Small Pot of Rice — Restaurant in Lijiang City

After raiding my countless photos in the ohoen trying to clear some of the backlogs of my oversea trip, I found these again... My business trip to China Feb last year. After completing our business in Shanghai, we headed to Lijiang where we spent the next few days to do some sightseeing. I am always excited when going to new places - I can meet new people, experience their culture and taste their food at the same time.

After checking in our hotel for the next 2 nights, we quickly set out for the culinary journey at the ancient town of Lijiang. Bear in mind that there are two - one in the city itself which is bigger and another one in Shu He district (we stayed in the latter). The hotel staff recommended a few places to eat and we matched the names with what we'd found online.

Xiao Guo Fan is one of the top recommendations and we reached the shop which was located at the busiest street in the ancient town, fronting a beautiful and clear stream. But one thing that struck me was the beautiful lady owner. Taking a nice table by the entrance we took a look at their menu. There were many dishes that I fancied but we settled for just 3 ◾staying true to its name was the small pot of rice cooked in copper pot - cooked using their famous ham, potato, and their other crops. Taste-wise do not expect flavour explosion but instead sweetness of the rice cooked with the local crops, plus the savoury of the ham. The more I ate, the better it became. ◾Fish 3-Way.. a choice between rainbow trout and golden trout and I went for the latter which was more expensive albeit by RMB20. The fish was cooked in 3-ways... The flesh was made into sashimi and it was so fresh because the fish was still swimming when the showed to me. The skin was deep fried while the head and bones were boiled with soup for the sweetness. Worth the money paid! ◾Griddle yam meat.. I don't eat beef but I did try the yam and the vegetables cooked with Sichuan peppercorns. Appetising.

We did went back for second round on the last day to try other dishes such as the grilled pork ham with spices in the side plus the small pot rice. If you ever come to this ancient town, this is...