The moment we arrived to the last meal before we left was an event. It was a presentation for the senses, a new experience for the palate, an insight into the country through its food.
One of the things you notice is these large cities is the lack of birds. Most the cities we visited were either by the ocean or by large lakes but not a bird could be seen or a seagull to be heard. We were commenting to a student this observation and he said.."if you want to see animals in China...look at the table". If they flew or swam, they most likely would be presented with a great sauce on lazy Susan in a beautiful restaurant.
We started off with Peking duck and ended with Wuxi fish...I started by asking what it was we were eating in such a beautiful dish, to just eating it and realizing that it most likely was going to be good.
My favorite was probably the pigeon, my least was probably the squid and that was because of the texture.
I wondered out loud on many occasion why the head had to come with the dish. I guess the presentation of the whole animal is what makes you not have to realize what it is you are eating. The chicken feet and the ducks neck were just hard work and not much else. The shrimp were always looking at me with some disgust. The vegetables: the bamboo dishes, the seaweed, the greens, the cucumber like substance that I really hope was cucumber and not sea cucumber and the lotus root was quite amazing. KFC has influenced the Chinese plate and we had lots of corn on the cob.
On the meat side of things: Duck, pigeon, chicken, beef, lobster, crab, fish, sea snails,lamb, pork, shrimp and then all of these cooked in every kind of way. Duck fat with crispy skin was...great! If there is a fish dish...you will have bones. Bones makes a dish better...beware. Lots of soups...lots of wonderful tasty dishes. Duck hearts and pig guts were revealed after I ate, fortunately.
You sit around a huge lazy Susan and food begins to come and you begin to eat. Take a piece here, try something there and DON'T EAT TOO much right off the bat...there is much more coming. The dumplings in Shanghai were amazing...amazing. The pizza in the hotel room with students was really good. The sea snails and little bitty lobster...well, I'm glad everyone else really liked them.
Learn to use the chopsticks before you go...it makes sense when you see how things are eaten.
Two things were off limits for us and that was dog meat and snake blood and neither was offered. Don't be squeamish, it wont help and it may offend. You really don't need to eat a lot...just a little piece here and there. Don't ask and just try.
Food is the heart of a peoples culture. When you sit around and talk and laugh and tell stories...you become family. It is about the good food, but it's really about good company.
China has a love story with its thousands of dishes and if anything, they want you to hear it while you taste it.
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