It would be an injustice to merely call my trip to China a 'holiday', it was many things, I could, and will, write many posts about China, from its wondrous people and culture to its turbulent history, vast city-scapes and stunning scenery but one of the many things I will take away from the experience is the magnificent food China has to offer. It was by no means on my bucket list of countries to visit and I had zero expectations which is probably why I loved it so much.
Thankfully because we were travelling with a friend that was living in Guangzhou, China and spoke fantastic Mandarin we didn't have to deal with awkward dinner situations or working out what was in front of us and as far as I'm aware we didn't eat anything too weird though duck neck soup was a step too far for me!
That being said the food was by far the best thing about the whole trip. Now I know we all like a Chinese takeaway from time to time but traditional 'real' Chinese food is nothing like the sweet and sour chicken balls we have at home.
My favourite food destination in China had to be the Muslim quarter in Xi'an. With all the street food stalls and cheap restaurants we were so spoilt for choice. My personal fave was the meat on a stick...not a clue what meat (I'm led to believe it was goat) but it was the tastiest thing I've ever had on a stick or any other utensil and at the equivalent of 50p a pop it wouldn't have been rude for me to have not gone back for seconds...and thirds. Another street food fave was the spicy potatoes, I've tried and tried recreating them at home but it's just not the same. They were literally bursting with rich flavour and so warming. Seeing as we had planned our trip for February it was a little bit fffffff...fucking freezing so warm hearty food was exactly what was needed and boy did we feast!
Hot pot in Guangzhou was incredible and as you expect from the name, hot. As in burn your mouth, tongue, eyes and nose on entry and 'other areas' on exit. Your pot was created in front of you a filled with water, paste, spices, more spices and veg. As you can see from the picture below, the pot sat in the middle of the table and acted as the centrepiece cooking away throughout your meal. Once the concoction was bubbling away all the meat and extras are bought to the table for you to add to the 'broth' and cook.
There was a fair bit of "what meat do you reckon this is" around the table especially regarding the off grey balls in the far right of the photo. But we prevailed and ate the lot. Thankfully there were two options of broth to choose from mild or burn your face off. Some were braver than others when it came to trying out both side and others stuck with what they knew and wouldn't leave them with tears running down their faces. I was feeling a bit under the weather when we first started the evening but by the end of the meal everything and I mean EVERYTHING had been sweated out.
If you ever do get the chance to go to China please do! The food is out of this world and no amount of words will ever help describe it properly...well apart from 'beady eyed' when talking about the chicken that was served on our first night in Hong Kong along with it's head. Nothing quite like having your food watch you as you eat it.
If you ever do get the chance to go to China please do! The food is out of this world and no amount of words will ever help describe it properly...well apart from 'beady eyed' when talking about the chicken that was served on our first night in Hong Kong along with it's head. Nothing quite like having your food watch you as you eat it.
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