mmm-yoso!!!

QingDao: Some last minute explorations......

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

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 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

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

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.

And of course, this is QingDao, so there's a large seafood section as well.

As we made our way out the door, we ran into Fifth Aunt and the Missus's Mom on the way to the house.

Here are just a few more photos!

Seeing this reminded me that I still hadn't had "Qsingtao in a bag", which Fifth Uncle told the Missus is quite good.

Not to worry... the Missus had that covered!

I'm aware that this was pretty long post. So thanks so much for reading!

QingDao - Donkey and Brain Tofu (Doufu Nao) for breakfast at Pi Chai Yuan

We had time to explore QingDaoon our fifth day in the city. Many of the Missus's cousins had to travel back to Shanghai and Shenyang for the upcoming work week. The Missus and I wandered around a bit, checking out the European influenced architecture......

 


And some of the older buildings which still stand amongst the tall business buildings of downtown QingDao.

That is not to say we didn't have a goal in mind.

I had wanted to check out Pi Chai Yuan food street yet again. There was something specific I was after here, but on our previous visits, the place was always closed.

What was so special about this place? Just take a gander at the sign..... you won't have to understand Chinese to know what they serve here. I really enjoyed the Lu Rou Huo Shao I had in Beijing, and had been looking forward to an opportunity to try it again. 

And on this day, the place was open!

 
The first thing we noticed was that this place really, really, loves signs....... there are signs everywhere.

There was a good variety of donkey dishes. All these restaurants have similar pictures of docile and peaceful looking donkeys on the signs and menus...... it almost makes me feel bad about eating them.... almost.

The Missus placed our order, and one of the little dishes from this table made its way to us.

What I remember the best were the slices of green daikon radish..... very crisp and a bit sweeter than ripe radish.

A bowl of good bean paste was placed on the table as well.

Along with bowls of a clear broth, which I'm assuming was donkey soup. It was fairly bland.

And my very own plate of Equus africanus asinus.......

Along with some "pancakes" for wrapping.... a la duck style......

There's a famous saying; "tian shang long rou, di shang lu rou" (天上龙肉，地上驴肉上), translated as "dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth." And as far as I'm concerned, you can have your dragon meat..... I'll take the slightly sweet, vermilion colored donkey meat. The meat can be pretty tough, and in this case it was a tad drier than what I had in Beijing, but I loved the flavor. The tendon also has a unique flavor, slightly more gamey then beef tendon.

The Missus went with a already wrapped version....

Think of it as a donkey burrito...... or perhaps an a$$ burrito??? It sure didn't taste like, ummm..... well, you know.

While walking back to Zhongshan Lu, we passed this tiny place which was doing some brisk business.

The Missus was intrigued, and walked up to the window in the back of the dining area.

This little shop specialized in Doufu Nao - Brain Tofu. This traditional dish uses a silken tofu, that sorts of looks like grey matter, with a creamy texture like brains as well.

This was really bland....... the Missus had never really liked Doufu Nao, but thought that perhaps time had changed Her opinion. It hadn't..... it's really not to our taste.

The stuffed fried bread, though, was another story......

Stuffed with pickled daikon and scallions, the crust was light and crisp, and it had a decent amount of salt as well.

It was very good. And even though we didn't care for the tofu, the overall price of the Doufu Nao and the bread was 7 yuan...... a tad over a buck.

We left satisfied, and ready for the rest of the day...... and it was to be another pretty busy day!

QingDao: Dinner at Sixth Aunt's

Our day which started with breakfast at Pi Chai Yuan, the Wedding Banquet for lunch, was not quite done. After a visit at Fourth Aunt's son, the only boy cousin's very nice home, we arrived at Sixth Aunt's for dinner. While some of the younger members of the family got a well deserved break.

 
 Sixth Uncle, the artistic one, gave us a "tour" of sorts of his collection of various works. One of his many talents is woodworking, which is displayed through out the condo.

All of the ornamental lattice work, paneling, and doors had been created by his hands.

Barely having the ability to draw "stick figures" I admire hand crafted work of any kind. Sixth Uncle also has an eye for form and function, as he displayed with a rock he found and polished.

His keen eye discerned the resemblance to a traditional drinking vessel, so he carved a base, and mounted the stone. and there's the stone that looked like a drinking bottle......

Along with the article he helped research on the evolution of Chinese writing, those were two of the most impressive items I recalled.

It's no wonder that their daughter teaches art.......

One quick thing about hospitality in China. When you visit a home, there's always a good amount of food brought out to snack on. This is true everywhere....... even after a large dinner; if you were to visit a home, snacks would suddenly appear out of nowhere. It's just the proper thing to do......

 
By now the entire family understood my interest in food...... there are folks here in the states who find my interests strange. But here, it was accepted..... good local food is appreciated. There were more then a few times when the Missus was told that, "we feel bad that 柯克 cannot get good food like this in America!". Of course I snuck into the kitchen to see what was on the menu....

