A Home Cooked Meal

Our first full day in Beijing we got to visit a traditional Chinese household. Our group was starving as we had just walked around the Forbidden City for a couple of hours and was ready for our some real Chinese food. The dinning room we ate in was just a little bit smaller then a traditional American household. Before coming to China I thought all rooms in China would be very small because of the large population, but this room was fairly normal. We didn't get the chance to see the upstairs and compare the size. Our meals were incredible though. The flavors were much different then what I had expected compared to American Chinese food. I felt most dishes had a unique sweetness I had never had before but I really liked them. I often enjoy cooking so I would like to learn what some of these dishes were and see if I'd be able to make them in America. The meal we had was massive as food was still coming out as people were getting full. When we finally had enough we were served pineapple because China doesn't have dessert but instead finish their meal with fruit. I really like this as it reminded me of home with my family as my mom usually makes a fruit bowl to go along with our meals. I'm sure this will be the first of many amazing Chinese dishes we will have during our trip.