Our EPIC Shandong food (and drink) adventure!

[@hardrockyodeling2629]

Your mum is so well-educated and elegant!

[@BlondieinChina]

Agreed!

[@georginahuang7948]

She’s so calm

[@junweihe8229]

well like daughter like mom

[@kenl5857]

Yes！

[@laichow7445]

@@BlondieinChina =

[@blondiesmum7660]

Funny story - the colon was quite chewy and stringy. It got stuck in my teeth and I could not get it out. So, all through the rest of the meal and until I could get home and floss, all I could think about was the piece of colon flopping around in my mouth 😂

[@connieslchan]

You are so BRAVO to eat offal as a westerner. Good try but offal is not good for health as it is high colesterol, on the contrary, the sea cumcumber is good for health with low colesterol

[@zoelittle4628]

Happen to me every time when I eat colon 🥴

[@alfredoxu7926]

Unfortunate English translation.

[@debbietan8657]

Flapping colon description is 😂

[@zeflute4586]

I love these details it feels so 亲切

[@liaaaaaaaah]

I love how Garen silently shovels food into his mouth whenever Amy didn’t ask him to introduce the dishes. So far my fav guest! You can tell he truly enjoys his food hahah

[@BlondieinChina]

Garen is awesome!!! Loves his food and knows so much about it - was a pleasure to make this video with him!

[@anasandoval6698]

​@BlondieinChina does Garen have an Instagram?

[@godadonis007]

喜歡你母親的包容的態度。以及你父親的真實。包括你努力的做視頻。謝謝。並且也要感謝青島小哥的介紹。

[@大銓張]

我知道了，他們很難接受大腸這款食物，那就不須要這麼精緻直接用東北大蔥包在大腸中間，切斜刀沾醬料或是胡椒鹽食用，大蔥有中合肥腸油脂的效果

[@esperanzaliang7602]

Maybe I'm too emotional recently. But when your mother tell the story about her father, I’m so touched that have tears in my eyes. Through your mother’s words I saw a really interesting gentleman smiling at me.

[@blondiesmum7660]

Thank you for such a beautiful comment. My father really was a beautiful soul, and a true gentleman 😊

[@BlondieinChina]

Thank you so much

[@esperanzaliang7602]

@@blondiesmum7660 Really looking forward to more stories about him. I believe his life must be a really interesting adventure.

[@Johnwalkstheworld]

I loved this challenge, some parts more than others!! Haha. Beer in a bag ..... winner!! 🤪

[@connieslchan]

Good try, bravo to take up the challenge.

[@lindyralph8792]

when I first went to Thailand in the early nineties, the street vendors would tip a bottle of soft drink into a bag, stick a straw in and seal it with a rubber band. They kept the bottles to use again.

[@MrApololing]

Let’s try Johnnie Walker in a bag😝

[@guangwu3768]

Dad so cute ! lol

[@zoelittle4628]

I get you I absolutely hate sea cucumber 🤮🤢🤢

[@風林火山-l7k]

Amy有個好父母.願意配合女兒拍視頻.家庭互動真讓人羨慕！

[@RespectOthers1]

Garen did such a great job as host he deserves a real medal around his neck! 🏅

[@BlondieinChina]

Agreed!!!

[@CupContender]

Good stuff! I’m Chinese and I’ve never tried colon that takes some balls to do

[@Nullifed787]

But that necklace around his neck is already pretty expensive (Louis Vuitton) and his watch is a rose gold... Hublot

[@mauimarukita]

Handsome GAREN.

[@清闲的星球]

我就是一个山东人，山东菜最大的特点是“火候”，所谓火候就是在烹饪的过程中对温度的高低和时间的把控，以便让食材更加入味，这也是山东菜最难掌握的地方。 关于山东菜的历史，以前是作为皇帝的御膳来享用的，所用的食材都非常名贵。在民间鲁菜对其它菜系的发展也产生影响。

[@JohnThomasAbroad]

OMG! I was always wondering about the spelling of Tsingtao! That was awesome. Huge win for the Qingdao beer experience at the restaurant.

[@compassion3000]

Amazing feedback from one of You Tube community’s favourites

[@JohnThomasAbroad]

@@compassion3000 Your comments make my day every time!

[@davidw.2791]

Same reason behind Pekin/Peking vs Beijing.

