I have to wonder if there are some tourists from China who find
Southern Italian and Northern German food much the same. Do you also
find that you can't distinguish the difference between the sound of
Mandarin and Wu (Shanghainese language or so-called "dialect," which I
understand has about as many spoken words related to Mandarin as
Polish does to English)? I find that they don't sound similar at all.

Michael


Michael,
you are making too much of this.. I was not saying there are not different
foods that are more common in the south than the north.. that is a
no-brainer.. I'm saying the overwhelming foods are the same.. Just like in
the USA, you can get a steak in the NORTH, and the SOUTH, and the EAST, and
the WEST.. there are many more foods like that than things like
hush-puppies, and other regional specialities..

In china, most places sell traditional dishes that you can buy anywhere. I
remember when I was in Chongqing.. they advertised hot-pot a lot.. I had it,
and it was pretty crappy where I had it, but I had similar dishes up north..
so what was the big deal about hot-pot.. which is the most famous dish in
the yangtze basin.. to me nothing.. it was not really new, it was something
that I've basically had other places far away from there.

yea.. dumplings have different fillings, you can get like I said well over
40 types in Lo Bien in Shenyang up north.. I seriously doubt that you'll
find any dumplings in the south that will be much different.. I've not seen
any surprises in shanghai, I've been to that old city stand that is supposed
to have the best there. and they were basicaly the same as up north, just
slightly different.. nothing to write home to mom about

description at he
http://www.sycbd.gov.cn/channel/0006...11226_0001.asp