Growing up, I would love going to eat at Chinese restaurants and my typical food order would include fried rice, Hakka noodles, chilly paneer, vegetable Manchurian and chicken in sweet and sour sauce. Well, that’s what all Indians call Chinese food. But in reality, the real Chinese people’s eating habits and palate is very different than what we think of as Chinese cuisine. All the dishes I’ve mentioned above are actually a deviation from what the Chinese eat. These are actually invented in India. A few months ago I visited Sanya, which is on the southern coast of China and is a part of the Hainan islands. It’s also called the “Florida of the East”…white sands, clear blue skies, sultry sunny weather, teal waters, lazing in hammocks, fresh caught seafood and the lovely locals.

In a country like China where language is quite a major barrier, I managed to navigate well, and got myself to taste some delicious local cuisine. It’s always more authentic and experiential to get your hands on food made by street vendors, rather than in five star hotels. That’s where the native touch and taste is available.

A local flavour dessert is the coconut jelly which is sold at every nook and corner. It comes in two layers where the top is the coconut meat (malai) in which gelatin is added to make jelly, and the lower layer is the coconut water with gelatin that is added to make the transparent part and is the majority part of the dessert.