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Yangshuo beer fish

Jun 222010

yangshuo beer fish restaurant

Yangshuo is famous for beer fish – a local specialty that is cooked with lots of chillis, garlic, peppers and of course BEER! The fish is called Li River fish (another must-try if you go to Guilin) although I don’t know exactly what type of fish that is.

yangshuo view

I went to a rather touristy place to sample this awesome dish so I can’t vouch for the authenticity of it. The view is great though and we were each given a RMB 50 coupon to dine on. I was the only person traveling alone in that Li River cruise tour and this girl Kiko who was there with her mom and dad was kind enough to wave me over to share their table.

chinese menu

WHY DO THE MENUS ONLY HAVE CHINESE CHARACTERS?

yangshuo tofu

I left the ordering to them since I can’t read anything but I managed to order beer fish and beer to go along with it (it’s the perfect combo). It is obvious I didn’t do the ordering coz here you have tofu. REAL TOFU. As in the kind that comes without anything to somewhat mask the inherent tastelessness of tofu.

yangshuo shoots chicken

This is a vegetable dish cooked with chicken. It consists primarily of shoots and it’s not too bad but I’m not a huge fan of vegetables.

yangshuo local fern

Now this is an interesting one – it’s a local fern gathered in Yangshuo by the locals. It tasted bitter but I found it quite interesting and ate quite a bit of this. I think the fact that it’s indigenous to Yangshuo made me go against my vegetable principals.

kiko

This is Kiko. She’s with an MNC and was based in Malaysia for a bit.

yangshuo beer fish

I always leave the best for the last so here I present to you the famous Yangshuo Beer Fish!

yangshuo tea

You can actually taste the malt and hops from the beer fish and it surprisingly adds a lot to the taste of the tender and succulent Li River fish. The gravy was so good I drizzled it over my rice, which apparently is not compliant with the etiquette of Chinese dining, along with my propensity for sticking my chopsticks into the rice bowl.

beer fish

I can’t remember how much the bill was but we had to top up about RMB 100 (about RM 50). I offered to pay since I was the only one who ordered beer (although Kiko and her dad drank it too) but they won’t have anything to do with that. I had to literally force my Yuan into the hands of the waitress, to the protests of the family and a lot of back and forth before I escorted the waitress away with my Yuan.

yangshuo beer fish end

That’s Chinese culture for you. Heh! Anyway, the family is not from around here too – they’re visiting from Guangzhou and their family was kind enough to ask me to visit anytime and they’ll be my tour guide (and a place to stay). w00t! I’ll be going after my Melbourne trip. :)

Snake head wine

China, Ethanol and tobacco, Guilin, Travel 61 Responses »

May 252010

snake head wine jars

There are a lot of weird and wonderful creatures served with wine as a “tonic” in China. I had the chance to sample snake head wine in Guilin. It costs RMB 30 (which works out to about RM 15) per glass.

snake wine jars

It is not “wine” in the classic sense of the word. There is no fermentation here. The Chinese word “jiu” means alcoholic beverage. These snake heads are actually preserved in some sort of liquid. The snake head is taken out, along with a tablespoon of the liquid inside those jars to produce:

snake wine

Snake head wine!

snake head wine

It’s topped up with the legendary “kao liang jiu” – very high proof alcohol (in excess of 57% alcohol) and downed in a single shot. You’re not supposed to eat the snake head though – I enquired about the reason behind that and it seems that it’s quite poisonous.

This is the first of many snake posts from Guilin. ;)

Greetings from Guilin!

China, Guilin 20 Responses »

May 142010

hotel

I have arrived in Guilin and checked into this dodgy hotel smack dab in the middle of town. The cheapest room costs RMB 150 (about RM 75) for a night and if you add RMB 20 (RM 10) more you get a room with a computer and Internet! =D

slums

I wanted to stay at Flowers Youth Hostel (RMB 55 per night for a single room – get to save RM 150!) but they were fully booked. :( Thus, I went to this dubious Guilin Swan Hotel. I can’t say the view is excellant, but you get what you pay for and it’s a pretty decent hotel.

stuff

Anyway, the reason the words “dodgy” and “dubious” is being thrown around is not just from the vibe but the ancillaries in the room itself. You have to pay for EVERYTHING – only the soap is free (and even I’m not sure of that since there is a Chinese sign above it and I can’t read Chinese).

condom

There’s also a pack of condoms (RMB 10) right by the bed within easy reach but that’s not my primary concern…

genital wash

…it’s the toiletries for sale in the bathroom which prominently displays two sachets of Mei Fu Antibacterial Lotion. That in itself is not worrying, the description of said lotion is more disturbing – “Specially designed for the health of men’s genitals. Used for relieving the itching, killing germs and usual nursing of the private parts. Please apply to genital area gently. Rinse well with water“. There is a female version too, which makes me wonder what sort of clientèle this hotel attracts.

*double checks bedsheets for stains*

Posted: 1:06 PM China time (which is the same as Malaysia for Guilin)