in the states they charged it by weight. in Taiwan they charge based on what you have on your plate, you can eat-in or takeout. the tiny eggs are quail eggs.
Idk I guess it fits the bill, it’s not implying it’s high dining, it looks more like home cooking which is all you need for lunch, quick and filling, gets you back to work. However, when I convert back to Aud about $25 that’s pricey for lunch that’s $150 for 6 days, I’d bring my own perhaps that is their main meal but as I understand it they would not have time to cook so makes sense. Perhaps their employer subsides the lunches.
Dude! your eyes went O.O after tasting the Century Egg haha, My Mom loves them but I hate them, its only for a selected few who would even love this food. don't feel guilty, that is the wonder of food, some we like, some we don't like. thanks for being honest.
I also thought it was a bit pricey at first, but then I noticed that the portions of their selection were larger. In fact, Chinese people usually choose 1/2 the weight of their dishes. But Chinese people will give themselves another choice of rice (one bowl of rice per person), steamed buns (one steamed bun per person), porridge (one bowl of porridge per person), and sweet potatoes (half a sweet potato per person). The latter ones are all free. The combination of vegetables, meat, rice, steamed buns, porridge, and sweet potatoes will make the nutrition very balanced, and the price is cheaper, usually the price is 1/2 of their price. In addition, the place where they eat is in the business district, where the rent is more expensive and people's spending power is higher, so the prices of goods are higher. In fact, if you go to other places outside its business district, a good quality fast food (including four optional dishes and free rice) usually costs no more than 20 yuan.
@@MattandJulia People watch your chanel to see if you showcase small tier cities no westerners been to. Please stop hanging around well known cities which other youtubers already showcase. Have some courage and be a pioneer. Make history be bold.
Usually the century eggs are eaten with other food or rice. It helps complement flavour. Congee with it is la nice start or with soft tofu but in small pieces
@@MattandJulia Century egg are eggs with alkaline salt seeps into it to break its protein and fat. The yolk is still liquidish, but the white has become a jelly. It normally takes 2-3 month to make, so it is not really an old egg. They jelly part tastes refreshing. The yolk part can be a little intimidating, but it is just egg yolk and normally adds more flavor to congee or tofu.
I was looking for comment like this so I don't need to repeat myself. Century egg are commonly eaten with congee, never eat it by itself, the taste is way too strong. Loving it when it serve with congee. Edit: Pork congee with century egg is a staple food in southern China. While on the subject Chinese don't really like food that is overly sweet. The kind of sweet some western countries has is way over the roof for them.
Those eggs are like Silver Bullets to a WereWolf as far as I am concerned my Dad was brought up eating them but never ever forced them upon me! a few times when my Dad cooked liver I would opt for just a bowl of plain rice no vegetables as they were cooked with the liver as I am still a none Offal eater today! I won't eat heads or eyes either lol!
You guys are so cute. I can see you showing love and respect towards each other. Im so glad you found a career that lets you discover the world together and to share your adventures with us.
115 yuan is a little bit high. For many small canteens, they often offer something around 20 yuan for 4-5 dishes during lunch, which attracts lots of working class.
I also thought it was a bit pricey at first, but then I noticed that the portions of their selection were larger. In fact, Chinese people usually choose 1/2 the weight of their dishes. But Chinese people will give themselves another choice of rice (one bowl of rice per person), steamed buns (one steamed bun per person), porridge (one bowl of porridge per person), and sweet potatoes (half a sweet potato per person). The latter ones are all free. The combination of vegetables, meat, rice, steamed buns, porridge, and sweet potatoes will make the nutrition very balanced, and the price is cheaper, usually the price is 1/2 of their price. In addition, the place where they eat is in the business district, where the rent is more expensive and people's spending power is higher, so the prices of goods are higher. In fact, if you go to other places outside its business district, a good quality fast food (including four optional dishes and free rice) usually costs no more than 20 yuan.
it's because they dont know how to eat, so to speak this is not Western style buffet, they are suposed to eat rice or mantou, and have those dishes go with it
Another fascinating video - all credit for trying the century eggs, especially if you googled them before trying them. What an excellent way of charging for the meal - not sure it would work in a Toby Carvery though.
It's not stinky tofu - it's Sichuan style mapo tofu with Sichuan peppercorns. Those cloud are also known as wood ear mushrooms in Mandarin 木耳, so that was quite astute!
Thank you so much for making the video, we would not, otherwise, have known that the canteen would be full of people at lunchtime. I learn a lot from the two of you every time.
Hands down the egg ..I'm a risk taker foodie but that would not be the risk..lol..No to the egg ..Love all your videos ..Merry Christmas and ill diffently be looking forward to 2025 with Matt and Julia ..❤❤❤❤
Hi Matt and Julia, that feast looked great! I could easily eat there a few days a week, and have different dishes each time. I would not have tried the egg though! Wish I could be there!
