Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Quick Shots: Photodump Edition

What's on my camera today? Let's see:

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A friendly soccer match in the field outside my apartment. The school is basically abandoned on Sunday, so these guys decided to start up a game. Judging by their vehicles, at least one of them is a cop.

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Now let's discuss food, as an awful lot of pictures on my camera are shots of things I've eaten. One of the big differences in food culture between the United States (and Western countries in general) and China is that we're way more squeamish about our food. Even uncooked meat and fish in America is prepared to look as little like the animal as possible. Not so here. Even cooked animals usually have the head still attached - one memorable party started with a whole cooked lamb being wheeled out, a big red bow around her golden brown neck.

Hey, did anyone out there ever wonder what a shrimp looks like before it's cleaned? Behold:



I bet a lot of you didn't even know they had claws, did you? I sure didn't. These guys taste pretty good, but the texture is incredibly disturbing. Especially the claws.

Now for some more common-place dishes:



This is a kind of flatbread that I buy at a local store. It is not unlike pizza crust, but rather than being a single solid piece this item consists of six or seven layers. The outermost layers are crispy while the inner layers are soft. It has a nice zesty flavor - a nice change from the typically sweet Chinese breads. It's also extremely cheap - the pictured wedge only cost me about 30 cents.

Next up are noodles and . . . hey! That guy looks familiar!





It's Mr. Lee takeout! I don't know why I got this to go, but there it is, in all its starchy glory. Note the big chunks of braised beef mixed in with the noodles. The above bowl cost just 10 RMB ($1.50 USD), so it's cheap by any standard. Expect to pay twice that for a meal at McDonalds.

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Well, I'm out of material. Join me next time when I take requests and write posts of substance.

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