Ah, the evening. A cool and dark wind blows crisply across one's face... one's nose... What's that smell?
Why, it's night snacks, of course! These nocturnally grilled and boiled treats are popular throughout China, especially in Fenghuang. Conveniently enough, a good number of night snack stands opened shop along a road that is very close to our Inn. This comforted me, as I had a strong feeling that the night snacks might turn on me. However, I later discovered that my fears were unfounded, as the night snacks provided us with just the right amount of nourishment to walk around town and see the sights lit up in the traditional neon fashion.
We decided to skip the weird stuff and go straight for the grilled fish, grilled vegetables, boiled dumplings, grilled steamed buns and grilled glutenous rice with pig's blood (yum-o). All of it was coated in a really spicy rub and a lot of oil, which made us pretty sluggish afterwards.
It was at one of these night snack shops that we encountered our first group of friendly Westerners. Up to that point, every Westerner that had I passed returned my greeting with an uninterested glance. However, when I saw a couple of Westerners sitting down for a meal, I marched up them and asked them in my best Mandarin if they speak English. They replied, "Um, do you speak English?" I was both pleased and a little hurt by this revelation (maybe my Mandarin is terrible?). Long story short, they were a friendly couple from Australia enjoying their first night in Fenghuang.
On to dessert. Ginger candy is made all over town by hand-pulling a mass of ginger and sugar until it cools enough to be cut into smaller pieces. We bought a bag of this, which helped sooth our stomachs and delight our palettes. Good times.
Cullen
6 comments:
I would start with the ginger candy and end with it, too. In the middle, more ginger candy. No pig's blood for me. Great pictures!
Sounds like fun!! The closest thing to a night market around here is the Wendy's 3 miles away. I'm envious.
ummm, maybe you'll import all us obese americans for your new weight loss regimen?
Mmmm, oily. Mysterious meat on a stick sounds so tempting. I'm curious about the desserts of china. . . ginger candy sounds decent, but more like what's left at the bottom of a trick or treat bag after the good stuff has been consumed. Where are all the sweet fatty treats?
chocolate definitely isn't one of them, better go trick or treating in belgium instead, i think...
I notice you chose the cooked ones for your night snacks. Good choice!!! Raw from the roadside probably is not recommended for the western digestive tract.
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