Travel – Page 100

Chicago: Hot Dog! Gene and Jude’s Red Hots and Peep’s

November 2, 2010 mmm-yoso Chicago, Hot Dogs, Travel

Last week, I went back to Madison for some training. Like the last time, I flew into Chicago and drove to Madison. This meant that I was able to stop a bite (or two… or three) on my way out of town. This time, I wanted to make sure to try a couple of places I'd never been to before…. and of course, it was only right that I have a sample of one of Chicago's iconic food items; the hot dog.

On previous visits, I'd had dogs from Superdawg and Weiner Circle. This time around Cathy's brother recommended that I give Gene and Jude's, a place that should rightfully and proudly be called a joint, a try. Gene and Jude's is located in the community of River Grove just a couple of miles from O'Hare, which made access pretty easy.

Established in 1946, Gene and Jude's longevity says that they must be doing something right. Later on, I mentioned this place in conversation. I was told that Gene and Jude's are always among the top sellers of Vienna Beef Hot Dogs in Chicago.

I was also told to always expect a line, but not to worry as the line moves very quickly. You just get in line behind this sign.

I stood in awe as the guy two places in line in front of me ordered 10 dogs and fries…. only to be topped by the woman in front of me who ordered two dozen! The guy taking the order didn't even blink an eye.

I felt positively unworthy ordering but a single dog (with everything) and fries. You order, then move over to the next spot and pay.

I grabbed my dog and fries and headed over to the counter to eat.

Yes, the place is a bit worn, and possibly in need of a good scrub-down, but that just seems to add character……

For $2.20, you get a dog covered with a handful of fries…..

The fries are hand-cut, natural, that is, skin on, made fresh from potatoes. These were greasy, but in a good way, and even though I'm not a fan of this type of fries(i.e. In-N-Out), these had good potato flavor.

Below the fries the Dog was a mess…..

The roll was pretty much a mushy mess. "Everything" on this dog consisted of sport peppers, piccalilli, onions, and mustard. No tomato, pickle spear, and no celery salt. In fact, the very same guy who seemed to know everything about hot dogs told me that this was the way Chicago Hot Dogs were originally served. Though this was a mess, I loved the snap of this dog…. it was the snappiest of the four I had on this trip.

In spite of the rapidly disintegrating roll, I thought this was a decent dog. And can you beat the price? The "Hot Dog Nazi" - dive atmosphere added to the (lack of) ambiance. Nothing fancy here, just a couple of things on the menu….. and don't even think about asking for ketchup on your dog!

While eating my dog and fries, I noticed this copy of an article on the wall…..

The article tells of Charlie Trotter's recommendations for best dogs in Chicago….. and Gene and Jude's is one of the three mentioned. The mental image of Charlie Trotter eating greasy fries on a messy dog elbows on the worn and in need of a good scrubbing counters cracked me up.

Gene & Jude's Red Hot Stand
2720 River Rd
River Grove, IL 60171

A few weeks before leaving on this trip, I sat next to a guy from Chicago at Sushi Yaro. When he mentioned where he was from, I told him I'd be flying to Chicagoland before driving to Madison, and staying one night upon my return. We got to talking about Chicago Hot Dogs, and the beauty of the neighborhood Hot Dog stand. His stand was a place called Peep's in Arlington Heights…. in his words, "not the best, but good, and a very typical neighborhood stand. There used to be one in every neighborhood." Since I was able to take my time driving to Madison, I decided to stop at Peep's. It was a bit of a detour from the freeway…….. but very easy to find on the corner of Rand and East Thomas Street.

**** Peep's has closed.

Basically not much more than a shack with a counter and a small dining area.

Here's the Dog with everything from Peep's……

Your standard issue Chicago Dog, nice sprinkling of celery salt, sport peppers, tomatoes that were kind of mushy, and the pickle didn't seemed, well pickled enough. The bun was a bit drier then I appreciate. Strangely, all the dogs I ate were of the same heritage; dogs from Vienna Beef, but they were all different. This one had less snap, though the flavor was right on.

I've had better dogs, and many much worse……

Peep's Hot Dogs
1600 N Rand Rd
Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Hangzhou: West Lake and Zhiweiguan

October 13, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Hangzhou, Travel

At then end of my last post on Hangzhou I mentioned that we were still a bit confused as to the exact location of the famous Xī Hú (West Lake) I was looking at a pagoda on Wushan Hill, when I heard a woman talking to the Missus. I was to find out later that the woman told the Missus that there's nothing really worth Her time on Wushan Hill. When the Missus asked the woman which direction to West Lake, the woman pointed up at this sign…..

