Spotted in a Linyi supermarket, I am seriously tempted to buy a bottle of this:

I mean, I am the target market here, right? This wine is meant for me? The foreign girl? The DH scoffed at the idea of paying money for what is surely shite, but I am very, very curious!

Wouldn’t you be? This stuff supposedly moistens the lungs through some kind of “schisandra element, volatile oil and multiple microelements.” It also enriches the. And it’s all for me. ‘Cuz I’m a foreign girl. Thanks, Changbaishan!

Edited to add: I realize that I’ve said very little about wine availability here in China and Linyi more specifically. I’ll have to work up a post on that topic. I will say that I’ve tried a few Chinese wines, varying from barely drinkable to not all that bad. It’s not something we experiment with too much, however, because really, what a shame and waste to throw wine out.

Filed under weird but wonderful – I give you Minute Maid grape juice with aloe vera:

A new juice variety – the aloe comes as little floaty bits

I don’t know why we don’t eat aloe vera in the US, but it is freaking delicious in yogurt and juice! It is very common to find it here and although I was uncertain at first, I love it now. This juice is a little bit too sweet for me, but I love the squishy, gelatinish aloe bits floating around in it. The DH thinks the aloe is a little like melon, but softer. I really don’t know if you can just cut open an aloe and eat it, or if you must first process it. Weird but wonderful! Now you know, aloe is not just for cuts and scrapes, it is for eating, too!

Folks, that is an entire supermarket aisle devoted to shredded cheese. That’s right. Shredded cheese. There is another section for regular cheese. This is the most indulgent thing I have seen in the food museum, so far.

Photo taken at HEB Plus Supermarket in Victoria, Texas.

While it might not have the same ring as “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe,” the Cream of Jalapeño soup at the Blue Quail Deli in Goliad, Texas is something not to miss.

What’s a jalapeño?

Jalapeño is the chili pepper of Texas. While the New Mexicans have their Anaheim and the Jamaicans have their Scotch Bonnet, Texans have the jalapeño. These small, green peppers can have varying degrees of hotness, but in the overall scheme of peppers, they are considered mild. They can be found in everything from hamburgers to nachos, but at one small town deli, they have found a happy home as the chief ingredient in an award winning soup, the Cream of Jalapeño.

Where’s Goliad?

Goliad is located on the Central Gulf Coast of Texas, a couple of hours south of Houston and an hour or so north of Corpus Christi. If you know anything at all about Texas history, Goliad is famous as a battle site between the Mexican army and Texas rebels. It didn’t end well for the Texans, unfortunately. Back when I attended school in Goliad (population: maybe 2000), we had a Dairy Queen and a handful of Mexican food places to appease our high school appetites. Most days, however, we ended up piling into a Texaco gas station to eat microwaved mini-pizzas and burritos. Some days we went to another gas station for Frito pies. Gourmet we were not. On the days when we felt like splurging, we might call in an order for steak finger baskets at the Dairy Queen. (How on earth I could have eaten all those steak fingers and still kept slim I’ll never know.)

When I told my Chinese students that I used to live in a town of 2000 people, they just looked at me dumbfounded. In their minds, a town that small is nearly incomprehensible. The people there would be old and poor farmers left to tend their fields while the youngsters headed to universities and factory jobs in the big cities. That people choose to live in a small town, that people choose a rural lifestyle is a bit of a shock to my students.

What about that soup!?

Goliad’s downtown is known as Market Square. It consists of four streets surrounding an old courthouse. The old buildings have been lovingly maintained and although not super busy, it is a square oozing with charm. Once a month they hold an open air market on the square, called Market Days. The buildings along the square hold a library, several restaurants, a bank, a museum and shopping.

For years now I have heard talk of a little deli on the square that serves award winning jalapeño soup. The Blue Quail Deli is a casual restaurant featuring sandwiches and soup, of course. It’s famous – Luke Wilson ate there! I can finally say I have tried the soup and it is delicious! The recipe is secret, but as you can imagine, the soup includes jalapeños chopped fine and a lot of delicious cheese and cream. It is silky and just hot enough to get your nose running – but nothing to stop you from enjoying the flavor. I highly recommend it!

A few photos:

The Blue Quail Deli

Goliad’s version of Santa Claus

Goliad’s Courthouse

Market Square buildings

Nutcracker on a balcony

Detail of Von Dohlen building

Decorations and flags

Oh dear, here it is Sunday and I’ve completely missed my Saturday Weekly Round Up posting. And looks like I’ve neglected to post for most of the week… oh well! That’s holiday travel for you. I’ve been far too busy shopping and eating to post. And yes, I mean that quite literally.

The past week I visited two country delis in Beeville and Goliad, (two cities south of Victoria) a tractor supply store, several bookstores, a feed store, a supermarket, the Victoria Mall and my favorite store, Target. I’ve had my eggnog latte at Starbucks, broken my fast food don’t at Chick Fil ‘A, and filled my belly with far more meat than I’ve eaten in the entire last year. My suitcase is a little heavier and, I fear, my waistline a little bigger. Hmmm… going to have to add an “exercise more” resolution to my New Year’s list.

