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Chinese Street Food
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Jul 17, 2018 20:05:36   #
Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China
 
I think that the Chinese get a bad rap when it comes to their food. They generally don't eat dogs or cats, and I have never, ever gotten sick eating the food here. It is healthy and usually has lots of vegetables in it with a little meat. Delicious though. Emily and I live in the "old town" section of Suzhou and when the weather isn't too hot or cold, we often go walking around the streets and will usually buy "street food" while we are out. This is similar to the American hot dog stand, but with a huge variety of items available. Want some leg of lamb on a stick? No problem. Veggie stir fry? Just a few yards away. It is all delicious, too. Sweet potatoes baked in these barrel-like ovens are popular and so is tofu (which I am convinced, Americans do not know how to cook. They serve a deep-fried tofu here that is wonderful). You can also find drink stands serving Milk Tea, dessert stands and even exotic things like pigeon, which is quite tasty. This kind of eating serves two purposes. First, it is convenience food and is healthy eating. The Chinese idea of fast food is vastly different from the McDonald's we're used to seeing. Fast food here can be a nice slice of pork with rice and stir-fried vegetables. Served in under a minute, too. Next, it keeps these people employed in their own businesses. Many of these who run the stands have day jobs and supplement their income by working a stand at night. The stands are unlicensed and unregulated though, so they are technically illegal. But, since they serve an important purpose by feeding people, the law generally looks the other way and often times you will see guards and police officers eating at these stands as well. They are a deeply rooted part of the lexicon of China.

China has food shops like Japan has vending machines. Just everywhere you look. Here, you are never more than a few feet from a meal. I think this is important to the Chinese because during the Cultural Revolution, Mao directed that all sparrows be killed because he saw them as thieves of the grain produced. Killing these birds caused an environmental disaster and resulted in plagues of insects that triggered a major famine here. Millions of people died from the lack of food. A horrible time in the history of China. So, the Chinese are keenly aware of this because the older population remembers what it was like to go without food for a week. The government here too has placed a high priority on food production and it is abundant here now. An amazing transformation and a very difficult lesson to learn from their transgressions. The other aspect of food here is that there are fruit stands everywhere. All fresh and in amazing varieties. We have a stand 5 minutes walking from our home and it is one of our favorite places to go.


Some of the more exotic things that I have eaten are Water Buffalo, Ox, Pigeon, Snake, Eel, Tongue, intestine and (drum roll, please...) deep fried Cicadas. And while some of this sounds icky, all of it is quite good. You have to remember, the Chinese have been eating these things for over 7,000 years, so they pretty much know what's good and what's not. I also promised myself that regardless of what it is, I would at least try everything. I am considered an "adventurous" eater by my western friends here. The only items off the menu are dogs, cats and endangered species. Above that, I will always try it. In doing this, I have been really surprised at the great taste these items have and they are excellent.


About this photo, My wife Emily is being served Tofu by a street vendor in out old town section of Suzhou. I shot this with a Nikon N1AW1 and processed the image in Photoshop, adding a boarder and giving the image a duotone tint that gives it a Sepia tone appearance. Lens was an 11-27mm set at 11mm (18mm equivalent on a 35mm). Available light.


Hope you enjoy and have an excellent day!



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Jul 17, 2018 20:15:11   #
sirlensalot Loc: Arizona
 
My brother just sent me a report by Good Morning America on food that is processed and raised in China. Hope you are not eating any of the stuff they are reporting on.

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Jul 17, 2018 20:16:39   #
krashdragon
 
Cool pic. I lived in Hawaii for 25 years, so I got to try a few of the items you mentioned.
Nothing quite like going to Chinatown, and getting a nice crispy piece of roast pork. Or duck. And walk the streets sightseeing while eating it.
Finger licking good.. And fresh noodles. In soup. Watching the cooks twirl skinny noodles a couple dozen feet long from a lump of dough.
My favorite.. candied ginger. And the cookies.
Best time... Chinese New Year street fair...

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Jul 17, 2018 22:13:49   #
Angmo
 
I lived in Singapore for many many years. Love the food. Miss it.

