On our last night before leaving for Sweden, we had a hot pot at the maze-like shopping mall in Tianjin, where the pork brains, tripe, and noodle show was served as usual.
Three days have passed, and I haven’t really missed the hot pot and other Chinese food. Of course, what we ate after our arrival (the hotel breakfast buffet, Vietnamese rice noodles, and IKEA meatballs) did not deviate from the eating habits we had developed over the years. But the “Japanese food” we had today made someone homesick.
We tried the bibimbap, but it’s really a salad of heated rice and salmon (or beef, if you prefer). Watching the Japanese-looking chef carefully prepare the dish, it was hard to see how it had anything to do with East Asia. On the contrary, the complimentary hot miso soup was comforting.
In fact, I think the taste of this airport fast food is quite okay, better than most so-called “light food” back home, at least is a combination of hot and cold, and not all grass or brown rice. Moderate amounts of rice, with less salty meat and vegetables, may be the inevitable trend toward balanced nutrition in Chinese food. After all, I came out with a mission to lose weight, so I was satisfied as long as the food was real, not too greasy to eat, and not all cold.