Wedding in Yakeshi

[chefmd]

Different proteins (lamb, fatty lamb, lamb skewers, chicken gizzards)

 

 

 

And sesame balls for dessert.

[chefmd]

@Smithy Pickled root was covered with reddish substance that looked like it should be spicy but it was not.  It was not deep fried.  It was supposed to have medicinal properties.  I asked if it was ginseng and the answer was no.

[chefmd]

I did not take pictures of the breakfast buffet at the hotel but did snap a couple of pictures of the tanks in the dining room with live sea creatures that can be cooked upon request.  That included a lonely turtle.  Not your everyday protein.

 

 

 

[chefmd]

To take a break from eating we went on a tour of the local park.  Gorgeous forest, lakes, mountains.  Unfortunately there is some deadly bug that everybody is concerned about so we stayed on the main pathway.

 

[chefmd]

It is also interesting that Bosch has a winter testing facility in Yakeshi.  

From Bosch website:  Yakeshi, which is some 1,100 km north of Beijing, is an ideal location for winter test facilities, as winter lasts five months from November to March. The average temperature is -30 degrees Celsius and snow depth reaches its maximum of 30 cm in February. Constantly low temperatures ensure reproducible conditions under which the software of safety technologies can be tested.

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

44 minutes ago, Smithy said:

It does look like a great spread and far more food than 8 people could eat!

 

That is Chinese culture. It is normal to serve far more than can possibly be eaten. To run out of food is the ultimate in bad manners and loss of face.

 

Fortunately doggy bag culture is also alive and well. Most leftovers will be taken home or distributed among the closer members of the hosts' circle. One of the few times the fridge might be used.

[Shelby]

LOVING this blog.  

 

So interesting about the fridge.  I can't imagine it not being placed in the kitchen

 

And the food, oh the food.  I agree, those tofu noodles look so good.  Along with that stuffed eggplant.  And, the dough that you dip in beer for dessert!

 

Oh and the food robot.  How cool is that???

[liuzhou]

Despite the intense food culture, Chinese apartment kitchens are usually tiny. Mine are larger than most, but I still can't fit a fridge in either of them.

 

I have two fridges at home here in the city, both in the living/sitting room. The one in my countryside home is on the balcony beside the washing machine! All three are full!

Edited May 28, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[chefmd]

My usual wake up time in China around 3 AM.  Fortunately I am able to fall asleep after an hour or two for a few more hours.  I am sure that my daily after lunch naps do not help me to sleep through the night :).  But the luxury of being able to sleep any time I want while on vacation is oh so delicious.

 

Hot pot for lunch.  We were presented with a pot with boiling water and couple of aromatics in it.  The amount of meat that you see in picture was just the beginning.  They kept bringing more until we could not eat another morsel.  It was lamb and beef.  And beer was flowing freely again.  This time it was on tap.  I don't normally drink beer but it goes very well with spicy meat centric meals.

 

 

 

[chefmd]

Dinner was at the hotel.  It was part of the "rehearsal" event.  I use quotation mark because the only rehearsal we did was walking from down the elevated platform and standing on the podium for a minute or two while emcee was saying something in Chinese.  He was using the microphone and the volume was too high for the room.  I hope it is not going to be that loud tomorrow.  Mostly the event was for the close family members to socialize.  Photos and videos of the happy couple were projected on the big screen with English captions such as "history of love".  Here is a picture of the happy couple in front of a picture of the happy couple.

 

No smoking signs are posted everywhere.  Of course everyone is smoking.  There were cigarette butts on the floor of the banquet room.  

 

Tables are ready for tomorrow.

 

 

The welcome hard liquor again.  Oh, I miss my glass of chilled white wine!

 

[chefmd]

After rehearsal we all moved to a smaller room for dinner.  This was the only meal that we were allowed to pay for.  It was priced per table, not per person.  Our contribution was prominently acknowledged in the speech given by the mother of the bride.    Again too much food.

 

Lamb ribs.  Somewhat fatty compared to the lamb that we get in America but very flavorful.

 

 

Surprisingly we got a corn dish.  It looked like it was from a can but it sure was made with fresh corn,

 

 

French fries looking dish.  Fries were sweet, coated in sugar and sprinkled with small candies.  I warned DH but he tried it anyway.  "Fries are sweet" was his response.  We communicate well in our family.

 

Whole chicken

 

Various cold seafood

 

Delicious deep fried pork.

[chefmd]

Of course there was more food.  We could not eat very much  but my DIL kept filling our plates.  Our protests that we can pick our own food were met with explanation that she is supposed to take care of us.

 

Best dish of the night made with "local vegetables".  Of course they were mostly meat.  Best meat balls I ever tasted.

