A week-end in Xianning (1) - Food part

For those who wouldn’t know, I came to Wuhan because a really good Chinese friend I met back home in Normandy comes from this city. I found out later, when I arrived that in fact, she doesn’t come from Wuhan exactly but a “small town of 2 million oh inhabitants” called Xianning. So I went to her parent’s place last week-end because they were looking forward to meet me, indeed according to them they heard a lot about me after 3 years of great friendship with their daughter ^^ So I came to say hello and to be introduced to them which is really common in China and I had been traited like a princess J Chinese hospitality is surprising me more and more every day. Basically the only thing I had to do wherever we went was to smile, to enjoy my time, I could not pay anything, I could not help the family after dinner, I could only stay on the sofa, eating more and more because the lovely mum was always repeating every ten minuts “tchi tchi” which means “eat eat”… Omg I felt like a goose before Christmas honestly, the more you get fat and the more they smile! But this is what actually made me sick… Because they cooked so so many meals for me, every sort of meals with all the animals you can find, I never had such a choice of meat on the table. Joe I thought about you! Thumb up ^^ I had beef, pork, chicken, fishes, catfish, turtle, snake, octopus, shrimps and prawns, pig tail, pig feet, duck neck, chicken feet, duck feet! Honestly, did you know that people eat duck feet? Ahahaha such a weird thing to see on the table ^^ And I don’t even want to think about the pig tail, the mum took one with her chopsticks and she put the food in my mouth with authority and a biiig smile and it was sooo strange to eat, so jelly !! I asked what it was with a bit of suspicion and my friend told me in French “pig tail” while the mum was giving me more pieces of pig tail! Glups… Fun time! I looked at my bowl and I thought a bit listless “Mum? Dad? Why did you teach me to always eat what is in my plate?? And what if it would be YOU who had to eat all these pig tails??!!” I hope they got the message in time! Honestly I am not surprise to have been so sick at the end ^^

So I said I had some turtle and snake for the dinner! We went to a famous restaurant in the city, a very beautiful one in a Zen garden, with red fishes in a pound, a little bridge made of rock, it was a really lovely place J The mum told me that we would have some snake and turtle and she was really proud of it because it’s rare and precious in China to eat turtle so I agreed and I was waiting for it when they told me to get up and to follow them. I followed my friend and we arrived in front of a big cage with alive snakes in there… And the cook told me with a big smile “chose one and we will kill eat for you, this is what you’re going to have for the dinner” What the…? No kidding, they were waiting for me, in front of this cage to choose a poor animal still alive and to condemn it to death! I refused so my friend did it for me because anyway we were going to have snake for dinner… The cook took the poor snake which he almost killed in his hand holding his throat so tightly that the poor snake could not breathe. I know it’s stupid but I asked to touch the snake and I stroke it a long moment while I was apologizing and they left. But we were not done with this poor snake omg, while we were  back around the table and waiting for all the meals, a waitress came with two glasses! The first one as red and was full of the snake blood…And the second one was full of water and in it you had the snake heart… They expected us to drink the blood and to eat the heart because it’s “good for your health” ! My friend’s brother ate the heart and my friend’s boyfriend drank the blood, omg… I was starting to wonder what I was doing in this restaurant when some waitresses arrived with the turtles. Well I am going to show you a picture.. Here when you eat a turtle it’s not like pork or beef, you have pieces and you eat without really recognize the animal, here they serve you the whole turtle on a plate with some plastic gloves and you have to take off the shell and to eat inside with your hands… Omg such a hard moment to see this little poor animal dead on the table and looking at me and everybody waiting for me, honestly I had a bit because I did not want to offend them but after 1 mn I just stopped and put the turtle far away from me while they were eating theirs greedily.  Finally a soup of snake arrived with pieces of meat and on another plate we had the crispy snakeskin cooked with some spices! Bon appétit..! This was a real introduction at real Chinese customs and I hope I did not look too disgusted because they really wanted to honor me and I knew that, her family is lovely and I will come back in this city with happiness, if they allow me to eat less :)

My friend's boyfriend :)

Heart and blood

Snake pieces

My turtle..