Example of Chinese hospitality- with pics!

[Locut0s]

The last 3 days here in Nanning we have been guests of a friend of my fathers ( though not staying with him ). He is a writer of some limited fame here in China and has also turned a number of his short stories and novels into TV mini series. At any rate he has been treating us out to dinner and showing us around Nanning the past few days. Like many friends you will make in China he is extremely gracious and insists on showing us all around the city despite being very busy with work. Though he has more money than the average Chinese. Today he took us to a particularly nice lunch. Situated in a sort of artists compound that a friend of his owns. This consists of a number of small out buildings where artists can rent rooms to work out of the way of the noise of the city. It's a very pleasant place! The buildings are embedded in a small tropical jungle like environment with paths and small ponds winding all about the place. We ate in a small pavilion outside. The friend of my fathers had ordered a huge number of dishes. This is something you may have experienced if you have ever been treated to dinner in China by a friend. They like to order a banquets worth of food for 2 or 3 people and bottle after bottle of beer. Usual more than you can finish. You can see here some shots I took today. I have labeled the one with food:

http://img.photobucket.com/alb...Locut0s/IMGP0743-1.jpg (My father insisted I crop out his friend because the post is not about him )

(1) Bowl of corn on the cob, sweat potatoes and whole peanuts all roasted
(2) A whole chicken cooked Hinan style in oil, garlic, ginger. Fresh from the field!
(3) Cucumber cooked in oil, with garlic and vinegar
(4) A very good Tofu dish cooked with the consistency of corn
(5) Chinese style omelet cooked with vegetables
(6) A traditional finely sliced potato dish cooked in oil and herbs
(7) Bitter Mellon
(8) Fresh fish from the lake near by (Not shown)
(9) + (10) Two more fresh vegetable dishes (Not shown)

This plus about 4 large beers and traditional rice wine. All these dishes were cooked on a wood fire stove we were told.

http://tiny.cc/u9aAK
http://tiny.cc/5duql
http://tiny.cc/meG1x
http://tiny.cc/vAc3c
http://tiny.cc/nuK92
http://tiny.cc/uFcB4

 

[mztykal]

Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: mztykal
Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

Unfortunately the pic makes it all look rather bland

 

[Blieb]

Sounds like a good time! :thumbsup:

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Originally posted by: mztykal
Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

I'm studying in China right now and I can assure you that almost all Chinese dishes taste great. If there's one thing the Chinese know how to do, it's fry food and drown it in sauces.

 

[Hacp]

What about that young virgin wife?

 

[LilPima]

My mom only made shrimp with lobster sauce, beef with green beans in brown sauce and veggie stir fry last night lol.

 

[octopus41092]

Originally posted by: Locut0s
The last 3 days here in Nanning we have been guests of a friend of my fathers ( though not staying with him ). He is a writer of some limited fame here in China and has also turned a number of his short stories and novels into TV mini series. At any rate he has been treating us out to dinner and showing us around Nanning the past few days. Like many friends you will make in China he is extremely gracious and insists on showing us all around the city despite being very busy with work. Though he has more money than the average Chinese. Today he took us to a particularly nice lunch. Situated in a sort of artists compound that a friend of his owns. This consists of a number of small out buildings where artists can rent rooms to work out of the way of the noise of the city. It's a very pleasant place! The buildings are embedded in a small tropical jungle like environment with paths and small ponds winding all about the place. We ate in a small pavilion outside. The friend of my fathers had ordered a huge number of dishes. This is something you may have experienced if you have ever been treated to dinner in China by a friend. They like to order a banquets worth of food for 2 or 3 people and bottle after bottle of beer. Usual more than you can finish. You can see here some shots I took today. I have labeled the one with food:

http://img.photobucket.com/alb...Locut0s/IMGP0743-1.jpg (My father insisted I crop out his friend because the post is not about him )

(1) Bowl of corn on the cob, sweat potatoes and whole peanuts all roated
(2) A whole chicken cooked Hinan style in oil, garlic, ginger. Fresh from the field!
(3) Cucumber cooked in oil, with garlic and vinegar
(4) A very good Tofu dish cooked with the consistency of corn
(5) Chinese style omelet cooked with vegetables
(6) A traditional finely sliced potato dish cooked in oil an herbs
(7) Bitter Mellon
(8) Fresh fish from the lake near by (Not shown)
(9) + (10) Two more fresh vegeatabl dishes (Not shown)

This plus about 4 large beers and traditional rice wine. All these dishes were cooked on a wood fire stove we were told.

http://tiny.cc/u9aAK
http://tiny.cc/5duql
http://tiny.cc/meG1x
http://tiny.cc/vAc3c
http://tiny.cc/nuK92
http://tiny.cc/uFcB4