I think that's a nice area of Beijing. In 3rd tier cities, those foods you had would cost less than 40% of that. But of course the store rent are much different too.
Matt staling hard there to avoid that century egg, good on ya though for trying new things I'm also of the mindset that trying new foods when you go to new countries. love the content. Merry xmas and a happy new year Matt and julia love from two long time viewers and one new viewer, me the wife and my newborn daughter
You guys were so cute eating the century egg! Braver than I might be and I love trying new and different foods. How are you feeling with your Chinese comprehension when you are out in the wild and not in class?
Great video, guys, nice lunch. the variety of veggies and proteins is stunning. I have been to buffets where they weigh the food at the register in my wife's home state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Amazing food there too you must try someday. Keep exploring. 👍
This is an ideal place to enjoy delicious local dishes at affordable prices, while reflecting the blend of traditional culinary culture and modern trends.
I wouldn’t have tried any of it. 😂😂. You guys just plunge in and do it no matter what. I love your sense of adventure in every aspect of your life. I couldn’t stay with a family either. 😂😂.
These community canteens usually serve residents on budget, particularly offer discount to those whose ages are over 60. The retirees just need to show the cashiers their senior cards to validate the discount. But I think more and more workers like to frequent such canteens and canteens love to earn more from young workers who have higher paying capacity.
The taste that put Julia off the century egg is the sulfuric aftertaste. I, personally love these eggs, You might give it another try and eat it properly, next time, together with thinly sliced pickled ginger with each mouthful. It really is an acquired taste. You can also do what another poster suggested and try it in the most traditional serving of congee or rice porridge. My half Chinese mum used to say century eggs give us vitality and power!
For the black egg, the taste of the would be ammonia, it’s an acquired taste. An easier dish for beginners to get into it would be in congee, it dilutes the tastes a lot so you can get accustomed to it before you dive in to eating it whole like that. The stinky tofu is actually just fermented tofu, real stinky tofu would smell a lot more. The fermented tofu is heavily salted, you need to mix it with rice or else it’ll taste like you’re eating a mouthful of salt. The closest thing I can compare it to is vegemite.
It's usually best to eat these eggs with vinegar for better flavor and to balance your taste buds. Weakens as much as possible the discomforting sensations you mentioned.
Here in Buenos Aires it is also common to have cantinas by weight near the office area in the center, but it is unthinkable that there are no desserts! There is a reason diabetes grows exponentially here. I imagine that in China it is not like that. Thanks for the advice on what not to eat in China... forced to eat that egg... that is grounds for divorce! haha by
The price is very high, but that depends where the canteen is located. The snow flake duck egg (century egg, yum yum devil's egg) often goes with vinegar and fresh ginger granule if you drink wine. The egg is made by dipping fresh duck eggs into alkaline fluid to convert the egg protein.
It looks very appetizing! We enjoyed our meals in Beijing. Only wish you could pass a meal Through our digital screens . Maybe AI might it happen. A very tasty video.!We are hungry right now. Hope you guys are doing ok. Sending you much love❤ from Richmond Va. Harriet, Jim and Yuki
Eating egg white of century egg is like eating jello, some people don’t like the texture. Century egg itself doesn’t have strong flavor, so usually mixed with other flavors.
Awesome variety of food there, but thought it expensive. Guess I’ve been watching too many dawon market videos where everything is usually under 10yuan 😂. Great to see what’s available in a regular canteen as a meal. That would keep you going all day. From what I’ve seen, soup is extremely popular too. Don’t you love how many vegetables they eat at a regular meal 😊 . Thing is, you really have to try everything to know what they are and if you like them. They can keep their century eggs tho, sorry but food has to have aesthetic appeal to me and they don’t look edible 😂. Thanks for sharing… can’t be easy filming when you just want to relax and eat lunch. 😘
I wouldn't be eating that egg either Matt. Your face says it all, lol. You have more will to try that egg than I do. lol The food looked amazing and a wide variety. Have a great time, be safe!! Thanks for sharing China's variety of foods. :)
@@MattandJulia True, most likely they will cater to the people's taste in their area. Like how they have westernized Chinese food that is not real Chinese food being sold in China. 😂
So glad to see that the canteen food is healthy and lots of green vegetables. I could probably survive on it as a vegan. People post restaurant foods which looks very oily and rick. Thank you for posting.
Nice video! Not a fan of stinky tofu, I'm 55+ & just tried recently. It was okay, not as bad as the smell (like others have said). On the other hand, I do like the pe-dan (century egg). Like in rice porridge with lean pork, or with tofu in a cold side dish, oyster sauce, chili oil & pork floss, yum! Happy eating!
That's a lot of food you put on those two plates! And it's on the more expensive side considering this is a more posh choose-and-weight style canteen :D
If you guys ever go to taiwan, their version of century egg is the easiest for beginners. Its paired with cold tofu and ginger, whcih helps to give it a refreshing undertone and also covers the strong earthy taste somewhat.