Sigh….. can you say clueless tourists? Actually, this woman was really friendly, born and raised in Hangzhou, and told us to follow her; she'd show us to the bus stop that would take us around West Lake.

And even though there were times that the Missus could only understand every second or third word due to the woman's accent, She did learn quite a bit. The woman told the Missus that most of the young people working the restaurants in all the tourist areas are not from Hangzhou, and really don't care about anything except making money. This was a theme we heard everywhere, if someone was rude or provided terrible service, someone would say that "it is because they are not from here." The woman gave the Missus a few tips and pointed out the bus stop. The Missus was also told that there was a Silk Expo taking place, where everything was real silk, and prices were good. We caught the bus and arrived at the building right across from the famous Long Jing (Dragon Well) Tea Farm.

And did some shopping……

After doing some shopping, and buying a couple of gifts, we got back on the bus. The Missus pointed out a gentleman who had an entire Jinhua Ham lying on the console behind the driver……

The woman we had net told us to get off at the Qu Yuan Feng He ("lotus in the breeze at crooked courtyard") stop.

The woman was right, this turned out to be the part of West Lake we enjoyed the most.

Even though it was pretty hot and humid, this area felt fresh and cool. I'm sure some of it was due to the immense beauty.

Walking along the causeways things started getting a bit crowded, though there were still areas where folks had carved out an area to peacefully read and relax.

You started seeing tourist cruise boats taking people on tours of West Lake.

As we circled the North part of the lake, things started getting a bit more crowded.

The views were still quite beautiful, in spite of the crowds and noise.

There are tons of things to see, including one that got the attention of the Missus; the Tomb of Wu Song. Wu Song, is one of the great heroes of Classic Chinese Literature. According to the Missus, when She was young, all children knew the story of how Wu Song "killed the man eating tiger with his bare hands." Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classic Classic Novels of Chinese Literature tells the story of Wu Song.

By the time we got to the Eastern part of West Lake, I was bushed, sweaty, and had pretty much burned out on West Lake. Plus my left foot was starting to ache pretty good.

You could really tell that the Missus felt pretty tired as well since we started noticing the people more than the views. Like the guy at the right in this photo…..

We started counting the "crimes against Western fashion and mores" this guy was commiting. A short list:

1 – He was carrying his wife's/girlfriend's handbag.

2 – He was wearing capri pants!!!

3 – He was wearing a long sleeved dress shirt tucked into those capri pants.

4 – He had his shirt tucked in, but wasn't wearing a belt

5 – And last, he was wearing capri pants, but had dress socks on!!!

As you can tell, it was time to move on; we were hot, tired, and sticky….. and hungry.

The one restaurant we had heard about before setting foot in Hangzhou was Lou Wai Lou (楼外楼). When the Missus mentioned Lou Wai Lou to the woman earlier in the day, She recommended Zhiweiguan instead. She told us that this is where she brings guests who want to taste Hangzhou food. Zhiweiguan is a monstrous restaurant by Western standards at over 7,000 square feet, and four stories. The area outside the restaurant sells snacks and take-out food.

Like most of these multi-story restaurants, the first floor did snacks, fast-food, and cafeteria style service. It was just packed like crazy on this evening.

Wanting something less chaotic, we skipped the first floor, and went to the third floor. (The second floor did seafood, and the fourth floor holds the banquet rooms and bar). As we stepped up to the third floor, we realized that even though this place was less chaotic, it was just as packed! We won't complain about the service here, as the Servers and staff was literally running from table to table!

Though it was much cooler here, we could tell that the A/C was working full blast.

We were both bushed, and the heat and humidity had sapped our appetite. We just ordered a couple of items.

The Missus wanted ot taste the Nian Gao (rice cake) which She really loved.

The wrappers on the Xiao Long Bao were really thick and gummy.

I thought the filling was decent, but the Missus thought it to be too sweet. In fact, the Xiao Long Bao being served downstairs looked better.

The Missus enjoys a good Jiu Niang Tuan Yang (Fermented Rice with Sesame Balls 酒釀湯圓), and really enjoyed this version.

