Lunches, dinners, cinema…
Everywhere there are fairs in Beijing or Taiyuan or Chengdu or Chongqing. Fairs where they sell vegetables and fruits, as they have no refrigerator, they have to buy vegetables every day, which is the basic of Chinese food. They use a lot of cabbage, napa, onions, sweet potatoes.
Today we had yam at lunch (one of the dishes, because the simplest meal consists of at least six dishes, plus rice and soup). And also pork meat; at all times we find a person who carries, either in a net bag, or in a poorly wrapped package, a piece of pork with bacon or pork foot that is much appreciated. The tendons are very much appreciated. In fact, I ate and did not find it bad. There is a dish that they call the “wooden ear”. In fact, it looks, but it is almost transparent white, more wavy and has no taste at all. Usually comes mixed with a broth or candy or soup and there is nothing bad.
Beijing’s food is mild, but Shanghai’s is very spicy. Good thing they serve beer all the time. They serve to relieve the pepper. They told us that in Guangzhou is different. Another thing that relieves the pepper is the habit of serving a sweet dish every two salt, or better: spicy. There were dishes that just tasted, I couldn’t eat so much pepper. Even the pasta with super spicy sauce. The ducks and chickens are very good. Bamboo and bean sprout. A thousand-year-old eggs, when the restaurant is good, it’s tasty.
“Fish stomach”, “wooden ear”, “pork tendon” are dishes that have no taste except the sauce in which they are made. The prawns are huge and great. The delicious roast fish, very tasty, delicate meat. Impressive is their agility with chopsticks, but we’re getting good with them too. Cooked sweet potato and passed in crystal sugar. Chopped Nuts and boiled with sugar, looks like soft paçoca, which serve between salty dishes. Even peanuts passed in sugar. One of these days I ate some toasted white pieces, white with a taste of cocada. It was not; it was chopped sugared rice, roasted, tasty. The pears are very tasty too. We don’t eat persimmons, just apples, pears, grapes… pink grape fruit (better than French) to the buds.
A long list of celebratory lunches and dinners
First lunch (10/7) — Five members of the Association of Understanding International of China, at the restaurant for distinguished people, Mon Jie — Beijing — Minister of Foreign Affairs (?) and more the director of the Association.
Second Lunch (10/12) — Director of Foreign Affairs Government of the Taiyuan City — Mr. Wu JianXing, 32 Yangze Street, Taiyuan, Shanxi — China and Mr. Wang Shan — Director of Foreign Affairs Government of Shanxi Province.
Third Dinner (10/14) — Taiyuan
Fourth Lunch (10/15) — with Son — Cantonese Restaurant — Beijing
Fifth dinner in Chengdu (10/16) — with the thin chef with glasses (that speaks English very well), another from agriculture, another from economics.
Sixth lunch — in the village near Chengdu with mayoress.
Seventh Dinner (10/18) — in Chongqing with Wu Yong Fu — reminds Grandpa Joãozinho.
Eighth dinner — in Shanghai with “Phoebe”, Mr. Liu and Yan (girl).
Ninth Dinner — Hangzhou with 2 City Leaders, English interpret, Guo.
Tenth dinner — in Shanghai, commemorative, Guo’s birthday (Mr. Liu, Mrs. Yan, Guo, Lian and me).
Eleventh dinner in Guangzhou with deputy governor of the province.
Magicians and acrobats show in Beijing. Big movie theater, crowded, everyone arrives on time, even after the lights go out. During the show they change places, eat fruits, cookies, etc. They applaud a little but laugh a lot.
We tried to enter a place in front of the hotel in Chengdu where there was a lot of music, lights and dancing. Chinese at the door pointed a sign: “No foreigners allowed”.
Popular cinema in Chongqing. Chinese movie “Boyfriends without love”. As I told Lian is a Romeo and Juliet about a couple in Tibet. Interesting but too naive for our audience. In a moment the girl calls the boy “son of a bitch” was that laugh. And it was a tragic moment.
Trip’s Partners
Companion in Beijing — Mon Jie — Laughing, Friendly
Interpreter for all travel in China = Guo Yuanzeng
Chauffeur — Liu
Companion in Dazhai and Taiyuan = Tian (singer), first name “Military Son”
Chauffeur = also Tian (very shy)
Companion in Chengdu — Xiao — speaks good english, friendly
Chongqing Companion — Qin Yuan Cai — Looks like Gabriel Janot
Companion in Shanghai — Liu Shun Xi — About 50 years old, very quiet. Yan — Young, 30, Friendly
Hangzhou Companion — Zheng Peng — 24 years old, handsome, cheerful, will marry next year — friendly and cheerful chauffeur — also sang
Companion in Guangzhou (Canton) — a lady who soon walked away with flu. Another came, young and skinny.
