Coming back to a series of entries on my trip to Shenzhen and Macau, Lyn (my boo) and I upon taking a nice walk along the streets of Le(4) Yuan(2) discovered a hidden gem to our pleasant surprise, street food. I can’t really direct you to the exact location given my unfamiliarity of the Le Yuan area and the restaurants around. However I’m pretty sure I would know how to get there if I was back in Shenzhen again.
The street food is as authentic as it can be with makeshift stalls selling and displaying all kinds of food from porridge to desserts. For those looking for a nice clean location serving very hygienically prepared food with service staff clearing dishes and cleaning the tables once the customers leave, that is not exactly the kind of place you want to go. Ingredients were displayed openly, the tables and chairs are dirty, the floor is littered with plastic bowls, utensils, uneaten food, tissue paper and other unsightly things I can’t bring myself to describe. Food handling is also not exactly something NEA will use as a positive case study and we do see a number of chefs cooking with lit cigarettes in their mouths. Talk about multi-tasking.. 
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However, not that we are gluttons for punishments but these are the kind of experiences Lyn and I are always on a lookout for whenever we travel abroad, like in Thailand and Taiwan. Needless to say, upon discovering the food street bustling with mostly youths and Hong Kong tourists, we were ecstatic and didn’t pay any mind to the fact that we just had dinner.
On our first visit, we started off with a bowl of tang yuan dessert. As we ventured deeper into the street and taking in the aroma and sights of the lovely dishes and atmosphere, we gave up and popped into yet another seafood stall. Since we were already full, we ordered a small plate of fried rice and some clams. Our damage, RMB 2 (S$0.50) for the tang yuan and RMB 18 (S$5.00) for both the fried rice, clams and a can of pepsi. Adding to that, Lyn ordered a takeaway packet of pig’s blood (yeeeech!!) for just RMB 1 (S$0.20). Yeah I know, it can’t get any cheaper for the both of us and we almost fell off our seats.
Still wanting more of the street food goodness, we returned the very next evening with a partially full stomach. We started off with little eats like yu tiao and desserts followed by a visit to another seafood stall and ordered a plate of mantis prawns and another type of clams. Again, it was another night of cheap eats with the seafood and a can of pepsi totaling to RMB 18.
We ended our night with a big bowl of porridge with selected ingredients including eggs, two whole crabs, meat, fish, pig’s intestines and vegetables. We were unable to finish the bowl but left satisfied paying only RMB 15 (S$3.50).
As we departed the food street, we swore to return and spend more time there in our next visit to Shenzhen. So if you folks are looking for something with a more local flavour when planning your vacation there, do consider the food street as an option. I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed… 
More photos in my Flickr album here.
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Mmm, that sure looks like some real tasty grub. Must definitely make my way over there sometime.
Till then,
Jean
Mmmm, that sure looks like some real tasty grub. Must definitely make my way over there sometime.
Till then,
Jean