Shanghai Street Food

I got a great tip from a former professor / current friend about this drool-worthy list on CNN International of 35 irresistible street foods available in Shanghai. This is travelling/eating vicariously through the internet at its finest...

I want to go to there.

Chinese Street Food in DC? It Could Happen...

When I moved to Washington, DC, some three years ago, I was excited to learn that DC had a Chinatown. I grew up in an exurb of Cleveland, OH, a city with a rich immigrant history and some neat ethnic neighborhoods but no Chinatown. I moved here not too long after my time in China, and I was feeling sort of "reverse homesick." I pounced on any opportunity to recreate the things I was missing about China. Imagine my disappointment, then, when I actually visited DC's Chinatown and saw how lame it was. For those uninitiated, this (admittedly very cool) arch is the most Chinese part of the neighborhood:

Credit: Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation (WCTC) 

Outside of the Friendship Arch, the area is a largely populated by corporate chains that have nothing to do with China. Restaurants include Hooters, Fuddruckers, and La Tasca (a Spanish tapas joint). Local ordinances require businesses to include their Chinese name on any outdoor signs in order to keep the historic atmosphere, but there's only so much you can do to make a Starbucks look Chinese:

Credit: KClvey

For the curious: the characters there are 星 (xīng, which means "star") 巴 (bā) 克 (kè) 咖啡 (kāfēi, which means "coffee"). The "bā" and "kè" are meant to be phonetic, so you've got a rough simulation of "star-ba-kuh coffee."

This is not to say that there aren't some pretty great Chinese restaurants in Chinatown...there are. They just get overshadowed by the slick corporate veneer of their neighbors. I still enjoy my occasional trip to Chinatown, but my expectations are much lower than they were before my first visit a couple of years ago.


Anyway, all of this here has been a lead up to sharing this article about the future of Chinatown in DC. The outlook is a mixed bag. I agree with the author's assessment that many of the changes that the city government is proposing are superficial and will result in a further "Disneyfication" of Chinatown. Red lampposts, dragon-shaped bike racks, and zodiac pavers do not an authentic Chinatown make. It's the community that matters. Fortunately, the article highlights some other changes that might be steps in the right direction:

Repairing and widening sidewalks for outdoor cafes, allowing street vending, adding bike racks and benches and street trees, and opening alleys to pedestrians are fabulous ideas for bettering the neighborhood. [Emphasis mine.]

I'm thrilled at the prospect that there might be some street vending in Chinatown! To my mind, the street vendors are a large part of what makes a Chinese street come to life. Businesses in China are not all encased behind doors and walls and windows--they are right there on the street, a very visible part of the community. I can only hope that any street food vendors who come to Chinatown are serving up authentic Chinese street food. There are a lot of delicious street trucks roaming DC right now--it has really invigorated the street vending scene in the city--but their hip offerings wouldn't do much to foster authenticity in Chinatown. It seems to me that adding some true Chinese street food to Chinatown would be great for Chinatown and great for the city's street food scene (which is always seeking new flavors). It seems like a win-win all around. I've got my fingers crossed. Don't drop the ball on this one, DC government...we're counting on you.

Misconceptions about Hong Kong Food

CNN International shares an interesting list of 5 Misconceptions About Hong Kong Food. Lovers of street food will be particularly pleased to note misconception #4: the prevalence of thousand-year oil (also called gutter oil). For those uninitiated, I've written about the topic before, but the basic idea is that unscrupulous street food vendors reuse the same cooking oil day after day in an effort to save money. Though the practice does exist, it's likely less common than people think. The CNN article describes it as a "bogeyman," and I think that's a pretty apt description. The same way well-intentioned American parents often exaggerate the risks of, say, walking to school unsupervised (kidnapping exists, but it is extremely rare), parents in Hong Kong seem to be exaggerating the risks of street food. In my experience, most street food vendors are good folks just trying to make a living. Plus, as Mrs. Ho, the owner of Chuen Cheong Foods in Hong Kong, notes: "I have to face the smoke and grease from cooking everyday. I'm more afraid of getting sick from it than you are!"  So there you have it. Don't let a bogeyman stand in your way of enjoying some great street food.

From: CNN International

Trip Update!

A quick travel update: my plane ticket is purchased!  I officially fly out on January 11 and return on April 11.  Special thanks to Compass Travel for their help in getting me a great price.

Glad to have the details of the trip materializing!

"Bizarre" Foods

Interesting interview with Andrew Zimmern on The AV Club today. For the uninitiated, Andrew Zimmern is the creator and host of "Bizarre Foods" on the Travel Channel. One of the more common questions I get when people hear about my street food project is, "hey, do you watch Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern? Unfortunately, I have to say, "not often; I don't have cable...but I like what they do."

The show is great, and it really reinforces the kind of adventurous eating I like to practice and promote. Of course, it brings up the question of what "bizarre" really means when it comes to food. For example, here's a picture of Andrew Zimmern about to eat a geoduck:

Sometimes a geoduck is just a geoduck...

And here's a picture of some classic American Midwestern fare...the tuna noodle casserole:

Fresh from the local casserole farm.

Credit: BrokenSphere

Who's to say that the geoduck is any more bizarre than the casserole? Both are ostensibly seafood. Both presumably taste good to some people (though both would have their share of naysayers). Both provide enough nutrition to go about your day. So where's the line between "comfort food" and "bizarre food"? Naturally the answer is found in human nature...we're creatures of habit. One man's favorite dinner is another man's stomach-churning nightmare, for no other reason than the world in which each was brought up. 

That's why I like to eat "bizarre" foods. If somebody out there eats something strange, then maybe if I give it a try I'll learn a bit about that person. It's a (often delicious) way to gain some insight into the fact that not everybody grew up in the same world that you did. Neither world is superior...just different. Our differences make the world dappled and interesting. This is what food diplomacy is all about. So from one gustatory diplomat to another, thank you, Andrew Zimmern, for your efforts to bridge the gaps between our worlds, one bite at a time.

Good News / Bad News

The story.

The bad news: these kind of money-saving short-cuts, while not necessarily common in China, aren't exactly uncommon either. 

The good news: police are making more and more efforts to track these folks down, ensuring that most of the street food you find will leave you happy and healthy. Even without the police, though, it's worth noting that these perfidious peddlers are the exceptions rather than the rule. Most street food vendors are honest folks happy to serve you up some of the best food in the world.

Word to the wise: Don't eat here.

10 Great Places to Eat in China

Here's a mouth-watering article from asiancorrespondent.com about 10 Great Places to Eat in China. Nothing makes me feel Pavlovian the way phrases like "tofu pudding," "persimmon cakes," "chickpea bean jelly," and "beef starch noodles" do. I look forward to visiting these--and many other Chinese cities--very soon.

Picture Credit: AP