Noodles and Boats - China & Beyond (Stories, Food, and Noise) - Dispatch 007

麻辣刀削面 - "Numbing" Hot Knife Cut Noodles. From what I know, this began as a Sichuan thing. Preservation, back in the day. (Má, or literally, hemp, or "pins and needles") You mix the giant glob of chilis on the left, and it seeps into the broth giving the whole thing multiple layers. I really wanted to find out if this noodle shop was a chain, as the provinces were all over the place. I asked a worker what she was eating, if it was on the menu, and she said it was. I pointed to each thing and gave a good guess as to the province. She nodded. Out came the translator, and I asked about their locations. I can never tell with some signage. She shook her head. All their own recipes. Their only location. This is a pretty ubiquitous noodle dish, but I still really like it. I will be back. Nice people! Support your local noodle shop.![013.jpg]

Boat docks off the middle Songhua River. Inches from the famous "walking street" everyone loves in this city. I like to visit this area every few weeks, as it's a slap in the face reminder that this is a big city. This area is teeming with people, on a Monday afternoon. Almost 3.5 million people live here, a mere blip on China's radar. So, sure, no music scene, but turning that into a positive has been good. It'll force me to visit neighboring Changchun and Dalian. There's a whole spectrum of shit going on here that I have no idea about. It's been fun poking my head above water, finally. Will keep exploring. Cheers.