Original source
My parents fell in love with Malatang…. in Inner Mongolia??
Inner Mongolia Food Adventure: Hohhot Malatang Discovery
Mum and Dad are BACK! And for the first time ever, we're going somewhere new in China, for all of us! This is the beginning of our Inner Mongolia food adventure, and we're starting off in the capital, Hohhot - home of.... China's best malatang??? You be the judge.
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Mum and Dad are BACK! And for the first time ever, we're going somewhere new in China, for all of us! This is the beginning of our Inner Mongolia food adventure, and we're starting off in the capital, Hohhot - home of.... China's best malatang??? You be the judge.
Embark on a culinary journey to Inner Mongolia with Blondie in China's parents! Discover Hohhot, the region's capital, and dive into the world of Malatang. This adventure promises delicious discoveries and heartwarming family moments as they explore new tastes together. Join them for an unforgettable food exploration!
Mum and Dad are BACK! And for the first time ever, we're going somewhere new in China, for all of us! This is the beginning of our Inner Mongolia food adventure, and we're starting off in the capital, Hohhot - home of.... China's best malatang??? You be the judge.
The vlogger introduces the start of an Inner Mongolia food trip with her parents, the first new place in China she has shared with them. After a 10-hour flight from Australia, their connecting flight to Hohhot was delayed by 9 hours, and they arrive at 6:00 in the morning just as heavy rain floods the streets. For dinner they choose a local malatang restaurant. Each person picks ingredients, hands the bowl over to be weighed, and adds chili sauce and sesame sauce in the ratio they like. She says the sesame sauce is much runnier than the thick version she knows from Dongbei, which makes the bowl soupy rather than pasty, and she praises the thick, spongy noodles. Her father says it now ranks in his top three malatang in China. Next morning, at breakfast, they try shumai (fried or steamed), lamb intestine soup, layered flatbread and brick tea, a pairing she calls famous in Inner Mongolia. She says brick tea means tea leaves pressed into a brick shape and that it cuts through the grease. To escape the rain they visit a large mall, where her parents are impressed by the marble and gold bathrooms, the elaborate bakeries and a blind box store. She explains that finger food and pastries in China usually come with disposable gloves. They then fly to Xilinhot to see the grasslands, which she says are among China's four major grassland regions and far less commercialized. In Xilinhot they go straight to dinner and eat camel in many forms, including camel pie, black pepper camel, thigh, tendon, hump, tail and foot, with Mongolian milk tea. The hump is her favorite and the foot her least favorite. After an hour's drive from the city they check into a homestay in the middle of the grasslands.
The vlogger brings her parents to Inner Mongolia for the first time. In Hohhot, the regional capital, they arrive after a delayed flight and heavy rain, then try a local malatang with a runny sesame sauce and thick spongy noodles. The next morning they have breakfast with shumai, lamb intestine soup, layered flatbread and brick tea. They also visit a large mall with fancy bathrooms and bakeries, then fly to Xilinhot for a camel meal, Mongolian milk tea and a grassland homestay.
A food-focused first day in Inner Mongolia: malatang and breakfast in Hohhot, a mall visit, then a camel dinner in Xilinhot.
Hohhot and Xilinhot Food Trip: Malatang, Breakfast, Camel
2:40 At this Hohhot malatang restaurant, you choose your ingredients, hand the bowl over to be weighed, and once everything is cooked you add chili sauce and sesame sauce in whatever ratio you like.
4:24 The vlogger says the sesame sauce here is added generously but is runnier than the thick Dongbei version, so the bowl turns out soupy rather than pasty. She likes the thick, spongy noodles that soak up the sauce.
6:43 The vlogger asked her taxi driver what to eat for breakfast in Hohhot. His suggestions of shumai, lamb intestine soup and flatbread were all on one restaurant's menu, so local drivers can be a good source of ideas.
10:06 Brick tea is described as a famous breakfast pairing in Inner Mongolia. The vlogger says it cuts through the grease and tastes sweeter after rich dishes; the name refers to tea leaves pressed into a brick shape.
12:34 The vlogger notes that in China finger food such as burgers, pizza and pastries usually comes with disposable gloves, so you can eat without getting your hands dirty. She says this is not common in Australia.
13:13 The vlogger says Western-style bakeries are rare in China, but malls usually have bakeries selling inventive, creative pastries, so a mall is an easy place to look for baked treats.
16:44 The camel meal in Xilinhot included camel pie, black pepper camel, thigh with a garlicky dip, tendon, hump, tail and foot. The vlogger liked the hump best and the foot least, and says the camels eaten here are farmed for meat.
