MAY 4, 2009
A lot has happened since I last posted. I might not get it all into one post but we'll just see how far I get today before exhaustion overtakes me. We are just returned from a wonderful trip to Xi'an over the holiday weekend about which I am anxious to write. But I have previous exploits in my head and attention must be paid before I forget what I need to write.
Randy has worked in the automotive industry for more than 25 years, and I've worked in various businesses that were affiliated most of my life. I mention this because when we heard that the Shanghai Auto Show was taking place, we realized that neither of us had ever attended an auto show, either here or in the states. So a little research uncovered the fact that we could attend this one right here in our own "home" town with little effort (or so we thought). The tickets were 50 rmb per head (about $6.50 USD) so it wasn't terribly expensive, so we made plans to go on Saturday, April 25.
That morning, our landlord had stopped to reimburse us for the maintenance we purchased for the air conditioning units here at the apartment. In this area, the AC is utilized WAY more than the heat, and one doesn't want to be without it for any period of time once the "season of fire," as the locals call it, arrives. This could be as early as mid-May so the landlord was kind enough to prompt us to have this seen to so as to have no interruption in service once the heat was upon us. As we chatted, Gene asked what we had planned for the weekend. We replied that we were on our way out to the Auto Show. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "You cannot go to Auto Show!" We were baffled. He went on to explain that all the Chinese TV stations were reporting that the show was completely sold out and no more tickets were available. Well, we thanked him for letting us know this important news as we said good-bye.
Randy and I looked at each other ..... well, NOW what? We had our hearts set on the Auto Show and hadn't conceived of a plan B yet. Then a thought occurred to me. When we had gone to Suzhou to see the passing of the Olympic torch, it was very well advertised that the torch would pass through the streets of Suzhou at noon. In actuality, it had passed around 10:00, and we considered ourselves lucky enough to have come into Suzhou plenty early and witness it. We assumed (rightly so) that this was an attempt to keep crowds to a minimum and exercise as much control as possible over the situation. One thing we have learned, the Chinese government abhors a crowd and will go to great lengths to keep one from assembling (and from our perspective, they aren't terribly successful most of the time). I suggested to Randy that these announcements were probably attempts at crowd control, and we should stick to the original plan. If it turned out that the landlord was correct, we'd simply take advantage of the terrific weather and walk around the area taking in whatever sights available in that part of town.
We boarded the subway, and it did not take long before we realized that the closer we got to the the Longyang Station (the one nearest the show), the more crowded the train became. Either these folks hadn't gotten the word, or they felt the same as us. As we weren't sure exactly where the Expo Center was located, we were kind of flying by the seat of our pants. We needn't have worried as the immense crowd carried us along like tidal currents taking along a swimmer. We'd have had a hard time going anywhere else!!! There were shuttle buses and taxis waiting to transport potential show goers but as the crowd on foot was so dense, they were having a hard time going anywhere.
So a 30 minute trek of "going with the flow" found us at the Expo Center and a very long row of ticket windows with lines of people waiting to purchase tickets. We hesitated a moment eyeing the masses and wondering if we'd be waiting forever only to be disappointed to arrive at the ticket window to discover that it was only for receiving advanced purchase tickets. Well, we'd gotten this far, we figured, "What the heck!!" We got into line which moved rather quickly (for all their derision of crowds, the Chinese DO know how to organize them when they put their minds to it!) and before we knew it, we'd purchased ourselves a couple of entrance tickets. As we congratulated ourselves for our perseverance, Randy text'd the landlord sort of a "nya nya" message with a jibe about Chinese propaganda as we entered the show area.
I am having a hard time finding the words to describe the Expo Center area. Let me see, about 10 or 12 building all about the size of 4 Pontiac Silverdomes .... yeah, that about sums it up!!! As we drifted into the first building along with the never-ending crowd, we were amazed at not only the size of the buildings, but the fact that leaving one building simply leads you on to the next ... and the next, and the next. It was a HUGE display!! Not only every auto maker known to man (and some we'd NEVER heard of), but every auto industry supplier seemed to be represented as well. Also, there were fast food restaurants set up and doing a brisk business. We could've had KFC, McDonald, or Burger King, as well as many local delicacies, or ice creams and other sweet treats.
We fought the masses and pushed our way to the point where we could see a few of the more desirable vehicles (knock off Rolls Royce, anyone?), checked out of few dashboards to see if we could recognize any of the appliques with which we were once familiar at Kaumagraph (nope, we're out of that loop completely now), and even kicked a tire or two. But honestly, it was hard to get very close to any vehicle due to the incredible throng of humanity pushing and shoving every which way. We kept a good attitude and enjoyed the show the best we could (and the taller Randy saw much more of it than the short me), but it's a tiring process to fight a crowd like that for any length of time. Part of me understands WHY they would attempt to keep some folks away from that mob scene.
