Xi'an-Part II : Good Eats

Our Xi’an adventure part II (hopefully it’s not one of those sequel movies that doesn’t live up to the first movie). In part 1, Planes, Trains and Automobiles we discussed our journey to Xi’an. For part 2, we will focus on what we ate and where we stayed while in Xi’an. We were warned by others that Western options aren’t really part of the standard fare for the area so we went in with our eyes wide open but hoping that we could find good food to eat while we were there. Just for some background (and so you can feel my pain), on Monday, the 8th I went to the doctor’s office because I was having severe sore throat pain. The doctor indicated that I had tonsillitis, and placed me on antibiotics and other meds to try and relieve the problem. We were concerned since this was about 10 days out from our trip and of course flying when your throat is raw and ears are hurting isn’t a good thing. I wasn’t feeling much better and so I went back to the doctor on Thursday and he gave me a second dose of antibiotics to try and kick start my recovery. I was worried because I was worn out from the infection and I was having trouble eating and drinking. I had zero appetite and even worse, everything tasted the same, a strong metallic flavor (mmmm). It’s not like I have a lot of fat stored in my body for a long winter’s nap so I was concerned about eating while we were in Xi’an since I didn’t really need to drop any more weight (it’s bad enough that kids want to tie a string to me in a strong breeze and see how high I can fly….look up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a lawai [Chinese word for foreigner]).

We arrived in Xi’an around 6:00pm the first night. Along the way, our guide Jacky asked what we liked to eat. He mentioned a dish called “big chicken noodle” that was served in a restaurant close to the hotel. He said it was slightly spicy but it was good. So, we went with his suggestion. After all, we had no idea where we were in relation to anything and someplace within two blocks from the hotel sounded easy to find and we could eat and get back within a reasonable hour. Considering that we got up early that day to ensure we made it to the train station for our train and we were being picked up at 8:00 the next morning, we needed to get some beauty sleep (and no smart guy, it didn’t improve my looks at all). Jacky gave us a card with the name of the place (or so we thought) and we headed out to find the place. About where he said to look was an establishment with a chicken on the sign but none of the Chinese characters that Jacky wrote down matched. We thought it had to be the place but we wanted to be sure. Tammy asked a lady on the street and she didn’t know but then looked again and said it was the place so in we went. ATTENTION DINERS! White people will be moving through the restaurant, please watch them closely and observe their odd rituals as they sit down and eat! We got the front window seat to show off the “strange creatures” that were eating in the Chinese place. We’ve experienced being stared at before but this seemed a little different, I don’t know why but people were turning around in their seats to watch us. The Chinese are curious and for them staring isn’t rude so they stare. People at the table directly behind us (looking away from us) actually turned around in their chairs to look at us. It was bizarre. Luckily, they had an English menu and we quickly found the Big Chicken Noodle dish. It served 2-3 people so we ordered that plus some spicy spareribs, corn and fried rice. While we were waiting for our food we noticed a guy outside the front window having a little “issue” with his food. He basically walked over in front of the small row of bushes in front of the restaurant and puked a little. All you could think was “I wonder what he ate (and where he ate)?” It seemed he was a little tipsy so perhaps this was an overindulgence of alcohol that played a part in his “refunding”. The kids didn’t see it so they were still okay to eat (I think you’d have to vomit directly on Warren’s food in order for him not to eat). So the food arrives and it’s really good. The big chicken noodle is spicy chicken parts (with bones and the obligatory chicken foot) on top of noodles in a spicy sauce. It was a little spicier than we were led to believe but it was still very good. The corn, ribs and rice were also very good. At the table behind us (where they loved to turn and look at us) we noticed that they had a cake arrive at the table with candles on it. We recognized this as a birthday cake (or so we hoped) and Tammy told them “Sheng ri kuai le” (happy birthday) and they got a big kick out of the foreigners saying happy birthday. They liked it so much that they brought us over a piece of the cake. It was cake with fresh fruit on top (kiwi, strawberries, etc.). It was very good. The one thing we have noticed about the cakes here is that the frosting is more like cool whip and less like the frosting from a can used in the US. It’s probably much better for you and it tastes very nice. Not the sugar rush but it still fills the need. We thanked them and told them it was delicious (hou chi…pronounced “how chir”). They laughed and we said goodbye when they headed out to continue their evening. It shows that if you make even a small effort here in China, it is very much appreciated by the locals. So that was night one food.
We stayed at the Aurum hotel. It is a 3.5 star place and was near the center of the old city (within the city walls). We had two rooms with a door in between so we could monitor the kids. Each room had two twin beds so we slept like we were on the Dick Van Dyke show (ooohhhhh Rob). Strange but true, it wasn’t the best place we’ve ever been but it also wasn’t the worst. It was what it was, a Chinese hotel that attempted to cater to Westerners. They had TV but there was only CNN to watch in English (and you know how much I luuuv CNN!) but we didn’t plan on being in the rooms all the time anyhow. The hotel came with a free breakfast, both Western and Asian so we planned on eating at the hotel for breakfast. They had french toast, bacon, eggs, cereal, fresh fruit, sausages and a few other Western options. The food wasn’t anything beyond just okay but it was at least free and we could get something in our stomachs to start the day.

