Good morning Shanghai!
I'd like to welcome you all to another episode of
"I have no idea where the F **!*!! I am and I have no idea what the F(*#(*!!! I'm eating"
It's a crisp morning in one of the biggest cities on the planet. I've only been here one day and there's only a few hours till I leave, yes, a quick trip. I wander and explore, soaking up as much of the local "flavor", literally, as I can.
None of the following happened in any particular order, necessarily, but it't not like it matters all that much anyway as you're probably just going to look at the photos...
Let's start with the best street food I've ever had, in the whole world, ever.
Jianbing
A light crepe filled with egg, scallion, crunchy stuff, hoisin sauce. All for about 20 cents!
Yeah. It's terrific and made fresh right in front of you.
For the video please click here:
And my first attempt at explaining anything, on video....
Did I mention that the air quality was awesome? That's cause it wasn't!
Smog, thick and rich, so much so that right off the plane I get a headache, along with burning eyes and throat. Terrible.
One way to improve the day is to have a great meal. We'll call this dinner..
Dried fish, like jerky almost. Lightly fried and cold, but a nice light flavor. It's more texture than anything.
Warm tofu soup. No idea the flavor, I just can't identify it, and I wanted it warmer, but it was still good, interesting, different. I wish I could offer more in terms of description but I really don't know.
Deep fried fish in a sweet sauce, very fruity.
The nobules are actually the flesh of the fish, perfect for plecking with chopsticks.
A little sweet but nice, different (seems to be a theme).
Xiao Long Bao
Mini soup dumplings. Hot and flavorful and delicious. A ball of meat and some soup inside of the dumpling. Clearly handmade and fresh.
And then it's time for bed.
An early start the next day followed by a long train ride, and a long meeting, and we're finally at lunch time. AND, because the work of the day is done it's also time for a beverage!
Spinning glass centerpiece
Baiju
I don't recall the veg or grain this is made from but it's got a terrible diaper-y taste. The above is cold and the below is warm, and better tasting. The warm one is also plum flavored, I think ;-)
And it's enjoyed in small glasses like this, and generally bottoms up, which wasn't a problem either....
At this restaurant there is no menu. You choose your meat/veg and the flavors you want, and they just make it for you....
Here's some meat
And here's some flavors
Then Voila, they lay it out on the spinner for all to enjoy
And the dishes just keep coming
Bones w meat?
Soup of Hearts of Palm?
I think it was great. Rooty flavor with a lot of veg and some spicy chilis also.
Pork?
Deep fried and presented w chives/scallions. Crispy and porky and not too greasy, nice.
Small razor clams with chili sauce. One of the best dishes we had. The seafood broth was deep and rich and the spice from the chilis was my favorite flavor and I was glad that it was a sort of theme throughout the meal.
Potato and pork
Same chilis again, soooooo terrifically yummy. Deep fried so the crispyness was a nice added texture that went well with the flavor.
Intestines
Chilis, yumm again, and a beefy soup broth that was again deep and delicious. The intestines must have been cooked for a while (they knew we were coming) because they were super tender.
Beef with some sort of local green
Just yumm
Wok fried and a light some kind of brown glaze?
Sweet Potato
Deep fried and coated in melted sugar which hardens up and you break apart and eat. Crunchy on the outside and warm and potatoey on the inside. Weird and not my favorite. Not easy to eat or enjoy. Took two people using chopsticks to break it apart.
And we wash it all down with local beer. 2.5% alcohol which is a good balance with the super strong white lightening.
Fried balls of dough with purple potato inside
Another interesting and delicious concoction. Crispy and soft at the same time.
Sweet roll of some sort. No idea the inside or outside. Warm and sweet were the only things I could identify.
And now it's another day. I'm in the hotel restaurant having breakfast.
Presenting the Shanghai Set Breakfast (noodles obviously)
A walk in the park later brings me upon the Thai Chi folks. I sat for an hour watching these and other locals enjoying the beautiful day in the park.
I round a corner and I run right into a steamed bun shop.
Yes please
Brocoli and pork?
Hot soft and delicious. Tasted super fresh and light.
And then it's time for a bread thing filled with spicy meat something???
Ohhhhhh yeahhhhhhh
Another terrific street food thing.
Thank you Shanghai!!!
Again, 20 cents
On the way back to the hotel I end up walking down Butcher Alley. A street lined with open butcher shops.
Wood stump, hacking animals apart with a giant cleaver
Stack it all up on and under the bench
Hang the bigger ones, it's cool to put the laundry in the back, check.
Crazy
The only thing I'm glad for was that it was winter time and NOT summer. The flies must be TERRIBLE during summer.
Shanghai, thanks for being so awesome. I can't wait to come back and explore more.
DVA
