Six travelers from China, Indonesia and France were invited to tour Quanzhou. They walk around, searching for delicious food and interesting things.

It is fair to say none of the guests were prepared for the wide range of Xijie Street’s food and Julie was no exception. As a lover of culture and travel, the French woman found Quanzhou surprising and charming.

Quanzhou spring pancakes differ from their northern and western ones. Known as run bing, the local type is sweet, as opposed to other spicy or savory varieties. They are traditionally eaten during the Tomb Sweeping Festival. Run bing are filled with different kinds of food including seaweed(海带), peanuts and carrots. The peanuts are often mixed with sugar.

One particular delight was man jian gao, a typical southern Fujian dessert. The dish is a kind of sweet pastry layered with a sweet paste of sesame seeds and peanuts. The pancake is fried to be crispy. Julie bought a bag to share with the whole group. And Julie gives the thumbs-up for it.

Wang Haopeng and Deng Zhihong were also in the group. Wang said that he will remember Quanzhou for the steamed(蒸) pork hands alone. Deng, on the other hand, was impressed by the rolls of fried pork and water chestnut wrapped in tofu skin. The dish is called wu xiang juan, meaning it has rich flavors.

Another dish excited all the group members. Unsurprisingly, the food lived up to its splendid(辉煌的) fame with fo tiao qiang. It is a tasty stew(炖) made with seafood and other food such as hams, mutton, mushrooms and bamboo shoots.

In truth, each guest found a certain flavor particularly attracting and it was hard to put the chopsticks down.