Monday, October 17, 2011

Street Food

There’s a place I go with a few friends to buy really cheap vegetarian street food from a little street vendor in an area called Baishizhou. 

Baishizhou is a nice little area near my apartment where you can buy cheap things and eat at cheap little restaurants.




But we like to go to this little food cart. The vendor also sells meat but on the left side of the cart is vegetables/vegetarian food and the right side contains meat (notice the chicken's feet in yellow to the bottom right? Gross!!!). Don't ask me what some of the meat is, I have no clue. Could be intestines, tongues, who knows? I'm not kidding. The lady will give you tongs and a plastic bowl and you just fill up the bowl with what you want. The vendor has like 4 different varieties of tofu that I usually stock up on. I usually add a few vegetables as well like sliced potatoes and green beans. I top it off with a couple different types of noodles. She then weighs it and then the vendor will mix up the ingredients with a small bit of spicy sauce. She places it in a little baggie and there you have it. Yes, no plates or anything. You just eat it out of your bag with disposable chopsticks while sitting on a corner. Very delicious. Usually comes to around 7 kuai (~ $1). Can't beat it. Would you eat here?





 
Below is a picture of a wok I bought this past Friday in Baishizhou at a small little store. The store had many woks but I bought this 14” brand new one for 20 kuai (~ $3).  Can't beat that price either.  Can now do some serious cooking with this thing going forward...


3 comments:

  1. great pics and commentary. Oh the chicken feet. They are HUGE chickens with feet like that!!!! Wish there was more space between the veg and mt because of cross contamination. Is there a set of pipes leading to a generator off a truck to keep the veg and meat cold? There may be water under the stainless steel pans that will keep cool if under a refrigerant coming from a compressor off a truck. Without refrig. I would never eat the meat. The vegetables would be sogged if not kept cool. that is why our stores continually mist with cold water mist the vegetables to keep them fresh and crisp. Is that your fellow teacher to the right in one of the pictures? I also have a concern about eating out of the plastic bag. MDAnderson cancer ctr. and all big oncology centers warn do NOT eat anything hot in plastic because the chemicals in the plastic which are carcinogens leach into the food. Even microwave safe prepared meals here in the USA they say take the meal out and put in a pyrex or corning ware bowl and then reheat in the micro or oven. The vendor is also counting her money right over the sauce bowl..ugh...Love the first pic of the fruits. cant tell if the one pic is oranges. they are underripe if they are but still have leaves on their stems. I also like the veg with the cut out holes in the center and cannot remember what veg it is. Also your wok looks nice. Is it stainless steel or carbon steel. Stainless steel would be thick. Good bargain on your meals and wok. Just wish you had a paper plate or foam bowl. But these things are not safe probably either. the whole scene is very colorful. You have much more local color than I did in O.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is Duke. Greg, are you ever with anyone Chinese that could tell you what is said in some of the signs. As an example, I would love to know what that street vendor's signs say.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, I would eat there. Not the chicken feet though...probably none of the meat. I'd eat what you are eating. Is that your friend in the picture?

    ReplyDelete