I took a 6 day cruise/trip to Chongqing, Fengdu, Shibaozhai, Wanzhou, Fenjie, Wuahan, Yichang, Shashi, Wuhan, etc. to see the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges Dam. It wasn't as fun as my Yunnan trip but the food for the first two days and last day were decent. Why? Because in the middle we were on the boat for the whole time with Hong Kong andMainland Chinese tourists-all of whom do not eat spicy food. GR! Really? You go to the home of some awesome ethnic minorities who put peppers on everything and you stick to eating the stuff you eat everyday at home? NOT COOL. Here were some of my better meals before my fellow people on the Hong Kong tour complained that they couldn't eat spicy. BLEH!
Yummy cucumbers and pork I believe.
String beans
Egg plant-always a favorite of mine.
Ma po tofu. They made it really good. Got the ma la part down. Love when that happens.
Spicy peanuts.
Even the veggie was spicy. I really enjoyed this meal, until people on my tour flagged down the guide and made sure he knew they never wanted another meal like that again. They complained that it was too spicy and that they could only eat 2 dishes the whole night. I, on the other hand enjoyed all the food and even had 4 bowls of rice. Yes, I counted.
My favorite candy as a kid except made into the shapes of turtles and dragons.
Cute huh? Little girl about to eat her dragon candy.
Hot Pot! The middle hole was spicy and the outside was not. I of course was pretty much the only one that ate from the middle.
Yum! We had lots and lots of plates coming and going. It was pretty good. Not the best hot pot I've ever had though.
Pork, veggie goodness
More goodness
Yummy crab, egg goodness.
Salt & peppered pork
Spicy fish
Delicious tomato soup!
And of course more non spicy food. Seriously Hong Kongers need to get with the program.
Look at the mini shrimps!
Yummy tofu! Reminds me of the Japanese kind I like to get.
Fried taro and sweet potato balls.
Sweet and sour fried fish!
Towards the end of the trip, I just realized I wasn't going to be having any real authentic food. I really would advise people who like to eat to never join a tour with Hong Kong people. I did it once many years ago (10?) when I made my first trip to Vietnam and I swore never again. Apparently my mom really enjoyed it. I am boycotting any trips like this ever again. My stomach is protesting.
Happy Eatings!
Sorry about not putting captions on the rest of the food. I just got too upset thinking about how I missed out on some good, spicy food. Hmph!