Last month, Nick and I visited Guangzhou/Canton, China for Lunar New Year. This is the biggest holiday of the year there – all homes are decorated in lucky red, streets are lined in lanterns, and businesses are closed for 1-2 weeks at a time. Children and unmarried young adults especially love this holiday, as they can go around relatives’ homes collecting red envelopes full of “lucky money.”
I was born in Canton and am extremely partial to good Cantonese cuisine. The people there place so much emphasis on eating fresh food, and spend a large portion of their income doing so. They go to the local outdoor market every day to buy ingredients for that day’s meal. My uncle frowns upon buying meat and seafood that were previously refrigerated, or veggies that don’t still have dirt on them. As a child, I absolutely loved tagging along at the market as he scurried from booth to booth, inspecting and smelling the ingredients while brainstorming dishes for dinner.
1. The Cantonese live for fresh noodles. First stop: The quintessential local dish is wonton noodle soup. We went to a shop where they beat fresh noodles (with a bamboo stick…apparently it’s an art) and fold pork and shrimp wontons every morning.
2. Left: Slurping up more noodle soup at a street-side vendor. Right: You pick veggies, meat and sauce to be braised together in a table-top pot. Hand-pulled noodles were made on the spot and tossed into the casserole. The noodles were thick and had a deliciously springy texture.
3. Dim sum (Chinese version of Spanish tapas) originated in Canton and is a beloved pastime there. I like the classic dishes, but these were tasty too: (clockwise, from right) sticky rice atop shortrib, tuna rolls, matcha green tea pudding cakes, and rice noodle with braised beef sauce.
4. Munching on spicy BBQ lamb skewers while buying festive decor for Lunar New Year…
5. If you’ve ever had dim-sum, you may have tried thin rice noodle sheets with shrimp, beef, or roast pork folded inside. This shop made every plate of rice noodles to order, and filled ’em with an ingredient of your choice. The result: delicate, paper-thin noodles hot off the steamer machine, perfect with soy and a touch of hot sauce.
6. One of my favorite photos from the trip. There’s a word in Chinese, “chan” (meaning loves to continuously eat or snack), that describes the subjects in this photo very well. My little brother’s eyes are closed in pleasure as he savors a candied fruit, and Nick is too engrossed with his egg puffs to look up. The vendors on the left are selling roasted yams.
7. This is congee or rice porridge with a savory broth, packed with mix-ins and topped with fried dough. Congee is my favorite comfort food, and this was the best I’ve ever had. On the coldest days, we’d stop by all bundled up, and warm up with a piping hot bowl of this on a shaky outdoor fold-up table.
8. Left: My pretty cousin, who is the same exact size as me. I gave her my ON rockstar jeans in “Russet” and love how she paired them with a leopard throw and mustard suede moccasins. Right: Freshly-pressed sugarcane juice.
9. Traditional Cantonese pastry – egg tarts. Melt-in-your-mouth filling with perfectly flaky crust.
10. My little brother is an absolute handful. To prevent him from running into the street or bouncing into the river, I convinced him that holding my umbrella and purse in exchange for 3 Yuan (50 cents) was a fair trade. Scarf, coat, and OTK boots here borrowed from my cousin.
11. Mickey D’s there has yummy wings (2 flavors), curly fries, and various red bean-flavored desserts like pie, sundaes, and McFlurries.
12. The Chinese (myself excluded) believe strongly in an inner system of “hot and cold.” When you eat too much of certain foods (like fried stuff), they believe your body “heats up.” A remedy for this is the unfortunate herbal or “cooling tea,” which allegedly cools your body back down. This tea is pitch black and unbelievably bitter. You can get it at many street-side shops or brew it at home using herbs and sticks (and probably dirt…because it tastes like dirt). My aunt and uncle made us drink it every few days to “stay healthy.”
13. One of the most delicious dishes I tried – crab and green onions over spaghetti in a Macau-style coconut curry sauce, served atop a mini burner to stay hot. When the noodles were gone, they provided soft Portuguese bread for sopping up the sauce…yum.
