Yunnan Hospitality

Tofu Grill in Jianshui - Yunnan Province, China

Yesterday we stopped at this tofu grill for lunch. These grills are all over Jianshui and this style of dining is far and away the most common in town. All of them have charcoal grills the edges of which are heaped with these little pillows of tofu.



The Grillmaster

As people eat, the grilltender moves more tofus to the center to brown over the coals. In a glass case at the door they have bowls and bottles to concoct various dipping sauces with ingredients like peanut paste, chili paste, fermented soy bean paste or soy sauce. They also have a bunch of bowls of cooked veggies, meats and cold relishes. You get a small plate or two of the veggies, sit down by the grill and pull a tofu pillow off the grill when you want. People sit shoulder to shoulder, low to the ground dipping tofu and driking tea. For the first time in a LONG time, we're in a city that does not see many tourists from outside the country. People often stop and stare at us like we have two heads, especially the older ones. As soon as you say "ni hau" (hello), though, they break into huge smiles.



I liked this guy's hat

Anyway, people here can be nice, and I mean catch-you-way-off-guard nice. While we were eating at the above grill an old guy sitting next to me put his hand on my shoulder, pushed a ten yuan note into my hand and motioned at my and Tami's plates. He was buying us lunch. I did my gracious best to decline but there was no way I was going to override his hospitality. This was a totally working class place and he was the image of a working class guy (Jianshui looks to me like a true-blue working class city, something like Saginaw might have looked in 1925.)

Our first night in the country, we were sitting at a little noodle stall on the street. It was hot and had been a LONG day traveling from Laos so we were looking for a beer. Everything on the menu was printed in Chinese script. All we could do was point at a bottle and hold up a finger. The food was a mystery. We left to go down the street and saw a man selling fried potatos and tofu squares (tofu's everywhere it seems). Armed with snacks, we went back for a second beer. The young people working the noodle stand saw that we got food and, after bringing our beer, dropped a plate of noodles on our table (w/o meat!), no charge.

We haven't been here long but China is certainly working hard to make a great impression. We're liking it!