Soup Ingredient Stores Have CRAZY FOOD, Restaurants Don't

Some might have preconcieved notions that Chinese food would be scary and inedible because it contains all sorts of strange things like insects or cute dogs.  The truth is, MOST food doesn't.  We had wonderful food in dozens of restaurants including holes in the wall that we never got sick in.  Prices for food ranged from 16 yuan ($3) to 160 yuan ($30), quite the range in prices for very similar food.  ALL food was soaked in oil everywhere.  It was difficult finding vegetarian dishes even though bean curd was readily available when mixed with meat.  In fact, we once tried to have our tour guide get us just plain tofu.  The waitress carried on a very long conversation (people in China tend to speak for a very long time to get a point across, even if they know that you don't speak Chinese they will talk at you for 2 minutes before expecting a response) before letting us know that because plain tofu wasn't on the menu there was no price for it and we couldn't have it.  But every meal we ate was delicious.  One would correctly assume that with all of that oil and meat that the people who can afford to go out (which were most people living in the wealthy areas of the East that we visited) might be overweight.  Indeed, according to news in China, 30% of people living in the major Chinese cities are overweight.  Corn replaces mandarin oranges at McDonalds, tofu snacks packaged in oil can be found in all convenience stores beside the strangely flavored chips (including such flavors as Numb and Spicy, Italian Red Meat, Green Cucumber, Hot and Sour FIsh Soup, and Lemon Tea).  Pizza Hut offers dozens of meat pizzas.  In fact, only in small print on the second to last page under "Other Flavors" does one find a plain cheese pizza!  To its credit, the China Sport Lottery pays for outdoor gym equipment to be placed all over the city, but I only ever saw homeless people taking naps on it.  Perhaps those that are not overweight from restaurant food choose to dine on what we saw everywhere in China, the noodle soup bowl (like Cup of Noodles where you just add boiling water).  In all airports, train stations, and boats, hot water is always available for tea and noodle bowls.  But, it's just how Chinese food is cooked, not a by product of an entire country of Westerners choosing deep fried foods over all other choices :)  

The scary foods can be found.  I was assured that I would never be served dog because dog is a very expensive specialty item.  In fact, a nickname for a good friend is "my dog meat" implying that they are really special.  But, seeing dogs in a meat market being hoisted from crates (they are at least raised as meat animals) or dead dogs hanging on hooks is truly horrifying and really pushed me to want to eat less of any type of meat.  Dried fish and sea products can be found in many markets and also look quite scary (fish bladders are expensive delicacies for soups).  Just avoid those soups and avoid the "Dog Meat Restaurant" and you'll eat well in China.  


Here is a picture of a dried fish product store beside the alligator product store.  

This is a picture of rare fish bladders that were priced at a whopping $5000!

These are lizards-on-a-stick.

We learned a bit about Chinese cooking when we went for three hours to the Cloud 9 Cooking School.  Using individual woks, Michelle and I had the pleasure of learning the secret to Chinese cooking.  The secret is: lots of work.  There are many different steps and stages of adding vegetable, sesame oil, oyster sauce, salt, meat, and corn flour to make a dish come out right.  I will have a deeper appreciation for those many Chinese chefs I see in American restaurants yelling at each other from the counter tops from now on.