One of the most well known dishes of Hangzhou involves pork belly…. so you know that I was going to have Dongpo Rou! Named after famous Song Dynasty poet and artist Su Dongpo (Su Shi). According to the story, Su Dongpo had a visitor arrive, and decided to simmer some pork. Su Dongpo and his friend became engrossed in a game of chess. Suddenly realizing that he had left the pork simmering, Su Dongpo rushed to check on his pork. he was amazed when he saw that the pork had attained a beautiful color, and the juices created were wonderful. At least that's how the story goes……

This classic dish is pork belly (aka streaky pork) cooked in a combination of soy sauce, sugar, and Shaoxing (which is about 60 km from Hangzhou).

We decided to order two of these.

Man this was sweet…. like pork candy, much too sweet for me. It was also tougher and drier than I would have thought that braised pork belly would be. I wasn't really satisfied with this, I needed to have it again to see if this was really how Dongpo Rou should be……..

We returned to our room exhausted, though I had Dongpo Rou on my mind as I drifted off to sleep……

Hangzhou: We arrive, but where’s West Lake?

October 3, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Hangzhou, Travel

We arrived at Xiaoshan International Airport with no real plan in mind. No hotel, no way from the airport, and against what we usually do, no maps. We were just going to wing it. The Missus found us a shuttle bus from the airport into Hangzhou, and while on the bus, the Missus spoke to the inevitable bus attendant, who also sold tours, and of course, had a large list of hotels. We were told of a decent low-mid range hotel, given her card, and told we would get a certain rate. Of course when we arrived at the front desk, the very, very, young woman, had no idea what we were talking about, and quoted us rates 30% more than what we were quoted. The Missus was now in Her element, this was a challenge, and of course She met the challenge head on…… and of course we got the rate we wanted.

The next mission; find West Lake. West Lake, Hangzhou's most famous, and popular tourist attraction shouldn't be hard to find, right? I mean the lake in the dead center of Hangzhou, so how hard would it be? Well, it ended up being more difficult than first thought. Starting at the hotel we were given a set of directions South. A couple of blocks down the street, we had an inkling that we weren;t headed in the right direction. So the Missus started asking around a bit. It appears that there's a bit of "tourist fatigue" in Hangzhou. After being ignored, and waved off, the Missus asked one of the women cleaning the streets….who had no clue! Finally, someone pointed us East. After a few more blocks, I had a feeling we were off track, and we started asking again. This time we were told to head West. When we came to a pedestrian street, head South, then West again on "Old Street". After a while, we finally found the pedestrian street in question.

The street looked new, and most of the shops were closed. There were several stops along the way that displayed excavation below the streets, and went into detail as to the different historic locations on the street.

Even though most of the shops were closed, the ones open were the shops selling the very popular Jinhua Ham.

This dry-cured ham has been produced in Jinhua, about a 2-3 hour drive from Hangzhou. The dry-cure process used for this ham was first documented around 713 A.D. In fact, in what amounts to a potentially volcanic, but humorous discussion, folks in China claim that along with pasta and tomatoes, Marco Polo brought the technique to salt, then dry-cure the legs of pigs back to Europe with him in the 13th Century! I'm staying away from that one……

Unfortunately, we ran out of time before tasting Jinhua Ham, but since you can get it everywhere in China, I'll not let another chance slip away.

A few blocks later, and we had arrived at Qinghefang Historical Cultural Street. Which seemed to me to be made up of tons of silk and souvenir shops. There was of course, the tourist entertainment thing going on. These folks were handing out fliers…..

Parallel to the pedestrian walkway is a street full of restaurants. Most of them seemed to have just about the same menu….Dong Po Rou and West Lake Fish.

I'm sure that the Muslim Chinese stand must be really good since the line went down the street.

But we just didn't feel like standing a long line.

So we opted for one of the many restaurants lining the street.

And here we had the first of many experiences with apathetic service. When you enter a restaurant that is manned by wholly by young people in China; chances are you'll receive little, if no service. Most times, the kids are not from the area, they are simply in that city to make money. With little incentive, and a pretty demanding audience, it's human nature to try to do the least amount possible for the most reward. I really don't blame them, but man what it took to get a simple pot of tea……

Even though the Missus and I were hungry, we didn't want anything too heavy. After spending the previous week and change in Beijing, QingDao, and Jinan, the combination of temperature (it really wasn't that hot) and humidity was getting to us. We decided on two seasonal vegetable dishes, we loved the wild mountain vegetable we ate in QingDao, so we looked forward to our dishes.

And so our dishes arrived. First the two vegetables.