The razor clams really got my attention......

Soon enough, dinner started, and we gathered around the table.

One real change the Missus has noticed, is the amount of raw vegetables eaten nowadays. This was a nice plate of Daikon Sprouts with a nice black vinegar and sugar "dressing", which does well to complement the pungent sprouts.

Here's something interesting. We first had this at the Pig's Feet Banquet. I really enjoyed the herbaceous flavor, but had never figured out what it was.

 I thought it was some kind of purslane, but before doing this post, I the Missus sent out an email to Her Mom and Dad, and pretty soon the answers came pouring in. From Fifth Aunt, and Sixth Aunt's Daughter, I found out this is Tian Qi(田七)or Shan Qi(三七), also called Pseudo-Ginseng or Notoginseng. It is supposed to be an amazing blood remedy. In fact, while I was doing a bit of research,  read that during the Vietnam War, Vietnamese Soldiers carried the powder of this herb with them as a field treatment for gunshot wounds until they got real medical care. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it does make for a great story.

It was also during this meal where we first encountered bittermelon that had been shaved. The bittermelon in China already seemed to be sweeter and less bitter than what we have in the states, and this was even less bitter. Here they served it with honey for dipping. But to be honest, I just loved it raw and plain.

The Missus had always claimed that the crab She grew up eating in QingDao were the sweetest She's ever had.....

You know, I have to agree.... The Missus, and cousin Long Hui were just in crab nirvana. The one I ate was especially good.... it was the only female with eggs..... which Sixth Aunt picked for me. Man, this was good..... good crab doesn't need anything else added to it, no sauces or condiments....... it's so sweet and delicate.

The one dish that really got to me, was the simple braised fish. It was just a basic soy sauce and ginger braise, but it really tugged at me. The reason being, it tasted like how my Mother made fish....so it took me home. And personally, I loved this more than any fish I had during any banquet in QingDao. This was comfort food to me......

Speaking of comfort food. Next up was a plate of perfect Xiang Chung Ya (salted shoots of the Chinese Toon Tree).

The Missus had two bowls of Green Bean and Rice Porridge, and most of two plates of the Xiang Chung Ya. For Her, this is real comfort food.....

Razor Clams....so sweet, so delicious.....

There was one last big surprise. At the end of the meal, a bottle of Laoshan Cola was broken out. This Missus let out an "ooohh", She had forgotten about Laoshan Cola. I had a taste, and well a bit more.... it was really good. Great flavor, much better than the NFCS Coke here in the states. In fact, made with mineral water with additional herbs, it was really good stuff, like a good boutique cola. Of course, with the packaging, I heard that there's an ongoing trademark dispute going on with Coca-Cola. 

We rolled out after dinner, and caught a cab back to our hotel.... full and happy. There's nothing like family and food.......

QingDao: Beer Street and the Tsingtao Brewery

*** I'm doing this post kinda out of chronological order. I hope you don't mind.

I've hit the same point in my conversations numerous times over the last week. When talking about our vacation, I'll mention QingDao, and get blank stares...... until I say the little phrase, "you know, QingDao, where the beer comes from." Which will, without fail, illicit an immediate look of recognition, "oooooh, yes, the beer, Tsingtao beer!" Without a doubt, the city of QingDao and it's beer are inseparable. So it's only natural, that along with "Wine Street" and "Cultural Street", there should be "Beer Street".

And yes, Beer Street is touristy, full of pubs and shops.... and of course the inevitable"public square".

Which I thought was kinda neat........ and I really want one of these benches for my backyard. Why not the front? Well, I wouldn't want to give the neighbors the wrong image of me....... you understand, right?

I figure this place must be hopping in August, when QingDao hosts it's International Beer Festival, the largest of it's kind in Asia.

Beyond all the pubs beckoning you in, there actually is a location of Tsingtao Brewery on Beer Street.

I love the mural on the wall of the brewery which outlines the beer making process.

 
If you are so inclined, you can visit the Beer Museum (50 yuan), and get free beer at the end of your visit. You can find all things Tsingtao here....

I was really only after two things..... one of them was swag for my friends back home.

The other could be found in the cavernous beer garden.

After getting some "authentic" Tsingtao gear, from the source, I wanted to try the Tsingtao Dark Lager. The Missus and I shared a mug, it was fairly frothy, light-bodied for a dark beer, with mild coffee-chocolate hints.

This beer garden is also where the tours of the beer museum terminate, and you can get your free brew. And of course, folks are going to make sure they get their money's worth! I'd heard that there's no minimum drinking age in China, and this was confirmation.....

And that young lady sipping the brew looked all of 11-12 years old! You gotta love China.......