14. Left: It’s Chinese tradition to make dumplings together as a family on New Year’s eve and consume them for luck and prosperity. I’ve trained Nick over the years to be a rather efficient dumpling-folder. Right: Chef uncle cooking up a storm on the big night. His braised pork belly dish is one of my faves.
15. Left: I put aside my fashion dignity to stay warm. ALL of us grossly under-packed for this trip. When I looked at the forecast, I scoffed at the 40 degree temps (compared to frigid Boston) and brought just a light coat. What I didn’t know was that it was a damp, constant cold that chilled you down to your bones…and the homes don’t have heat! At night, we kept our heartbeats alive with electric mattress pads or microwaveable stones for clutching on to.
We all wore my cousin and uncle’s clothes – layers upon layers of it. Hopefully that explains why my little brother is rocking a leopard scarf or why Nick looks puffy (he donned 5-6 layers of garments). Right: Rice noodle rolls with peanut, spicy sauce, and sesame seeds. I know these photos are completely unrelated.
Your lil brother is so cute!!
love finding out more about different cultures and cuisines…thank you!
thegirlfromthemirror.blogspot.com
Jean, next time you go back to the town again, you should check out local tailors and fabric market there. It's quite affordable to have your clothes tailored and there's unlimited choices of fabrics in cloth markets. It's a little time consuming for someone who is totally new to the town. But your uncle's family is there, so I think it's doable with your cousin's tips/help.
Oh, I love your little bother's face expression when he drank the black tea. There is a saying that if you look at a child's face, you will have a real opinion about anything hah! And I am so related to your fashion transition since in my hometown, there's no heat in houses in winter either.
One of the best things of living in Asia is the fresh food. Even for busy working people, access to fresh food daily is neither inconvenient nor expensive since local vendors are just about every where.
Thank you for sharing Jean! I am origin also from guangzhou, but i have never been there in winter(im only able to go there in summer) So fun that i can recognize some places that you went 😉 I wonder if you can also speak cantonese?
Love from Holland 😉 xx
Hi Jean, Thank you for sharing this! I am from origine also from guangzhou, but I have never been there during the winter,( I am only able to go there in summer) it's funny that I see some places that i recognize 😉 I wonder if you also can speak cantonese?
Love from Holland x
beautiful food =) I'm hungry now. You guys look so young, like college students 😉
Love this blog posting on Asia. I'm going to be there next month and after seeing your posting on it, I'm sooo excited to try out the food. Thank you for sharing!
I adore that you're a travel eater because I totally am too. Sites and shopping are sweet, but what really gives me a great feeling for a place is its food!
I've never had the opp to go to Guangzhou but visited Guilin a few years back and remembered it was freezing! I went for a conference and everyone was freezing right along with me!
You had an incredible trip! I visited China about 10 years ago on a tour with my aunt and uncle and 2 cousins. We went to I think 10 different cities in 17 days. And my main complaint was the food! It seemed like every city had similar cuisine just different flavoring. I knew there had to be better food in China. You proved it to me! I want to go back and chow to my heart's content.
And it's not only the Chinese that drink the "tea." I think it's an Oriental thing. I used to drink it as a child. I drank it so much, I'm tolerant to it now. If out of the blue my mom gives me a cup, it's so natural to just chug it and not think what really is in it.
Helen
I love food pics. Everything looks so yummy! Now I'm hungry.
x
Angie
Oh my god. Yum everything.
Did you know, there's not that many places that sells egg tarts in Hong Kong even though many people would think so, especiall Bostonians because we practically have it everywhere. I enjoyed these photos and thanks for taking the time to take them and upload them on here =] You made your little brother to work but that's a good idea… haha, at least he's not being a bad little boy running everywhere! =]
Thanks for sharing! Your photos are amazing and really capture the bustle of the city. I love the picture of Nick and your little brother.
My family is from Guangdong, so seeing all those foods makes me nostalgic for the big family dinners from my childhood. You're making me hungry, and making me want to visit Canton again!
I love this post! I briefly visited Beijing 2 years ago, but would love to visit here where I can use my Cantonese. The food all looks so darn good!!! Did you stay with family the whole time? Just wondering if you would recommend anywhere to stay.
