Chinese food

Eating lunch
Originally uploaded by Carrie & Eddie.

Imagine the scene. Your non-English-speaking guide takes you through a dirty kitchen to an even dirtier yard where there is an even dirtier tank of fish. He gestures for you to choose one. You point uncertainly. A fish is scooped from the murky waters, battered over the head, scaled and gutted on the dirty floor, then turns up 20 minutes later in your soup. This was typical of our approach to Chinese food in that we would walk into a restaurant, point dumbfoundedly at what we hoped wouldn't kill us and pray for the best. So far so good, although we have one more meal to go - fingers crossed. There has been a depressing lack of duck on the menus, but amid the oily, greasy dishes we have managed to find a few gems of Chinese cuisine.