traditional markets in old town

A few weekends ago we decided to explore two traditional markets in Shanghai.  The first one we went to was the Flower, Bird, Fish & Insect Market located in Old Town.  

Many stalls full of birds...

An equal amount of stalls full of crickets and other insects for the birds to eat...

We're still not sure what people do with the crickets.  We've heard everything from 'listen to them sing' to 'let them fight each other'.  As insects aren't really my thing, I probably won't go back...it was a little too many creepy crawlies in one area for my liking.  Nonetheless, it was definitely a great one-time experience! 

Next up? Dongtai Road Antique Market located about a block away.  Somewhat of a flea market, there were lots of mass-produced souvenir items, mixed in with other 'antique'-looking items.  

I'm not a very good bargainer, but Nate loves it so we will definitely be back to find ourselves some decorations once we move into our permanent home!  

~ Trisha

P.S. For a few more pics from the two markets, go to Nate's 'shanghai [dec 13]' album.

exploring neighborhoods - tianfizang and qibao

Over the past two weekends, Nate and I have ventured out to new neighborhoods in and around Shanghai.  From living in India, we learned that it's best to explore as much as we can early on, as it gets harder to want to venture out in the immediate vicinity once we get settled and into a routine.

Tianfizang

Last weekend we went to an area called Tianfizang.  We're finding that in-between the large skyscrapers, hotels and massive shopping malls, there are lots of traditional longtang (alley-ways) reminding us that Shanghai still has a lot of 'old' hidden between the new.  Tianfizang houses design studios, boutiques, and cafes down each of its alley-ways that cater to tourists, while local families live above these store fronts. 

Tianfizang

Tianzifang

Lots of great touristy shops, and oddly -- no Chinese food!  Nate and I stopped for a quick bite at a quaint cafe called Bell Bar.  Missing the excellent Mexican food in the Bay Area, we decided to try their quesadilla...unfortunately, it was a so-so fajita-quesadilla.  Oh well!  

Qibao

The nice thing about Shanghai is that they have a very large metro system that's super easy to navigate.  This past weekend we decided to venture just a little bit further out.  I had read that just thirty minutes by metro out of downtown Shanghai there is an ancient settlement with lots of traditional historic architecture, alongside longtangs and canals.  

Qibao

Qibao - Canal-side Vendor

Qibao - Hand pulled Noodles

Qibao - Fried Tofu Street Food

All the street food smelled delicious, but before we could decide I got a little overwhelmed...

Ummm...

We got to the top of one of the bridges overlooking the canal, I looked down and saw the alley-ways FILLED with people!  I instantly got overwhelmed and decided I'd try to find something to eat somewhere not so crowded -- too many people!!!  

~ Trisha

P.S. Be sure to take a look at more pictures from Tianfizang and Qibao in Nate's 'shanghai [dec 13]' album!

winter 'haze'

From what we've been told, the weather here can be very hazy during the winter.  In fact, last week I awoke to this...

View from our temporary housing. 

It was the first time I had seen it so hazy outside!  Needless to say I decided to stay indoors for the day and that evening we did a little shopping...

So many choices!  Many places were sold out of the one I wanted, so I settled for a lightweight one that is usually used just on airplanes to protect from germs.  The ones that work best when 'hazy' outside protect against high-levels of PM 2.5 or less.

Something is better than nothing! 

No worries though, it's not 'hazy' all the time.  This is what it looks like on a better day...

~ Trisha 

'free flow'

I have to admit something to everyone.  I did something that I wouldn't normally do.  I joined a club.  Yes, I use to be in a sorority during college and I was part of various educational organizations while teaching, but this one?  You'll never guess...

I am officially a member of the American Women's Club of Shanghai (AWCS).  I was encouraged to attend one of their monthly meet-n-greet's by a fellow American expat that we recently met.  Most of the women who are in this club are from the midwest and have husbands who work in the car or healthcare industry.  Although I'm not sure I'll be an active member, I did pay my dues, after all...they do come with benefits!  Not only do I get an official membership card and monthly magazine, I receive discounts at various retailers and service providers around Shanghai, and most importantly -- subsidized tickets to events that the club hosts. 

First event? Their annual Christmas Champagne Brunch held at the Le Meridian Hotel -- free flow of course!  For those of you who are wondering what 'free flow' is, trust me, I was wondering the same thing.  We've learned that everyone here uses the term 'free flow' to refer to all you can drink.  It's pretty much the only detail people care about before RSVP-ing to events.    

Besides tons of international cuisine, Santa Claus, Christmas decorations, a DJ and free flow champagne, I'm not exactly sure what the additional theme was this Sunday...but brunch featured 'shots' for those not feeling very well.  Nate?  He decided he wasn't feeling well...

Nate didn't seem to mind the 'free flow' idea!

What can I say...

~ Trisha 

five pounds heavier...

...but so worth it!  

We've now been in Shanghai for about three weeks, and have managed to gain about five pounds a piece -- literally.  Eating out twice a day has become our norm and since eating is our hobby we can't help but try every type of Chinese cuisine we can come across, mixed in with a few western meals.  The food choices in Shanghai are endless and dining out is a social event as well.  Although we will definitely cut back on eating out once we move into our permanent housing, for the time being we are enjoying every minute and every pound of our pig fest!  

Now that we aren't on 'vacation' we sometimes dig in faster than we can remember to take pictures, but here are a few that we did remember to capture.

Sliced Pork with Cucumber - Cold Appetizer from South Beauty, a Sichuanese restaurant that has become one of our favorites. 

Hotpot!  We didn't realize there were so many different ways to have hotpot!  Our friends introduced us to Dolar Shop, a hotpot restaurant where each person gets their own pot vs. others where the pot is communal.  You choose your broth (Nate had spicy, I had mushroom which is mild), then as a table, you order all the items to be cooked in the pot.  