Notice the difference between the two? Or perhaps no difference? Well, we couldn't taste the difference. And these were pretty dry as well. And when the Missus asked, we were assured that these were two different vegetables. I'm fairly sure however, that none of these two were "Crown Daisy", aka Shingiku, something that I'm familiar with….

The Missus also ordered the Stinky Tofu Hot Pot.

Oh my….. Oh my…. To me, this smelt like sewage. And placing a spoonful of this concoction in my mouth confirmed that it was. The Missus however, thought this was a wonderful savory ambrosia, and She wiped out the whole pot, along with our first bowl of rice on this trip. I've often mentioned that the Missus says: "If you can eat ChouDofu (smelly tofu) then it's no good." In this case She is 100% correct. Recently, during the course conversation with a good FOY (friend of yoso), the topic of Chou Dofu came up. This FOY, a frequent traveler to China, told me that she loves Chou Dofu, but her relatives in China won't let her eat it. The reason? Because, whether documented or not, or perhaps basing judgment on anecdotal data, she was told that restaurants and producers were using fecal matter to produce Chou Dofu. I could only nod in agreement…… I could understand where they "were coming from"…..

For some strange, or perhaps not so strange reason, I left the restaurant not very hungry at all. And we made our way back down Hefang Street.

We had still not found West Lake…….

Still, undeterred, we kept headed West. As I looked up on what I was later to learn is Wushan Hill.

And told the Missus, "that's interesting, I wonder what that is?" I heard a voice talking to the Missus……

To be continued……..

Jinan: The Family Dinner

September 22, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Jinan, Memorable Meals, Travel

While we were being chauffeured around on our whirlwind tour of Jinan; the Missus's Foodie Uncle and Aunt were hard at work in the kitchen of the Missus's Grandmother's Sister. Well practiced hands were at work, creating dishes for a family dinner, moving with a well coordinated confidence that indicated a familiarity with the kitchen and the dishes that were being created.

There were a couple of dishes that were delightfully surprising; and one that brought back great memories for the Missus.

Everything started with Tofu with Xiang Chun Ya, a light coating of sesame oil adding a layer of flavor to the herbaceous Xiang Chun.

This started a parade of dishes……

I never got the name of this green vegetable…. fried in a light and crisp batter….it was so good!

The Xiang Chun Ya deep fried with a tempura like batter was amazingly good!

There were some really great dishes appearing out of the humble kitchen……

But there were two that were remarkably memorable for us.

I seem to pick up at least one dish from almost everywhere we travel. Something that becomes a fairly regular item in our household. This was such a dish. It looks very simple, and actually is, but the flavors are wonderful…..

Yes, it is purple cabbage. But the sauce used was fabulous; sesame paste, sugar, and black vinegar, hits on the savory-sweet-sour flavor profile. But it was the addition of one surprise ingredient that got my attention……. wasabi! I remember taking my first bite, and telling the Missus, "this is great….. but I swear there's wasabi in this." Which the Missus verified. In this case the cabbage is blanched; when we've been making it at home, we just slice the cabbage a bit thinner, and serve it raw. We had this dish at a restaurant in Beijing a bit later on, but this was a better, more complex version. Now that I've done this post, I can share the recipe in the near future.

The Missus reacquainted Herself with a dish that had faded from Her memory.

These cakes are made with glutinous corn meal, studded with dried dates, and steamed. Sweet and savory, it's like a moister-sweeter wo-wo tou. The fragrance is memorable, as is the density of these cakes. It was so filling I could only manage half a cake…… but no worries, the Missus finished Hers, and then put my remaining half away with no problem. The Missus later told me that these are even better the next day, when they are sliced, fried, and covered in sugar! I can only say that these were way better than anything resembling a wo-wo tou I've ever had.

There was something I learned in our time in QingDao and Jinan, it was the strength of family. You see, I was brought up in a single parent household, and my mother never did keep in really close contact with our relatives. Over the years I have come to treasure my good friends, they are like my family, and I have been blessed to know such wonderful people. But here, in a country six thousand miles away from home, the power of family was taught to me. Distance and time are just numbers, a strong sense of family supersedes all numbers……….

While sitting in the airport in Jinan, the Missus and I lamented the biggest mistake we made on this trip…..

Which was only spending one night in Jinan. We both wished that we had planned for more time. It's a mistake we won't make next time!

Jinan: Daming Lake Park and more beer in a bag…..