@@MattandJulia Century egg tofu is available all over China, if you eat the century egg alone must be accompanied by mashed ginger and soy sauce, where is the same, each place has its own collocation method, this restaurant provides is green pepper century egg, which is Hunan cuisine. In addition, people in northern China like to call it "pine flower egg" because when you break the shell, you will see a lot of things that look like pine leaves.
People mostly eat century egg in congee. Congee would mellow it out and then it becomes more about the textures. Hardly anyone eats it on its own. It is fermented so the strange taste is ammonia. Also, a little goes a long way lol.
I go to a Chinese buffet where I live in Canada. They have much of the same food, except they have Canadian Chinese food too. I work with someone from China and he enjoyed their food, he even liked some of the Canadian stuff more!
I was a little leery of that century egg. After seeing Julia go into shock after tasting it I will never try that! I love the pick-and-choose system too. Some of the Asian restaurants here are doing the weight and pay here. At least you get to try different things I would never buy as a dish.
Not bad, a lot of variety .... i would have chosen also rice or noodles as base (like potato in the west) and that with a few different dishes .but im also what they call a .... "rice-bucket" (must have rice with dishes/dinner) . 😅
You need some strategy to choose the dishes, in this kind of canteen the price can go quite high but with so so tastes, you can have some other quality foods with the same price around tbh
@@Shanghai_Knife_Dude nah its them eating it the wrong way i think. most would take 2-3 types of sides, then a bowl of rice, a sweet potato, a soup, and a corncake, which are all free.
We don't call it a century egg, we like to call it a "pine flower egg" because when you open the shell you will see a lot of pine needle-like patterns on the egg. And you can't eat it alone without ginger and soy sauce.😊😊😊
You normally don't eat one hundred century egg straight. For example; we have it with pork and cooked both ingredients together to make a porridge or congee ;a warm comfort meal. It is even better if you supplement the one hundred egg and pork congee with Chinese doughnut. It is like you don't drink liquor straight, but you mix in with other ingredients to make a perfect cocktail drink and even better if supplement with an olive.
Julia's reaction around 9:30 is my biggest fear for when I'm planning to teach in that part of the world. I'll legit be frequenting the same Westerner targetted hànbǎobāo places every day.
Wow, 111 for canteen food, that sounds expensive. I recommend Beijing food channels like 吃货请闭眼 or 睿哥（a girl who can eat 10 people's portion) they know places in Beijing from local traditional food to budget food to good value for money places to international cuisines. Another good thing about Beijing is that you could also take a day trip to Tianjin.
@@MattandJulia I cant help but hyperfocus on it lol. Love you guys and your honest , relatable and informative content. I love how you guys are not like other travel bloggers that kinda “look down” or have a particular attitude towards the people of the country you’re in because you’re from “western rich countries” and you actually try to involve yourselves in the everyday life of people wherever you’re at. I’m a huge fan of your work🩵🩵🩵
I used to see these in traditional dim sum restaurants or being use in warping of sticky rice or large buns. As these restaurants become more streamline, those food/dishes start to vanish I don't see much of it anymore.
century egg is my favorate. I dont know who translate the name. actually It is made from fresh chicken or duck egg just for 30-40 days, not century. some place call it pine flower egg, or leather egg, or transfer egg.
As a Chinese, I must say that the price of the restaurant you go to is not typical at all. Most Chinese people pay about 20 yuan for a lunch. 115 yuan is really too expensive.
Those century egg has a sort of spoiled cheese taste...LOL. We are used to it and usually eat it with hot porridge. If u dont like the century egg taste, the hot porridge can help to gulp or wash it down... 😁😁
@@MattandJulia We usually eat it with rice porridge or with wine, and you also need to sprinkle the soy sauce on the bottom of the plate, so we don't like to eat this century egg without sauce.😅😅😅
For that century egg, without the sauce it's kinda dry and blend. Try dipping in with that vinegar soy sauce. It's taste very different raw like that... when you have the courage next time.
That century egg is overcooked, should be a bit raw especially the yoke and eaten with some ginger. Its not a century old egg or even a year. Its just the name. I love it.
It’s probably the ammonia released from the egg, that is bothering you. We have a bakery item in the Netherlands with a lot of egg in it. It tastes great, nice and sweet, just don’t smell it, there’s the ammonia smell, lol
You’ll laugh at this. We had to shut audio off while watching you eating. We have 2 dogs & they can’t stand the chirping from either shoes or smoke alarms. We had to hold them while they shook. I would love to try all the food except the egg!
So expensive, $55 RMB per plate with mostly vegetables, definitely Beijing price. In a 3rd tier city, guessing it will be around $12-15 RMB per plate. Never like buy by weight, same reason I don’t like Malatang
Even for a tier 3 city, based on their choices, I don't think your prices are realistic. I think a reasonable price would be around 50~60rmb based on Beijing prices, but 110 would be too expensive.
