Shanghai Bests (According to Us)

So if you’re ever in Shanghai…

Best Neighborhood: The Former French Concession, hands down. Tree-lined streets; cafes, bars, and restaurants; home to the Avocado Lady and the U.S. Consulate. I admit, I’ve gone days (maybe weeks) without leaving the ‘hood.

Best Museum for Guests: Urban Planning. It provides a great overview of this ever-expanding, ever-changing metropolis.

Best Restaurant for Guests: Lost Heaven. It features dishes from the Yunnan Province of China, a melding of flavors from Thailand, Laos, Burma, and China. I never managed to cover this for Fatty Tuesday (you’ll have to forgive me; I was entertaining, after all), but the food is consistently good and the decor, exquisite.

Best Fine Dining: Madison’s, my favorite, probably because it brings me back home to SF with high quality ingredients, creative dishes, and an elegant rustic interior.

Best Local Spot for Spicy Chinese: Spicy Moment. Get the ribs, the cabbage, and the eggplant with green beans. You won’t be disappointed.

Best Soup Dumplings: Din Tai Fung, if you’re going fancy; Jia Jia Tang Boa, if you’re going local.

Best Mexican: El Coyota, currently a pop-up next door to the Avocado Lady. As good as Mexican gets in Shanghai.

Best BBQ: Stubb’s. As good as BBQ gets in Shanghai.

Best Crepurrito Lady: The one on Wulumuqi; though to be fair, I haven’t gone to any others.

Best Boba (aka bubble tea): These aren’t just for Asian-American teenagers. My go-to spot is outside the Jingan Temple subway station, across the street from the temple.

Best Expensive Grocer: Fields, although I recently tried Kate & Kimmi and would recommend it.

Best Cheap Grocer: The Avocado Lady (of course!) who supplies much more than avocadoes (other foreign necessities like cereal and spices; pasta and Pelligrino).

Best Bars: Senator Saloon (an authentic speakeasy, complete with a friendly American cop-turned-bartender) and El Coctel (if you're more the lounge type).

Best Shopping (other than faking it at the Fake Market or making it at the Fabric Market): Spin for ceramics. Our place is outfitted in it.

Best Massage: Skip the chains like Congen and Dragon Fly; go to Zen Massage on Wuyuan.

Best Bike Shop: Factory Five. Those guys are quickly becoming legends. We’ll be able to say, “we knew them when…”.

Best Yoga Studio: Yoga Garden, my little sanctuary, my home away from home. I will miss this community like crazy.

Closing In

As the end draws near, I thought it’d be appropriate to recap our Shanghai experience with one last “by the numbers” post.

1: Number of family members added to the Wang Clan while living in China (Shima!)

2: Number of Thanksgivings hosted in Shanghai (2012 and 2013)

18: Number of articles I wrote for City Weekend

14: Number of (amazing!) friends and family members who came to visit us

12: Number of countries we visited during our two years in Asia. Not bad…

Thousands: Number of miles and hotel points racked up (woot!)

A few: Number of sentences I can manage to formulate in Mandarin

Lots: Number of soup dumplings consumed (with more to be eaten in the next week)

On One Hand: Number of good friends we made here in Shanghai. Just enough.

Countless: The memories :)


(You might also like: Great Wallin' and Thanksgiving Success)

30 Days Until

We go from this...

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/165296248798556788/

... to this. 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/165296248794608061/

Fatty Tuesday: Shanghai Street Food

It occurred to me that I've written about street food in Chengdu, Hangzhou, and even Seoul, but up until now, have left out Shanghai. It does exists here, and a lot of the time, outside of bars and clubs (kind of like San Francisco's danger dogs). What I find most fascinating about the street food here is the resourcefulness of the vendors whose mode of transportation and food prep/delivery mechanism is not a cart or a truck but a BIKE. Check this out:

Notice the plastic grocery bags of veggies, the makeshift cutting board, the red hose running from a tank of gas to a burner, on top of which sits a wok (being handled vigorously in the upper left). This was the noodle guy.  

Here's another example: a charcoal grill on one side (see it on the right?) and a whole bunch of skewers behind it (from fish-on-a-stick to a whole eggplant), soon to be seasoned and bbq'd. 

To answer the first question on your minds: Yes, we (as in Mike) has gotten a styrofoam container of noodles (with sausage!), and has also eaten a bbq'd eggplant. Both got his seal of approval (I had a few bites; I concur, although not enthusiastically).

And to answer the second question on your minds: No, we did not have to run to the bathroom immediately afterward (surprisingly). 

City Dogs

What I've learned about dogs in Shanghai:

• Toy poodles are by far the most popular dog here
• Emphasis on "toy"

At least the shoes match the dress, and both match the leash.  Poor dog.  (Though I have to admit, it's highly entertaining to watch dogs walk with those things on their paws.)    

Zhoumo kuaile!

Weekend plans?  (One day, someone will respond to me in the comments section below, and they will be my favorite.) 

