A Taste Of China On The Road To Shangri-La Cycling Adventure

The foods that we grow familiar with, through our families, traditional feasts and the restaurants we visit; all heavily influence our ideas around what is tasteful and desirable. A cultural affection for foods is an important, and essential part of any community and its history. At the same time our actual sense of taste, the sensation in the immediacy of a bite of food, without bias from our cultural and culinary journeys, is something that is harder to experience as we age.

If ever there is a destination to visit, with open heart, open mind and open mouth, it is China. More specifically, Yunnan state, through which the Road to Shangri-La passes.

Golden Palace Kuixing Tower, Kunming

My own travels brought me to Yunnan in the early 2000’s. The culinary abundance, rituals and delicate care for the foods prepared has always stayed with me. I was fortunate to experience the diverse cuisine of Kunming, where the Road to Shangri La spends a rest day.

There are many reasons for the bounty of Yunnan cuisine. Certainly, the temperate year-round weather is one, Kunming is famously known as ‘The City of Eternal Spring’. Another reason is the early development of agriculture, including the over thousand-year-old Hani Terraces. Built by the local Hani people, to maximize the fertility of the mountainous terrain and steep ravines, as well as utilize the heavy seasonal rainfall for irrigation. This alludes to another factor, the cultural diversity of the region.

Hani Rice Terraces

There are over 25 distinct ethnic groups in Yunnan state, as well as the majority Han Chinese population. Though the federal government has enforced Mandarin as a common language, most of the indigenous ethnic groups in Yunnan continue to speak their own languages and continue their own distinct culinary practices.

So, to inspire food cravings, and excitement for the Road to Shangri-La’s time in Yunnan state. Below are a few of the culinary highlights to look forward to. One thing you can easily see, is that the names and stories of dishes are as unique as their tastes…

Crossing The Bridge Rice Noodles

Crossing The Bridge Rice Noodles

A beautiful noodle soup brought to the table deconstructed as hot broth with side vegetables and meats to be added only at the moment of devouring. From a Qing dynasty folktale exhibiting the inventive way a dish could be kept hot, even if having to cross a long bridge by foot before serving.

Ghost Chicken

Wild herbs, birds eye chilis and lime make this shredded chicken salad spicy, citrusy and fresh, while the name tells the story of roosters being eaten after their sacrifice at ceremonies of the Dai and Jingpo ethnic groups.

Old Grandma’s Potatoes

Imagine potatoes, in this case cooked till soft enough for even a toothless person to enjoy (old grandma in this case), and mashed with garlic, scallions and fiery peppers, and maybe even the local cured ham. This one is to be enjoyed with a cold Tsingtao beer, followed by a long nap.

Black Three Chop

Known as a “rice killer” dish, as it invites you to consume mass quantities of rice alongside it, Black Three Chop is a high heat wok cooked dish with minced pork, picked mustard greens and root, and fresh green chilies. Three ingredients to chop, and the local mustard root is black.

Yunnan mushrooms

Wrinkled Peppers With Wild Mushrooms

Yunnan mushrooms, with over 900 edible varieties, are famous in China, and though not on any restaurant menus, the hallucinogenic variety are also common in the local forests. While this dish won’t have you seeing things, it will have you coming back for seconds. Yunnan wrinkled green peppers almost embrace the mushrooms in the dish and offer a gentle, crunchy heat.

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