Eating Diaries, Part II

Korean Food

Whenever I get talked into eating Korean food, I always order Bibimbap.  Basically it is a sizzling hot stone pot with rice, veggies, and a raw egg (and meat, for the carnivores out there) that you mix with a chili paste so that it sizzles and cooks in front of you.  The result is a steaming pile of mixed fried rice, that when mixed correctly has a really amazing texture and can be really crunchy.  I found this in the Korean alley in Nanjing and it was one of the better ones I'd had since being here.

This dish was also accompanied with a very entertaining Korean singing-dancing show that I couldn't stop watching.  The girls were just covered in all sorts of cutesey things (one group was wearing bear paws and ears) and doing some sort of 'sexy' dance.

And this is where I declare my war on Korean flat metal chopsticks.  Dear Korean people, a spoon does not justify your stupid chopsticks.  Use the Japanese or Chinese style.  Get over it.

Cheese! And Bread!

When I checked out of the hostel on Sunday, I had a couple hours to burn before I went to the airport so I went to a nearby cafe with wifi for lunch.  I had also heard from Ryan that there was an amazing bakery down the street so figured this was it.

That is a tuna sandwich with cheese on a ciabatta roll.  I was pumped to eat this and it was worth all 25RMB (~$4).  The cafe was actually supposed to be a German bakery complete with New Zealand butter, German cheese, and freshly baked bread.  And yes, I paid the extra 15RMB for a cappuchino too and it made my day infinitely better.

If the Chinese are lining up, it must be good

Let me set this straight -- the Chinese NEVER line up for anything.  A bus "queue" is actually a frenzied mob pushing towards the door of the bus like the apocalypse is coming, complete with squealing girls and a yelling bus driver.   So if they're lining up for anything, I take notice.

 

They were lining up for some sort of cake that I ended up not purchasing because you had to buy it by the jin (about a kilo) or at least a half jin.  They smelled really good and I watched the workers make the fried cakes covered in sesame seeds.

These people were actually waiting 10+ minutes for a fresh batch of these little cakes!  They must have been that amazing for the Chinese to actually wait patiently without freaking out at the workers. 

Airplane Snackies

Remember what it was like to get real service and actual food on flights in America?  I remember flying American Airlines and getting offered a choice between a cheese pizza or a southwest chicken salad on every single flight.  I was so sick of the two choices because it was like every time I was on a flight, they were trying to force feed me.

And now we get charged to check our bags and for food.  Thanks, Land of the Free.

Well at least in China they still give food and snacks on planes.  I've taken the 1-hour long flights to Qingdao from Nanjing and back from Beijing -- I always got some sort of snack.  On the way to Nanjing, I got a package of peanuts and a juice box (a throwback, woah!).  Returning to Qingdao, the flight attendants not only served us water like crazy when our take off was delayed, I also got crackers.  And not just a small package of crackers, I got this:

That is a full package of crackers.  Take that, America!

So there it is, my food post about my Nanjing trip.  Today I booked a ticket to Shanghai for New Years Eve and I am very excited about that little excursion, especially since I've never been to Shanghai before!

Next post: What the Chinese think about Christmas