A day at the lake

Last weekend, we got a call from Zhang Xiaoming (pronounced just like it's spelled...), the brother of our very good Chinese friend from Connecticut. He and his family happen to live in Kunming, and have been very kind and helpful, particularly when it comes to feeding and entertaining us. At any rate, last week, they wanted to take us with them on a family outing to Fuxian Lake, so we of course agreed. Our first stop was a restaurant where they'd reserved a stewed duck the day before. But, the special item on the menu was fresh fish. A bucket full of bullheads to be exact. I generally avoid fish here, since it's not close to the ocean, and the freshwater tends to be polluted, but these were raised in a pretty pristine lake, so we went for it. If you've never seen 1.3 kilos of bullheads before, feast your eyes: After being cooked up, they looked much more appetizing: The spicy bullhead stew was actually the tastiest item on the menu. The fish were mostly head and bones, but the meat was quite tasty, despite the work involved in getting it. The sauce was super spicy, and laden with the Western Chinese spice "hua jiao", also called Sichuan pepper corn. It's basically a seed that numbs your tongue when you eat it. It's an odd sensation, but one I've gotten to like quite a bit. Ella decided to serve us: And also serve herself:A good time was had by all (Zhang Xiaoming and family): After eating, we decided to take a look around the lake. It is incredibly clean, unlike the stereotypical polluted Chinese waterways. The lake has a rule of no motors to preserve it's current state, and in the areas where there's no swimming, the water is crystal clear down to the bottom. There's quite a bit of fishing, swimming, and just people hanging out: It's also been developed for tourism, and there were strings of cars from Kunming filled with Chinese families out for the weekend. We decided to join them at one of the developed beach areas. The Chinese idea of how to enjoy a beach is a little different from the Western concept. It seems to include mostly little tables set up by the water with lots of snacks, and rental of tacky self-propelled boats. That said, the scenery was quite pretty, and there were plenty of friendly people around. Hyunjoo got herself a little wet... While Ella and I joined Xiaoming and his daughter, Lulu, for a more total-immersion cultural experience.After we were worn out, we finally headed back to Kunming, most of us sleeping in the car, and finished the day off with dinner at a Korean restaurant.