What I Ate Today: China Edition

Lately I've posted mostly photos of my travels, but little of my daily life in China. I'm packing up to leave on summer holiday, so I wanted to leave you with 31 days of posts that paint a picture of what it's like to live in China and what my current life is like. If you want to join in the sharing I'd love it if you would place a link in the comments back to your post. I hope you enjoy and have a great summer!

In Langfang, it's difficult to get real western food. There are several restaurants that serve westernish food, but the taste and quality is not very good. The price for these dishes is usually very expensive and not really worth it. Chinese food can be incredibly cheap and usually tastes pretty good. We do have a few American chain fast food restaurants in town, but I can't tolerate eating fast food that often.

Chanrey Tree

On my last day in Siem Reap, Cambodia I had lunch at the Chanrey Tree. It was recommended to me by a local who said the flavors tasted just like traditional Khmere cuisine. Reservations are recommended as it is quite popular, especially for dinner. 

This is the reception area of the restaurant. There is outdoor seating available out front in addition to seating upstairs in an air-conditioned room. The prices are a little higher for Khmere food than you will find in town, but the atmosphere, service and food presentation are far superior. The restaurant is located along the river, a few minutes walk from the pub street area and old market.  

      

I dined upstairs in the air conditioned room. I ordered two of my favorites: a mango shake and fried fresh chicken spring rolls. Plus I tried the seafood with fresh (local) kampot pepper that was served with steamed rice. Everything was delicious and the service was excellent. They do add a 15% service charge to bill, which is only notable because tipping is not as common in Cambodia. 

I had a great meal at Chanrey Tree and I'll be back again next time I'm in Siem Reap. 

 

Do you like tasting the local cuisine when you travel?

Chongqing Cygnet

Foreign tourists visit Chengdu to see the Giant Panda Research Base although the city is famous to local tourists for its cuisine. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province and Sichuan food is known around the world to be spicy. Hotpot is also a popular food in China and I'm told the best is found in Sichuan. So during my recent visit I checked out a local restaurant to try out the spicy hotpot. Chongqing Cygnet Hotpot has been around since 1982. It is a local chain restaurant that was located in a shopping center near my hotel. 

From the menu, you choose the flavor of your broth and the assortment of meats and vegetables that you'd like. They also have a larger version of the menu that's mostly photographs. One of the difficult aspects about dining out in China is finding an English menu if you don't read Chinese. Most of the menu is Chinese, but they have adequate photographs of the menu items, so as a non-Chinese speaker I had no trouble selecting the items I wanted.  

I've had hotpot numerous times at this point and I am typically served a sesame paste as the sauce base. In addition, cilantro, pepper jelly, and vinegar are provided to adjust the seasoning to my liking. At Chongqing Cygnet they not only had the basics, but they had an entire sauce bar for me to choose from. I loved experimenting with the different flavors.  

Another aspect that I loved about Chongqing Cygnet is that each person has their own individual burner and pot in front of their seat. That way everyone can order their own broth as spicy as you want and no one has to worry about mixing meats with vegetables if dining with a vegetarian (or vise versa). I went with the three pepper spicy rating on the menu which was perfect for me. 

I ordered a platter with meats, mushrooms and green vegetables. Plus I added sliced potatoes, muer, and bean curd; three of my favorite foods in hotpot. Everything goes into the pot to cook, even the green leafy vegetables. Then you pull it out of the pot and dip it in the sauce to eat. I usually order a spicy broth and add way too much pepper to my sauce so my mouth is on fire by the end of my meal. It's quite delicious though! I ordered way too much food and there was enough left over for at least one whole meal. For every thing, including my drink, the meal was under $15 USD. I loved my experience at Chongqing Cygnet and I will definitely go back again. As a chain, they have locations in other cities throughout China. I look forward to eating a lot more hotpot during my stay.    

What do you think about spicy food?      

Traditional Chinese Dinner

This semester, in addition to my normal classes, I also teach a group of eight working adults in the evenings at my university. Tonight the school hosted a meal for us at a restaurant so that we could eat a traditional Chinese meal and learn the traditional dining etiquette rules. Each of the students shared a different aspect of the culture.  We covered everything from different types of tea, rules of using chopsticks, a story on birthday noodles, how to host a meal and other dining tips.

