Yibin (Sichuan Province), CHINA – What a night! We slept on the worst sleeper train in China complete with sights of mostly men in the cabin, odors of smoke and the bathroom, and the constant sound of brakes screeching.
In the middle of the night, the train stopped at a station and I heard [...]
Continue Reading →Beijing to Chengdu, CHINA – Last night Mianzhu in Sichuan province shook from an earthquake of 5.2 on the Richter scale. Because of the earthquake, our train stops often and we are told the railroads are damaged. Thirty minutes outside of Mianyang we stall for over an hour and some passengers complain we should at [...]
Continue Reading →Train No. K117 Beijing to Chengdu, CHINA – My search for tasty family recipes is indeed a journey and any meal I have along the way is part of the process. I’ve just twisted several plastic forks of instant noodles for lunch while watching sunflower patches and boxy brick homes whiz by [...]
Continue Reading →Like shopping in the dessert aisle while hungry, I browse my way through cyberspace to my friend’s site, Funfeasts. Lately, my thoughts have been all about the savory, but I landed on a post to give my taste buds some balance. I think it’s time I treat [...]
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在青岛火车站前下了大巴车，我走在两侧布满了德国风格建筑的潮湿的街道上。空气中弥漫着大海的气味，我们的旅馆（Big Brother）位于一条高低起伏的街上，这一切使我想到了旧金山。在干净整洁的房中安顿好并查阅了三天积累的邮件后，我们出去吃了韩国烧烤并且去参观了 青岛啤酒厂。参观完啤酒厂，晚上我们又沿着街道进行了啤酒之旅并在旅程结束后去了一家德国的餐馆，在那里供应着美味的Schnitzel（肉片）但是 Spätzle（面条）却很僵硬。
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Qīngdǎo 青岛, Shandong, CHINA — I step off the bus in front of Qīngdǎo’s train station and onto wet streets lined with German styled buildings. The air smells of the sea and our hostel, Big Brother, sits on a hilly street reminding me of San Francisco. After settling into [...]
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普集镇是位于山东省章丘市郊区的一个小村庄，宋阿姨带领我们走在一条小土路上，小路两边长满了各种各样的中国菜肴中常用的作物和香料。花椒长在树上的时候像是绿色的小浆果，把他们在阳光下晒干后就变成了红色。在路过香椿树的时候，宋阿姨给我们解释说只有春天长出的新芽嫩叶可以用于烹饪。一阵温暖又略带疼痛的感觉从右臂传来，看来我已经切实地接触到了乡村的元素，甚至被昆虫蜇咬都体验了。
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Zhāngqiū 章丘, CHINA – Before I came to China I imagined stone homes, earthen pots, bamboo steam baskets, and tiered rice fields scaling into the clouds. Two and a half years ago, I arrived in Shanghai where I indulged in street food and began Mandarin classes then two months later settled in [...]
Continue Reading →两年半之前，我到达了上海，在那里我沉迷于形形色色的街边小吃，并开始学习普通话。两个月之后，我来到了北京并一直居住到今天，每天都看见起重机为了建造 2008北京奥运会的建筑不停地升升降降。这两个城市都在不停的进行着房子的拆除和新的购物中心的修建。我所到之处，食物的种类很丰富，从六块钱一碗的面条到188元一只的烤鸭应有尽有。很多朋友和亲戚在途经北京的时候给我这个乐趣让我带他们去我最喜欢的餐馆，经过那些摆满了和加州一样好的产品的市场。但我始终感觉缺少着一种鲜活的家的感觉.直到过去的两个星期，我在那些邀请我到他们的家中并且和我分享他们最喜欢的家常菜的烹饪法的家庭中找到了它。
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Tōngzhōu 通州, CHINA — I get off the subway at Li Yuan station in Tōngzhōu 通州, hungry.
Near the station, we enter the gate to a cluster of six-floor apartments. Someone is practicing the drums a few stories above and the neighborhood echoes my childhood when the [...]
Continue Reading →在出了地铁站后，我们走进了一个布满了六层楼公寓的小区的大门。有人正在几层之上的一间屋子里练习架子鼓，回荡在路中的鼓声让我想起了我的童年—— 那时住在我家街对面的男孩正在他位于二层的卧室中练习他的那套鼓。小区的附近没有饭馆，所以某些东西正在被烹饪的味道再一次给了我们家的感觉。
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Walking east along Guanghua Lu, I spot a shop with people seated at five small tables outside, slurping soup. I look inside the shop and see a poster featuring the same dish everyone is eating. My nephew, friend, and I sit at a table and order three of whatever they’re having.
First, the server brings [...]
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