Asia Trip Day 1: Arrival to Chengdu (12/19/17)

Arrived at HK airport 6 am (local time). Since the flight was 15 hours, and we moved into a timezone 13 hours ahead, it was a full day. We browsed the mall and food court waiting for our 10am flight to Chengdu. I ordered ngau laam mein (beef intestine noodle soup) from a Cantonese restaurant and it was very nice. The meat was very tender and the egg noodles had a nice bite to them, however I wasn’t expected the broth to be fish-based.

Tomato soup served in HK McDonald's (looks pretty good actually)

$1USD equals $8 HK dollars, so it was odd to see some dishes listed over $100. They also do use the dollar sign rather than the pound, even though they were a British colony. That’s also true in Australia, so I have no idea the history.

Our flight changed terminals to the opposite side of the airport at the last 30 minutes, so we had to rush across to make it. The possibility of missing a scheduled departure is something I get anxiety from, and missing this flight would have major repercussions. We barely made it, and we were both sweating because we were sprinting with all of our coats on, and dragging all of our carry-on luggage.

Outside the Chengdu airport. It was unseasonably warm that day (~50° F)

Beef noodle soup (front) and chili pork noodles (back)

We arrived in Chengdu around 2 pm. Xuezhu's mother picked us up from the airport and took us to a noodle restaurant for lunch. These restaurants in China were operated a little differently than what I was used to. Outside of peak meal times, most places would be pretty empty and the owner would just be hanging around (setting on a chair on the street, playing cards, or eating at a table) until someone would come in. We just walk in and tell them what we want, and then take a seat. No doors, no host, and rarely a menu. It had a very different and informal attitude. The chef would come back in a few minutes to serve the food. A bowl of noodles cost ~$2 USD, so it was hard to imagine how they make any sort of profit. I ordered the chili beef noodle soup, which was very delicious. The soup was heavy in chili oil, which made the noodles have a savory and numbing spice.

Orange tree on the roof of Xuezhu's grandparents apartment, planted and tended to by her grandfather

Drove to their grandparents’ apartment, where I met her maternal grandparents and her other aunts. They were very nice and welcoming, however the language barrier made communication difficult.
I also met her cousin and her boyfriend, who were getting their PhD in Singapore. I could speak with them easily since they study in English.

Never enough garlic

BRAINS (texture and taste similar to liver or blood)

Her dad the took us to a hot pot restaurant  for dinner. For the unfamiliar, hot pot is like Chinese fondue, but instead of cheese its a savory broth. Thinly sliced pieces of raw vegetables (daikon, lotus root, winter melon) and meats (eggs, beef, pork) are put into the broth to cook it and absorb the flavors. The cooked pieces are then dipped into a custom, personal bowl of sauce and then eaten. The sauce I make for myself is a mix of garlic, cilantro, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and black vinegar. The authentic Sichuan hot pot broth is a glowing red color swimming with chilies and peppercorns. Sichuan cuisine is known for its robust flavors and numbing spice, created from copious amounts of chili, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns. The heavy amounts of chilies and oil consumed usually upsets my stomach. I think this issue is common even among natives, so it is recommended to have a drink that'll help soothe the stomach.

After dinner, we drove back to her parent's house, which was our main residency during our trip.  

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