Looking for Dinner

Cotton bedding for sale.

Instead of eating in the hotel last night, we decided to step into the street in search of something tasty. And as usual, we found lots of interesting activities and people. The first unusual shop that I had to take a look into was a small shop making cotton bedding. I never really thought about it, but most folks here don't sleep on a traditional mattress like we have at home. Instead, they buy thick cotton mats made locally (shown in image at left). Then we passed a grain and seed shop, complete with chickens wandering around in front. Our first food stop was a fried egg & bread pancake (another fried egg on top optional) for 1 yuan. After that we stumbled into a small outdoor market selling meats and breads. I have to say I am passing on the meats as most of them look like outside parts (feet, ears, etc) rather than inside parts. It was pretty dark by this hour even though it was only about 6pm or so. Remember, China is all on ONE time zone: China Standard Time. So nightfall comes earlier (at least, by the clock) this time of year the further east you are. Inside we found some wonderful breads with a sweet filling; very tasty.

Upon exiting the market we discovered a man selling traditional mooncakes. The traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Mooncake Festival, a time for lunar worship and moon watching) is this year on 30 September (date changes every year, as the actual start is always the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese calendar). It's one of the most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, and one of the popular traditions is eating mooncakes. These are pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings like bean paste, lotus seed paste, fruit, or nuts and are often shared between friends or on family gatherings. The Festival itself is only a single day, but festivities can last several days. It is a time when many migrant workers and students travel long distances to be with family in faraway provinces. They're really yummy! We bought some to have today on our long transfer drive to Jining.

On our return stroll we saw a man stretching noodles by hand - gawd, they looked good! Then we stopped and bought delicious steamed dumplings and buns from another street vendor. Dinner was great!

This is the pure cotton, ready to roll into a casing.

Here the workers are tying up a bundle of cotton for a waiting customer.

Here's the outdoor market we walked into.

This woman is selling fresh bread.

Meat parts... I haven't developed a taste for this.

The meat is served with a spoonful of beans.

This grandma was selling some sort of bread.

These women were selling breads with a sweet filling. Though shy at first, they were happy to pose with only minor encouragement.

Here are the rounds of bread ready to throw on a hot skillet.

The next vendor was selling dumplings ready to throw Ina pot with boiling water.

Lots of fresh fruits and veggies are available.

Packages of mooncakes!

Fried stinky tofu... yuck!

I've only seen a handful of pet dogs on my trip (Bill calls them all Lucky... as in they're lucky not to be somebody's next meal...) and these are the first cats I've seen.

Here's the noodle man. He stretches the noodles by hand for each order.

Depending upon the order, the noodles are stretched into different shapes and then get dropped into hot water. They only need to cook for a minute or so.

The noodles are scooped out and put into a bowl which is then filled with a wonderful broth. Depending upon the dish, things like bean curd or eggs might be added.

This noodle customer is staring at me staring at him ;)

Another hard working Chinese.

Darkness can fall early when a country as large as China is all on the same time zone.

This young girl was pretty suspicious of me and my camera.

Another impromptu market where folks can stop to buy dinner in their way home from work.

Yum!

Ah, steamed dumplings. We ordered about 10 for 3 yuan.

For our order, she uncovered the next layer and scooped them into a bag.

The doughs are stretched by hand.

View of Huainan from my hotel room on the 18th floor.

I actually found drinkable red wine in China! Price varies from about 40 yuan to 120 yuan (about $6 to $20).

 

View of Huainan from my hotel room on the 18th floor.

 

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