Guangzhou (GZ), the bizarre food capital of China sure has some crazy dishes on offer. There is a saying here that if it flies, crawls or does not stand upright and talk, children excluded, it will be eaten. First off I must add that there is not a pigeon or cat or dog in sight around the streets of GZ.... Coincidence? I think not.
There are an estimated 18,000 restaurants in GZ itself, this excludes streetside stalls. Every street corner and road is littered with choices, some delicious looking options and some not so. The variety of different animals on offer is ridiculous. Some odd dishes we got to try include the following:
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| Snake stew. It tastes as good as it looks.... |
Donkey
Ducks jaw
Crunchy frog was devoured at the aptly named 'Crunchy Frog' restaurant
Pig's loung
Pigs tongue
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| Not too sure whats what by the looks on the faces..... |
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| And to wash it all down, the ideal Chinese meal compliment, TEA, with a loooong spout |
There are many many more weird dishes to choose from, as you can imagine, but the city that takes the cake (as seen on a recent documentary) is Beijing. There is a dog street in the city that serves all sorts of household dog - in my eyes this is cruel as per our association with the canine animal (don't shoot me i'm just the messenger). There is also a famous restaurant that serves up different kinds of penis. Yes, penis. OUCH! Donkey, camel, dolphin, whale, the lot is represented and offered in their menu. Whole yak penis or sheep testicles on a bed of curry, anyone? They're supposed to increase male potency. Believe it if you will but this is definitely NOT my cup of tea. I recon us Saffers are potent enough..... Thanks.
On a brighter note we managed to go to a place called Tepinyake underneath the CITIC Plaza. Wow, what a place. For the bargain price of 169rmb (R180) you get your own private room and waiter along with your chef for the night. The price includes as much Sake and Asahi beer you can handle as well as anything on the menu.
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| Asahi - Japan's finest |
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| Chef Pong and mis magical stove |
An eat and drink all you can place - nearly all our mates would get their money's worth just on the liquid refreshments, never mind the food.... These food options include everything from shitake mushrooms wrapped in paper thin beef fillet strips to sushi to tempura to lamb chops, fish and everything in between. The food is heavenly and just melts in your mouth. We managed to frequent this establishment and roll out of Tepinyake Asia, fully satisfied, many times during our stay here. Best meal of the trip - 10 points and a gold star!
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| Very delicious. The blurred area is Chef Pong's lightning fast hands |
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| So much of goodness mixed with a pile of garlic for fresh breath confidence (top right) |