We have a couple of social engagements (yay for friends!), but other than that, we'll most likely recuperate from last weekend's hosting duties. With a bit of practice recently, we're getting our tour of Shanghai down. Here's what you can expect when you come to visit: 

• A walk on the bund to see the famous Shanghai skyline, down to the Nanjing pedestrian walkway
• A trip to the fabric market to get shirts made and buy silk souvenirs 
• A soup dumpling taste-test to try out different kinds from various locales
• A drink (or five) at Senator Saloon, our favorite (Prohibition Era) bar that's right around the corner from our place
• A self-guided tour through the Shanghai Art Museum (check out my most recent Instagram pics here) and/or the Urban Planning Museum (which is a lot cooler, and more fun, than its name denotes)
• A stroll through Xintiandi, the bougiest part of town (fun fact: we lived here for six weeks upon our arrival) 
• A visit to the Yuyuan Garden, a tourist must
• A weekend morning crepurrito 
• A stop at the Jing'an Temple for some peace amidst chaos
• And more shopping (at the fake market, the pearl market, the antiques market, the ceramics market) and more eating (Sichuan, Yunnan, Hunan, American, Italian, San Francisco-an) 

As time goes by, we're discovering more awesome spots to add to the list. That's been the fun part. 

    

Beijing Impressions

Upon arrival, Beijing certainly seemed more "China" to me than Shanghai. Shanghai is skyscraper after skyscraper; one big, modern rectangle after another. Beijing still has Chinese pagodas and some semblance of the Old World. However, some of the challenges I experienced living in Shanghai seemed heightened in Beijing: the spitting is more frequent; the subway trains, more packed. The streets are dirtier; the cab drivers, ruder; the stares, even harder. Would I go back? Absolutely, there's more to experience! Would I live there? Let's just say I'm happy we were sent to Shanghai instead.  

If you've taken a look at my Beijing photos on Flickr, you may have noticed some critters on a stick. These pics were taken at the night market close to our hotel. Sea horses, star fish, grass hoppers, scorpions, silk worms, animal hearts, livers, snakes -- all on a stick. And candied fruit too, for dessert. Not for me! And not for most. It seemed as if most of it was for show...  

More Lessons Learned

With every new day comes a new lesson to add to the list.  Here are some: 

• You will get ripped off if you're not Chinese. Cold, hard fact. Get used to it because it will likely happen more than once. (In Beijing, it happens even if you are Chinese. Ask Mike if he likes Beijing cab drivers.) 
• You will get stared at if you're not Chinese. Get used to this too. (I tend to just stare back; or smile; or say, "Ni hao!") 
• It's totally normal for motorcyclists to ride (fast) on (crowded) sidewalks. 
• I mentioned the lack of a pedestrian's right-of-way, but I've also learned that hitting a Westerner results in a higher fine than hitting a fellow countryman. Go figure.

And with lessons learned comes the start of a Shanghai Survival Guide:

• Try to make eye contact with drivers. Once they see that you're a Westerner, they may slow down (or swerve around you). 
• Have no fear. (This one's for you, dad.) No fear when crossing an intersection, walking down the street, or leaving the comfort of your apartment to venture out into the world beyond it. 
• Be open-minded, try new things, and don't ask too many questions, as in: How did the restaurant prepare my meal so quickly? What kind of meat or fish am I eating? Where did this piece of meat or fish come from? Has this produce been rinsed properly? At a certain point, if you want to eat, you just have to go with it and not think too much about it. I've fared well with this approach so far -- and have had some wonderful meals and tasted all kinds of new things. 
• Be accepting. Smile at the differences. See the beauty in the experience.  

We made it!

After a not-so-grueling 18-hour trip to Shanghai from San Francisco via Hong Kong (thank you, Business Class), we made it to Shanghai. And out of nine (yes, nine) pieces of luggage, what didn't make it?  Mike's skateboard that had been checked at the gate. For all those concerned, it did eventually find its way back to the hotel 72 hours or so later. Sigh of relief.  

We're currently residing in a long-term stay hotel in Xintiandi, the fancy part of town. The bedroom has these big, almost floor-to-ceiling windows I often stare out of in fascination (think: Lost in Translation). And from the 28th floor, you can still hear the traffic, the horns, the sirens and other sounds of this crazy busy city. 

When we first arrived, we were taken on a whirlwind three-day orientation and apartment search. We learned about the Western-style grocery stores ($12 for a box of Cheerios, mind you), and most importantly, we learned the red light is merely a suggestion for cars, bikes, motorcycles and mopeds -- pedestrians beware. I fear for my life every time I cross an intersection. The apartment search was an experience -- many great choices with amazing amenities, and we're close to picking the winner.   

Our first night in Shanghai, we walked to the Bund and saw the famous Shanghai skyline, and kept asking ourselves,
"Do we really live here now?" 

Starting Things Off

San Francisco was one of those life goals; I had this gut feeling I needed to be there.  It was something about the city, about how I felt when I visited friends.  And on New Year's Eve 2010, I made it.  A year and a half later, I'm now living across the Pacific Ocean in Shanghai, China.  It's a ball of crazy anxiety and excitement all rolled into one.

That ball got rolling soon after I got laid off from my last job.  They say these things are usually blessings in disguise and they couldn't be more right.  It wasn't easy though.  When Shanghai was a decision waiting to happen, I was made an offer for my dream job.  And I had to walk away.      

So here I am starting a blog, thinking this may be my outlet in a foreign everything.  And I can't tell you the amount of mental roadblocks I've had to overcome to actual sit and write this.  I kept thinking -- Why would someone read my blog?  Am I important enough to have a blog?  Will people judge what they read?  What will they think?  But I'm taking the plunge and sharing my journey -- even if my mom's my only reader.