My kind hosts took me to the older part of the city yesterday, with some of the city walls & temples dating back to the Ming Dynasty, and 1368-1644. I was horrified to see a HUGE McDonalds right in front of one of the temples, which looked glorious against the night sky (the temple, not the burger barn)
Walking the streets, they were ablaze with colour and atmosphere, the sounds and smells of cooking, and my hosts were keen for me to try the 'local famous food', which I always try to do, even if it often results in a degree of retching and a LOT of will-power...
One stall sold nothing but animals feet (look carefully at photo 4), another a sort of cake on a stick (photo 3), but the place we ate in was certainly 'local' - hygiene was somewhat lacking (I sat by the back door, and could see them washing up in a large bucket outside) but certainly atmospheric, with a giant bowl of stock forming the basis of the dumpling soup. Sadly, I was also offered a tray of 'kebabs' that were pieces of sheep's stomach linings...my translator insisted "taste like beef!" but after forcing myself to try a bit (while the 4 of them looked on) - i nearly spewed at the first touch of the velvet-like texture on my lips. I'm afraid I muttered something like "That tastes f*ck all like beef, pal!"
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