During my travels throughout China, I must have taken hundreds of pictures of food; different kinds of meat dishes, fish and vegetables, but never any fruit. Well, the other day that all changed when I had what I can only refer to as a "When Harry Met Sally" diner experience after eating a ping pong ball-sized grape. I knew instantly that this would be my first picture of fruit and that I had to share it with you. Some of you may be wondering about the how they grow their fruit here in China. Is it organic? Do they use pesticides, chemicals, etc? Well, I have to tell you, this fruit is so amazingly good, the second you eat a piece you won't care where it came from, you'll just want more!

Well, I finally did it. People have been asking me for quite a while now if I have eaten dog while in China, so now I can finally say that I have. It wasn't quite on purpose, but yes, it finally happened. What I mean by "not on purpose," is that I really had no intention of eating dog or even letting the whole situation go this far. It all started as what I thought was a pissing contest between me and another man. He kept asking if I was adventurous and if I wanted to try it. I really didn't think he was serious...

Maybe it is just me, but trying all of the wonderful and delicious types of food there are around the world is absolutely one of the greatest excuses to travel. It isn't just eating the food though that satisfies you, sometimes, its the reaction you get from those around you. Take this lady in the picture for example. I wish I could have had a video camera to show you how excited she was to cook, for the first time, for an American. She even went and put on her nice coat for the picture. Or tonight, the excitement on the young cook's face while he was staring at me eat his cooking. And how proud he was when I said his food was delicious (in Chinese) in front of his regular customers.

The other day, I was talking to my mom on the telephone and she asked me about the food. She asked what I was having for breakfast. I told her that a very common breakfast food was noodles. Her Italian upbringing led her to reply, "Noodles! For breakfast! What do you have for dinner... Eggs and Pancakes!" I couldn't help but laugh. That night, I had left a bar with a friend and stopped to have the eggs filled crepe-style pancake pictured below. I know it seems a bit backwards but it sure does hit the spot. By the way, the noodles pictured here are the world famous Guilin Rice Noodles. I had this bowl while in Yangshuo. Normally, there aren't so many peppers but I've gotten use to heating things up a bit.

A fews days ago, my scheduled plan changed unexpectedly and since I had a few extra days to kill, I thought I would come on down to Kunming in Yunnan province. Although it has a famous reputation, the cold weather up north was a major factor in my decision to come down to the south. When I went out for my first meal, I was reminded at how great eating can be here in China. Not just because you get to try great food, like my meal of the famous Yunnan fried rice and some delicious steamed pork dumplings, but also because of the satisfaction that follows when the bill comes out to less than a dollar, including a drink!

I wonder if we would eat so much meat if this is how it were presented to us. As you probably know, I'm about to wrap up my third month in China and one thing I find interesting is the presentation of the food. There seems to be quite a different attitude about how people see their food here. Seeing animals hanging from a restaurant window is extremely common, in fact, it seems to almost be a requirement. Feeling hungry yet?