Chengdu

Since we were only in Chengdu for 2 days, I'm going to keep this to one post. We didn't do nearly as many touristy things since we've been there before. The first full day there was Sunday, September 2nd. My cousin Yang Yang came over and my uncle and aunt took us out to lunch. It was deeeelicious. Some pictures of the food we ate!

A special sort of black noodle 

A dish called "Grandma Dish"

Delicious corn with egg batter

Then my mom and I headed over to my Da Jiu's house. He's my mom's older cousin, technically, but his parents passed away when he was young so my grandparents pretty much adopted him as their son. That's why she calls him her brother, and I call him my uncle. I got to see my nephew for the first time! His name is He Tian Yu. Okay, he's not exactly my nephew, he's the son of my "cousin," who is Da Jiu's son, which really makes him my cousin once removed, and makes Tian Yu my nephew once removed? Something like that. American terms for family relationships are so confusing. Anyway, Tian Yu is adorable, but he's HUGE for his age!! He's only two and a half but he's the size of a four-year-old. Ridiculous. So we had dinner there and then headed back Yao Ba's house.

Not the best picture...but the three generations!

The next day, we went out with my cousin Yang Yang, and saw downtown Chengdu where all the shopping is. We didn't buy anything, just went into some high-end department stores filled with frilly, overly-flowered Chinese clothing that looks like it belongs on dolls. Honestly, I don't know how Chinese girls wear the clothes that they do. It looks so ridiculous! I don't plan on buying any clothes in China. Except maybe a nightgown or something, because their nightgowns really are comfortable. We ended up having lunch at this place known for specialty Chengdu dishes. It was pretty good; you got to pick a certain pre-set meal that came with all these mini dishes which were really cute.

The main set of dishes

Mini specialty dishes! Rice balls and spring roll =D

Aren't they so cute??

We ended up seeing The Amazing Spider-Man after lunch (which I had already seen in the US), but it was fun watching it again. Plus, this time I got to watch it in 3D! It was 60 yuan, which is about $10. Not bad for 3D.

Dinner was probably one of the most exclusive experiences I've ever had...one of my mom's old friends invited us out to dinner at this REALLY fancy restaurant called "Three Bricks" in English. Okay, actually, my mom's friend's sister-in-law invited us, technically, because she was the one who was pretty wealthy. It was located in this area called "Kuan Zhai Xiang Zi," translated as "Wide Narrow Alley," which is a historic preserve district that was recently renovated (so really, it's not THAT historic). It was pretty fun to walk around and see the different buildings. The restaurant was so nice though--we had our own private room with a private bathroom, and the restaurant itself had an enclosed courtyard. The chef even came in to explain some of the (very expensive) dishes. Pretty legit. More pictures below!

The enclosed garden!

Some squid and duck, I think...

"Drunken Shrimp"

Possibly the best, most tender beef I've ever had. With honey and spices to dip it in.

Chengdu specialty!

Handmade dough-cut noodles

Dessert!

Those pictures are only some of the dishes we ate. There were so many others. Insanity, I tell you. And we had watermelon juice to drink!!! Yummy. So yes, this was my final night in Chengdu...quite a finish, I must say.