Our Chinese Food Collage

So it's been over a month now since we've gotten back from our Chinese adventure and we've definitely been slacking with the blog updates. Being the foodies we are, we wanted to give you all a "Taste" of what we ate in China during our 3 weeks.

We ended up having some great dining experiences in all the places we went. Chinese cuisine is very diversified depending on the region and we were lucky to try some authentic, regional dishes in the many provinces we made it to. From the Peking Duck of Beijing to the world famous Sichuan Hot Pot to the yak meat of Shangri-La, we had many food highlights. Let's get to it:

1st Meal in China - Noodle Soups in Beijing

Scorpions, Starfish + Seahorses O My!

Pork/Rice + Gravy Dish - Beijing

Wangfujing Snack Street - Beijing

Flying Squirrels!

Everything You Need

Yummy Local Steamed Dumplings outside Forbidden City

Mu Shu Pork + Fried Mushrooms

Peking Duck Being Sliced

They Serve the Crispy Skin First!

Peking Duck Pancakes

One Happy Girl

Entrail Soup - Slightly Strange

Dumplings Fried and Steamed - Beijing

Oily Fried Dumplings

Noodle Making Robot! - Datong

More Dumplings + Cucumber Salad - Datong

Handmade Noodles + Veggies - Xian

Muslim Quarter - Xian

Amazing Steak + Veggies Over Dan Dan Noodles - Xian

Meal of Choice at Mount Huashan

Cooks + Servers Going at the Morning Pep Talk - Xian

Best Wontons Ever? - Chengdu

Mapo Tofu - Chengdu

Crazy Hot Sichuan Noodle Dish

Pork Jerky

Sichuan Hot Pot Fixins

Spicy Broth on Left, Mellow on Right

Tongue-Tingeling Sichuan Peppers

Standard Roadside Sichuan Noodles

Typical Roadside Snacks of Yunnan

Spicy Naxi Jelly Noodles - Lijiang

Yak Butter Tea + Noodle Soup - Baisha

Delicious Naxi Stir-Fried Pancake - Lijiang

Feast For a King in Lijiang (All Naxi Dishes)

Yak Burgers - Shangri-La

Soaking up Our Last Day in China - Kunming

Lost in Translation

During our travels through China we were surprised at how many young people spoke some English. They helped us order at restaurants, and helped us with directions and at the movie theaters.  The older generation in China, however, did not speak nearly as much English, which made for some entertaining conversations (or rather, attempts at conversations.)  We were also amused by some of the signage in English that we saw around the country.  We saw English mix-ups everywhere: government buildings, restaurants, and national parks.  Below are some of our favorites.

All flames must remain fully clothed at all times.

No Smocking please.

WARMING!  This sign was on the tourist path.

Ah yes, the infamous flyings!

I don't even know what to say about this one.

The Tourist Halts

The Moulage of Mat's Grain.  I don't know who Mat is...

To look out for falling rocks, or not to look out for falling rocks...

A dead end in the Xian metro station

Hiking up Mt. Huashan.  I have no idea what this means.

"Civilized behavior of tourists is another bright scenery rational shopping."

Hiking to Middle "Tigen" Leaping Gorge

This is one of my favorites!

I think this is part of a public health campaign.

Free use of sewing kits available at the Panda Reserve in Chengdu.

Offering a "view of taon" (town) and "chilling."

Enjoying the "Taste of fashion, experience of the most valuable" at the Great Wall.