跳菜人家

On the way to Wuliangshan Cherry Blossom Valley, we passed Nanjian, which is the hometown of Chinese Tiaocai. The restaurant is not far from the road, and there is a large yard for parking. We happened to catch the restaurant holding a banquet, which was very lively. The Tiaocai performance was really wonderful, and the young man was amazing. The two of us ordered three dishes, ham papaya chicken (slightly sour), jasmine fried eggs, and fried pea sprouts, which are all local specialties. The taste is OK, and the service is very good.

"Nanjian Tiaocai" is very famous, and the travel agency also listed it as a key project in the itinerary. Everyone is full of hope to see Tiaocai. The "Tiaocai Family" arranged by the travel agency seems to be grand, but in fact the image is greater than the content. The dishes are much worse than the group meals arranged in the previous meals. There are only three people in the Tiaocai program, one man and two women, and it is hastily done. There are not many tables of guests on the scene, and the performance is in the aisle. The scene is chaotic, and the guests are standing in the aisle. Those who don't want to squeeze in can't see anything. In short, it's not delicious to eat, and it's not good to look at. It's a pity to Tiaocai in Nanjian!

After visiting the Cherry Blossom Valley and Lingbao Mountain, we went to Nanjian County along the West View Line (National Highway G214) to taste Nanjian Tiaocai. 16 kilometers north, there is a Shidong Temple in Hujie Village, Baohua Town. Three big red characters of Shidong Temple are hung high on the cliff. As the name suggests, Shidong Temple consists of several small temples formed by caves carved out of the mountain wall and built with door lintels, which enshrine different immortals and Buddhas. It is more difficult to build a temple in this way than to build a temple on flat ground, and the piety of the people can be seen. There are many Tiaocai restaurants in Nanjian County. In the evening, we arrived at the "Tiaocai Family" on the edge of Nanjian City. Tiaocai is a local specialty of the Nanjian Yi people. The so-called Tiaocai refers to the cheerful form of serving dishes by dancing. A young man and a girl in Yi costumes, led by the girl, led the dance, and the young man held a tray on his head or held a tray with both hands, twisting his waist and hips, jumping and moving, and served the dishes to the table. The diners were all smiling and taking photos and videos with their mobile phones and cameras. The highlight of the jumping was when the young man held the three-layer wooden table with dishes on it in his mouth and jumped over again. The wooden table and the dishes weighed at least 20 to 30 kilograms. Holding it in his mouth and twisting and bouncing it brought endless joy and amazement to the diners. It is said that some of the people who jump over the food have lost their teeth early. I wonder if they feel more sad and helpless than excited and happy. In any case, this local traditional custom will continue.