[@BlondieinChina]

Yay!!! Thank you!! I'm glad the explanation made sense

[@JohnThomasAbroad]

@@BlondieinChina Totally made sense!!

[@timmyg1015]

I grow up in Qingdao, I can tell you that drinking beer directly from the bag with a straw is a new thing, started probably from less than 15 or 10 years ago, originally it's just a way to take beer home. As almost all of us in Qingdao prefer to drink fresh beer from keg which "expires" very quickly, a whole keg is too much for a family to finish in time, so the most convinient way to have some fresh ice cold keg beeris to buy it from a restaurant on your way back home after work, but you need a container, and the plastic bags are cheap and easy to hook on a scale, and when you get home you pour the beer out into glasses, not drinking it with straws. I think this straw drinking method was made to attract more attention and interest to the beer and the city for tourists

[@sog8074]

+1

[@大米-w6q]

从塑料袋里倒酒到杯子里是个技术活，我特别擅长😏

[@wheelbarrowviva8978]

Xiaoge, I have to say you are wrong about the beer in a plastic bag. This tradition started in the early 90s. Maybe you are not old enough to realise that.

[@sog8074]

@@wheelbarrowviva8978 haha..xiaoge, it should be around mid of 90s. I still remember we used 罐头瓶子 to drink as 站碗儿 in early of 90s.

[@wheelbarrowviva8978]

@@sog8074 True. This tradition didn't start 15 years ago but way back earlier.

[@davids3698]

很多人说羡慕Amy有个好父母，愿意配合她。我作为父母，其实想说，他们有个好女儿，愿意带着父母做视频。父母最喜欢的事情就是子女的陪伴了。

[@Lmohhhh]

Garen is a charismatic guy! I was totally swooned by him in this video 😂

[@amethystorgan4293]

Me too!

[@pufferfish2317]

When Garen speaks, his voice commands respect. What a manly voice.

[@mbuck253]

Your parents are amazing, I can see where you get it from!

[@liaosanke]

Historically Shandong Food (Lu cai) was actually the cuisine that mainly served in ancient royal families, specialised in their cooking techiniques like braise, stir fry or deep fry. This kind of cuisine mainly focus on the tempreture control (火候) instead of flavours (味道）, 火候 is a bit a challange to the chef's experience rather than one specialty area like chopping or flavouring. The characteristic of Lu Cai is the reflection of confusious philosophycal idea(confusious was born in Shandong):中庸. Not too strong, not too bland, only in the middle.

[@cavemanabc]

My Chinese food adventures these days are going to Costco to get the latest instant noodles and frozen har gow . :( P.S. Your dad's facial expressions to the food descriptions are so cute!

[@malcolmsoh5648]

You should be a bit more adventurous and pick up some Siew Mai as well. :)

[@dbrzy8989]

I think the cantonese style: deep fried colon is easier for first timers. You dip it in a sweet red sauce, only a tiny bit. Its also dyed red in restaurants for a better look but ppl at home do not colour it.

[@jjohn1388]

This Chinese guy is very confident, I thought he was the owner of the restaurant

[@JenniferGee-t4k]

Your parents are so charming! My parents are also unusually open to new things and they are still that way in their '80s. We are lucky to have such support. I'm sure they are happy when you are!

[@canadiandude5297]

I'm so impressed with how adventurous you and your parents are. So cool. Always love your channel! So much energy and puts a smile on my face.

[@BlondieinChina]

Thanks so much!!

[@relaxwhc]

You friend Garen is a top class tour guide for shandong food

[@BlondieinChina]

Garen has such awesome food knowledge, would love to have him in more of my future videos!!!

[@ryanlu6711]

I'm so jealous that you have such diverse Chinese cuisine in Sydney!! The States just doesnt compare

[@lina-mi4yl]

California is super diverse as well. :)

[@jimmylee2745]

L.a and New York city is very diverse and have alot of good Chinese restaurants. Even in canada , they have alot of good Chinese food, more so in Vancouver and Toronto. The funny part is, in both cities the best area to get Chinese food is called Richmond. Little off topic but in Richmond b.c , you can live there without speakinf english. They have everything you need in Chinese to the point in Richmond , British Columbia, locals who were born and riased in the community were complaining that the local Chinese bussiness need to put up English signage so they can read it and know what kinda bussiness it is. Also they can't even read 80% of the mail they get becasue it's In chinese and complain that it should be in English also. Which I agree. Anyways , to say Sydney have more diverse or better chinese food then the states is kinda flase, it just depends what city your located.

