Hot stuff!

Things are seriously heating up in China. The Heat Index in Suzhou was 47 degrees today! I ventured out only because I wanted to experience the hottest day of my life on planet earth. It was not nice...

In Urumqi things are also hot and it's not just the weather. Large scale clashes between Han Chinese and ethnic Muslim Uyghurs led to Facebook being shut down. With this blog down for a long time and facebook also down, I found a way around the one problem. I can write on this blog again but Facebook is still a problem. You can't have everything...
To add a little spice to the heat, I am reading Fuchsia Dunlop's memoir on her cooking experiences in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Sichuan food is very popular in China and has a long and interesting history. Sichuan's famous spice is Sichuan Pepper. It is a peppercorn that 'explodes' in your mouth and make your mouth numb and hot at the same time. Funny sensation but great with food.
Her book made me look for the nearest Sichuan restaurant in Suzhou. With the heat searing outside, I had a wonderful lunch of "Deliciously spiced cold chicken", "Snakehead fish with chillies in oil soup" and 'Bullfrog with chillies and garlic". To cool things down a bit I washed it down with ice cold plum juice...Delicious!