The first full day in Xi’an, we headed out and rode the city wall in the morning (more to come on this) and then took the 90 minute journey out to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. When we arrived there, we decided that it was time to eat after all it was about 12:30 – 1:00 when we got there. Just outside of the museum there was a small city of places to shop and to eat. Jacky warned us that they would try to overcharge us for food (and gifts) so we had to be prepared to negotiate everything. As we walked in, we walked by a KFC so Jacob was immediately drawn to eating there. Tammy and Warren wanted something else and headed off to find some noodles. I needed something so I went with Jacob to get his KFC fix. Again, I have to point out that this isn’t your dad’s KFC. We ordered the mini chicken burgers with fries. Contained in the mix of the fried chicken patty was vegetables (peas and carrots)….you ever remember getting a chicken sandwich with veggies in it? I never really ate much at KFC but when I see chicken burger I usually think, it’s chicken and chicken only but I was shown, once again, that this is China. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t what I was expecting. Jacob and I picked up our food and headed out to eat outside but the place where Warren and Tammy were kept insisting that we eat with them so we relented and ate with them. Their noodle dishes looked really good and they enjoyed them. We’ll skip by the details of the museum until later so fast forward until dinner time. On the way back to the hotel, Jacky showed us two places where we could eat that were close by. One served the Peking Duck and the other was a Cantonese place. We decided on the Cantonese place. Cantonese food is really what we expect in the US when we go into a Chinese place but of course here the menu is much bigger and contains many items we don’t find on the menu in the US. It doesn’t have the spicy kick of the Szechuan places but it’s still good. So we go in and order sweet and sour meat (the meat type wasn’t listed but we took a chance and figured it was pork), two types of dumplings, fried rice, fried noodles with beef, and a few other dishes. It was pretty good but I think we prefer the spicier foods to the less spicy but still flavorful food in the Cantonese cuisine. We ate our fill and walked back to the hotel. We were pretty beat so we just turned in to be ready for the next day.

In preparation for the next day going to Hua Mountain, we had to go to a store and buy some bread to make sandwiches since Jacky said there would not be a place to eat for us. So, he gave us directions to Wal-Mart right near the hotel. That’s right, Wal-Mart, my favorite place. It was an adventure just to find it, the signs pointed to the left and so we turned left and walked along looking for the entrance or other signs….nothing. We retraced our steps figuring we missed it and still nothing. Hmm, we (meaning Tammy) asked someone about it and she indicated to keep walking and then turn right. Hmmm, it appeared to us that she pointed us to a dead end when the street just turned a funny angle and we kept on walking. Fortunately for us, we decided to keep the kids at the hotel while we found Wal-Mart. With our confusion and a lot of extra walking, it turned out to be a good thing. We finally found it and wondered who decided to put the signs where they did since they really made no sense but (once again) this is China. This was by far the most chaotic, rushed, crammed, jammed and slammed (scattered, smothered and covered for all of you Waffle House fans) Wal-Mart I had ever been in. Even Tammy thought that this was a zoo (which is saying something). The place was organized differently and so we had some trouble finding what we needed but we managed to get it done. We got some bread, peanut butter and jelly, snickers bars, chips and other assorted snacks to eat while we were on the mountain to keep us going. We made it into line and fought through the maze at the registers to get out. On the way out we noticed that the greeters for this Wal-Mart were replicas of the Terra Cotta Warriors. On the one hand it kind of made sense but on the other hand it really trivialized the exhibit just a little (I know, being a little picky aren’t I?). Anyhow, we made it through and headed back to make our lunch for tomorrow.

Obviously, the next day breakfast was at the hotel (and it wasn’t any better the second day, in fact it seemed to get worse) and we headed down the road to the mountain. We were told it was about 90-120 minutes outside of town. WRONG!!! 3 hours later we arrive (we’ll discuss this adventure in a later episode….don’t you love my little teasers?) at the mountain and take the bus to the cable car up to the peak. Once we arrive at the peak, we noticed a little picnic table area and so we stop to grab our nice box lunch. It was a little after noon so we were pretty hungry at this time. We ate and were watched with interest as the locals wanted to see what else we pulled out from our backpack. Sandwich, chips, etc. Jacky neglected to tell us that they sold hot dog on a stick at the peak but the sandwiches were probably a better idea. Once we were done at the mountain, we headed down and got into the van for the 3½ hour trip back (yes, it took 3 and ½ hours to get back….and we used the expressway! You know you’ll have to check back to get the “rest of the story”). Jacky indicated to us that near the Big Goose Pagoda there was a street that had Western restaurants and we could then go down and see the light show after eating. It was about 20 minutes away from the hotel by taxi. We decided that Western fare was past due and we would go for that option.

