What's on the menu...

[Jollyjunklass]

Hi gals and guys,

Well now that we've got the suitcase all packed up, lets play another game. One, that will open my eyes a little further. You could kinda say, my next big concern. What's on the menu? If you all don't mind, maybe you could let me get a feel for the fine cuisine over there. Maybe you could give me a run down on your evening meal. Breakfast and lunch menus are also welcome. Did you use any condiments, and what did you have to drink? Was it a dish you enjoyed or did you eat it out of necessity? Would you recommend it? Would love to hear any, and all, replies. No matter how inconsequential they may seem, it's alway good to know what your walking into. <---- ME EAT, not EAT ME

[George61]

What's on the menu?

In China?......EVERYTHING!...and I mean everything.....Silkworm pupa...grasshoppers... stick insects...
animal ears, penis, guts....all kinds of grass, leaves....God knows what from the bottom of the sea floor....You name it, they eat it.
Some things are served alive, some cooked. Have fun!!

[Mr Nobody]

You left out worms. I once had worms in a village in Guangdong someplace.

It was a bus load of senior kung fu guys mostly from HK. We went to a strange but amazingly large restaurant seemingly all on its lonesome miles from all forms of inhabitation.

All the kung fu masters i was with said it was a local delicacy. They looked like white pieces of string or something served in a fairly normal sort of vegetable stirfry. They tasted a little like squid but with a nasty sort of rough texture. I ate one, to the delight and amazement of them all. (i have a rep for trying anything once). I was the only westerner that did, though.

I was asked by my two friends what i thought. I told them i thought it was peculiar and i would not eat it ever again. They laughed then confessed they hadn't had it before, and just thought they would try it because they had heard of it, and didn't like it either.

My rep survived another challenge.

The only things i don't eat are pets, raw flesh including fish, and endangered species unless farmed. A moral choice. (except for the raw flesh, a health choice.)

But i gotta confess i love that juk. Juk for breakfast, juk late at night. With the fried long donut bread. Fresh bread, not cold and greasy. Frog juk, chicken, pork with liver, pork mince with pork blood jelly, goose guts, pork with 1000 year egg, etc etc. Gimme juk. I know this juk restaurant in Foshan, where they make it the best i have ever had, and the bread is still crackling from the heat, and salty and wow. It is walking distance from a hotel i usually stay at when in Foshan. I had been eating there for a couple of visits over the years, (found by accident) when one morning one of my friends drops in early and asks if i had breakfast? Did i like juk? and then told me aobut this great juk restaurant nearby, best in the city. We went there, only to be greeted by the staff. A let down for both of us. I was wondering, on the way, Better? great!! oh, hi guys, its me again.

[Lotus Eater]

The food here is great - I rarely cook. It is cheap, tasty and infinitely variable. Lunch yesterday - deep-fried string beans with slivers of meat - plenty of spices including whole chillis and the Sichuan peppers. Riben Dofu - (Japanese tofu) in red sauce - again spicy. Rice. Usually have beer at night, but during the day, tea. Every meal will be served with tea.

Eating is communal - plates of food placed in centre of table and everyone for themselves. The more the merrier.

Unusual foods are available - I have eaten tube worms, dog, whole deep-fried sparrows, whole deep fried baby crabs - all sorts of stuff. Most interesting vegetable dish - chrysanthamum petal salad. Favourite vegetable dish - lotus root!

I love yang rou pao mo - a noodle dish with bread and mutton, served with pickled garlic and chilli sauce and followed up by the noodle broth.

Hotpot is great - a huge variety of foods cooked in a broth on the centre of the table. Very communal - again the more the merrier for this one.

I now find western food BLAND!! Even my favourites have lost much of their appeal, and when I make spaghetti bolognaise for my Chinese friends I spice it up like hell now.

Vegetables are the main ingredient in most of the dishes up this way, although there is a large Hui population so plenty of Xinjiang food - long skewers of barbequed meat - kao rou covered in spices.

There are a few vegetarian places - some attached to Buddhist temples. Most vegetables dishes here are cooked in chicken or meat broth, so it can be a little difficult if you don't eat meat at all. Further south I have come across some great vegetarian places where it would be almost impossible to say that there was no meat - the subsitutes were so well made.

Different areas have different foods - definitely part of the fun of travelling here.