QingDao: The Wedding Banquet

Man was the traffic bad on May Day in QingDao! Arriving in the "New City" area, amongst the huge hotels, it seemed as if everyone was attempting to get married on the same day. There were at least three weddings going on simultaneously in the hotel where our banquet took place. In actuality Third Aunt's Daughter had gotten married earlier in the year, but the families planned a banquet to celebrate the marriage, and bring both Third Aunt and Third Uncle's families together. The Missus explained this to me when I noted how calm and laid back Her cousin and her husband were.

There was a big "to-do" happening in the parking lot when we arrived..... it must have been big... because, there was Mickey, and Minnie, and other strange creatures dancing to "It's a Small World", with confetti flying in the air..... welcome to my nightmare......

M & M met a couple as their limo drove up to the front of the hotel.......

Needless to say, it was quite surreal.......

And then the Drum Team starting pounding away! A day before, we saw a group of middle-aged women, most looking like they were in their mid-fifties dressed up in bright red uniforms. We both had no idea what this was.... I jokingly asked Her if it was a "sewing circle". Turns out it was one of these drum teams. A Senior Citizen Drum Team, Mickey and Minnie and "friends" dancing the parking lot to "It's a Small World". Now I've seen it all.......

I turned and walked into the relative peace and serenity of the banquet area. This was a very nice and tasteful set-up.

I enjoyed that every setting had a different dessert....

It made for some interesting bartering and collecting of desserts.

This bottle said "white wine", but it was fire-water.

All bases were covered, even if no one in the family smoked......

I mentioned at the end of the post on the last banquet, that the Missus and Long Hui went shopping. The scheming dual decided to buy each Aunt a jacket, and before the festivities started, each was presented with them. It was a fun moment as each Aunt tried on their jackets. I thought the choice of the jacket for the Missus's Fourth Aunt fit, and looked great. Fourth Aunt was the one who coordinated the making of my suit so when I first arrived, I made sure to show her how well it fit, along with the dress shirt she picked for me. She looked, and in English said: "beautiful....." which made both of us start laughing. So now it was my turn, swooping up behind her as she tried on here jacket, I couldn't resist telling her, "beautiful!" 

Of course everyone wants to see the food, right? By this time, my penchant for taking photos of food was pretty well known. Even the bride and groom pointed out the dishes I missed! You have to love this family......

The salt cured duck was quite good.

This version of cold stewed chicken was like Dezhou Pa Ji, and it was also moist and tasty.

This sea cucumber in broth was very tender.

Yes, it's whole abalone, sweet and tender.... and those strands? That's shark fin......

The Missus loves ginko nuts, so this was one of her favorite dishes.

This is a pretty well known Jiaodong Ban Dau dish - Four Joy Lion's Head.

Crabmeat with broccoli.....

 
And as crescendo, not one......

but two whole fish.......

And yes, there was rice, fried rice, and mantou. But it was strangely served with condensed milk, like it was a dessert of sorts.

Third Aunt's daughter, and her new husband are just the nicest couple. Both calm and very laidback, they really seem to know what the concept of family was all about. When the Missus left China this cousin was only nine years old, so She was proud and happy to see that's she has become such a grounded and accomplished individual. Most of all, they are good people. The Missus told me a story about how hard-working Third Aunt's daughter is. When she was younger, she was an accomplished ping-pong player, good enough to compete internationally. She would practice so hard and long that she couldn't make it up the stairs at night. That says a lot about character. And her husband is a great guy as well. Even at a banquet thrown for them, he is right there, helping out, he just seems to effortlessly fit right in with the family.

QingDao: An abundance of seafood

I was looking through my QingDao photos, and noticed just how many of them were of tanks of seafood.

Walking around QingDao you just can't avoid the tanks and buckets of seafood. This one is at one end of Pi Chai Yuan, downtown QingDao's food street:

Every large restaurant has tanks of live fish and seafood. Some of which are very large.

The smaller restaurants, like those near to QingDao Bay have tubs of seafood out for potential customers to check out.

There's quite a variety.... want razor clams? No problem.

The Missus did tell me that it's not quite like when She was growing up. She has told me stories of mantis shrimp being sold from giant piles on the street. I was told that there's a greater variety available nowadays.

 
Locals are very discerning, which is why, for example, you'll always see the crab displayed this way where the locals shop.

The females are much more desirable, since there's the possibility that they'll be carrying eggs. The odds become better during the fall, though there are those who can tell by just one look.

I had wanted to call this post "水果海" but the Missus told me that no one would understand the term "fruits of the sea" in Mandarin. I will say that the waters around QingDao is without a doubt fruitful, it is shellfish heaven. Which takes me back to a quote in my first post on our visit to QingDao, where I was told "Oh, man, you're going to love the seafood.... you're going to looooove the seafood!"

  That's all for today.........

I hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July long weekend!

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"........