17:41 Mongolian milk tea showed up at every meal during the trip. The vlogger and her family describe it as slightly chocolatey, like condensed milk, a little sweet and a little salty.
2:40 At this Hohhot malatang restaurant, you choose your ingredients, hand the bowl over to be weighed, and once everything is cooked you add chili sauce and sesame sauce in whatever ratio you like.
4:24 The vlogger says the sesame sauce here is added generously but is runnier than the thick Dongbei version, so the bowl turns out soupy rather than pasty. She likes the thick, spongy noodles that soak up the sauce.
6:43 The vlogger asked her taxi driver what to eat for breakfast in Hohhot. His suggestions of shumai, lamb intestine soup and flatbread were all on one restaurant's menu, so local drivers can be a good source of ideas.
10:06 Brick tea is described as a famous breakfast pairing in Inner Mongolia. The vlogger says it cuts through the grease and tastes sweeter after rich dishes; the name refers to tea leaves pressed into a brick shape.
12:34 The vlogger notes that in China finger food such as burgers, pizza and pastries usually comes with disposable gloves, so you can eat without getting your hands dirty. She says this is not common in Australia.
13:13 The vlogger says Western-style bakeries are rare in China, but malls usually have bakeries selling inventive, creative pastries, so a mall is an easy place to look for baked treats.
16:44 The camel meal in Xilinhot included camel pie, black pepper camel, thigh with a garlicky dip, tendon, hump, tail and foot. The vlogger liked the hump best and the foot least, and says the camels eaten here are farmed for meat.
17:41 Mongolian milk tea showed up at every meal during the trip. The vlogger and her family describe it as slightly chocolatey, like condensed milk, a little sweet and a little salty.
0:00 Preview of the Inner Mongolia food trip
0:20 Arriving in Hohhot with her parents
0:45 Delayed flight and rainy arrival
1:40 Dinner at a local malatang restaurant
2:30 Weighing bowls and adding sauces
3:14 Tasting the malatang
5:52 Breakfast morning in Hohhot
7:59 Brick tea, lamb soup and flatbread
9:35 Steamed shumai with lamb
11:10 Mall bathrooms and fancy bakeries
12:34 Pastries served with disposable gloves
13:30 Blind box store and airport chairs
14:08 Flying to the Xilinhot grasslands
16:01 Camel dinner in Xilinhot
17:39 Mongolian milk tea and homestay
0:00 Preview of the Inner Mongolia food trip
0:20 Arriving in Hohhot with her parents
0:45 Delayed flight and rainy arrival
1:40 Dinner at a local malatang restaurant
2:30 Weighing bowls and adding sauces
3:14 Tasting the malatang
5:52 Breakfast morning in Hohhot
7:59 Brick tea, lamb soup and flatbread
9:35 Steamed shumai with lamb
11:10 Mall bathrooms and fancy bakeries
12:34 Pastries served with disposable gloves
13:30 Blind box store and airport chairs
14:08 Flying to the Xilinhot grasslands
16:01 Camel dinner in Xilinhot
17:39 Mongolian milk tea and homestay
Where does this Inner Mongolia trip begin?
It begins in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia in northern China. The vlogger says it is the first time she is sharing a new place in China with her parents.
What is different about the malatang in Hohhot?
The vlogger says the sesame sauce is added in large amounts but is runnier and more watery than the thick Dongbei version. She also praises the thick, spongy noodles.
What did they eat for breakfast in Hohhot?
They had shumai, lamb intestine soup, layered flatbread and brick tea. The vlogger ordered the fried shumai but the steamed ones arrived, and they were filled with lamb and onion.
What is brick tea?
The vlogger explains that brick tea refers to tea leaves pressed into a brick shape. She says it is a famous breakfast pairing in Inner Mongolia and that it cuts through the grease.
Why were they given disposable gloves with their pastries?
The vlogger says finger food in China, such as burgers, pizza and pastries, commonly comes with disposable gloves so that you do not get your hands dirty.
Which camel dishes did they try in Xilinhot?
They tried camel pie, black pepper camel, camel thigh with a garlicky dipping sauce, tendon, hump, tail and foot. The hump was the vlogger's favorite and the foot her least favorite.
Why did they fly from Hohhot to Xilinhot?
They went to see grasslands, for which Inner Mongolia is famous. The vlogger says Xilinhot is surrounded by open grassland for hundreds of kilometers in every direction.
