Decree :: Slow boat
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
Speaking of observation….
Think the text says it all. From PassiveAgressiveNotes.com.
Does that come with potatoes? :: Froogville
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
According to this website, The China Potato Expo is on in Beijing this week.
It is described (only slightly Chinglishly) as follows:
CHINA POTATO EXPO is considered to be the only international trade show in the category of potato…
and other root and tuber crops…
and related products…
in China.
The lack of a definite article at the start and the dread linguistic tic ‘related’ at the end are the Chinglish markers; although I suppose event titles sometimes do omit the article, and ‘related’ is (for once) actually appropriate here. And it must be hard for copy-writers to work their puff-magic with such resolutely unsexy subject matter. And perhaps that clunky “is considered to be” is a deliberate legalese vagueness: they’re not saying that it IS the only international potato trade show in China, just that certain unspecified persons believe it to be so. Please drop me a line if you know of any other candidates. [Only my undernourished Irish forebears are capable of finding the potato sexy. Check out the brief instructional video below for the usefulness of the phrase, "Does the bride come with potatoes?"]
I’m glad they’re not narrowing the focus too much. I shall be eagerly seeking out the “other root and tuber crops”.
Strangely, this event is filed under the category of ‘Apparel & Clothing’. Really? It’s all going to be clothes made from potato fibres?? Intriguing novelty though this would be, I doubt many of the leaders in the clothing industry will be enticed away from the contemporaneous Dubai Fashion Week. We shall see.
Off to 西安 (Xi’an) :: SHE in China
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
Woho, finally time to do some travelling in China again, it’s been a while! This time, I’m taking my folks to Xi’an to check out the city wall, the great mosque and, of course, the Terracotta army. We’ll also make sure to celebrate dad’s birthday tomorrow -probably a quite original birthday for him! I’ll make sure to share some photos and stories when I get back -until then: Happy Easter!
Asia’s most sinful cities :: CNNGo – Shanghai
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
Seven deadly sins — seven lively Asian cities. We all stray off the path of righteousness from time to time.
So if you’re going to end up in hell due to a temptation to eat more than your fair share of stinky tofu, take a detour to Taipei first. Or if pride’s your vice, take a turn toward Manila.
These Asian cities take a sin and turn it into a raison d’être.
1. Gluttony: Taipei, Taiwan
Cheap eats, everywhere, day or night.
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Sichuan cuisine wrapped up! :: Go Chengdoo
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
An insight into Pinwang Delicious Candied Haw Strips (品旺-山楂丝)
So we’ve all seen them—plastic wrapping in an array of different colors, flavors and sizes with screaming Chinese characters glaring out at you in a technicolored bombardment of the senses. Do we dare put their contents in our mouth? I’m talking about those not-so appetizing packaged foods we see littered around Chengdu’s market stalls, subway shops and street vendors. The endless shelves of packaged foods Chengdu has to offer can sometimes be overwhelming. This column will reveal, one snack at a time, what is available, and invite you to brave the unfamiliar.
This week, I have abandoned the savory snacks of the previous articles in search of a chemically enhanced sugar fix from one of Chengdu’s vast selection of ’sweet’ packaged foods. I selected a pack of Pinwang Delicious Candied Haw Strips (品旺-山楂丝) from a local Wowo store on Lingshiguan Lu. Not knowing what ‘haw’ was, I immediately looked it up. Haw berries are the fruit produced by the Chinese hawthorn (Crataegus Pinnatifida), and are a popular ingredient in many Chinese snacks, jams, jellies, juices and alcoholic drinks.
The teasing, or perhaps just confusing, slogan on the packaging—”How delicious, don’t you taste it”— certainly intrigued me enough to part with 3.5RMB for this snack. The mystery continued once I noticed the rather bizarre image of a country house surrounded in trees and mountains on the front of the pack.
Under a generous layer of sugar, the haw strips have a dark red color and measure about 6cm in length. Appearance-wise, they resemble those sugared sour lace sweets you see in western candy shops. The taste is quite different though. Initially, my tongue is overwhelmed by the sickly-sweet sugar coating, but once I bite down on the strips they release the tart and slightly bitter flavor that is associated with the haw berry- somewhere between the sharpness of American Bing cherries and the sweetness of strawberries.
