The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘Asia’

11/10/2010

Eating Sri Lanka at the Shanghai World Expo

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This godamba is making me thirsty.

By now you may be wondering why I’m posting all about food in China. First and foremost, it was for vacation, but it was also to check out the Shanghai World Expo. If you don’t know what the Expo (formerly known as the World’s Fair) is, it’s basically a huge event lasting a few months where countries are given the opportunity to build pavilions to show off their nations. Some create beautiful works of architecture (remnants of past fairs include the Eiffel Tower and Ferris Wheel), some show off aspects of their culture and some simply use their pavilion to sell products from their country. Some even had local foods to eat, and that interested me the most.

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11/9/2010 China

Street Food Spotlight: Cong You Bing

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It’s like a pancake, but scalliony.

In my experience, I’ve learned that some of the best food in the world can be found on the street. No, not literally on the street (although the 10 second rule certainly applies for some of this food), but food that is sold on the street rather than from some brick and mortar building. A major part of the allure is the tracking down of the street food. There’s no address, so you really just have to stumble upon it. Plus, since it’s mobile and there are no hours, there’s no guarantee the food will be there again the next time you look for it. The biggest part of the allure, though, is the taste. It takes someone with an iron will to seek out this kind of food, but when you find something great, the payoff is huge.

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11/8/2010 Shanghai

Pass Me Some Taro Pie

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This is how McDonald’s does taro.

To some, the thought of eating McDonald’s in a foreign country seems just plain wrong. After all, when you’re in a different country, you should be experiencing their culture in all aspects, especially food. And what’s more American than McDonald’s? Yet, it’s hard to deny how much of this American fast food has become a part of other cultures. In Japan and China, a big bucket of KFC is now a Christmas tradition and all over the world you can find Burger King, Subway, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. And these companies have not simply forced American food down people’s throats. Instead, they have adapted, and few have adapted as well as McDonald’s.

Step into a McDonald’s outside the US and you will see foods you never knew existed. In Canada, you can find Poutine, in Israel there are Kosher McDonalds’ that don’t offer cheese on their burgers. In Japan, the Teriyaki McBurger is like a regular burger, but with a teriyaki twist. These international options almost make McDonald’s a destination, rather than a place to avoid on vacation.

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11/5/2010 Shanghai

Chengdu Hot Pot with a Shanghai Twist

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A hot pot divided.

After spending some time in China, you will find that the Chinese people are very prideful, and not simply prideful about their country, but about their regions as well. It seems like if you go anywhere in China, you will hear that whatever region you’re in has the best tea, best dumplings, best noodles and really anything else you can think of (best dog?!). The same goes for hot pot. So if you may think hot pot is simply a bot of boiling water to cook food in, you are wrong.

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11/4/2010 Shanghai

Classic Xiaolongbao at Nan Xiang Steamed Bun Restaurant

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So classic-looking.

Just across from Yang’s new location in the new mall on Wujiang Street is another place that serves up xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). It’s called Nan Xiang Steamed Bun Restaurant and cooks them up in the original steamed way. Nan Xiang is actually the part of Shanghai where xiaolongbao originated and you can still find the original in its location near the Yu Garden, but the line is always crazy-long, so when I saw the Nan Xiang restaurant right next to Yang’s, I figured I would give them a taste.

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11/3/2010 Shanghai

Crispy Xiaolongbao at Yang’s Fried-Dumpling

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Always a line. Always pink.

Once upon a time, there was a street called Wujiang in Shanghai just outside the Nanjing West Subway Station. At all hours of the day, the street was lined with food vendors and inside the old buildings were delicious, old-school Chinese restaurants. On that street was a hole in the wall called Yang’s Fried-Dumpling, which served a delicious xiaolongbao (pronounced shiao-long-bow) with the special twist that it was fried (as opposed to the traditional steaming method). Xiaolongbao is one of Shanghai’s signature dishes, a dumpling stuffed with pork that creates a soup inside when cooked. The dumpling is sealed air-tight so the soup stays inside until it is eaten. Even though Yang’s went against tradition by frying their dumplings, there was always a line outside their door.

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11/2/2010 Narita

Laying Over with Sushi at Narita

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Small, like the people.

On our way to my Chinese homeland, the girlfriend and I happened to have a layover at the Tokyo-Narita Airport in Japan. This was great for the girlfriend since she loves her sushi and also great for me because I was hoping to find myself some Melon Fanta. Sadly, the Melon Fanta was nowhere to be found, but at least we found some sushi. The little airport restaurant was appropriately named “Sushi” (I thought Japanese people were supposed to be creative) and we took a seat inside.

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11/5/2009

Strange Meats: Mongolian Mutton

They have no idea what's coming.
They have no idea what’s coming.

Some of you may be wondering where I got that amazing picture of a sheep in the back of a car. The answer lies in this entry.

Now, mutton isn’t inherently a strange meat. Lamb chops, lamb gyros and lamb meatballs can be found all over the USA. It’s most definitely one of the top meats consumed in the USA, but the mutton I ate in the far east wasn’t normal by any means.

My day in Inner Mongolia, China, began just as any other. My Chinese friend was cracking jokes as he always does, but this time he made a joke about how we Americans would be catching our own dinner that night. This was a scary thought, but as we embarked on our journey for the day, I forgot about it while lost in thought in the Inner Mongolian countryside. Now and then, we would pass flocks of sheep, walking around and eating everything they could see. Then, we stopped at one of the flocks.

“It’s time,” my friend said.

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2/5/2009 China

Strange Meats: Donkey and Tripe

Tastes like horse...I think...
Tastes like horse…I think…

While visiting a friend in the city of Yangshuo in Southern China, I decided to try dog. Although I grew up with a dog and loved the creatures, it was time for me to experience that aspect of Asian culture. A bunch of us headed out to a restaurant and went into our own little room. While my Chinese friends placed our order, I sat in anticipation for the event.

After the order had been taken, my friend turned to me to apologize.

“Why?” I asked.

“It’s not the right season for dog,” she replied.

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