what is there to buy in china/beijing shangai

To show you how adventurous I am (and thus my frequent suffering from
diarrhea while travelling), I tried raw oysters many times on the road
side, of all places, in Trinidad. You can find road side oyster stands
quite often in Trinidad. The oysters are harvested, not farmed. So
the size is quite small, not like those we are accustomed to in the US.
But they cost much less too ($1 US=TT$6).

First of the oysters are still covered in some mud. So they must be
rinsed after being shelled. This is unlike what we are used to where
oysters are still in the shell and have been thoroughly cleaned before
being shelled for serving. On the stand you see these oysters already
shelled in a jar with the juice. The vendor pour measured amount of
oyster into a cup and rinse again with water. Before serving, some
kind of sauce is added. The sauce is a little hot, also sour and
sweet. I believe it has lime in it. (to kill the germs) I have never
gotten sick eating these small oysters in Trinidad although I eat them
with a sqirmish feeling every time. For your information Trinidad,
being a former British colony, has a very decent water supply system.

I swear I would not eat these xiao-lon-bao anymore but just could not
resist each time. Why? My tongue got burned everytime I eat them. I
don't want any juice to escape so I drop the whole thing in my mouth
but could not wait for it to cool before puncturing it. In Hang-Zhou
we had the best xiao-lon-bao, paper tin skin, almost transparent,
steaming hot and full of juice, If I remember correctly, 10 in a
bamboo tray for RMB$4. That's 50 cents US. Here in New Jersey they
sell for $5 a tray and customers are lining up for the far less tastier
knock off.

I swear I would not eat these xiao-lon-bao anymore but just could not
resist each time. Why? My tongue got burned everytime I eat them. I
don't want any juice to escape so I drop the whole thing in my mouth
but could not wait for it to cool before puncturing it. In Hang-Zhou
we had the best xiao-lon-bao, paper tin skin, almost transparent,
steaming hot and full of juice, If I remember correctly, 10 in a
bamboo tray for RMB$4. That's 50 cents US. Here in New Jersey they
sell for $5 a tray and customers are lining up for the far less tastier
knock off.

Heeheee... i've done that so many times myself, always the top of my mouth
as i greedily try & close & eat the lot.

DC.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I swear I would not eat these xiao-lon-bao anymore but just could not
resist each time. Why? My tongue got burned everytime I eat them. I
don't want any juice to escape so I drop the whole thing in my mouth
but could not wait for it to cool before puncturing it. In Hang-Zhou
we had the best xiao-lon-bao, paper tin skin, almost transparent,
steaming hot and full of juice, If I remember correctly, 10 in a
bamboo tray for RMB$4. That's 50 cents US. Here in New Jersey they
sell for $5 a tray and customers are lining up for the far less tastier
knock off.

I also prefer these fresh ones by the seaside or coast. They often just wash
them in seawater 'au-natural' & if the waters are clean enough for oysters
to grow in, they're clean enough to be eaten. Sweet chilli sauce + lime? as
often chilli sauces like these are pretty common in the Caribbean.
Heeheee... i like the info on Trinidad's water system!

DC.


wrote in message
oups.com...
To show you how adventurous I am (and thus my frequent suffering from
diarrhea while travelling), I tried raw oysters many times on the road
side, of all places, in Trinidad. You can find road side oyster stands
quite often in Trinidad. The oysters are harvested, not farmed. So
the size is quite small, not like those we are accustomed to in the US.
But they cost much less too ($1 US=TT$6).

First of the oysters are still covered in some mud. So they must be
rinsed after being shelled. This is unlike what we are used to where
oysters are still in the shell and have been thoroughly cleaned before
being shelled for serving. On the stand you see these oysters already
shelled in a jar with the juice. The vendor pour measured amount of
oyster into a cup and rinse again with water. Before serving, some
kind of sauce is added. The sauce is a little hot, also sour and
sweet. I believe it has lime in it. (to kill the germs) I have never
gotten sick eating these small oysters in Trinidad although I eat them
with a sqirmish feeling every time. For your information Trinidad,
being a former British colony, has a very decent water supply system.

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 17:52:16 -0000, "DC." not@home wrote:

There's a old Chinese saying & believe that when you travel, it's easy to
get 'filled up with wind'. Hence you often find many elderly Chinese
travellers with all sorts of menthol oil or tiger balm type rubs & potions,
very similar to how the Victorians travelled many years ago,
[snip]

I have a lot of respect for Chinese traditional medicine. Sounds like
they're pretty smart about travelling, and I wouldn't expect any less.

Also, be prepared to get a respiratory infection and bring along a
good remedy, such as a thing that squirts salt water into your nose.

Now i'm afraid... i know it's winter & with the shadow of SARS looming, is
it really that bad?

I didn't get SARS! I was actually getting respiratory problems because
the windows in my damned hotel didn't open and they recirculated the
air in the place!

when you say respiratory, what do you mean exactly?
[snip]

Incipient bronchitis/sinusitis.

But that thing that squirts saline solution into the nose is a very
good remedy.

Michael

If you would like to send a private email to me, please take out the TRASH, so to speak. Please do not email me something which you also posted.

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 17:52:16 -0000, "DC." not@home wrote:

There's a old Chinese saying & believe that when you travel, it's easy to
get 'filled up with wind'. Hence you often find many elderly Chinese
travellers with all sorts of menthol oil or tiger balm type rubs & potions,
very similar to how the Victorians travelled many years ago,
[snip]

I have a lot of respect for Chinese traditional medicine. Sounds like
they're pretty smart about travelling, and I wouldn't expect any less.

Also, be prepared to get a respiratory infection and bring along a
good remedy, such as a thing that squirts salt water into your nose.

Now i'm afraid... i know it's winter & with the shadow of SARS looming, is
it really that bad?

I didn't get SARS! I was actually getting respiratory problems because
the windows in my damned hotel didn't open and they recirculated the
air in the place!

when you say respiratory, what do you mean exactly?
[snip]

Incipient bronchitis/sinusitis.

But that thing that squirts saline solution into the nose is a very
good remedy.

Michael

If you would like to send a private email to me, please take out the TRASH, so to speak. Please do not email me something which you also posted.