Friday, July 15, 2011

Learned Alot. Ate Even More.

I'm coming up on the end of my second week here in lively and non stop bustling city of Shanghai. This city has everything from tiny back alleys with street venders making every kind of seafood imaginable to immaculate five star restaurants and night clubs on The Bund.

It's two drastically different worlds here. In the evenings as I walk out of my campus gate I am bombarded with the smell of fresh muscles, clams, oysters, and crawfish mixed with garlic and peppers. MMmmm. The streets are filthy, loud, and always full of locals, there are no foreigners here...well except me...this is the true Shanghai.

But jump in a cab and 10 mins later you are downtown and surrounded by Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton along with a few thousand high rises. The streets are clean, beautiful, and full of foreigners.

So....back to the food. Only after being here for 2 weeks I have learned more about chinese cuisine than I did in my 20 yrs in US.

 Back home people think of Chinese food as ...well...just Chinese food... Wrong! Its like we took ALL the different kinds of Chinese food and came up with Orange Chicken and Panda Express.

Your brief guide to REAL Chinese food:
1. Sichuan: SPICY! Full of vibrant colors and eye watering peppers!!
2. Shandong: Focuses on freshness and tenderness. Milder flavors.
3. Huaiyang: Stewng, Braising, and Roasting is their thing.
4. Cantonese: (aka Dimsum style) Lighter colors but full of flavor and GREAT to share with friends!


I'll leave you with a few dishes until next time: Beijing Glazed Roasted Duck or Spicy Sichuan Hot Pot

......if that doesn't make you hungry, I don't know what will.....  :D

1 comment: