Lai’s Balls
Chengdu: City of Gastronomy #10
赖汤圆 – Lài Tāng Yuán
Glutinous rice flour is made into a dough and wrapped around some sweetened black sesame paste.
Travel Videos from Around the World
Dan Dan Noodles
Chengdu: City of Gastronomy #11
担担面 – Dān dān miàn
This is one of the most iconic Sichuan noodle dishes of all time. A spicy chili oil and pork mix with fresh wheat based noodles.
Loach Fish
Chengdu: City of Gastronomy #12
耙泥鳅 – bà níqiu
This small bottom feeder fish can be prepared a variety of ways, but the texture of the fish makes it truly unique.
Loach - Gross Bottom Feeder or Tasty Dish? // Chengdu: City of Gastronomy 12
Sichuan Poached Fish
Chengdu: City of Gastronomy #13
水煮鱼 – Shuǐ Zhǔ Yú
Shui Zhu is a special Sichuan cooking technique that adds a spicy numbing kick to a poached fish. This is one of the most famous fish dishes in Sichuan.
Poached Sichuan Fish (and a bar in China) // Chengdu: City of Gastronomy 13
CHENGDU: City of Gastronomy – A Sichuan Food Series
Asia’s First City to be Named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy
The Food Video Series Where I Randomly Choose a Sichuan Food Themed Playing Card and then Go Try it in Chengdu, China – the Capital of Sichuan.
The Story
One day I was exploring a tacky tourist shop in Chengdu, where I’m currently living. I came across a pack of playing cards that featured a different Sichuan specialty dish on each card. A big part of the reason why I moved to Chengdu was because I fell in love with Sichuan food after frequenting an authentic Sichaun restaurant back when I lived in Vietnam. I bought the cards and vowed to try every dish – all 54 of them.
Hong Kong on the Cheap
How Not To Blow Your Wad In Hong Kong (it’s a poker term)
The 2nd most expensive city in Asia, but there are plenty of ways to budget travel Hong Kong.
While Hong Kong is generally raved about, it’s not typically a backpacker stop, mainly because it’s too damn expensive. I’ve seen a lot of lists putting it in the top five most expensive places to live in the world. Even worse, it’s the 2nd most expensive place to drink beer in the world.
Oh my god! Why would anyone even want to go to such a hellish place?
Everything We Ate in South Korea
This is (almost) all the food we ate during our 2 weeks in South Korea.
The absolute number one thing we were looking forward to in South Korea was the food.
It did not disappoint.
We were introduced to new dishes we had never had before, and some old dishes that we had eaten bastardized versions of.
This post consists of photos (some of which lack quality because they were taken on my phone – or maybe because I was all like “screw these photos, I just wanna eat this!”), videos, and information that will help you find the perfect meal in South Korea.
Note: This list has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to hide our McDonald’s shame.
Longquan Peach Blossom Festival // This is Chengdu, China
If there’s an art to attending a Chinese festival, I’m the dumb kid who eats the paint.
How Chaotic Are Festivals in China? // This Is China
Give me some time and I’ll be linking to a How To Successfully Attend a Festival in China article right here.
But for now, I’ll admit that my attendance at the Longquan Peach Blossom Festival was a short-lived one. The mass of people that shuffled along the uneven paths, the noise that blared from horrendous sound systems, and the foolish purchases that were being made all around me — it’s not my style.
But perhaps it’s yours?
If you’re interested in attending the yearly festival, I’d love to tell you everything I know. I must warn you however, you might not like what you find.
Eating it Raw in the Largest Fish Market in South Korea – Jagalchi Market
Eating Raw Fish in South Korea's Largest Fish Market
Busan’s Jagalchi Market (자갈치시장), the largest fish market in South Korea, has taken up two very different places in my memory. The first one is a very positive place, where the memories of incredible lunches, lively atmospheres, excitement and intrigue all sit. The second place is dark. It’s usually avoided at all costs. This memory is based on the 8 or so rats that we saw scrounging through a pile of garbage (watch the video til the end).
I hate rats. When we go to a country for the first time, we always keep a rat count. Vietnam took the title during our first trip to Southeast Asia with 5 rats in 22 days (a rat every 4.4 days). But, in the matter of 10 seconds, South Korea managed to make Vietnam look like the outskirts of Alberta with a total of 9 rats in 12 days – a rat every 1.33 days.
That being said, this article is about fish, not rats, so I’m going to focus on the positive memories of Jagalchi Market. But know, as I write this with my feet off the floor, that those rats are haunting my memories.
Gwangjang Market: South Korea’s Oldest Market is Filled with Incredible Food
I’ll admit, I’m a little confused about Korea’s market scene. Gwangjang Market (광장시장) is located in what I believe is the oldest market building in Korea. It opened in 1905, when it was called Dongdaemun Market, which was the name of an older market that was destroyed in the Korean War and rebuilt in 1959. Meanwhile, Namdaemun Market was around since like 1414, but the Japanese took control of it and it was eventually burnt to the ground… a few times. Gwangjang actually was created because of the Japanese take-over of Namdaemun Market. Several Korean investors and business men didn’t like the fact that their largest market was controlled by the Japanese, so they spent a whopping 100,000 Won (like $88) and bought some land to build what is now the 10 acre Gwangjang Market.
Mount Emei: How to Get the Most out of your Visit
Emei Mountain: Why is it so Sacred?
Emei Mountain - China's Largest Sacred Mountain Explained
As far as sacred mountains go in China, Emei is one of the most important. In fact, it’s the largest of the 4 Sacred Mountains of Buddhism in China. Emei means high and lofty. At 3099 meters, it’s an appropriate name. You’ll sometimes see the name Emeishan or Emei Shan (峨眉山) – shan simply means mountain. The proper pronunciation of Emei is something like uh-may, as in uh-mazing! The mountain combines nature and culture with its many temples and monasteries that dot the mountain-side. Even if you aren’t a Buddhist, you’ll enjoy their mystical beauty.