QingDao: Pi Chai Yuan again.... and it's May Day.....

The Missus had noticed that cousin Long Hui's son really, really enjoyed the Guotie (pot stickers) at the previous nights' banquet. At that moment, the Missus decided that we needed to take him to Pi Chai Yuan Food Street for breakfast.... even though we had the wedding banquet for lunch, and dinner at Sixth Aunt's scheduled. When we had visited Pi Chai Yuan, we noticed that the Guotie shop was doing some major business. Since we needed to pick up my suit, which Fourth Aunt had gotten made for me, we decided to meet Long Hui at their hotel. It was a good walk, which made us feel better about the amount of food we knew we'd be consuming that day. As is typical for this family, Fourth Aunt had thought ahead, and realized that I'd probably need a decent dress shirt for the suit and got me one. Like I said before..... I love this family!

After picking up the suit, we headed to Pi Chai Yuan, which was on the way back to our hotel. Being fairly early in the morning, it wasn't as crowded as our previous visit.

But the pot sticker shop was doing some pretty good business.

We did manage to find one table, and the Missus ran into the shop to order for us..... Meanwhile Long Hui took off...... only to return with four bowls of Liang Fen.

 
I really enjoyed this, a bit of chili, a nice bracing sourness....... as I was putting the second bite into my mouth, Long Hui scampered off..... And returned a minute later with these!

Yes, it is what you think..... a potato sliced on a rotating peeler which is skewered and deep fried. Potato chips on a stick... the coup de grâce is a line of  ketchup strategically squirted.... not a single chip is missed. Long Hui's son hated the Liang Fen, but loved these. It seems like the younger generations enjoy more westernized flavors, potato chips, ice cream, and chocolate comes to mind. The Liang Fen didn't go to waste though, as Long Hui said She hadn't had that in perhaps two decades.......

The Missus returned to the table with a plate of Guotie with two different fillings. If I recall, a pork version, and a three treasures version. I've read articles online which have mentioned QingDao Guotie as one of the premier snacks in the city.

Do you think Long Hui's son enjoyed them????

Yes, even the skin dissolving heat didn't deter the young man! The Missus had also gotten bowls of porridge for us.

This was rice with a small amount of red bean for color and added flavor. The Missus placed the bowl on the table and went to order some Lu Baozi from a shop down the alley. This of course, prompted Long Hui to stand up, and walk on over to the stand across from us.....

And grab us some grilled chicken necks.......

I thought the necks were delicious. Salty, mildly spicy, with a hint of sweet and cumin, gnawing on these were almost therapeutic...... it made you forget about everything, and let your mind wander, happily munching your way through meat, connective tissue, and cartilage. You know, I often joke about the Missus's love of sunflower seeds and chicken feet, and how the "return on investment" is really low. But I think I get it now.

Meanwhile, the Missus had returned, looked at us, and shook Her head. Long Hui told the Missus something which made Her start laughing..... it was a phrase I'd heard before. This time I asked the Missus what Her cousin had said. And the very non-poetic translation is something like this; "aaaah, we're middle aged, we should resign ourselves to our fate and enjoy ourselves."

Meanwhile, the Missus had finished Her bowl of porridge, and while I was distracted by my chicken neck (that does sound wrong, doesn't it?), finished mine as well. It seems that one of the dishes the Missus really reconnected with during our trip were the various porridges. She enjoyed these so much, She stood up and decided to order another for Her. I grabbed Her arm, and whispered, "please be quick, who knows what your cousin will get  when you're gone.... I'm expecting the whole roasted pig any minute now!" And of course LH got up, and soon arrived with something that I found surprising......

 
These looked just like Takoyaki....... and were even topped with Katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and the mayonnaise was even Kewpie, or a very similar facsimile. It was, however, not very good, very gummy..... and like I expected, contained no Tako.

Long Hui and her son had also discovered the Haw vendor right next to us by this time, and ordered a couple of Haw drinks, and some Haw Jelly, which the young man thought was delicious.

 By now the Missus had returned for Her porridge, and was wandering what happened to Her Lu Bao...... She had ordered it from a place down the alley, and wasn't sure that we'd ever get it. As She stood up, a young man met Her with the plate of Lu Bao.

