sorry about the long silence - i have been in china on a small holiday.  in xiamen e and i had a lot of seafood with s - clams, prawns, flatfish &c.  we also spent a couple of days up in the mountains at wuyi shan to try oolong "rock tea", various varieties of fresh bamboo shoot, venison and lots of mushroom as well as climbing a few misty peaks.  i am in hong kong for the rest of the week and i have to say it is pretty lovely to come back after such a long time, even if the experience of half recognising everywhere is a little uncanny.  possibly some pictures will follow.