We've eaten at a couple places near our hotel that are small storefronts that are...utilitarian at best. Each one we've gone to has been successively smaller. They seem well populated by the local folks, and the food has been delicious and quite inexpensive (my favorite being the big plate of dumplings -- over 20 small dumplings, for 10 or 12 yuan (less than $2 for the whole plate). Other people who ate with us were also quite happy with their meals.
Tonight, for dinner, we ate at the scariest place yet. It was down a street that was a little darker, but I have to admit, the thing that drew us to the place was its name-- 牛肉拉麵 niu2 rou4 la1 mian4 (beef pulled noodles). I've wanted to try pulled noodles since I've only ever watched the noodles being made on videos. Also, beef noodle soup is one of my favorite foods ever. Well, this place we went to really qualifies as a hole in the wall. In fact, some holes in the wall would be insulted at being compared to this place, I think. (When I post the photos, you can decide for yourself whether you would have walked in that place). But, we’ve heard so many stories of how scary hole-in-the-wall places end up being the best. So….the four of us decided to try it. I have to admit that the cleanliness in the place was suspect...but I figured the steaming hot soup would be hot enough to sterilize or at least sanitize the tips of our chopsticks if we put the chopsticks in right away.
Anyway, the food came, and it looked fine enough. We took photos, and began eating. One of our party started tasting her noodle soup, and then stopped shortly thereafter, saying that the flavor was way too strong for her. I tasted mine, and it tasted all right, so I began eating it. However, shortly thereafter, I felt a tingling on my tongue and my lips. As I continued to eat, the tingling got stronger. It began to worry me, so I stopped. I only ate a few mouthfuls of noodles, and a few bits of vegetables. After stopping, the tingling went away. I have no idea what was in the food, but it was truly scary. And in this case, we all agreed that a hole-in-the-wall is sometimes just a hole-n-the-wall…and one should just walk on by.