MARCH 14, 2007
I have been debating what to write about next. I think the thing I chat about the most with the family is the food. I have to say that in Shanghai, anything and everything is available. There are restaurants for every nationality imaginable, and some I HADN'T imagined (Iranian, anyone?).
We have experienced Italian, German, French, Indian, Spanish, Mexican, Thai, American (including Texas BBQ) and of course, Chinese. Of course, Chinese can come in any number of specialties ... Hong Kong, Szechuan, Cantonese, Taiwan, and even Shanghai has it's own specialty. I can't say that I could tell the difference yet, but maybe with time. The problem is that most of the Chinese restaurants do not have any English on the menu, and we haven't been brave enough to simply go in, sit down, and point at something on the menu. But walking down the street, we can see folks in restaurants poking around with chopsticks in huge, steaming pots on their tables ... it looks and smells delicious. We should get one of our Chinese acquaintances to go with us sometime and help us out.
But the really interesting stuff is sold right out on the street. Every block in suburban Shanghai includes lots of street vendors cooking and selling all kinds of things to eat right outside. Many of them have a couple of tables, sometimes just benches, out on the sidewalk where folks are seated slurping noodles and fishing dumplings out of bowls of broth. But lots of them just sell out of a store front and you simply take it with away with you.
There is the aforementioned mystery meat on a stick, but we are also discovering that there are all kinds of food on a stick ... candied fruit (pineapple, strawberries, plums, and mandarin orange sections dipped in some kind of surgery glaze), various veggie "kabob" type things (mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc.) that all look interesting. There are even vendors where you can make up your own kabobs with selections out of baskets, and they will grill it for you right on the spot.
There are also various bread type novelties available ... things that look like pizza crust, bagels, and various other buns that may or may not have things stuffed inside of them. Sometimes these things are "baked" right on top of 55 gallon drums that have a charcoal fire burning inside of them.
Other treats available are sweet potatoes (again cooked inside the big drum) that smell just fantastic, peanuts, corn on the cob to name a few. There are also popcorn vendors selling large paper bags of popcorn straight from a popper that is being cranked by hand. The popcorn in China is quite often sweet, but not sweet like caramel corn. I am not sure if the oil is sweetened or if they put powered sugar on it or what, but you can smell the sweetness when you pass it on the street. We had a friend tell us about ordering popcorn in a bar here, and he took a handful and was quite surprised that it tasted sweet, not salty. Not good with beer. You can get salty popcorn here though, as we found in a German bar that we have frequented. They asked us our preference.
The other day, we were on our way to a Spanish restaurant we wanted to try, and there was a huge crowd of people around a fellow selling cotton candy. That was the first time I'd seen that here. There were all kinds of folks walking around that block with huge clouds of the puffy stuff on a cone. They were going crazy for it! It is almost a carnival atmosphere at times. People walk down the street with a sweet potato or cob of corn wrapped in aluminum foil munching away. Combine that with the vendors selling pirated DVD's, Rolex watches, Gucci bags with the folks walking their dogs in designer sweaters ... well, you get the picture, and it's a pretty funny one!
We are finding that, regarding shopping for food and groceries, almost anything is available, but sometimes for a price. The only cereal made in China is corn flakes (and they're good corn flakes ... just like Kellogg), but one gets a little tired of corn flakes after a while. They have a lot of American cereals available, but they are around $9 or $10 per box. You gotta want cereal real bad for that price. We haven't caved in on that yet. We can get Quaker Oats, and good bread for toast, eggs, and bacon (although we got something called mala bacon last week and it was REALLY hot and spicy ... not good), so breakfast isn't really a problem. There are also croissants and muffins available in the many bakeries in our neighborhood. Of course, there is a Starbucks on every corner too.
Probably the toughest thing is finding meat that is somewhat familiar. Chicken can still have head and feet still attached. Pork is OK, and we've gotten some lovely pork loins lately. Beef is scarce and pricey. Last weekend, we found a German butcher shop located on the second floor of the Sheraton a few blocks away (not sure why they put it there, but oh well). Lots of really nice looking sausages, meats and cheeses, and the prices weren't too bad. We'll be going back there for sure. Many groceries stores have live fish and shellfish available (eels were on special at the Jiadeli last week) which are killed and cleaned on the spot. You can't get fresher than that unless you catch them yourself.