The price is expensive for those economy foods, century eggs are mixed with porridge with vegetable, to blend it & eat together. You should take more meat & sea foods which are higher in value. vegetables are cheaper stuffs. fry stuffs are not fresh.
You sound like every British person, when getting a meal deal; or when going to the package holiday buffet in Tenerife. I’m sure Matt knows what I mean 😂
I wouldn’t try the century egg. I probably wouldn’t try the quail egg either. I would probably stick to rice, broccoli, and pork. I’m a huge sweets fan. I’m from the US.
Then I am sure you will like Chinese Huaiyang food very much, such as Wuxi food, it is said that Wuxi people make a dish with sugar in it, ordinary people need to eat for a year. Especially Wuxi pork ribs!😅😅😅
I was really surprised of the prize. That's about the same you would have paid in a German establishment like this five years ago, prior to the inflation surges - without the 100 years old eggs, of course ... The choice is unbelievable, though, never seen such a large variation of food offered in a canteen.
Century egg is not eaten like you did. Century egg is sliced into small pieces and eat with pickled ginger. The vinegar will counteract the acidity taste of the egg. (You said like hair dyer) For a good Century egg , the egg white part is transparent and wobbly, not hard. The egg yoke part is soft like when you cook a hard-boiled egg, the egg yoke is still soft like half cooked.We call it 芙蓉疍.😊
Why am i seeing the same pedestrians from beginning to end? Like the guy at the start reading his phone with his leg on a small wall looking at his phone and the same again when you leave? Nice video though.
What do you reckon, would you be a regular in this Chinese Canteen? 🤔😏
in the states they charged it by weight. in Taiwan they charge based on what you have on your plate, you can eat-in or takeout. the tiny eggs are quail eggs.
expensive
@@MattandJulia No doubt I would be a regular.. great food at a reasonable price what's not to like..
Idk I guess it fits the bill, it’s not implying it’s high dining, it looks more like home cooking which is all you need for lunch, quick and filling, gets you back to work. However, when I convert back to Aud about $25 that’s pricey for lunch that’s $150 for 6 days, I’d bring my own perhaps that is their main meal but as I understand it they would not have time to cook so makes sense. Perhaps their employer subsides the lunches.
Dude! your eyes went O.O after tasting the Century Egg haha, My Mom loves them but I hate them, its only for a selected few who would even love this food. don't feel guilty, that is the wonder of food, some we like, some we don't like. thanks for being honest.
I also thought it was a bit pricey at first, but then I noticed that the portions of their selection were larger. In fact, Chinese people usually choose 1/2 the weight of their dishes. But Chinese people will give themselves another choice of rice (one bowl of rice per person), steamed buns (one steamed bun per person), porridge (one bowl of porridge per person), and sweet potatoes (half a sweet potato per person). The latter ones are all free.
The combination of vegetables, meat, rice, steamed buns, porridge, and sweet potatoes will make the nutrition very balanced, and the price is cheaper, usually the price is 1/2 of their price.
In addition, the place where they eat is in the business district, where the rent is more expensive and people's spending power is higher, so the prices of goods are higher.
In fact, if you go to other places outside its business district, a good quality fast food (including four optional dishes and free rice) usually costs no more than 20 yuan.
Ya... In fact I saw some of them sell like 15 yuan for full plate/bowl as big as theirs.
Sometimes they will give you a free soup.
Omg, I would never have skipped the lotus root, love that stuff
We loaded up to be fair 😀
@@MattandJulia People watch your chanel to see if you showcase small tier cities no westerners been to. Please stop hanging around well known cities which other youtubers already showcase. Have some courage and be a pioneer. Make history be bold.
Lotus root is always good with braised pork especially spicy pork like Szechuan style but is also great with Hong Shao Rou too
Usually the century eggs are eaten with other food or rice. It helps complement flavour. Congee with it is la nice start or with soft tofu but in small pieces
Thanks for the info! Doubt we’ll be trying the century eggs again anytime soon though 😅
@@MattandJulia Century egg are eggs with alkaline salt seeps into it to break its protein and fat. The yolk is still liquidish, but the white has become a jelly. It normally takes 2-3 month to make, so it is not really an old egg. They jelly part tastes refreshing. The yolk part can be a little intimidating, but it is just egg yolk and normally adds more flavor to congee or tofu.
Yes, the 皮蛋 are usually eaten with either porridge or white tofu & soy sauce.
In Thailand they're known as "horse pee eggs", and I love them 😀
I was looking for comment like this so I don't need to repeat myself. Century egg are commonly eaten with congee, never eat it by itself, the taste is way too strong. Loving it when it serve with congee.
Edit: Pork congee with century egg is a staple food in southern China. While on the subject Chinese don't really like food that is overly sweet. The kind of sweet some western countries has is way over the roof for them.
That egg is great in congee!!! It has an earthy taste.
