Warning the following posts may make induce serious munchies:
Beijing
Thursday 31st March
Snack from outlet in hutong area: Weird triangular shaped snack with wafer like wrapping filled with egg custard and sweetcorn. Sweet and gloopy with crispy shell. Nothing special, forgot to take a photo.
Dinner @ Sijiminfu, Qianmen District
- 1/2 a Roast Duck
- Pancakes
- Accompaniments for duck were the usual plum sauce, cucumber & spring onion with the delightful additions of pickled vegetables, red pickled ginger, roasted mashed garlic paste and a side of fresh mint, pea shoots and young salad leaves. We were also given some white sugar to dip the crispy duck skin in.
- Cold dish of celery shoots with blanched almonds
- Garlic shoots with pork and shrimps
- Rice
- Finished off with a bowl of duck stock broth.
Mmmm garlicy, top notch stuff. A very big thank you to Anxi for taking care of me in Beijing and making sure I was extremely well fed!
Friday 1st April
Breakfast @ my hotel: Steamed pork dumplings, plain congee with slithery shreds of pickled cabbage, watermelon.
Snack: Roasted sweet potato from street vendor
Lunch @ amazing Beijing snack restaurant. You walked through a corridor with stalls either side where traditional snacks here being cooked. As you entered the main seating area there was a stage with a guy straight out of central casting (grey Mao suit, long white beard, bald head, twinkle in his eyes) telling stories. The atmosphere was rowdy and not many people were taking notice of him but he bellowed on with his animated performance.
- Cooked pear in syrup. Pleasant.
- Sweet soup of white snow mushroom with goji berries, red beans and lotus seeds. Too musty for my tastes.
- Red cubes of Chinese hawthorn apple jelly and yellow cubes of mung bean / pea? jelly cubes
- Fried flour ring (doughnut)
- Lian ta hou shou - long, friedBeijing pork dumplings with black vinegar for dipping. Crispy delicious.
Dinner @ Karaiya Spice Housein San li tun area, in 'the village' a big shopping mall which is part of a huge new (6 years old) development. Massive Apple Mac and Nike stores there.
- Cold noodles made from fern root jelly with marinated cucumber
- Sliced beef with chilli oil and spring onion
- Chilled tofu cubes with diced chilli peppers
- Mushroom stir fry served over hot wok like clay pot on table
- Sizzling beef
- Steamed perch
- Ginger chicken (also served on table)
A delicious meal of Hunan food - previously an uncharted area for me. Whilst in China I made the discovery that Szechuan food isn't the only regional cooking to infuse dishes with a range of chillies, spice and salty delicious flavours, Hunan and Yunnan dishes are also very tasty.
Big thanks to Steve Barker for taking us to Karaiya Spice House.
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