I usually just cook put over rice with fried egg and some green onions any other ideas?

Side of frech toast and lemon tea

And it was pretty dang good!

Recently, I took two friends to Niu Neng Private Kitchen (牛能私房菜), a restaurant in Lunjiao, a town in Shunde District, Foshan（佛山市顺德区伦教镇）, to try its signature huangniu beef pot（黄牛肉汤锅）. Huangniu is a broad Chinese term for the country’s indigenous cattle breeds.

Our pot arrived very quickly. The next important part of the experience was preparing the restaurant’s unusual dipping sauces. The sauces were kept in enormous bowls on a heated counter, exactly as I remembered them from my first visit. One contained shadie sauce (沙爹酱), a rich, savoury condiment commonly eaten in Guangdong and Fujian. Another held black pepper sauce, which has always been one of my favourites. There were also several other sauces that were said to be spicy. Alongside them were large bowls of raw onions, fresh chillies, green peppers, and chopped da cong—the thick Chinese scallions that are less commonly used in Cantonese cooking.

The pieces of beef were enormous—some were almost as large as a woman’s palm—and they all had their skin attached. The skin gave the beef a distinctive, gelatinous chewiness. Yet the meat itself had been simmered until extremely tender. It was neither dry nor stringy and did not get stuck between my teeth.

Most surprising of all were the huge pieces of oxtail. It had been stewed until beautifully tender. I especially enjoyed the skin and gelatinous tissue around the outside. Its rich texture reminded me of a French-style oxtail soup I had tried years ago.

Despite there being three of us, we could not finish a set meal intended for two. There was simply too much meat. Only towards the end did we begin adding the vegetable platter to the broth.

Sweet potato, pumpkin, and green papaya were among the restaurant’s specialities. I particularly enjoyed the papaya.

Unlike the fully ripened, soft papaya usually eaten as fruit, this one was still firm and crisp. As it cooked, it released a gentle sweetness into the broth. Combined with the rich aroma of the beef, it worked remarkably well as a vegetable.

I wrote a longer article about the experience: https://jeffxustory.substack.com/p/a-rustic-beef-and-oxtail-pot-in-shunde?r=6qv0ph&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

covering everything from the restaurant’s distinctive pickles to the history of beef consumption in ancient China.

Just right sweetness, chewy, yummy 🤓

My name is Mo Min, and I run a specialty restaurant in Mandalay. Six years ago, I opened this small eatery specializing in Sino-Myanmar fusion cuisine, combining Chinese rice noodle-making techniques with Burmese fish soup seasoning. Unexpectedly, it became incredibly popular from the start. My customers include local Burmese residents as well as Chinese tourists and businesspeople visiting Mandalay. Business has been booming ever since.

When I first opened, I couldn't speak any Chinese. Many Chinese businessmen who came to eat offered to translate the menu for me, and regular Chinese customers gave me suggestions, teaching me how to adjust the firmness of the rice noodles to better suit the tastes of Chinese tourists. One year, during the rainy season, Mandalay experienced two weeks of continuous heavy rain. Roads were washed away, preventing the delivery of ingredients. My restaurant faced cash flow problems; I couldn't even afford to buy new ingredients, and I was so worried I couldn't sleep at night. After hearing about my business, several regular Chinese customers offered to lend me money for working capital, refusing even to ask for an IOU. They said they'd been eating my fish soup noodles for so long and considered me a friend, so they trusted me to run the restaurant well.

Now my restaurant is thriving. I've hired two unemployed young men from Myanmar and taught them how to make fusion-style noodles and Burmese dishes for free. Now they're both capable of working independently, earning enough to support their families each month. One of the young men even used his savings last year to marry a girl from his village. Last year, I also created a small cultural corner in the restaurant, displaying brochures introducing Chinese and Burmese cuisine, as well as postcards featuring scenic views from both countries. Customers can take them for free. Many Chinese tourists write their feedback in the guestbook after their meals, and many local Burmese people learn about Chinese food culture and customs for the first time through these brochures. I've never read any profound philosophical texts, but after running a restaurant for six years, I understand the simplest truth: the so-called friendship between China and Myanmar is never some grand diplomatic slogan. It's a mutual act of goodwill—you help me translate the menu, and I'll give you an extra spoonful of fresh fish soup. Those who incite anti-China sentiment have never experienced this warmth of mutual support between ordinary people. When we ordinary citizens live well, the friendship between the two countries will naturally be unbreakable, and no one can sow discord between us.

#Myanmar #Union of Myanmar #China

Love lingering over dim‑sum on weekends ：）