 

Scallops on the shell

 

 

Sliced cold pork.

 

Fruit salad

 

Whole fish

[cakewalk]

This is a thrilling ride. Congratulations! And thank you. 

[sartoric]

Fascinating glimpse into China, thanks for telling your story.

The food looks amazing, lucky you !

[JoNorvelleWalker]

15 hours ago, chefmd said:

In Russia refrigerators are usually packed chock full.  It is dangerous to open the door cause the food may start falling out.

 

Same in some parts of North America.

 

[chefmd]

The wedding was very impressive.  There was light show and good old disco ball.  Dancers, singers, and musicians.  Interestingly, it started at 10:30 AM and was done by 12:30.

 

 

And of course there was food.  Dishes were very similar to the ones we had during previous meals so I will not bore you with individual pictures.  I was happy to see guests filling up doggy bags after the event since of course there was a lot of left over food.

 

 

 

The floor after the event.  People were eating sunflower seeds and spitting shells on the floor.

 

 

[liuzhou]

19 hours ago, chefmd said:

Surprisingly we got a corn dish.  It looked like it was from a can but it sure was made with fresh corn,

I'm surprised you are surprised to be served corn. China is the world's second largest corn producer, lagging just behind the USA.  I'm sure it wouldn't be canned. The only time I've seen canned corn in China was in a "western" food store.

Steamed corn cobs are possibly/probably the biggest selling street food.But, as you have discovered, frequently turns up in banquet meals, too.

 

Edited May 29, 2016 by liuzhou
typo (log)

[chefmd]

Liuzhou, thank you for clarifying my corn confusion.  Now I am surprised that I never had corn dish in a Chinese restaurant in the US.  Just shows how limited my experience is when it comes to China.

[liuzhou]

58 minutes ago, chefmd said:

Liuzhou, thank you for clarifying my corn confusion.  Now I am surprised that I never had corn dish in a Chinese restaurant in the US.  Just shows how limited my experience is when it comes to China.

 

Isn't it odd? In the UK, chicken and sweetcorn soup is by far the most common soup (often the only one) in Chinese restaurants.

 

I've been living in China for 20 years and have never once encountered chicken and sweetcorn soup!

 

At the same time, it has to be said Chinese takes on western food are equally random and often bizarre.

[Darienne]

Amazing blog.  Thank you so much for taking the time to post all the photos with explanations. All best to the family.

[Tere]

Chips with sugar takes me back to travelling in China 20 years ago

 

Thanks for sharing this, it's been great  

[Porthos]

ChefMD, thank you for taking us along on your trip. This is fun and enlightening.

[chefmd]

An unexpected and truly magical meal happened on our last day.  Our hosts picked us up at the Hotel and drove to grassland area about two hours west.  We passed small clusters of yurts along the way.  Some yurts function as mini museums with themed artifacts such as clothes or agriculture.  Some are for entertaining.  We stopped at the one that also doubled as a restaurant.  I had no idea where we were going and what the plans were for the day.  Turns out we were about to have an amazing nose to tail lamb experience.  Now, there was a slight problem.  While I will eat anything that is on my plate and will often actively seek out offal dishes, DH is a very cautious eater (where are the lamb chops was his initial question).  This time he managed to try and even to like a few of the offerings other than the muscle part of the lamb.  And what a way to honor an animal that became our meal!

 

Inside of the yurt.

 

 

Meaty part that was mostly the breast plate.  Meat was fatty and slightly chewy, very flavorful, served with variety of dipping sauces that sadly we forgot to photograph.  This was the first time that I saw small knives served so guests could cut small chunks of meat for themselves.

 

Kidneys.  Probably my favorite part of the meal.

 

Heart and liver.

 

Tripe.  It tasted none of the offal, more like very flavorful port stir fry.

 

Lungs.  Don't know how it was prepared but texture was similar to chicken gizzards.

 

Intestine.  Please insert phallic jokes as needed.

 

Lamb sausage

 

Blood sausage with amazing almost creme brulee like texture.  Not a hint of the metallic taste that I would expect from blood.

 

 

 

[Shelby]

OH WOW.  I've never tasted any lamb parts except for the chops.  I just recently found that I like it.  I'd have loved to taste all of the innards  I'm glad your husband was brave and tried it.

 

What did the intestine taste like?  Looks sort of chewy?  

[chefmd]

There were few other dishes on the table.  We were told that all ingredients are local.

 

Fries that were made with something like sweet potato.

 

Lamb soup with greens.

 

Glass noodles

 

Parsley leaf salad

 

Noodle soup

 

Whole fish

 

Desserts (kidney accidentally made its way on a cookie plate)