by Karen Endsley
My Culinary Adventure on the Mainland
“Not at all what I expected” is the phrase I typically use when describing my visit to China. But then again, I’m not quite sure what I expected when my friend and I embarked on our month-long journey. The food in China had been one of my main concerns (Bathrooms was the other, but that’s a totally different story!).
Let me first say that as a cook, I’m a very adventurous eater; I love trying out new, exotic foods and learning about different cultures through cuisine. While I’d often heard about the culinary creativity of the Chinese, I certainly didn’t expect the sensory attack of the Beijing night market with its rows of food vendors each with carts brimming with everything (and I mean everything) from cocoons to tiny birds with beaks intact on a stick. I wandered through the market looking for something that would sit well in my jet-lagged stomach. Therein laid the challenge. After thoroughly perusing rows of interesting offerings, including what I’m pretty sure were actual chicken “fingers” and 1,000-year-old eggs, I settled on something that looked like a holeless donut called a bing. It was hot, delicious and filled all the right spots.
Eating our way through China was simply fantastic. Like all tourists, we made sure to do the China musts like hiking the Great Wall, checking out the terracotta soldiers and, of course, fighting a goat for bananas.
But some of our fondest memories are of the food.
We had the luxury of eating paper-thin crepes made on an outdoor grill and stuffed with strawberries and bananas in Lijiang. We ate fresh Lychees right off the branch at a beautiful, humble birthday party in Guilin, and we even drank yak butter tea in Tibet (Not gonna lie, not my favorite!).
I’ll never forget one particular visit to a restaurant with a surprisingly varied menu. After about a month of eating food that I struggled to pronounce and identify, I craved something familiar, so I ordered lasagna. As I was savoring the rich flavors, I noticed the well-dressed gentleman seated next to me. A quick glance at his dish revealed a bowl full of small white worms. Yes…worms. I remember thinking, “He could have had the lasagna, yet he prefers the worms?” Then I instantly understood the difference in body size between the average American and the average Chinese.
My Chinese adventure was exciting, scary, fun and delicious. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone. When it comes to eating, try it all, but here’s a tip to keep in mind when choosing your dishes, especially when it comes to street food: make sure the food is hot, faceless and most importantly, don’t ask what it is until after you’ve eaten!