Since food is much on my mind, this round up is going to focus on two delicious meals I’ve had, with a third meal featured in a separate post later in the week.

Although I firmly believe there is a real tragedy occurring in the US food industry (and I’m not like a PETA freak or anything, but I can’t help but recommend Michael Pollan’s books and the documentary Food INC.) there are still delicious eats to be had here and there, and South Texas offers some true southern delicacies. Delicacies I can only dream about in China (and believe me, I have been dreaming of them!) Southern food tends to the down-home end of the gourmet spectrum, and I assure you there is nothing particularly glamorous about the three meals I will share with you today and later in the week. They do, however, embody my South Texas version of “home.”

The Almighty Chicken Fried Steak

A good chicken fried steak is the mark of a good restaurant in Texas. Nearly everyone is an aficionado. When you think Texas, you likely think of steak, but the unofficial king of food is, in fact, the humble chicken fried. Despite its name, there is no chicken in a chicken fried. It’s just a tough old piece of round steak, tenderized a bit,  dredged through egg and flour (sometimes crumbled crackers) and deep-fried to a crisp. Topped with white gravy and mashed potatoes on the side, you’ve got a meal fit for a… cowboy, I guess. I don’t know what it is about the chicken fried, but I’ve always been a huge fan. There’s a family legend that says I once ordered a double order of chicken fried steak. (That would be two chicken fried steaks, stacked atop one another.) The waitress nearly refused. How could a 10 year old possibly eat that much food? I showed her. These days I stick to a single order and struggle to finish. What you’ve heard is true. Everything really is bigger in Texas, including meal portions.

My preferred Chicken Fried Steak can be found at the Double J Eatery at 8607 North Navarro Street in Victoria, Texas. I ate there this past Friday with my parents and family friends. Double J’s is a casual restaurant – the kind of place where you order at a counter, the food comes out on paper plates and at the end of the meal, you carry your own plates to a giant trash can next to the door. The music is a little loud and, as is highly typical of South Texas, country through and through. I once read you can judge a chicken fried steak restaurant by the number of trucks parked outside. If Double J’s parking lot is any indicator, you will find a fine chicken fried specimen inside.

Texas Barbecue

To many Americans, barbecue equals meat with grill marks and a side of baked beans. To others, it means hot dogs and hamburgers. To Texans, barbecue is an art form. It’s all taken quite seriously here. I am not joking when I say I have seen barbecue pits the size of trucks parked in people’s driveways. A good barbecue meal in Texas features beef brisket and sausage, with the ever-present mashed potatoes on the side (although pinto beans, fried okra and potato salad might also make an appearance.) Brisket is a cut from the breast or chest and after hours of slow cooking over mequite wood, it emerges tender and flavorful.

My preferred barbecue meal can be found at Uncle Mutt’s Barbeque at 5404 North Navarro Street in Victoria, Texas. I ate here mid-week with my Dad. Uncle Mutt’s is another casual restaurant – you order at a counter and sit in a collection of booths with a roll of paper towels on the table. A friend of mine goes to Uncle Mutt’s just for the fountain Dr. Pepper. I gave up soda (or coke, as Victorians refer to all carbonated drinks)  a long time ago, so I can’t vouch for their fountain drinks, but another South Texas staple, iced tea, is just fine. Like Double J’s, the portions here are enormous. I had to make this the sole meal of my day!

While I thoroughly enjoyed these meals, I must also a share a highlight of the week, which didn’t feature food so much as catching up. On Thursday I met up with a group of girlfriends from my Goliad High School days and chatted away over margaritas and appetizers. We’re all a bit older and wiser but still a little bit silly, which I think is a good thing.

Five more days to Christmas! Hope you’ve got your shopping done! (I admit most of the shopping I did this week was for myself. <blush>)

Have you ever had a cough and wished you had a cough drop? Have you ever felt a little peckish and wished you had a gum drop? Have you ever suffered from coffee breath and wished you had a mint? Have you ever experienced all three simultaneously?

Have I got a product for you!

Unick Cough Gum Drops – “Packed for Shanghai Dah Chong Children’s Food Factory Co. Ltd”

Yummy mint flavor! Gummy texture!

Just one of the many delightful foods we have been given on domestic airline flights in China. I just wasn’t sure that a mint-flavored cough gum drop was exactly what I needed as an in-flight snack.

The DH and I are flying to Shanghai tonight. I can’t wait to see what the snack will be!

Welcome to World Blog Surf Day, featuring food!

As an expat, or even as a traveler, you quickly learn that Americans are fairly finnicky eaters, and in the beginning of my expatriate life, I was no exception. I will never forget the look my newly-acquired (by marriage) Spanish Aunt gave me as I carefully separated the fat from the meat on the lamb chop she had just prepared for me. Little did I know that this one indiscretion would brand me forever as “the Americana who discarded the best part of the meal.”

