Lunar New Year in Canton, China (pic-heavy food tour)

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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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4. Munching on spicy BBQ lamb skewers while buying festive decor for Lunar New Year…

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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9. Traditional Cantonese pastry – egg tarts. Melt-in-your-mouth filling with perfectly flaky crust.
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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.
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11. Mickey D’s there has yummy wings (2 flavors), curly fries, and various red bean-flavored desserts like pie, sundaes, and McFlurries.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Readers – I hope you enjoyed my travel diary. Thank you for letting me share part of my “hometown” and culture with you. Next stop…the Philippines!
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172 Comments

  1. Anonymous wrote:

    How do you understand heat up?

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  2. à la[w] mode wrote:

    Hi Jean,

    I loved this post. I'm actually dying to go to China, and this post made me want to go even more. I've tried a few of these dishes at my neighbors' house (they are from Guangzhou as well) and I absolutely loved them.

    I love your blog, thanks for sharing!

    Gia

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  3. Audrey Wong wrote:

    Hey Jean,

    My ancestry is from Guangzhou too, but I am of Hakka descent. However, my great grandparents moved to Malaysia so I can speak some Cantonese too.

    How did you manage to speak and read Mandarin if you moved here since you were 5? I hope my kids will be able to read and write Chinese, although I cannot do it myself. Lol

    Audrey

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  4. Anonymous wrote:

    can you do a post on your career, and studying for your exam? I am a college student, and would LOVEEE to hear about your career, exam process. like how to get through it, tips, and such.

    : ) just an idea.. since your blog does give a lot of advice on professional dressing. but i understand if you want to keep it fashion related!

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  5. Anonymous wrote:

    awww, didn't know that you speak Mandarin :D, i thought you came from Southeast Asia countries :), hahha, really like your blog, and i'm Chinese too XD

    Shanshan

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  6. Anonymous wrote:

    Hi!!! I'm pretty excited that you'll be coming to the Philippines… I am from Manila, and I love your style. You inspire me to dress up in the office. Btw, you have to visit Boracay or Coron when you get to Philippines 🙂

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  7. Christina wrote:

    Hey Jean, I just started to follow your blog recently. This latest travel diary is so fun and vivid and I have to leave a comment telling u that I rather enjoyed it 🙂 it is nice that you trained Nick to be a good dumpling folder which i never did with my bf who is not Chinese but definitely loves to eat dumplings.

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  8. Anonymous wrote:

    You lucky girl (Nick, a lucky boy) got to got to China! By far, one of my favorite posts. Love the photos — the food, the people, your family. You make a fantastic food and travel blogger too.

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  9. Carolyn wrote:

    Hi Jean,

    I'm so jealous that you went to China for new year's this year! I studied abroad in Hong Kong last spring and I remember new year's there being sooo amazing! I miss all of the delicious foods and your pictures made me remember how much I miss being there (minus the non-heated homes!). I'm Cantonese-Chinese and from Boston too (yay!), not to mention that I'm 22, 4'11" and under 90 lbs. Your posts and tips have been extremely helpful for me to dress and look my age, and I'm glad there's someone else similar to me I can get advice from 🙂

    Carolyn

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  10. Cate L. wrote:

    I will be in Canton in May. Does anyone have recommendations on shops or tailors to visit? I am pseudo petite at just under 5'4". I would love to have some pieces tailored! (Turnaround has to be in 4.5 days though..)

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  11. CynthiaC wrote:

    Come to Toronto! Chinese food here is a lot closer to Hong Kong/Guangzhou fare than any city I've been to in the US.

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  12. Lily wrote:

    1. I really love your blog!
    2. This blogpost makes me soooo hungry
    3. Being a Austrian-Cantonese I'm missing the home country of my mum and the delicious dishes there. The last time I spent my holiday in Guangzhou was 4 years ago! Too long…

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  13. Kate wrote:

    ooops! didn't notice your comment that you went to the Philippines last month already! looking forward to your blog entry!

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  14. Tes wrote:

    This mouthwatering post makes me want to go back to Guangzhou! My family is from there too. The food is so good and fresh that eating Chinese food back in America can't satisfy my palette.

