In just over 24 hours in Shanghai I have faced many challenges to my previous assumptions of this place. Based on my original trip to China I formed some opinions and formed some understandings.
I would like to correct myself now.
I met a wonderful young woman last night, a friend of my cousin, from England. She went out with us to a terrific Dim Sum place with red walls and all sorts of high society types. After dinner she was on her way to a wine and cheese party with some South African blokes she had met on a beach in Vietnam. (This sounds like the beginning of a geography joke.) But really she was on her way to a wine and cheese party; that always seems so mature and sophisticated. But this lead me to face a new reality that had previously eluded me.
I had previously been under the impression that for some reason, beyond my comprehension, there was no cheese in China. Aside from the fact that I really like the way those words sound, “no cheese in China” and the way they feel to say, “no cheese in China.” I regret to announce that there is in fact cheese in China, at least in Shanghai. On the other hand, being an avid lover of cheese, I am pleased. (now I sound like Dr. Suess)
While waiting for a taxi I was again forced to revise my schemata. During all my time in China and from all that I knew everything pointed to one truth. There are no big dogs in China. There is even a law in China restricting the size of pet dogs. There are many logical reasons for this as much as we can think it is ridiculous… And all my observations during my previous four months here supported that. I saw countless people will little dogs riding in their bicycle baskets, sitting on door steps and carried in bags at the train station, but never once did I see a big dog. Not until last night. A woman was exiting a taxi, but there seemed to be some commotion and a struggle getting out of the cab. It turned out that she was trying to get out without loosing control of her Golden Retriever who was frantically and excitedly trying to sneak out.
A young woman met the older woman and the door of the cab, took hold of the dog and then everything calmed down. The woman got out of the cab and all returned to normal, but I still haven’t gotten over the shock of seeing a big dog in China.
There have been several more mind blowing alterations to my perception of reality lately, but of course they are not coming to mind at this particular moment. But to further illustrate my point, at dinner tonight I discovered a delectable treat… fried goat cheese with salt and pepper. We traversed the city in the drenching rain for a restaurant... well worth the trip and deserving of the name... The Southern Barbarian, Yunnan food. But oh the cheese! I can’t begin to capture the bliss of that flavor in words… but I will attempt it anyway. Warm. Crisp yet soft; salty sweet and comforting. Eaten with chopsticks. An amusing sight. The warmth soften the taste buds and softens the soul. It calms the mind and opens the heart. Eyes roll back. It is good.
So there is cheese. Not only have I heard of its existence, I have seen it with my own eyes and tasted it with my entire being. What I have come to learn is that although it is here, it is not cheap. Maybe that explains why I did not discover it in my previous travels as I was traveling in a different economic sphere that time. Today I find myself with foreigners, working and wealth, fancy meals, cab rides and exquisite housing accommodations. So cheese may only exist for certain classes, or maybe Shanghai is chic enough to be the cheese capitol of China. But let it be known, I am on the case and will not rest until I have gotten to the bottom of this pressing question. And if that means I have to eat more of that fried goat cheese with salt and pepper, so be it. I will not rest until I know the history of cheese in China.
…
I suppose that I am learning that I don’t know everything, quite a shock to you and me I am sure… but I thought I had spent enough time here on my first to gather a fairly accurate perception of the country. Having never been to Shanghai I did not know what to expect, but I didn’t imagine that it would be drastically different than the rest of China. I have been proven wrong. There are both big dogs and cheese in China.
Just imagine what I have yet to discover!
I would like to correct myself now.
I met a wonderful young woman last night, a friend of my cousin, from England. She went out with us to a terrific Dim Sum place with red walls and all sorts of high society types. After dinner she was on her way to a wine and cheese party with some South African blokes she had met on a beach in Vietnam. (This sounds like the beginning of a geography joke.) But really she was on her way to a wine and cheese party; that always seems so mature and sophisticated. But this lead me to face a new reality that had previously eluded me.
