Part 9 (2/2)
The proble us fro to indicate ”I'll have what she's got” In spite of the constraints, lunch turns out great, lacking only in our inoscenti Hairy crab dus the plump, juicy little purses in a steaar-soy dipping sauce Two types of shri visibly through the sheer, pleated wrapper, and the other with tiny shrireens, and Chinese chives in rice-paper rolls The baked barbecued pork dus, next on the card, completely outshi+ne the more common steamed pork buns offered on dim sum carts the world over ”This has to be lard pastry,” Cheryl says about the flaky crust holding the scrule, ethereal bite each, provide a divine finish with a pot of jas the cooks knew more about anted than we did,” Bill says
Unlike City Chiu Chow last night and the di, deals with English-speaking tourists regularly A strikingly handsoht from sleek ebony furniture, old Chinese objects displayed as contelazed porcelain tableware Many people probably come for the view, similar to ours at the Y except a couple of blocks h ”From here,” Cheryl says, ”the boats on the harbor look like bathtub toys”
The food, on the other hand, is huge in flavor Cheryl orders radish-wrapped crab rolls for an appetizer, which the kitchen prepares by cutting a daikonlike white radish lengthwise into paper-thin strips and wrapping theant idea with a tasty result, as is Bill's salad of raw scallops sliced finely and topped with porapefruit relative, pulled into its tiny individual sacs, a delicate combination served with a robust house-made chile paste
The main-course presentations practically knock us off our ebony chairs The waiter delivers our crispy la wooden plank The cooks have boned out each rib individually and reasseles the crusty surfacefat and succulent rare lamb, enhanced beautifully with a sweet soy sauce If that has us leaning back in our seats in appreciation, the fried baby soft-shell crabs kick the legs out from under us They show up perched dramatically atop at least one hundred stir-fried dried red Szechuan chiles (the ”looking toward heaven” variety) in a round, dark bath in diaaping mouths, but the reflex comes back with the initial taste of the luscious round red chile On the side we get another stellar version of long beans, this tier, bits of fresh red chile, ine we'll have a finer or ed feast in China,” Cheryl says sensibly but ultiht toconcerns us a little, for reasons of check-in rigoes quickly and professionally, though, on China Southern Airlines, leaving us plenty of ti for dim sum, we discover an irresistible anomaly and wind up with Louisiana red beans and rice, southern fried chicken, and biscuits at a Popeye's, a chain based in New Orleans Not bad at all for airport fare this far froate for our nonstop hop to Shantou, the airport city closest to Chaozhou, ander through the ner names with cookie-cutter purses and perfumes There's even a Ferrari exhibition with a doll-size replica of a red Testarossa, where Flat Stanley poses as the driver for a photo op When we're finally seated in the departure lounge, Cheryl looks around at the surrounding group of Chinese passengers ”No one else is wearing these goofy tags they gave us at the check-in desk,” a round stick-on label for our shi+rts with the airline logo and flight nuuess in their eyes we're like unacco lost”
”Probably so,” Bill says ”They don't realize we've put Stanley at the wheel”
Where else in the world would a city of three million people not qualify for an airport of its own? And, for that matter, remain unknown to most of humankind? In China, numerous other cities simply outrank Chaozhou in population, political clout, industrial strength, and international contacts and recognition That's basically why the local Coe friend, John Oliver; his wife, Patty; and a raentleman with a seriously squared-off flattop meet us at the Shantou airport, an efficient if plain facility John introduces their co that it's their nickname for him based on the local Chinese dialect word for ”driver,” a respected title in Chaozhou ”Ziggy won't say lishstint in the PLA”-Chinese People's Liberation Army-”in circumstances he doesn't discuss with us The car is ours, but we don't dare drive it ourselves, because if one of us got in an accident, all the blame would be put on us and the penalties would be harsh”
A hway runs between the airport and Chaozhou, about forty minutes ahen traffic flows smoothly Cars, trucks, and motorbikes crowd the road these days-a development, Patty says, of the last decade ”There used to be protected lanes for bikes and motor scooters, but with the rapid expansion in the nu spaces” Driving is soy handles the job confidently and often aggressively, sometimes more so than the Olivers prefer
Within an hour, he reaches the historic center of the city and turns down a narrow alley, barely one car wide, to get to John and Patty's residence and principal offices for their Calabash pottery business They ownformerly occupied by the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce The Olivers take us first to their home, two apartments combined into one spacious and co office downstairs to ask a couple of their key e women, both initially shy, show up shortly ”This is Si toward a perky lady in her early twenties, ”and the one with the big smile is Vicky,” who is a decade ora little interview for our local TV station about your cookbooks and your visit to Chaozhou? That was Vicky's idea, and she is acting as a liaison on it Is it still okay with you?”
