China:
1/3/06
Lunch at Peking University:
-Hot and Sour Cabbage
-Beef in Peking sauce (beef ribbons and shredded vegetables in a sweet and salty sauce)
Dinner at Peking U.:
-Sizzling Lamb
-Lotus Root Salad
-Chicken Clusters
-Greens with Garlic
1/4/06
Breakfast Buffet at Peking U.:
-Fried Bread
-Egg and Rice
-Little Sausages
-Steamed Buns with Pork
-Steamed Rolls
-blackish sweet and salty pickles
-Coffee
Lunch at "Spring Beauty," a fancy Sichuan hotel restaurant:
-Ma Po Tofu
-Oil Poached Fish with Ma Seasoning
-Cantonese Pork Ribs
***Ma seasoning used in the tofu dish as well as the fist, is also called Sichuan Pepper. It is illegal to import into the U.S. (although apparently it is newly allowed to bring toasted Ma into the country), and represents an experience unfamiliar to our palates. It is both spicy and flavorful, but it also has a numbing effect on the mouth. I know it sounds strange, but it is quite enjoyable!***
Snack at street stall of Jian Bing (see previous post)
Dinner at our friend Sarah's favorite Peking Duck Restaurant:
-Peking Duck served 3 ways: Duck skin dipped in sugar, rolled in pancakes with scallions and hoisin sauce (traditional), and rolled in pancakes with ground garlic, cucumber julienne, and a julienne of a purplish mild pickle
-saffron flower and chestnut soup
-lotus root salad
-dessert of poppyseed soup
Snack of Mon Cheri (chocolate and hazlenut)
1/5/06
Breakfast Buffet at Peking U. (same items as previous day)
Lunch at the Great Wall: noodles with onions and cabbage
Dinner at Uigar (Western Chinese ethnic) Restaurant:
-Lamb skewers with Ma and Cumin
-Stuffed Beef Pies (fresh cooked!)
-Flat Bread (like nan -- Uigars are from central Asia, near India, and cook with ovens like tandoors!)
-Lamb Stew, Ma flavor, served over flat bread which soaked up the sauce
-Baked Leg of Lamb
Snack of tiny tangerines
1/6/06
Breakfast at Sarah's home: Fresh sweet yoghurt from convenience store
Snack by Tienamen Square: fast food scallion pancake
Lunch by Man-made Lake w/Sarah:
-Eggplant stuffed with ground beef
-Medicinal pickles (some kind of straw-like shoots, red and green peppers)
-Sizzling Beef and Onions
-Cabbage and Yunan Ham in soup (excellent!)
Dinner at 24-hour Taiwanese place w/Sarah:
-Stewed Fatty Pork
-Wontons with Chili Oil and Vinegar
-Chicken and Cashews (w/dried hot peppers and sticky-sweet sauce)
-dessert of Peanut Shaved Ice
1/7/06
Airport Breakfast: Tuna Sandwich and Glazed Ham Croissant
Airplane Lunch: Deep fried fish pieces, rice, and bun w/butter
Streetfood snack: Yannan-style scallion pancake (inch-thick, 3-inch diameter, fried on a griddle and then baked beneath it)
Dinner at lovely local restaurant:
-Millet Soup
-Hot Pot with liver and tofu (ma flavored) -- this was the most tender and tastiest liver I've ever eaten!
-Rolled Dumplings (fennel flavored ground pork wrapped in a chewy-crispy pancake, shaped like cannoli) served with chili oil
***when we finished this meal, having stumbled through ordering with the one waitress who spoke a tiny bit of English, she came over to our table and said very carefully: "This man [gestures], the owner of the restaurant, would like you to come back one more time to this restaurant, to eat his Chinese food." Unfortunately, we were leaving the next afternoon, but the intent was well taken.***
1/8/06
In-room breakfast: leftover Rolled Dumplings
Streetfood snack: Yannan-style pancake w/Rosemary
Lunch at a noodle joint:
-Millet drink
-Noodle broth
-Noodle soup with lamb and cilantro, served with carrot pickle
***at this restaurant we were such a curiosity that the waitress sat and stared at us from the next table the entire time we were there. They served the soups in bowls lined with plastic bags (to save on washing-up.***
Streetfood snack: Fruit-paste stuffed flaky pastries (mmm!)
Streetfood snack: Yannan-style scallion pancakes (I liked these, can you tell?)
Posted by Sam at February 6, 2006 04:50 AM