And Suzi said "How can I be putting on weight when all I am eating is vegetables & dumplings?!"

I remember once visiting my paternal grandmother & seeing that all of her 9 grandchildren had sent her postcards from their various summer holidays which she had proudly displayed on her mantle piece. When I read them a common theme soon became apparent; there was mention of cream teas in Devon, delicious street food in Morocco, lack of decent food on a camping trip, lovely pub lunches walking in the lakes, expensive michelin star food from fancy hotels, Sunday lunch with the in-laws etc. etc. etc....

There are many potential blogs from my recent China trip but as I am a true Wilson family member I'll start with the food.

Before going to China another VSO volunteer who had done a VSO placement there previously warned me the food would be really good, and by God she was right. The amazing food coupled with the exceptional hospitality meant that despite getting up at 6 am every day for ‘morning exercise’ it was still a squeeze to get into my plane seat on the return flight.

Suzi’s refrain was the title of this blog along with “but vegetables are 90% water!”

Below is just a small sample of the food & meals I munched my way through like a hungry caterpillar – Suzi I hasten to add was much more restrained.

The peak of the cherry tomato & cucumber glut

I'll start with cherry tomatoes & cucumbers as a snack & a hotel room gratuity. Odd but strangely effective. The additional plates of tomatoes & cucumbers as the week progressed in the hotel room was slightly alarming but reached a peak at 5 plates at which point the staff realised my tomato consumption couldn't keep up with their supply.

Next maybe it is appropriate to discuss the many dumpling options available in China.

or in soup.....

Then there were the noodles....

Flat...

short & round.....

and always very spicy!

Beef noodle soup with lashings of chilli oil was also a breakfast favourite which regrettably I also failed to capture on film - perhaps my breakfast priorities were more about eating the food rather than photographing it.

Lunches at the hospital were a kind in Chinese Thali affair and were duly recorded for prosperity. I soon learnt to not have eggs for breakfast!

And as if the massive lunch wasn't enough apart from the tomatoes, cucumbers & strange fruit there were always the strange chinese snacks.

Especially bought chrysanthemum tea for Suzi 

Salty & sweet

Possibly lemon flavour

Then there were the evening meals where to say there was excessive amounts of food would be an understatement.

A plethora of dipping sauces for Hot pot lunch on our 'rest' day

The last supper with all the big wigs of Zhangye Hospital - a feast

Each dish is a piece of art

Beautiful presentation of a meringue type thing

more enormous bowls of soupy goodness

Then there was the drinking opportunities & street food.

Local wine - surprisingly palatable 

After 5 minutes of miming & interpretive dance to communicate we wanted a beer we were presented with 2 milky, sweet, luke warm teas with beans which we duly paid for. 10 minutes later  a tray with a further 6 glasses of the same were brought out but this time we communicated our objection by shouting no & waving our palms in the air - we miss Miss Du!

Cookies

Street beer

Much toasting - apparently it is good luck to toast 3 times & down the whole glass. The final supper involved a lot of toasting & an awful lot of rice wine - not sure about luck but certainly felt merry.

Finally on one of our morning exploration walks & visits to one of the many 'exercise' parks I saw a lorry with this load below........

....so that evening we just had vegetables & dumplings!