”Sure,” Cheryl says, ”we do short TV spots all the time in the States”
”It'll be fun to see the setup here,” Bill adds
”What's the status of that now?” Patty asks Vicky
”The producer is still trying to figure out exactly what he wants to do and when I'll phone hiain this afternoon”
When she and Simin return to their jobs, John tells us, ”We helped to teach thelish, and both of them handle it pretty well now Vicky has a connection at our single TV station, operated under the auspices of the Communist Party, because she works part-time for the Chamber of Commerce, also tied into the Party power structure”
”Let me show you our kitchen,” Patty says, ”and then we'll take you up to the guest apartht-filled space, probably one of the largest andthemselves but also have a cook, ”Aunty Jane,” who takes care ofand meal preparation
”Notice,” John says, ”we don't have an oven, because no one uses them in China We do have a rice cooker, of course, like everyone else, and a dish sanitizer, because the water doesn't get hot enough to kill all bacteria”
Patty walks over to a serator ”This is our most unusual appliance It doesn't holdfood at home is new here Typically, families buy just what they'll eat at one ests ”This building, like her structureson the top floor so you won't need to worry about extra exercise” The Olivers bought the two-bedroouest use and also for the access it provides to a large rooftop terrace Patty decorated the flat in an attractively si roorant tuberose in the thankfully air-conditioned bedroom Water for showers, as John deas burner before turning on the faucet The s on one side overlook a sprawling old fahborhood, where several generations lived in different quarters but shared a single kitchen and bathroom A few centuries of weather have faded the terra-cotta roof tiles almost white
”Farther out,” John says, ”you can see a slice of the hty Han River and a part of the walls that encircled the ancient city, which dates back to the first century BC It's been officially designated a 'Faet lots of Chinese tourists, but few visitors fro been known for porcelain and other ceraood kaolin clay That's e built the factory here for our Calabash pottery Would you like to visit the plant this afternoon?”
”Let us freshen up,” Cheryl replies, ”and we'll be ready to roll”
Ziggy drives the four of us, and Simin follows on her motor scooter to act as an interpreter As soon as we arrive, Ziggy jumps into a routine that beco and serving Iron Buddha tea to the group as a cere ceraered pieces Many of thelazed and unglazed, designed to specification for American clients such as Lowe's and K us some examples, John says, ”Martha's buyers ordered these for the next season No photos, sketches, or descriptions of any kind are allowed until they reach stores in the spring of 2006”
Parts of the production process are auto is still done by hand, often by couples working together, with thethe trie tanks of propane to fuel their two kilns, one configured for specialized situations and the other a large, fully h different temperatures over a nine-hour period
”Many Chaozhou factories,” Patty tells us, ”house rant workers in dorood labor practices so we don't do it We do feed our employees, however I'll show you the kitchen” As immaculate as the rest of the operation, it features industrial-dimension woks, about three feet in diameter, and a rice cooker the size of a bathroom Jacuzzi The cohty people, are currently stir-frying chicken with loads of garlic and red chile over leaping flames
”That looks tasty,” Bill said
”Want to come back for lunch on Monday?” John asks
”It's a date,” Cheryl answers, unaware yet that all of us will be eating elsewhere
”Speaking of food, let's go see a Chinese version of aoutlets in China several years ago, they inspired local clones, like our Fu-Mart” She decides to ride with Siainst John's objections, and the rest of us pile into the car with Ziggy
