Saturday 9 June 2007
Mandarin Fish
More of the wonderful Mandarin Fish. Not very easy to eat when you have to tear off a strip of meat with your chopsticks! But once you've go the hang of it: fun to do.
Friday 8 June 2007
I do wonder...
I have applied a filter on the same pics and this is what the view of the city might look like without the smog.
Day three
And here's the view from my window once more.
This is what Wuhan looked like every day we were there. The smog that covers the city is like a blanket of clouds, and the smell of the pollution is tremendous. One of the nice things about being home was breathing (relatively) fresh air.
With all the measure the Municipality of Wuhan has taken I hope they're on the right path to solving it. The city is green and has lots of trees and parks along the Yangtse River. Motorbikes run on silent motors, electric? But the steelworks and other industries do cause problems and on some days it's so bad people wear masks over their noses. I guess we were lucky and it wasn't that bad.
Food
Day three already and I'll spare you the pics of the press conference or the pics taken after the show. I spent my time backstage and had plenty to do and loved doing it, so I have no idea what the show in the Shangri-La Hotel looked like. Let's have a look at some of the food we had afterward at the 778 Club instead.
I loved eating in Wuhan, I loved sitting at that big round table while waitresses filled the revolving plateau with dishes I have never seen nor tasted before. Most of it I like, some of it I didn't and I only took pics of it once.
These dishes and the way it was served are the reason I could stay in China another two weeks just for the food. I loved that plateau that you could turn to the dish you wanted to try or liked and the fact that you could pick off what you wanted with your chopsticks and then move on to the next dish.
A dish known as Deep Fried Mandarin Fish and this is a work of culinary art. Apparantly it is cleaned and gutted and incisions are made into the skin and flesh that stand up once it is deep fried.
Finely sliced carrots in a sweetened sauce of their own juices with strips of the Bai Ku Gua (balsampeer) I showed in a previous post. The Bitter gourd wasn't as bitter as I thought it would be but it does have a texture that is interesting to say the least.
Probably my favourite dish. It's a (meat?) paste that is jam packed with ginger, rolled in rice and deep fried. It's delicious! I tried it earlier in the week when Jaq's other assistant July bought some.
A bean dish made with spring beans and I think seaweed. Next to that you can see tomatoes beautifully arranged on a plate, served with Pringles. Strange combination.
I loved eating in Wuhan, I loved sitting at that big round table while waitresses filled the revolving plateau with dishes I have never seen nor tasted before. Most of it I like, some of it I didn't and I only took pics of it once.
These dishes and the way it was served are the reason I could stay in China another two weeks just for the food. I loved that plateau that you could turn to the dish you wanted to try or liked and the fact that you could pick off what you wanted with your chopsticks and then move on to the next dish.
A dish known as Deep Fried Mandarin Fish and this is a work of culinary art. Apparantly it is cleaned and gutted and incisions are made into the skin and flesh that stand up once it is deep fried.
Finely sliced carrots in a sweetened sauce of their own juices with strips of the Bai Ku Gua (balsampeer) I showed in a previous post. The Bitter gourd wasn't as bitter as I thought it would be but it does have a texture that is interesting to say the least.
Probably my favourite dish. It's a (meat?) paste that is jam packed with ginger, rolled in rice and deep fried. It's delicious! I tried it earlier in the week when Jaq's other assistant July bought some.
A bean dish made with spring beans and I think seaweed. Next to that you can see tomatoes beautifully arranged on a plate, served with Pringles. Strange combination.
Thursday 7 June 2007
Ground or 1st floor
Nothing really interesting there unless you want to see pics of the different shoe shops. There were at least 10 of those at the Fu mart Shopping Centre alone. However what was really interesting was the fact that most shoes were made of plastic except this big brown one that is on display. That was the only leather shoe in the shop!
2nd Floor II
Some of the other produce.
Live eels were squirming in this tub.
