Foods of China!

During our time in China, we have had the chance to try many interesting and delicious Chinese foods. We learned there are different specialities of food in various regions of China.  In the South, Dim Sum is their famous dish and in the North, it’s Peking duck especially in Beijing. I have eaten Chinese food at home, but it was a lot more delicious and authentic when we ate it here.

We went to have Dim Sum with our Couchsurfing friends Amy, Dave, William, and their friends Lilly, Joe, and Tom in a town near Guangzhou.  Dim Sum is where you select small portions of many different types of food which are brought to your table.

We went for Dim Sum for late breakfast, as the dishes are not eaten for lunch or dinner.  Families usually go out together on the weekends for a special treat.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we had our own private room. Inside was a large table and the biggest lazy Susan I have ever seen in my life.

The inside of the restaurant

Our table with the giant lazy Susan

To choose what food we wanted, we went to the front of the restaurant where there was a table piled with bamboo baskets full of food. After selecting our food, we went back to the table to enjoy.

Tom choosing the food

The menu

Some of the food

The bamboo baskets

When the food arrived, it was placed on the lazy Susan and turned around the table so everyone could help themselves easily. Some of the foods we ate were chicken feet, tripe, steamed buns, dumplings, wraps, meat dishes, and lion’s head.

What I found interesting was that sweets are brought out at any time in the meal.  There is no specific time for desserts, so they are eaten along with the meal.

Our next fantastic food experience was in the north in Beijing.  We wanted to try the famous Peking duck. We went to eat with a family from France who were also staying at Cindy’s Hutong.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we had to wait outside for a few minutes because it is really popular with tourists and locals. Good thing we arrived at the restaurant when we did because there are only 300 ducks cooked each day.

Inside the restaurant, we were able to see the cooking process from start to finish. First, they cook the ducks in a big oven, then they use a hook to take them out, the grease is wiped off, and then it is brought to the customers.

It was really neat because the chefs carved the duck right at our table! The duck was served with the skin used as decoration. Along with the meat, we received a couple of vegetable dishes and little trays with different sauces and toppings.

The chef with the duck at our table

Carving the duck

The duck meat decorated with the skin

The little tray

Our table

There were many ways to eat the duck. One way was to take a piece of duck organ and dip it in sugar, because the organs are the most bitter part.

Another way was to take a sort of puffed up cracker and fill it with toppings and eat it like a hamburger.

Using chopsticks to put fillings in the cracker

A staff member teaching me how to make the “burger”

The finished product

My favourite was to take a thin wrap and make it like a crepe with toppings from the little tray. This was just like making fajitas, except with chopsticks!

A waitress teaching us how to make the wraps

Put the meat on the crepe

Putting toppings inside

Folding the wrap in half

Doing the final folds

It was a lot of fun trying specialties of two regions in China.  When we go home and eat Chinese food, I will know a lot about what I am eating and how to eat it properly.  The dishes were really tasty and were enhanced with the great company and conversation.