And today's first was donkey meat. Served with noodles (soup-less), as well as plain sliced. The noodles are the same type of noodles as used in a Lanzhou beef noodle soup, except it is coloured with a natural plant extract which makes the noodles yellowish and supposedly more chewy (弹牙）. Donkey meat with noodles 驴肉黄面 is a specialty of Dunhuang and can be found everywhere, like wonton noodle soup in HK.
The sliced donkey meat seems to be just plain boiled or grilled donkey meat which is then sliced, and is normally eaten with a minced garlic and chili dip (you make your own to suit your own palate). Sort of like the 蒜泥白肉 in Shanghainese cuisine.
Donkey meat is very similar to very lean beef and quite tasteless (not gamey like mutton). My initial trepidation about eating donkey meat has quite disappeared; it is a fairly ordinary taste whether from a flavour or texture perspective. Nothing to write home about.
What was more interesting is a local drink that I sampled for the first time called Almond Skin Water (杏皮水）. It is made from boiled almond skins which gives off a mildly bitter flavour and is mixed with hawthorn 山楂 and some sugar for a very refreshing taste when chilled. It can be bought anywhere in vacuum sealed cups and is a good alternative to soft drinks.
Check out the pics.