One thing that really made us laugh though. Seems as though every person attending the show had a camera. Photos were being snapped constantly. But the photos being snapped the most were NOT necessarily those of the vehicles. MOST of the flashbulbs were directed at the models standing NEXT to the vehicles .... especially the few blond Western women which had been hired by a few of the auto makers. These tall, lanky, beautiful models with their hair piled high on their heads were leaning seductively against gleaming vehicles with tiaras glittering atop their carefully pinned masses of hair. We expected the lenses would be trained at the lean lines of the latest models on four wheels. Oh no .... the constant flash of the camera lights were directed primarily at these glossy-mouthed ladies with their hands on their hips giving "come hither" looks over the teeming masses. Pretty funny!!!
A couple hours of fighting that madness was all we could take so we got back on the subway and took ourselves to Latina for a lovely Brazilian dinner, congratulating ourselves that we'd actually "been there and did that" in spite of the obstacles of news and crowds. It was worth the effort to have seen the show, and now we also know exactly where the 2010 Shanghai World Expo will be held as this area has been constructed for just this purpose.
The next day, we'd made a date with our good friends, Wind and Nicole, to meet at the wet market across the street to shop for the ingredients needed to make homemade Chinese dumplings. They were anxious to reciprocate after our pizza lessons we'd provided for them the previous weekend. You may recall my reporting about this market in early posts. I go there often to purchase fresh vegetables but you can also buy meat, eggs, fruit, grains, tofu, and many other commodities for very reasonable prices direct from the farmer. These items seem to come fresh from the field to this market as they are often still crusted with the earth in which they were grown.
Wind and Nicole enjoyed showing us items in the market with which we were not familiar. We were introduced to fresh water chestnuts (and I thought they grew in a can!!) with a dark plum or brown skin which must be removed before eating the crunchy, juicy fruit beneath. Of course, sometimes getting to the correct names of these items is tricky. Wind kept calling them river roots, and Randy and I were scanning the files of our brains trying to figure out what this might be. Yep, water chestnuts. They taste quite a bit different (although the texture is the same) than the ones we get out of the can at home. Much sweeter, not as salty (might be the canning process that makes them taste salty). We purchased ground pork, scallions, celery, tofu, wonton and dumpling wrappers, and a few of the raw water chestnuts before heading back to our apartment for the lesson.
Once we arrived at the apartment, the first order of business was cleaning the produce. We are very careful to properly clean all fresh fruits and vegetables here as we've heard that all manner of fertilizer is applied to crops (use your imagination). But we soon learned that we haven't been quite diligent enough. Wind and Nicole instructed us that all produce must be soaked for 30 minutes, then washed twice again in order to be completely clean for eating or cooking. So while the veggies soaked, Wind showed us how to make the "skins" for dumplings and wontons from scratch which is much the same process as making fresh pasta.
The hardest part about making fresh dumplings is the chopping of the veggies. Everything must be finely chopped by hand. Randy and I offered our handy-dandy Tupperware chopping machine which we felt would greatly simplify the process, but were told that only hand chopping is acceptable for dumplings as this would make them taste the best! Alrighty then!
Two fillings were assembled before we started the dumpling making process. Both were ground pork based with chopped tofu but one had the chopped celery, and the other had the chopped scallion. Both also had various seasonings put into them. Finally, we were ready to assemble the dumplings. Wind showed us exactly how to wet our fingers and fold the dough around the little ball of filling, and how to crimp the edges (so as to make a pretty dumpling) so it would not come apart during the cooking process. Dumplings and wontons can be fried, boiled, or steamed. We made some of the boiled (with a little broth so as to have a soup) and some of the fried. The dumplings can then be dipped into soy with vinegar or sesame seed oil before consuming. Chili powder can be added to either sauce as well if you like a bit of heat with your dumplings.
Of course, the dumpling and wontons that were made by Randy and me were not nearly as pretty as the ones Wind and Nicole made ... we need much more practice. Also, Chinese fingers are simply more delicate for that sort of work. We Americans are more used to opening a menu or a can, I suppose (wink!).
Well, the dumpling and wonton making was a huge success, and we ate dumplings until we thought we would bust. They were SO good that we had the leftovers that evening before we went to bed ... YUM!!!
