Yesterday, we took a walk through an herbal market, not too far from our hotel and Sha Mian Island. Before SARS, they sold all sorts of live animals for food. These days, though, the only live animals they have are some fish and scorpions. Most of what they sell now is mushrooms, roots, spices and similar. Still, some pretty interesting stuff. We bought a few tools for tea, but didn’t get any food.
caterpillars
morel mushrooms on the left, dried seahorses on the right
Dried “wood ears,” a type of cultivated fungus. We tried these marinated in local vinegar in Taiyuan. They squeak when you eat them, like cheese curds.
Anyone who can read Chinese can tell me what these are.
Deer feet
Dried sea scallops
Rose buds, used in tea
Live scorpions. More interesting in motion. Videos below.
Videos:
- Scorpions!
- More scorpions! Here, a vendor picks out the good ones.
Dragon fruit
Mmm. Gimme somma those deer feet, with a few of those brown things and add some of those green things. And maybe about three beers. Whew! At first blush, it seems that China would be a good place to lose weight.
Hey, what a great smile Alexander has! Obviously, a good Catholic boy.
Wow. That is some crazy looking food! I imagine it must be waaay cooler to see it all in person, but I’m loving our virtual tour of Shamian Island!