If you've never been to China, then you've probably never had truly authentic Chinese food. For better or for worse, the next few posts will cover some of the dishes I've been served on my most recent trip to China.

This is the noodle stand in Libo that Big Mountain took us for breakfast each morning. This lady keeps the place clean, the broth hot, and the meat non-refrigerated. Mmm. Soup for breakfast isn't necessarily my thing, but I have to admit that it tasted pretty good!

The broth is kept at a constant boil in a huge pot (you can see it in the far righthand corner of the picture). For each serving, she ladles broth into one of the smaller pots and adds wide, flat rice noodles. Your choice of meat is then scooped (raw) into the mix--we always chose the ground pork. A few pieces of lettuce and a partially fried duck egg later, she's finished with her part in making your breakfast. The flavor is then up to you--a wide variety of "toppings" are available to choose from (see lower lefthand corner of picture). There are hot peppers in oil, chopped raw garlic, snipped chives, pickled herbs, and fresh mint. The final result is something like this:

Breakfast of champions!