At a Guangzhou airport restaurant, none of the wait staff spoke English. So I pointed to the dish of the guy at the next table and she brought over this noodle-y deliciousness.
- At a Guangzhou airport restaurant, none of the wait staff spoke English. So I pointed to the dish of the guy at the next table and she brought over this noodle-y deliciousness.
- Taiwanese milk tea at the Guangzhou airport. I haven't quite figured out what it's made with but it literally might just be black tea, milk and cinnamon. (Not to be confused with Taiwanese bubble tea.)
- The restaurant at the Titan Times Hotel in Xi'an isn't exactly Western-friendly, but it's in these jet-lagged times that travelers are happy to have menus with pictures. This dish was tasty once we figured out that cubes of tofu were mingling with identical cubes of pork fat - two completely different textures.
- I never saw dumplings presented the same way twice. These, advertised simply as "12 dumplings" on the menu, came floating in an enormous bowl of flavorful broth.
- Pomegranate chicken at Bamboo Garden restaurant, on the way to see the famous Terracotta Warriors.
- There's a Muslim quarter in Xi'an that's definitely worth a visit. Here, a local makes a vat of egg and tomato soup.
- At a local's home in a Beijing hutong (alley), lunch is served. (Meal provided by Cathay Pacific's China Experience.)
- A "typical" lunch at a local home. Eggplant, meatballs, beans, sprouts, zucchini, peanuts, and plenty more.
- If you don't know you're in a hot pot restaurant, the menu, featuring sheep's brain and testicles, can be a little offputting. (Apparently anything and everything goes in a hot pot.) I played it safe with spicy mutton broth to cook up the ingredients.
- The hot pot was, in fact, my favorite meal of the trip. Thin slices of beef and spinach cooked in the boiling pots of mutton broth and a simple flavored hot water, dipped in small bowls of thick sauce (possibly Taiwanese sha cha).
- Yeah, that's right. I went there and it was delicious.
- A mall food court near across the street from Beijing's Capital Museum showcased a whole new realm of lunch foods. Here, a row of marinated veggies and tofu.
- More food fun in the mall.
- Chinese hamburgers was how one local girl described these. "Rou jia mo" is the correct term, meaning "meat sandwich" and consisting of spiced meat with coriander and peppers.
- In the mood for Western food, pumpkin soup and bread with butter and honey at Cafe Alba hit the spot. Located on Nanluoguxiang (a trendy little hutong), this cafe executes Western dishes beautifully and creatively (next time I'm trying the homemade ginger ale).
- At a large banquet for a conference, I expected mediocre food. I was wrong. Spinach rolls, funky clams and roe and smoked fish were all highlights.
- Learn to make authentic Chinese dishes at a local cooking school. Chef/author Jen Lin-Liu founded Black Sesame Kitchen, located in a hutong off the trendy Nanluoguxiang.
- Eating noodles like a local!
- My potstickers may be doofy looking, but they're MY potstickers. Practice will make perfect, I'm sure of it.
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