September 16, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Jinan, Travel

After a sumptuous banquet lunch, while Her Mother and Aunts socialized and rested, one of Her Jinan Uncles took us on what could only be termed as a whirlwind tour of Jinan. We made several stops, including Spring City Square.

Our favorite stop by far was Daming Lake Park (大明湖公园).

At the center of the huge park is Daming Lake, a natural lake formed by several springs. Jinan is often called the "City of Springs" due to the number of artesian springs in the city. The park has been expanded and renovated recently, and admission to the park is free.

There are numerous islands, pavilions, and temples, including the largest Taoist temple in Jinan.

There are also a number of gardens, which made one of the Missus's uncles exclaim, "you don't need to go to Suzhou, our gardens here are beautiful enough!"

After visiting Suzhou, I'm not quite sure I agree…. though the grounds of the park are quite scenic and beautiful.

Considering Jinan's size and population (over 6 million), I was fascinated when the Missus's Uncle pointed out the old city wall. Daming Lake is pretty much in the center of Jinan…. to think that Jinan was once this small….

On the way back to meet the family, we stopped at this shop to purchase some special Jinan Shaobing for the Missus's Mother and Aunts to take back to QingDao.

There were two types, sweet and savory….. The savory version tasted almost like Lavosh……

Along the way back, we also stopped for this……of course!

Jinan has its own local beer, Baotuquan, which the locals claim is much richer and better tasting than Tsingtao (of course again). Since the temperatures were hitting the mid-nineties, this made for a perfect stop.

When we asked if we could take photos, the woman running the stand gave us an approving nod, telling the Missus, "oh yes, it's free advertising!" The second time we heard this on our trip. I really enjoyed the straightforward wholesomeness of the folks in Shandong. They always seemed to have time for a good laugh.

After a nice mug of beer, we got some beer in a bag to go, and headed off to the Missus's Grandmother's Sister's place. We drove along, holding a bag of beer aloft in the car…….

If you've ever wondered what those nails pounded into the side of tables are for……. well, it's there to hang your bag of beer of course! And the Missus's Uncles are pros at pouring beer from a bag into a glass.

Baotuquan has its own unique flavor, a bit more like a lager, a bit more "hoppish" than Tsingtao.

We noticed that everyone in the family drank their beer from unrefrigerated bottles. When the Missus asked why, we were told that drinking beer cold was not healthy, it made one cough…. room temperature beer was more healthy!

While having our beer we could smell wonderful fragrances coming from the kitchen, the two "cooks" in the family were hard at work, and we were about to have a fantastic meal! Stay tuned for that post.

Jinan: The Banquet

August 30, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Jinan, Memorable Meals, Travel

We arrived in Jinan after what seemed a pretty quick 2 hours and change. My Mother In Law, Fifth Aunt, Second Aunt, Second Uncle, their Granddaughter, Fourth Aunt, the Missus and I made up the group. We were met at train station by one of the Missus's Uncles. The Missus's Grandmother's Sister had married and moved to Jinan decades ago. I have often been told that the Missus's Great-Grandfather had ensured that his children married well, and they all had fruitful lives. While the Missus recognizes the names, She has very little recollection of Her Uncles. On an interesting note, while the Missus Grandmother had six daughters, this sister had four sons! I could tell by the chatter that there was quite a bit of catching-up going on as we headed off to lunch……

And you guessed it! It was a banquet, of course! So are you ready for another banquet post?

As soon as we arrived, so did the food, at impressive speed.

The Missus's Grandmother's Sister, all of Eighty-Five years young, looked decades younger, and seemed full of energy. There was much animated discussion, and of course, laughter.

The crowning course of this banquet were the braised pig's feet. And one of the Uncles showed us how it was prepared for serving.

As luck would have it, though the entire family is really into food, we ended up sitting next to the Uncle who was the most serious "foodie" of the group. He spent much of the meal graciously telling us about the dishes, and pointed out which could be termed as traditional Jinan preparations. Truth be told, I had no idea what Jinan Cuisine was going to be like, and we were both pleasantly surprised at this arm of "Lu Cai" (Lu Cuisine). The flavors in Jinan were big, and the food hearty.

The Missus's Uncle gave us so much information, that I wish I could spend a week with him. And of course there was so much food. As with the other banquet post, I'll just comment on a few things here and there.

While the Pig's Feet we had at our Pig's Feet Banquet in QingDao was to be enjoyed for the gelatin and texture; this one was chock full of flavor.

