Travel Notes | Xiamen (1)

This is my first meeting with Xiamen, and I can feel her irresistible charm.

Trees on the airport road

Zhongshan Road was my first destination, and my residence was also nearby, so I got off the plane and got on the bus to get here. For me, who grew up in the north and knew little about the south, this stretch of road is just scenery. The scenery in the south is very different from that in the north. The most obvious thing is the street trees. The sky in the north is mostly grass green, with a touch of earthy yellow added in autumn. Here it is green and the lines are harder. There was also soft Hokkien, and the intonation of Taiwanese anchors played on the airport bus gave me a taste of a foreign country.

When traveling, I would lament with my friends that the development of cities and technology has made every destination similar, and walking has lost its original meaning. Fortunately, life is not as pessimistic as I thought.

View of Zhongshan Road from the alley

I consider myself very lucky. The hotel I randomly booked during class is less than 100 meters away from the lively Zhongshan Road, but it is hidden deep in an unknown alley, and it somehow feels like a seclusion in a busy city. Although most places here have been transformed into the bustling look of new streets, it is still easy to glimpse the normal appearance of the old city in the alleys. When I got off the bus with my only luggage, I could still see enthusiastic tourists standing and taking photos. I followed the navigation and walked in, and suddenly turned into an alley. The light in the alley was blocked by the wall, and the color turned into a cold gray. There were no signs of renovation on the wall. Some clothes were hung out to dry, and some green plants were placed, which suddenly made it more lively. There were many tourists coming and going on Zhongshan Road, and there were young girls and boys hawking goods on both sides. There was constant noise in my ears. When I walked into the alley, the small intersection blocked out all the sounds, making it much cleaner.

window in alley

A friend who went to school in Xiamen took me to a noisy vegetable market called "Eight Markets" on Zhongshan Road. It is indeed very noisy. When you look up, you can see the gray walls of the old city and the windows that stick out. It is very similar to where I live, and it contrasts sharply with the gorgeous white walls of the bustling streets not far away. The stalls on the sidewalk are densely packed together with no rules. There is only a narrow path left for customers. My friend used the navigation on his mobile phone to go around a few times before finding the target store. However, this kind of place has a stronger market atmosphere. For me, the hawking sounds on Zhongshan Road are too enthusiastic. The voices in the market are different. Everyone is doing their own thing. The frog is jumping hard in the red net pocket. The small fan is turning its head back and forth. The high-pitched shouts on the bicycles break up the noisy low of the crowd. By the time we arrive, it is already In the dark, my friends and I walk very fast, and we accidentally get separated under the flickering dim electric light.

Fruit stall in the market

The appetizing dessert is the pan-fried pancake from the market, which people with sugar addiction will definitely like. It's a sweet cake. I can't tell the specific ingredients, but the filling is soft gel, mixed with tiny pieces of dried fruit. It's soft and glutinous but not monotonous, and it shines brightly under the light. When we arrived, there was no one in the small stall, and we were sighing, "Are they sold out?" Two aunties passing by called us: "There are two boxes left on the other side, go, go, go!" The tone made people anxious. I turned around and saw that there were indeed two boxes lying on the stall opposite. There were several pieces stacked in one box. I told my aunt that if we only wanted one piece, she would open the plastic package and wrap it with a small piece of sweet cake. If there are too many, it will make you tired and lose it. The charm is gone.

The penultimate portion of pan-fried cake

Tumbled five-spice sticks

I can't taste all the snacks, so I can't comment on which store is more delicious, but there are some that I must mention. This five-spice stick deep in the market really made me feel more happy than I was full. The crispy skin rolled freely in the pot, and the skin was fried to a golden brown. It was filled with meat filling and diced onion condiments inside, and it had a chewy texture because There is no spice, so the sweetness of the onion becomes the main flavor of the seasoning, which is not bland. This is a mysterious reaction between the ingredients. The five-spice sticks don't taste greasy. Four sticks are enough for two people, so don't be greedy.

The storefront of Yuehuasha Tea Noodles

The rich satay noodles and the salty rice dumplings that I didn’t eat

Since I drank a large cup of tea at the beginning, I didn’t have much stomach left for the last bowl of sand tea noodles. According to a friend, Sha Cha Noodles are a very magical food. If you are unfortunate enough to eat an unauthentic one, the noodles and soup will have no taste, but she said that the Sha Cha Noodles themselves are very delicious. The store we went to looked authentic enough from the outside, and the long queue and open-air plastic benches did not affect its taste. The specialty snacks in this place have their own unique taste. The language cannot describe it clearly, and it lacks characteristics. All I can describe is that it has a little spiciness that is rare in Xiamen, which is almost negligible. The texture of the noodles is not like that in the north. The hand-rolled dough is not very strong, maybe it is oily noodles or something, I only guess that is its uniqueness.

A bakery that leaves regrets

One regret of this trip was that I was not able to eat the burgers made by a bakery in the market. My friends and I repeatedly recommended it, but it was too late the first time and I was in a hurry the second time. To this day, I can still think of it, maybe it was meant to be defective, even if it wasn’t the bread, there was something else.

Jin Jin

2019.12.25