Gratianus

It was interesting to eat in Datong. When I first arrived, I had my first dinner at the hotel. The menu was bilingual Chinese/English, as were to some degree the staff. But I did not much like the food, alas. Plus I woke up in the middle of the night with a bad headache, which may be a sign that the chef has been too enthusiastic with MSG.

So the next day, I tried a restaurant that I happened to pass in the street.



I was given a table and they sent forth a waitress who knew a little English. The menu was entirely in Chinese, so I could not really read it. But I asked in Chinese for diced chicken. I got what I asked for, but realized that I did not get any rice automatically. So I asked for that as well, plus a bottle of beer. All in Chinese, so I am proud that this was my first meal ordered entirely in Chinese, and it worked. The food was very good, and no headache during the night.



So I went back to the same place for my remaining two dinners. The second night, I ordered lamb, which also worked, and it tasted really good. The third night was more problematic. I tried to get noodles, but they did not serve that. So I tried dumplings (jaozi), but they did not have that either. Instead I got two steamed dumplings (baozi) with pork inside, and that was really good. I tried to get them with vegetables inside, but instead I got a plate of boiled vegetables, also very good.



All in all, this restaurant gave very good value. The meals were simple but very good, and I felt satisfied each night. That is why I came back. "My" waitress, whose name is 陈惠夏, Chen Hui Xia, was also very sweet and worked hard to understand what I said, and to provide good food.



For lunch one day, I had meat grilled over charcoal on the street. This woman fanned the charcoal when she grilled my meat. It was tasty and good.