Monthly Archives: October 2013

Chengdu Herbal Medicine Market

This entry was posted in Medicine on by .
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Chengdu Herbal Market

Imagine going to the mall where the only items sold were herbs. That was our experience at Chengdu Chinese Herbal Medicine Market. There were the expensive stores that carried high-quality herbs like Hong Hua (Safflower Flower), Yan Wo (Edible Bird’s Nest), and Chuan Bei Mu (Fritillaria) as well as controversial herbs like Dong Chong Xia Cao (Cordyceps; Caterpillar Fungus).

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Yan Wo (Edible Bird’s Nest)

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Chengdu Herbal Market

 

 

Beyond the fancy stores, it became more like a farmer’s market, with rows and rows of herbs in each stall. Some owners seemed bored with the foreigners gawking at their herbs while others were fascinated by a group of Meiguo (Americans) identifying herbs with their Chinese names.  In those moments, I had never been more thankful to have spent four+ years studying the pinyin names of all those Chinese herbs. It finally paid off in my first Chinese herbal market.  Thank you, AOMA. Xie xie.

 

 

Chinese Noodles to Italian Pasta, The Legacy of Marco Polo

This entry was posted in Food, Travel on by .

When I came to China, I wasn’t thinking about noodles. If I had remembered the history of Marco Polo and his legacy of pasta, I would have known I would find comfort food in China in the way of Chinese noodles. I have obviously had Chinese noodles in the United States. But honestly, most of my Chinese food experience was based on rice. I didn’t realize how prevalent and delicious noodles were in China…until I saw this man making homemade egg noodles!

Now, I don’t know if Marco Polo really was responsible for bringing pasta to Italy after his exploration in the Far East but mamma mia! This is the kind of homemade noodle making skills and taste that would make my Italian nonna proud!!