Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Silver thread bread

This is actually dinner from last night. But I thought it was appropriate to separate them out. My parents and relatives, which are visiting over the holidays, decided to bring me along for dinner to a local restaurant. It's somewhere in Tianmu. Since we took a bus and I didn't pay much attention, I'm unable to reproduce the exact location. Sad since the food turned out to be quite excellent. Of the two most notable, was the duck blood hot pot and the silver thread buns. Both I think are of Beijing origin and may also be of relation to Hakka cuisine. I'm a fan of duck blood. Looks and sounds disgusting, but it really doesn't have any strong taste. It there is any taste, it's only a very mild irony taste. The texture has the consistency of hard jello. It's not meant to be eaten alone, but dependently with a soup or a supplementary part of a larger dish. Much like the hot pot you see in the picture. This hot pot though is pretty thick to be called a soup. And that thick soupy gravy really goes well with that duck blood and white rice. Next is the silver thread buns 銀絲卷 (yinsijuan). Delicious! A crispy buttery skin on the outside with extremely soft and fluffy white bread inside. Steamed silver thread buns are named because of the unique noodle-like threads inside the buns. I hear the process is also equally unique, in that you steam it first then deep-fry it later. Silver thread buns can be served with peanut powder or stir-fried pork with preserved vegetables, but I love it just the way it is. I pick it apart thread by thread, then eat the crispy skin (the best part) for last. Yum!

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