Yangshuo Cooking School

Do I hear dogs barking??  I took a cooking class with one of my friends from the hostel.  We started out at the local market.

We heard the meat section is not for everyone and I would say that's accurate - particularly if you work for PITA.

I assumed it would be like most markets you see in Asia - blood, guts, pieces of animals everywhere.  This market isn't like most markets I've seen so far.  There are cages and cages of live animals waiting to be picked out, killed, cooked, and eaten.  Rabbits, chickens, goose, ducks, fish, eel, snakes, snails, turtles, frogs, and the unsual part - dogs and cats.  There are crowded cages filled with dogs and cats (mostly young cats from what I could see).  Hearing the yelping of a helpless dog wasn't pleasant and I understood why we weren't allowed to take pictures.  I tried not to look too closely at that section though I did see a head of a dog hanging infront of the dog butcher.  Our cooking teacher explained there are 3 different kinds of dogs in China- pet dogs, guard dogs, and meat dogs.  I noticed the meat dogs at the butcher were not the same kind of dog you see people walking on the street.  So the good news is, they don't eat their pets.   She said dog is usually eaten in the fall or winter and would often be prepared if you had a guest for dinner. Then she told us dog was not on the menu today.

With that we left the market and headed to the cooking school.  It is set in a beautiful area on the way to the countryside.

We learned how to chop meats and vegetables, how to use a wok, and how to fry and steam foods.

We made a steamed chicken dish, an eggplant dish, fried vegetables and pork, a vegetable dish, and egg dumplings.  It was a beautiful place and a delicious meal (that I probably won't be able to make at home unless I upgrade my kitchen).