kunming eats, china

is that a little macabre? last post from the trip!

and to finish with possibly the best duck I’ve had in a while – and almost definitely the best thing I’ve eaten in yunnan – then well, it’s a good wrap-up.

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but first, a meal at the 1910 la gare du sud, a chinese restaurant set in what looks like a french garden and fronted by what appears to be the arch of a french train station. a favorite of expats and tripadvisor, we came here with pretty elevated expectations – and it was pretty average-going.

the food was edible without being spectacular, and I think it might really be a regional quirk (or my quirk against the region’s cuisine, if you will).

but this plate of blistered, slightly charred, softened peppers were surprisingly delicious – with a flavor rather akin to that of shishito peppers, they were well-seasoned and very nice. just a little less oil and fewer seeds, and it would have been perfect.

we were less enamoured of the mapo tofu, which had a strong whiff of gameyness (maybe it’s the meat?) and a heavy hand on some spice (cumin, I think) that rather deviated from the usual flavor – and not necessarily in a good way. the tofu is pretty firm here too, which rather undermines the soft silkiness you’d expect (and desire).

the squid and veg dish was much better though – tossed in savory sauce and served atop a fried noodle basket, this one was easily finishable.

but the most utterly best thing, was this cantonese-style (which may explain my liking) roasted duck that we bought from a hole-in-the-wall counter that we passed by just an hour before we were to leave. the queues were snaking, the ducks were limited to one a person (which indicates exclusivity and quality, I’m sure you’ll agree), and each duck was priced at the how-is-it-possible amount of SGD$4.

there’s no eating space, so we grabbed it back in the paper bag, and ripped it apart in the hotel room. crisp skin, moist meat, and no gameyness.

a truly satisfying finish to a trip.

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just in case:

1. 1910 la gare du sud: 昆明1910火车南站餐厅 at 8 Houxin Jie, Kunming (昆明后新街8号), tel (0871) 63169486

more in this series of series-es:

1. kunming city, china
2. kunming outskirts, china
3. kunming to dali, china
4. lijiang sights, china
5. lijiang eats, china
6. lijiang to shangri-la, china
7. shangri-la, china
8. kunming eats, china (you’re here!)

p.s. that’s it, folks!