Our sincerest thanks to Wind and Nicole, not only for their dear friendship, but also for their efforts to educate Randy and me in the latest culinary processes of Chinese dim sum. Xie xie ni, wumen da panyou!!!
Randy has worked in the automotive industry for more than 25 years, and I've worked in various businesses that were affiliated most of my life. I mention this because when we heard that the Shanghai Auto Show was taking place, we realized that neither of us had ever attended an auto show, either here or in the states. So a little research uncovered the fact that we could attend this one right here in our own "home" town with little effort (or so we thought). The tickets were 50 rmb per head (about $6.50 USD) so it wasn't terribly expensive, so we made plans to go on Saturday, April 25.
That morning, our landlord had stopped to reimburse us for the maintenance we purchased for the air conditioning units here at the apartment. In this area, the AC is utilized WAY more than the heat, and one doesn't want to be without it for any period of time once the "season of fire," as the locals call it, arrives. This could be as early as mid-May so the landlord was kind enough to prompt us to have this seen to so as to have no interruption in service once the heat was upon us. As we chatted, Gene asked what we had planned for the weekend. We replied that we were on our way out to the Auto Show. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "You cannot go to Auto Show!" We were baffled. He went on to explain that all the Chinese TV stations were reporting that the show was completely sold out and no more tickets were available. Well, we thanked him for letting us know this important news as we said good-bye.
Randy and I looked at each other ..... well, NOW what? We had our hearts set on the Auto Show and hadn't conceived of a plan B yet. Then a thought occurred to me. When we had gone to Suzhou to see the passing of the Olympic torch, it was very well advertised that the torch would pass through the streets of Suzhou at noon. In actuality, it had passed around 10:00, and we considered ourselves lucky enough to have come into Suzhou plenty early and witness it. We assumed (rightly so) that this was an attempt to keep crowds to a minimum and exercise as much control as possible over the situation. One thing we have learned, the Chinese government abhors a crowd and will go to great lengths to keep one from assembling (and from our perspective, they aren't terribly successful most of the time). I suggested to Randy that these announcements were probably attempts at crowd control, and we should stick to the original plan. If it turned out that the landlord was correct, we'd simply take advantage of the terrific weather and walk around the area taking in whatever sights available in that part of town.
We boarded the subway, and it did not take long before we realized that the closer we got to the the Longyang Station (the one nearest the show), the more crowded the train became. Either these folks hadn't gotten the word, or they felt the same as us. As we weren't sure exactly where the Expo Center was located, we were kind of flying by the seat of our pants. We needn't have worried as the immense crowd carried us along like tidal currents taking along a swimmer. We'd have had a hard time going anywhere else!!! There were shuttle buses and taxis waiting to transport potential show goers but as the crowd on foot was so dense, they were having a hard time going anywhere.
So a 30 minute trek of "going with the flow" found us at the Expo Center and a very long row of ticket windows with lines of people waiting to purchase tickets. We hesitated a moment eyeing the masses and wondering if we'd be waiting forever only to be disappointed to arrive at the ticket window to discover that it was only for receiving advanced purchase tickets. Well, we'd gotten this far, we figured, "What the heck!!" We got into line which moved rather quickly (for all their derision of crowds, the Chinese DO know how to organize them when they put their minds to it!) and before we knew it, we'd purchased ourselves a couple of entrance tickets. As we congratulated ourselves for our perseverance, Randy text'd the landlord sort of a "nya nya" message with a jibe about Chinese propaganda as we entered the show area.
I am having a hard time finding the words to describe the Expo Center area. Let me see, about 10 or 12 building all about the size of 4 Pontiac Silverdomes .... yeah, that about sums it up!!! As we drifted into the first building along with the never-ending crowd, we were amazed at not only the size of the buildings, but the fact that leaving one building simply leads you on to the next ... and the next, and the next. It was a HUGE display!! Not only every auto maker known to man (and some we'd NEVER heard of), but every auto industry supplier seemed to be represented as well. Also, there were fast food restaurants set up and doing a brisk business. We could've had KFC, McDonald, or Burger King, as well as many local delicacies, or ice creams and other sweet treats.
We fought the masses and pushed our way to the point where we could see a few of the more desirable vehicles (knock off Rolls Royce, anyone?), checked out of few dashboards to see if we could recognize any of the appliques with which we were once familiar at Kaumagraph (nope, we're out of that loop completely now), and even kicked a tire or two. But honestly, it was hard to get very close to any vehicle due to the incredible throng of humanity pushing and shoving every which way. We kept a good attitude and enjoyed the show the best we could (and the taller Randy saw much more of it than the short me), but it's a tiring process to fight a crowd like that for any length of time. Part of me understands WHY they would attempt to keep some folks away from that mob scene.
