It's all beginning to make sense.
What served the aquatic bird by way of buoyancy during its life, serves the Chinese by way of insulation. At -4 degrees it's literally freezing here.
I am referring to duck which can be tasted in almost all restaurants. The famous dish, Peking duck, hails from here (Peking being the old Beijing) which is why its a must try for any traveller.
There are a few variations on how it is served depending on the class of the establishment. The very best ones will carve off the thin veneer of crispy skin and serve it to you first in your pancakes.
The cheaper places will simply serve up the meat on the bone and you will do everything yourself.
Mine came out sliced on a plate, no bones with tasty brown skin attached. Next came a huge broth of steaming bones, a thin liquid but full of flavour and ducky richness. I was also given pancakes, cucumber batons, spring onion slices and the ever gluey hoi sin sauce. I ordered some seaweed salad which took me all night to digest as the strips were quite thick and heavy. It was tasty though, containing spring onion, red pepper, sesame seeds and coriander leaves tossed in oil.
Impressed by their use of everything, I returned to the same restaurant for lunch the next day having visited the beautiful yet blisteringly cold Temple of Heaven.
I pointed to noodles on the menu but the waitress was keen for me to try dog casserole. Put off more by the treatment of the animal rather than the consuming, I declined, smiling nervously and looking for other more humane options.
The Chinese really do like to eat. They enjoy big portions too so be prepared for a feast at every meal. I agreed on "blackfish" although I had no idea what this was as most translations are incorrect. I watched her wrestle with something from the fish tank, there were splashes of water and she wandered over. In her hand was a long pole and at the other end, a long, unhappy, writhing fish inside the net's green mesh.
Using my hands to show that I wanted a smaller specimen, she seemed to say that this was the smallest. From what I could see, it was a very sizeable mullet type fish. These can often be earthy so I was wary. This was also the first time I had ordered my fish alive.
10 minutes later an oval plate appeared covered in slices of white fish dotted with water chestnut, ginger and diamond shaped red pepper pieces.
It was actually very good indeed. The flesh was very tender and fresh (well it should be!!) The sauce was lightly sweet with gingery notes and a light acidity. There were also black and white cauliflower fungus which added texture.
Minutes later a huge bowl of broth arrived. A stir of the large ceramic spoon revealed the bones of the fish along with fins and other bits and bobs. The soup, like the previous duck one was light and tasty. On the top of the thin liquid floated some vibrant berries I had never seen before. They had a tart tomatoey flavour and tiny seeds popped out when pressed.
Noodles arroved too with strips of pork and pak choi - this was too much!
I ate what I could, especially as an unsuspecting fish had been plucked from its home on account of my arrival.
The experience was good one but I would prefer to be sharing a meal like this rather than ordering independantly.
I left the restaurant warmed up culturally and physically.