The Missus still talks about the Cucumber Jiaozi. It was so unexpected, with the refreshing and palate cleansing flavor of cucumber coming through. According to the Missus, this restaurant is known for their dumplings, and I can see why.

My favorite dish of the meal, was of all things the kidney.

I'd never had a kidney dish I enjoyed, ever….. until this day. The flavor was like the essense of offal. Meanwhile, Uncle explained to me the short comings of this kidney; the color and sheen was wrong, by the looks and texture he could tell that this kidney had probably been refrigerated for a while. Like I said, these folks are serious about their food, not only do they know the "what", but the "why" as well!

I was told that this dish featuring tendon is a traditional Jinan preparation.

And you know how much I love tendon.

This was another traditional Lu Cai dish.

We were both surprised at the wonderful flavor of the dried red chilies in this dish.

The peppers had been stuffed with sesame seeds, and was crunchy, nutty, and floral, with just a slight bit of back of the throat spice. We were told that we'd be running into this preparation of pepper in Xi'an.

This interesting looking dish were slices of eggplant "stuffed" with shrimp, battered and deep fried.

There were three different types of Guotie (potstickers):

Shandong Guotie is very unique. The Missus told me that the ends are not pinched shut, and of coarse there's the "crust". Crunchy, light, and delicious.

I know I've missed a couple of dishes……

But I made sure to take another photo of that kidney dish…..

The amount of knowledge the Missus's Jinan family displayed made me even more sure that China was a country full of foodies! If there was one thing I learned in China; it was the importance of family. The flavors of the food may have been totally different from QingDao, but the warmth, humor, and generosity were in full display. I remember telling the Missus that I wished we were spending more than one day Jinan. To say we enjoyed the food and company would be an understatement. What an amazing family!

QingDao: Some last minute explorations……

August 24, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Markets & Grocers, QingDao, Travel

Before heading off to Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, we had a short amount of time. And there would be no lounging around the hotel room for us! So we set out up the various hills in search of anything interesting…. and maybe some breakfast as well.

As we approached the top of one of the avenues, you could here what sounded like incessant buzzing. We walked toward the noise, and soon enough we could make out voices. It was all coming from a large walled lot…… I was pretty sure what was going on as we turned the corner.

It was a morning market of course……. over the years, I've been to many of these, and even though I haven't found anything that quite tops the exoticness of Luang Prabang's Morning Fresh Market, I'm still fascinated by what these markets offer. I think it really teaches you a lot about the people and culture; insight that staring at the world from inside a tour bus could never provide.

Like this machine making sesame paste and sesame oil.

Here are where you get those breakfast staples You Tiao (fried cruller) and Soy Sauce Eggs, among other things.

Fresh vegetables and herbs galore……

Though there's always something interesting and exotic to be found…..

A reader emailed me mentioning that folks in my photos look a lot larger than what he considers typical Chinese in his neck of the woods. I wrote to him saying that the Chinese up North are bigger boned, and many of them like the Missus's Boy Cousin who towers at somewhere around 6'4" are quite tall.

Some folks were surprised when I mentioned that tomatoes are very popular….. they are eaten literally by the truckload……

But are consumed more like a fruit, than a vegetable.

Right down an alleyway from St Michael's Catholic Church, was another street lined with vendors. This one stretched for blocks, literally in the shadows of the downtown skyscrapers.

As always, there were tons of fresh and live seafood……

And other stuff……

Near the bottom of the hill, right across from and next to yet another truck full of tomatoes……

Where a few eating places….

The prices are very reasonable. All the food is cooked outside, and you eat in the cave-like, dark and dingy, and even perhaps a bit scary looking dining areas. I grabbed a seat while the Missus did the ordering…..

Of course there was You Tiao….

Both Millet and Red Bean Porridge……

As you can see; a plastic bag is placed around the bowl, and the porridge is poured into the plastic surrounded bowl. Once you are finished, and the bowl is returned, the plastic bag is removed and discarded, and a new baggie replaces it…. ready for the next customer.

We also had a variety of Baozi……

On the soggy side……

Overall nothing to write home about, but it sure did fill us up…..

We walked back out to the street realizing that we needed to get back to the hotel and head to the train station. Looking down the road, I noticed that we were just two blocks from Zhongshan Lu, one of the main streets, and pretty close to our hotel. It was time to make a beeline for our room, grab our luggage, and walk on over to the train station.