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Jul 17, 2018 23:48:35   #
Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China
 
sirlensalot wrote:
My brother just sent me a report by Good Morning America on food that is processed and raised in China. Hope you are not eating any of the stuff they are reporting on.


Most likely what is being shown is grown illegally. The Chinese are actually pretty tough on food quality and (surprisingly) air quality. The problem being that there are so many people, it becomes difficult to enforce. Generally, if you go to legitimate places, you are fine. And with the pervasiveness of social media, you would know if someone served bad food. But, there are those stories about people putting opium into food and other things as well. Hard to tell sometimes.

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Jul 18, 2018 07:37:10   #
jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana
 
Nice photo.

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Jul 18, 2018 14:30:46   #
speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho
 
Pixeldawg wrote:
I think that the Chinese get a bad rap when it comes to their food. They generally don't eat dogs or cats, and I have never, ever gotten sick eating the food here. It is healthy and usually has lots of vegetables in it with a little meat. Delicious though. Emily and I live in the "old town" section of Suzhou and when the weather isn't too hot or cold, we often go walking around the streets and will usually buy "street food" while we are out. This is similar to the American hot dog stand, but with a huge variety of items available. Want some leg of lamb on a stick? No problem. Veggie stir fry? Just a few yards away. It is all delicious, too. Sweet potatoes baked in these barrel-like ovens are popular and so is tofu (which I am convinced, Americans do not know how to cook. They serve a deep-fried tofu here that is wonderful). You can also find drink stands serving Milk Tea, dessert stands and even exotic things like pigeon, which is quite tasty. This kind of eating serves two purposes. First, it is convenience food and is healthy eating. The Chinese idea of fast food is vastly different from the McDonald's we're used to seeing. Fast food here can be a nice slice of pork with rice and stir-fried vegetables. Served in under a minute, too. Next, it keeps these people employed in their own businesses. Many of these who run the stands have day jobs and supplement their income by working a stand at night. The stands are unlicensed and unregulated though, so they are technically illegal. But, since they serve an important purpose by feeding people, the law generally looks the other way and often times you will see guards and police officers eating at these stands as well. They are a deeply rooted part of the lexicon of China.

China has food shops like Japan has vending machines. Just everywhere you look. Here, you are never more than a few feet from a meal. I think this is important to the Chinese because during the Cultural Revolution, Mao directed that all sparrows be killed because he saw them as thieves of the grain produced. Killing these birds caused an environmental disaster and resulted in plagues of insects that triggered a major famine here. Millions of people died from the lack of food. A horrible time in the history of China. So, the Chinese are keenly aware of this because the older population remembers what it was like to go without food for a week. The government here too has placed a high priority on food production and it is abundant here now. An amazing transformation and a very difficult lesson to learn from their transgressions. The other aspect of food here is that there are fruit stands everywhere. All fresh and in amazing varieties. We have a stand 5 minutes walking from our home and it is one of our favorite places to go.


Some of the more exotic things that I have eaten are Water Buffalo, Ox, Pigeon, Snake, Eel, Tongue, intestine and (drum roll, please...) deep fried Cicadas. And while some of this sounds icky, all of it is quite good. You have to remember, the Chinese have been eating these things for over 7,000 years, so they pretty much know what's good and what's not. I also promised myself that regardless of what it is, I would at least try everything. I am considered an "adventurous" eater by my western friends here. The only items off the menu are dogs, cats and endangered species. Above that, I will always try it. In doing this, I have been really surprised at the great taste these items have and they are excellent.


About this photo, My wife Emily is being served Tofu by a street vendor in out old town section of Suzhou. I shot this with a Nikon N1AW1 and processed the image in Photoshop, adding a boarder and giving the image a duotone tint that gives it a Sepia tone appearance. Lens was an 11-27mm set at 11mm (18mm equivalent on a 35mm). Available light.


