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Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Pizza Hut Celebrates Halloween with a Spidery Black Pizza in China

One of my interests involves seeing how Western companies localize their products and services in China. Sometimes that leads to culinary explorations during holidays, such as trying McDonald's Year of Fortune Burger for the Lunar New Year when I was in Chongqing. Halloween is another holiday which offers possibilities.

Last year in Shaoguan, Guangdong, I noted that a Halloween promotion at Pizza Hut featuring M&M's didn't include an M&M's pizza. So there was no special pizza for me that day. But things change . . . This year, Pizza Hut once again had a Halloween promotion, which I saw while in Shenyang, Liaoning. Instead of M&M's, Vamplets were the main characters accompanying the "Black Halloween" spirit.

promotion for Pizza Hut's Black Halloween specials in China


Like last year, there were fingers on the special Halloween menu, although the ingredients weren't the same. More importantly to me, the menu had a special pizza which screamed to be tried.

Pizza Hut's Black Halloween menu in China


The menu says the Black Halloween Pizza (暗黑魔法烤肉比萨) is made with cuttlefish powder. Like their close relatives, squid, cuttlefish can shoot ink. Given the black coloring of the pizza, I assume cuttlefish ink is at least one ingredient in the powder. Whatever the case, of course I ordered the pizza.

Pizza Hut's Black Halloween Pizza (暗黑魔法烤肉比萨) in China


Yes, there is a spider on the pizza. This is not the first time I have encountered a spider on a Pizza Hut pizza. Decades ago at a Pizza Hut in Pennsylvania, US, my brother discovered a spider baked into our pizza's cheese. It wasn't Halloween and spiders weren't listed as an ingredient for the pizza, so the folks at Pizza Hut made appropriate amends. Unlike that spider, the spider on the Black Halloween Pizza is made out of the black dough. Too bad, since it has been a while since I have eaten large spiders.

The black pizza dough spider deserves a closeup look.

black dough spider on the Black Halloween Pizza at Pizza Hut in China


The pizza includes New Orleans Roasted Chicken, which seems to be a common thing in China, even if not in New Orleans, and pumpkin as well. The spider web is made out of a mayonnaise so sweet that . . . well, I did my best to scrape it off. There is no tomato pizza sauce, which may be why the waitress brought out some ketchup. I was more happy to see the unrequested appearance of Tabasco sauce. Well done, waitress. It really helped.

Tabasco sauce, Kraft grated parmesan cheese, and ketchup


Overall, I liked the Black Halloween Pizza more than the pizza with New Orleans style toppings I had along with Pizza Hut's durian pizza in Jieyang, Guangdong. The pumpkin was a welcomed change of pace, but I don't think I will be craving the Black Halloween Pizza anytime in the future, unlike Mr. Panda's black Inkfish Pizza, which I tried in Shanghai.

Maybe next year Pizza Hut will go with real spiders as a topping for a Halloween pizza. I would definitely give it a try.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

A Restaurant Behind the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza

A recent post covered Chinese flags, dog meat restaurants, and humanoid crabs in Mudanjiang. A more recent post focused on the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza shopping mall. To further tie the two posts together, here is a dog meat restaurant behind the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza:

dog meat restaurant behind the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


My main reason for earlier sharing the dog meat restaurants in the context of what I had initially planned to be just another post of Chinese flags during a national holiday was to simply express that these restaurants are a regular part of what I see in much of China. And on that day I happened to see such a restaurant with Chinese flags flying.

I didn't see any restaurants serving dog meat in the shopping mall, and that is typical. In fact, I would wonder whether I had ever seen dog meat served in a mall, except that the very next Wanda Plaza I visited in another city simplified the issue. More about that Wanda Plaza, and some of the food served there, another day.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

The Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza: A Few Observations of Stores, Food, and Fun

Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza Shopping Mall
The Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza Shopping Mall

Several years ago I posted about the Kaifu Wanda Plaza in Changsha, Hunan. Since then I have seen a number of Wanda Plazas in other cites across China. Most recently, I visited the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang. The 144th Wanda Plaza in China opened a few months ago and includes a shopping mall, apartments, and office space. I won't be doing a comprehensive overview, but I will share some of my impressions during a brief visit to the shopping mall.

