Asia Trip Day 15: 2 Old 2 New (1/2/18)
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| Release me, fiend! |
Similar to Wuhuo Temple, there were displays and ancient architecture. Xuezhu told me that in school, they would learn and recite poems by Du Fu. His literary stature is commonly compared to Shakespeare or Virgil. His poems offer wisdom about life and nature, and have stood the test of time. It's amazing to think how some people are remembered after hundreds of years because their work was so profound. With modern technology, it is easier to record and preserve someone's life. However, there's probably a saturation of it through social media.
Something that was quite interesting was the old wooden cottages that were homes to people hundreds of years ago. The signs indicated which rooms were the bedroom, kitchen, or study. If those old walls could speak, what do would they say? I wouldn't know because it would probably be in Chinese, or maybe some other language. The walls of the house were thin straw fibers, which obviously didn't provide too much insulation.
After we were finished with Du Fu Cottage, we returned to the more modern mall area. I was curious to see how Western food was handled here, considering how Chinese food in US deviates from its origins. I was also craving for something meaty, since most of Chinese cuisine has thinly sliced or bony pieces of meat. I got a cheeseburger at a restaurant called BlueFrog. Xuezhu remembered this as a great place for hamburgers when she was in her undergraduate studies. It tasted like how a cheeseburger in any bar restaurant would serve, so I can approve of its authenticity. I thought this was an interesting role-reversal, since I was now the foreigner eating my cuisine in her home country.
The US cuisine itself an amalgamation of cuisines and cultures from all over the world. Most ethnic cuisine served in the US has been altered to fit a US palate, making it different from its cultural origin. Thus, they could also be considered a part of US cuisine as well.
Nearby was a Haagen-Dazs cafe. I didn't know that they even had cafes, but they do. They served their ice cream, cakes, and general sweets. Xuezhu's mother gave us a gift card, which was the main reason why we chose to have dessert. I ordered the blueberry cake with mango ice cream, and she ordered the hot chocolate. I liked the ice cream, but the cake was a little too sweet. It had layers of sweet frosting and jam, as well as a sweet crust. The portion of the cake was also quite large, so finishing it was a huge load of sugar. Thankfully, the combo came with a coffee, which I ordered black. The bitterness of the coffee helped to balance out the dessert.
After our lunch, we browsed some of the shops in the area. Some novelty and souvenir shops don't allow photography, and they have security there to reinforce it. I believe its so that people will buy the item, or spread its information through word of mouth, thus increasing traffic to the store. But for the most part, it was the some fashion brands that could be found in US. We did find some cool dollar stores that sold various items that were far cheaper (wall hooks, make-up remover, glasses) than in US.
For dinner, we returned to a street near her parent's house. We had hot pot again, but this restaurant operated a little differently. It was served buffet style, where we would select the skewers or trays of food that we wanted. It had the typical selection of vegetables (lotus root, winter melon, bean curd) and meats (quail egg, beef, pork belly, tripe). After eating, they would count the number of skewers and trays at our number to determine the bill. Some items would have multiple skewers in them to indicate their higher price. The flavors were, of course, very strong and savory. I made sure to protect by stomach by drinking a lot of the milk-based beverages.
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