My friend made Malatang from scratch

In my desperation to recapture the taste of China that I so miss since I left last July, my friends tried to recreate Malatang (麻辣烫) at home by following a simple recipe from the internet, which unfortunately I did not jot down. So I can't tell you the precise ingredients and measurements of what actually went into the stock, but it turned out to be very spicy and delicious, even though the taste wasn't quite at the level of the malatang I used to have on the streets of Xiamen.

First we went to Food Hall at Plaza Indonesia for the ingredients. We bought lots of meatballs and seafood meatballs, tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables. For the broth itself, we bought pork and chicken bones, garlic, star anise, ginger, powder chili, sichuan peppercorns (numbing goodness). And that's about it.

We did not put any MSG into the stock, because I HATE MSG!!!!!!

We made the stock and then added the other stuff in. I liked it. Next time, I would add more garlic and ginger to the mix and try to get some chili pepper with sesame oil in it. Maybe that would do the trick a bit.

In Thailand I ate guava by the beach

What do I love to eat by the beach? Fresh guava with dried chili pepper powder and sugar. Sounds like a weird combination, but there is something special about sour, crunchy and watery mixed with sweet and spicy all at the same time. I love the confusing sensation in my mouth.

In China I ate: Cong You Bing (葱油饼)

Ok, Cong You Bing (葱油饼）actually means onion bread, which sounds kinda weird, because the bread isn't made of onions. Actually, Cong You Bing is a round flat dough that is fried with a filling of scallions. There are other versions of this fried dough. The halal restaurant near my school in Jimei would also serve Niu Rou Bing (牛肉饼）- aka dough with beef filling and Huluobo bing (胡萝卜) - aka dough with carrot filling.

My preference was the beef, but the most popular version that one can find everywhere I guess is the scallion. This would be my snack on the way home from the flea market nearby when I didn't know what else to eat. I could always go to the Qingzhen (清圳）- halal - restaurant and order this delicious goody.

In China I ate: kaorou (烤肉)

Kaorou is basically barbecue, but in China, a bunch of spices are used like cumin, pepper, sesame seeds, etc. The vendors would usually fry all the ingredients we've chosen and then put them on the grill.

My friend said that having too much barbecue can be bad for you because, well, we all know about charcoal and what happens to your lungs and stomach. 

Anyway, aside from the unhealthy part of Kaorou, I dig it very much. It's cheap, good, and filling.

In Xiamen, China, I ate at Kaliwang (咖哩王) restaurant

There is a restaurant near my school in Jimei called Kaliwang. It means curry king. I liked going there because the fried chicken tastes similar to Indonesian fried chicken, which satisfied my home food cravings.

The owners of the restaurant are total hippies. They play loud rock music in the evenings, sit around and drink beer all night, smoke a lot, make fun of passersby, and so on. They also have a white cat named Obama who likes to sleep on the tables while customers eat. 

Obama lounging around on the table next to ours.

The owner of this restaurant (who is also the chef) is a hippy.

In Xiamen, China, I ate at Zhen Xiang Dao He Xiang Fan (真香道荷香饭) restaurant

When I lived in Jimei district, Xiamen city, I would often go to Zhen Xiang Dao He Xiang Fan (真香道荷香饭) restaurant. I guess that would translate to "really fragrant, fragrant lotus" meals....

I've always wondered which region of China did the type of cooking of this restaurant come from. Well, I looked all over the internet and only found one description, the restaurant's own ad, which says that it serves typical Fujian cooking where rice and ingredients are steamed all together on top of lotus leaves. The restaurant also specializes in hot plates. 

I don't know what the locals think of this place. I never bothered to ask, but I personally liked it.

On my first night in Phuket, I ate....

On my first night in Phuket, my friend and I went to a quiet street stall and ordered Pad Thai, fried spring rolls, fried sausage, and a bowl of sweet and spicy flat noodles.

We actually had just arrived at 8PM and were really hungry. My friend, who used to live in Thailand, ordered the food for me, so I didn't have to think so hard. They turned out great.

Then my friend called the vendor lady to our table and told her that I had something to say. I then said "aroy." It means "delicious." Very appropriate!

In China I ate: Jimihua (鸡米花)

Yes, this particular post is dedicated to Jimihua (鸡米花), or better known throughout the English-speaking world as popcorn chicken. I know they aren't fancy and they aren't even that special, but you see, I was on a scholarship in Jimei, Xiamen, and the end of the first semester came around.

In China, the lunar new year aka Chinese new year aka Chun Jie (春节) aka spring festival in either mid-January or mid-February, is a super long one-month event where everyone, especially students, get a month's worth of vacation. It is THE holiday, and everyone goes on a pilgrimage from the place where they work or go to school to travel back to their hometowns.

I was one of those expats who got to experience the utter loneliness of Chun Jie, as I didn't have a hometown to go back to, and Jimei was pretty much deserted. Imagine a ghost town where hardly any shops and restaurants are open, where there are no night markets, street stalls, etc. That was what I experienced for a month.

As someone who was on a scholarship, I fully relied on my monthly stipend. But as it was Chun Jie and everyone disappeared from town, my donors kind of forgot to send me and my friends our February allowance. We were left with hardly any money. I was lucky I still had 500RMB on me, but my other friends went with a lot less. 

This put me in an awful conundrum. I needed to eat, but also needed to spend the least amount of money as possible in order to survive. So what I did was cook my own soups during the day, and then at night go to one of those Chinese wannabe KFCs like CNHLS or DKG, and order Jimihua.

Why wannabe KFCs as my first-choice rescue restaurant, you ask? Because it was the only cheap source of protein that was available and OPEN during Chun Jie. Well, the McDonald's and actual KFC were open, but those are extremely expensive. A burger in the real chains could cost as much as 30RMB. That's just for the burger.

Meanwhile, a meal at a fake KFC (burger, drink, and fries/jimihua/chicken skewers/small chicken wrap) would be around 12 to 14RMB. Not bad for a starving student. A bag of jimihua would just cost 4RMB. It was a bargain.

So this post is dedicated to all the wannabe KFCs in Jimei, especially CNHLS, because they kept me alive for an entire month on Chun Jie.

Thank you!

In China, I ate: Youtiao (油条)

During my stay in China, I would usually go to class a half hour early just so that I could sit alone in the classroom and enjoy one youtiao (油条) and a cup of warm soy milk. That would be my daily breakfast.

I know that youtiao is prevalent all over the world now, but I was really happy to have had it in its country of origin. 

In Indonesia, where I come from, youtiao is called cakwe (taken from the hokkien name for youtiao = "yu charkway"). They are simply just fried salty dough strips. In my home country, we would usually have youtiao as a side dish for chicken porridge. Or sometimes we would eat them as a snack with a vinegar and chopped chili pepper sauce.

In China, people would also have youtiao as a side dish for porridge. But what I loved the most was that youtiao would be eaten for breakfast as an accompaniment for warm soy milk. 

Soy milk (especially warm one) is not readily available in street stalls in Indonesia because we are more accustomed to drinking cow's milk, and I don't see many cakwe vendors either. So I really enjoyed the Chinese way of eating youtiao, and that is one of the things I have missed the most from China.