Thanks, we believe you 😌
I love food, most food, but I don't think I could bring myself to try the egg! Another fab episode.❤❤
Thanks! ❤️ To be fair, watching it back, I don’t know how we did it! 😷
Those eggs are like Silver Bullets to a WereWolf as far as I am concerned my Dad was brought up eating them but never ever forced them upon me! a few times when my Dad cooked liver I would opt for just a bowl of plain rice no vegetables as they were cooked with the liver as I am still a none Offal eater today! I won't eat heads or eyes either lol!
Nice vid, Best combination of Century Egg is with Cognac, IMO, small little pieces and with an oyster fork
You guys are so cute. I can see you showing love and respect towards each other. Im so glad you found a career that lets you discover the world together and to share your adventures with us.
115 yuan is a little bit high. For many small canteens, they often offer something around 20 yuan for 4-5 dishes during lunch, which attracts lots of working class.
must say that price is rip off.
That sounds like a much better price for a regular daily customer. 115 even for 2 would get very expensive on a daily basis.
They are in an expensive part of Beijing which is already an expensive city to live in. So I'm not surprised at all with that price.
I also thought it was a bit pricey at first, but then I noticed that the portions of their selection were larger. In fact, Chinese people usually choose 1/2 the weight of their dishes. But Chinese people will give themselves another choice of rice (one bowl of rice per person), steamed buns (one steamed bun per person), porridge (one bowl of porridge per person), and sweet potatoes (half a sweet potato per person). The latter ones are all free.
The combination of vegetables, meat, rice, steamed buns, porridge, and sweet potatoes will make the nutrition very balanced, and the price is cheaper, usually the price is 1/2 of their price.
In addition, the place where they eat is in the business district, where the rent is more expensive and people's spending power is higher, so the prices of goods are higher.
In fact, if you go to other places outside its business district, a good quality fast food (including four optional dishes and free rice) usually costs no more than 20 yuan.
it's because they dont know how to eat, so to speak
this is not Western style buffet,
they are suposed to eat rice or mantou, and have those dishes go with it
Another fascinating video - all credit for trying the century eggs, especially if you googled them before trying them.
What an excellent way of charging for the meal - not sure it would work in a Toby Carvery though.
Hahahaha, if only they would charge like that in a Toby! 😍😂
I am one of those vegans, I believe I could have eaten well in that canteen. Very interesting video.
Thanks for telling us you’re vegan . 😂
It's not stinky tofu - it's Sichuan style mapo tofu with Sichuan peppercorns.
Those cloud are also known as wood ear mushrooms in Mandarin 木耳, so that was quite astute!
You do know your food! X
Just to add about wood ears. They are tasty and nutritious and are used in savory dishes and desserts as well
Thank you so much for making the video, we would not, otherwise, have known that the canteen would be full of people at lunchtime. I learn a lot from the two of you every time.
Hands down the egg ..I'm a risk taker foodie but that would not be the risk..lol..No to the egg ..Love all your videos ..Merry Christmas and ill diffently be looking forward to 2025 with Matt and Julia ..❤❤❤❤
Hope you dont mind me asking. Have you tried durian fruit before?
Great videos! Lots of fun to watch! Keep up the good work! 👍
Hi. Greetings from Ireland 🇮🇪. Thank you for the super video. Merry Christmas 🎄
Hi Matt and Julia, that feast looked great! I could easily eat there a few days a week, and have different dishes each time. I would not have tried the egg though! Wish I could be there!
in the states they charge it by weight. in Taiwan they charge based on what you have on your plate, you can eat-in or takeout.
Love the videos. The chirping smoke alarm just ruined it , lol.
I think that's a nice area of Beijing. In 3rd tier cities, those foods you had would cost less than 40% of that. But of course the store rent are much different too.
长江流域制造：降火祛湿，延年益寿，包治百病。
在中国，泡菜凉菜酸菜，是做配菜（调味）的。不作主菜。主菜是，萦（肉），蛋，素（菜），汤。
长江以南到处都有自助式 本地或客家菜街店。消费水平中等。价格30块上下。一小碟5－20块之间（萦素汤，小点），丰俭由人。
Matt staling hard there to avoid that century egg, good on ya though for trying new things I'm also of the mindset that trying new foods when you go to new countries. love the content.
Merry xmas and a happy new year Matt and julia love from two long time viewers and one new viewer, me the wife and my newborn daughter
great video thank you
You guys were so cute eating the century egg! Braver than I might be and I love trying new and different foods. How are you feeling with your Chinese comprehension when you are out in the wild and not in class?
Yummy, I want to join you there, I’m getting Chinese for dinner tonight, can’t wait ♥️ Thank you kids!!
You two are so cool! Very proud of you. And best wishes from Wales. Diolch o galon!
Great video, guys, nice lunch. the variety of veggies and proteins is stunning. I have been to buffets where they weigh the food at the register in my wife's home state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Amazing food there too you must try someday. Keep exploring. 👍
This is an ideal place to enjoy delicious local dishes at affordable prices, while reflecting the blend of traditional culinary culture and modern trends.