For a Chinese meal, the food is all placed in the middle of the table and the center spins so you can easily pass the food around. When something comes by that you want, you reach your chopsticks out and take a piece. Some tables are motorized and move on their own and you place your fingers on the table to pause the motion. The table we had today was not motorized so we would spin it to pass the dishes around. Etiquette dictates that you check to make sure that no one is taking food from a dish before you spin the table. If someone is selecting something from a dish, you wait until they are finished and then rotate the table to get what you want.     

Traditional style chair

In addition to the presentations on Chinese culture we had a variety of dishes to try. I liked almost every one of them. Many of the foods area similar to what I eat back home, but they are cooked in different ways and with different sauces or ingredients. 

Here is a look at the dishes I ate:

Chicken

Cucumber

Beef

Pork Meatballs (aka Lion's heads)

Chinese Pizza

Dessert

White Carrot

Wild Goose

Fish

Chicken

Beef

Lotus

Shrimp

Have you had an experience learning the etiquette rules of another culture?

Chinese HotPot

I'm so excited that I finally had hotpot for the first time! Before I ever arrived in LangFang I'd heard from my husband and others who had traveled to China before that hotpot was amazing and delicious and I had to have it. I can't believe it has taken me so long to get to a hotpot restaurant. 

There are two different types I'm told. One serves hotpot in individual pots, the other is served in one giant pot that everyone digs into. I currently have a horrible cold so I opted for the individual pots to avoid passing my illness on to others as much as possible. The restaurant we ate at is the hotpot chain, Xiabu Xiabu. They are located all over and are often found in malls. I've noticed that in China the top one or two floors of a mall are usually dedicated solely to sit down restaurants. The location near my apartment is part of a strip mall.       

At this restaurant, there are several long bars for seating. Once you order, they bring you an individual pot full of hot water and seasoning that you chose. I went for the spicy version tonight. Next they bring out your selection of raw vegetables and meats to add to your pot.  

Raw Beef

Raw Vegetables

Raw Fish

I received fresh herbs, vinegar and sauce packets to mix the sauce to my liking. Once the pot is heated up, you drop in the raw food to cook then pick it out with chop sticks, dip it in the sauce and enjoy! It was so good that I ate long after I was full. I can say for certain that I'll be back!   

Have you tried hotpot? What's your favorite Chinese food?

Favorite Local Restaurant

I'm so happy that after living in China for a short time, I have discovered my new favorite local restaurant. The name translates to mean "Happy". This restaurant is a very short walk from my apartment, very inexpensive and quite delicious! On my list of 101 goals, I listed finding a new favorite restaurant and I'm happy to have found one so soon. Here's a look at my new favorite place.

The menu is all in Chinese with no pictures:

 

Each time I've eaten at this restaurant to date I've gone with someone who reads Chinese. Now I've ordered enough dishes that I can point to the item I ordered before and memorized the location on the menu. Let's just hope they don't change the menu anytime soon! Otherwise I can also show them the picture I took during a previous visit. Of course I could also be adventurous and just point to something and give it a try.

Everything I've had at this restaurant so far has been delicious and affordable. For three people, the total bill is usually between $6-$8 USD. It depends on what you order though as the price per dish varies.

Here is a variety of dishes that I've tried so far:

White Rice

Beef & Onions

Egg & Leek

Chicken & Green Peppers

Fish

Pork with tofu wrap

Squid with Peppers

Green Beans with Pork and Peppers

My all time favorite is the green beans with pork and peppers. I order it every time I go there. The Chinese style of eating is to order several dishes, place them in the center of the table and everyone digs in. Usually each person will have their own bowl of rice that will serve as your plate as you eat. And of course chopsticks are the only utensil served except for the occasional spoon.

By the look of the place I can honestly say that if this restaurant was back in the states, I wouldn't even think of eating there. However, the food is always fresh and everything is cooked in a hot pan. The food goes directly from the pan to the plate to your table. The restaurant is quite popular with the locals as well. On each visit there is a flurry of to go and delivery orders in addition to the customers seated in the small dining area.  

What do you like about your favorite local restaurant?