It turns out that there are two restaurant streets around the Big Goose Pagoda, one is Western options and one is Asian options. The driver dropped us off on the wrong street (without us knowing) and so we headed off down the street to find something to eat. We noticed that it seemed we couldn’t read the name of any of the places and when we asked to see a menu at a few of the places, they didn’t have an English menu. We walked down one side of the street and then down the other side. The only option available was an Indian place. Normally, we would’ve taken that right away but we had to fly home the next day and sometimes Indian food can be a little riskier but we decided it was worth the risk (plus we couldn’t find any other place). It was delicious and was much cheaper than the Indian place we go to in Suzhou, about ½ the cost. We had the typical Indian food for us, Chicken Biriyani, Chicken Tikka, Garlic Chicken Curry (normally we go for the Madras but we didn’t want to risk the heat from the dish), samosas, and of course nan bread. This place was a big surprise but a welcome surprise. We found many foreigners eating inside which made it easier to choose but also we saw a lot of Indian/Pakistani looking people also eating there which was a really good sign. After we finished our meal, we headed to where we thought the light show would be but we didn’t find it. What we did find was the Western restaurant street, we didn’t do much looking here since we had already eaten and figured we probably saved a lot of money. We looked some more and then headed back to the hotel. We were disappointed that we didn’t find the light show but that’s the breaks.

Our last day was breakfast at the hotel (yawn). Then we went to the Muslim Quarter and walked the streets there. It was a combination of shops to purchase goods, souvenir stands, market stalls and food stalls. If you wanted it on a stick, you could find it somewhere here. We looked for something to eat here besides just noodles and we found it in a very unlikely place. Right next to a butcher shop (with meat chunks, bones, blood on the floor) we found a lady rolling out dough very thin and flat. She would add some meat, some cabbage and a dash of spices. She would then roll it into a ball, smack it down on the wooden table she was using (that probably was older than she was) and stick her hand into some melted butter (I think) and rub the top of the ball. From there, it went into what looked like a large sandwich maker skillet filled with oil. The meat & dough balls would go in and the top would come down to flatten them out into a frisbee sized disk to be deep fried. It smelled good and despite the HUGE potential for some kind of bacterial cross-contamination, we thought that nothing could live in that oil (besides, living in the South taught us that everything is better deep fried). We saw a guy waiting for his and so I ordered one. It was 3 RMB (less than 50 cents) for this fried meat pie and it was delicious. They cut it into 4 pieces and placed it in a paper towel and then into a plastic bag to be held and eaten. After we all tasted it, we ordered a second one and told her it was delicious. She didn’t seem all that enthused but we got our second one and were on our way. Tammy and Warren tried some steamed bun dumplings that were pretty large. Then we finished off the snacks with two pieces of fresh nan bread. I’m not a fan of eating on the street but this was all very good and tells me I’ve got to open my mind more (I know, can you imagine that, me with a more open mind?) to try some of these local favorites. We ate and walked around and purchased some items to bring home. We really didn’t buy very much, the photos we had were enough for us and we didn’t really see the need to overspend for too much.

Our last meal was on the flight home. We took a late flight and got served a full meal on the plane. I told you about the box lunch on the plane in the earlier post (you did read that one right!?!). This time, the choices were rice or noodles. It was a noodle dish (Tammy had that) or rice dish with chicken (Warren, Jacob and I had that). Both were good, not super but for airline fare…it was pretty tasty. It came with a mix of vegetables in a separate plastic pouch (carrots and parsnips I think) and a few other items that I really don’t recall. We were all pretty worn out by the time we got back to the apartment. It was a long trip but well worthwhile. We were worried about the food but it turns out that the food was the last thing we should’ve been concerned about. The kids once again proved that they can eat just about everything and it’s good to step out from your comfort zone every once in awhile to find out what else you might be missing.

Next stop, Day 1 in Xi’an. Stay tuned and keep checking in.

P.S. - My insensitive thought for the day; If the leader of Cuba endorses your policies, wouldn’t that be equal to having Jeffrey Dahmler as the official spokesperson for your hamburger patties or Ted Bundy as the official spokesperson for your dating website? Think about it.