Chinese Cuisine

Of course you can't come to China and experience the culture without eating different food. Everyone knows that so many cultures revolve around a meal and being in China has been no different. I have to explain, however, that there are certain distinctions with Chinese food. We have had breakfast everyday in the hotel, which is a mix of Chinese food and American cuisine. You can have fresh fruit, cereal, danish, toast, omelets, eggs, bacon or ham if you want American traditional food. If you want to have Chinese food, you can have fried rice, spring rolls, dumplings, porridge, season (as they call it) vegetables, Chinese pancake with scallions, fried Strick (not sure what this is, but it’s like fried dough….pretty awesome). Fresh fruit is available including peaches, mandarin oranges, peaches, watermelon, dragon fruit, yellow watermelon and lychee fruit.

For lunch and dinner we have had restaurant food which has been similar for almost every meal. The conventions are the same. You get a very small glass, like a juice glass size with a saucer for a plate. In the middle of the table is a lazy susan and dishes are placed on the rounder as they are served. Beverage is always choice of beer (pijao), water (shui) or cola (kele) all of which we have become expert at saying. Most of the dishes are Chinese but likely with an American flair. The rice is the same, veggies are similar and the sweet/sour or orange chicken is much like we have at home.

We have had an opportunity to have more local Chinese dining, such as the hot pot restaurant the other night (see July 8).

On the flight from Beijing to Xian, I selected the Chinese breakfast instead of American, just trying to open myself to their culture. I received hot porridge which had no flavor and tasted like really bad grits. I got a vacuum packed black hard boiled egg, I guess it was soaked in soy sauce or something, and I had a small package of pickled cabbage.

Chinese Buffet - American Island
Be sure to see the pictures from this restaurant where Matt and I sampled the bugs!

Night Market
In Beijing, one of the famous markets is the night market where you can find every delicacy on a stick, that is either raw or has been fried. There are sticks with meat, balls, penis, squid, sea horses, etc. There is also a section with bugs and insects including crickets, scorpions, millipedes, centipedes and cicadas.

---

Part of trip: China 2009 - Educational Leadership Conference

---