I wouldn’t have tried any of it. 😂😂. You guys just plunge in and do it no matter what. I love your sense of adventure in every aspect of your life. I couldn’t stay with a family either. 😂😂.
The hair dye taste is from the ammonia produced in the curing process of the century egg. It’s mainly in the yolk.
I was going to state the very same as your comment! so glad I decided to read other comments 👍
The century eggs goes well with congee. It could be eaten on its own with pickles ginger or spicy chilli oil with black vinegar as a side dish.
Love your videos! Interesting and entertaining! 🇨🇦❣️
These community canteens usually serve residents on budget, particularly offer discount to those whose ages are over 60. The retirees just need to show the cashiers their senior cards to validate the discount. But I think more and more workers like to frequent such canteens and canteens love to earn more from young workers who have higher paying capacity.
The taste that put Julia off the century egg is the sulfuric aftertaste. I, personally love these eggs, You might give it another try and eat it properly, next time, together with thinly sliced pickled ginger with each mouthful. It really is an acquired taste. You can also do what another poster suggested and try it in the most traditional serving of congee or rice porridge. My half Chinese mum used to say century eggs give us vitality and power!
Hello, another great video (as usual) but... the century old egg... what was it from I wonder ?
Just a duck egg that preserved in a special traditional way.
For the black egg, the taste of the would be ammonia, it’s an acquired taste. An easier dish for beginners to get into it would be in congee, it dilutes the tastes a lot so you can get accustomed to it before you dive in to eating it whole like that.
The stinky tofu is actually just fermented tofu, real stinky tofu would smell a lot more. The fermented tofu is heavily salted, you need to mix it with rice or else it’ll taste like you’re eating a mouthful of salt. The closest thing I can compare it to is vegemite.
It's usually best to eat these eggs with vinegar for better flavor and to balance your taste buds. Weakens as much as possible the discomforting sensations you mentioned.
@@jokeychinyup, thats how i like to eat century eggs as well. I also add chopped ginger to kinda dilute the yolk intensity
Here in Buenos Aires it is also common to have cantinas by weight near the office area in the center, but it is unthinkable that there are no desserts! There is a reason diabetes grows exponentially here. I imagine that in China it is not like that. Thanks for the advice on what not to eat in China... forced to eat that egg... that is grounds for divorce! haha by
Hahaha, I think so Alejandro! I should have protested that one harder to be fair 😂
Each province has own dishes and recipe! you should visit all of them to try!
The price is very high, but that depends where the canteen is located.
The snow flake duck egg (century egg, yum yum devil's egg) often goes with vinegar and fresh ginger granule if you drink wine.
The egg is made by dipping fresh duck eggs into alkaline fluid to convert the egg protein.
It looks very appetizing! We enjoyed our meals in Beijing.
Only wish you could pass a meal
Through our digital screens . Maybe AI might it happen. A very tasty video.!We are hungry right now. Hope you guys are doing ok. Sending you much love❤ from Richmond Va.
Harriet, Jim and Yuki
Eating egg white of century egg is like eating jello, some people don’t like the texture. Century egg itself doesn’t have strong flavor, so usually mixed with other flavors.
I love it with congee . 😊
Awesome variety of food there, but thought it expensive. Guess I’ve been watching too many dawon market videos where everything is usually under 10yuan 😂. Great to see what’s available in a regular canteen as a meal. That would keep you going all day. From what I’ve seen, soup is extremely popular too. Don’t you love how many vegetables they eat at a regular meal 😊 . Thing is, you really have to try everything to know what they are and if you like them. They can keep their century eggs tho, sorry but food has to have aesthetic appeal to me and they don’t look edible 😂. Thanks for sharing… can’t be easy filming when you just want to relax and eat lunch. 😘
I wouldn't be eating that egg either Matt. Your face says it all, lol. You have more will to try that egg than I do. lol The food looked amazing and a wide variety. Have a great time, be safe!! Thanks for sharing China's variety of foods. :)
Looks very healthy and tasty.
imagine a replica of this canteen opening beside a university in UK😆
Haha, it would probably be serving up bacon and eggs then to be fair 😅
it would be expensive😅😅
@@MattandJulia True, most likely they will cater to the people's taste in their area. Like how they have westernized Chinese food that is not real Chinese food being sold in China. 😂
So glad to see that the canteen food is healthy and lots of green vegetables. I could probably survive on it as a vegan. People post restaurant foods which looks very oily and rick. Thank you for posting.
JUST SEE HOW WELL ORGANIZED AND CLEAN THE CANTEEN IS? AND THE SO MANY DIFFERENT FOODS TO CHOOSE.
Nice video!
Not a fan of stinky tofu, I'm 55+ & just tried recently. It was okay, not as bad as the smell (like others have said). On the other hand, I do like the pe-dan (century egg). Like in rice porridge with lean pork, or with tofu in a cold side dish, oyster sauce, chili oil & pork floss, yum! Happy eating!
