Day 8: Finishing our Yunnan Trip with a Bowl of Guo Qiao Mi Xian (过桥米线) at Brother Jiang (江氏兄弟桥香园)

Our last day in Kunming was rather uneventful. Mr Wang took us to this touristy trap, 植物王国春城花都 which sells souvenirs & more souvenirs. *.*  We say, give this place a miss. We got Mr Wang to drive us for some noodles at Brother Jiang to make up for the bad recommendation. :)

Lin & Ann decide what noodles to have at Brother Jiang. :)

Ji Guo chicken soup (气锅鸡). Least oily among the ones we had so far in Kunming. :)

Guo Qiao Mi Xian (过桥米线)

There's a warning to beware of the hot soup! :)

The toppings for our noodles :)

The yellow chrysanthenums added colour to our noodles! :D

Prettylicious finish to our Yunnan trip! :D

Us waiting to board the plane. :)

And more feasting onboard! Till our next trip, tada! :)

Details of Brother Jiang (江氏兄弟桥香园):

W: http://www.brothers-jiang.com.cn/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/index.html

Day 7: Driving Back to Kunming for a Dinner at Shi Ping Hui Guan ((石屏会官)

We were finally heading back to Kunming, the last leg of our Yunnan trip. :) The drive from Lijiang to Kunming is 8 hours.

Our route:

Singapore > Kunming > Luoping > Kunming > Dali > Lijiang > Kunming

Our journey was hampered by these goats! Hahahahhahah :)))



















Mr Wang stopped at a local restaurant in Dali for a lunch break. As he enjoyed his 3 dishes & a soup (三菜一汤), we tried to clear the food we brought along for the road trip. :))) We needed to offload. :)))
We cleared a pack of choc & nuts biscuits...

and a tin of pink salmon & Bakery 88's walnut bread. :) The 8 hour journey was less taxing because we feasted all the way! :)))

What do you need after an 8-hour journey on the road? A super duper sumptous dinner. We decided to check out Shi Ping Hui Guan (石屏会官), a beautiful traditional courtyard restaurant for some authentic Yunnan cuisine.

Yiliang Roast Duck (宜良烤鴨). It's skin is touted to be similiar to those of Peking ducks. We beg to differ. Honey is used to crisp and colour the skin and it is roasted with pine branches to give the duck a unique flavour.

Just say, we prefer Peking duck. :)

We only knew they were Shiping doufu (石屏豆腐) when we ordered it. And when it's served before us, we couldn't help but cringed...they were stinky tofu!!! Help!!! *.*

Didn't quite knew what these were either other than some pan fried fried cheese.

They were in fact Rubing (乳饼), a type of firm, fresh goat milk cheese made by the Bai & Sani minority.

These pork dumplings had an acquired smell too... *.*

Most edible dishes were the char siew &

Chinese cabbage...

Go to Shi Ping Hui Guan for the ambience. As for the food, it's an acquired taste.

Details of Shi Ping Hui Guan (石屏会官):

Day 4: A Bowl of Guo Qiao Mi Xian (过桥米线) Please! :)

Yeah yeah yeah! We finally got to try a bowl of guo qiao mi xian (过桥米线) for lunch today! :) Venue - Jian Xin Yuan (建新园), a popular noodle chain which has numerous awards.

We ordered a set which came with lots of stuff! :O

First up was Kunming's famous chicken soup, Qi Guo Ji (气锅鸡). It was a mini version compared to the one we had at Fu Zhao Luo (福照楼).This was clearly less oily. :)

The quail eggs were for the guo qiao mi xian (过桥米线) which would be served later.

Next up was countless side dishes! *.*

Finally the star dish Guo Qiao Mi Xian (过桥米线). :) You need to work a little before savouring this bowl of noodles. :)

Add:

1) whole stack of ingredients (9 items in total; top to bottom: starting with quail eggs and ending with sliced pork)

2) chives, sprouts & bean curd sheets

3) noodles

into the bowl of hot broth.

The other 8 ingredients below the quail eggs. :)

Is this all? NO! We were given another bowl of dried noodle & pig's blood cubes. : / We were too stuff to down another bowl of noodles and we didn't dare try the pig's blood cubes.

And finally watermelon & chilled dessert. :)

People were still streaming in even though it had past lunch hours. I guess you can eat noodles any time of the day. :)

After a huge bowl of noodles each, we were fully geared to head off to our next destination, Dali! :)

Day 4: Experiencing Abit of History at Old Street (昆明老街)

Urban development has destroyed many traditional cultures, historial buildings & streets in Kunming. We took some time to travel back in time, in one of the very few old street left in this city. :)

Kunming's old street is characterized by very low two-storey buildings with tiled roofs, wooden windows & doors and stoned courtyard.

As we walked down the street, I can't help but wonder about the many stories behind each of these houses.

The curved 'Sister Buildings (姊妹楼)' is one of the few older landmarks remaining in Kunming old street.

The birth place of Nie Er, also on old street, is now a museum showcasing his work & life. He was the composer of China's national anthem, March of the Volunteers (义勇军进行曲).

The government is trying to preserve whatever is left of the old street. At the very least, the old & new generation has a piece of their history to cling onto.

Old street is filled with souvenir & tea shops. :)

There are stalls selling antiques,

fresh & artificial flowers,

and puppies. We were uncomfortable at the sight of many puppies being squeezed into one cage. :(

These little furry ones running about in the street might be in a better shape.

We spotted a cat all snuggled up in its comfy basket... :)

and these creepy crawlies... *.*

Local fare is easily available at old street. :)

The shops are often so tiny, people just sit randomly to savour their lunch. :)

A game of chess during lunch. :)

We packed some goodies for our roadtrip to Dali. These eggy cakes were so cheap & so good! :D RMB10 for 8 eggy cakes! Mm...

And we love these steamed red peanuts! :) We should have gotten the corns too...duh. Anyway we had quite alot of stuff to munch on our 4 hour journey. ;)