Chao Zhou Cheap Eats - Jan. 25-26

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Chinese new year's has begun. The most crowded, fast paced city I've ever lived in, Guangzhou, (btw, I am a native New Yorker...hope this gives you some type of comparison) is now a ghost town. To me, China has come to a stand still. It's pretty damn amazing! Took the opportunity to wander the streets and ride around on the empty buses. It's as if I have the whole place to myself. Weeeeeee!

GZ is for the most part, a city of migrants. Due to the economic conditions of the rural areas, many Chinese flock to the Pearl River Delta, a manufacturing base, to make a living. If they are lucky enough, they have the time and some money to head to their respective "lao jias (hometowns)." For some, this is the only time of the year that they get to see their families, including their children.

Lucky me! I, along with other friends have been invited to my friend Jack's lao jia, which is Chao Zhou. Since "landing" in Chao Zhou, I've been feasting like there's no tomorrow.

On the first night, I got to eat with Jack's parents. They served up Chao Zhou's famous beef balls. They are especially dense cuz they're packed with 100% "beefiness." We also ate sticky rice wrapped in a pink heart shaped glutinous rice wrap.

We're eating about 5 meals/day. Crazy gluttony!

So far, I've had amazing street food!

1) Egg battered oysters - it's sooooo cheap and yummy! I just want to plant myself here and eat oysters all day.

2) Stir-fried rice cakes - interesting...it's alot softer than what I'm used to. We get chewier rice cakes at home (in the U.S.).

3) Stinky tofu - haha, I never thought that I would try this. Once I got passed the stinky feet smell, no problem! It was actually good. I'm convinced that if you add hot pepper or hot sauce to most foods, it'll taste decent. And the 2 old street vendors were hilarious. Perhaps, humour makes anything palatable.

4) Glutinous rice balls with sweet potato, lotus nuts, dates, fungus - heaven! I'm serious! I loved this! It was the perfect amount of sweetness. The rice balls were filled either with peanut or chrysanthemum paste. You just never knew until you bit into one. It was a wonderful surprise that blended well with the herbal (lotus, dates, fungus) accompaniments. Mos def (most definitely) a healthy dessert as long as the sticky rice balls don't stick to one's gut.

5) Ate at a first rate vegetarian restaurant - in heaven again! Can't even begin to explain it!

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