Weird & Wonderful Chinese Dishes/Foods

[EE33]

It's been an amazing 2+ months for me here in Southern China.
I've been here many a time in the past, but it was only for short periods (7 to 14 days) and mainly touring factories, spending lots of hours on the road....eating in hotels...not really getting the feel and taste of what this beautiful country had to offer.
This is what I sampled, came across during my journey here so far.....some weird, some wonderful. Hope you enjoy :)

The Chinese do not waste any part of the chicken & chicken feet is an all time favourite.



Chicken head rice, wow!!!


Spicy duck head


Duck web/intestine


Pigs large intestine


Sharks Fin



Dog meat. These stalls are littered all over the joint. I'm a dog lover and it is very distressing to see dogs hanging in this glass cabinet, so this is all I'm posting.


Marbled Beef


Beef Sashimi


Chinese Whiskey. Dalip asked me to bring back a bottle of whiskey for him, hope he likes this!!! :)


Roast pork belly to DIE for!!!


Tiger meat????
Now lets get this right! I also love Tigers and they are a protected species. This was offered to me and I was shocked and politely declined. I cannot remember where and when I took this pic, sorry.


Chillies by the truck load.




Crocodile




Cobra


Turtles


Curdled pigs blood


Century egg. Ducks egg fermented in ammonia


Seafood congee, I ate 8 bowls :)


Tripe


Pork, what cut would you like? It's all in the open!


Dim Sum, of course :)


Baby snake


I'll add more pics abit later :)

[malarky_hk]

Some interesting and graphic pics for the uninitiated - especially those that have not been to Asia. You should probably put a warning on the post for those with a weak stomach.

[Sarajevo]

A lot of the dishes look nice but some are rather intimidating. Very sad re the tiger parts.

[EE33]

Originally Posted by malarky_hk

Some interesting and graphic pics for the uninitiated - especially those that have not been to Asia. You should probably put a warning on the post for those with a weak stomach.

Good point you make there Mark. It's abit late now for me to edit the post, would be great if a Mod can assist, Thanks

[FeelingTheBlues]

Quite an interesting gastronomic trip Des! I am the type to try a lot of things so I would probably give some of those meals a try but the tiger meat would definitely be a no-no for me as well.

Thank you for the pictures!

[chicfarmer1]

Super interesting.

I've come to the conclusion that the Chinese are the most food-literate people in the world. They eat (and therefore know) the biggest range of different foods. I have pictures from a friend who went to a seafood restaurant in Guangzhou that is the size of a football field, and running the length of it are cases of various seafood, to be chosen live to be cooked.

I agree about the pork belly in China: it was probably the single best thing I've ever eaten. Unimaginable, really, and I normally don't eat pork at all.

[EE33]

Originally Posted by FeelingTheBlues

Quite an interesting gastronomic trip Des! I am the type to try a lot of things so I would probably give some of those meals a try but the tiger meat would definitely be a no-no for me as well.

Thank you for the pictures!

Carl, same feelings about the tiger. Glad you enjoyed the pics.

Originally Posted by chicfarmer1

Super interesting.

I've come to the conclusion that the Chinese are the most food-literate people in the world. They eat (and therefore know) the biggest range of different foods. I have pictures from a friend who went to a seafood restaurant in Guangzhou that is the size of a football field, and running the length of it are cases of various seafood, to be chosen live to be cooked.

I agree about the pork belly in China: it was probably the single best thing I've ever eaten. Unimaginable, really, and I normally don't eat pork at all.

J, the Chinese waste nothing, as long as it has 4 legs and the back faces the sun, it's edible!!! Apart from a table, of course.
I've tried plenty pork belly, this one rates right up there.

They do serve great Western food and beverages too, this is what I had for dinner tonight.

[EE33]

This is how they 'wax' in China.


Live Frogs


Antelope & Deer horn. Tongue in the background?


Braised spare parts.

[EE33]

Pure chicken blood.

[chicfarmer1]

Although gory by some standards, this food tour of China is partly a reminder of how people everywhere have made do creatively from scarcity. My question is, as wealth rises more broadly, will these old customs stay in the culture? I think food practices fade slowly on the whole, but it's interesting to ponder whether some of this cooking will hold up a generation or two onward.

In fact this same question is why I felt lucky to witness China now, since it's absolutely swirling with change.

[EE33]

Originally Posted by chicfarmer1

Although gory by some standards, this food tour of China is partly a reminder of how people everywhere have made do creatively from scarcity. My question is, as wealth rises more broadly, will these old customs stay in the culture? I think food practices fade slowly on the whole, but it's interesting to ponder whether some of this cooking will hold up a generation or two onward.

In fact this same question is why I felt lucky to witness China now, since it's absolutely swirling with change.

