On the day that we visited the village of Suopo, Cam and I had been on the road for over a week and were a little bored food-wise. Breakfast was always baozi (steamed bread) and xifan (rice porridge); lunch, noodles; dinner, rice and dishes. It was starting to get repetitive, and so we decided to liven things up a little with a proper DIY picnic - bread pouches, fresh vegetables, boiled eggs and fruit. This was the kind of food - filling and portable - that we had lived on when we hitch-hiked in Europe, and its return to our travelling routine was almost nostalgic.

After wandering around the castle-like houses and winding paths of Suopo in the blazing midday sun for hours, we found a shady wood by a stream to eat. It was the perfect spot - babbling brook by our side, awe-inspiring mountains above us, and a delectable picnic waiting to be devoured. The yellow tomatoes we'd found in the market that morning were almost creamy in their richness; the bread a nice balance of fried and baked, and local red plums for afters tart and juicy.

We loved that picnic so much that we made sure we ate a few others on the rest of the trip, but none matched the perfection and deliciousness of this one.