's a chemical plant, nicely dressed up as a fun place to be.   

 

We hit the hotel, exchange gifts and we drive to the restaurant as Nina Simone serenades us.. "She has such a beautiful voice" as the other woman starts to play.  

 

Without fail, our first night involves a fancy restaurant, with iPads as menus.  She asks me to order and i beg her to please order.. I can barely think and making a decision would bring to tears at this point in my delirium.  

 

 

This is her and husbands new favorite spot.. The restaurant name looks like it's called Cinnamon but, i don't think there are an vowels.. It's more CNMMN

 

Cold eggplant with fried garlic crunch on top

 

 

String beans with dried shrimp and spicy peppers and oil 

 

 

 

Thin pieces of pork wrapped around cucumbers.. spicy sichuan noodles. 

 

 

Sticky rice with tea leaf flavoring

 

This is tofu noodles with baby eel in a brown sauce with pancakes.. Very nice.. 

 

 

 

I consistently love this dish.. Crab roe and tofu in a rich crab guts sauce.. It's served over a flame to keep warm. i love this dish.. never get tired of it in all it's versions

 

 

here is the final dish from last night.. It was pork dumplings surrounded by pork belly.  
 

[basquecook]

a sichaun lunch the other day

 

food sitting out to be chosen 

 

 

pig ears 

 

 

cold rabbit

 

peanuts in china are the best. 

 

 

chinese bason and scallions

 

 

tarro surrounded in this crunchy sugary shell

 

 

 

 

chicken with potatoes and bamboo

 

[Shelby]

You're KILLING me, Basque.  Every. Single. Dish.  looks SO damn good.   I join others in saying I wish that I could experience this type of food.

[Darienne]

Ditto for me and I expect all the rest of us.  (Well, I''m still not sure about fish heads, although you did a good job explaining them.)

[FauxPas]

Wow. Thank you so much for taking the time to take these pics and post them for us to salivate over. OK, a couple of them I am not sure about, but overall ti's still wonderful to see all the varied, colourful meals you have been lucky enough to participate in. 

[basquecook]

Thanks all,  i really appreciate the feed back and that you are enjoying the photos.. it is a lot of work but, it gives  me something to do during the down time.  

[Shelby]

I know it's a TON of work.  I did a week long blog and it was exhausting (but really fun).  We TRULY enjoy all of what you are doing and we thank you SO much!

[scamhi]

love the pictures and your descriptions of the food. Please keep posting in this thread.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Yes, thank you, basquecook!

 

I and many others are enjoying this vicarious culinary tour of China.

 

The odds of me ever traveling to China are extremely slim at this point in my life, so your sharing this is priceless to me.

[Kerry Beal]

The corn cake - I want to try the corn cake!

[gfweb]

The corn cake - I want to try the corn cake!

 

Funny, of all the great looking stuff, the corn cake was what caught my eye too.

[basquecook]

Lunch yesterday was great.. we went to a local place where they have bowls of food out.. You pick what you want and then they cook it up for you..  

 

Just one more reason why i like coming to China in the colder months. 

 

 

 

beautiful pork dish

 

 

greens and sea screw, was the translation.. some time of snail i would guess

 

 

octopus in peppers with a spicy brown sauce

 

 

this was is a classic homey dish.. julienned peppers cooked until soft with little bits of pork

 

 

this is a very special dish we are told.. celery grows only in a few regions of China.. i love celery and love this dish.. celery with bits of tofu

 

 

another one of those under flavored or subtly flavored egg and tomato soups. no clams this time 

 

 

sausages and preserved salted ducks drying out..  winter good