Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The first food post


Good food should always be enjoyed with good company and Moutai, which is 106-proof baijiu (white wine). I had five shots last night -- though you're supposed to sip Moutai, thus is the fullness of its flavor and spice.

China is a fantastic place for food, despite the fact that, according to the Time China Blog, not one Chinese restaurant was named in the "World's 50 Best Restaurants" list, according to some London website. Western media bias!

I've been eating so much since getting here that, up until two days ago, I was sure I'd gain 10 pounds by month's end. It's just that two days ago, on the bus, I noticed that my wrists were thin as always, and I began to wonder if there's nothing I could do to put on pounds. Oh well. I'm sure I'll wish for these days when I'm fat and slovenly in 20 years.


From the first night in town.


At Hebei after furniture-shopping, eating their famous meat pancakes (that's a radish on my pancake). The meats we got: pork, donkey and a sort of bird I didn't recognize.


A couple of Zhang Peng's friends: Xing (left) and Kang Li.


One of my favorite dishes of all time, which I can make, too.


Nainai's cooking.



Xiao Wang (Jiujiu's current wife) stirs the green beans.


At the restaurant with Jiuma and Mingyu two days ago.


Jiujiu frying fish last night. He's a very, very good cook.


The concoction on the left is a special kind of noodles dish you can't get in Beijing -- Xiao Wang brought it over from her family's farm -- made with yellow peas, which smell notoriously stinky before they're cooked but are flavorless afterwards. The noodle is thick and creamy, and should be served with various greens (I don't mean salad -- that's a very Western food). This was very popular with Laolao, and the taste for it has been passed on to Jiujiu, who ate four bowls.

The assortment of food on the right is what I had for dinner last night.

It's good, of course, to leave an empty bowl:


And for dessert: packaged candy. Mmm...


Now I'm off to lunch.

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