[Mr Nobody]

Breakfast is the hardest meal for westerners to adjust to. your choices are largely going to be:
a) juk. savoury rice porridge. Most westerners hate it. those that like it usually love it. Or noodle soup, which more people can hack. same ingredients, different method. rice, stock, added flesh and flavours. Yummy.
b) called yum cha in the west and in HK but called dim sum or local dialect equivalent in china. Most westerners love it. often too much to eat, and a bit high in oils.
c) western tucker, but do it yourself. Chinese idea of western cooking is far worse that western ideas of chinese cooking. Blech. Double blech.

Some places south seem to have managed a buns for brekky scenario, probably inherited from French Indochina days. Don't know about north. Except for the ubiquitous char siu bao, another yum thing = bbq pork bun.

Tea is the ubiquitous drink. (in HK they sometimes call beer "gwailo tsa" meaning white ...er... man's tea.)

Tea should have its own thread but for my bucks, kung fu tea or tit kwun yum, sometimes also called iron buddha tea is my favourite (don't know the wades giles and have no idea of the pinyin for it.) Pu Er = Bo ley, the commonest tea. Both are good.
don't like flower teas nor green teas personally.

Edit: Oolong teas in general are good. There are thousands of teas to choose from. I have had green teas that weren't bitter, and flower teas that werent like sucking soap. I have had red teas that tasted like leather. I had a northern tea that tasted a lot like coffee, due to roasted wheat or something. Gunpowder teas, red, black, green, white teas. Perfumed and non perfumed. additives of so many kinds. So many choices. So few days in a lifetime.

[Lotus Eater]

Jian bing is good for breakfast. A crepe thing cooked on an open hot plate, with egg broken over it, filled with potato strips, spring onion and a crunchie wafer thing, plus brown and spicy sauces. Different areas add different stuff to it.

But it is also easy to get fried egg inside a bun.

Lunch today - north eastern food (dongbei) - Shandong rou se - beef strips cooked with cucumber, leng pi (cold noodles with greens) and a little hill of carrot strips in a light vinegar.

I was with my Japanese colleague who was mistaken for Chinese, and naturally they assumed she could speak Chinese, so she told them she was Korean!! Bu hao.

I like the green tea, and also have several other teas - Emperor tea, Empress tea (lychee flavoured), rose tea (whole bud), chrysanthamum (whole flower) tea, pu'er, ba bao (8 flavour) and then some Earl Grey. The Chinese seem surprised when I tell them I like tea. They expect me to want coffee - which I also like, but tea in most restaurants is a safer bet!

[Mr Nobody]

Chinese coffee is wretched. Chinese tea is nice. I was reading somewhere that somewhere in china they have finally learned to grow and roast coffee (ARABICA BEANS!!! YAY!!!) down near the thai border i think and now are producing it commercially so maybe that will change. But then i hate american style coffee, so who am I to judge, since i think grass is green.

I like lots of cold water which confuses people. Amuses the gf. Cold water aparently makes you ill except in summer, and so does cold beer. Other threads here will tell you of other peoples solutions to that. I think it was george who said to ring ahead and get them to put a case in teh freezer for when he gets there. I havent tried it but it sounds worthwhile. Chinese beers are not good enough to drink warm, imho. Few beers anywhere are.

I didn't mention that there are lots of other things to eat for brekky, but the above categories cover most of it. One thing i have eaten a few times in Guangxi is what the gf calls chinese pizza, which sounds something like what lotus is talking about. I didn't know the real name so I left it out, and haven't had it outside of guangxi anyway, but that might be just an oversight. I think the chinese pizza is a joke name that has developed through our conversations not a real name. But it is pretty obvious when you see it.

I only eat snacks for lunch everywhere, and i like snacks anyway, and chinese food has a seemingly unlimited array of these things, done in a seemingly unlimited number of ways.

Dinner. Check out a previous thread, i think the same name as this one, and there are lots of choices. I can't even begin to name my favourites. Too many.

China is a gourmet's paradise. But learn some table manners.

Lotus: Isn't ba bao the 8 treasure tea? Did you have it where they poured the boiling water into the cups with the floaties in them from the long teapot things? It isn't bad, but a bit ceremonial when i have had it. I kept worrying about boiling water going everywhere due to out of control water pourers. I haven't ever ordered it myself because of this. Too near the lap for comfort.

[Lotus Eater]

The skill with the long spout tea pot is amazing. I have a photo of it somewhere - my first meal in Guangzhou was with this tea. It can be bought in small packets with the lumps of sugar at supermarkets.