Hrm... sweat potatoes... Doesn't sound too appetizing to me

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: octopus41092

Originally posted by: Locut0s
The last 3 days here in Nanning we have been guests of a friend of my fathers ( though not staying with him ). He is a writer of some limited fame here in China and has also turned a number of his short stories and novels into TV mini series. At any rate he has been treating us out to dinner and showing us around Nanning the past few days. Like many friends you will make in China he is extremely gracious and insists on showing us all around the city despite being very busy with work. Though he has more money than the average Chinese. Today he took us to a particularly nice lunch. Situated in a sort of artists compound that a friend of his owns. This consists of a number of small out buildings where artists can rent rooms to work out of the way of the noise of the city. It's a very pleasant place! The buildings are embedded in a small tropical jungle like environment with paths and small ponds winding all about the place. We ate in a small pavilion outside. The friend of my fathers had ordered a huge number of dishes. This is something you may have experienced if you have ever been treated to dinner in China by a friend. They like to order a banquets worth of food for 2 or 3 people and bottle after bottle of beer. Usual more than you can finish. You can see here some shots I took today. I have labeled the one with food:

http://img.photobucket.com/alb...Locut0s/IMGP0743-1.jpg (My father insisted I crop out his friend because the post is not about him )

(1) Bowl of corn on the cob, sweat potatoes and whole peanuts all roated
(2) A whole chicken cooked Hinan style in oil, garlic, ginger. Fresh from the field!
(3) Cucumber cooked in oil, with garlic and vinegar
(4) A very good Tofu dish cooked with the consistency of corn
(5) Chinese style omelet cooked with vegetables
(6) A traditional finely sliced potato dish cooked in oil an herbs
(7) Bitter Mellon
(8) Fresh fish from the lake near by (Not shown)
(9) + (10) Two more fresh vegeatabl dishes (Not shown)

This plus about 4 large beers and traditional rice wine. All these dishes were cooked on a wood fire stove we were told.

http://tiny.cc/u9aAK
http://tiny.cc/5duql
http://tiny.cc/meG1x
http://tiny.cc/vAc3c
http://tiny.cc/nuK92
http://tiny.cc/uFcB4

Hrm... sweat potatoes... Doesn't sound too appetizing to me

Lol actually we were sweating enough that that's probably an accurate description

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante

Originally posted by: mztykal
Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

I'm studying in China right now and I can assure you that almost all Chinese dishes taste great. If there's one thing the Chinese know how to do, it's fry food and drown it in sauces.

Where are you studying and what? How do you find China on the whole? I could see living in some of the smaller cities like here in Nanning or Xiamen if I had a good job and could speak Mandarin a bit better. But the big cities would be too much for me long term right now.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Hacp
What about that young virgin wife?

If she's still a Virgin, someone is doing it wrong.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante

Originally posted by: mztykal
Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

I'm studying in China right now and I can assure you that almost all Chinese dishes taste great. If there's one thing the Chinese know how to do, it's fry food and drown it in sauces.

Where are you studying and what? How do you find China on the whole? I could see living in some of the smaller cities like here in Nanning or Xiamen if I had a good job and could speak Mandarin a bit better. But the big cities would be too much for me long term right now.

I'm studying in Tianjin at Tianjin Normal University. I'm studying my second year of Mandarin and I'm actually getting a hang of it. The bigger cities actually aren't too bad - there's English in a lot of places, and in restaurants you can almost always just point at things on the menu. Taxis are cheap, and merchants selling souvenirs tend to speak enough English to deal, or they have a calculator into which you can punch a price to make your point.

 

[Dari]

So your father is a famous author and you consider their actions hospitable? Perhaps they're trying to get on his good side?

 

[yuchai]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: mztykal
Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

Unfortunately the pic makes it all look rather bland

It seems the style of the the food there is "farmer's style" cuisine, where the emphases are on the freshness of the ingredients and preserving natural flavors rather than the presentation.

So you're in Guangxi? Did you go to Guilin/Yangshuo?

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante

Originally posted by: mztykal
Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

I'm studying in China right now and I can assure you that almost all Chinese dishes taste great. If there's one thing the Chinese know how to do, it's fry food and drown it in sauces.

Where are you studying and what? How do you find China on the whole? I could see living in some of the smaller cities like here in Nanning or Xiamen if I had a good job and could speak Mandarin a bit better. But the big cities would be too much for me long term right now.

