Sept – 8th – 2010
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of dining at arguably Shanghai’s best Sichuanese restaurant: Ba Guo Bu Yi. This was definitely an experience.
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China that is another one of the major industrial centers in Shanghai along with Beijing or Shanghai. However, unlike these other centers Sichuan is a bit more traditional and maintains a bit more of their own unique identity (read: less international/globalized). The Sichuanese pride themselves on maintaining their culture and as a result they have become extremely well known for their own type of cuisine- “Sichuan Cuisine”. Sichuanese Restaurants are characterized by their prominent use of spices, garlics, and peppers… but mainly spices. As a fan of spicy food, needless to say, I was very pleased with my meal that night.
The meal, like most meals in the nicer Chinese restaurants based on my experience, was served community Lazy Susan style. So essentially, the 8-10 of us seated at my table decided what we each preferred to eat the most, made sure that we had a good balance and no overlaps, and then proceeded to rotate the tray and share each other’s orders… as tacitly as
possible. No worries- I wont even pretend to act as if I knew/know everything that I consumed that night, I pretty much tried at least one of whatever was rotated in front of me without regard for how unfamiliar I was with the animal/body part that it was described as. However, I am certain that at one point I consumed a pretty sizable portion of pork knuckles and corn dumplings. Tasty.
But aside from the great good, the main highlight of the night was the “Bian Lian” performance that I was fortunate enough to enjoy. I’ll spare you the history lessen but essentially “Bian Lian” is a type of magic or “face changing art” where the performer, usually a male, performs dances and gestures all while simultaneously changing the mask on his face. Its another major part of Sichuan culture that has been in existence since the 1700′s and preserved within families through the men by the fathers passing the skill down to their sons.
I know it may seem a bit corny, but it really is AMAZING. Check out my video here to experience it with me firsthand- pay attention to the masks!
Let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Emeka