They leave a strong tangy taste that lingers on my tongue, reminding me to delve back into the pack to refresh my taste buds, which have an increasing desire for another sugar injection. I’m unsure of how much I like them. I’m not sure that I care anymore. All I know is that I keep eating them. They’re very addictive to the point that I now feel queasy. So for those of you like me, born without strong willpower, I wouldn’t suggest eating a 120g pack alone.
A serving suggestion can be quite difficult for candy, but all the sugar is making me crave a can of orange flavored fizzy pop to heighten my already soaring blood-sugar levels.
Pinwang Delicious Candied Haw Strips 品旺-山楂丝
Jinxing Foods 金兴食品
Price: 3.5 RMB
Deliciousness ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Spiciness ☆☆☆☆☆
My grandfather. :: Pudding and Chopsticks
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
This is my 91yr old grandfather who recently passed away. I took this photo when I came back from Colorado before coming to China, I think anyway. I haven’t looked at the photo data to be sure.
I see it and I remember him in one word….. Well.
He said it with a long drawn out u-curved sound. He was making his point. If you stated a fact that he didn’t agree with or thought was contradictory to something, weeeelllll would roll out along with his eyes.
He was a quite man, who had a am/fm radio on the dining room table. Ate bananas everyday, and watched the Wheel of Fortune.
Chaqita banana stickers where every where around the table. Stuck on anything and everything.
I would roll over to find him puttering out in the garage. Tinkering on something mechanical.
I can remember one time when I was playing on some concrete play ground items. I slipped and wacked my head on the edge of one, splitting my eye lid open and bleeding all over. He drove the truck to the doctors. It was dusk, he jumped curbs, which lead to the conclusion that he had cataracts. What a way to find out.
The green Dodge prospector. The truck I remember him having. Whatever the car it was always a Dodge or Chrysler.
I was named after him. I am the fourth, he was the second or Jr. As you could say.
The Lincoln. The fender.
The hats. Lots of hats.
The suspenders.
The little mind games in the drawer by the chair.
The garage. The mowers.
Putting me through college.
Newspapers.
The stories the last couple times I saw him.
The way he would meander into the room, stop look, then keep going.
The Homer furnace iron plate in the window of the garage.
The green truck.
Tweetie bird.
Table saw.
The funny faces.
The garden.
The wit.
Looking out the window of the house, watching the birds and squirrels.
The neighbor that got his with tree.
These are things that remind me of him. I am proud to have the same name as him, I only hope that I can do it justice and make him proud along with the rest of my family.
Thanks for the photo grandpa, peace out.
Beyond The Stone Boat: Jon Ansfield and Amy Li to open Susu :: Beijing Boyce
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
More than a few people were disappointed and/or outraged in August of 2009 when Jonathan Ansfield and Amy Li announced they felt essentially forced out of The Stone Boat in Ritan Park after five years of building it as a business (see here). The pair now plans to return to the food and drink scene [...]
Oh life, what a joy. :: Pudding and Chopsticks
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
So here I am. Sitting typing, thinking and doing whatever super smart people do, or at least people who think they are super smart do.
The past week has brought some interesting things in the way of life.
I finally found out why I was sick.
I had a family member pass.
I’m feeling better.
And I just ate an Oreo Blizzard from Dairy Queen.
The reason I was sick was because, I had freaking mold in my apartment. That’s right. It appears that the last resident left some thing in a drawer that left something that then you couldn’t see that then turned into some black mold that nearly put an end to my existence, slowly nonetheless.
Solution, move and take enough antibiotic to kill a bout of syphilis.
The hospitals here are super corrupt. I suppose some more than others. So the first thing the doc does is look at my tonsils and say, cut ‘em out. I laugh. He is just trying to get as much money as he can. Thus the most money he can get is cutting them out. Blood work is fine, fast forward to him giving me penicillin and me booking ass out of there, I’ve been staying at a friends house since. Problem solved. Next hurdle; new apartment.
A Fight at the Hospital – Abortion in China :: Seeing Red in China
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
As many of you know I work in a large public hospital with over 2,000 medical personnel. We treat over 1,000,000 patients every year. Sometimes, things do not go well. Mistakes are made, and families get upset. About once a … Continue reading →
At What Point Does China Become a Superpower? :: Seeing Red in China
April 22nd, 2011Read this article on the community site
I have wanted to write this series since I went back to the US this February and noticed a palpable change. It seemed like people were no longer talking about China as a kind of economic miracle, those thoughts had … Continue reading →