三月三螺蛳粉节 San Yue San Luosifen Fesival

[liuzhou]

三月三 (sān yuè sān) is the major festival for the Zhuang ethnic minority, most of whom live here in Guangxi. It takes place on the third day of the third month of the traditional Chinese -solar-lunar calendar and is a public holiday here.

 

To mark the occasion, Liuzhou held a "long table" lunch for 2,000 people, featuring the local speciality - snails, particularly 螺蛳粉 (luosifen) snail noodles. The tables were arranged in a huge circle surrounding the Li Ning Sports stadium, an Olympic sized venue. The locals dressed up in their glad rags.

Here are a few images from the event, basically in random order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instant Luosifen (River snail noodles)

 

Chicken and snails

 

Duck and snails

 

Pork and snails

 

Cooks resting

 

Foreigners and Friends

 

 

Instant Snail Noodles

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[heidih]

How or with what utensil do you pick out the snail meat? Fun event

[Anna N]

That is an amazing undertaking and must require some serious organizational skills. It appears that all the dishes are brought to the table at the same time. Am I interpreting that properly?

[liuzhou]

3 minutes ago, Anna N said:

It appears that all the dishes are brought to the table at the same time. Am I interpreting that properly? 

 

Yes, they were. Except for the noodles. They required 20 minutes soaking in the pot, which included a chemical heat source.

Edited April 7, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

2 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Yes, they were. Except for the noodles. They required 20 minutes soaking in the pot, which included a chemical heat source.

 

OK now I need another explanation, please. Are the noodles made from snails?  Maybe I just need another cup of coffee.

[liuzhou]

15 minutes ago, heidih said:

How or with what utensil do you pick out the snail meat? Fun event

 

Tooth picks.

[liuzhou]

4 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Are the noodles made from snails?

 

Quote

It is a dish of rice noodles served in a very spicy stock made from the local river snails and pig bones which are stewed for hours with black cardamom, fennel seed, dried tangerine peel, cassia bark, cloves, pepper, bay leaf, licorice root, sand ginger, and star anise. Various pickled vegetables, dried tofu skin, fresh green vegetables, peanuts and loads of chilli are then usually added. Few restaurants ever reveal their precise recipe, so this is tentative. Luosifen is only really eaten in small restaurants and roadside stalls. I've never heard of anyone making it at home.

from this topic of a similar event

 

It is not usually served with the snails. They are just used for the stock, In fact, I only know of one place in town which incudes the actual snails with the noodles.

[liuzhou]

There are more photographs and a couple of short videos here.

[rotuts]

how are huge events like this paid for ?

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

how are huge events like this paid for ?

 

The government pays, so taxes mainly. They see it as promoting the city for tourism. Also, I guess the food suppliers contribute for the publicity.

 

Tickets were available for purchase, theoretically, but 99% probably got them free. I certainly did!

Edited April 7, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[SusieQ]

This is just amazing. Such fantastically beautiful colors. I can only imagine the thousands of hours it must take to make those costumes and headdresses. I suppose they must be handed down as treasures in families. Or do people ever wear the costumes as everyday wear? What about those two cuties standing next to the woman in red who looks like she's wearing a winter reindeer cloak and costume? Are those two wearing ethnic costumes? LOL

And who (around here anyway) would have thought of Instant Luosifen (River snail noodles)? Instant revulsion for 99% of United Statesians, I would guess. 

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, SusieQ said:

This is just amazing. Such fantastically beautiful colors. I can only imagine the thousands of hours it must take to make those costumes and headdresses. I suppose they must be handed down as treasures in families. Or do people ever wear the costumes as everyday wear? What about those two cuties standing next to the woman in red who looks like she's wearing a winter reindeer cloak and costume? Are those two wearing ethnic costumes? LOL

And who (around here anyway) would have thought of Instant Luosifen (River snail noodles)? Instant revulsion for 99% of United Statesians, I would guess. 

I found a package on instant Luosifen in one of my local groceries... in NYC... I haven't tried it since I always thought the instant noodles weren't very good... but seeing this thread is causing me to reconsider...

[liuzhou]

 

2 hours ago, SusieQ said:

This is just amazing. Such fantastically beautiful colors. I can only imagine the thousands of hours it must take to make those costumes and headdresses. I suppose they must be handed down as treasures in families. Or do people ever wear the costumes as everyday wear? What about those two cuties standing next to the woman in red who looks like she's wearing a winter reindeer cloak and costume? Are those two wearing ethnic costumes? LOL

And who (around here anyway) would have thought of Instant Luosifen (River snail noodles)? Instant revulsion for 99% of United Statesians, I would guess. 