When I looked at the mall map, the most curious thing was an "Apple" store. I doubted Mudanjiang had an Apple Store and was not the least bit surprised when I discovered it referred to an Apple authorized reseller.

Authorized Apple reseller store in the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


Well, the store claims it is an authorized reseller. At the moment I don't see any mention of it in Apple's online search tool for authorized resellers in China.

Elsewhere in the mall, I saw an Adidas Kids store.

adidas kids store in the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


The online Adidas reseller tool isn't working for me, so I can't comment more on that topic. I didn't see an Adidas-imitating Adisco shoes store in the mall though.

I also did not see any entertainment like the Toyota promotion I saw at the Kaifu Wanda Plaza. But I did see a promotion which featured some children in a fun competition.

children competing in a game on a stage inside the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


I have seen Zoo Coffee, a Korean animal-themed coffeehouse chain, at other Wanda Plazas. None here, but Zebra coffee is available.

Zebra coffee shop at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


There are many options for food, including three familiar Western chains: Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, and Burger King.

Dairy Queen at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


Pizza Hut at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza



Burger King at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


Pizza Hut and Burger King have prime locations at one of the main entrances. The Burger King is notable in part because Mudanjiang does not have a single McDonald's. This may be the first time I was in a Chinese city with a Burger King but not a McDonald's.

The third floor of the mall is full of other restaurants. Several offer buffets, including one with something of an Alps theme.

Alps Pizza Buffet at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


There is also, as usual for a mall, a Sichuan option.

Sichuan-style restaurant at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


Several restaurants, such as Pig Boeuf, sport a trendy style which has seemingly grown popular in parts of China.

Pig Boeuf at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


Pig Boeuf had a nice family standing out front.

humanoid pig family statues at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


Apparently these humanoid pigs are meant to encourage people to eat pork. If they have the opposite effect, a nearby vegetarian restaurant might be a good option.

vegetarian restaurant at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


I wouldn't call Mudanjiang a vegetarian-friendly place, so seeing this restaurant at the Wanda Plaza was a bit of a surprise. When I looked inside I saw that unlike other restaurants it had zero customers. Instead, employees including two chefs were sitting at a table looking extremely bored. Too bad.

Finally, to close out this odd set of observations from the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza on a happier note, I will share my favorite: a man and presumably his daughter taking a ride through the mall on an electric dinosaur kiddie car.

father and daughter riding an electric dinosaur kiddie car at the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza


Now that is a great way to mall.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Chinese Flags, Dog Meat, and a Patriotic Crab in Mudanjiang

Today is the last day for the Golden Week celebrating the founding of the People's Republic of China. Since Chinese flags have been a persistent theme here during the past week or so (for example here, here, and here), it seems fitting to share some more Chinese flags I saw today, these prominently on display at a restaurant in Mudanjiang.

dog meat restaurant with Chinese national flags in Mudanjiang, China


For those who can read Chinese, one other thing is immediately obvious about the above restaurant on West Ping'an Street: their special dish. The Chinese characters "狗肉" in its name mean "dog meat". Restaurants featuring dog meat are easy to find in Mundanjiang. In fact, within sight of the restaurant is another which features "dog meat" in its name.

group of men watching and playing a game in front of a dog meat restaurant in Mudanjiang, China


And further west along West Ping'an Street is another restaurant with "dog meat" in its name . . .

dog meat restaurant in Mudanjiang, China


And another . . .

dog meat restaurant in Mudanjiang, China


And another . . .

dog meat restaurant in Mudanjiang, China


And another . . .

dog meat restaurant in Mudanjiang, China


And another . . .

dog meat restaurant in Mudanjiang, China


Notably, none of these other dog meat restaurants had Chinese flags outside. Also of note, some of their names reference rivers in or bordering the Korean Peninsula. Although Mudanjiang is closer to Russia, North Korea isn't very far away.

I didn't look at every sign along the street, so there could be more along this section of road about one kilometer long. My sense was that this area has a higher density of restaurants featuring dog meat than other parts of Mudanjiang, but, again, this is not something I have been rigorously paying attention to.

I really hadn't planned posting about dog meat today, so I will save more on the topic for another day. I'll now return to Chinese flags to end this post. Of course I saw more of them today. One was on display at restaurant in the Mudanjiang Wanda Plaza.

crab-like sculpture holding a PRC flag in Mudanjiang, China


This restaurant features another kind of meat — crabs, presumably of the patriotic variety. The humanoid crab on the right appears to be holding an iPhone though.

