Man-o-man did I eat when I was in China. Outside of being a pescatarian my rule is that I will try anything at least once. Century eggs that have been buried under the ground to, essentially, rot, fish "tofu," strange fruits...I.Ate.It.All. And I did not stop. All diets out the window when I'm on vacation, that's how I roll.
It was a fun adventure of the palette, but mostly I fell in love with the whole attitude around food in general. I love the way they eat around the same dish. They really share the food on that's on the table. It's not weird to double dip or eat right off the serving plate. They also have a connection with their food - from raising it, to killing it, to cooking it - in a way that we really miss here in America. There, it isn't blinked at twice by anyone when you come home with a live animal. You most likely know the person that grew your soy beans, and you may have even picked the lotus root yourself. It's a step back to basics, a step back to community. My goal now is to try and preserve what I witnessed for my life here at home.
