food

The language barrier is enormus. Our first experience with finding food that contains no meat was an adventure. We walked from our hotel several blocks looking for food, all we saw were stalls that have maybe 4 to 6 tables and some three-legged metal stools to sit on. They are open to the street (no front door) and usually a family run opperation. With some trepedation we finally choose one. The menue on the wall was in chinese and no one in the place spoke english. We notice some vegetables in pans that were in a glass case near the front so we pointed to the stringbeans and mixed-veggies w/seaweed. Near the back of the shop some workmen were eating and drinking beer, one of them regognized the word tofu and told the cook that we wanted some tofu soup. Our first meal was the beggining of a flavor filled oddesay that we have enjoyed daily. The veggies from the glass case were lightly steamed then marinated in sesame oil and herbs, the stringbeans also steamed and marinated with a light vinegar/oil dressing. The tofu/cabbage soup was so delicious we just started laughing.
The idea that fast american food will have any impact in china is a complete corperate fantasy or joke. This culture revolves around food. Any street, all streets, have food booths. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of peoples preparing fresh food from before dawn until late at night everyday. I especially like the one person food stalls, as an example is the stall just across the street from our hostle. The main dish he serves is noodles (fresh daily), in a wok that sits atop a concrete cylender below the wok are five or six babie's fist size chunks of coal. The coal is bellowed by an electric fan with two speeds hi and low. He dips the wok in oil and sautees some onion and herbs, adds some leafy greens and then the noodles, up with the flame, tossing it all in the air and catching it with grace and precision. A ladle of stock, a few more flips and out on to my plate. Not done yet, then new oil in the wok and a very fresh large brown egg is lightly scrambled and added to the wok, a few rolls of the wrist it flips over and out to top off my noodles. This is an average meal for average chinese people. I must add that as I sat and ate my noodles and egg three men came in to eat also. They spoke Manderin to me but I shrugged to let them know I didn't understand and they laughed and offered me a cigerette which was very tempting but I declined. As they sat waiting for their noodles they began peeling cloves of garlic. I thought maybe they are friends of the cook and are helping him out, but no, when their noodles arrived they ate the raw cloves of garlic like we would bread, a bite of noodle a bit of garlic.
The food is fabulous but ordering is a challenge. So far we've managed to get enough to keep us very happy.
Other memorable dishes include but not limited to Mr. Deng's tomatoe and egg omlete, marinated buckwheat noodles, tofu and greens in chile sauce and fried sweet potato.

sorry about the spelling

boomboom