BTW…Japan does not have to be expensive! The clothes are not cheap but it is possible to find very inexpensive lodging and food – and the quality of everything is INSANE. As far as tourist destinations, it is as good a value as Thailand.
Thank you so much for this post – it was such a treat! I spent most of January in India and I really miss how the food tastes there …fresh ingredients are so much better in other countries – especially in Asia. everything is "organic" because they cannot afford fertilizer – lol. I miss the vegetable peddlers coming to our home every morning with veggies that had been pulled out of the ground that morning. My mom's cooking – which is always great here – tastes so much better there because of the raw ingredients. It was a revelation.
I echo the other poster who wrote that petite-friendly clothing is easier to find in Japan. Clothes are cut slimmer and shorter there and the quality is outstanding. I am already plotting a return trip.
Your cousin looked great in the red jeggings – did you inspire her to pair them with mustard yellow?
I love this post!
It combines everything that I like: fashion, travel, and food. I've been thoroughly entertained by the descriptions and photos. Looking forward to the next one!
Some of the worst-tasting things I've ever had were Chinese traditional medicine teas, but it looks like you had more than enough delicious stuff to balance it out! Looks like a great trip.
Have a similar lunar year experience like you!!!
http://www.thebeautyandbrains.com
Wow Jean, it`s so great to see your hometown and all the little anecdotes.
Thank you so much for sharing this!
Looks like such a fabulous trip! All the food looks so yummy! I definitely want to visit China and try all the authentic Chinese food. Great photography!
xoxo
http://stylecuebysuzieq.blogspot.com
Delish!!!! Everything looks so yummy!! I'm planing to visit Taiwan soon. Hope I could try those food you've tried 🙂
The last time I went to Guangzhou was two years ago in Sep/Oct and I shopped up a storm! I literally went with an empty suitcase and bought so much that I had to send a box back home. All good quality too. I think the season really varies as the time before that was round Lunar NY (same as your trip) and I didn't buy as much. Maybe try a different period for your next trip?
Hello! Jean! I am from China too and had been living in Hong Kong for many years. I haven't celebrated Chinese New Year in my hometown for many years neither. I like this post!
As for clothes in China, they are several petite friendly brand in China. Based on my experience, the alteration in China is much cheaper than in US or UK.
There is a petite friendly brand in China, 淑女屋 (Fairyfair), they do very dedicate size starting from 150/76A. Here is the link http://www.fairyfair.com. When I was in Hong Kong, I often buy clothes from this brand and they look perfectly fit on me.
My size is 31/22/33, 5''1'.
I just want to thank so for your introduction to JCrew sale information. I just received my JCrew wool trouse and altered the waist. It fits me perfectly now and I am so happy to have the first work trouse after about 10 years! I am planning to setup a fashion blog like yours to explore my clothes journey. I just ordered a Brother sewing machine and plan to alter my clothes.
I can't wait to share with you my findings!
I regularly visit HK and there are fashionable petite clothes available over a range of prices. You can also get tailored suits and shirts made at a reasonable cost. However, the quality and style at certain stores, like G2000, seems to have recently deteriorated or perhaps it has been sporadic.
Bela Anzu
Lovely pics!!! I love food stories!! Your brother is cho cute!
xoxoxo
Ritcha
http://ritchastyle.blogspot.com
Your trip looks like so much fun! I've never visited Canton although it's where my ancestors are from (all my relatives now live in Hong Kong). Is the cuisine much the same?
I loved going to Guangzhou and seeing all the yummy fruit! Unfortunately we didn't get an opportunity to see much in Guangzhou because of work, but I still enjoyed my time there. I definitely can't see the appeal in chewing sugar cane, but man did I love the egg tarts! Or egg anything in China really xD
Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
Dear god, the crab dish looks the best *A* everything looks so good!! Haha, i know what you mean about the herbal tea.. i think it's every Chinese/Asian child's nightmare to have to drink it XD (ones that live overseas anyway)
I should clarify that they're not necessarily smaller relative to the sizing in China. Clothes are definitely cut smaller than American brands.
