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.

In China I ate: Zongzi (粽子)

The first week of June marks the dragonboat festival in China, or better known locally as "duanwu jie (端午节)."

During this festival, there are dragonboat races all over the country, but in terms of food, locals would eat Zongzi (粽子). They are pretty much glutinous rice triangles wrapped in bamboo leaves. My Chinese friend, Lily, told me that Zongzi fillings would usually consist of red bean paste, meats, or even nothing. 

The one that I got from Lily on duanwu jie was filled with red bean paste, and she told me to add honey to it to make it tastier.

There is a legend surrounding why locals eat Zongzi on the dragonboat festival.  A long time ago in China, a famous poet named Qu Yuan was so overcome with grief when the Qin took over Yingdu, the capital of Chu (where the poet came from), that he drowned himself in the Miluo river. 

It is said that locals threw sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat the rice instead of Qu Yuan's body. 

And why is this story a part of the dragonboat festival? Well, because Qu Yuan's admirers paddled on dragonboats to scare away the fish and retrieve his body. The legend of the origin of the dragonboat races and the eating of zongzi on duanwu jie.

In Indonesia I ate: Patin fish cooked inside bamboo

The first time I ever heard of ikan patin (iridescent shark or shark catfish) was on a business trip to Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. Back then I wasn't able to taste this local delicacy because I was too busy taking care of my boss.

Then a few months later, on a culinary tour with a couple of friends, we went to a Kalimantan restaurant somewhere in Bogor (West Java) and we ordered ikan patin. What makes this Kalimantan dish so famous is that the catfish is stuffed inside a bamboo with all the spices along with it, then grilled. The bamboo would probably fit a human arm, so this fish is quite large in size. 

Once the cooking's done, the fish would be taken out of the bamboo, laid out on a banana leaf plate, and then ready to be eaten. I know catfish isn't to everyone's taste, but I quite enjoy it. The meat is tender because it is cooked inside the bamboo, which also allows the chili sauce and spices to permeate all over the fish. Really delicious.