I am panda, hear me...bleat?*

No, I didn't get to see any panda bears while I was China but I did get to eat like one.  While at the Sichuan Opera this past weekend I had a plate of tender bamboo.

Bamboo and a Sauce to dip them in

The bamboo came halved so it was easier to strip the think outer layer from the tender inside.

The layers of bamboo - tear off the black layers

According to the San Diego Zoo, panda bears will spend an average of 12 hours a day eating bamboo (1).  Because the plant is so low in nutrients the bears need to eat 84 pounds a day (1).  That's a lot!

Yum!

Bamboo was only an appetizer though, the main dishes were much more interesting.  At the Sichuanese Opera house the main style of food is Sichuan Cuisine.  One of the eight styles of Chinese Cuisine, Sichuan is known for bold, spicy food (2).  This style of cooking originates from Sichuan Province in southwest China, the area my coworker J is from.  He says that he grew up eating spicy food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

For the main dish we had pig intestines (yes, pig intestines), corn, and beef with peppers you stuff into bread.

From left to Right: Beef with Green Peppers and Bread, Pig Intestines, Corn

Being not a fan of overly spicy food I ate around the red peppers to get to the pig intestines.  They were  pretty good, something I could eat again though I would never want to make it myself.  The corn wasn't spicy and I devoured it.  The beef with green peppers was also good, but I made the mistake of loading my bread with too many peppers and needed a lot of tea to cool my mouth.  The bread was a dense bread, coated with oil and lightly fried with garlic.  Even just bread and meat is delicious.

*Panda bears make a sound similar to that of a goat bleating (1). You can listen to them bleat on the San Diego Zoo's website.