I don't know if Japanese sizes are necessarily smaller, but I do think their clothing is more petite friendly due to the fact that the average Japanese woman tends to be shorter. There are a lot of one-size stores. If you like Hong Kong fashion (florals and frills), you'll like Japanese clothing. Also, fun fact: Western brand stores in Japan only have size 0 and size 2 out.
Hi! I love this post about your trip to Guangzhou. I am Cantonese too and am so jealous you got to see Guangzhou during Chinese New Year. I was born in the US and never got a chance to visit. This inspired me to go one day. And I'll take note of your experience with the cold weather and bring more winter clothes.
Japan is fantastic for petite shopping. I'm a bit bigger and taller than you Jean (5'1), and I found that I was at the larger end! One store only carried up to 25 in jeans and that just fit me. In another store the shop assistant gave me a XXS in a singlet top and I had to ask for a S. Of course all stores will be different, but it was the only country where everything fit me off the rack and in some instances, I had to ask for a larger size. I hope one day you will visit Japan. It's my favorite holiday destination. It can be expensive especially in the department stores, but honestly the fashion in Japan is so unique I happily paid for it.
What about Japan? Japanese are even smaller. I was thinking about going there to shop at one point of time but heard things are expensive there though. – Angela
By far one of my favorite posts from your blog. I enjoy reading other people's travel diaries simply because I don't have the means to do so at the moment and can enjoy the travel vicariously.
Looking forward to your future travel logs!!!
Love you blog! I'm dying to know, though… is Nick Asian? He looks perhaps half Asian. Either way, you two make a very cute couple! I haven't been back to China in about 7 years now, and plan to go back after graduating college! I miss it!
Great and drool worthy post, I'm going to china next year and was wondering if you remember the names of the restaurants you posted above? Esp the crab and green onions spaghetti dish, would love to try that!
OMG YESSS! More food posts, please.
I just got back from stuffing my face in Shanghai in December, and now I see I need to hit Canton on my next trip (I'd heard as much, but the pictures really sell it, and I now have an addiction to egg tarts. Unfortunately, the convenience store near my home in Japan started selling them. My hips and blood sugar are not happy. Unfortunately 80% of the reason I travel is to eat the local foods, so these things happen a lot.
Thanks for the food porn!
Yes, I believe Hong Kong does have better options. I remember seeing a lot of nice clothes for petite people. In fact, I almost felt like a big person in comparison! And everyone dressed so fashionably, as I recall. I couldn't give any advice on the subject, though, since I was a clueless teenager the last time I was there.
Hong Kong isn't that much better. Women there just get things altered or spend a lot of money. There are a lot of options for small-footed ladies though. I bought like 5 pairs of shoes at my last trip over Christmas!
Thank you for sharing your vacation with us. I am getting hungry looking at your food photos. The picture of your brother with his eyes closed in pleasure is Kodak moment. =)
What a great post! I went to Taiwan during CNY too and didn't realize that they ate so much! lol I also underpacked as well! it was so cold there without heat.
elle-tea.blogspot.com
How nice to know you're from Canton! My mom was born there. I love all of your food pics! I've never had any of those dim sum dishes you snapped. Interesting! And I would love a bowl of congee right now… Add some preserved duck eggs, and it would be PERFECT! 🙂
Awesome post! I'm an ABC expat in Shanghai and I really admire how you've captured Chinese new year in China! Hope you guys got to set off some fireworks 😉
OMG this is FOOD HEAVEN!!!!!I am glad you had fun for CNY! 🙂
whoa! you're coming here in the Philippines?!
in contrast to the weather there in China, were having hot, humid weather here because summer is coming! I hope you'll enjoy you're stay here 😀
Such yummy pictures. Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing! 🙂 They had Doramon Zodiac McD Happy meal toys when I was in Taiwan last February. I got sick for a week otherwise I might have visited China.
LOVE LOVE LOVED this post! My favourite part is the one with everyone drinking the "dirt" tea LOL!
I hate being cold-to-the-bone too – good thing you could borrow clothes!
Can't wait to see the Philippines section of your trip – will bring back fond memories for me since I used to live there 🙂
I'll be taking my kids to Asia next week (their first time) – we've been stocking up on ALL sorts of medicine – hopefully we won't need any of it – fingers crossed.