On the way there, John tells us, ”Locals dis on a day-to-day basis in small quantities Then they cae of the air-conditioning, still rare in the city They liked the constant music the store plays and also the discounted specials Now it's busy all the tioods, frorocery section is enor floors, lined on both sides with bins bulging with bags of potato chips for ied teas extends at least seventy-five feet and large baskets nearby hold twenty-five varieties of loose floral and herbal tea leaves Banks of tanks display live fish and seafood, and rows of tables parade fresh produce of all kinds, including shi+take mushrooms for forty cents a pound and porcinis for even less An aisle of soy sauces offers the various kinds in gas-can-size containers, and the shelves of MSG boast a hoard of the seasoning sufficient to supply every Chinese buffet restaurant in the United States for a year In-store bakers make Western breads and pastries, previously rare in Chaozhou; Siuettes and doughnuts look decent The wine department carries both Chinese and French selections, the latter in locked cases Prepared take-hoes from chicken feet to wholeherbs) and dis entice us more than others, but we definitely leave with an appetite
In the store, Cheryl mentions to Patty and Si for someone to burn our trip photos onto a CD Simin says, ”Oh, I can do that It will just take a few ue her when she loads them into her computer and she requests permission tosouy in these shots?” she asks about Flat Stanley Cheryl introduces the two and they becoether-and with the rest of the Calabash office staff-for their own photos
The Olivers have planned dinner at an upscale establishment they call ”the Door Man's Restaurant,” a nickna handsoht on Chaozhou's version of Tiananoverno,” John says ”Since then, the whole town has shi+fted in that direction The old center, where we live, will be historically restored and made into a pedestrian-only zone”
Simin's parents-introduced to us only as Mr and Mrs Wu-join our entourage at the restaurant When John and Patty first moved to Chaozhou, they rented roolish when she was just twelve Mr Wu is a highly regarded sculptor, currently working on a piece coanization to present to President George W Bush on an upco visit
The Wus and the Olivers order for the table, just discussing the possibilities with the waiter rather than studying a lish, Mr Wu says, ”The Chinese always try to get balance in a h”
Pattyscene ”So far, there are no Western places at all Occasionally, you see aodd like Salisbury steak over spaghetti”
The dishes tonight, roughly in order of service, include a wars; turnip cake siapore; oyster oreens; steeet potatoes; and tender strips of beef with green and red bell pepper, tofu, and shi+take mushrooms Dessert combines crisp apple slices and tiny tomatoes John co and the Wus agree Mr Wu cos were refrigerated before cooking, clear evidence of a deficiency in freshness When Cheryl compliments the turnip cake, Mrs Wu says, ”You will like mine better I'll send some over to you with Siht people with tea and Chinese wine
After dinner, alk over to the huge square across the street, where hundreds of people are watching the Saturday-night entertainroup from the Chaozhou opera company performs in one corner, and in another, fountains on a pond splash towering colu a screen for projected scenes frohts outline thethe square and soes, one an elaborate rendition of a paGoda and bird Grinning children and teenagers rush up to practice their English on us, repeating after one another ”hello,” ”Welcome to China,” and ”Good-bye” A nuather around Cheryl for photos with a blue-eyed blonde, like she's froy drives us through a nightin clothes, and then down another lane lined with new upscale boutiques that John and Patty have dubbed ”Hong Kong Street” Near their home, John points out the Friendshi+p Store ”When we moved here, that run-down place was the only department store the Party would authorize in town Now there are y has to stop twice in the alley leading to the Olivers' apartet other residents to et by Old and new, traditional and trendy, Communist and entrepreneurial, Chaozhou flaunts it all at once
Vicky calls John on Sundayplans ”The producer would like to take Cheryl and Bill, with the two of you, me, and a video crew, on a one- or two-hour tour this afternoon of historic Chaozhou, where they will film the Ja to sample street food from some of the most popular stands” John frowns at the last part, but poses the question to Bill while Vicky holds