Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A Fishead Restaurant Ritual



It would be weird, when I would have been away from this blogging world whereas I am also away from everything. I have no idea what to write everytime, to be honest. Actually, there is a lot to write. You can not come to an end for all what sounds and looks so weird for us. When I take into consideration that I am working as well, I am not having left so much spare time. But I made the promise to myself that I will find this time. It is inevitable that I live in China, the real part of China. I will try to reflect the 'mystic world' we observe, from our observations.

You might wonder where the hell is this Real China, but here is such a place where people still live away from civilisation and where they have no idea what pizza is or what pasta is. Here, they react like they see aliens when they see us, the foreigners ( moreover, I am the only lady -with blonde hair). It is city called Shuozhou, in Shanxi Province, with a population of 1,500,000.

Here everything is a problem where you never think about in your daily life even finding pasta in a supermarket. In fact, here is well-known with its noodles that I can not stand seeing. As long as you can not find the taste that you are used to, it is very difficult to survive here: especially if you are that selective about taste, like me.

Our social life is somewhere under 0. But of course, it is not an obstacle for us to be happy. For us, not so many activities here rather than going for fishead restaurant and for me, cooking.   Especially me... who has made a big fame in selecting dishes by making everyone mad since my childhood. In a place like China, when I even think about for a while where else we could be which is more utopic. It is better NOT to think :) because my life is full of such weirdness. So, you never know I might find myself in that place. I do not want to be so rebellious. However, I will give some details about this Fishead Restaurant Ritual. I do not know how come I showed the courage to try because for me the eyes taste before my mouth and plus the smell stuff. These are the determinative signs for me. 

Anyway, I can not really remember how I convinced myself trying it ( I guess I had no way out) but this restaurant became my favorite from the first day on. My goodness, can there be such a delicious taste? Rice and fish head, and on it that tremendous spicy souce that I could never figure out what is indiside. It is more like liquid but a bit oily. When I would be in Izmir, I could have never imagined making such a union. I enrich this main dish with some oily roasted nuts and oven-dried spicy potatoes. It is such a delicious taste, I take every bit with my chopsticks, wishing that it becomes endless in my mouth. I merely wait for Saturdays only for this. I wonder if I could do this myself when we go away from here. 

If you ask me what this Fish Head is... It is the head part of a big fish, on which you eat the cheeks of the fish. Actually, the meat part is really little. (Therefore, we most of the time order 2). We always wondered where the rest of the fish is. Then we got the information that the restaurant is buying only the head of the fishes. I tried in several other cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou but this one here in Shuozhou is the best ever. I have intended many times to go in the kitchen and have a look but my dear husband said :' you might never eat this again when you see the kitchen' and stopped me. I could never risk to leave this pleasure away. So, I never insisted. For the time being, it is just a big question mark how that fish is being cooked in that souce, probably steamed. It is really delicious. My mouth is watering even my only think about it. 

Luckily there is Fishead.


1 July2008 Shuozhou