J, I think there is a 2 part answer to your above post with all due respect.
Firstly, food isn't scarce in China, at least not in modern China. They just do not waste any part of an animal. 'We' who live in a western society chuck out the head, the @ss, the insides, the skin, the feet, the neck ....hence we waste. IMO.

Tradition shall continue here as many ol'folk still self farm their own produce. I witness first hand as my current GF is from Hunan and her mom still grows veggies, rears pigs, chicken, goose. Ponds of fish and they live in a very cold environment where traditionally these produce are 'preserved', ie smoked/salted.
Here are 2 pics of what Ma brought over from the o'l home.
Fantastic!!!
Home grown as we know it . :)

[chicfarmer1]

Delish looking! That's great that Mom-in-law is a farmer still. :) My kind of lady.

Country people everywhere have practiced being thrifty, because it goes hand in hand with a subsistence economy. But China has just experienced its largest demographic shift ever, now having more urban residents than rural for the first time. People take their culture with them, as your own family shows, but it doesn't remain fixed under a glass dome.

About scarcity, any time you're talking about a subsistence economy, crop failures and disasters can determine whether people can eat well all the time. Naturally this applies in China as elsewhere.

I for one hope that many of the old food traditions survive modernity--but it is an uphill battle, as the West clearly demonstrates.

[sea-dweller]

Some look good!

[EE33]

Originally Posted by chicfarmer1

Delish looking! That's great that Mom-in-law is a farmer still. :) My kind of lady.

Country people everywhere have practiced being thrifty, because it goes hand in hand with a subsistence economy. But China has just experienced its largest demographic shift ever, now having more urban residents than rural for the first time. People take their culture with them, as your own family shows, but it doesn't remain fixed under a glass dome.

About scarcity, any time you're talking about a subsistence economy, crop failures and disasters can determine whether people can eat well all the time. Naturally this applies in China as elsewhere.

I for one hope that many of the old food traditions survive modernity--but it is an uphill battle, as the West clearly demonstrates.

J, mom in law is still look'in great, not a grey hair and never had a tooth filling, testimony to healthy living, she's tough as nails too.
She'll wake up early, slaughter, buy, prepare, organise, cook, clean up....without breaking a sweat!
As for the younger generation, you're right, many have come to the BIG smoke to seek the most beloved 'RMB'!!!!! Coin is King here, too simple.

Hey! I lived in Australia for 27 years & I know what natural disasters can do to the farming communities. Wipe out entire crops in a single flash' Devastation! Supply and demand curves start kick'in in, next thing bananas are upwards of $30 a kilo and we get smacked with a Levi..WTF???

The Chinese are doing ok...amazing structures and developments, everyone wants to be Boss, but I sense that even the wealthy still remember and appreciate their humble beginnings, their 'Old Home' as it's known.

Rose's family only eat their farmed fish which is fresh water fish and hardly ever eat ocean fish.....2 reasons, they live inland and ocean fish is many times more expensive.
The other day I went to the wet markets and bought a live pomfret (ocean fish) which she steamed to perfection, yesterday mom in law bought a Pearch (fresh water fish) which again she steamed to perfection!
I didn't ask why she chose that particular fish, I guess it's personal preference. All good.

[ptugolf]

I will skip dinner tonight.

[77T]

Des
Thanks for sharing all of this - it's eye-opener for us in the West. Looks brave to be eating any of it the first time...

Now if you can imagine how the first Chinese people took a bite of Kentucky Fried Chicken - that must have been an eye-opener for them!

[EE33]

Originally Posted by 77T

Now if you can imagine how the first Chinese people took a bite of Kentucky Fried Chicken - that must have been an eye-opener for them!

PaulG, The Chinese embraced the KFC concept so much so that there are over 3000 outlets employing 250000 in China today.

The village Shang Sha which I rented an apartment for 2 months had 100's of food outlets, tea houses, but none served coffee early in the morning except McDonalds. One could get a 3 course fast food meal for RMB25, a large Coffee at McDonalds cost RMB22.

[dkatz]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting. I eat mostly vegetarian food. Would it be difficult finding vegetarian meals there?

[mpmesq]

If you eat fish, then no problem whatsoever.

[Andad]

Thank you for the experience Des.

Some of the food looked excellent.

[EE33]

Originally Posted by dkatz

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting. I eat mostly vegetarian food. Would it be difficult finding vegetarian meals there?

Plenty of great veggies in China, huge selection. I tried to upload some vegetable stores, but Snap Bucket is currently down.

@Eddie, glad you enjoyed the pics.

[longreach380]

takes me back to my evening walks around Wangfujing night market...I miss China and the exotic food a great deal.

[GStafford]

What an adventure!

[vant1472]

I wish my kids can experience their culture before the old school ways are gone. I was lucky enough to experience three cultures. I'm Chinese born in Vietnam grew up in America. Hopefully, in the near future I can take my family and experience it . Thank you for the great pictures

[boxed]

Miss China, haven't been back since 09'.