As you can see, eating is an adventure in Shanghai. We'll continue to report as we experience more interesting cuisine. Cheers!
We have experienced Italian, German, French, Indian, Spanish, Mexican, Thai, American (including Texas BBQ) and of course, Chinese. Of course, Chinese can come in any number of specialties ... Hong Kong, Szechuan, Cantonese, Taiwan, and even Shanghai has it's own specialty. I can't say that I could tell the difference yet, but maybe with time. The problem is that most of the Chinese restaurants do not have any English on the menu, and we haven't been brave enough to simply go in, sit down, and point at something on the menu. But walking down the street, we can see folks in restaurants poking around with chopsticks in huge, steaming pots on their tables ... it looks and smells delicious. We should get one of our Chinese acquaintances to go with us sometime and help us out.
But the really interesting stuff is sold right out on the street. Every block in suburban Shanghai includes lots of street vendors cooking and selling all kinds of things to eat right outside. Many of them have a couple of tables, sometimes just benches, out on the sidewalk where folks are seated slurping noodles and fishing dumplings out of bowls of broth. But lots of them just sell out of a store front and you simply take it with away with you.
There is the aforementioned mystery meat on a stick, but we are also discovering that there are all kinds of food on a stick ... candied fruit (pineapple, strawberries, plums, and mandarin orange sections dipped in some kind of surgery glaze), various veggie "kabob" type things (mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc.) that all look interesting. There are even vendors where you can make up your own kabobs with selections out of baskets, and they will grill it for you right on the spot.
There are also various bread type novelties available ... things that look like pizza crust, bagels, and various other buns that may or may not have things stuffed inside of them. Sometimes these things are "baked" right on top of 55 gallon drums that have a charcoal fire burning inside of them.
Other treats available are sweet potatoes (again cooked inside the big drum) that smell just fantastic, peanuts, corn on the cob to name a few. There are also popcorn vendors selling large paper bags of popcorn straight from a popper that is being cranked by hand. The popcorn in China is quite often sweet, but not sweet like caramel corn. I am not sure if the oil is sweetened or if they put powered sugar on it or what, but you can smell the sweetness when you pass it on the street. We had a friend tell us about ordering popcorn in a bar here, and he took a handful and was quite surprised that it tasted sweet, not salty. Not good with beer. You can get salty popcorn here though, as we found in a German bar that we have frequented. They asked us our preference.
The other day, we were on our way to a Spanish restaurant we wanted to try, and there was a huge crowd of people around a fellow selling cotton candy. That was the first time I'd seen that here. There were all kinds of folks walking around that block with huge clouds of the puffy stuff on a cone. They were going crazy for it! It is almost a carnival atmosphere at times. People walk down the street with a sweet potato or cob of corn wrapped in aluminum foil munching away. Combine that with the vendors selling pirated DVD's, Rolex watches, Gucci bags with the folks walking their dogs in designer sweaters ... well, you get the picture, and it's a pretty funny one!
We are finding that, regarding shopping for food and groceries, almost anything is available, but sometimes for a price. The only cereal made in China is corn flakes (and they're good corn flakes ... just like Kellogg), but one gets a little tired of corn flakes after a while. They have a lot of American cereals available, but they are around $9 or $10 per box. You gotta want cereal real bad for that price. We haven't caved in on that yet. We can get Quaker Oats, and good bread for toast, eggs, and bacon (although we got something called mala bacon last week and it was REALLY hot and spicy ... not good), so breakfast isn't really a problem. There are also croissants and muffins available in the many bakeries in our neighborhood. Of course, there is a Starbucks on every corner too.
Probably the toughest thing is finding meat that is somewhat familiar. Chicken can still have head and feet still attached. Pork is OK, and we've gotten some lovely pork loins lately. Beef is scarce and pricey. Last weekend, we found a German butcher shop located on the second floor of the Sheraton a few blocks away (not sure why they put it there, but oh well). Lots of really nice looking sausages, meats and cheeses, and the prices weren't too bad. We'll be going back there for sure. Many groceries stores have live fish and shellfish available (eels were on special at the Jiadeli last week) which are killed and cleaned on the spot. You can't get fresher than that unless you catch them yourself.
As you can see, eating is an adventure in Shanghai. We'll continue to report as we experience more interesting cuisine. Cheers!
posted by Roxanne Gillett at
7:40 PM
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