Hi guise! I see that even though I disappeared off the face of the earth for a month, you guys haven't! Reason behind my disappearance is simple. CHINA. Blogger is blocked in China, hence no way to update this little blog, without violating a few Chinese laws...and I wasn't really in the mood for being arrested.
Practically in the first part of my trip - around a week or so..quite a bit happened, but nothing interesting...still gonna make you guys read on because I have pictures!!!!
DAY ONE
I landed late at night...so pictures start first thing in the morning...
Thanks to jetlag...I practically waited for sunrise..why doesn't the sun rise at 4AM??!!!
And first thing I saw....grey skies.
It cleared up later - apparently blue skies come more frequently in China now...
And that was Day 1.
DAY TWO
Day 2 consisted of an hour trip down/up to Guangzhou to meet the extended family on my dad's side.
My uncle got his hands on a new BMW which looked really good and was really comfortable...so I had to selca! ^_^
Hotpot for dinner.
DAY THREE
Day 3 was plain chilling at home whilst my mum and dealt with some official business.
More grey skies...and ogling at the cheap prices of the "healthy" fast food places downstairs. Couldn't go down because I didn't have the keys to go back up...sad life.
DAY THREE
Day 3 was plain chilling at home whilst my mum and dealt with some official business.
More grey skies...and ogling at the cheap prices of the "healthy" fast food places downstairs. Couldn't go down because I didn't have the keys to go back up...sad life.
DAY FOUR
Day 4 marked the beginning of my few-day stay in countryside China with my GPs on my mother's side. After a 3-4 hour car trip...finally arrived. Snippets of the environment as shown below...I find the contrast really fascinating!
Guess what else I saw!!!
I saw a CFC - Chinese Fried Chicken once before, but missed the chance to take a photo of it....Didn't get a chance to try it though...such a pity.
Decided to check in to a hotel that night, as my uncle was going to live at the GP's place..and there wasn't enough room for the whole extended fam-bam.
DAY FIVE
Went to meet up with a friend of my mum and aunts at this restaurant which I found pretty amazing.
You order one of their special, expensive dishes (i.e shark fin, abalone, bird's nest etc. etc. etc.) and then they give you all the side dishes for FREE!!! I only went their to eat side dishes because they ordered shark fin...and I'm pretty meh about it.
Le bowl of shark fin...at 300 RMB per bowl, it's a reasonable price I guess..kind of gives me the idea it MAY just be vermicelli.
Seriously...it looks like vermicelli, no?
TIME FOR THE STAR OF THE SHOW!! THE SIDE DISHES!
Cabbage dumplings (白菜餃) - the skin has the beautiful texture that can only be done in China....see the bling bling see through skin...that's what your looking for. The inside is also very juicy, steamed to perfection~
Taro mantou & meat and vegetable buns (芋頭饅頭 & 菜肉包) - Bread isn't really my thing..but the meat and veggie bun was delish - soft and juicy!! Didn't try the mantou because there wasn't any sugar for me roll it in.
Chive Cheung-fun (韭菜腸粉) - Cheungfun is another thing that dim-sum chefs in Australia can't do right...The Cheungfun in China is translucent and slippery...whilst in Australia it's either hard and powdery, or so watery that it breaks and crumbles at the touch. Despite saying all that, this wasn't my dish...the ratio between the rice roll and the chives didn't match well and the soy sauce didn't really complement it that well..sahhh not for me.
Chard (funky spinach) dumpling/"blob" (豬乸菜餃) - I don't have much memory of this dish expect it was a blob given to me as they said "you can't find in Aust."
Stir-fried glass noodles (炒河粉) - We rarely see glass noodles like this in Aust....only ever see a close second being japchae. However...all the hor-fun you order in China will practically be like this, which is delicious. However....too much oil.
Deep-fried Taro shreds (炸芋絲) - This dish used to be very common in yumcha - even in Australia. However, it gradually disappeared...and I can't even find it anymore in Aust, so this was a great reunion with a delicious shreds of taro.
Deep-fried Sweet Potato Mash (炸番薯) - This thing is DA BOMB! Crispy on the outside, soft and mushy on the inside. Not too sweet, and not bland. The Dynasty (in Canterbury Club) used to have a version of this but with pumpkin, which was also a delightful treat!
Side side dishes (伴菜) - from bottom left going clockwise: stir-fried fishies (may be anchovies or not...), pickled and salted peanuts, deep fried tofu cubes with chilli, sea kelp, fat pork. I generally stay away from these for no particular reason...so no comment
Sweetened Yam (甜淮山) - This tasted very good! Slightly sweet and extremely crunchy and refreshing! Yii approves~~
Pork Bone congee (豬骨粥) - Can you believe that congee/porridge is also considered a side dish??? This was very good - truly boiled down for hours and hours! However, as you would expect...it's hard to stomach if you've just eaten all of the above like someone over here... :O
Woah...this is a really long post...so I'm gonna spare your eyes and brain la.....bye for now~
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