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  15. newpetite wrote:

    I love to read and learn about new culture! Thanks for sharing this! Indians also believe in the hot and cold thing and we normally drink fresh buttermilk to 'cool' our bodies down! And I love fresh sugarcane juice!!

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  16. Genie wrote:

    Jean, I can't believe you went to Guanzhou, my parents are from there! I'm Cantonese-American and this post totally brought back bright and fun memories of Chinese New Year 🙂 I love all of your dim sum pics, though they made me super hungry.

    xoxo,
    Genie

    http://www.uniqueandchicstyle.blogspot.com

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  17. Lien wrote:

    I really enjoyed this post! It was like being on Food Gawker except there were some tad bits of fashion thrown into the mix… The best of both worlds, if you ask me! :p

    I especially liked the picture of all the dishes on the newspaper 'mat' on the dining table… My dad does the same thing when he makes dinner (Asian thing?) and my younger sister (who btw, is also about the same age as your younger brother!) always asks him not to do so because it's "so embarrassing." Kids… :p

    Posted 3.27.12 Reply
  18. Kate wrote:

    What a mouthwatering post! Gong Xi Fa Cai! I am half-Chinese, half-Filipino living in the Philippines but have never been to China (except for Hong Kong – not counted? ;)). Hoping to visit China this year!

    Wow you're coming to the Philippines!! Are you headed to Manila or to the beaches like Cebu, Bohol, Boracay or Palawan? Hope you have a fab time and looking forward to your blog entry!

    It's currently summer in Manila with occasional rains (yeah, weather is pretty schizo here..) but it's generally warm so bring out your summer dresses and shorts!

    Enjoy!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  19. PinkLeaf wrote:

    Enjoyed your photos Jean. Thanks for sharing!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  20. Carol wrote:

    That was so inspiring! I have yet to travel to China and I'm hoping this summer might be it… Thanks for sharing!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  21. CynthiaC wrote:

    Really? Most I came across in Hong Kong sold egg tarts and of course, every single restaurant during dim sum has them!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  22. J wrote:

    that food looks amazing!!! love chinese new year!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  23. Anonymous wrote:

    OMG, You are from Canton. Same as I am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  24. Anonymous wrote:

    Just found your blog, and love it! And this post is amazing.. I'm from Singapore, but currently in Chicago, and those crab noodles are so tempting! And I'm also petite, so I've been going through your archives, and I can't believe I didn't find this site sooner!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  25. Anonymous wrote:

    I would love to eat all those things 😀 I've never tired most of the things you're talking about

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  26. Ana wrote:

    After reading this post, I'm absolutely starving. And I just ate dinner.

    I would love to visit all of Asia one day!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  27. Anita wrote:

    Thanks for sharing your travel Jean. I love how sharing your culture really shows who you are with a lot of warmth.
    Love those faces drinking herbal tea. Beautiful photos. With a 50mm F1.8 lens?
    很可愛的一家人!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  28. Anonymous wrote:

    I'm sitting in the library, salivating at your pictures. Thanks for sharing! I'm eternally envious of your adventures!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  29. katattack2000 wrote:

    Beautiful photos 🙂 I loved Guangzhou when I visited and all the eating 🙂

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  30. Anonymous wrote:

    Love love this post. My favorite childhood memories were from the non stopping eating fest that is Chinese New Year 🙂

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  31. just tututiny wrote:

    These photos are awesome Jean, and I am def. drooling over all the authentic food. Looks like you guys had a great time even though it does look freezing! How long did you stay for? We plan to take a trip to Asia to visit some parts of China and Vietnam and was wondering if 3 weeks would be enough. It's hard to take time off from work these days but then again I don't want the trip to be so short since airfare is really high.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  32. Wendy wrote:

    Oh wow~! The food is making my stomach rumbleee. >.< I always wanted to travel but I still haven't got the chance. Hopefully when I go I'll have as much fun as you did. What shocked me is that China's cold. (At night, we kept our heartbeats alive with electric mattress pads or microwaveable stones for clutching on to (no joke). I loved this line. LOL) I was always under the impression that China was hot and humid with mosquitoes around, but I guess it was a different area in China my friends tells me about.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  33. Phoebe wrote:

    Oh I so want to go to Guangzhou and pig out one of these days! It's one of the few areas in China I haven't been to (I think the closest I got was Guangxi). Your little brother is so cute.

