Music Men

When walking down any major street in Shanghai, you're guaranteed to hear one of these two songs. On repeat.



I'm not sure why these two songs in particular, and why there aren't any other songs in these men's collections of counterfeit CDs...

...but after you get past the bewilderment of this phenomena, it becomes quite amusing and sometimes leads to singing along or feigning latin dance moves.

Zhoumo kuaile!

I know I've complained about the air quality before, but it's really, really bad today ("beyond index"!).

This time, I can really feel it in my chest and I've had a nasty cough for few days now. If only Shima knew how to use a toilet, I wouldn't have to go outside. But she hasn't acquired that skill yet, which means I've given in and will be sporting one of these accessories on our walk this afternoon.

Only one more week 'til I see the blue skies of California! My lungs and I can't wait. 

P.S. More on the current "airpocalypse". And some think artificial rain may help.  

East vs. West

A graphic designer who was born in China but lived in Germany created a series of images that represents the differences between East and West.  Although I loved them all, this one was my favorite.  Check out the rest.

Shenzhen Street Food, by Mike

For about a year and a half, I've asked Mike to grace this blog with a guest post. He's finally complied...

I'm really more of an eater than a blogger, so I decided my first post will be to take over the Fatty Tuesday column (You're not taking over anything. And you missed the Tuesday deadline anyway.).

After stuffing my pie hole this past weekend with a Thanksgiving feast and all of its leftovers, I went down to Shenzhen for one night. Not knowing the restaurant scene down there, I figured the best way to try different local fare was to hit one of its famous food streets.

The Dongmen area is known for being an old and well-established shopping area but also has very respectable street food. Here's what went down:

First up was a delicious tofu I kept seeing people walking around with. Not very greasy and with a good amount of spice, the dish was two large slices of tofu for less than a buck.

Given its close proximity to Hong Kong (just across the Chinese border by the South China Sea), Shenzhen's seafood is fresh and popular, so I had to give the grilled oysters and clams a try. For less than $2 per serving, you get three grilled oysters smothered in a slightly sweetened garlic mixture (imagine scampi with a touch a soy) or five clams covered with glass noodles and the same garlic mixture. I got both.

Not quite having my fill of noodles after the clams, I got myself a bowl of famous Chinese-style hand-cut noodles (dao shao mian) for $2. Super fresh with great texture and awesome with a beer.

Feeling pretty full, I was on my way out, but paused when I saw a long line at one of the carts. After realizing it was Chinese-style stewed pig's feet, who was I not to top off my night with some tasty trotters? I've had plenty of pig's feet before (not the crappy pickled-in-a-jar-at-a-bar kind), and these didn't disappoint, especially for about $1.50.

All in all, with two beers and five dishes for under $10, not a bad meal, or first post if I do say so myself (and he does).

Thanksgiving Success

I've deemed myself and Mike Thanksgiving gurus. Here was our holiday "by the numbers":

15: Number of friends from our various walks of Shanghai life (school, work, and bike rides) who came over for our turkey dinner.

9: Number of nationalities represented (from British to Chinese; Dutch to Russian).

2: Number of appetizers served (deviled eggs and a cheese platter).

5: Number of sides that accompanied the turkey (bread stuffing, green bean casserole, spinach gratin, potato gratin, and salad, served only because we were worried we wouldn't have enough. We did.)

3: Number of desserts served with homemade whipped cream (bourbon pumpkin pie, apple crisp, and good ole American brownies).

1: Number of photos I have from our Thanksgiving dinner... of the leftovers.