And I believe that is the end to this year's series of National Day posts.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Mooncake Delivery in Macau

Today I saw more signs in Macau of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, including this truck delivering Maxim's mooncakes.

Maxim's bakery truck delivering mooncakes in Macau

Unlike the mooncakes for dogs and cats I saw advertised elsewhere in Macau, these appeared to be for humans.

Later in the day, I saw a Koi Kei bakery truck with a less traditional design than I have seen before. The truck's design featured mooncakes. Again, they are presumably for humans, but they do have a popular cat theme.

Koi Kei bakery delivery truck with Hello Kitty mooncake design in Macau

Hello Kitty mooncakes represent a fusion of sorts between Chinese and Japanese cultures. I will soon share another mooncake fusion cooked in a place far away from Macau.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Mooncakes Go to the Dogs

In past years I have shared Mid-Autumn Festival scenes in Macau from locations such as Taipa Village, Portas do Cerco, and Largo do Senado. Mid-Autumn Festival isn't until September 15 this year, but signs of preparation for the holiday are already visible, such as in Largo do Senado.

preparations for Mid-Autumn festival in Macau


In addition to lanterns, mooncakes are a popular way to celebrate the holiday. I saw a sign in Macau indicating that they won't be restricted to only humans.

sign for Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes for dogs and cats


Although they perhaps aren't a familiar aspect of the holiday to many in China, pet mooncakes aren't a new thing and other brands are out there. Mooncake flavors listed on this sign include carrot salmon, Aussie beef flavor, tuna cheese, and chicken, pumpkin & sweet potato. All are listed as acceptable for dogs. Only the the tuna cheese is listed as cat friendly.

I don't know what will happen if you try to give a carrot salmon mooncake to a cat. I also don't know if a human would like them. People may want to take extra care when selecting which box of mooncakes to regift.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

A Last Sandwich in Taiyuan

As recents posts here and here indicate, I am no longer in Taiyuan, and have most recently been in Zhuhai and Macau far to the south. Leaving Taiyuan proved to be more challenging than I had expected. After I told the person at the Taiyuan Wusu International Airport check-in counter my destination, she asked "What time?" with a tone voice indicating something wasn't quite right.

My flight had been canceled. C'est la vie.

Long story short, it made more sense for me to take the flight at the same time the next day than taking a flight much later than same day which I believed had a good chance of being delayed. Fortunately, Taiyuan's airport isn't very far from the city center. Soon the staff of the hotel where I had been staying was surprised to see me again, and I was taking advantage of the opportunity to do / eat a bit more in Taiyuan.

When I arrived at the airport the next morning, all was fine except I was hungry. At an airport in a city such as Taiyuan, I would expect to find restaurants serving overpriced and / or unexciting Chinese food and KFC. But the Taiyuan airport offered a changed of pace.

Subway sandwich shop in Terminal 2 of the Taiyuan Wusu International Airport

I didn't expect Subway to be my last meal in Taiyuan. Admittedly, it wasn't my first sandwich in Taiyuan, but this one didn't have donkey meat.

Another Late Night Meal

A return to a familiar place . . .

restaurant in Zhuhai, China

Friday, July 29, 2016

Considering the Options

Signs for shop selling pig's feet and pig's brain in Taiyuan, Shanxi
Signs for shop selling pig's feet and pig's brain in Taiyuan, Shanxi

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Six Bowls of Noodles in Taiyuan

The knife-shaved noodles (刀削面) I saw cut off of dough on top of somebody's head while they balanced on a unicycle at Shanxi Huiguan are a famous style of noodles in Shanxi province. The knife, cutting style, and dough are critical components. Placing the dough on your head or having a unicycle handy is not.

Many other styles of noodles can be found in Shanxi, and trying all of them is a bit of a challenge. The Taiyuan Noodle Shop, another well-known restaurant, makes things a little easier with its set meal of six noodle styles accompanied by various sauces and meats.

set menu dish including six styles of noodles (六中面套餐) at Taiyuan Noodle Shop (太原面食店)

You can mix and match as you would like. Admittedly, the combo made by a server to help get me started was better than any of my own creations. In terms of the noodles, the cat's ear noodles (猫耳朵), named for their distinctive shape, were my favorite.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Unicycle Head Noodles in Taiyuan

Does cutting Shanxi-style noodles off of dough on top your head sound impressive? How about cutting noodles while on a unicycle?