One thing that really made us laugh though. Seems as though every person attending the show had a camera. Photos were being snapped constantly. But the photos being snapped the most were NOT necessarily those of the vehicles. MOST of the flashbulbs were directed at the models standing NEXT to the vehicles .... especially the few blond Western women which had been hired by a few of the auto makers. These tall, lanky, beautiful models with their hair piled high on their heads were leaning seductively against gleaming vehicles with tiaras glittering atop their carefully pinned masses of hair. We expected the lenses would be trained at the lean lines of the latest models on four wheels. Oh no .... the constant flash of the camera lights were directed primarily at these glossy-mouthed ladies with their hands on their hips giving "come hither" looks over the teeming masses. Pretty funny!!!
A couple hours of fighting that madness was all we could take so we got back on the subway and took ourselves to Latina for a lovely Brazilian dinner, congratulating ourselves that we'd actually "been there and did that" in spite of the obstacles of news and crowds. It was worth the effort to have seen the show, and now we also know exactly where the 2010 Shanghai World Expo will be held as this area has been constructed for just this purpose.
The next day, we'd made a date with our good friends, Wind and Nicole, to meet at the wet market across the street to shop for the ingredients needed to make homemade Chinese dumplings. They were anxious to reciprocate after our pizza lessons we'd provided for them the previous weekend. You may recall my reporting about this market in early posts. I go there often to purchase fresh vegetables but you can also buy meat, eggs, fruit, grains, tofu, and many other commodities for very reasonable prices direct from the farmer. These items seem to come fresh from the field to this market as they are often still crusted with the earth in which they were grown.
Wind and Nicole enjoyed showing us items in the market with which we were not familiar. We were introduced to fresh water chestnuts (and I thought they grew in a can!!) with a dark plum or brown skin which must be removed before eating the crunchy, juicy fruit beneath. Of course, sometimes getting to the correct names of these items is tricky. Wind kept calling them river roots, and Randy and I were scanning the files of our brains trying to figure out what this might be. Yep, water chestnuts. They taste quite a bit different (although the texture is the same) than the ones we get out of the can at home. Much sweeter, not as salty (might be the canning process that makes them taste salty). We purchased ground pork, scallions, celery, tofu, wonton and dumpling wrappers, and a few of the raw water chestnuts before heading back to our apartment for the lesson.
Once we arrived at the apartment, the first order of business was cleaning the produce. We are very careful to properly clean all fresh fruits and vegetables here as we've heard that all manner of fertilizer is applied to crops (use your imagination). But we soon learned that we haven't been quite diligent enough. Wind and Nicole instructed us that all produce must be soaked for 30 minutes, then washed twice again in order to be completely clean for eating or cooking. So while the veggies soaked, Wind showed us how to make the "skins" for dumplings and wontons from scratch which is much the same process as making fresh pasta.
The hardest part about making fresh dumplings is the chopping of the veggies. Everything must be finely chopped by hand. Randy and I offered our handy-dandy Tupperware chopping machine which we felt would greatly simplify the process, but were told that only hand chopping is acceptable for dumplings as this would make them taste the best! Alrighty then!
Two fillings were assembled before we started the dumpling making process. Both were ground pork based with chopped tofu but one had the chopped celery, and the other had the chopped scallion. Both also had various seasonings put into them. Finally, we were ready to assemble the dumplings. Wind showed us exactly how to wet our fingers and fold the dough around the little ball of filling, and how to crimp the edges (so as to make a pretty dumpling) so it would not come apart during the cooking process. Dumplings and wontons can be fried, boiled, or steamed. We made some of the boiled (with a little broth so as to have a soup) and some of the fried. The dumplings can then be dipped into soy with vinegar or sesame seed oil before consuming. Chili powder can be added to either sauce as well if you like a bit of heat with your dumplings.
Of course, the dumpling and wontons that were made by Randy and me were not nearly as pretty as the ones Wind and Nicole made ... we need much more practice. Also, Chinese fingers are simply more delicate for that sort of work. We Americans are more used to opening a menu or a can, I suppose (wink!).
Well, the dumpling and wonton making was a huge success, and we ate dumplings until we thought we would bust. They were SO good that we had the leftovers that evening before we went to bed ... YUM!!!
Our sincerest thanks to Wind and Nicole, not only for their dear friendship, but also for their efforts to educate Randy and me in the latest culinary processes of Chinese dim sum. Xie xie ni, wumen da panyou!!!
posted by Roxanne Gillett at
9:07 PM
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