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Published: June 25th 2013
All the time I've lived in China, people always ask me what I like best and what I don't like. It's a hard question to answer. Frequently, my answer changes. Now that I'm leaving, people ask what I will and won't miss. While similar in nature to the other question, the tone of this one makes it easier to answer. Everywhere I've lived and traveled has had its pluses and minuses, and each of these is a personal preference, usually based off of my own experiences. After much thought, I've decided to tackle this in five entries.
I've been here five years, so five of each seems right. I would like to point out that none of these is meant as a criticism of China or a, "China is better than everywhere else!" statement. After five years here, I know there's still quite a bit I don't understand and probably never will. It's impossible to form a full opinion or judgement for 1.3 billion people, and I wouldn't venture to try. I wouldn't dare--I'm only one person. These are just my opinions, formed both through my personal experiences and how I'm feeling right now.
I'd be lying if I
The sweet and sour fish was the main attraction.
The green beans were another favorite that night--we ordered two of them.said that leaving China isn't an emotional experience. It's been my home for five years. Part of me will always feel like this is home. But it's time for the next thing.
So here's what I won't miss and what I will miss, The #2's:
Volume No, not how many people can be crammed into any amount of space. As in, how loud it is.
It doesn't matter where I am, I am surrounded by noise. Not just typical people talking, cars, general-hum-of-electricity noise. All of this is at a volume that makes me feel like I'm at a perpetual rock concert.
For example, If I'm out shopping, many stores will be blasting music at a level that makes ACDC seem muted. Meanwhile, workers stand outside and clap and yell to get our attention, because perhaps we haven't noticed the blaring music. No, this does not excite me and make me want to come shop in your store. It makes me want to flee and never shop again. My friends and I have to pause our conversations when we walk past shops like this.
If I go to a restaurant, there's a
local fish
There's a fire cooking it under the table. good chance there will be a TV on. The volume will be loud. People will talk louder. Even in nice restaurants or massage salons with private rooms, the TV gets switched on. Apparently it's supposed to add to the fun and/or relaxation. How about some soothing music instead?
If I'm riding the bus or subway and listening to my ipod at high volume, I don't want to be able to hear your entire mobile phone conversation or conversation with your friend. Really, you don't need to include me. So often, it seems that people feel the need to yell their conversations with whomever they're talking to, regardless of where the other person is--a few meters away or shoulder to shoulder. Perhaps everyone is half deaf from all the noise. There are no "inside voices" here and I frequently go home during my breaks just to get some quiet.
Food The food. Oh, the food. You know how much I love food and eating.
Chinese food is so good. And unless you've been here, you've most likely had nothing like it. Real Chinese food isn't like the stuff you find at Panda Wok
in the mall or the Ming's Garden down the street you went to with your family when you were growing up; there are no cream cheese wontons, massive eggrolls, deep fried any-meat-you-want with sweet and sour sauce, or chow mein. There is no "Chinese food" any more than there is "American food." Imagine trying to open an "American" restaurant in another country and still offer foods from all over the US. Good luck truly representing the country and culture as a whole.
Real Chinese food has five different regions (Sichuan, Hunanese, southern/Cantonese, eastern, and northern/northeastern). Each has its own style and flavors and methods. Some eat rice (the south) and some eat noodles and breads (the north). It's a meal to be eaten with a family, sharing many dishes and rice. The fancier the meal, the less rice you'll eat at the end. (Rice is meant to be filler food, like bread.) Some dishes are quite simple and some are really complex. But all require fresh ingredients (you can often choose your own still-flopping fish), a good sense of timing, and quick cooking over high heat.
Additionally, there's street food. Street food also varies by region but not
nearly as much. Jian Bing--my favorite--is a thin pancake filled with egg, lettuce, a crispy fried bread, and seasonings; but it varies from vendor to vendor. Each BBQ stand offers different foods, depending on what's available locally. Street food represents a culture the best and it's often what you'll see the locals eating for meals and late into the night.
Down the street there are always little noodle shops serving piping hot bowls of noodle soup or plates of freshly pulled noodles with veggies and meat. Most dishes are cheap and quick, making them ideal for a lunch break or dining alone. Many even have pictures on the wall of the dishes they offer because many owners/chefs speak their own local dialect, making communication difficult at times. (Many noodle shop owners have migrated to the bigger cities from smaller towns in the west.)
Dim sum. A Cantonese favorite, it's one of my favorite ways to dine. It started out as afternoon tea with friends, added snacks, and now it's a multi-hour meal with lots of little dishes a pot after pot of tea. The little dishes allow people to try lots of different foods and also to always
have hot, fresh food on the table. It's as much a social gathering as it is a meal.
Hot pot is a lot like going out for fondue. But instead of the cooking soup being the final flavoring, often the meat and veggies are cooked and then dipped in a separate sauce. My favorite hot pot restaurant lets diners create their own sauce just the way they like it.
I've come to love Chinese food these past five years. Or, "food," as I now call it. At first I was disappointed it wasn't how I'd expected it to be and I was desperate for an eggroll; now I embrace it for what it is and am glad for what it isn't.
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His Dudeness
Ralf Kreuze
The noise
I can relate to that, well also to the food obviously, but as someone merely travelling through and not speaking the language it was always hit and miss with me and the food (unless I was with a Chinese speaking person in which case it was always mouth-wateringly good). But the noise was never hit and miss, it was always hit, hit, hit. My own personal theory is that the Chinese have become so used to noise, that silence scares them. Hence when they are somewhere where there is no noise to begin with, they have to create it, either by putting on a radio, TV, or by screaming when above appliances are not available (like when walking in a scenic nature area, often in the form of random hollering at the top of their voices). This seems to soothe them. It is just a theory of mine, but until proven otherwise I find it works quite nicely to explain this phenomenon.