a good dumpling

What makes a good dumpling? The question never occurred to me until a few days ago, when the pathetic existence heretofore known as "my life" was given new meaning. This trip is already a success. I have eaten the best fried dumplings ever known to man.

The first two days I was in China, I was in Hangzhou, a city famous for two things: 1) being a former capital, and 2) being one of two locations in China known as "heaven on Earth." There's a (horribly translated) saying that while heaven exists up there, on Earth we have Hangzhou. It's a beautiful city—there's a giant lake in the middle, and mountains surround the city. Trees line all of the streets, and botanical gardens are everywhere. It's also great for tourists, although there aren't that many foreigners—I saw a Hooters, lots of clubs and expensive restaurants, and lots of pretty photo spots.

(I'm in Jinhua now, but I figured I'd write about my first few days here. Will update with current happenings later.)

Me and my mom stayed at the Pod Inn—it's this new international chain of cheap, made-for-students hotels. We got a room for two for $18 a night. The room was okay. It was smaller than our individual rooms at Yale, and it came complete with bunk beds and two computers with Internet access—but no dressers, soap, or toothbrushes. At least they know where students’ priorities lie.

Traveling with my mom is interesting. On one hand, we spend a lot of time haggling for really expensive clothes in silk shops. On the other hand, she is a wonderful guide and knows exactly what I like to eat. On the first day, we had dinner at this really expensive buffet on the lake (which cost $12 per person hahaha). We tried some things that worked (ostrich meat is SO tender and juicy) and some things that didn't (duck feet and ox tongue—meh).

Earlier in the day, we had lunch at a famous fast-food restaurant whose name, 知味观, roughly translates to "Temple of Eating Knowledge." (It sounds elegant in Chinese. I swear.) Fast-food, Chinese style, involves buying tickets at the front desk and then going to different counters around the room to order. Picture a food court, except five times louder, ten times more crowded, and with people pushing and shoving to order instead of waiting in line. Fun times. We ate 猫耳朵 ("cat ears"), which is one of my favorite Chinese dishes—it's basically small balls of dough soaked in a simple broth with some small pieces of meat and vegetables.

We also had these wonderful, blessed dumplings. I had no idea fried dumplings could taste so good. A good dumpling requires many things—it should be small enough for you to eat without stuffing your mouth, and it should be hot but not scalding. The bottom of the skin should be crispy, while the top should be so soft that you want to sink your teeth in and chew it all day. Most of all, the pork and chives inside and the dough outside should be soaked in oil, so that the flavor explodes in your mouth when you first taste the skin—and then continues to please when you bite in. Yum.