2011 - Day 9 - I finally try fish lips!

2011 Day 9

Sent 1/18/11

A busy day today, working in the Shanghai office in the morning and visiting two Chinese customers in the afternoon.  Larry, Tommy (the knuckle cracker from last trip) and Tony – a Shanghai native who lived 10 years in Kansas City and speaks rather good English managed to squeeze in lunch at a Hunan-style place.  The food was very spicy, some beef stewed in chilis and green peppers, frogs and eel prepared in a similar manner – and when I say frogs, I mean the whole frog less the head and guts, small and still containing bones.  You put the whole thing in your mouth and as you work the meat free, you spit the bones out on your plate.  Manners are clearly different everywhere.  Here you can hold one nostril closed and blow snot out the other onto the sidewalk, but don’t you dare put a finger in your mouth!

It is cold in Shanghai today, nearly a record at -4°C, about 25 Fahrenheit.  And here is the fun part – In China, the government has determined that buildings north of Shanghai get to have central heat, and those in Shanghai and south do not.  Space heaters can be purchased to heat individual rooms, but you walk into a restaurant or a shop and it is barely above freezing on days like today.  Down around Shenzhen even space heaters are rare so when it gets down in the 50’s with 85% humidity, the cold goes right through you.  Fortunately, they do make exceptions for hotel rooms!

Dinner was quite interesting.  Raymond asked if I had ever tasted Macau food, which I have not as far as I know, so he took us to a place which specializes in this style cooking.  Macau, like Hong Kong is technically part of the Peoples Republic of China, but maintains its own government, currency, and immigration policy.  In the past few years, it has been developed as the Las Vegas of Asia with numerous casinos and attractions.  I have never been there, and the food I could not distinguish from the Cantonese style food prevalent in HK and Shenzhen.  However, while Raymond and Larry were selecting from the menu, I asked whether this restaurant served Cantonese style fish lips.  Raymond’s eyes opened really wide and asked in a surprised tone “How do you hear about fish rips?”  So I told him the whole saga of having seen this on a menu years ago and my many times trying and failing to find them again.  I really have no idea why I feel the need to try this dish – maybe it just seems too weird to pass up.  Perhaps your idea of a thrill just gets more pathetic as you get older.  Anyhow, my daughter  was kind enough to have her Chinese teacher write the name of this dish for me in Mandarin, which she then scanned and emailed to me a few days ago.  I showed this to Larry when we were in Shenzhen and asked him if we can try these.   His response was priceless – he cocked his head slightly, thought a moment and said “Why?”  Maybe this dish is weird even for the Chinese.  At any rate, luck was on my side – Fish lips were on the menu and Raymond ordered some.  Here is what it looks like



Fish lips!



It is really the lip and the surrounding areas of the mouth.  It has the rubbery texture of overcooked shellfish and tasted vaguely of fish and chicken.  About as expected I suppose, but like the conclusion of any long quest, it left a mixed feeling of accomplishment and let down.

Also on the dinner menu was pig ears (I really hate those), a stew of eel and turtle, a thin, brothy soup with ginger and tofu, and one of the best sweets I have ever had anywhere – it was like a the best doughnut you ever had, but lighter, sweeter, and filled with a crème made from coconut milk – Wow!  You could open a shop that sold only these and make a fortune in America.  I may have to explore this!

After dinner I took a walk to a local tea shop and tasted a few new teas.  The girls working in the freezing cold shop spoke no English so we had to do a bit of pantomime to communicate.  This is awkward but does get the job done.  I have taken a great liking to Chinese tea, and every trip I bring 2 or 3 different ones home.  I now have a cabinet full of tea and I suppose I will need to get rid of some as I don’t seem to drink it as fast as I buy it.  I guess there are worse indulgences.  If anyone needs some tea, let me know