Peking Style Duck w/Stemed Buns and Nate's absolute favorite, crispy chicken with chili peppers. You may see this dish repeat itself in future blogs...we are on the hunt to find who makes the BEST crispy chicken with chili peppers and it has become a staple on our table at every Sichuanese restaurant we eat at. 

Nate LOVES his Hunan style pork ribs! 

~ Trisha and Nate

tea shopping with kang

We've been working with a 'local expert', Kang (pronounced Kung), for a little over two weeks.  We are slowly getting to know each other through his very limited English, and our 10 word Mandarin vocabulary knowledge.  Needless to say there has been many conversations that have ended up with all parties laughing as we attempt to find words that help us communicate. Over the course of a week we've learned that he has a 10 year old son, lives about an hour away from our hotel, likes Beijing (Peking) duck, and loves his tea!  Once he found out that we too liked tea, he couldn't wait for the weekend so he could take us to his favorite tea shop.  About 40 minutes away, we ended up in a very local area where there were rows and rows of small shops.  We tried to ask Kang why he liked the tea at the shop he was taking us too, but with the language barrier, the most we understood was that it was 'good tea'.  That was a good enough reason for us! 

Kang had asked us what kind of teas we liked.  We mentioned that we liked white tea and were also interested in pu-erh tea.  He took us to a one of the many small tea shops where we sat down at a table and had a visual lesson on teas while Kang helped to translate.  The owner of this shop pulled out what is supposed to be a good Shanghai white tea costing 2000 RMB (approx. $328 USD) for 500g.  She then showed us how much water to pour, how long to let the leaves steep, and most importantly that the leaves were only good for two pours.  After two pours, the leaves were no longer to be used. 

White Tea Leaves

Next, we learned about pu-erh tea which is a dark tea.  This tea is a lot more common and easier to find, so we were told it would cost 600 RMB (approx. $98 USD) for 500g.  The most important thing we learned about this tea was that you have to rinse the leaves one to two times, with the third and fourth pour being the best tasting, but the leaves can be used up to 10 pours before the leaves should be thrown out. 

Kang attempting to serve us tea as the owner had to run out for a minute.  Although the tea rinsing and pouring process looked easy, Kang was definitely struggling.  We are clearly going to have to practice. 

Pu-erh Tea Leaves

We decided to purchase 50g of each type of tea.  We asked Kang if we were getting a good price, or the tourist price...for some reason, he just laughed.  Hmmm...

Later that evening we went to dinner with some friends who are from Shanghai.  We asked them if we were supposed to bargain for the tea, or just pay what was asked.  They told us that it never hurts to bargain.  When we told them what we paid, they told us it "wasn't too bad" and laughed...

Our Tea!

~ Trisha and Nate

a thanksgiving feast

One of our favorite holiday's is Thanksgiving.  Many of the hotels and restaurants have Thanksgiving buffets, and several grocery stores import frozen turkey's  to cater to the American expats -- all at a premium.  Although we considered paying $70USD for a frozen turkey or going to one of the hotel buffets at about $100USD/head, we decided to eat a different bird for the occasion.  

Crispy Chicken on a bed of Kettle Corn -- cage included!

We also enjoyed several tasty side dishes...

Sautéed Cabbage w/ Chili Peppers 

Spicy Pork Spare Ribs w/Pumpkin

Fried Pork Dumplings

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  

~ Trisha and Nate

hmmm...maybe we can point?!?

If there is one thing that really stands out for us here, it's the language barrier.  We've traveled to many countries across Asia, but in both Beijing and Shanghai we've noticed that without knowing some basic Mandarin, it can be quite an adventure each day.  During our pre-visit, I picked up a few words -- and by few, I mean two.  Now that we've been here for a little over a week, I think we've added maybe three more words to our vocabulary.  I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the Chinese language, but its very tonal.  This means that if our voice goes up or down when we say a sound, it can change the meaning of the word completely, or someone will have no idea what we're saying.  

What gives us hope is the number of expats that we've met who have been able to pick up the language by either hiring a tutor, or attending classes.  We'll probably hire a tutor for Nate since he has a busy work schedule, and beginning February, I'll be enrolling in full-time classes at the local university near our home.   From what I've been told, each semester is 16 weeks long and classes are 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, followed by an additional 3-4 hours a day of studying.  After 2 semesters, I should be conversationally fluent.  If you're wondering what I'm doing until then...I'm mentally preparing to be a student again.  =)

It's not all charades.  Usually the larger hotels have staff that can speak English so we can usually ask them to translate to the taxi drivers, and if we have a hard time communicating to our driver, Cai Kang, as he only knows limited English, we have an iPhone app that translates addresses into Chinese characters.  So far, we've gotten places without an issue.  

As you all know, Nate and I love our food and eating everything we possibly can everywhere we go is what we do best.  Sure, there are also plenty of restaurants that have both Chinese and English on their menus so we can usually figure out what we want but you know Nate and I...we also love the hole in the wall restaurants where we can eat the really local foods!   Here's the menu (we think it was the menu) from Wu Yue Ren Jia (吴越人家), a restaurant we tried out the other night...

We sat there and starred at each other for a few minutes, then looked around at what other people were eating.  Hmmm...maybe we can point!  The waitress came over and realized we had no idea what to do so handed us a picture menu.  We attempted to point and order, apparently still not ordering correctly because she pulled out her phone, pulled up a translation app and then showed me the screen.  Well, sorry Google fans -- Google translate is not completely accurate so a few more minutes of charades and our ordering was complete!

Success!  Yummy soup noodles with a side of pork in chili oil and pork ribs.  

~ Trisha