And I loved seeing these large barrels of rice. Imagine actually feeling the rice to see if it was the right quality instead of buying it in small boxes or bag ranging from 1 to 10 kilos!
Live eels were squirming in this tub.
And I loved seeing these large barrels of rice. Imagine actually feeling the rice to see if it was the right quality instead of buying it in small boxes or bag ranging from 1 to 10 kilos!
2nd Floor Shopping
The food section houses the most exotic types of fruit and vegtables, seafood and other types of fish dried, dead or alive, poultry, meats and sausages in all shapes and sizes and smells. The range of produce is wonderful.
The smell of the durian fruit is the first thing that hit my senses. I didn't try it but tried some sweets made with it instead. How shall I describe the taste of them? It's like tasting something that has salt, sugar and garlic im it and it's not a bad taste but just very different to what I was expecting. I decided to forgo tasting the fruit when we came across them at the night market, the smell is off-putting.
I love how the cabbages and other leaves are sprayed by a fine mist, keeping them fresh and crispy.
These rough looking 'cucumbers' are bitter melon, a type of fruiting squash with a very bitter taste full of alkaloids. To ameliorate the bitterness, the dish requires something salty, and savoury usually helps too. In the past the bitter melon was cooked until soft, reducing the alkaloid bitterness by cooking, but in recent years there is the trend of having it just about crunch after boiling.
It's called Bai Ku Gua in Chinese. In English it's known as Balsam pear, Leprosy pear, Leprosy gourd, Bitter gourd, Bitter cucumber and in Dutch it's known as Balsampeer.
The smell of the durian fruit is the first thing that hit my senses. I didn't try it but tried some sweets made with it instead. How shall I describe the taste of them? It's like tasting something that has salt, sugar and garlic im it and it's not a bad taste but just very different to what I was expecting. I decided to forgo tasting the fruit when we came across them at the night market, the smell is off-putting.
I love how the cabbages and other leaves are sprayed by a fine mist, keeping them fresh and crispy.
These rough looking 'cucumbers' are bitter melon, a type of fruiting squash with a very bitter taste full of alkaloids. To ameliorate the bitterness, the dish requires something salty, and savoury usually helps too. In the past the bitter melon was cooked until soft, reducing the alkaloid bitterness by cooking, but in recent years there is the trend of having it just about crunch after boiling.
It's called Bai Ku Gua in Chinese. In English it's known as Balsam pear, Leprosy pear, Leprosy gourd, Bitter gourd, Bitter cucumber and in Dutch it's known as Balsampeer.
Shopping
One of the things I love doing is shopping in different countries. Shoes, clothes, basically any type of shopping. I love seeing and experiencing the differences between the different countries. Go shopping for clothes in Ireland and be amazed at how the customers leave a mess behind them hunting for that bargain. The amount of choice in Canada is astounding and that's just in products like milk.
Shopping in China is interesting to say the least. The products in food stores are some of the strangest I have ever seen but it becomes a challenge when you want to buy milk. Customer service is excellent! The attendants in the shop are more than willing to help, in fact let's call them almost over-zealous. Try browsing in the shops and you'll have a hard time stopping them from showing what they have on offer. Want to buy white sneakers and they'll offer you black ones. But once you've found your hearts desire the friendly assistant will walk you over to the counter and explain to her colleague what you have purchased and how much you have to pay and then escort you back to that very purchase that has been wrapped and bagged in the meantime by yet another colleague whom she hands the slip that is proof of purchase. A very roundabout way of doing some shopping.
But let's face it, at the prices it's offered, not buying anything becomes even harder. 100 Rbm or yuan is about € 10,- so your money goes a long way indeed.
Stores are interesting. Usually multi-story with escalators that take you all the way up to the top floor first like at the Fu Mart and the Carrefour Shopping Centre. Then you make your way down to the food section on the 2nd floor and on the first for some reason you're most likely to find a generous helping of shoe shops.