Table manners are DIFFERENT! You will never be able to eat without making a mess. This is why the tables are either covered in plastic, or easily wiped down. Eating with the bowl close to your mouth is absolutely normal - forget lifting food to your mouth. Either lift the bowl, or duck your head down.

Slurping noodles is OK - no matter what your mother told you. If you are at an official dinner and the guest of honour you will be seated facing the door, and be offered the food first - good if you know what to do with it! You will be expected to at least taste everything - no matter what, so figure out a way of eating with your senses shut down if you are fastidious.

It will always be a major battle over who pays - sometimes I can win, but you have to learn how to give in gracefully as well. Guys on way lower wages than I get refuse to let me pay, so I try to figure out other ways of managing.

Everyone will be amazed that you can use chopsticks. Even now I am offered a knife and fork if people don't know me.

If you are eating with plenty of people there may be a public set of chopsticks to allow people to give food to each other. This is nice, but you can easily end up with stuff you may not want. But it means that you too can pick out choice bits to give your friends.

Learn to yell 'fuwuyuanr' for attention! It is not rude to yell at wait staff in China. I am going to have difficulty with this one when I get back to Oz. I can imagine the faces if I try it - and the food will be the worst possible available! ;D

[George61]

On the other hand, Millana will not know enough Chinese to order in a restaurant. I still don't after 3 years, but that's because of laziness, and the convenience of the Child. I order the beer and let her take care of the food. I have managed to convince most "fuwuyuans" of the necessity of bringing the beer immediately and not to wait until the food arrives. I have also managed to convince them that beer pours better if you open the bloody bottle.
Shopping is easy, in the supermarkets, in the streets. Somehow, the three butchers in my street rarely have beef...only pork, which is delicious. Occasionally I have seen a dog being butchered. "Butcher" takes on a whole new meaning in China......
Being a normal Australian, I stick to the normal veggies....beans, potatos, tomatoes, pumpkin, onions, etc. I refuse point-blank to touch eggplant, grass, leaves and other vegetarian-like substances.Yoghurt here is good, as is icecream.
Experimentation is fun, but it can be taken to extremes in China.

[Lotus Eater]

I look at what other people are eating and ask for that. Or just point at something on the menu and give myself surprises.

I am gradually learning the characters for the most common foods. Another thing I do is photograph the menu then take it home to translate - or have some wonderful Chinese friend do it for me!

[burlives]

Food is hard work sometimes. I've found Chinese at mealtimes to be really conservative, both in what they choose and in what they'll offer you. When it comes time to order they invariably ask you what you want before, long before, they'll admit to some interest of their own.

If you can recognise some basic food characters -- meat, fish, noodle, dofu, and maybe some veggies -- you can with some discernment stick a pin in a menu. It's a damn sight easier and more likely to produce interesting results than remembering names of favoured dishes. In fact most menus in most places are basically the same.

As it happens they look a lot like this.

[Jollyjunklass]

Lotus,

They won't be too amazed with me, have no clue how to use chopsticks, have tried often, but find it difficult.. So they do have knives and forks, hmmmmm.

Your too funny George. Did you know that Child Abuse is a punishable crime in our country?
(Mental Image...George dragging "the child" around by his ear, whip in hand. School, what do you mean? You sit here, boy, no school for you today, you will do my bidding. As George sits in a stupor finishing off his round, the boy looks on sadly, "Waiter, the boy shouts, bring me another.")

[Lotus Eater]

Not that many!!!! Practice practice practice practice - or you'll find yourself having to carry your own cutlery with you all of the time, and starting to feel silly after a while.

[Mr Nobody]

Seriously what lotus said. Must learn to use chopsticks. One westerner i went travelling with couldnt and was a problem. One restaurant had to go and borrow a set from another restaurant.

Chopsticks are easy peasy. I teach guys i take over to china in about ten minutes and takes about a half dozen meals. Get some bemused chopsticks weilding friend to teach you, maybe by taking them to a chinese restaurant.

The food is actually cut so chopsticks work better than spoons or forks, i reckon. And get them to teach you things like knocking on the table for tea pouring, and how not to hold hte bowl and how to shovel rice and eat noodles with chopsticks. All easy skills but you have to be shown or at least copy. The Chinese spoon kills metal ones dead in my book for not scalding the inside of your mouth.

I have rarely had to order myself since i have always been with people. knowing how to order a balanced banquet for all is a high art. I guess i will be learning how to do it in mandarin soon.

