I formed an inofficial Chinese tea appreciation society with two of Birminghams best travelled females. Lets call them Louise and Jennifer (actually thats their real names ha ha ha)
Though mystified by my level of passion for all things edible(and being told I talked, "sh*t") they soon put their Mcnuggets down when my tales of mouthwatering soups, fragrant street-food aromas and breathtaking nibbles aroused them. They knew they were missing out.
Daily tea sampling involved observing the properties of the leaves and flowers as they slowly descended in the glass and gradually coloured the steaming water. We would watch the chaotic motion of the leaves as more boiling water from a fine copper spout was poured, causing a green snow scene. A silent settling of pine needles in the glass signified time to drink.
Our last day was spent in luxury at Chengdus finest hotel. We ate a number of Sichuans specialities including, roasted baby squab pigeon complete with severed head, noodles, fish hot pot, cubes of cod mixed with bunches of green sichuan pepper, red chillis (surprise, surprise) and spring onions. We also ate delicately skewered rabbit pieces which came buried in a mound of dried red chilli sections and a hot sauce. German Eiswine would have been too sweet for most meals but balanced the heat of our chilli fuelled consumptionn.
Remarkably, nothing was so hot that the food lost its flavour.
We found the meal invigorating after weeks of peasant food although some of the food I have eaten, "on the road" has been remarkable. One to mention was at an eaterie opposite a monastery in Chengdu. Although the girls insisted on coke the rest was 100% local. We ate bowls of cold white noodles, raw beansprouts and soy sauce. On top was spooned sugar, chilli paste and coconut bits. You mix this together with your chopsticks to develop an unforgattable combination of flavours and textures. It cost 10 yuan (under 1GBP) for the three of us. Its tinglingly good.
I left Chengdu a happy and fulfilled man, gastronomically speaking. However my flight back to Beijing was one of heart pounding trauma. The turbulence was so bad that at least one air hostess ended up on top of the passengers. (he looked happy but she didn't) There was no alcohol on this domestic China airways flight and I was popping Diazepam faster than a kid with Tic Tacs.
It was when we landed that I decided that I didn't want to fly so many times. I have also had enough of cities. Reluctantly, I cancelled Tokyo in favour of Bankok meaning I would miss two flights and maybe save some underpants too. I feel bad as I wanted to visit their fish market and speak my fluent Japanese. However, I need sand and a massage right now.
So I am off to the beaches and sniffing for what I know is some of the best food in the world.
sniff, sniff, sniff
