We're back.........but from where?

Whew, that was a long trip for us...... but it was well worth it.

I guess you're wondering where we went? Of course, you know I'm not just going to blurt things out.... so let's see if you can identify where in the world we visited. I'll give you clues..... and you let me know. As always you can click on the photos to enlarge.

1 - We started and ended our trip here.

You'll instantly know where just by this photo.

Of course this iconic view gives it all away......

2 - Speaking of icons, this city, where we started and ended our trip to our real destination is full of them. Here are a few.......

Both old.....

And new.....

And we couldn't leave without trying an iconic dish.

3 - Our third destination is perhaps a bit harder. Especially if we started with this photo.

I'm thinking this might help.....

 
The seafood here is great....

 
And if you've been reading our blog long enough; this will give it away.

4 - We both wish we spent a bit more time, longer than just one night at our next stop. It is pretty difficult to figure out, even with what we were told is a classic dish for the city:

With the help of that wonderful tool, the Internet, you'll be able to figure out where based on this.

5 - Our next stop is difficult to figure out by just scenic photos alone.

 
So here's a classic dish from the area.....

6 - Next on the agenda was a wonderful city. Known for their beautiful gardens, we'd like to visit again.

Still can't figure it out? Try this dish......

7 - I really didn't know what to expect on our next stop. We both ended up enjoying one of  the most tastefully done monuments on our trip.

We also enjoyed the South Gate here....

In spite of the rather conservative look, the city is not without color.....

Like many cities, this one is known for snacks and small dishes. Several restaurants have large "set" menus, where you can taste a good selection of items.

Here's one of the most well known dishes of this city.

 
8 - The next stop was a key hub on the Silk Road. And many of the dishes the city is known for reflects this. You take this bread.....

Break it into small pieces. It is covered in mutton, and mutton broth.....

Delici-yoso!!! The city also has a famed Muslim Quarter, where something is always cooking.....

Packed to the rafters during the evening, you can hit the street side stands, or restaurants like this....

For excellent Baozi....

Still can't figure it out? How about this?

This one makes it almost too easy.....

9 - You'll be able to figure out which province the next city is in just by the following two photos alone.

And this not so little fellow makes it obvious......

10 - I don't expect you folks to figure out our last unique destination. But thought I'd post a couple of photos, of this "smaller" (pop. 1,400,000) city for you.

So there you have it.......

I'd say that we didn't eat anything particularly exotic, but there were a few interesting items.

Amazingly, I ate like crazy (as you can see), but lost almost twelve pounds!

And as usual, the trip was not without some rather tense moments.

And I'm hoping that at least a few of my photos will look(I know, it's supposed to be smell - but I haven't figured out how to incorporate smell-o-vision yet) so good that "you'll want to get off your horse and eat".

 
I still need to regroup, so I'm hoping you'll be able to hang in there.....

For maybe a day or so? I'll provide all the answers then.......

Thanks so much for dropping by and reading!!!  

Comments

[janfrederick]

We were all wondering, "Where in the world is Kirk San Diego?" ;)

[bill]

Welcome back!

[Dennis]

I recognize the Poke and Peking duck but I got help from Cathy.. ;)
Welcome back Kirk!

[Linda]

Welcome back! The photos are definitely inspiring me to get out of the house tonight and feast :)

[Jack]

Looks awesome Kirk. Welcome back!

[santos.]

welcome back! i enjoyed cathy's and ed's posts while you were gone, but i look forward to your holiday posts!

[kirbie]

Welcome back! How did you manage to lose so much weight while feasting? Amazing.

[Yet another Pam]

Wow! What an amazing spread of food. Looks to me like Peking Duck, Shanghai seafood, Hunan pork belly, West Lake dishes, and Sichuan hot pot & mapo dofu. That white soupy dish, though, is that some sort of hot savory soy milk porridge? Wow.

Glad you had a great trip!

[Kirk]

LOL Jan! ;o)

Thanks Bill!

Hi Dennis - You're right on both counts.....

Hi Linda - Well then..... get out there and start feasting!

Hey Jack - It's good to be home.....

Hi Santos - We had a great time......

Hi Kirbie - We walked alot.... I mean a lot..... 10-15 km on some days. I also went easy on the starch.....

Hi Pam - Welcome, and thanks for taking the time out to comment. You got 3 out 5, pretty good. The white soupy dish is mutton hot pot, the broth is made from mutton bone.

[Carol]

Welcome back Kirk! So you guys did China (and HI), awesome! Dang, if I could just read Chinese, I'm sure I'd have better luck at guessing all the cities. I don't know most of the places but my guess (at least I'll get the 1st and 2nd right!): Honolulu, Beijing, Xian, Hangzhou, Guilan, Shandong (baotuquan?), Sizhuan, Pingyao, Duhuang (?). That's all I gotz.

[Rosa]

Well, the first is Hawaii!!! :D

But the rest all look like China. I'm not very familiar with China so all I can gleen at first glance is Beijing and Sizhuan.

Welcome back! Can't wait to see all the pictures and hear about the food...and PANDAS!!!

[Kirk]

Hey Carol - I wuz kinda looking for cities.... Sichuan and Shandong, are correct provinces, but which cities? You got about 50%.

Hi Rosa - Where in Hawaii? ;o) Those Pandas are cute, aren't they? We had a great time, but it's good to be home.

[SK]

2. Beijing
3. Qingdao
4. Jinan
5. Is that dong po rou from Hangzhou?
6. Suzhou? My that sauce is red.
8. Xian
9. Chengdu
10. I am stumped on this one, somewhere towards the west?

Looks like a delicious trip and has brought back some fond memories of eating in China. I particularly enjoyed the food in Xian and would love to make it to Sichuan at some point.

[Kirk]

Hey SK - Great job! No guess on #7? I don't expect anyone to get #10 right..... I sure wouldn't have before our trip.

[kat]

you went to hawaii :) fun!

and china, macao?, did you also go to the expo?

can't wait to hear more about everything :)

[Sandy]

Welcome back! I'm looking forward to your posts on the trip.

Is #7 Nanjing? (Nanking?)

All that poke in Honolulu looks so yummy.

[James]

Welcome back! In addition to poke, I hope you had malasadas while you were in Hawaii (in addition to mac salad from Rainbow's, BBQ chicken at Yummy's, a burger at Kua Aina, the five spice chicken at Kaka'ako Kitchen, cold ginger chicken from Hee Hing)...I could go on forever!

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - Didn't make it to the World Expo.... and I think it would've been a bit too much for me. No Macao either.... but I did have a blast.

Hi Sandy - Yes, #7 is Nanjing.

Hi James - LOL! It would have taken longer than I had to eat all that.... though I'm not a fan of Rainbow's Mac Salad, and prefer Gina's to Yummy's. W&M is my burger of choice (though I've heard that Teddy's is far better than Kua Aina or W&M), and I'm not a fan of Kaka'ako Kitchen.... love the cold ginger chicken from Hee Hing though..... I think I could go on eating forever in HNL as well! ;o)

[caninecologne]

hi kirk! welcome back!!!!! can't wait to read your posts. i liked your photo teasers too. how'd you manage to lose weight after eating all that good food??? :)

[yummyyummie]

Long live xiu long bao n poke. Wellcome BACK!!!!