BBQ Sauce

Vegetarian "Barbecue Sauce." That is all.

Noodle Lunch

My daughter said I couldn't leave China without a traditional noodle lunch. This was hot and spicy, and very good. 

This is the kitchen of the noodle restaurant, which was open to be seen from the eating area. Notice that they are cooking 12 lunches at a time. It was quick and hectic, but amazing to watch. The place had a line out the door. 

Yunan Dinner

More foods found in the Yunan Province. The top photo is fried shrimp, but unlike in America, the "shells and heads" were left on during the cooking process. I was skeptical at first about unshelled shrimp, but after trying it, found it very tasty, as the shells were crispy and soft. I could not, however, get over my phobia of eating the heads, so I left those on my plate. I was told by my host that was perfectly acceptible as she also did not eat the heads. The second photo is deep fried shredded goats cheese coates in sugar. The third is Kale in a spice broth. And the last is fried green beans and peppers, which I found exceptionally delicious.

Alcohol

These jugs are on display in a park in Kunming that celebrates the local minority populations in the Yunan province. My daughter (who speaks and reads Mandarin) said the symbols are Chinese for "alcohol." Just posting for amusement.

Yunan Province lunch

These are foods that are usually only found in the Yunan province. The top photo has locally-grown mushrooms (black stuff on the plate), chicken on the bone and cubes of fried rice (right plate) and flash-fried red beans in spicy coating (left). The bottom photo shows locally-produced fried goats cheese with salt and sweet-and-sour fried chicken (the only dish I have ever found in America). It was all amazing.

"Western-styled" breakfast in China

This was a breakfast I purchased from a "western-style" bakery in Kunming, China. The top roll is filled with red-bean paste, the roll on the right is filled with mango pudding, and the roll on the left has a hard-boiled egg yolk surrounded by red bean paste in the middle. All were delicious. The drink is coconut milk and mango with a popular sweet jelly in it. The drink had an after taste that I didn't like, but my daughter couldn't detect it, so I think it was just my taste buds and may not have been anything wrong with the drink. My daughter loved the drink.

Chinese Ice Cream

This is Salvador's Restaurant in Kunming, China. It's owned by an American ex-patriot who has lived in the city for about 13 years and it served American food and drinks only. The food is mostly purchased by other American ex-pat's and is, to be honest, mediocre by our standards, but for those in China, it's "heaven" (as was described to me by another ex-pat). Drinks include staples such as gin and tonic, rum and coke, whiskey, and tequila sunrises. That said, Chinese folks do come here often, not for the meals of drinks but because Salvador's sells something else the Chinese are crazy about - he sells ice cream out of a case in front. The Chinese love ice cream, and Salvador's sells peanut butter, snickers, chocolate chip, and other flavors. It's a huge success. 

In fact, ice cream is so popular in China, that McDonald's has set up stand-alone booths like the one above where they sell nothing but ice cream. For McDonald's, ice cream is their biggest seller, far outpacing their burgers or fries. If Ben and Jerry's ever expanded to China, they would become multi-billionaires, easily.

Chinese Dumplings

This is my daughter's favorite dumpling restaurant in Kunming, China. It's literally a hole in the wall. My daughter likes it because she hasn't gotten food poisoning from it, which she has gotten three times in the past year from eating from street vendors. The buns were filled with red bean paste, while the pot stickers were pork. It was delicious.

Tea House

These photos were taken at a traditional tea house in the Green Lake park in Kunming China. The tea was great!

Fruits and Vegetables in Asia

Before spending 4.5 days in Kunming China, I also spent five days in Thailand, and during both trips, I saw no American-style grocery stores. I'll clarify - I saw one grocery store in Hua Hin Thailand, but it wasn't what we Americans think of as a "grocery store." Instead, it was solely stocked with specialty items such as bakery goods, chocolate and candy, alcohol, ice cream, etc. Day-to-day grains, vegetables and fruits were not found because they are commonly sold on the streets. In both countries, citizens do not buy one to two weeks worth of groceries like we do in America, instead they buy one to two days worth of ingredients when needed. This got my thinking - is this why America has a diabetes and obesity problem? I'm just throwing that out there. 

KFC in China

I had the honor of going to Kunming China for a week, and learned a bit about fast food in China. For example, despite what the American media says, McDonald's is not the number one fast food joint there. McDonald's was the first American fast food chain in Beijing, but the first fast food joint was Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC still is number one, outselling all other fast-food joints in the country. They do this because unlike McDonald's or Burger King, KFC completely redefined its menu. The chain doesn't sell any fried chicken but rather sells Chinese-styled foods. As a result, it's super popular.

This is the breakfast my daughter insisted I try. Apparently, KFC is seen as a breakfast restaurant in China, and now I know why. Here, I had the popular and very traditional rice porridge with vegetables, a steamed egg, and an organge-mango drink. It was very satisfying.

 This is my daughter who is studying Chinese culture in the Yunan province explaining why KFC has done so well in China.

Here is a look at the inside of KFC. While it still has its American red and white color scheme, the employee uniforms are yellow and blue, which is more China friendly. Notice that the menu has no fried chicken. 

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St Louis Fair 2013-33
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

Everytime I read the ingredients for "loaded fries," I get chest pains.

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St Louis Fair 2013-35
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

The perfect meal - turkey leg, pulled pork, "curly" potato chips and lemonade.

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St Louis Fair 2013-34
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

I just wanted to say "brats."

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St Louis Fair 2013-37
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

I have one question - which is healthier, the 1/4 pound hot dog or the 1/2 pound Italian sausage?

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St Louis Fair 2013-38
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

The 'Merican taste bud. While most of these folks in MIssouri scream about "immigrants" and share Facebook posts calling for "English to be America's official language," they have no problems buying corn dogs, crab rangoons and burritos from food booths.Oh, the irony.

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St Louis Fair 2013-40
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

Steak and cheese. Feel the heart attack! That should be their motto.

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St Louis Fair 2013-41
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

St. Louis is as close to the "center of America" you can get. It's physically near the center of the contiguous 48 states and reflects both the collusion of north and south culture, as well as east vs. west. One popular style of food here is cajun, as Louisiana fare does well. There probably are more cajun restaurants in St. Louis than Chinese.

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St Louis Fair 2013-42
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

This was a first for me - a Kurdish food booth at a fair. This was taken at the Fair St. Louis 2013. The folks running this booth were very proud of being there, as they took a ton of photos of their operation. Obviously, much of the food wasn't "Kurdish" as Gyro's are Greek, Falafel's are Jewish and/or Palestinian, Hummas is seen as Morrocan, and snow cones are clearly American, but still, it was different.

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St Louis Fair 2013-48
Originally uploaded by Inkyhack

Yes, this could be argued as a cheap shot, or a brilliant artistic photo that should be hung in a museum. Here, an oversized American flag is bordered by two greasy, fast-food booths at the Fair St. Louis.