10/28 A Genuine Chinese Restaurant

So on our last day, we were discussing what someone would experience if they were to go to a restaurant in China.  We brainstormed some ideas that really encompass what our experience in China was like.  This is really said in jest as we had such a positive experience in China.  That said there were some really strange things that we experienced too :)

Welcome to Zeng's Chinese Restaurant.  You will receive a local Chinese tour guide (let's call her Teresa) who will help you through your dining experience.  You will be taken to a separate room in a restaurant to allow you and your party privacy while you dine.  Someone will order your dishes (probably between 15-20 dishes for a party of 8) - they will order fish with head, bones, and tail (you can go pick out the live fish if you would like), lotus root, chicken that was cut up using a cleaver, chicken broth, internal organs, tendons, tongue, daikon, tofu, napa cabbage, noodles, something so spicy your eyes water, and after you are really full, rice will be brought out.  Teresa (your guide) will put food on your plate without you asking and she will continue to do so even when you say you are full.  Most likely you will also get things put on your plate that you are not familiar with and you don't want to be rude so you try it.  You may get lucky to have some cake made out of actual flowers (not flour!).  There will be no salt and pepper available, but there will be common hot sauces that you can pick from.  Napkins may have to be purchased and you will only get chopsticks and maybe a large spoon for your broth.  All the food will be placed on a lazy susan.  Hot water is offered and other drinks are optional; however, if you bring your own soda, wine, etc that is acceptable.  After eating, you will be offered a toothpick to get the questionable food you consumed out from between your teeth.  So you need to use the restroom.  Well it will be a squatter and there will most likely not be any toilet paper... I hope you brought your own.  There will be a common sink in the hall and again most likely no soap or paper towels.  Other guests and even the restaurant staff might be smoking in the restaurant and even the kitchen.  As they clean up after your dining party has left, a broom made from twigs will be used to sweep up the mess you made from eating with chopsticks :)  As you leave the restaurant, you will notice most people are wearing winter coats (some with fur) even though it is 80 degrees outside.  There are cars parked on the sidewalk and mopeds driving down the sidewalk.  Finally, as you head home you will notice square dancing (this is really line dancing that is held in a public square) - all ages and genders are participating.  I hope you enjoyed your evening at Zeng's Chinese Restaurant and do come back and join us again!

 

Boy did we eat a lot!  My favorites were the Peking duck, most of the time the fish, the rice noodle dishes, butternut squash soup, and hash browns that were in rice (I mainly picked out the potato part).  I am happy to share that I didn't gain any weight on this trip - shocking but true.  Thank goodness for all the walking!  I hope you enjoyed the blog and please let me know if you have any questions (ashleybenedict@gmail.com).  Thanks for reading!

Peace, Love, and Dumplings!

Ashley

10/26 Our journey is coming to an end and what a blast it has been

October 26th

Today was our final full day in China - we spent it in Kunming. We started it off slowly by making sure we had most of our stuff packed. Then, Leon and Teresa came to get us to catch a bus to the center of the city to meet someone for lunch.

First, we stopped outside the Kunming Zoo - I had a few last minute gifts that I still needed to pick up. We then walked to the restaurant. This restaurant is well known for its over the bridge noodles that I mentioned in yesterday's post. Well we were not too pleased with this restaurant - of every place we have been to and trust me we have been to the best and the not so great - was the worst we had been to. It had a very foul odor and was not very clean. The people we were supposed to meet - Leon's uncle and his family - did not show up so we left this restaurant and went to another.

Leon's mother was very frustrated and sad by her brother's behavior but we didn't let this stop us from having a great last day. We had stir fried rice for lunch. During the lunch, I decided that a future blog post is going to describe a genuine Chinese restaurant experience - the ideas we started to list had us laughing so hard that we could barely eat - stay tuned!

Teresa's phone was having problems so we went to the phone store - Leon took me and my parents to a nearby park. I actually ran into someone here from New York that was visiting for the month. We have seen the leader foreigners in this town so it was quite a surprise.

From here, we jumped in taxis to go to the Green Lake Park. I might have bought a few more items - I am trying to spend down my last few RMB :) There was lots of activity at this park - ethnic dancing, square dancing (I participated and there are pictures), weirdos dancing, musicians, sketch artists, vendors, etc. We had a nice day walking through the park and could not have had nicer weather. Leon ate more food at the park after a very filling lunch!

Notice the Mickey and Minnie?

Minority dancing

I participated in the line dancing.  I wasn't too bad for a beginner!

Minority dancing

After the afternoon in the park, we headed to a friend of Leon and Teresa's place. The man was a high school math teacher at the best university in the province and helped Leon get into a good elementary school. We spent a few hours at their place. They offered lots of food to snack on - we tried the local pear. They all caught up while my parents and I watched a soccer game on the tv - it wasn't in English but at least we could follow along.

Side note: In most homes, you don't wear shoes. However, the Benedicts have big feet and most Chinese have small feet. Here are pictures of why this matters. My foot could not fit in the slippers and neither could my parents. I am shoving my foot into this shoe and it will not go any further.

Here is Leon's elementary school.  It must have been a pretty good one :)

Afterwards, we headed to a nice dinner with this man, his wife, his daughter in law, and his sister. Let me just say we have been completely blown away by everyone's hospitality. We offered to pay for many meals and every time we were told no. These meals were not one dish each - tonight they ordered 10 dishes and the main dish was a huge fish (head and tail included but very few bones). It was a very pleasant way to end our time in China.

Here are some pictures of the apartment we stayed in.

We are forever grateful to Leon and his mother along with their family and friends for making our trip so memorable and special. From our arrival into Beijing to singing karaoke to walking through parks, this trip has been a unique and unforgettable experience that will be forever treasured. Also a special shout out to all who helped cover me at work - I am grateful for having support to be able to have taken the time off to go on this adventure.

While my China travels are coming to a close, there will be more pictures and stories to come along with videos on this blog.

My parents will head to Singapore tomorrow (my mom is planning to use this blog to post her updates from the cruise) and I head to Seattle where I will stay for a night before flying back to Tampa. We have to be up at 3:50 am to catch our 7:20 am and 7:50 am flights! Good night!