Chapter 55 Hefei Lobster

Wherever there are rivers and lakes, there are lobsters, and all river dwellers who live by rivers and lakes like to eat lobsters. This is my experience after eating many places. In Changsha, although there are no big rivers, Changsha people like to eat lobsters, so many businessmen go to Dongting Lake to transport lobsters to satisfy the appetite of Changsha people.People in Changsha were so excited to eat it that they simply changed the name of lobster to flavored shrimp and created their own unique dish.In early summer, lobsters from Dongting Lake swim into the merchants' scales, and dazzling signs are hung all over the streets of Changsha-flavored shrimp.At night, when the petty bourgeoisie who eat supper become active, the whole city of Changsha is filled with the smell of delicious shrimp, competing with the smell of stinky tofu.Those who love to talk about ostentation: Changsha is known as the city of southern shrimp.

On a business trip to Anhui on May 1st, a friend told me that the lobster in Anhui is delicious, and asked me if I like lobster.I thought they were talking about the kind of big lobster, but when I asked, I found out that it was the shrimp that Changsha said, and my appetite was lost by half. When I met Zhang Xiaoshi, the editor of Hefei Evening News, he suggested that I go to eat supper at night, and told me that there was a place where the lobster was delicious, and asked me to try the lobster in Hefei.Xiaoshi has read some food articles I wrote and knows that I am a foodie, so he specially recommends me to eat lobster.

Actually, I know that there are two Chinese Lobster Festivals in China, one in Hefei and one in Xuyi not far from Hefei.People in Hefei love to eat lobster, so it should not be wrong to say so.During my few days in Hefei, all the friends I met recommended me to eat the lobster in Hefei, which shows how important the lobster is to the people of Hefei. After nine o'clock in the evening, the temperature in Hefei began to cool down.Walking on the street, a cool wind blows.The place we went to was not far from the Hefei Bus Terminal. It was a large square, empty and empty. There were several high-rise buildings on the opposite side. As far as the eye could see, there were bustling traffic and people, but there were only quiet diners in the square. When they want to talk, they discuss quietly or bite their ears.

We walked in an alley, and when we reached the entrance of the square, we saw lotus blossoms floating in the night.In fact, it is not a lotus, but a green sun umbrella, and there is a table for four under each umbrella.When I walked to the stall, I found that every umbrella was full of people, most of them were lovers, who came here to cultivate their relationship; there was also a family, parents and children of a few years old who came to find the atmosphere or feeling.We sat down outside and ordered lobster and some other dishes. Xiaoshi is a down-to-earth man. Work and writing are his two major hobbies, and he doesn't have many other hobbies.Eating lobster is also quite satisfactory, chewing slowly and gracefully with chopsticks, even a lobster claw is not spared.

In Changsha, I eat flavored shrimp. The shrimp are served in a large vegetable bowl, boiled with perilla, sliced ​​ginger, etc., and accompanied by a bowl of soup.The lobsters in Hefei are different: they are smaller than those in Changsha, only the size of a little finger; they are served in a flat bowl; there is no soup; there is no perilla, and the salt content is very light. If you are used to the taste of Changsha, go to Hefei lobsters , you will feel that there is no salt; there is no spicy taste. Wearing film gloves to eat flavored shrimp in Changsha, use chopsticks to take it out of the vegetable bowl, grab it with your hands, tear off the claws, break off the upper segment of the claws, bite the meat inside, and then peel off the flavored shrimps Break off the shell, suck the boiled juice, and then eat the real flavored shrimp, that is, the body of the flavored shrimp, peel off the skin, and eat only the meat of the shrimp.Most of the process is done by hand, so it looks a bit barbaric and Hunanese.

Seeing that Xiaoshi eats so elegantly, I followed him to eat, and then I realized that to eat Hefei lobster, you have to have no desires, and when you look at the bustling traffic and crowds on the street, you have to be very peaceful in your heart.While researching on eating lobster, you only need to pay attention to the process of eating, and don’t pursue how much lobster meat you eat, so that you can get the taste of lobster. I had this experience, so I picked up the lobster with chopsticks and smelled a little fishy.Staring at the flow of people on the street, chewing lobster in the mouth, at first there was a faint fragrance, wafting in the mouth; followed by the smell of fresh shrimp meat, drifting away one after another; chewing carefully , you can feel a sweet taste, a touch, and then eat the shrimp meat, and feel that the eating process is so perfect.

Only then did I know that the same dish can be prepared and eaten in different ways in different places, and even the same way of eating and cooking can produce different tastes. That is the mood of eating and the spirit of people.