Saturday, July 25, 2009

Crossing the bridge noodles

Kunming is famous for its crossing the bridge noodles. There are restaurants that serve various version of this dish. The history is that there was this Chinese housewife who needed to bring food to her husband who has been sequestered on a little island because he wants to study for the imperial exams. By the time she crossed the bridge to get to her husband the food has grown cold. She later learned that if she put a layer of oil on top of the soup, it stays steaming hot for a long time. She can then cut the meat and vegetables into a very thin slices and with the hot soup, they'll cook when she mixes them in the presence of her husband. This way her husband was able to eat hot food. So here at this restaurant I ordered crossing the bridge noodles. They brought the steaming hot soup with a layer of oil on top. Then she mixed in the thinly sliced meat and vegetables and the noodles. Then, viola, I am eating crossing the bridge noodles.





Crossing the bridge noodles.



Beef with chili, a Sichuan dish.




Stir fried lettuce with chili. This was a great dinner and cost me 168 Yuan which is expensive for Chinese food but then I was eating in a fancy restaurant. It was a lot of food. The next time I ate I ordered one dish and plain rice, that cost me 43 Yuan, much cheaper. I had soupy noodles for lunch for 7 Yuan ($1.10). The cost of living in China is much cheaper compared with the USA and it is just so wonderful. I hope it remains like this for a long time.

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