More on today's lunch

The other dishes in the set menu K mentioned: congee, chicken feet, choi sun, and sieu mai dumplings. If course we could eat them all 

Free day in Guangzhou.

Today was a free day - so what do you do? Wander through a shopping centre, have lunch and then a supermarket.  Always fascinating.

Seen in the shopping centre:

An Australian brand!

German-Chinese combo?

Huawei make more than mobile phones. Now they make cars too.    

And the latest steering wheels are not circular.

 Our guide had told us that Huawei cars are sought after and very expensive - about AU$50,000 - which is ok, by Sydney standards.

We had to find our own lunch today.  Excellent food.  The first is cha siew (pork) pau (bun), but not like we know it.  The green one is mushroom dumplings with truffles. China produces truffles in Yunnan. Forgot to take photos of the rest.

In the supermarket we saw Aussie beef - and NZ lamb and food from everywhere.

Durians made not smelly and not prickly.  Vacuum packed and sealed. 

Kin Mun using the Chinese digital payment system, through We Chat, in the supermarket. He is only too happy when I want to buy something and he gets a chance to use it!  

And there are certainly more EVs in Guangzhou.  They are the ones with the green number plates.

 

Glittering corporate skyscrapers on Pearl River bank in Guangzhou

We went on a night river to view the lit up buildings of Guangzhou. The buildings on the south bank (above) include the HQs of well known technology giants like Alibaba and Tencent. These companies have their factories in GZ region including Shenzhen.

And our guide pointed out that Alibaba was well lit - to the left - and the one next to it had no lights - that was Tencent.  Donald Trump knows all about Tencent - the home of Bytedance and Tik Tok.

 

Village restaurant in Shunde

This restaurant is accessible via a narrow unsealed and unlit road.

 

You can see our driver (in the middle) and our guide (to the right, in brown top).  This is one of those hidden-away restaurants - I think called "home" restaurants that seem to be privately operating.  You need to know about it - there is no passing traffic!

From old houses to modern shops in Shunde

 

 

Think The Rocks in Sydney!

Food

This tour is a food tour of Cantonese cuisine.  Hunger trumps photography, but here are some notables from the last few days.  

Oysters! I don't eat them, but they were BIG.

Modern take on sweet and sour pork! We were shocked when our guide ordered it, but she reassured us it was a specialty of the restaurant.  The sweet part were blueberries and mango pieces scattered through the dish.  The batter remained crisp and warm.

 Suckling pig.  A bit confronting to see the little fellow, but the meat was good.

There were also prawns on a skewer, and I detected movement as they were put into the hotpot. Oh dear.

There is a system for queuing for a table.  A chair is provided, and sometimes sweets and a drink.

 Cooks in action

And black and white tofu.  The tofu is underneath the topping, and apparently black soybeans are a thing.

Toilets.....

 Loos in China have always been a mixed bag.

Shunde is not as major center as GZ, and our first restaurant was completely squat loos.  Most others since have had at least one "potty" toilet.

Today, in Baomo Gardens, they had wood panels.

But only one serving of toilet paper could be dispensed.  You had to press the button to get it.

And tonight, in our GZ hotel, we have the full Japanese version!

 

Baomo Gardens - and Chinglish........

We went to Baomo Gardens in Panyu Distgrict of Guangzhou.  In China, "Gardens" are not what you might expect in Australia with the emphasis on plants etc.  Here they are landscaped areas, with lakes and bridges and displays.  They are much more cultural and recreational areas.

I feel very disrespectful because they were lovely, but I couldn't help but notice the abundance of Chinglish.  Chinglish is a direct translation from the Chinese, and a very good way to get an insight into how that language is put together.  But it can also be humorous from the English speaker's point of view. Recently we had noticed that most Chinglish had been eliminated, no doubt with efforts by local authorities to get good translations.

But Baomo Gardens hasn't gone been through that process yet.

Our hotel

We are staying in a Chinese hotel.  This means a spacious room, with negligible English spoken.  But it ticks all the boxes.  Comfortable bed, good bathroom etc etc.

The view:

And some amenities that you probably wouldn't get in the Marriott.

And signs:

Can't say you weren't warned!

First day

Arriving Guangzhou (GZ) yesterday.  A massive urban conglomeration.

Today we saw Shin Fung Shan Park.  Like many parks in China (or so I gather!) it is well used with people hanging out there.  

This is the entrance gate, built in 2015.

They had a pigeon hut in the park....

to entertain the children!Actually, there were a lot of little folk in the park.

We are outside GZ city itself.  Our restaurant's toilet were all squat ones.  There was one with a seat, but it was locked, and this is how it was described...... 

We went to a famous garden developed by a former governor.

Minature turtles on an island in a pond

But people watching is often more interesting! Local tourists at the same garden capturing the scene (not the turtles).

The we went on a cruise on a small sampan-type boat in  Fengjian Watertown.

 And so far, EVs are not as ubiquitous as we expected.  Our guide tells us there are more in GZ itself, and there are folk who actually prefer "gas".  Anyhow, they have their own number plate - green - unlike the usual blue background and white lettering.  A Local BYD...

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