And Jinan was two and a half hours away……

Well, that's it for my QingDao posts. I hope you've enjoyed them, and as always, thanks for reading. Here is a listing of those posts:

Post #1 – Lunch and Dinner at Fifth Aunts

Post #2 – Morning in QingDao, Tianhou Temple, and Zhongshan Park

Post#3 – Our first visit to Pi Chai Yuan, and Banquet #1

Post#4 – St. Michael's Catholic Church and Banquet #2

Post#5 – The original family home and banquet #3

Post#6 – Pi Chai Yuan again

Post#7 – An abundance of seafood

Post#8 – The Wedding Banquet

Post#9 – Beer Street and the Tsingtao Brewery

Post#10 – Dinner at Sixth Aunt's

Post#11 – Donkey and Brain Tofu (Doufu Nao) for breakfast at Pi Chai Yuan

Post#12 – The Children's Park (Chu Shui Shan) and going shopping

Post#13 – Dinner at the Original Family Home

Post#14 – Beer in a Bag

QingDao: Beer in a Bag

August 15, 2010 mmm-yoso China, QingDao, Travel

After a wonderful dinner on our last evening in Qingdao, we caught the bus back to our hotel room. Entering the bus, both the Missus and I took a whiff while walking past the bus driver. Our driver on our last ride on this route smelled strangely of Qingdao's most famous export, if you know what I mean. He was also driving in flip-flops, which made the entire ride surreal. Heading back to our room, the Missus wanted me to get my "beer in a bag", but we really didn't know where to start. There are literally hundreds of tiny restaurants with stacks of kegs upfront, perhaps they are all pretty much the same; but which one to choose?

The Missus decided to ask a gentleman walking past us down the street. The Missus quickly picked up his QingDao accent, thus making him local, and with that comes some "cred". He told the Missus to follow him, he'd show us where he gets his Tsingtao in a bag every night on the way home from work. He was on his way there anyway……

Which is how Iwe finally got Tsingtao in a bag. The Missus asked for just enough for two cups.

If I recall this was about 50 cents US, and it wasn't like Bia Hoi, but really Tsingtao. This tasted much lighter, more effervescent, and I guess the word would be "fresher" than the bottled stuff. There was almost a faint sweetness to it. Finally, beer in a bag……. now things felt complete.

On our way back to our room, we spied the gentleman who guided us to our Vacation 2010 01 1485 beer in a bag. He was sitting at a table, beer bag hanging from a nail pounded into its side. He was also waving us to him…… Curious we walked toward him. As we approached, he started clearing his table….. it turns out he wanted us to join him for dinner! Qingdao sure had grown on me…… I was really going to miss this city.

I do have one more QingDao post, I hope to have it done this week. Thanks for reading!

QingDao: Dinner at the Original Family Home

August 3, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Memorable Meals, QingDao, Travel

After picking up our chicken, we headed up the street to the original family home for dinner. This was to be our last evening in QingDao, so having dinner here felt right. This last dinner was to be bittersweet for the Missus…. the home is scheduled to be razed in the near future. It would be the last time She'd be walking up these well worn stairs, up to the flat where She was raised.

Entering the unit, we could hear laughter coming from one of the rooms…. the Missus's Aunts were making Jiaozi.

From the left, it's the Missus's Fifth Aunt, Second Aunt, Sixth Aunt, and Third Aunt.

Meanwhile, Fourth Aunt was busy at work in the kitchen.

Making Jiaozi is a family tradition. When the Missus's Grandmother was alive, every Saturday would be Jiaozi day. The Missus has some wonderful memories of those Saturdays; there was only a half day of school, and in the afternoon, whatever family was in town would get together and make Jiaozi. The Missus told me that Fifth Uncle would always bring a book to these gatherings, but he would never open nor read it…. She could never figure out why. Things changed after Her Grandmother passed on, so this dinner was a special one.

And of course there are snacks……..

The Missus told me that Her job on those Saturdays was to peel and pound garlic in the mortar, a job She hated with a passion. So I thought it was really funny when I slipped out of the room to see what was going on in the kitchen, and I found the Missus doing this.

Old habits die hard, don't they?

I managed a peek at some of the items that were being prepared for dinner.

And I got a preview sample of the Jiaozi……..