Burls link to the previous scoffs thread is cool.

[Jollyjunklass]

"starting to feel silly after a while"..... I bet, the whole chopstick issue has already crossed my mind, a few times.

[George61]

Feeding the Child is considered Child Abuse?
Consider some other things I might do to HER!
Goodness me, Millana, someone reading your post could be shocked and dismayed. They might wonder at your mental images.
I have recently lost a trained restaurant...it has changed hands and gone downhill. The little waitress would be at my side in a flash as I sat down, ready to get my beer, a big grin on her face. Sadly the food is no longer great, so we have to give it a miss. There are no second chances in China.

[Newbs]

I have managed to convince most "fuwuyuans" of the necessity of bringing the beer immediately and not to wait until the food arrives. I have also managed to convince them that beer pours better if you open the bloody bottle.

Good advice, George. I also insist that I pour the beer, for 2 reasons:
1. Life is too short to allow the local fuwuyuan to pour the beer. A bloke could die of old age before she finishes.
2. There is a difference between a glass of beer and a glass of froth, but damned if the fuwuyuan knows this.

[Jollyjunklass]

HER, ahhh....(More mental imagery...Upon careful scrutiny and after deep consideration, certain thoughts crept into her mind; maybe, child abuse was not the, most appropriate, description after all. When the bright, light bulb, moment materialized , it occurred to her that perhaps, reference to the child could have been meant.....nah.)

[George61]

poo. Millana, you're as nasty as Raoul!!

[Raoul Duke]

Oh, no, she isn't. Trust me on this one.

Millana, right inside this very same Library section is an extensive discussion of food and listings of foreigner-approved dishes with the pinyin pronunciation so that they might actually be useful to you.

It's fallen to the 2nd page because the rest of these groundhogs are too lazy or drunk to add to it.

[Lotus Eater]

No Raoul - too busy eating to worry about describing it! Todays food: lettuce cooked (yes they cook lettuce here) in a brown sauce (I did learn the name, but one bottle of red and 2 bottles of pijiu later it escapes me!) and a meat dish for lunch today.

But here in Xi'an, it is clearly more attuned to drinking - the beer appears frequently before food. Cold is problematical, but the university store is clearly used to cold beer because today I saw bottles stuck in the ice-cream 'frig' as well as on the shelves. Previous university also had cold beer.

Lunch yesterday in a dongbei (North eastern) restaurant - watched in amazement as a guy drank an entire tumbler of baijiu! Why wasn't he dead? I had my camera out ready to take a movie of his demise. Alas he was still drinking another glass as I left.

[Jollyjunklass]

It's all sounding pretty good, not too scary. One thing I would find hard to deal with is warm beer. Is it difficult to get chilled drinks there?

[Lotus Eater]

Soft drinks and water can usually be bought cold. Beer is rarer. White wine - never seen it cold.

[Jollyjunklass]

"If you are eating with plenty of people there may be a public set of chopsticks to allow people to give food to each other. This is nice, but you can easily end up with stuff you may not want. But it means that you too can pick out choice bits to give your friends."

Ruth, can you explain this in more depth, please, don't quite get what goes on here.

Burl, what do you mean, when you say, they are conservative in what they offer you. Do you mean in a restaurant, isn't there a set menu?

Also, when I'm surfing around, ie. people's China blogs, I often read that they have cooks, what's up with this?

Not really related to the food issue, but I am also reading about nightly lockdowns, or curfews, ouch, what's the deal?"

[Lotus Eater]

Your chopsticks end up inside your mouth, so if you want to dig into the bowl and pick out an especially tasty bit of food to offer someone (like fish eye) then your chopsticks in general shouldn't be used to do this - hence the public chopsticks that are only used for digging out said delicacy and putting it on someone else's plate.

I'm not sure what Burl meant, but in my experience Chinese believe westerners are unable to eat what they eat, so will try to order the least spicy, exotic stuff on the menu - what they think you can cope with. They are very protective of what they think you can do or not. Also they tend to apologise for only offering simple village food and worry about whether you will like what they survive on.

I haven't been in a place with a curfew, but security gates will be closed at certain times and if you are out late partying (which I frequently am!) you will have to wake the security guard to let you back in. Students have the electricity or TV turned off at certain times and are all supposed to be tucked up in their little beds at maybe 11 or 11:30. This is observed more by the girls than by boys.