Two interesting lunch experiences
February 4, 2010
I have to say after my last two lunches, I prefer Cantonese to Chinese cooking.
As a treat for the entire HR department, Winnie took everyone out for a Spring Festival luncheon. Chinese New Year begins on February 14th so the Shanghai offices will be closed the entire week of the 15th. It is tradition to have a celebratory lunch prior to the start of the new year (much like our Christmas parties, etc.)
We had lunch at a very upscale Chinese restaurant on the 9th Floor of the Super Brand Mall (very fascinating by the way ... http://www.superbrandmall.com/index/index_en.asp)
Everything we had was ordered for us and the entire group ate family style. They ordered many delicacies (probably on our behalf ... or just because it was a special occasion) and I'm usually willing to try almost anything - with a few exceptions. Three of those exceptions presented themselves at lunch yesterday: boiled chicken that still has feet (thankfully the head was gone), pigeons that have baked heads on the serving platter, and fish that still has it's head and fins. What are the odds of all three of those things showing up at once, right?
I will say that I did eat Duck's Tongue (yes, it did creep me out a bit - but if I closed my eyes, it didn't taste bad .... just a little tough). Oh yea, ate Ox tongue on my first day here too. I think I've had my fill of tongue for 2010. There was also a vegetable dish with a green that looked similar to collard greens (and kind of tasted the same) and bamboo. It was very good!
We learned two delicacies in Chinese culture include chicken feet, and salmon head. I just wasn't willing to go there. I did try a dessert dish that is called Ba bao fan, or "Glutinous Rice". It is basically little rice balls in a sweet, clear sticky sauce, The taste is ok ... but the consistency is ..... goopy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice
Today's lunch was more Cantonese than Chinese -- and many more things I was willing to try!
We had a barbeque pork dumpling (but it was more like a stuffed bread/bun vs. a dumpling), pork dumplings with those same greens we had the previous day -- called qingcai. There was also a puffed pastry-type entree that also had pork in it. We had more of the "greens" - which were delicious when marinated in soy sauce. Poached chicken was on the menu (the only thing that kinda freaked me out, was that it was still on the bones - and it still had skin). Beef fried rice, a jello-ish mango/coconut dessert, a dessert cake that reminded me of hashbrowns ... but made from turnips.
I tried everything today - with the exception of the stuff with shellfish, oh yea ... and the duck's feet (yes, they were webbed .... eeeek!) - and it was all yummy!
I will be happy to get back to my regular diet of boneless, skinless chicken breast with a box of Green Giant veggies! We had dinner at Julie & Ken's house last night -- order in NY Style Pizza. In my top 5 favorite meals this trip :) Julie also made us a fabulous salad - with all veggies. I am going to start making this at home ALL the time now - it was SO good! Basically a Greek Salad: cucumbers, onions, red, gred and yellow peppers, tomatoes and vinaigrette. Yep, that will be my new favorite lunch from now on!!
As a treat for the entire HR department, Winnie took everyone out for a Spring Festival luncheon. Chinese New Year begins on February 14th so the Shanghai offices will be closed the entire week of the 15th. It is tradition to have a celebratory lunch prior to the start of the new year (much like our Christmas parties, etc.)
We had lunch at a very upscale Chinese restaurant on the 9th Floor of the Super Brand Mall (very fascinating by the way ... http://www.superbrandmall.com/index/index_en.asp)
Everything we had was ordered for us and the entire group ate family style. They ordered many delicacies (probably on our behalf ... or just because it was a special occasion) and I'm usually willing to try almost anything - with a few exceptions. Three of those exceptions presented themselves at lunch yesterday: boiled chicken that still has feet (thankfully the head was gone), pigeons that have baked heads on the serving platter, and fish that still has it's head and fins. What are the odds of all three of those things showing up at once, right?
I will say that I did eat Duck's Tongue (yes, it did creep me out a bit - but if I closed my eyes, it didn't taste bad .... just a little tough). Oh yea, ate Ox tongue on my first day here too. I think I've had my fill of tongue for 2010. There was also a vegetable dish with a green that looked similar to collard greens (and kind of tasted the same) and bamboo. It was very good!
We learned two delicacies in Chinese culture include chicken feet, and salmon head. I just wasn't willing to go there. I did try a dessert dish that is called Ba bao fan, or "Glutinous Rice". It is basically little rice balls in a sweet, clear sticky sauce, The taste is ok ... but the consistency is ..... goopy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice
Today's lunch was more Cantonese than Chinese -- and many more things I was willing to try!
We had a barbeque pork dumpling (but it was more like a stuffed bread/bun vs. a dumpling), pork dumplings with those same greens we had the previous day -- called qingcai. There was also a puffed pastry-type entree that also had pork in it. We had more of the "greens" - which were delicious when marinated in soy sauce. Poached chicken was on the menu (the only thing that kinda freaked me out, was that it was still on the bones - and it still had skin). Beef fried rice, a jello-ish mango/coconut dessert, a dessert cake that reminded me of hashbrowns ... but made from turnips.
I tried everything today - with the exception of the stuff with shellfish, oh yea ... and the duck's feet (yes, they were webbed .... eeeek!) - and it was all yummy!
I will be happy to get back to my regular diet of boneless, skinless chicken breast with a box of Green Giant veggies! We had dinner at Julie & Ken's house last night -- order in NY Style Pizza. In my top 5 favorite meals this trip :) Julie also made us a fabulous salad - with all veggies. I am going to start making this at home ALL the time now - it was SO good! Basically a Greek Salad: cucumbers, onions, red, gred and yellow peppers, tomatoes and vinaigrette. Yep, that will be my new favorite lunch from now on!!
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