阳澄湖 and 大渣蟹

Today we went up with a bunch of friends by coach to a lake near Suzhou city (阳澄湖, Yangcheng Hu) to eat lake crab (大渣蟹, dazhexie).

Normally it would take one hour to get there, but because of all the holiday traffice, it took three. So we got there about noon and got into a motorboat taxi -- they fit about about a dozen people or so. From there we went out to this flatboat/restaurant thing. It was nice inside -- we had a big Chinese-style lunch with chicken, snails, vegetables, and little shrimp you could just pop in your mouth whole.

Then the crab came, and it was really anti-climactic. Everyone got only one each, and they were so small! I guess the only thing I can compare it with is a mid-Atlantic blue crab so small you'd have to throw it back. But I guess since they're lake crabs that's the difference....

After lunch we had to wait another hour and a half for those motorboat taxis to come and get us, and then we spent another four hours getting back to Shanghai. So we ended up spending the whole day and about 300 yuan to go and eat one crab. :-) Normally I'd feel bad, but the experience was really great and I'd decide to do the same thing over again if I had the chance.

Besides, I would have driven SY nuts if we had just stayed at home.