Help me identify what I ate in China

In May 2009 I was fortunate enough to travel solo from central Ohio to Huángshān and Běijīng. I had delicious food in a wonderful country. I wanted to have the community, with the help of my fading recollection, identify what I ate while overseas. I was inspired by the discussion of Drew's trip to North Korea.

Gallery

1. One of the items I am most curious about. Seemed very popular.

2. Prepared and sold on the back of a bicycle each morning. I would like to know what is inside.

3. Steamed buns? I remember them being less doughy than what I've had in the states.

4. Doughnut?

5. A dessert. Are those tapioca balls?

6. No idea.

7. Candied plums?

8. Given to me by a very nice woman on the train. I remember a hard pretzel like exterior.

9. Given to me by the same woman on the train. I did not open it.

Thanks for any help.

1. Milk

2. P'zone

2C. Pop tarts and overdone waffles.

3. Correct, less doughy, steamed buns.

4. Doughnut.

5. Yes.

6. Milk with limes.

7. No, just normal plums.

8. Another doughnut.

9. Poison, good call for not opening it.

@Vipersona: First one seems to be the way they package milk there.

The second... I am going to guess is a hot pocket of some weird kind.

Three. Maggots and earthworms... but seriously it just looks like a stuffed bun of some kind. Maybe a veggie lovers special.

Four. A disk shaped donut.

Five. Salsa for said disk shaped donuts.

six and seven and eight seem like meat buns or something.

nine seems like some kind of... French thing I am assuming.

Ten looks fucking delicious. Whatever it is.

Eleven looks like another milk thing.

Twelve looks like a kabob of mini apples covered in honey... I would try it.

Thirteen looks like a meat stuffed cookie...

Fourteen and fifteen seem like some kind of milk chocolate... maybe...

Yes I am American. And yes I have never been to any other country before.

They all look like Communism to me.

1 is milk.

2 looks like it's egg based, with possibly green onions and most likely rice noodles.

3 is steamed rice buns. Brad & Ryan love these things.

4 is friend bread. Sure, doughnut, whatever.

5 looks gelatin based. Ugh. I don't want to know what the Chinese use for gelatin.

6 is probably milk again. Did it taste like milk? C'mon. Give us something to go by.

7 is hive eggs.

8 is the fried hopes & dreams of a nation.

9 is poison. Those are universal symbols.

You're telling me that you went to China, and you didn't even try scorpion on a stick? My Chinese friends swear by them. Or how about cat soup? I think you played it too safe. Also, you need to try more milk. It may be a foreign concept to you.

1. I'd guess it's some sort of milk, genuine fresh cow milk is apparently really hard to find in China so it's probably some weird variant.

2. Bun with rice noodles and a common chinese vegetable I do not know the name of (sort of like green onions in texture).

3. The usual steamed bun.

4. Was this one sweet? If it was salty it's a chinese doughnut usually had at breakfast with congee.

5. Looks like a red bean dessert with balls of dough.

6. No idea.. some sort of milkshake?

7. I've seen this during a trip to Beijing when I was a kid but never had it.

8. If this was chewy while being a bit sweet and salty in taste then I've had it and it's amazing. No idea what it is though.

9. Is it beef? I can read the first word as 'tea' but I'm not sure if the second word says cow or not haha (Took 10 years of chinese school and all if it was forgotten over one summer (: ).

I'm Chinese born and raised in Canada so I'm pretty clueless to Chinese culture but I'm pretty sure I've had some of the foods you've pictured, hope it helps!

@Paul_Is_Drunk said:

6 is probably milk again. Did it taste like milk? C'mon. Give us something to go by.

You're telling me that you went to China, and you didn't even try scorpion on a stick? My Chinese friends swear by them. Or how about cat soup? I think you played it too safe. Also, you need to try more milk. It may be a foreign concept to you.

Of all the items I remember 6 the least. Lemonade? Who knows.

I passed on the opportunity to have scorpion on a stick. It was right next to the seahorse when I saw it..

You're right milk is hard to come by in the midwest. Jokes!

@Tonyyj said:

1. I'd guess it's some sort of milk, genuine fresh cow milk is apparently really hard to find in China so it's probably some weird variant.

2. Bun with rice noodles and a common chinese vegetable I do not know the name of (sort of like green onions in texture).

3. The usual steamed bun.

4. Was this one sweet? If it was salty it's a chinese doughnut usually had at breakfast with congee.

5. Looks like a red bean dessert with balls of dough.

6. No idea.. some sort of milkshake?

7. I've seen this during a trip to Beijing when I was a kid but never had it.

8. If this was chewy while being a bit sweet and salty in taste then I've had it and it's amazing. No idea what it is though.