 

In the countryside, many of the Zhuang, Miao, Dong, Yao ethnic minority wear these clothes every day, especially the women. In the city not so ,much apart from festive occasions. They are not handed down. The silver headdresses are made for each unmarried woman to wear. When they marry, they stop wearing them. eventually the silver may be sold and melted down. They are very expensive and so, form part of a "dowry". There is more information on this in this topic.

 

 

The three girls here

 

 

are local actresses/models, hired for the event to be "cuties". Many people  had photographs taken with them.  The one on the right is well-known in the city. I have seen her often. The one on the left scowled like that all the time. They are wearing examples of a fashionable trend imported from Japan for "cosplay".

 

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

I found a package on instant Luosifen in one of my local groceries... in NYC... I haven't tried it since I always thought the instant noodles weren't very good... but seeing this thread is causing me to reconsider... 

 

I administer a Facebook group on Luosifen and I know through that that the instant Luosifen is available in the USA, Canada, UK etc. although probably not widely. Huge efforts are being made to export it. The instant noodles aren't very good (although the ones at the event were better than average. Few people in Liuzhou eat them. Why would they when real fresh Luosifen is available everywhere and a much lower cost? People do buy them to send to relatives abroad who are missing the dish. Better than nothing, they say.

 

Edited April 8, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

In addition to being fed, we were all presented with various snack items including this Luosifen Mooncake!

 

 

So far, so good, but then I took one for the team and cut it in half.

 

What imbecile thought this would be a good idea? Taking a heavy, over-sweet cake and stuffing it with spicy, intensively flavoured, sour noodles! Worst thing I've eaten in 23 years in China and, believe me, there has been competition!

 

It tasted even worse than it looked! Most of my local friends who have eaten or just seen them agree it's insane. And mooncake time is still 6 months away!

 

[SusieQ]

On 4/7/2019 at 6:40 PM, liuzhou said:

 

 

In the countryside, many of the Zhuang, Miao, Dong, Yao ethnic minority wear these clothes every day, especially the women. In the city not so ,much apart from festive occasions. They are not handed down. The silver headdresses are made for each unmarried woman to wear. When they marry, they stop wearing them. eventually the silver may be sold and melted down. They are very expensive and so, form part of a "dowry". There is more information on this in this topic.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the link. And the information. 

[LoudLon]

looks amazing,thanks for sharing 

[SusieQ]

I just found out that a restaurant called Luosifen opened in Seattle last year. I will check it out when I have a chance to get downtown and report back. From what you, liuzhou,  have described, it looks pretty authentic. 

https://www.luosifennoodle.com/ 

 

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, SusieQ said:

I just found out that a restaurant called Luosifen opened in Seattle last year. I will check it out when I have a chance to get downtown and report back. From what you, liuzhou,  have described, it looks pretty authentic. 

https://www.luosifennoodle.com/ 

 

 

yes, I know about the restaurant. I have a very good friend from China who knows luosifen well and who is currently living in Seattle. She has been and was underwhelmed. I saw a picture and said that it looked good. Her reply was that it looked good but any of the Luosifen places I took her to in Liuzhou were 100% better in taste.

 

Another comment on the Facebook luosifen fan page read "On my one visit (so far) I found the soup delightfully full flavored, though wondered about the lack of the funky snail flavor touted by writers familiar with authentic Luosifen."

Still, please give it a try and get back with your impressions.

Edited May 17, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[SusieQ]

On 5/16/2019 at 5:18 PM, liuzhou said:

 

yes, I know about the restaurant. I have a very good friend from China who knows luosifen well and who is currently living in Seattle. She has been and was underwhelmed. I saw a picture and said that it looked good. Her reply was that it looked good but any of the Luosifen places I took her to in Liuzhou were 100% better in taste.

 

Another comment on the Facebook luosifen fan page read "On my one visit (so far) I found the soup delightfully full flavored, though wondered about the lack of the funky snail flavor touted by writers familiar with authentic Luosifen."

Still, please give it a try and get back with your impressions.

 

 

Well, I still haven't made it to check out this restaurant, but a critic for the Seattle Times did, and here's his review: 
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/river-snail-soup-anyone-for-noodle-soup-unlike-any-other-try-luosifen-in-seattles-international-district/

 

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, SusieQ said:

 

Well, I still haven't made it to check out this restaurant, but a critic for the Seattle Times did, and here's his review: 
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/river-snail-soup-anyone-for-noodle-soup-unlike-any-other-try-luosifen-in-seattles-international-district/

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, thanks. I saw that.

"He said they toned down the intensity to appease American palates."

Well that ruined it, then!