Eating a lot in Chengdu

Most of the week I went for walks, not even bothering to bring my SLR. Many of these photos are from a pocket camera. I did a lot of eating. Not much to show here as far as adventures. Just daily life in Chengdu, China.

The first morning back in Chengdu, we head to the KFC for breakfast. At the time breakfast at Subway, KFC, and other dinner-focused western restaurants were being tested in markets like China, but not yet available in the States.

Congee Porridge with… a chunk of rotten egg (it’s supposed to be in there)

Sweet bread (just like a doughnut)

Just an egg

Hash brown sticks

Egg and sausage sandwich

I can’t complain. Chinese KFC has a taste of home, albeit a pretty expensive one (especially in China). While all the basics are there, the menu is much more diverse in China, offering up a wide range of Chinese-aligned snacks and drinks.

 

A bakery on the corner near my hotel was a great place for me to get some lunch each day. These tend to be pretty affordable, but look better than they taste.
This pizza-like thing is filled with a layer of pork floss (shredded dried pork), and then topped with a sweet glaze.

This bun was topped with onions, ham and cheese and a sweet glaze.

A delicious beef rice bowl. I didn’t know at the time but those strips of meat are tripe… I didn’t mind… cut as strips is not as gross as long sheets of it. There’s also a brown egg… I didn’t eat that. Eggs are a crap shoot for me in China. They can be a normal western-style egg, some weird pickled variety, or even a fake egg.

The Coca-Cola Company has almost all of its products in China. You wouldn’t believe how refreshing it is to have a cold soda after being out in the rural Chinese mountains for a few weeks.

The noodles were a bit spicy and a was a little flushed afterwards.

I spend my time walking around randomly and exploring the streets.

 

I just can’t resist trying the fried corn every chance I get.

Ultra-spicy beef and peppers. This is when I learned, after struggling to eat this dish, I’m really not supposed to eat the red chilies.

Chicken and chili paste. It’s tough to get chicken that is stripped from the bone. In Chinese cooking it’s just hacked up, so you have to watch out for bone fragments.

Very delicious beef noodles

 

Häagen-Dazs does a pretty good business in China. Pretty much every major city has a Häagen-Dazs cafe.

Not sure what this is called, but this bottle was cheep and came highly recommended by the corner store guy near my hotel. I would visit that shop every night to load up on snacked and bottled drinks.  This is clearly far from good stuff. Tasted like poison. Cost: 50 cents.

 

We went out to a warm pot restaurant. Spicy Beef, peppers, and onions. This was amazing, but the Sicilian peppercorns numbed my mouth for about an hour after.

 

Fried green beans. A favorite, and something you can get easily in the states, although with the Sichuan version beans are super tender and the oil is spicy.

Shops are open late, and families eat late. Its not uncommon to see a family meal in progress in a small table set up just outside the shop.

 

Looking back, I’m starting to think I was eating 10 times a day. Garlic Pork and peppers.

 

Pork and leek.

 

A shot from inside a pretty elaborate karaoke bar across from my hotel. The Chinese take karaoke pretty seriously.

I tried some traditional Chengdu clay pot cooking.
Black chicken… which had a lot of bones. I can’t say it was the best chicken dish I had. In fact, it was far from it, but it was interesting to try.

 

Rice, sweet potatoes, pickles