I'm studying in Tianjin at Tianjin Normal University. I'm studying my second year of Mandarin and I'm actually getting a hang of it. The bigger cities actually aren't too bad - there's English in a lot of places, and in restaurants you can almost always just point at things on the menu. Taxis are cheap, and merchants selling souvenirs tend to speak enough English to deal, or they have a calculator into which you can punch a price to make your point.

Good luck in your Mandarin studies. It's a hard language to learn but very rewarding when you do! Since I learned mandarin living here as a toddler speaking to my mother I have little in the way of an accent. However over the years back home in Canada I have lost most of my vocab to the point now where I'm at about 10% or so. I can get around reasonably well and understand a few complicated discussions here and there but I'm otherwise lost. Funny think is since I have no accent when I speak to people they often assume I am fluent so they launch into a discussion I can't handle

 

[TecHNooB]

Originally posted by: Dari
So your father is a famous author and you consider their actions hospitable? Perhaps they're trying to get on his good side?

His father's friend, not his father.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: yuchai

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: mztykal
Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

Unfortunately the pic makes it all look rather bland

It seems the style of the the food there is "farmer's style" cuisine, where the emphases are on the freshness of the ingredients and preserving natural flavors rather than the presentation.

So you're in Guangxi? Did you go to Guilin/Yangshuo?

You're right on about the food. Tastes great but not presented in any fancy way. No to Yangshou but yes we did Guilin. Took a bamboo raft down the river. Visited one of the karst caves. Beautiful scenery. Great place to visit but there's very little actual culture there unless you get outside the touristy areas which we didn't.

 

[hiromizu]

That looks friggin good.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: Dari
So your father is a famous author and you consider their actions hospitable? Perhaps they're trying to get on his good side?

Wat?

His friend is the famous author. My father is a teacher in Canada who is helping to translate some of his short stories

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: Dari
So your father is a famous author and you consider their actions hospitable? Perhaps they're trying to get on his good side?

Wat?

His friend is the famous author. My father is a teacher here in Canada who is helping to translate some of his short stories.

Sorry for messing up the relations. Getting back to the food. It may be diverse but the portions can be small (at least to Westerners).

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: Dari
So your father is a famous author and you consider their actions hospitable? Perhaps they're trying to get on his good side?

Wat?

His friend is the famous author. My father is a teacher here in Canada who is helping to translate some of his short stories.

Sorry for messing up the relations. Getting back to the food. It may be diverse but the portions can be small (at least to Westerners).

I have not found this to be the case. Perhaps smaller than at some of the big western fast food joints where you get gut busting portions, but still respectable. A regular order of Jio Zi for example is 20 to a plate. Add on several other dishes of good proportions and you have a big meal. I know I'm NOT a small guy lol.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante

Originally posted by: mztykal
Unfortunately no matter how well written your post is and how well labeled your pictures are, it doesn't look yummy.

I'm studying in China right now and I can assure you that almost all Chinese dishes taste great. If there's one thing the Chinese know how to do, it's fry food and drown it in sauces.

Where are you studying and what? How do you find China on the whole? I could see living in some of the smaller cities like here in Nanning or Xiamen if I had a good job and could speak Mandarin a bit better. But the big cities would be too much for me long term right now.

I'm studying in Tianjin at Tianjin Normal University. I'm studying my second year of Mandarin and I'm actually getting a hang of it. The bigger cities actually aren't too bad - there's English in a lot of places, and in restaurants you can almost always just point at things on the menu. Taxis are cheap, and merchants selling souvenirs tend to speak enough English to deal, or they have a calculator into which you can punch a price to make your point.

How do you find living in China overall. Could you see living here long term?

 

[BabaBooey]

What,no monkey scrotum.....fail..

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: bababooey
What,no monkey scrotum.....fail..

Yeah when I find some I'll be sure to send some your way. It's true that the Chinese do eat a rather wide range of animals but the stereotype that it's all over the place is just that. You can find some pretty wacky things but you have to look around and or be in the right regions of the country. By and large the VAST majority of the meat you see is from the good old 3 Chicken, Pig, Cow, with quite a lot of duck, and lamb. What you will see a lot of though is organ meat. Tripe, tongue, liver, feet, snout, intestines, it's all up for sale

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: bababooey
What,no monkey scrotum.....fail..

Yeah when I find some I'll be sure to send some your way. It's true that the Chinese do eat a rather wide range of animals but the stereotype that it's all over the place is just that. You can find some pretty wacky things but you have to look around and or be in the right regions of the country. By and large the VAST majority of the meat you see is from the good old 3 Chicken, Pig, Cow, with quite a lot of duck, and lamb. What you will see a lot of though is organ meat. Tripe, tongue, liver, feet, snout, intestines, it's all up for sale

It must be painful to watch to all those North Koreans right across the border...