Hope you enjoy and have an excellent day!
I think that the Chinese get a bad rap when it com... (show quote)

That's news to me, I don't know about a bad rap about Chinese food, it's one of the most delicious and also healthy foods around! And if there are some areas where cats and dogs are eaten, then there's nothing wrong with that. I've eaten dog myself and it was not bad at all!

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Jul 18, 2018 16:21:54   #
Angmo
 
speters wrote:
That's news to me, I don't know about a bad rap about Chinese food, it's one of the most delicious and also healthy foods around! And if there are some areas where cats and dogs are eaten, then there's nothing wrong with that. I've eaten dog myself and it was not bad at all!


Ever go to Beijing China?? You never see any squirrels, dogs, rabbits, cats, rats... in the streets. They’re all in freezers.

They do say anything with its back to the sky is food.

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Jul 18, 2018 19:14:42   #
Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China
 
Angmo wrote:
Ever go to Beijing China?? You never see any squirrels, dogs, rabbits, cats, rats... in the streets. They’re all in freezers.

They do say anything with its back to the sky is food.


Ha. Never heard that expression before. Only been to Beijing twice, and I was at the airport hotel for one of those trips, so not much around anyway and the next time was recruitment for my university and it was far away from the central city. I DID see dogs and cats there though. The dog eating thing is rare and the people who tend to do this are in the western portions of the country. My experience with it anyway.

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Jul 18, 2018 20:43:53   #
Angmo
 
Pixeldawg wrote:
Ha. Never heard that expression before. Only been to Beijing twice, and I was at the airport hotel for one of those trips, so not much around anyway and the next time was recruitment for my university and it was far away from the central city. I DID see dogs and cats there though. The dog eating thing is rare and the people who tend to do this are in the western portions of the country. My experience with it anyway.

I traveled Asia extensively. Even commuted between Singapore and Beijing for one or to weeks a month for a year. I never got sick eating anywhere I went. Just followed common sense rules.

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Jul 19, 2018 00:08:04   #
SAVH Loc: La Jolla, CA
 
Back in the mid-90's, I was working on clean coal technology and traveling to China about a dozen times. We predominently went to the "outback" areas as opposed to the main cities. We traveled to Inner Mongolia on the Russian border and down to Yunan Province. I was often the "honored" guest and was honored to eat the first bite of each of the many dishes. Among the unusual things we were served were fried scorpions, baked bees, boiled camel hoof, cow tendons, and all parts of pig. I participated in each dish and never once got sick. One really did not want to spend much time looking at the food prep areas but, again, the food was tasty and apparently safe. I, too, have eaten "street food" in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and elsewhere and have never regretted it. I would be happy to return.

Scotty

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Jul 19, 2018 00:25:52   #
Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China
 
SAVH wrote:
Back in the mid-90's, I was working on clean coal technology and traveling to China about a dozen times. We predominently went to the "outback" areas as opposed to the main cities. We traveled to Inner Mongolia on the Russian border and down to Yunan Province. I was often the "honored" guest and was honored to eat the first bite of each of the many dishes. Among the unusual things we were served were fried scorpions, baked bees, boiled camel hoof, cow tendons, and all parts of pig. I participated in each dish and never once got sick. One really did not want to spend much time looking at the food prep areas but, again, the food was tasty and apparently safe. I, too, have eaten "street food" in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and elsewhere and have never regretted it. I would be happy to return.

Scotty
Back in the mid-90's, I was working on clean coal ... (show quote)


Sounds a lot like the work my wife's company does. Ever hear of Jacobs Engineering? They do a lot of similar work in that area. Have not eaten scorpion and some of the other dishes you described, but have eaten Jellyfish. :-)

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Jul 19, 2018 09:55:58   #
Angmo
 
... cow intestines in gravy, jellyfish eggs...

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Jul 19, 2018 19:01:33   #
Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China
 
Angmo wrote:
... cow intestines in gravy, jellyfish eggs...


Mmmmmmmmmmm! Just like mom used to make! :-)

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Jul 19, 2018 19:15:23   #
Angmo
 
Pixeldawg wrote:
Mmmmmmmmmmm! Just like mom used to make! :-)


Well, that was Japan not China

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