[@bhaskarsubba9961]

Your parents are really amazing. Love your channel. Keep delighting us with your videos.

[@dumbojo]

You have the wit of your dad and yelegance from your mom. A example of really good parenting, of course you’re a great individual.

[@b0chen]

This video was amazing, I really like the format, commentary, experiences, etc.! I am from Shandong (Yantai), and this video honestly made my day!!

[@BlondieinChina]

Thank you so much!!

[@Y3ZiYU]

Lovely family. Lovely mom, lovely dad, lovely you, lovely friend.

[@vividmuseum3404]

I am a 100% Tsingtao local person. And yes this is how we drink beer. It kind reminds me my childhood. By the way the more authentic way to drink this beer is you use a needle punch a hole on the plastic bag. Let the beer flow out and you use a glasses to catch the liquid. When you need to drink other just punch other hold over and over. Hahah

[@LooNciFeRx]

Garen is very charismatic, he ought to be a businessman or a investment advisor

[@jaydentse2094]

I love that your parents are so open to trying every dish, theyre awesome!!!

[@Life-oo2tr]

I really love how your parents and your boyfriend are so open to trying new things and don't judge a culture's food even if it's not for them. The respect and enthusiasm you guys have for Chinese food warms my heart :)

[@MrGuitar1975]

I am a father and your parents are such great role models for all patents! Kudos to your whole family!

[@cklife1]

Garen has such a soothing voice.

[@manalin6917]

Mum has such an adventrous palet, I like her!

[@作业写了吗那还不快去]

From Shandong Yantai. Plastic bag is only for 散啤（fresh beer in large can) which will expire next day, so it don't have time to sale in bottle.

[@BlondieinChina]

Ohhh that makes sense!! Thanks for commenting

[@JourneyDestination]

I miss drinking TSINGTAO with my brother in-law. Family and I will be returning as soon as travel opens back up. Your videos are always uplifting and enjoyable to watch.

[@imscct]

Amy: 大腸對身體好嗎? 朋友：no~~~~~ 笑死我了

[@kusobala2381]

差点就喷出来了

[@peiwu979]

My family is from Shandong. You guys are very brave trying all the food. I have never had most of the dishes you guys are trying! Thanks for sharing this experience!

[@ononoimoko7150]

Hi Blondie, you should be very grateful and be thankful to have parents so supportive of what you do.

[@MrWillypanda88]

It's amazing how different we sees offal food between cultures. While some people in the west might sees offal as icky, I grew up always thought it more as luxury items you only eat on special occassions.

[@AVWUVU]

You too huh? Also grew up eating offals so it never really disgusted me as it was more seen as normal. Didn't realize just how different others saw it till I moved to the US.

[@MrWillypanda88]

@@AVWUVU Yes. Funny thing is, my mom consider offal as somewhat unhealthy, so you only eat it occasionally, colon for example, she considers them high in cholesterol.

[@YummYakitori]

In Singapore we also have a dish called kway chap, sort of braised colon (but we slice it finer) and we mix with other braised meat and eggs with a bowl of flat rice noodles in herbal soup. This dish originally comes from eastern Guangdong or the Teochew region of China. You really have to clean the colons well though, it's not nice if you get grainy or smelly bits in there. It should still taste a little gamey but not smelly. And yes the colon is my favourite part of the dish

[@guanxizheng1418]

Garen is sooo chill

[@s.vortex]

Sea cucumber is one of the top Chinese cuisine delicacies. I ate plenty of it when I was a kid, not realising how highly it was prized...

[@stephgraf6572]

It’s very nice to filming food vlogs with your parents! Always support you!

[@BlondieinChina]

Thank you so much Steph!!

[@h2olilly1983]

Can’t believe they went to my friend’s restaurant!! He cooks real yummy food. He is talented chef for sure!!

[@BlondieinChina]

omg!!! that's such a coincidence! It was really great and will go back for sure!

[@ennpi1682]

我是青岛人 在国外 看到家乡 很怀念 谢谢你的视频

[@vieworama8188]

Garen is so charismatic, I can imagine him in ktv and Thai disco

[@eagleeatsmonkey3621]

your dad & mom are great ... love them ... they can eat anything ... thumbs up for them

[@LockyLoad]

I love your use of the phrases “my one” and “mar fun”. A sure sign of your “Chineseness”. Also, your parents have a great sense of adventure.