After that, I fully intended to bravely tackle any sort of food placed before me. I would become “the Americana who will eat anything.” It didn’t take long to put this goal to practice. We were visiting the DH’s brother and his family in Logroño, a city in the heart of the La Rioja wine region. The narrow streets of Logroño’s old quarter are lined with restaurants and tapas bars. Every establishment has its specialty, from quail eggs to stuffed red peppers. It is a foodie paradise. One afternoon we stopped in a small eatery for lunch. (Side note: in the evenings you usually grab a small bite and drink standing up and move from bar to bar frequently.) I found a table while the DH scooted off to the bar to order a few snacks. He returned with a big smile on his face and soon enough dishes were delivered to our table. Everything looked delicious, as it almost always does in this region, and country for that matter.

I spied a familiar looking shape – fried mushroom on a slice of white baguette. Superb! I love the meaty mushrooms of La Rioja. Before the DH could say anything, I took a huge bite. But wait, what was this strange texture? Mushrooms usually melt in the mouth but this one was hard and chewy. The DH laughed. He had ordered pig ear. Pig ear! Was that ever difficult to swallow. It was easily the worst thing I had ever eaten.

Oh, how I’ve grown. Living in China has provided me with countless food adventures. I’ve eaten scorpions, grasshoppers and silk worms. I am no longer shocked to see animal stomach, intestines, throat and other parts floating in my stew. What would a chicken dish be without the head on the plate, staring at me?! I even ate a webby duck foot, as my friends looked on, eagerly anticipating my reaction. I don’t think that is something I will repeat!

I have come to understand that in the US’s sanitized, pre-cut, individually-wrapped world we are perhaps missing out on some real delights! Or not! Haha. I have to admit that 10 years ago I avoided fat like the plague, but now I love the flavor of jamon iberico with it’s strip of fat or the wonderfully fatty pork belly famous in China as a favorite of Mao Zedong. And while I did not love the way those grasshopper legs got stuck in my teeth, I had the best time laughing about it with the DH and a group of Chinese friends. Andrew Zimmern I am not, (Holy cow, that guy is brave!) but I am a lot closer to my goal of being the Americana who will eat anything. I will never, however, sink my teeth into a fried mushroom again without a little investigation!

What kind of “strange” things have you eaten?

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To continue your foodie tour of the world, see Camille’s blog! He’s writing about food in one of my favorite countries, Thailand. And I must agree – hole in the wall restaurants typically produce the best food, true here in China, too!

Posting about World Blog Surf Day on Twitter today is our reporter, Thandelike. Anastasia Ashman (Thandelike) is an American cultural producer based in Instanbul, and is a creator of Expat Harem, the anthology by foreign women about modern Turkey.  Her Tweetstream focuses on women, travel and history, and she shares resources for writers/travelers, expats, Turkophiles and culturati of all stripes.

Xinjiang Restaurant BBQ Pit

Last Thursday night, the eve before the May 1st holiday, the DH and I ventured over to Linyi’s Xinjiang restaurant for some lamb kebabs. The weather was warm so we were hoping they would have tables set up on the sidewalk, and they did. We had our usual kebabs and naan and enjoyed the shiny new teapots the restaurant had just purchased.

Shiny New Teapots & Sidewalk Dining

Suddenly we became aware of some commotion behind us, and that is when we realized the Uygur restaurateurs were in the act of butchering a lamb. On the sidewalk. That’s what I call fresh. The DH was able to catch all of it on video, but I’ll just post a photo.

Kebabs in Their Natural State

This is how I feel about cooking, especially when chopping onions is required:

No, I’m no chef. Not even close. I love to eat, but I’ll leave the preparations to others. Especially if it means I have to walk around with raccoon eyes. Onions are evil.

Greenpeace Says Chinese Vegetables Tainted With Pesticides From China Retail News (emphasis mine)

Greenpeace recently published a report on pesticide residues in vegetables and fruit in China, which shows five kinds of fruit and vegetables contained extremely poisonous pesticide and produce sold in supermarkets contain higher level of pesticide residue than those sold in agricultural markets.

From December 2008 to February 2009, Greenpeace bought 15 commonly-eaten fruit and vegetable samples from agricultural markets and the supermarkets Wal-Mart, Vanguard, Lotus, and Nonggongshang, in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou respectively, and sent all 45 samples of fruits and vegetables to an independent laboratory in Qingdao for testing. The results show that only five samples out of the total 45 contained no pesticides and over 50 different kinds of pesticides were identified on the rest.

What is surprising is that Greenpeace found that the fruit and vegetables from big name supermarkets such as Lotus, Vanguard and Wal-Mart were even more polluted than those collected from the wet markets.

Greenpeace said a strawberry sample it took from Wal-Mart Beijing Xuanwu Store and a cucumber sample from Guangzhou’s Vanguard each contained more than 13 kinds of pesticide. Greenpeace said eating these fruit and vegetable would be just like drinking a cup of poisonous cocktail. In addition, some food samples have been found to contain pesticides deemed by the World Health Organization as extremely toxic. Greenpeace said that in shepherd’s purse and cowpea samples bought from Lotus Supermarket in Shanghai, there were traces the highly toxic pesticides methamidophos and carbonfuran which are banned from sale and use by the Chinese government.

Greenpeace’s findings suggest that pesticide contamination on food is nationwide problem in China.

I guess it is a good thing nearly all our fruits and vegetables come from little old ladies on the side of the road…