Let's start up top and make our way down. On the top floor you will find household goods, electronics, clothing and shoes made of plastic.
Men's underwear that caught my attention. No matter where you look for underwear in Wuhan the models on the labels are all white. For some reason the Chinese believe that adds a touch of class. The text on the packaging is in Chinese and in English, the English being particularly funny to read at times.
I couldn't resist buying some bright red briefs to add to my collection of underwear from different countries of the world.
Please pay particular attention to the fine print on the box. Finally underwear that will give you comfort and seduction or easiness and softness while feeling pretty or let's you be simple and enjoyable even if it calls you fatty.
Shopping in China is interesting to say the least. The products in food stores are some of the strangest I have ever seen but it becomes a challenge when you want to buy milk. Customer service is excellent! The attendants in the shop are more than willing to help, in fact let's call them almost over-zealous. Try browsing in the shops and you'll have a hard time stopping them from showing what they have on offer. Want to buy white sneakers and they'll offer you black ones. But once you've found your hearts desire the friendly assistant will walk you over to the counter and explain to her colleague what you have purchased and how much you have to pay and then escort you back to that very purchase that has been wrapped and bagged in the meantime by yet another colleague whom she hands the slip that is proof of purchase. A very roundabout way of doing some shopping.
But let's face it, at the prices it's offered, not buying anything becomes even harder. 100 Rbm or yuan is about € 10,- so your money goes a long way indeed.
Stores are interesting. Usually multi-story with escalators that take you all the way up to the top floor first like at the Fu Mart and the Carrefour Shopping Centre. Then you make your way down to the food section on the 2nd floor and on the first for some reason you're most likely to find a generous helping of shoe shops.
Let's start up top and make our way down. On the top floor you will find household goods, electronics, clothing and shoes made of plastic.
Men's underwear that caught my attention. No matter where you look for underwear in Wuhan the models on the labels are all white. For some reason the Chinese believe that adds a touch of class. The text on the packaging is in Chinese and in English, the English being particularly funny to read at times.
I couldn't resist buying some bright red briefs to add to my collection of underwear from different countries of the world.
Please pay particular attention to the fine print on the box. Finally underwear that will give you comfort and seduction or easiness and softness while feeling pretty or let's you be simple and enjoyable even if it calls you fatty.
Tuesday 5 June 2007
The New...
Wuhan is a city of approx. 9.1 million people, whis is more than half the amount of people living in The Netherlands, a fact that is mind boggling in itself. Wuhan is also a city made up of three cities: Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, commonly known as the three cities of Wuhan and hence the name. It is also where the Yangtse and Han river meet. The tree cities face each other across the rivers and are linked by bridges. Our group stayed in Hankou, more commonly known as the business district of Wuhan.
Signs of the new...
There's a duality going on in Wuhan that I found amazing. It's strange in the way it shows itself. It's like the view from my hotelroom. When you look down you see old, rundown flats but when you look up it's concrete and glass. Those two opposites seem to live next to each other. It's like the old is patiently awaiting it's turn to be transformed...
Monday 4 June 2007
Surprise surprise...
Just by chance I happen to notice something I had seen from the window of my hotel room on the 14th floor. Pity we couldn't get any closer. Without knowing it we had wandered on to the grounds of a military or police school. Still, it is nice to see some of the kind of buildings I had hoped to see when in Wuhan.
Signs of the old...
One of the things I was amazed by in Wuhan is that any pre-conceived ideas are best left at home where they belong. Wuhan, and I believe the rest of China is much the same in big cities, has an enormous potential. The vibe is it's on the brink of an enormous amount of possibilities.
The amount of building that goes on is astonishing. High rise office towers and flats are built next to old, run down communist flats and the signs of the old contrast the new is such surprising ways.
Let's start with the old...
The amount of building that goes on is astonishing. High rise office towers and flats are built next to old, run down communist flats and the signs of the old contrast the new is such surprising ways.
Let's start with the old...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