When I had heard we'd be having Fish Dumplings, I had a some reservations. I'm not a big fan of fish dumplings… whenever I'd had them here in the states they were mushy, and most times, had an off taste. The fillings in these however were moist, smooth, and tender. I was told that Fifth Aunt had mixed pork into the filling. The wrappers were tender and pillowy, the Missus told me that Fifth Aunt had procured some special flour from friends who plant, harvest, and mill their own wheat.

Here's dinner…..

And I had two whole bowls of Jiaozi…. sooooo good!

My MIL brought over some plates that her mother and father got when they got married all those years ago…..

There a lot of history in this home……..

I sat in the room where the Jiaozi had been made after things had been cleared and cleaned…..

And a feeling of warmth wrapped around me, I could catch a whisper of laughter…. it was as if the room had absorbed so much over the years it had attained a life of its own…….

QingDao: The Children’s Park (Chu Shui Shan) and going shopping

July 28, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Markets & Grocers, QingDao, Travel

After our breakfast visit to Pi Chai Yuan and a stop at Beer Street, we headed back to the hotel. We had some good 'ol H2O and a bottle of LaoShan Cola in tow. I gotta say, it seems that folks don't drink much water in QingDao. But with fresh beer everywhere, and LaoShan Cola, I can see why. I believe cane sugar is used for LaoShan cola, as it has the same sweetness as Mexican Coca-Cola. There's also a great complex mix of flavors from a variety of herbs and spices. Good stuff…..

After a short break, we headed off to Fifth Aunt's, to visit with the Missus's Mom's cousin and other stuff. Dinner was to take place at the original family home, and Fifth Aunt had mentioned that there was some chicken sold in the market along the way to the family home that somewhat resembled Dezhou Pa Ji (Dezhou Braised Chicken – 德州扒鸡). This was a no-brainer…. we'd pick up some chicken on our walk to the family home.

Fifth Aunt's street ends at the Children's Park (Chu Shui Shan), a place that the Missus had spent many moments at during her youth.

Though the park had changed during the years, there was still the 108 steps up to the walking paths lining the hill.

We meandered around the park a bit……..

We had been told that in this day and age, because of the amount of labor available, Fifty had become the "unofficial" retirement age. Here in the states, it would be a stagnating death sentence for many people. But China is such a social country that activities keep folks busy, like the "Grandmother Drum Teams" that play at weddings. And this group of women were having a great time……..

The Missus cracked up and told me they were "singing really old Communist songs…."

The men occupy themselves as well.

There's an intense card game taking place on every table.

There was one thing the Missus wanted to see. Firmly etched in Her memory is a grand lake, so we walked around searching for it. The best we could find was this pond……

Such is what the eyes of youth sees…… everything seems so much bigger and grander.

We walked down the path, and made our way across the street…..

Something caught the Missus's eye…….

It was something she "just had to have"…… and these weren't named Jimmy Choo or Chanel. They were roasted yams from a cart that very well could have been around when the Missus was a child.

The older gentleman let the Missus pick the one She wanted, weighing it on an old fashioned hand scale.

I forget how much it cost… it was some minuscule amount. To the Missus this was a priceless taste of Her youth.

This street used to be the "open market" when the Missus was a child. And though there are still many vendors along the street……

It seems the city has done its best to move the vendors that could afford a stall indoors.

The walkway is lined with various vendors…..

And in typical savvy marketing fashion, at each entry is a well stocked stand full of snacks. We ended up spending a good deal of time here as the Missus sampled, and eventually bought some goodies. The peanut snacks to the right was a winner, and the Missus bought some Haw Flakes…. which were the best I've ever tasted.

A bit further down the way was the stand selling roasted chickens…..

Unfortunately, the Missus didn't see the kind of chicken She wanted. After talking to the woman who seemed to own the stand, a cloth was lifted on a pan behind the counter…. and there it was!

After purchasing the chicken, the Missus asked if I could go behind the counter to take a photograph of the chicken. At first the woman was a bit suspicious, thinking that we perhaps a government or new agency. But after telling her I was from America…… well, I got my photo.

The woman happily exclaimed, "oh, good! It's free advertising!" And even moved the chickens so they would look more attractive.

And she even asked me to take a photo of her! You gotta love these folks……

When you visit most of the stands like this one that features different breads (sorry "AZ", still no rice!), you watch the folks working hard in the back of the shop making their goods.

Isn't that how it should be????

Like most fresh and open markets (i.e. Mercado Central in Cuzco or Hang Be Market in Hanoi) , the stands are organized together in sections. For instance the sauces and vinegar section.