Cutting noodles off of dough on top your head while on a unicycle? Now that's really something.

young woman slicing noodles from dough on the top of her head while she balances on a unicycle

The noodles I had just finished before watching this performance last night at a well-known restaurant in Taiyuan were another type. On one hand, I doubt they were cut by somebody on a unicycle. On the other hand, I can't completely rule out they were cut by somebody on a tricycle.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Barbecue and Baijiu in Taiyuan

It was late, and I hadn't yet had dinner. So I went out and headed to a late-night barbecue place in Taiyuan. Due to the recent rains they didn't have any vegetable options. I am unclear about the connection, but "tomorrow" they said.

As I waited for my meat kebabs, the cook took a drink of a clear liquid from a thin plastic cup. When I see people drinking water I sometimes joke that I think they are drinking baijiu, a rather strong Chinese alcohol. But as I made the usual joke, I realized that the cook was probably really drinking baijiu.

He smiled and spoke to his assistant. A jug of baijiu appeared, and soon I held a plastic cup with a healthy amount of baijiu.

And so, we drank.

barbecue cook drinking baijiu in Taiyuan

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Cleaning Crayfish in Taiyuan

Tonight at a famous food street in Taiyuan, Shanxi, I saw a man cleaning live crayfish one at a time with soap, water, and a toothbrush.

Man cleaning a live crayfish with soap, water, and a toothbrush.

Because who wants to eat a dirty barbecued crayfish?

I share this because there are so many perspectives from which to view it. Choose one. Choose them all. I lean towards the latter.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

A Big Bowl of Rice in Historical Sujiawei Village

Look at this — another family-sized portion of rice.

dish of chicken and snow peas next to a large bowl of rice

The bowl was served alongside some excellent Hakka-style chicken and snow peas in Sujiawei, an old village in Heyuan, Guangdong. At the time, the traditional surroundings where I ate this meal were far more notable than the large bowl of rice. Even some talkative geese in the village were more worthy of attention.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Buckets of Rice Abound: China Expert Gets It Wrong at a Chinese Restaurant in the U.S.

Although acknowledged by a seemingly growing number of people, China's immense diversity remains difficult to grasp. It is also easy to forget. A story in The Washington Post about a recent incident involving a group of diners and a big bowl of rice at the Chinese restaurant Peter Chang in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., touches upon this:
One of the diners, who had lived in Beijing for much of the 2000s, was surprised [when a server brought out a family-style bowl of rice] and made a comment to the server, saying "'Oh, you guys don't serve them in individual rice bowls?'," related another diner in the party, who asked to go by his first name, Matt.

The server told the group that when rice is served to three or more diners at Peter Chang, it comes in a large bowl. The former Beijing resident thought that was odd, considering the family-sized portion ran counter to the personalized bowls he encountered in China. The server then asked if the foursome would like individual rice bowls instead. They declined.

"She said, 'No, no, I can bring it for you,'" Matt related. "He said, 'No, no, don't worry about it. It's fine. Just wanted to let you know that's the way it's done in China. It's not a big deal.' . . . It just got really awkward."
Read the rest of story for the sarcasm and insults which followed and the resulting fallout. I will just focus on the claim made by Matt's friend. Had I had been there, I would have felt compelled to respond.

But before sharing what I would have said, I would like to take a slight detour and introduce a wonderful, spicy chicken dish (茶油鸡) I enjoyed in Hengyang, Hunan.

spicy chicken dish (茶油鸡) in Hengyang, Hunan


Looks delicious, right? It was. But what I really want to highlight is in another picture I hadn't expected to ever share here. It shows the dish in a more-consumed state.

partly finished meal with a metal bucket of rice in Hengyang


The photo also includes a family-sized portion of rice served in a shiny metal bucket. I wasn't surprised by it at all. And I didn't question the waitress about it.