[@greedypanda3606]

Your poor Dad trying the sea cucumber and the colon. Good on you for trying different things. Oh Garen, so handsome, charming and that voice... totally swooning lol

[@jeffjames15]

I’m from Shandong and welcome to visit my hometown again!

[@youfeerich540]

Thanks again my favourite Aussie family for the joyful entertainment which I thoroughly enjoyed.

[@bananasoda902]

I began to watch your video after the Qingdao video! Back then I was planning for the travel to Qingdao.

[@BlondieinChina]

Omg!! That's so cool that you started watching at that video!!!

[@huanghuiping4448]

看这一家人吃饭真开心！勇于尝试才能吃到中国菜的精髓！有些菜是越吃越好吃的！像鸡爪，鸭脖等越嚼越有味！有些菜要吃多几次，习惯了就爱上了，爱九转大肠，臭豆腐等！😊

[@ryanfang9033]

Ugh I love your mom, she has such an adventurous taste!

[@connieslchan]

I like theTsingtao beer bag as souvenir. Great vlog! Thanks Amy for taking us to this adventure!

[@BlondieinChina]

Thank you so much!!

[@numanchoi]

When coming to cooking of colon in Hong Kong, we say it's good if we can't taste the stinky taste. Quite different from Shantong preference.

[@treedillon]

Yeah, the way of cooking in most areas is different from that in Shandong.

[@mynahbird20000]

Tsingtao beer was actually developed by the occupying Germans and is tasty because of the spring water used. The company has been sold to the Japanese,Kirin I believe.

[@johnnylim641]

TsingTao beer - best beer in the world. I think they won several awards for their beer in an international competition and was named the best beer in the world. Taste very good too.

[@TheNizoubizou]

I saw sea cucumbers in fish tank in a restaurant and knew the consistency is not for me, your family is so open minded to try different dishes and wholesome.

[@JuJu-qq7ft]

What a good looking shandong guy 👍

[@c.l.2382]

omg thank you so much for explaining the spelling thing, and you did such a good job as well! as a Chinese living in abroad I'm really happy to see this!

[@powresitta]

the best thing about ur videos if falling into pipeline of Chinese food videos and getting inspired to cook some for myself. tnx Blondie, my stomach and tongue r satisfied

[@tttw8583]

鲁菜的口味是咸+鲜，要突出食材本身的味道， 而且饮食讲究比较多， 每个座位， 茶和酒的满度都有讲究

[@nobodyknowsyoutubebetterthanme]

5:45 your dad is so cute. Never saw him laugh like that lol. He must be a beer fan.

[@jasonyeh787]

The laugh is like a boy getting his favorite gift ~~

[@phochoob]

Blondie’s dad is on new levels in eating ability

[@jxtian8950]

Awesome. A vlogger doing a video on cuisine from my hometown province! I'm from Jinan (provincial capital), but i have family in Qingdao too! My uncle, who lives in Qingdao, loves to drink beer. However, as someone who grew up in the UK, I notice the taste of the Qingdao beer tastes so different to that then in China. In terms of the food in Qingdao, you cannot miss out the delicious fresh seafood!

[@BlondieinChina]

Would love to visit Jinan one day!!

[@jxtian8950]

@@BlondieinChina Fun fact, Tsingtao beer brewery was actually started by Germans following German purity laws. This was because Tsingtao was a German colony before WWI.

[@UNRSD]

yay! a feature of my hometown. Thank you for promoting the culture there! And congrats! Good on you for getting that sponsorship

[@BlondieinChina]

hahah yes!! I was so excited to get the sponsorship!

[@kentwuwu]

The reason why we use plastic bags for beverages (soda/Milk/Beer) is because back in my child days, when you buy them from local stores you have to return the bottles, so they use the plastic bags so you dont have to return the bottles.

[@janeconrad7243]

Very friendly and open-minded family, love you guys :-)

[@zhixianxing5123]

What a lovely family! What a amazing video! Thank you Amy!

[@PandaGuzheng]

Don't know how i stumbled into this video. My heritage is Chinese but immigrated from VN and now living in BNE. Love the challenge and the food makes me hungry. Great video haha

[@Sam-4567]

It is so cool that you got sponsored by Tsingtao beer!

