Touristed this morning on the Pinjiang Road, part of the captioned national park. A sightseeing destination for local Chinese.
Boat cruises thru the canals. Reliving ancient times in Mandarin dress. Eating and snacking on foods past and present. Great way to spend a morning in Suzhou.
Myriad food option abound, from simple street foods & snacks to restaurants offering the full range of classics. We decided on a restaurant with a canal view and a traditional menu of Suzhou eats.
Window table watching boats floating by, score!!!
Shrink wrapped table settings and pot of hot water (not tea).
None of the disinterested staff spoke English (or, bothered to). The large menu had pictures and English subtitles. We ordered 4 items, names as per their menu description.
Honey Foie Gras.
Fried Eel Paste.
Very traditional prep, blanched and mixed with a sauce that has Shaoxing wine, soybean sauce, sugar and more.
Special Three Shrimp Noodle. Noodles with good chew. Beautiful local freshwater shrimp.
Lotus Pond Stir Fry. Lotus Root, Snow Peas and Bell Pepper.
All expertly prepared and cooked, pricier than in non tourist area, to be expected. Non interested service (wife speaks Mandarin and understands Shanghainese) sorta expected but disappointing nevertheless.
Dinner at a true old time Suzhou restaurant the same evening was a better experience. Details to follow.