These are sort of Shandong's version of Shengjian Bao. I really liked the crisp bottom, and the filling of the one I had.... pork and vegetable was very good. But by this time we'd extended ourselves beyond our limit.

There was something I picked up on during this meal.... it was how happy both the Missus and Her cousin were with how the young man took to the Guotie and Haw Jelly. The Missus summed it up for me later: "most of the generation after us do not enjoy the traditional foods, so it was very rewarding to see that he enjoyed them. It gives me hope that items like the haw jelly won't disappear and become a thing of the past." On the topic of things of the past. While doing a bit of research, or should I say trying to track down what little there is in English on Pi Chai Yuan, I found out that QingDao's old food street (i.e. Pi Chai Yuan) had been condemned and was set for demolition, when it was saved due to public outcry. If you want to see what it looked like before renovation, there's a photo here.

I didn't mention this earlier in the post, but today was May first, the May Day Holiday. And as we arrived back at out hotel, I recalled something I'd been told earlier...... if you want affirmation that China is the most populous country in the world, visit any large city during a holiday. I was astounded at the mass of humanity we walked into.......

If you were to click on the photo above to enlarge, in the background you'll see the long line of folks walking on Zhan Qiao Pier. I've read that the population of China is 1.3 billion +.... I think that "+" was walking down Zhan Qiao Pier on this morning!

What seemed even more strange.... and perhaps a bit funny to me were the folks walking down the stairway and on the walkway around Number 6 Bathing Beach....

 
Many of them seemed to just follow the person in front of them, with nary a look to the ocean, they'd make a loop and walk right back up the stairs.....

I didn't have too much time to contemplate this, as a a few minutes after I took this photo, a mini-van weaved through traffic, and picked us up for the "wedding banquet"........

Comments

[Alice]

i don't know who you are but if i did you'd be my perfect bestfriend. i love food and will try anything. You describe everything so wonderfully!

[kat]

man you guys are eating well on this trip!

[Kirk]

LOL Alice! Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoy the post.

Hi Kat - We ate beyond well..... maybe too well! ;o)

[Sandy]

Oh, man! First you mention haw jelly, now there are haw drinks? Do you (or the Missus) know if haw jelly is a Qingdao specialty, or if you can find it in other areas of China, say Beijing or Guangdong?

I saw potato chips on a stick just like yours at the fair last week! Except that the ones at the fair didn't have the squirt of ketchup. It's hard not to like fried potatoes.

Those potstickers look so good ...

[Lynnea]

That young man certainly seems to be enjoying all the snacks. So fun! Please tell the Missus that she is fortunate to have a nephew who enjoys food. My niece only likes candy and fruit, which makes dinner a little bit boring =)

[ed (from Yuma)]

amazing. just love the china posts. thnx!!

[Kirk]

Hi Sandy - We also had the drinks in Beijing, and somewhere else.... I'm trying to remember. Anyway, it seems to be pretty widely available. If you google 'Haw Nectar' I'm sure you'll be able to find out even more.

Hi Lynnea - He really did enjoy those pot stickers!

Hi Ed - I hope your injured "wing" is healing well.

[kirbie]

I love reading these street food posts! So much food. And the Missus' family sounds so great, reminds me a lot of my family back in Taiwan.

[sawyer]

nice kirk. chicken neck sounds especially delicious and the haw jelly sounds interesting. i've had those haw flakes that they sell at the market, but i'm not sure how accurate that is to the real thing. they're still good though!

[nhbilly]

LOL My wife loves necks too it's amusing for me to stare at her gnaw on it. Good grief are you guys going to stop eating in this post? LOL
And ever should try haw once in there life I think its yummy. This is what I think of when yo mention haw - love my grandparents bribing me with haws - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haw_flakes

[Kirk]

Hi Kirbie - I'm glad you're enjoying the China posts. Even though they take a bit more time; they are fun to write.

Hi Sawyer - You know, I wasn't quite sure when LH handed the little envelope to me. But that sure was good. I'm not a big fan of Haw Flakes, but I did taste the ones in China..... which were really, really, good.

Hi Billy - If you like the Haw in the states. You'll love the stuff in China!