I'm so hungry now 🤤 it's pretty tough living in the uk without nice food
Those lotus root in pork soup, best !!!🙂
Sounds nice! 😍
That's a lot of food you put on those two plates! And it's on the more expensive side considering this is a more posh choose-and-weight style canteen :D
We were very hungry, and wanted to share a lot 😏❤️
If you guys ever go to taiwan, their version of century egg is the easiest for beginners. Its paired with cold tofu and ginger, whcih helps to give it a refreshing undertone and also covers the strong earthy taste somewhat.
Ah good to know, thanks! ❤️
@@MattandJulia Century egg tofu is available all over China, if you eat the century egg alone must be accompanied by mashed ginger and soy sauce, where is the same, each place has its own collocation method, this restaurant provides is green pepper century egg, which is Hunan cuisine. In addition, people in northern China like to call it "pine flower egg" because when you break the shell, you will see a lot of things that look like pine leaves.
We normally dont egg the century egg like that. You cut it up and put it into congee.
People mostly eat century egg in congee. Congee would mellow it out and then it becomes more about the textures. Hardly anyone eats it on its own. It is fermented so the strange taste is ammonia. Also, a little goes a long way lol.
Thanks for that! X X🇦🇺❤️
I must admit, I like this channel .
We lived in Beijing and loved it!!
I go to a Chinese buffet where I live in Canada. They have much of the same food, except they have Canadian Chinese food too. I work with someone from China and he enjoyed their food, he even liked some of the Canadian stuff more!
I was a little leery of that century egg. After seeing Julia go into shock after tasting it I will never try that! I love the pick-and-choose system too. Some of the Asian restaurants here are doing the weight and pay here. At least you get to try different things I would never buy as a dish.
Not bad, a lot of variety .... i would have chosen also rice or noodles as base (like potato in the west) and that with a few different dishes .but im also what they call a .... "rice-bucket" (must have rice with dishes/dinner) . 😅
Century eggs and stinky tofu are an acquired taste. When I was a kid I didn't like them. Now I love it!
Roadside diners when I visited Brazil are similar in that you fill your plate and pay by weight -- comida por quilo, cheap and nutritious.
You need some strategy to choose the dishes, in this kind of canteen the price can go quite high but with so so tastes, you can have some other quality foods with the same price around tbh
It takes courage to eat that century egg 👍😅 Otherwise I certainly could be a regular of that canteen... just missed some dessert!
£11 for a massive healthy lunch like that is amazing, the choice of sides is so good! If that was in London I’d be there every day!
Too much for Beijing standard. That place is like one of cyber deep fake face influencers would go.
@@Shanghai_Knife_Dude nah its them eating it the wrong way i think. most would take 2-3 types of sides, then a bowl of rice, a sweet potato, a soup, and a corncake, which are all free.
The look he gave before trying the egg: Oh my goodness...like he was about to get a blindfold and face the wall at 20 paces....
The egg is delicious. It's excellent with porridge.
Century eggs eaten with pickled ginger is delicious😋
We don't call it a century egg, we like to call it a "pine flower egg" because when you open the shell you will see a lot of pine needle-like patterns on the egg. And you can't eat it alone without ginger and soy sauce.😊😊😊
In China, there are many canteens where you can pay just 16 CNY to enjoy 20 to 60 dishes and eat as much as you like.
You normally don't eat one hundred century egg straight. For example; we have it with pork and cooked both ingredients together to make a porridge or congee ;a warm comfort meal. It is even better if you supplement the one hundred egg and pork congee with Chinese doughnut. It is like you don't drink liquor straight, but you mix in with other ingredients to make a perfect cocktail drink and even better if supplement with an olive.
Julia's reaction around 9:30 is my biggest fear for when I'm planning to teach in that part of the world. I'll legit be frequenting the same Westerner targetted hànbǎobāo places every day.
You'd be missing out.
@kapk I'll try and be more adventurous...
Wow, 111 for canteen food, that sounds expensive.
I recommend Beijing food channels like 吃货请闭眼 or 睿哥（a girl who can eat 10 people's portion) they know places in Beijing from local traditional food to budget food to good value for money places to international cuisines.
Another good thing about Beijing is that you could also take a day trip to Tianjin.
Nice
Thank you! ❤️🙌🏼
The apprehension on your face was classic when it came to Matt Vs Century Egg! 😆🤣
Food looks amazing, but how annoying to have to eat with the smoke alarms beeping cause someone dont wanna change the batteries
Haha, to be honest, it didn’t put us off 😅
@@MattandJulia I cant help but hyperfocus on it
lol. Love you guys and your honest , relatable and informative content. I love how you guys are not like other travel bloggers that kinda “look down” or have a particular attitude towards the people of the country you’re in because you’re from “western rich countries” and you actually try to involve yourselves in the everyday life of people wherever you’re at. I’m a huge fan of your work🩵🩵🩵
I was wondering what the noise was. Reminds me of basketball shoes on an indoor court.
