10th February, 2001
Temple Fair, Chinese Food And Snacks In Grand View Gardens. Fish Shapes Formed From Boiling Sugar. Over Sized Dragon Kettle Used In Making Bowls Of Noodles
February, 1999
Temple Fairs in China are good places to find out about something new, and for the first time, I saw birds, grasshoppers, fishes, snakes and of course the phoenix, being formed out of boiling sugar, put on a stick, and sold as lollypops. I was full of admiration of the skill and talent of the craftsman, as he ladled boiling sugar from a pot heated by charcoal at the side of him, and then casually poured the sugar to form his masterpieces, which were much sort after by the Chinese children, yet looked too artistic to be eaten, but it would not have been a Temple Fair had there not been plenty of tasty things to be eaten, and almost everywhere you went, the aromas of cooking food filled the air.
 Besides the sugar lollypops, there were ten small toffee apples on sticks for the children, and then an array of cooked snacks for anyone else who felt hungry, or just wanted to try something new, maybe from a different province. Portable drums burning coal bricks were the cooks' ovens, on which they cheerfully prepared the food, with a certain amount of showmanship, to impress their customers and attract the passers-by. What really intrigued me were the over-size Dragon Kettles, with their own in-built heaters, used for making snacks of noodles, which I had previously seen on a visit to Tianjin. I could not help but compare the wide variety of snacks available at the Temple Fair, with the snacks sold at fairs in the UK; usually Hotdogs and Hamburgers !
If you are interested in further New Year topics, such as...
Wise Man Brings Prosperity For New Year In Beijing...
Temple Fair In Beijing...
Temple Fair, Grand View Gardens...
New Year Temple Fair In Dalian...
...then just click them !
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