Part IV: Cultural Meals and Food in China

The food in China was amazing and delicious, especially if you like Chinese food. Who doesn't like Chinese food? I don't, and I'll get to that later. The food in China is deliciously good, much better than any you will ever have at a Chinese restaurant in the states. If you are ever adventurous enough, you should try to street food or local hole in the wall restaurants. I noticed a trend with the food in China. Since China is a large country, it's no surprise that the food taste different in different regions of the country. In Beijing, I found the food to be a lot more traditional, flavorful, bold, and sweeter. However, in the south, the food was still somewhat traditional, yet more westernized, more bland, and a lot spicier. They even had western food, such as french fries and pizzas. Perhaps it was because we were in southern China, and closer to Hong Kong, hence the more western influence on the food dishes.

There are two meals that I want to focus on here, the traditional hot pot and the Peking Duck meals we had for dinner in Beijing. The hot pot was very interesting. I have had hot pots in the state before, and although it was similar, it was still very different than this hot pot in Beijing. Not only is the styles of the pot different, it is an actual clay-like pot with charcoals in the middle to heat the pot. The pot is also very deep. Everything went into the broth and everything was shared. This was a very interesting meal to have with students and to watch them struggle using longer chopsticks to pick up the cooked food from the hot pot onto their plates. We had meatballs, fishballs, greens, tofu, mushrooms, beef, pork, fungus, noodles, and even a side of grilled goat skewers. Although students enjoyed the experience, not many of them enjoyed the food. They did not enjoy having to work for their food, as it was a struggle for some to reach and work to get the food out of the hotpot. 

The Peking Duck meal was also very delicious. Our tables each got two ducks and we devoured them quickly. We also had other main dishes along with the ducks, but the ducks were the specialty dish. First, the chef would roll the whole duck out near our table. Then, he would proceed to carve the duck right in front of us. This was a big deal, I guess it's seen as a highly skilled trade and a form of art in China. Then the chef also showed us how to eat the duck by dipping it into the duck sauce and then roll it up on this flour-tortilla-flan-like sheet. However, not many of us liked the roll, and simply ate the duck without the roll. Of course, we finished the ducks at both tables. 

The rest of the meals in China were your typical Chinese food dishes. These dishes consisted of fried rice, fried noodles, a tofu dish, a greens dish, a pork or fish dish, a fungus dish, a mushroom dish, a stir fry dish, rice, and every once in a while, a chicken dish. We were told to avoid chicken dishes on the street and in most restaurants, due to the bird flu. We did not have a single beef dish while in China. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner consisted of these dishes everywhere we went. With the exception of breakfast, since they were all at the hotels, some served some western foods, such as eggs, bacon, and sausage. The biggest difference between the meals in China and here, is that they don't offer water or refills. Since tap water is not safe to drink there, every meal each table had a two-liter bottle of Coke and Sprite to share. Tea, on the other hand, was everywhere. I learned to be an avid tea drinker while in China. It was either drink tea or be thirsty. 

My favorite meal in China was not one we had at the hotel or restaurants. Since we normally ate dinner around 5 or 6, we sometimes got hungry later at night. Some of us, would venture out and walk around the hotel at night to tour the area. One night, we were staying at the Crown Plaza, and a few of us were hungry and decided to go out and see what food option was available. We ventured down the street from our hotel. We noticed there were about five small open restaurants lined up next to each other right next to our hotel. After walking by all five, we decided to come back to the first one. While none of us spoke Chinese that night, we managed to point at pictures, and through non-verbal communications, managed to order ourselves the best food on the trip, a bowl of goat pho. Pho is a bowl of traditional Vietnamese rice noodle. This broth was the best I have ever eaten. The goat meat was very tender and flavorful, and the broth had a really good herbal aroma and taste to it. Hands down, best dish on this trip. It was unfortunate that only a handful of us had this meal on the trip. 

Lastly, no matter how good a food is, eventually you get sick of it. After eating Chinese food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for so many days straight, I got sick of Chinese food and wanted no more. The other male teacher/chaperone and I started craving for western food and beef. Sure enough, one night there was a McDonalds nearby. We walked over, and luckily, they had an English menu. While most of their food offering were the same, they also had a few items that were different and only available there. One, which was their McWings, a two piece chicken wing section and drumstick offering and the other was a rice bowl with a chicken patty. We both placed our orders, each ordering a double cheeseburger meal and I also ordered some wings for us. This was the second most satisfying meal in China, after the bowl of goat pho. The burger filled our craving and the wings were surprisingly really finger-licking delicious. It was extra crispy with the breaded crumbs and not only was it juicy and tender, it also had a nice spicy kick flavoring to it. I wish McDonalds would carry these wings in the states. Even the students who went with us to McDonalds enjoyed the wings and questioned why McDonalds don't offer these in America. 

The students really enjoyed the food in China and almost every student I asked, said they gained weight from the trip. While in China, the students constantly made comparisons between the food we were eating and the Chinese buffets here in America. Sometimes they would say the food in China was better, and sometimes vice versa. After a couple of days, and eating the same thing for almost every meal, the students realized how privileged they were to live in America. They realized that Chinese ate a lot of vegetables and tofu, and ate very little meat. They weren't too excited about it at first but came to a realization that perhaps this is how life is for the Chinese, and that there are not a lot of meat for them to eat. Students began to show more appreciation for what they have. This was especially evident later on when we visited the Miao villages and went to pick vegetables to prep for dinner. The students made comments about not over picking as they don't want to waste and gracefully helped with the meal prep. More on this later.

The traditional hotpot meal in Beijing. Inside the hotpot were coals, to keep the broth boiling and hot. We would cook all the food seen here by ourselves, by putting them in the broth. 

The big yellow duck outside of the Peking Duck restaurant we went to. 

The chef carving the Peking duck in front of all of us. 

Everyone staring at the vegetables and deciding what to eat. The ducks were carved and placed into plates spread throughout the Lazy Susan.   

Another meal in China. 

Another meal in China. The power went out.

Another meal in China, this time with fish in the large red bowl.

The goat pho dish. This was by far the best thing I ate in China. Best of all, it was just 8 Yuan,
which is just over one US dollar.

The fruit market nearby one of the hotels. There is nothing better than fresh exotic and tropical fruits. I purchased plenty of fresh longans and passion fruits.

This was the second best thing I ate. After eating Chinese food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I was craving western food. I was getting sick of Chinese food, and this hit the spot. The wings were delicious as they were juicy and tender.