Food is my Temple

I'm slowly discovering new eatable wonders in Haerbin. Because of the Russian influence there are some very eastern European looking dishes. Probably the most unusual – at least from a Chinese prospective – are the massive amounts and kinds of sausage (Becca is squirming right now). Yes piles of mashed parts… you can be imaginative here – pressed into coils of sausage. Different colors, different sizes, different shapes and supposedly different tastes. I've actually stayed away from most of this and tried to discover what other types of dishes are being prepared. Every night, a few of my classmates and I (there are 3 other students who are also Fulbright'ers who I've been hanging out with), make a point of trying something new and venturing out away from the comfortable cafeteria food (which is actually quite good). A constant theme that we come across, which was also popular in Beijing, is 羊肉串儿 (yang rou chuar). This is basically lamb on a stick fired over a vat of flaming coals. They love to barbecue!!! Which I'm ok with. Men usually stand waving fans on the piles of coals that surround them, meanwhile adding more and more spears of food delicately placed above the fiery pits of...(think puritans), also simultaneously yelling out orders that are ready… Although I'm not sure what they're paid, whatever it is, it's not enough…. I'd compare them to investment bankers… (no offense) taking in (buying), and then immediately selling and relinquishing parts that are hot off the grill. Here the biggest mouth wins – both on the side of customers yelling orders at the nearest 服务员 （fuwuyuan or waitress）, and the man behind the feeding frenzy.
Last night we had an especially interesting and tasty experience at a small roadside 新张 （XinZhang) restaurant. XinZhang is China's Northwest province and is also home to the largest Muslim population in China (I think), and particularly disenfranchised and independant minority group – the Uighurs. This population is very different in appearance, background and culture from the stereotypical Han Chinese. They have also been at odds with the government of China and more recently been stereotyped as Muslim extremists. This stems from the recent terrorist attacks that occurred just before the Olympics. (Note I do not know much about this population or area yet but am interested in learning more, what I'm telling you is what I've heard so take it with a grain of salt). What is also unique about the Uighur population is that they have a rich tradition of song and dance and cultural and linguistic ties to Turkey/Turkish. This is the part that we got to experience as we ate alongside their family who also happened to be breaking their Ramadan fast!! Imagine cooking food for people all day while fasting!!! As they prepared and cut fruit for the conclusion of their fast, we horded hand made food that the whole family seemed to have taken part in preparing. The oldest of the family, donning cap, was cutting up a melon that is a specialty in XinZhang, he came over and gave us four slices with a slight grunt, then went back to the table of fruit and sat with his family prayed and began to feed the children and then slowly himself. The poor men behind the YangRouChuar (lamb barbecue) were then slowly given food as they continued to prepare our food and then woop and holler in what I can only guess was the Uighur language. In the background, or rather being loudly broad-casted into the cook-fire filled air was Turkish style club music. This combined with the roar of traffic and the movement of customers, pedestrians and little kids combined for a chaotic but very sensory experience. It's a stretch but it compares to a very intense experience at a Hindu or Jane temple where all senses must be enacted in order to become fully aware of a sixth sense – that of God. Instead of bells and incense there is a more complex (maybe slightly alarming) mix of horns, shouts, beats and the lifting smells of early evening cookfires. Combined with the colorful clothes, food and hanging smoke. Emerging Church, you've got nothing on this intense experience!!!! So I've over-dramatized it all… as travels tend to do but the point is that in my book the lives of people are God and this is small piece of how its being lived out in one part of the world. I'm slowly learning more and hopefully bridging some sort of cultural, religious and racial barriers. Needless to say, I will be returning to this small temple of experience. I've only got to learn how to say Ramadan in Chinese… and then Uighar!


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After posting this I decided to look at what Lonely Planet had to say about XinZhang. Generally they have some pretty decent introductions and this one I think is worth putting down so that you get a better idea about what XinZhang is... Because I don't really know...

Here are a few parts that I think are worth noting:

"Fiercely independent, the people f the region have never really been independent. Today Xinjian 'belongs' to China, having been inextricably tethered to the Middle Kingdom for centuries in an enless push-pull relationship, one which China today maintains in strict form.
Xinjiang is like a whole other country enclosed within China's borders. Here the language is not just a different dialect, it's a completely different linguistic family; and it's no longer about whether you dip you dumpliings in soy sauce or vinegar, it's how you want your mutton cooked."

"populated by a mixed salad of nearly 50 ethnic minorities..."

"Oh, and it sits atop 30% of China's oil reserves."

"It's also woefully underappreciated by most of the tourists..."


Hope this helps! It helped me.