Crazy food
I spent a lot of time today trying to fix a stupid computer problem I was having with my email. I think I have it all fixed now.
Ivy and Aaron came over to take me out to dinner. We went to a Cantonese restaurant that Aaron had described as being a bit “funky”. Well……it was.
When we pulled up, there were 4 parking lot attendants in full military clothing who were as rigid as could be. They directed cars to spots and saluted people as they walked by. Umm….strange. When we walked in, there were about 5 girls in sandals with HUGE heals wearing these giant headdresses who greeted us in both English and Chinese as we walked in. We got a table and then Aaron took me to what looked like a buffet. It was not a buffet, however, but just sample plates that you could see to help you order.
The east side had “normal” dishes and the west side had the “funky” stuff. We started off by looking at some shark fins. They cost around 8000 yuan per fin ($1000 US) and Aaron said that people do actually buy them:
The shark fin area:
Next up was the reproductive tract of some sea creature filled with eggs…..mmmmm, followed by a fully intact liver and then whole duck’s head:
Duck feet I think:
Next up….Ovaries:
And of course there were about 10 different types of penises and testicles.
It went on and on like this forever!
Ivy did all the ordering and I was very glad that she didn’t order anything from this side of the room.
The food came VERY quickly and was all very good. About a minute after we sat down, the show started. I hadn’t noticed but there was a full blown stage at the front of the dinning area. The first act was a skinny little guy with HUGE legs who balanced on a unicycle while throwing assorted dishes and bowls onto his head using his foot (one foot to toss things and the other to steady the unicycle). For his grand finale, he tossed a huge knife from his foot into the top bowl out of about 6 that he was balancing on his head.
Next up was a contortionist who did CRAZY stuff like sitting on her own head. For her grand finale, she brought out an apparatus with a bite plate and stabilized herself in mid air with her teeth as she put her butt on her head and her feet out in front off her. She then started the apparatus spinning around….by this time I was CRINGING.
Finally there was a girl who laid on her back and juggled a HUGE pot with her feet, and then a table. For her finale, she had two little kids come out and stand right next to the table as she flipped it end over end with her feet really quickly.
Let’s just put it this way…..I was definitely entertained….and well feed. We had about 8 different dishes and the bill was 96 Yuan ($12) total for the three of us. (you don’t tip for anything in China). If we were in the states, I would have tipped a ton as the service was GREAT. We had like 6 waitresses who filled our cups every time we took a drink, and brought anything right away. Aaron said that having a TON of servers is typical because the labor force is so big. I liked it.
Another cool thing that I forgot to take a picture of was this padded cover. If you had a jacket with you and put it on the back of your chair, they would put this huge padded cover over it so that you wouldn’t get it dirty, and so that no one could steal anything out of your pockets. Cool idea!
As we left, they had this throne setup with costumes. Aaron said that the Chinese people love costumes like this and of course, when Ivy came out, she had to get a picture on the throne in costume (and suckered Aaron into doing it as well):
Good food….good show….good times 
November 9th, 2005 at 9:33 am
Andy, I’m so glad you took photos. That restaurant would be undescribable! I stared at the ducks’ heads for a while – at first they looked like blobs — and then I could make out the eyes. Have you seen people eating these things? Like ovaries? (which I assume are the tiny balls on top?) And why are all the penises thorny? Are you brave enough to sample any of this?
Thanks for the window into China. Ma4 Ma
November 9th, 2005 at 9:43 am
A.J. – Wow, eso es todo lo que puedo decir. Comida para tres personas, incluyendo el show y el servicio por tan poco dinero es muy sorprendente. Cuando estaba leyendo tus anecdotas, me acorde del programa de television tan popular en el que comen toda clase de animales e insectos y se me voltea el estomago. Tambien me acuerdo de que cuando yo estuve en Viet Nam, uno de los platos favoritos es el gato y las culebras, pero yo nunca pude comer eso. Afortunadamente para ti, habia en ese restaurante el otro tipo de comida a la que estas acostumbrado. Me gusto mucho las fotos que pusiste con toda la comida y en especial poder conocer a Ivy y Aaron.
Hasta pronto !!
John
November 9th, 2005 at 9:45 am
Utopiia. You know how much I adore Cantonese cuisine. What a great variety. Sounds liike you really had a fantastic time. Looks like the photo equipment is operating at optimum. Looking at you submissions is like sharing the experience with you. When you get back and have a chance to digest it all, there may be a novel there.
November 9th, 2005 at 3:27 pm
Mom…Ivy really likes the duck heads but she didn’t get them while I was there. I think those might not have been penises but were some kind of slug….not sure (can’t read the Chinese yet). I didn’t try any of that stuff, but a few days later I ate cow tongue and chicken hearts.
Viejo…Puedo comer culebras…ya comi…pero gato no. Hasta pronto
Jerome…..The photos here were taken with my crappy point-and-shoot and thus suck…..but thanks anyway
November 9th, 2005 at 4:40 pm
Andres – Yo le mostre las fotos a un companero de trabajo (Raymond Kong) que es de la China y habla Cantonese. Y el me dijo lo mismo que acabas de decir, que esos eran slugs… John
November 10th, 2005 at 3:22 pm
I agree, the photos add a tremendous amount to your tales. Crazy food? Definitely!
Re the funky food, do you have a sense of that food being special because it is rare and therefore costly? (Was it more expensive?)
Or is it special because it is extra tasty, if only you would try it?
Or is it special because it offers some health or medicinal benefits that a person may be seeking?
So, how DO you pronounce the city where you are living?
November 10th, 2005 at 3:38 pm
Shelly…..some of the food was rare. They had a special type of frog that is only found in the mountains of northern China for instance. I can’t comment on the taste, but Ivy seemed really keen on a few of those dishes. I have no idea about any medicinal benefits (either western or eastern)…..all I know is that I am not used to seeing food like this!!
Shijiazhuang in my American mind is pronounced like she-ja-jew-wong with jew-wong being one sound
November 10th, 2005 at 4:35 pm
ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my tummy. We love the pictures.
Summer says you should have gotten in costume with Ivy and Aaron. Even though Aaron seems a lot less thrilled then Ivy.
Love T and S
November 10th, 2005 at 4:57 pm
Terry and Summer…..thanks. I thought about getting into costume but the sweaty drunk Chinese guys who did it in front of us kind of turned me off