[@sb2thdoc]

I love the aftertaste of Tsingtao beer. The rice added to the barley by the Japanese brewery that bought out the Chinese is refreshingly delicious. Great videos with your family. Love them.

[@gohcheesin7626]

Her parent just a good eater actually, willing to try anything. This is awesome.

[@wait6650]

It's quite amazing that there are so many different Chinese cuisines in Sydney. 👍

[@dan-gy9tj]

im not sure why, but when im extremely homesick, i always lean towards watching ur videos.

[@felixluk3167]

Hi Amy, we Chinese eat various kinds of colons (actually more like large intestines). We have goose intestines, duck intestines, chicken intestines, and probably a few others as well.

[@mfjed]

Love when you have guests from the actual area on the show!

[@gruntalltimes]

Hahahahaha! I applaud your bravery in trying new things....and completing the challenge! All the best to you and your family! I look forward to each episode you put out!

[@BlondieinChina]

Thanks so much lovely Terri!!

[@jadecummings8093]

Cool, I've never seen people drinking beer in bags before! This is great, well done miss and I hope you're safe out there!

[@BlondieinChina]

Thanks Jade!

[@zhangxinchi6674]

As a native Chinese, I don’t get to see that too! But there is a fun fact that brought up by Garen, you should always keep your boss’s or parents’ jug full of alcohol! (I know it sounds not healthy, but we LOVE to drink!)

[@compassion3000]

Excellent video, thank you

[@lina-mi4yl]

a lot of cultures serve drinks in plastic bags because for the vendors, it's the cheapest container for them to put the drink in! plastic, paper, foam, or whatever other cups are more expensive than a thin plastic bag and a straw. it's also probably cheaper for the vendor to buy beer by the keg rather than by pre-bottled glass bottles.

[@Cleav3r]

Colons can be cooked by removing the fat inside first then quick stir-frying with chilli and spring onions to give them a crunchy texture. It's called 'Cong Bao Da Chang' and it's much more tasty than the braised ones (with fat still attached) imo lol

[@jlin4361]

I appreciate that you took the time to explain the spell difference. Not even chinese knows the reason behind it. Great videos! Non-stop watching for couple hours already :P

[@catonpillow]

21:11 'And you see braised colon in brown sauce. I don't know anyone would have *the guts* to order that.' That was brilliant Amy!

[@RespectOthers1]

‘Braised brown colons in sauce’ would have whetted the appetite even more. 😋

[@BlondieinChina]

hahhahahahahahah

[@rayh91]

Loved this! I've been to many Chinese wedding banquets and almost always will have the meat platter (some times with jelly fish) to start and sea cucumber too.

[@gg9244]

我記得山東青島有名菜是、蔥燒海蔘、乾燒大蝦、山東燒雞、涼拌海哲皮、炒嘎啦。山東菜特色是鹹鮮。可惜沒點鮁魚水餃呀！

[@georgeyu49]

May I just say your parents are such nice people!!!

[@toewomg]

Amy is such a good sport with an open mind on foods!

[@tanjason2640]

You amaze me! Thanks for the introduction and your good spirits with food tasting. I am not familiar with Shandong food. From Singapore

[@lovefreebee]

mum's absolutely right with her etiquette manner...

[@xingyu1386]

Love ur new vid. You and your family are always so bright and bring smile to me.

[@timetime8832]

山东菜影响了 整个北方菜系，也影响了淮扬菜，淮扬菜影响了粤菜。山东菜的特点是多样化，跨度大。湖北菜 给江西 菜和贵州菜提供了基础，但是贵州菜是集大成者。

[@mikethemoomin8604]

Oh my god! This video certainly brought back some memories! I spent 2 year in Jinan and visited Qindao several times back in the early 2012! Love the food and the beer! Thanks for sharing!

[@syu2193]

Your parents are super cool! Garen is so fun 😜

[@EdricHsu]

I love Tsing Dao beer too, but have never been to Shandong or tried it from a plastic bag. It’s now on my to-do list! Also I must say Garen is a great host/guest, and his speaking accent is really pleasant on the ears.

[@yoo1015]

Your parents are truly friendly and open minded!

[@kywong9205]

I love to watch your video . it is great to watch you on the video with your Mum and Dad and able to do some together with a lot of fun