榴莲比萨－ Durian Pizza

China has many odd food combinations, 奶盖茶 'cheese tea' or putting mayonnaise on fruit salad（水果沙拉和沙拉酱）for example, but 榴莲比萨 Durian Pizza is one of the strangest. Full disclosure before we start: I'm a huge fan of durian. However, even I wasn't convinced by this idea before I took my first, heavenly bite.

If you're not familiar with Durian, it's regarded by many people in Southeast Asia as the "King of Fruits". It's famous for its pungent smell: although some consider it sweet and delicious, most people find it disgusting. In countries where the fruit is common, it is banned from public transport and many hotels due to the stomach turning aroma - check out these signs from Thailand and Singapore.

Pizza in China is a bit of a misnomer, given that it normally bears little resemblance to the Italian variety. Finding a standard pepperoni here is a challenge, and you're far more likely to see bizarre toppings like 香芒紫薯 'mango & purple yam' or 培根土豆 ‘bacon and potato'. But opinions on Durian Pizza are the most polarised. Given the (entirely legitimate) objection to putting fruit on a pizza, like the abomination that is the Hawaiian, the concept of a pizza containing nothing but cheese and what many consider to be the most disgusting fruit on the planet raises understandable grievances.

At Liuzhou Meet & Learn, we undertook a survey of our members to gauge their views. Those that don't like it felt very strongly, suggesting that it should be made illegal and that its popularity is indicative of the end of days. But there's no denying that Durian Pizza is considered by many here to be a culinary success, just have a look at the results of our survey...

Interestingly, all the negative votes come from members with western backgrounds, so I suspect we would get very different results if we did the same survey in the UK. However, if you come to China, be sure to give Durian Pizza a try!

Comments

烧烤 - BBQ

Whilst Brits tend towards pubs and bars for their evening socialising, the locals in Liuzhou go to the 烧烤 BBQ to chat and drink late into the night. These restaurants are on roadsides throughout the city and, given the great weather in summer here, provide the best opportunity for some al fresco dining with Chinese characteristics. By all means go to the BBQ for your main meal but many locals, after having dinner at home or elsewhere, descend on these restaurants for 宵夜, which roughly translates as a "midnight snack". Sitting outside on benches or yellow plastic chairs, you'll see dozens of tables packed with people eating 烤鱼 BBQ fish, 串 skewers of meat and veg, 炒米粉 fried rice noodles and other specialities. As well as the regular BBQ stalls, there are also some speciality places, including our favourite Mongolian style restaurant which serves up the most amazing lamb legs and ribs. Sitting in 30 degree heat at 11pm, eating amazing food, drinking cold, cheap, wate...

夜店－ Nightclubs

I'll be the first to admit that I am probably not the most suitable person to be writing this post, due primarily to my advancing years and fading memories of youthful nights spent at Bagley's and Camden Palace. Incidentally, when your reference points for a night out are warehouse raves that were closed down more than a decade ago, you're probably not in a position of authority to talk about the modern EDM scene. The Chinese call outdated references such as these 暴露年纪 which means they "expose your age". Regardless, here I am. The nightclub scene in Liuzhou is a big part of the lives of some of our members, and many of the local people here, so who am I to dismiss it? The undoubted king of nightclubs in Liuzhou is 上上 "Song & Song" which is open every evening until the early hours. Serving up a music selection that varies from EDM to EDM via a bit more EDM, it is rammed every night of the week, in contrast to many other late night establishm...

国庆节 - National Day

Famous for being the busiest travel week of the year, when foreign residents who've spent any period of time in China will tell you to stay at home to avoid the crowds, 国庆节 National Day, or 黄金周 Golden Week, is a public holiday where seemingly the entire country leaves their villages and crowds into the cities and popular travel destinations. I experienced the holiday last year and, as such, decided to stay in Liuzhou this time, to avoid (not entirely successfully) being jostled and gawped at by tens of thousands of farmers. Besides, one of our members at Liuzhou Meet & Learn has some connections within the local tourism department and wanted some foreign volunteers to be taken around the city to attend the various events taking place. So, four members from our group set off to be photographed doing everything from walking around, to eating noodles, to being force fed tea by members of the local ethnic minority groups. One thing that is so seductive about living in a sm...

Liuzhou Meet & Learn

Search This Blog