Lunch with Locals
- January 19, 2005
- Rated 5 of 5 by
kwasiak from Tucson, Arizona
One afternoon we got to experience the most authentic and delicious Chinese meal. Can you think of a better way to have an authentic meal than having one made by a local and served in their house? Well, I cannot.
We arrived at an apartment complex and our group of 28 was divided into four groups. Each group was taken to a different local’s house to have lunch. We got to eat with the son of our hostess and a local university student that was able to translate for us. Most importantly, she was able to tell us what each dish was.
The meal lasted over an hour, with our hostess/cook continually bringing dishes of food. Just a few of the dishes included dumplings, battered eggplant, tofu, and pumpkin pastries. It was all delicious, and most of the dishes we did not have in any of the 15 Chinese restaurants we ate at in China.
I suspect that this was something that our tour agency set up, and it is probably possible to have set up. It seemed like they were used to serving tourists. It is probably a great way for them to make some extra income. I am not sure on the price range, but I am pretty positive we paid for the meal as part of our tour. I doubt that it was that expensive, as even some of the fancy restaurants were pretty reasonable.
From journal Shanghai: Paris of the East