9. Is it beef? I can read the first word as 'tea' but I'm not sure if the second word says cow or not haha (Took 10 years of chinese school and all if it was forgotten over one summer (: ).

I'm Chinese born and raised in Canada so I'm pretty clueless to Chinese culture but I'm pretty sure I've had some of the foods you've pictured, hope it helps!

1. I wanted to say this had a tapioca taste too it. I could be wrong.

4. I don't remember this being sweet.

Thank you.

I'd have to not eat for a few days to gather enough appetite for this kind of food.

1. Some sort of milk desert. Did it taste yogurty?

2. Looks like a deep fried pastry with rice noodles and chives.

3. Steamed bum.

4. Called 油条 (you tiao), which pretty much just a salty fried donut-like thing.

5. Red bean desert with glutinous rice balls maybe?

6. Another milk beverage.

7. The Mandarin name is 冰糖葫芦, which translates to...candied fruit stick or something, but in your case it's candied hawthorn.

8. Looks like something made with glutinous rice then fried.

9. I'm pretty sure that's just some kind of beef jerky like food marinated in tea.

Likewise also Chinese born Canadian raised. While I wouldn't ever want to live in China long term, the street food there is amazing and dirt cheap.

You're a braver toaster than I for eating all of that. It sounds like you had an awesome time, though. I can't wait to start traveling.

1. Dog
2. Dog
3. Dog
4. Dog
5. Dog
6. Dog
7. Dog
8. Dog
9. Dog

@ichthy: Thank you.

@Vipersona: I can only really help with the last one unfortunately. It's tea flavored beancurd. It's essentially tofu marinated in tea and it's not bad.

@Vipersona said:

In May 2009 I was fortunate enough to travel solo from central Ohio to Huángshān and Běijīng. I had delicious food in a wonderful country.

Unless you live there.

Population below poverty line:
13.4% note: in 2011, China set a new poverty line at RMB 2300 (approximately US $363; this new standard is significantly higher than the line set in 2009, and as a result, 128 million Chinese are now considered below the poverty line (2011)

number 6 looks like herbal milk tea, did it have jelly like balls on the bottom? If so herbal tea.

If not, probably dog juice.

2 looks like a fish or potato cake filled with vegetables, it has bean sprouts and some greens. I seriously doubt those are rice noodles, it's bean sprout.

Depending on the filling 3 might be Char Siu Bao (it's usually got meat inside).

I'm not even Chinese.

1) Is plain yogurt you can drink. "Old Beijing Yogurt", in a little ceramic pot.

2) This is some sort of stuffed fried simple bread/pastry, probably filled with rice noodles, scallions, etc, cant really tell from the pictures exactly whats there although it looks like he's making some kind of omelet.

3 is easy, steamed buns, though you can't tell the filling, its probably minced pork.

4) standard fried dough, yes like a doughnut.

5) This is Red Bean soup with Tangyuan, Which is a kinda gelatinous rice ball. Yes, its sweet red bean soup.

6) no clue

7) Candied fruit, yeah probably plums.

8 & 9) dunno

1. Dog
2. Dog
3. Dog
4. Dog
5. Dog
6. Dog
7. Dog
8. Dog
9. Dog

@Dany said:

1. Dog
2. Dog
3. Dog
4. Dog
5. Dog
6. Dog
7. Dog
8. Dog
9. Dog

This

@zombie2011 said:

They all look like Communism to me.

And this.

Made me laugh in real life. I have absolutely no clue what any of that is other than the steamed buns (either filled with chicken or beef and some vegetables).

So I asked my Chinese parents what these were and they said:

1. Suan nai, Drinkable Yogurt

2. Stuffed pancake with rice noodles and vegetables

3. Bao zi, Stuffed steamed bun

4. Ma huaer, fried twisted dough

5. Ice cream (with Chinese toppings)

6. Also Suan nai, Drinkable yogurt

7. Tang hong lu, candied fruit (some sort of Chinese cherry, they couldn't make it out)

8. Stuffed sweet cake (Their best guess)

9. Cha Gan, Tea Crackers (Crackers you eat while drinking tea)

1) fetus 
2) babies 
3) babies 
4) babies 
5) placenta 
6) ground baby powder 
7) babies 
8) babies

Cat? For all?

I just came here to say I really enjoyed the title for this thread.

@kuz101: Thank you so much.