I had a similar experience. Oddly, I liked the country food a little better -- even if the city folk downplayed it. At least around Beijing, they subscribe heavily to the "Land of 1000 Sauces" cuisine philosophy, and I just tire easily when always eating 6 courses each loaded with some sticky, strange sauce made of fish paste and animal bits that they won't tell you about while laughing amongst themselves. Having a whole, grilled fish in the countryside was an awesome break to that.