Food and other thoughts

The food in China.

I am not sure how to adequately describe it compared to what the North American conception of Chinese food. The only thing I can say it that it is simply a hell of a lot better. It is all still cooked in oil, peanut oil to be specific, but it does not have all the starch and gluttonous aspect you get from places like The Mandarin. There is a whole lot more spice and a liberal use of garlic. Most dishes usually are a combination of hot peppers, either pork or beef, and some veggies. Cauliflower/broccoli, eggplant, potatoes and green beans seem to be the big veggies here.  Of course I am referring to the more traditional restraints that are serving this. If you are walking the street you will see a host of other types of food being served. It is like there are a thousand chip wagons, with each one selling something different. Some are called Hot Pots, where there is a variety of veggies, meats and spices and you pick and choose like at SubWay. All of this is thrown into a pot and boiled up and served for you.  Other places have either pork or beef on a stick and fried up. You really can find almost anything on the street.

However, if you end up in China and are not the adventurous type (do not know why you are in China then) there is a few restaurants you may recognize. McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut are all pretty frequent around here. It appears that China opened up in the last 5 years and these were the first to jump in. The food seems to be very similar and just as popular as in North America, with similar prices.

Generally things that are hard to find are dairy items. Cheese is in short supply and hardly available. Bread is hardly used. The idea of breakfast is also kind of foreign.  

One of the things I am liking about blogging is the randomness I am allowing myself.  So I am going to take this time to advertise China. I feel it is about to be the next place to travel. All of the airports and train stations I have been too are very easy to navigate. Now I have only been to three airports and two train stations but the ease of which I moved through them was definitely greater than a Chinese person would have moving through a Canadian airport. Everything is simple and straightforward. My recent experience with China Southern Airlines is an example of this. The weight restrictions on planes are a little weird. On domestic flights we were allowed 20 kilograms per person. So most of us were overweight and since I was the last to check my bag I was overweight and faced the prospect of  having to take out items. However, I was told I did not need to check my bag and could take in on as carry on. Anyone who has seen my big red travel bag, especially when I pack it to capacity, will know it is way to big for carry one. Air Canada officials would have a heart attack if I tried to claim it as carry on. Yet in China it was carry on. Who knows how that works. 

Getting onto the plane I was certainly worried about the size of the plane and whether a 6’6 person would physically fit on the plane. The quality of the plane was far superior to anything Air Canada had to offer. Enough leg room that I was comfortable. They served food pretty quickly and even came around offering seconds. Oddly enough the food came with a spork, not chopsticks. Though it did seem i was transported back in time as the movie that was playing was on the screens that come down from the roof every 5 rows or so.

As it were I was sitting next to a student who went to Maple Leaf Schools. His level of English was good enough for basic conversation which gives me hope that the students in grade 11 will have a good command of English. I was glad he was next to me as he helped me understand that even with flight mode no cell phones were allowed. Also that they were offering seconds as he got it for me.

Landing in Dalian we were met by Karl and my thoughts on the welcoming committee were outlined before. So that is all for now.