Asia Trip Day 19: Baby Dumpling (1/6/18)

Xuezhu's mother prepared breakfast for us again this morning (she had prepared breakfasts the previous days too but I forgot to take photos). This spread looked especially impressive. There was smoked pork belly, which had a deep, smoky flavor. The parents of Xuezhu's Jiejie operated a restaurant that got a lot of fresh salmon. Her parents shipped a package of fresh salmon to Xuezhu's parents, and we were able to taste it. We served it sashimi style, with soy sauce and wasabi. Like in Japan, the fish had excellent texture and flavor, without being slimy or tough. There was also fresh pea shoots, which I ate plenty of. I think having a lot of vegetables is important to balance out eating too much oil. Lastly, there were baozi filled with pork and vegetables. The bun was fluffy, and the filling was savory. After the breakfast, we packed up the food to bring it to the hospital for Xuezhu's grandfather. On our way there, we made a couple of stops. 

Our first stop was to visit the school that Xuezhu's parents work at. It is the Southwest Jiaotong University, which specializes in civil engineering and transportation. It was founded in 1896, and its name was changed many names to reflect the changes in government over time. 

We next made a stop at Xuezhu's parent's new house, which was a part of a more modern neighborhood. The house was not yet completed, because her parent's were still in the process of deciding the floor plan. The walls and floors were bare concrete, and no electricity or plumbing had been installed yet. But the house had several bedrooms, two floors, a balcony, a garden, and a nice backyard. She had plans for where the offices, living rooms, and such were, but there was still a lot of work to be done. 

 

Afterwords, we drove to another neighborhood to visit Xuezhu's cousin, who recently had a baby. I think he was only a few months old, and thankfully he wasn't sleeping or cranky when we had arrived. He didn't cry too much, but towards the end I think he got hungry so they had to feed him. 

We arrived at the hospital to deliver the food to Xuezhu's grandfather, aunt, and her aunt's husband (who had flown in to assist). They spent an hour chatting about things, and I helped by peeling oranges and citron. 

Xuezhu and I, along with her aunt and uncle, then called for a taxi (using a Chinese Uber) to take us to their grandparent's house. At the house, Xuezhu's oldest aunt was there taking care of Xuezhu's grandmother. Xuezhu was able to spend time with her maternal grandmother, as well as her other aunt. They served us pork and scallion dumplings, served with a soy vinegar sauce. 2 years ago for Spring Festival, Xuezhu and I tried making these dumplings, however they weren't nearly as good. Our problem was the dough thickness, filling seasoning, and dumpling assembly; all of which perfected in what her aunt served us. 

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