    And I think there is something to the hot/cold theories, as fried food is quite inflammatory and can exacerbate pimples/cold sores if you're prone to them.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  34. Jane wrote:

    Jean, I love your posts. I never know what I'm going to find here!! ON jeggings versus noodles in China. LOTS of variety!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  35. Rachel wrote:

    Fantastic post! Makes me nostalgic of my trip to Hong Kong with my boyfriend this past December. Ahh the food. Nothing beats authentic Cantonese food. First meal I took him to was wontons and egg noodles. 🙂

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  36. dotdotgoose wrote:

    Oh my gosh, thank you for sharing this, some serious nostalgia here! Although my family isn't from Guangzhou, all this Chinese food brings me back to my childhood visits to Hong Kong & China. Especially the wonton noodle soup…it was my favourite and still is, but you won't find anything that comes even close than how it's made there. It's been so long now…but I'd love to go back and immerse myself in the culture I was born!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  37. Emily wrote:

    I am Cantonese too, and now I am STARVING for some good food! It's been a few years since I've gone back (my family is in HK now) but ohhh so jealous. Congee, rice noodles mmmmm.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  38. Karina wrote:

    this picture diary is great! it looks like you all had a great time!
    the pictures of you and your brother remind me of my own little brother =)

    Karina
    http://www.mademoiselleonthemetro.blogspot.com

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  39. Kandice wrote:

    Awesome post! And pround to be Chinese!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  40. Min wrote:

    What a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing your travels. All the food looked amazing (I just had my lunch, and yet I'm drooling for food..again), and your little brother is adorable 🙂 That's a great picture of him and your boyfriend together, savoring the treats!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  41. Julia wrote:

    hi Jean! I found your blog recently but how do I follow on Google friends? I cannot find the box on your sidebar.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  42. simplyvonne wrote:

    for the long time, I thought you were Korean 😀 Thanks for sharing the photos! love looking through all of them, love that one of your brother holding the umbrella hehe

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  43. Nina wrote:

    Jean, I can't believe you came to the US at such a young age but still managed to learn to read Chinese. Proud of you 🙂

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  44. Lisa Ng wrote:

    What a fun and yummy trip! LOL on the bro wearing a leopard scarf – he's adorable in the "savoring" photo. Besides the great food pix, I really enjoyed just seeing how Nick related to your family. He seems like he fits right in, which is so great! Can't wait to see more from the Philippines!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  45. Kitch wrote:

    You visited Manila?!?! Awww jeez, I wish I knew, I would've loved to meet up with you, show you around and of course, let you try some of awesome filipino food! If you ever come visit again, please do let me know and I"ll certainly take the time. I love love your travel posts and it always makes me hungry just looking at all those delish shots.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  46. Kitch wrote:

    You visited Manila?!?! Awww jeez, I wish I knew, I would've loved to meet up with you, show you around and of course, let you try some of awesome filipino food! If you ever come visit again, please do let me know and I"ll certainly take the time. I love love your travel posts and it always makes me hungry just looking at all those delish shots.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  47. Bri wrote:

    My mother is from Hong Kong and this food is making me want to visit again!!

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  48. DiamondsandTulle wrote:

    Looks like a great family trip! I completely understand about the under-packing/damp cold. When we went last year to HK, Canton, and Macau, I literally had to pile on every jacket and sweater I brought for layers! It was bone-chilling cold from the damp! But the food YOU ate looks 1000x's better than the food I had on the Canton tour. I could dive right in and eat that crab curry right now! Looks delish!

    xx Vivian @ http://diamondsandtulle.blogspot.com

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  49. The Little Dust Princess wrote:

    Love this post, Jean! Those food pics are making me hungry.. Are you going to have a post up with pics of the New Year festivities? I'd love to see those! I've only been to Vietnam for Lunar New Year and would love to do the same in China one day.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply
  50. Bethany wrote:

    hey girl: I am also a petite and also come from China. Look forward reading your fashion blog.

    Posted 3.26.12 Reply

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