Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya
 
Here is the SECOND of the;
'Uncle Shane Do You Eat Pigs Eyes, Chicken Feet & Bat Wings for Snax' entries.

Besides eating Insects, Dogs, Cats, Rats, Bats and anything else that once moved I sometimes manage to squeeze in some normalish snacks when I'm feeling a tad peckish.
 
Almost all of them are found on the typical Chinese three wheeler portable snack shop or eatery. For those who have never been any where in Asia this simply means a three wheeled bike that has been modified into some type of 'portable eatery'. Some can be found grouped together on the same corner most days and/or nights and others travel around the place from hour to hour to find where the hungriest crowds are.    
 
Those who have been to China will understand when I say that food and eating is pretty much a HUGE part of the Chinese life style. For those who haven't visited China then there really isn't much I can say as unless you have been here it really is too hard to comprehend
 
What I mean by this is, I know you think you know how much they can eat!
But the fact is you really don't have any idea!
 
They spend hours preparing it and they then spend hours eating it.
What they do during the in between hours is the reason for this and the following blogs.
 
The Chinese simply snack!
 
Snacks are on every street corner of every city, town and village and don't even get me started on what can be found near bus or train stations and market places. After a huge meal that consists of about twenty courses and a billion bottles of beer, before heading to the next destination my friends will usually head for the nearest corner for snacks!
 
I can't do anything but simply shake my head in disbelief...it's all about SNAX!
 
TODAY
 
Today's menu of snax begins with what should be everyone's favourite Snax...fruit!
 
See Mum, I am still a good boy!
 
Like I said in my last Snax Page, all year round in the south we have a huge selection of fresh fruit to choose from. Usually on each street corner can be found a Portable Fruit Snax Eatery and whilst walking around the city they pass you by chirping some sales pitch. Just like with the melons, when you walk along market streets or into a market place the selection is just as confusing. They have most of the fruits we call normal but they always have to take it that one step further and have a stall full of 'stuff' Mumma never gave me as a child
 
The only one I will bother with is the one most people who have been to Vietnam, southern China etc will remember. Why would they remember them? Because they bloody stink! They stink so much that they have been band in many hotels and on board trains and buses in both Vietnam and southern China along with many more countries in South East Asia.
 
They even have signs telling you that they are banned!
Just like the 'No Smoking' sign!
 
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
The durian is the fruit of trees of the genus Durio belonging to the Malvaceae, a large family which includes hibiscus, okra, cotton, mallows and linden trees. Widely known and revered in Southeast Asia as the "King of Fruits," the fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit can grow up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lbs). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale-yellow to red, depending on the species.
 
The hard outer husk is covered with sharp, prickly thorns while the edible flesh within emits a distinctive odour, which is regarded as either fragrant or overpowering and offensive. The odour of the ripe fruit is strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Due to the unusual odour, the durian is forbidden from certain establishments such as hotels and public transportations in Southeast Asia. The odour has prompted many people to formulate evocative descriptions with views ranging from those of deep appreciation to intense disgust.
 
You have no idea how bad these things smell!
 
Next, the Sweet Spicy & Warm Rice Snax.
 
The kids go crazy over these and after eating a bag full of them are literally climbing the walls around them. The sugar rush is intense with these things. He turns a handle at the back of the bucket thing and out comes a magical mixture as sweet as Fairy Floss (Cotton Candy for the Americans and Canadians).
 
There is sugar mixed with the warm sticky rice and there is more mixed with the coating.
 
Why bother with a can of coke when you have this guy riding around the place in search of unsuspecting school children! Once they've eaten one the poor little buggers would run after him screaming if he was to pack up and go.
 
Both Luo Wei and I would have too!
They are delicious!
 
The last Snax have been one of my favourites since my arrival in China and all three can be found in just about any eatery in any city, town or village. Tea eggs and spicy tofu and in some places you can also get a nice snack of pigs blood to munch on which is what the dark stuff is in the photo with all the chili in it. You can get it in small blocks or in sausages which is how most people ate it in my town in Guangxi.
 
It wobbles like jelly but doesn't taste at all like jelly.
It is very much a personal taste type thing.
 
I like it most of the time yet there are times that if I ate it the strange thick texture would probably make me want to vomit. The tofu I love, so thick, creamy and delicious. Depending on how long it has been sitting in the chili's sometimes it maybe a little too hot for me.
 
Luckily most places also have a big bowl without chili.
 
And lastly my favourite of favouites, Tea Eggs!
You can buy them anywhere and you can eat them at any time!
Usually sitting in a mixture of tea mixed with soy sauce, what more do you need!
 
The 'Walk About' photos.
 
Today's walk about photos are mainly of shop fronts which will give you an idea of the working conditions of many of the people here. Believe it or not, they are the lucky ones! There are two photos of my Mr Bike Fix It Man! You guessed it, another three wheeler bike modified as a portable work station. This guy is unbelievable, he just rides around all day and waits for people like me to wave him down. I think the bugger puts tacks on the roads because he always seems to be in the right place at the right time!
 
Kind of like Shaowu's RACV Van but for bikes and there are plenty of them here!
 
My favourite photo for today is the Kiddie Taxi. They line up out side the school gate and wait for their little passengers. I've never been able to get a photo of all of them together, mainly as I'm never out front at that time. I'm usually hiding in my apartment so I don't get mobbed by the students.
 
And lastly at dusk each evening the fishermen take to the river.
Those without birds use nets.
It's a lovely sight!
 
Beers N Noodles full of freaky snax toya.....shane
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The soundtrack to this peckish entry was Inxs
The album was 'Elegantly Wasted'.
Most thought it was Ma Ma Who Who (Chinese for So So)!
But I loved this album!
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