How the rice was served at a nearby trendier restaurant did surprise me though.

trendy restaurant in Hengyang, Hunan


It is hard to see in the above photo, so I will share a cropped version.

couple sitting at a restaurant table with a rice cooker


At this restaurant, you can have your family-sized portion of rice served in a rice cooker which sat on your table. In my experience, this is rather unusual.

But what isn't unusual in Hengyang is restaurants serving family-sized portions of rice for diners to share. In fact, it is quite common. Part of a rice bucket can be seen in this photo of a tasty chicken dish at another restaurant in Hengyang.

spicy dish and greens with portion of a metal rice bucket visible


And at yet another restaurant, one can be seen in this photo of my favorite eel dish in Hengyang.

spicy eel dish with portion of a metal rice bucket in Hengyang, Hunan


Are family-sized portions of rice just a Hengyang thing? Nope, it is common elsewhere in Hunan province too. For example, here is a photo of a spicy chicken dish (earlier shared here) I enjoyed several times at a restaurant in Hunan's capital, Changsha.

spicy chicken dish next to a wooden bucket of rice in Changsha, Hunan


In this case, a lovely wooden bucket was used. They are common as well. Please don't complain to your server about these. Wooden buckets of rice are the best.

So are family-sized portions of rice just a Hunan thing? Again, no.

Here is a part of a meal I enjoyed over nine years ago in Wuhan, Hubei.

assorted dishes and a big glass bowl of rice at a restaurant in Wuhan, China


In this case, a big glass bowl for the family-sized portion of rice worked just fine.

But the glory of wooden buckets shouldn't be forgotten, so here is one with a lot of rice at an incredible vegetarian restaurant in Guiyang, Guizhou.

vegetarian dish in front of a wooden bucket of rice in Guiyang, Guizhou


At another restaurant in Guiyang, this one with meat on the menu, a big metal bowl sufficed for the family-sized portion of rice.

dry hot pot in front of a big metal bowl of rice in Guiyang, Guizhou


But Peter Chang isn't famed for serving the local-style food found in Hunan, Hubei, and Guizhou. Instead, it is described as an "authentic Sichuan outpost". I happen to be a big fan of Sichuan-style (Szechuanese) food. On that note, here is a rabbit dish I ate in Zigong, Sichuan.

rabbit meat dish in front of a wooden bucket of rice in Zigong, Sichuan


Now that is a stunning wooden bucket (with rice).

Here is another rabbit dish I ate in Zigong.

rabbit meat dish near a big metal bowl of rice in Zigong, Sichuan


Both of these meals in Zigong came with family-sized portions of rice. Like rabbit meat, this is common there.

I am not familiar with the details of Peter Chang's menu, but many Sichuan restaurants outside of Sichuan province base their menu on the style of food found in its capital Chengdu.

So here is a dish I enjoyed during my most recent visit to Chengdu.

spicy dish next to a wooden bucket of rice in Chengdu, Sichuan


I am not sure whether this is a rabbit or a chicken dish, but there was definitely plenty of rice in that beautiful wooden bucket.

Undoubtedly, many places in China serve "personalized bowls" of rice. In my experience, region is one key factor affecting the likelihood of receiving a family-sized portion of rice at a restaurant in China. Other factors matter as well. Even in a city such as Hengyang where family-sized portions of rice are especially common, single servings in small bowls are typical in some environments — for example, cafeteria-style restaurants.

I don't know the percentage of restaurants in China which serve family-sized portions of rice, and a guess wouldn't be very meaningful. But I am confident it is significant number. I don't take photos of every meal I eat, when I do photograph a meal I rarely capture how the rice is served, and in preparing this post I only searched through a small percentage of my photos for relevant examples. In other words, these photos represent just a tiny portion of the many times in China I have been served a family-sized portion of rice. This is all the more remarkable, since in a majority of the above examples I was eating alone and would sometimes point out I only needed a small bowl of rice. But the bucket or big bowl of rice would still come.

So if I had been at that table in Virginia, I would have asked Matt's friend what in the world he was talking about and pointed out that serving family-sized portions of rice is certainly another "way it's done in China", particularly in a place such as Sichuan. I would be curious to learn about his own experience in China to better understand how he came to his conclusion. Perhaps we would discuss how China's "different colors" trip up even the people who may know it best.

And hopefully it would have been possible at some point for me to say "pass that authentic and awesome wooden bucket of rice".