3:30 is quail eggs, a delicacy in chinese cuisine.
I used to see these in traditional dim sum restaurants or being use in warping of sticky rice or large buns. As these restaurants become more streamline, those food/dishes start to vanish I don't see much of it anymore.
Every dish looks delicious.
century egg is my favorate. I dont know who translate the name. actually It is made from fresh chicken or duck egg just for 30-40 days, not century. some place call it pine flower egg, or leather egg, or transfer egg.
When Matty sampled the Spam, and kept saying Spam I was waiting for Vikings to show up and start singing.
As a Chinese, I must say that the price of the restaurant you go to is not typical at all. Most Chinese people pay about 20 yuan for a lunch. 115 yuan is really too expensive.
I make Black Rice at home all the time, I've never seen it in a restaurant before, is that common in China or anyplace else in the World?
Those century egg has a sort of spoiled cheese taste...LOL. We are used to it and usually eat it with hot porridge. If u dont like the century egg taste, the hot porridge can help to gulp or wash it down... 😁😁
Thanks for the heads up 😅❤️
I think that is a good comparison, as some Chinese feel the same when they are having cheese.
@@MattandJulia We usually eat it with rice porridge or with wine, and you also need to sprinkle the soy sauce on the bottom of the plate, so we don't like to eat this century egg without sauce.😅😅😅
What is the 8:33 beeping sound?
The incessant smoke alarm low battery beep. I can’t.
For that century egg, without the sauce it's kinda dry and blend. Try dipping in with that vinegar soy sauce. It's taste very different raw like that... when you have the courage next time.
In the USA, thankfully there are sneeze guards over the food to prevent germs from invading your food.
That century egg is overcooked, should be a bit raw especially the yoke and eaten with some ginger. Its not a century old egg or even a year. Its just the name. I love it.
It’s probably the ammonia released from the egg, that is bothering you. We have a bakery item in the Netherlands with a lot of egg in it. It tastes great, nice and sweet, just don’t smell it, there’s the ammonia smell, lol
Chinese style bakery?
@@howardcheung5809haha, no, very common dutch bakery item, even supermarkets sell them
@inge6280 oh you guys eat century eggs too?
@ well, no not really
Perhaps 🤔 we love eggs, but these were very different 😌❤️
You’ll laugh at this. We had to shut audio off while watching you eating. We have 2 dogs & they can’t stand the chirping from either shoes or smoke alarms. We had to hold them while they shook. I would love to try all the food except the egg!
it is too expensive but Peking, you may able to find cheaper local eatery, try soy bean ,like stream bun, peking duck, seafood, beef chow fu, dinsum
So expensive, $55 RMB per plate with mostly vegetables, definitely Beijing price. In a 3rd tier city, guessing it will be around $12-15 RMB per plate. Never like buy by weight, same reason I don’t like Malatang
that is a rip off kitchen, should avoid
Even for a tier 3 city, based on their choices, I don't think your prices are realistic. I think a reasonable price would be around 50~60rmb based on Beijing prices, but 110 would be too expensive.
@@jokeychin 110兩個人，不貴
Yummy!!
❤🎉
The price is expensive for those economy foods, century eggs are mixed with porridge with vegetable, to blend it & eat together. You should take more meat & sea foods which are higher in value. vegetables are cheaper stuffs. fry stuffs are not fresh.
Next time, next time 😌❤️
You sound like every British person, when getting a meal deal; or when going to the package holiday buffet in Tenerife. I’m sure Matt knows what I mean 😂
I wouldn’t try the century egg. I probably wouldn’t try the quail egg either. I would probably stick to rice, broccoli, and pork. I’m a huge sweets fan. I’m from the US.
Then I am sure you will like Chinese Huaiyang food very much, such as Wuxi food, it is said that Wuxi people make a dish with sugar in it, ordinary people need to eat for a year. Especially Wuxi pork ribs!😅😅😅
I was really surprised of the prize. That's about the same you would have paid in a German establishment like this five years ago, prior to the inflation surges - without the 100 years old eggs, of course ...
The choice is unbelievable, though, never seen such a large variation of food offered in a canteen.
Century egg is not eaten like you did. Century egg is sliced into small pieces and eat with pickled ginger. The vinegar will counteract the acidity taste of the egg. (You said like hair dyer) For a good Century egg , the egg white part is transparent and wobbly, not hard. The egg yoke part is soft like when you cook a hard-boiled egg, the egg yoke is still soft like half cooked.We call it 芙蓉疍.😊
Eat the century eggs with slices of pickled ginger, or with tofu.
No brasil esse tipo de lugar é conhecido como self service, é cobrado por peso ou um valor fixo por prato.
Why am i seeing the same pedestrians from beginning to end? Like the guy at the start reading his phone with his leg on a small wall looking at his phone and the same again when you leave? Nice video though.