LIFE
Random bits and pieces on life in Beijing
Nothing else in Beijing declares winter like the arrival of the city’s piles ‘o cabbage. My first year here, I thought snowfall on Old Hallow’s Eve heralded the dreaded Beijing winter; my second, no snow in November, but wretchedly freezing winds told me it was time to haul out my down jackets; this year, it’s mid-November, and – dare I say it? – it’s still relatively mild (i.e. I am not clamouring for government heating yet). What has yet to fail me though, as a marker of the season, is the sight, and smell, of the city’s hoard of government-subsidized cabbage.… READ MORE | 6 Comments
Tags: cabbage, leeks, LIFE, winter
In a debate over what to eat in Yunnan, it’ll always be a tough call. So many glorious options! So little time. On a recent and tragically food-deficient trip to Yunnan, I was denied the chance to stuff my face in a manner that paid proper respect to this region’s culinary cornucopia. There are, after all, only 24 hours in a day, and much of my five days was spent zooming around in a car looking for commodities and stopping too late to eat, or stuck with a conference buffet. My obvious go-to choice here would be mushrooms, but I won’t speak here of the stunning variety of wild mushrooms that this Southwestern province is famous for. Partly because it’s not the season, partly because it pains me that I didn’t get to eat mushroom hotpot. Instead, in honor of springtime in this land of eternal Spring, I’ll post an ode to the edible art growing about the region that I found plucked and ready to fry. As flowers are fragile, they ship poorly and taste best when cooked the same day – making these ingredients hard to come by in the desert that is Beijing.… READ MORE | 4 Comments
Tags: blossoms, EAT, flowers, LIFE, yunnan
One of the surprising wonders of living here is discovering some things you coveted back home are actually easy to find in China. I’m not talking about Sichuan peppercorns, or a big bottle of beer for 3 kuai (40ish cents). I’m talking Meyer lemons, one of the sought-after treats from my life in Northern California. This little treasure is actually native to China, as I found out last year through the fabulous Hawberries & Kumquats (thanks Shelley!). No one seems quite sure what a Meyer lemon’s origin is, but this luscious citrus is best described as a cross between a lemon and an orange – slightly sweeter, thinner skinned… all the bright lemonosity you’d like yet without the sour pucker or bitter peel you’ve learned to expect. Thin skins means Meyers don’t travel well, so unless you’re lucky enough to live near Meyer lemon trees…… READ MORE | 10 Comments
Tags: COOK, lemon, LIFE, maison boulud
Burma. Still quite the land of mystery, with only a smattering of tourists. For those who have been thinking of going, I heartly encourage it. It’s stunning in its beauty, the people unbelievably warm, and there is always the scent of something roasted in the air. Burmese food is not well-known internationally (how many Burmese restaurants have you seen?) and though I enjoyed many meals there, I see why it’s hard to translate. It’s cuisine is influenced by its geography – borrowing flavors from neighbors India, China and Thailand, and centuries of migration between the countries means that in many parts of Burma, the local food will be dominated by one of those cuisines. Here’s a rundown of the best ghetto street food we ran across while running across Burma.… READ MORE | 6 Comments
Tags: burma, EAT, Indian, LIFE, samosa, shan noodles, Thai
The rabbit year was supposed to usher in calm and fuzzy good feelings, but so far it hasn’t. It feels more than a bit silly to blog about food right now, especially as so many in Japan struggle to get potable water for a ramen-in-a-cup and worry about the future of their food supply. Still, one has much hope for a people and nation and the business know-how that have inspired a company that has penetrated the Chinese snack market with ….. chickenettes. And baconettes.
Tags: China, EAT, snacks, xiaochi
As a variation on our beloved theme of the Tianjin-style egg crepe jianbing, I’ll post an ode to jianbing‘s cousin, the jidan guanbing (鸡蛋灌饼), also roughly translated as egg crepe. Both are fantastic for late-night munchies or more traditionally, a quick on-the-go breakfast. As we’ve lovingly recorded in past posts, the jianbing is a hefty sandwich-sized crepe filled with egg, a deep-fried crisp and assorted green bits. The guanbing is a less glamourous creature, a dough pocket with an egg poured into the center (the term guan 灌 means “to pour”). It’s smaller, about the size of a pancake, and the oily crisp is replaced by some healthy lettuce (though it can be argued there is nothing healthy about a greasy guanbing).
As the humble, runty cousin of the glorious jianbing, it doesn’t get much notice. However, in Suzhou off the west gate of the university, I met a guanbing genius.… READ MORE | 2 Comments
Tags: EAT, egg crepe, guanbing, jianbing, LIFE, Suzhou
Suzhou is famous for being one of the most beautiful towns in China. It’s been called the Venice of the East for it’s graceful canals and gentle lifestyle, and in China, there’s a saying that goes “Heaven above, Hangzhou and Suzhou below.” I did more than my fair share of wandering around this city, and thoroughly enjoyed myself despite freezing temperatures. But whilst most people focus on looking down, eager to take in the sight of the myriad of calm waterways criss-crossing the old town, I would venture that one should also look up.… READ MORE | 3 Comments
Tags: chicken, fish, LIFE, pork, Suzhou
Once upon a time, we snuck into Yellow River Shaanxi Noodles (huanghe shui shanxi mianguan, the Meishuguan branch) in our quest to learn how to make the oh-so-heavenly youpo chemian. I was promptly booted out of the kitchen, but not before I picked up a few tricks (see previous posts). As providence would have it, one weekend we got invited to run around the kitchens of Yellow River (Gongti branch) and learn how to pull noodles from the masters.
While I stubbornly maintain that C and I made one damn fine bowl of biangbiang mian, but we were never able to get our dough to be stretchy and pliable enough to pull and slap – effectively leaving the “biang” out of the mian. So we jumped at the chance to learn from the noodle master, and see how it’s all done.… READ MORE
Tags: biangbiang mian, COOK, EAT, noodles, yellow river
Are those angry emoticons on shrimp-paste-bellies? Yes, yes they are.
Today there’s a Chinese edition of Food & Wine, now owned by Great Wall Wine, but where would you get your food porn in Reform Era China? Recently I scavenged a handful of food magazines, all from the early eighties, from the booksellers at Panjiayuan, the “antiques” market located on the southeast third ring road. They are completely delightful.… READ MORE | 7 Comments
Tags: bad food porn, LIFE, magazines
Shanghai. It’s a place most Beijingers love to hate. The antithesis of Beijing, with its European flavor, narrow sycamore-dotted lanes, and a population inexplicably always in a mad rush. This last trip however, I’ve decided to give in to its charms and give up the mockery to embrace Shanghai – well, at least for a long weekend. It was a gluttonous weekend, where I thoroughly indulged in French dinners (crusty baguettes! real butter! fresh-preshed olive oil!) and burritos (thus far the best I’ve had in China), but it was the first meal of this eating marathon that I count as the food discovery of this journey. Triple-fried porkchop with fried glutinous rice cake (排骨年糕).… READ MORE | 8 Comments
Tags: niangao, pork, shanghai
