More Meat-On-A-Stick Misadventures

Wang Da Peng called me from the flat having installed the internet connection, just as rush hour was kicking in. Several taxis refused to take me south across the railway boundary, so I power-walked as best I could on the snow back home to get my laptop setup.

The snow packs down from the weight of pedestrians into a hard icy surface (I like to call it 'snice') which is impossible to walk normally on. Even locals do this awkward shuffly walk when they encounter it, and bits stick to your shoes making it tricky even when you hit honest-to-goodness pavement again.

As I power-shuffled my way home, I snapped this 3-wheeler which sounded like it was powered by a motorcycle engine. I feel sorry for the drivers of these who are totally exposed to the elements - that little windshield doesn't do much!

I also passed another workforce of snow shovelers. There are three roles here. Some guys are digging at the snice, dislodging it with the blade of their shovels or with smaller, sharper hoes. Then there are the work-horses who heft the snow into big piles at the side of the road. Finally, the guys with brushes push the powder around a bit. This last role seems a little pointless. Again, I suspect there's an element of creating employment here. There are 15-20 people working on this street corner alone.

When I got back to the flat, as Wang Da Peng helped me log on, I asked him if he'd eaten. When he said no, we decided to go downstairs and get a bite to eat together.

"Is there anything you don't eat?" Da Peng asked as we sat down.

"Oh no, I'll eat anything" I said, full of false bravado.

"Right then". He turned to face the waitress then rattled off a series of numbers and orders.

"Uhhh... Did you just say two chicken heads?" I asked, suddenly less sure of myself.

The waitress shook her head. "No, he ordered four. Two EACH."

"Oh, actually I don't eat chicken head" I said a little lamely.

Face thoroughly lost, I listened on as Da Peng cancelled the heads, and ordered 毛肚 (bovine third stomach - literally "furry stomach"), 鸡脖子 (chicken necks), and 桑蚕 (silkworm). I'm really not such a fussy eater. I'm happy to try new things and sometimes this develops into a broader range of tastes than I might otherwise have - e.g. I genuinely think chicken heart is tastier meat than, say, breast, and the texture, when cooked right, better too.

However, silkworms smell exactly like what you'd expect a roasted insect to smell like - that is to say, not good. With Da Peng egging me on and showing me how to crack open the carapace and suck out the meat inside (while assiduously discarding the hard viscera), I had a good stab at finishing three of my stick of five.

Here you can see two sticks of silkworm. They're roasted and sprinkled with spicy powder and sesame seeds. To the left is a soy-skin wrapper around chunks of crunchy vegetables, and in the centre is some chicken neck. The white-ish, square things are actually beef tendon which is a bit tough, a bit flavourless, and top-right is a couple of sticks of regular beef.

Chicken neck is actually much tastier than even the grey meat of a chicken. It's also surprisingly meaty, with the flesh coming away from the hard neck bones relatively easily.

Next, came the tripe, boiled in a big pot of spicy broth, which was chewy but palatable.

As we ate, we chatted and drank Harbin Beer. I discovered that Da Peng met Ming Yue through an introductions company - a little like a dating agency but even less romantic - which matches couples based largely on economic and social criteria. They look to be a great couple though, and it does make me wonder how much of a good relationship is true romance, fate, and all that movie stuff, and how much is hard work and commitment.

He told me about his work, and Harbin food, people, and weather, and we traded stories about our University experiences.

Eight bottles of Hapi later, it was time to go, and we left promising that next time I'd treat him to hotpot!