I haven't been out with my girlfriend and other people for a long time. Last weekend, my colleague invited us to take a stroll on Yulin Road.
Zhao Lei's "Chengdu" is really popular, and people on Yulin Road all want to have a drink at a small pub. Although we didn't specifically go there, we felt the atmosphere of old Chengdu on Yulin Road.
When my girlfriend and I arrived at a "restaurant" in a small alley by subway, it was already after noon, but neither of us had eaten lunch yet. After meeting with my colleague, he recommended this restaurant to us. He said their sticky rice was very good. The restaurant is small, only about 4 or 5 square meters, with 4 small tables inside for customers to dine in. The sticky rice is sold along the street, but the people in line didn't show any signs of impatience.
This sticky rice is made of glutinous rice and filled with various heavily flavored dishes, including folded ear roots and pickled radishes. We bought a portion, wrapped it in a plastic bag, and our colleague recommended that we first mix the glutinous rice and various dishes together with our hands through the plastic bag, and then squeeze it into the shape of a rice ball with force before eating.
The taste of this sticky rice is very unique, with the fragrance of glutinous rice, the fishy taste of folded ear roots, the spicy and numbing taste of chili oil, and the salty and fragrant taste of various pickled vegetables. It can be said that with each bite, the taste is full, and it also solved our hunger problem.
Continuing to walk to a nearby market, although it is a vegetable market, there are also various snacks sold inside. There is a shop that is currently making a kind of pancake on a hot griddle. The shop owner spreads the dough on the hot griddle, and the high temperature causes the edges of the pancake to curl up in a short time. Then the shop owner flips it over and heats it for a while, and a pancake is ready. This is somewhat similar to the fried bread in Shanxi, but it is thinner, softer, and more glutinous. When eating, it is dipped in garlic water. However, this shop's pancake needs to be rolled with various vegetables. The dishes are chosen by the customers, and the shop owner recommends a few pancakes based on experience. My girlfriend and I added some, but not many, and the shop owner gave us four pancakes. I have only seen the practice of rolling vegetables with pancakes in Shandong before. The pancakes in Shandong are harder and chewier, and you can roll anything to eat. As for the pancakes here, you can season the vegetables according to your own preferences, such as mildly spicy, numbingly spicy, extra spicy, etc. Just tell the shop owner your preference, and then you can use the pancake to roll the vegetables and eat.
In order to find a place where we can sit and eat, we continued to walk out of the market. There was a park at the entrance, where only elderly people were playing cards, playing poker, playing bridge, playing chess, and so on. We sat on a stone bench and ate the things we just bought. The attention of the old men and women around us was only on the cards in their hands, and they didn't pay much attention to our arrival, or maybe they didn't look at us strangely at all, as if we were all the same.
After a simple meal, we officially started our sightseeing today. Yulin Road, as a landmark street in old Chengdu, has preserved many old buildings, but the outer walls along the street have been renovated in recent years, while the parts not facing the street have "slacked off" and remained in their original state.
When I passed by the entrance of a community, I found that they were holding activities for International Women's Day. Seeing people making cakes at the table, I asked them what the activity was. A woman complained, "Why did you come so late? If you had come earlier, you could have tried it yourself." Other people were sharing their achievements of the day, and everyone was very happy.
We walked into an alley, which is said to be a filming location for the movie "Ex-Files 3". There is a small cafe in the middle of the alley, so we went in to have a refreshing drink. The cafe is not big, and the sunlight shines through the glass windows, making it warm. The staff enthusiastically introduced the quality of their coffee beans, the process of making coffee, and the well-received coffee in the shop. After ordering our coffee, we found that each cup had a sticker of a cat on it, with different poses. The shop owner told us that this cat is their own, and they usually record its various poses and then draw them to make various peripheral items placed in the shop, which is very cute.
Although this cafe is small, it has its own characteristics. The interior is warm and comfortable, making us feel relaxed. Here, we not only tasted delicious coffee, but also discovered a new culture. The shop owner records the various poses of their cat and makes various peripheral items based on them. This creative idea surprised us. We spent a pleasant time here and enjoyed a wonderful experience.
If you also want to come here to taste coffee, chat, or take a break, this is a good choice. This small cafe is located in a quiet alley not far from the busy street. Coming here, you can feel a different cultural atmosphere and spend a pleasant afternoon with friends and family. In short, here you can enjoy the perfect combination of coffee and culture.
Our colleague brought her Shiba Inu "Match" with her, and this little dog is very lively. Whenever her owner walks her, there is always a feeling of being dragged away. At a corner, we met another Shiba Inu, and the two dogs looked at each other, becoming the biggest joy of the day. Match doesn't like to interact with other dogs, either biting them or ignoring them. This Shiba Inu is different. After greeting each other, they remained calm. His owner also chatted with us for a long time and shared interesting stories about his dog.
I think this is a very interesting experience because I am also a pet lover. My colleague usually shares various experiences of Match with us, just like sharing her own child. Every time she talks about Match, she has a proud look. When these two dogs were together, they looked at each other, then started sniffing each other's scent, and they remained calm after greeting each other. It was really surprising. After chatting with the owner of the other Shiba Inu for a long time, I found that each dog, just like humans, has its own personality and preferences. Some like to play with people, some like to play with other dogs. As a military photographer, I took many photos and recorded this interesting moment. It will be one of my unforgettable memories.
Due to time constraints, we didn't have time to delve into each shop, we just randomly walked wherever we saw. However, we also experienced the leisurely life of Chengdu people and couldn't help but exclaim, "I work hard all week, isn't it for a life like this?". I also hope that in the future, I can go out more and record our lives.