IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL THE WATERMELON IS SERVED.
A word on Chinese cooking: They serve enormous amounts of food here. Those of you who know me as a bottomless pit when it comes to culinary delights might be surprised to learn that the Chinese can out eat me pound for pound breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are at least 9 courses (tonight's dinner was about 20) for every meal, and we have learned that the dining experience does not end until the watermelon hits the table.
Some things I've had while here: fried duck, duck hearts, duck blood soup, black tea-dyed eggs, mung bean crackers, dumplings and gelatins of all shapes and colors, blueberry potato chips, and more veggies than I've had in the past five years. There are eels, squid, scallops, chicken and fish served flattened with heads intact, and yesterday I watched Jamie pop the head off a shrimp prior to eating it - forgetting about the little legs that were still attached. Tonight we were served the most incredible smelling tofu dish any of us has ever encountered, the detailed description of which I will leave to my dear colleagues accompanying me on this journey.
Like many things Chinese, there is a level of detail and precision that goes into every dish. Far beyond the ingredients and combination of flavors, there is an attention to presentation that is incredibly artistic. Many things come in rice paper like little exquisitely wrapped Christmas presents; many are served with orchid flowers on the plate, or in huge ceramic soup turrines. The meals are beautiful actually. And they spin merry-go-round style on enormous lazy susans. Some tables seating upwards of twenty people.
The food in any place says a lot about culture, and in China where there is an emphasis on tradition, there is also a kind of nationalistic pride in the cuisine. Team CDI has been adventurous and enthusiastic about exploring this aspect of our host country. Now, if we could only get ice cold beer...
A word on Chinese cooking: They serve enormous amounts of food here. Those of you who know me as a bottomless pit when it comes to culinary delights might be surprised to learn that the Chinese can out eat me pound for pound breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are at least 9 courses (tonight's dinner was about 20) for every meal, and we have learned that the dining experience does not end until the watermelon hits the table.
Some things I've had while here: fried duck, duck hearts, duck blood soup, black tea-dyed eggs, mung bean crackers, dumplings and gelatins of all shapes and colors, blueberry potato chips, and more veggies than I've had in the past five years. There are eels, squid, scallops, chicken and fish served flattened with heads intact, and yesterday I watched Jamie pop the head off a shrimp prior to eating it - forgetting about the little legs that were still attached. Tonight we were served the most incredible smelling tofu dish any of us has ever encountered, the detailed description of which I will leave to my dear colleagues accompanying me on this journey.
Like many things Chinese, there is a level of detail and precision that goes into every dish. Far beyond the ingredients and combination of flavors, there is an attention to presentation that is incredibly artistic. Many things come in rice paper like little exquisitely wrapped Christmas presents; many are served with orchid flowers on the plate, or in huge ceramic soup turrines. The meals are beautiful actually. And they spin merry-go-round style on enormous lazy susans. Some tables seating upwards of twenty people.
The food in any place says a lot about culture, and in China where there is an emphasis on tradition, there is also a kind of nationalistic pride in the cuisine. Team CDI has been adventurous and enthusiastic about exploring this aspect of our host country. Now, if we could only get ice cold beer...
No comments:
Post a Comment