Guilin and Yangshuo

[Franci]

We spent almost a week in Guilin. My husband has family there so we didn't eat out all the time, his aunt, I was sorry to discover, deserves the title of worst cook of the family that my mother in law gave to her

If anybody is interested in seeing more picture a loaded in the blog in my signature.

First meal in town was very good

Goose tripe

Tofu, I did really like this dish, anybodies know more? It felt to me like crab roe. The sauce had a little bit a granular texture

[Franci]

At night in Yangshuo we went to see the beautiful Impression Liu Sanjie by Zhang Yimou and after the show we had dinner in one of the restaurant by the river.

The local specialty is the beer fish

I am not a huge fan of sweet water fish, it tastes always muddy for me, but I really enjoyed the snails stuffed with pork meat which also I belive to be a local specialty

[Franci]

Breakfast was the traditional Guilin noodles

Then we headed to a driftage centre

where we had once again the beer fish

bamboo

yucca, if I remember

We also had a nice meal at the Fengyu Caves. Sorry, no pictures, but once you are in front of the main entrance there is a little roller coaster that will bring you to the cave entrance. If you decide to walk instead of taking the roaller coaster there is a path on the side along the river with some restaurants. We had lunch at the last restaurant, the one closer to the cave. It was very good. My husband uncle and aunt go there often. They freshly killed a chicken for us, we had wild vegetables and fried little fishes from the river and beer fish, which indeed was the best one I had.

[Franci]

In Guilin we also had an interesting meal at the food court at the Niko Niko Do Plaza.

I like the concept which is very uncommon for Europeans. There are many stalls, every time you see something you like they will stamp your ordering card and the food will be delivered directly at your table. It's good because you don't need overorder, eat a little and if you feel you want more just go and pleace a new order.

For foreign visitors I find it perfect, it's a good way to go with traditional food but also having the possibility to actually visualize all the dishes is of great help. Language is not even a problem because pointing is enough

Funny this pasta shape reminds my gnocchi sardi...

And so on...

[hzrt8w]

I like the concept which is very uncommon for Europeans. There are many stalls, every time you see something you like they will stamp your ordering card and the food will be delivered directly at your table. It's good because you don't need  overorder, eat a little and if you feel you want more just go and pleace a new order.

For foreign visitors I find it perfect,  it's a good way to go with traditional food but also having the possibility to actually visualize all the dishes is of great help. Language is not even a problem because pointing is enough 

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All items in the pictures seem to be raw ingredients. Am I correct? Do you point out the dish and they will cook the dish for you fresh?

Or is it WYSIWYG? (What You See is What You Get) "Wee-see-wig" for us computer nerds.

[Franci]

All items in the pictures seem to be raw ingredients.  Am I correct?  Do you point out the dish and they will cook the dish for you fresh?

Or is it WYSIWYG?  (What You See is What You Get)  "Wee-see-wig" for us computer nerds. 

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Yes, the most of it was cooked to order, with the exception of few dishes which I suppose require long cooking time. So it was really fresh and service was fast, time to finish the stroll and there was already something waiting for you at the table.

[XiaoLing]

Thank you Franci for posting such beautiful pictures!!

I have always wanted to go to Guilin. I have heard that it is absolutely beautiful there. The scenery is suppose to be one of the best in the country.

As for the food at the plaza, I have noticed that a lot of malls in China have this kind of set up. It's their version of "food court" in a mall. The foods that I have eaten in the malls has been pretty tasty. I remember drinking a very good/famous chicken soup in a mall in YiChong once. It was a specialty soup stand. They had all different kinds of turtle soup, rooster soup, chicken soup, etc. stewed with herbs, veggies and noodles.

Sigh...I wish we had this kind of "food court" in my mall....

[Kent Wang]

Goose tripe

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Holy cow, I have never heard of goose tripe before. I would've assumed they would have gizzards like ducks do. Such a strange shape, was it sliced or was the "tripe" naturally in strips like that? What did it taste like?

[hzrt8w]

"Tripe" means stomach, right? I think those are goose intestines.

[Ben Hong]

They are intestines, but are chewy like rubber bands.

Kent, all birds, except for a few like the the American woodcock scolopax or philohela minor have gizzards. Gizzards or in Cantonese "kin", are where the food is predigested with the aid of grit that every bird needs.

[Franci]

They are intestines, but are chewy like rubber bands.

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It was quite chewy indeed but the sauce was very tasty. I just tried for the sake of trying but it was not my favourite dish.

Sorry, I said tripe not intestine because my husband translated for me in that way.

[Dejah]

I remember eating goose intestines in HK. The BQ shops used to have these goose drumsticks made up of meat pieces, a chunk of liver and wrapped all around with goose intestines. They were then BBQed. My Po-po used to buy me one whenever I slept over and we go to the market.

[LuckysticksPRC]

In choosing the first place (called "Chun Ji Shao E") you picked one of Guilin's best eats. I live in Guilin now and love that place! Though a little over-priced, I really think they have nothing bad on the whole menu, which is huge. I know many Guilin and other Guangxi locals who think their Roasted Goose is better than even the best Beijing Duck.

As far as the food court goes, that street block (or thereabouts) alone has 3-4 other similar restuarants with the same setup. They're all about the same, though the atop Niko Niko Do is supposed to have the best duck dishes in town (though I doubt this).

[LuckysticksPRC]

In choosing the first place (called "Chun Ji Shao E") you picked one of Guilin's best eats. I live in Guilin now and love that place! Though a little over-priced, I really think they have nothing bad on the whole menu, which is huge. I know many Guilin and other Guangxi locals who think their Roasted Goose is better than even the best Beijing Duck.

As far as the food court goes, that street block (or thereabouts) alone has 3-4 other similar restuarants with the same setup. They're all about the same, though the atop Niko Niko Do is supposed to have the best duck dishes in town (though I doubt this).

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Btw, if anyone's heading to Guilin soon and wants to try that place, just print out this name:

春记烧鹅

Any cab driver will know where to take you. The menu is all pictures, so no problem ordering either. Go early though, as the place fills up quickly and they don't do reservations.

[Kent Wang]

They are intestines, but are chewy like rubber bands.

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Sounds similar to pork intestines, am I right?

[Kent Wang]

At night in Yangshuo we went to see the beautiful Impression Liu Sanjie by Zhang Yimou and after the show we had dinner in one of the restaurant by the river.

The local specialty is the beer fish

I am not a huge fan of sweet water fish, it tastes always muddy for me, but I really enjoyed the snails stuffed with pork meat which also I belive to be a local specialty

My parents and I also visited Yangshuo in April to see Impression.

I also agree that beer fish is nothing special. Really, I don't think the beer adds much to the flavor. I don't think I could tell the difference if they just used water instead.

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Mmm, this was a favorite of mine as well.