Coming from Singapore, I have been spoilt by excellent seafood both at home and just cross the border in Malaysia. I miss seafood terribly, but wasn’t particularly impressed by the offerings of the seaside town. Of course, we made our pilgrimage to the Tsingdao museum and drank in the most manly way we could.
We discovered this sweet potato roasting contraption that was the highlight of my trip. There wasn’t a street vendor that I could terrorise, so I’m not entirely sure how it works. It reminds me of a Chinese medicine cabinet. A billowing flame fuelled by charcoal is found underneath.
These giant biscuit trucks I’ve seen in Beijing, but I never had the opportunity to chase one down to have a snack. It appears to be a snack native to Tianjing.
We stumbled into these housing areas that looked like the Kung fu hustle movie set.
They slice their fishes into halves alot here. I’m not sure if it’s entirely for the purpose of deboning the fish or it makes the portions look larger. Maybe they are superstitious as a seafaring nation? We don’t practice flipping the fish at home either (given that my dad worked in shipping, my late maternal grandfather was a ship captain and my brother went on to become a maritime lawyer) as it’s symbolic of ships capsizing—an important detail for those in the industry.
Finally these penis looking things end up on everyone’s plate. I couldn’t find the courage to eat it. The wait staff told me they are sea intestines 海肠。I wouldn’t eat it even you paid me to, well okay if it was on fear factor, it’s not the worst thing you can eat.
UPDATE: My male Chinese friends told me the little penises are the most delicious things in the world and they are meant to be eaten raw. Apparently, they taste sweet. You’d have to pay me to eat it.
Our eating schedule highlights included the famous chuanr place with branches all over the city called Wangjie shao kao 王姐烧烤
I haven’t got the address for this one, but it’s not far from the old part of town.
If you like Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶 (pork ribs cooked in spices and tea), you’d like this pork rib dish 青岛排骨米饭, without the tea element. They haven’t got an address, but it’s right opposite the train station, so ask for directions if you’re visiting.
This little hole in the wall place is called 万和春排骨米饭。(wan he chun paigu mifan)
Qingdao Pork ribs specialty and abit like Singapore’s Bak Kit Teh – pork ribs cooked in an herbal tea soup.