I had previously been under the impression that for some reason, beyond my comprehension, there was no cheese in China. Aside from the fact that I really like the way those words sound, “no cheese in China” and the way they feel to say, “no cheese in China.” I regret to announce that there is in fact cheese in China, at least in Shanghai. On the other hand, being an avid lover of cheese, I am pleased. (now I sound like Dr. Suess)
While waiting for a taxi I was again forced to revise my schemata. During all my time in China and from all that I knew everything pointed to one truth. There are no big dogs in China. There is even a law in China restricting the size of pet dogs. There are many logical reasons for this as much as we can think it is ridiculous… And all my observations during my previous four months here supported that. I saw countless people will little dogs riding in their bicycle baskets, sitting on door steps and carried in bags at the train station, but never once did I see a big dog. Not until last night. A woman was exiting a taxi, but there seemed to be some commotion and a struggle getting out of the cab. It turned out that she was trying to get out without loosing control of her Golden Retriever who was frantically and excitedly trying to sneak out.
A young woman met the older woman and the door of the cab, took hold of the dog and then everything calmed down. The woman got out of the cab and all returned to normal, but I still haven’t gotten over the shock of seeing a big dog in China.
There have been several more mind blowing alterations to my perception of reality lately, but of course they are not coming to mind at this particular moment. But to further illustrate my point, at dinner tonight I discovered a delectable treat… fried goat cheese with salt and pepper. We traversed the city in the drenching rain for a restaurant... well worth the trip and deserving of the name... The Southern Barbarian, Yunnan food. But oh the cheese! I can’t begin to capture the bliss of that flavor in words… but I will attempt it anyway. Warm. Crisp yet soft; salty sweet and comforting. Eaten with chopsticks. An amusing sight. The warmth soften the taste buds and softens the soul. It calms the mind and opens the heart. Eyes roll back. It is good.
So there is cheese. Not only have I heard of its existence, I have seen it with my own eyes and tasted it with my entire being. What I have come to learn is that although it is here, it is not cheap. Maybe that explains why I did not discover it in my previous travels as I was traveling in a different economic sphere that time. Today I find myself with foreigners, working and wealth, fancy meals, cab rides and exquisite housing accommodations. So cheese may only exist for certain classes, or maybe Shanghai is chic enough to be the cheese capitol of China. But let it be known, I am on the case and will not rest until I have gotten to the bottom of this pressing question. And if that means I have to eat more of that fried goat cheese with salt and pepper, so be it. I will not rest until I know the history of cheese in China.
…
I suppose that I am learning that I don’t know everything, quite a shock to you and me I am sure… but I thought I had spent enough time here on my first to gather a fairly accurate perception of the country. Having never been to Shanghai I did not know what to expect, but I didn’t imagine that it would be drastically different than the rest of China. I have been proven wrong. There are both big dogs and cheese in China.
Just imagine what I have yet to discover!
1 comment:
So as your faithful research assistant, I struck boldly out to wikipedia to see what there was to see in regards to Chinese cheese. Here's what I found out:
The only cited example of genuine Chinese Cheese:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan_cheese)
"...A milk cheese made in Yunnan province in China. It is made by mixing water buffalo milk and rice vinegar. It is usually served pan fried, and often dipped in various spices, most commonly black pepper."
From the entry on cheese in general:
"Even in China, cheese consumption is increasing, with annual sales more than doubling from 1996 to 2003 (to a still small 30 million U.S. dollars a year)."
From the entry on Pepper jack cheese:
"In Chinese culture, Pepper jack is often used in Dim Sum to mask the flavor of grease, as it contains tiny sponge-like pores which absorb excess oils."
There you have it, folks. There is cheese in China. Mostly for consumption by Chinese Muslims or foreigners, and at that, it's still not very much cheese... at least in porportion to the amount found in say... Germany, which is the world's largest importer and consumer.
That's me: here to help.
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