China Food Trail – Part 2 of 3


China Food Trail – Part 2 of 3
Continuing …

 3. Hot pot, Beijing style

 There are several varieties of hot pots famous in China. The Beijing style hot pot is known for the fresh meat and veggies, and the special sesame paste. Some hotpot restaurants mix it with peanut paste to make it taste better (edited thanks to a subject matter expert). You pick the meat and veggies and mushrooms from the cooler, put in fresh hot water that is simmering in front of you, and then mix the food in the special sesame paste while eating. Quite excellent for a cold winter evening.
11 Step 1 - grab the stuff from the cooler

12 Step 2 - make your own sauce

13 Step 3 - get going with the boiling pot

14 Step 4 – Savour it. And keep adding meat to your platter

4. A really-long single cold noodle soup, Xi’an


Another thing that Xi’an is famous for is this hand-pulled noodle soup. These usually come in family size bowls, and the whole bowl contains a single, really long, hand-pulled piece of noodle, along with beef tendon and a silky, spicy broth.


15 Such a big bowl of soup …

15 Such a long noodle

5. Muslim Quarter (Huimin Food Street) and dumplings, Xi’an


The bell tower at Xi’an is a historic place. Built during the rule of Ming dynasty, it is considered the official starting point of the Silk Route. It is here where apparently the Chinese legend Hsuan-tsang (Xuanzang) returned from his Journey to the West. Today this is a major tourist attraction. Just behind the tower is a food street, which is an even more interesting site.

17 Spice shop at the food street

18 Sweet shop at the street

19 Sweets made of persimmon flowers
20 Pulling the candy

21 Pounding the candy

 There are some excellent eateries on the Huimin street. One of them looks almost like our Karim’s. It is famous for mutton and beef dumplings, which were excellent.

22 The local influence

23 Classic mutton and beef dumplings

6. Inner Mongolia Mutton Hot Pot, Xi’an


The greatest thing that has happened due to the influence from Silk Route is this hot pot mutton from inner Mongolia, where the mutton is put on ice and cooked in front of you. Of all the tastes I had during these weeks, this one was unique in its taste, texture and aroma.




For the final post on this, keep tuned in.
Regards,
Shreekant
First written in December 2017

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kashmir

Image
Of all the things I miss losing, I miss my 'ability to get amazed' the most - to paraphrase a popular adage. You might think this is silly, but I assure you that it is not so. As I continue with my wanderings, both for work and for pleasure, the number of things that generate a sense of awe keep diminishing each year. Things start becoming mundane, more of the same, or how do they say - 'dull'. And yes, yes, I know that the great poets keep saying each day is special, and all places are different and beautiful, which is part true too. But it is only when I visit something so extraordinary and incredible as the Valley of Kashmir , that this phrase comes alive again, and the sense of excitement gets rekindled. For that one thing, I would say that the price of the 'admission ticket' is completely worth it. Baisaran Valley - Mini Switzerland, Pehelgam Nigeen Lake in the evening from the houseboat And it is a steep price, no doubt. E...
Read more

Tamhini Ghat

The other day Alok called and complained that I have not written anything about our rides together. Now although I explained to him that this is because of a slight technical hitch that he is in Mumbai and I am in Delhi these days and so we have not done rides together lately, I think it is apt that I post some of my earlier published posts for the record and for the sake of the biking partnership we have. This one is about our ride through Tamhini Ghat and was posted on Royal Enfield's site sometime in January 2005 as "Tamhini Ghat -- Absolutely Stunning Rear Gem of Western Ghats". These RE guys try to make a big deal of everything. ;) Cheers, S ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mumbai-Pune via Tamhini Ghat - Shreekant Vijaykar Date: 18 and 19 Dec 2004 Route: Mumbai - Panvel - Pen [NH-17] - Kolad - Vile - Bhagad [SH-60] - Bhira [Tamhini G...
Read more

Ranthambore

Image
Ramthambore -------------------- The problem with going to wildlife preserves, especially a tiger sanctuary like Ranthambore , is not that they are in such exceedingly faraway places from normal civilization that only dusty and rusty roads lead to; or that you have to make do with some terribly basic accommodation with half-lit rooms cluttered with old cranking beds and soggy mattresses and a swarm of tiny blood-sucking winged monsters; or that you are expected to get up at ungodly hours of wee morning only to find that the safari canter has got delayed. Any travel junkie in his right mind or pair of smelly socks will not find much difficulty adjusting to these trivial irritants. No, the problem is that in spite of suffering all the above and much more - like the sweat and heat from the progressively menacing rising sun, the bumpy ride into the jungle and the non-existence of shock absorbers on the safari canter (which makes you feel that you are sitting directly resting your now-...
Read more