the sweet and sour tastes of home

Hi darlings, I apologize for not posting yesterday... my European traveling companion, Liz, is visiting from Baltimore and I was playing host. We went to yoga, made a Mexican feast with more Strasbourgeois and are looking forward to the weekend ahead. One that will include a trip to Ithaca for Applefest and a Moosewood Restaurant experience.  But before I get ahead of myself, it is time for the third  Plate from Around the World featuring a globetrotting friend of mine, Helen, (or Helena since she lived in lived in Chile with me.)

NingBo, my birthplace  is famous for its red bayberry. It is the kind of special berry that only exists in the province of ZheJiang, where Ningbo is located. I call them "the Pearl of fruit", because it’s the real treasure of my hometown.

Every summer from June to early July, you can see people going to the Bayberry farm every weekend for the fresh fruit. It can only be hand-picked at the morning before sunrise, and it will turn sour once it fall off the tree and touches the ground, you lose the sweet and fresh sense of the Pearl.

They are SO good that I couldn't help myself to bring 4 cases of them home to share with my dear family. My dad said its totally worth the money of the plane ticket just to have such heavenly taste, and more importantly, the taste of home.

I love berries and these sound amazing! Have you ever been to China? Tasted "the Pearl of the fruit"? If you'd like to participate in this Plates from Around the World series please email a description favorite place, and your favorite foodie memory from there, along with a few photos of the place/food itself or those that were taken nearby to aroundthworld340@gmail.com. Thanks in advance, I'll be back soon with weekend updates!