December 2010 – miyagi.sg

Eating tour of Shanghai in pictures

We left Shanghai with a lighter heart and heavier tummy, and this is why:

This beer cost 10 RMB. That's S$2. Basement of Times Square, Shanghai

We didn't know that Ye Shanghai wasn't the same as Old Ye Shanghai, and we paid for it

An inviting vegetarian cafe in the same district

Candied hawthorn fruit sold on the street, which we were later warned against, cos they're not hygienically prepared. Oops.

In case you didn't know how to drink Chocolate - at Whisk!

The best Peking Duck in Shanghai - Xindalu

Lillian's slogan borrowed from Carlsberg: Probably The Best Egg Tart In Shanghai

Franck's was a most delightful bistro on a most delightful street

Putting Naomi in a candy store is like putting Naomi in a candy store.

Best dumpling in the world. About to be eaten.

They mixed the sweet and savoury dumplings in the same bowl. Which was weird.

Best Taiwanese food in Shanghai is here, apparently

We were a little horrified at the lack of pedicure. Our Shanghainese relatives didn't share our concern.

Bound to be eaten - Shanghainese Hairy Crab

We found the cafe chain Wagas to be surprisingly good.

Possibly the best meat dumplings in the world

At Hong Kong New World Plaza, they served freshly made beancurd (douhua) in a tub like this. And we emptied it like this.

These were the most delicious black sesame filled pumpkin dumplings we ever tasted

Naomi's late brother loved this Xinjiang kebab vendor's fare. So did we.

The skewered meats/vegetables were infused with the flavors that only some inedible fuel could create

Waxy corn

On our eating tour of Shanghai, we came upon a shop on Huaihai Lu that sold steamed corn on the cob. Perfect for nomming while walking back to our serviced apartment.

A couple of bites into one, I started asking Naomi’s mum how they managed to put sweet glutinous rice into every kernel of corn – because, you know, this is China, and they can damn well do anything they like these days.

So apparently it wasn’t a GM corn cob we were nomming on, but a naturally occurring variant of corn found in China, The Philippines, and Burma.

(No pictures. Hands were tied eating).

Home again

We had so many things we had to get a Maxi Cab to get us home. As you can imagine, not everything’s unpacked yet, and we also have the creeping feeling that Shanghai’s grown on us.

Heck. I think I spoke more Mandarin in one week than I have in ten years.

Yongjia Lu, Shanghai — The French Concession's tree lined avenues were lined with trees lined with laundry

Franckly beats any French fare in Singapore

This is turning into an eating tour of Shanghai.

It’s been a couple of hours since Naomi and I returned to our serviced apartment from dinner at Franck.

It was no ordinary dinner. It was OMG THIS IS SO GOOD WE COULD LIVE HERE AND EAT HERE, IF NOT EVERY DAY, THEN AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK.

We entered the premises cautiously, having read some unflattering reviews about Franck’s brusque, French service.

Maybe things change very quickly in Shanghai, cos we were looked after very well by the attentive staff who even took the trouble of interpreting the completely French menu which was wheeled from table to table.

All this after we thought we couldn’t possibly eat any more, cos on Saturday, we booked ourselves a table at La Creperie and had the best crepes outside Breton, even though mine looked as if a seagull had puked all over a doormat.

And I can’t believe the hot chocolate we had at Whisk. It coats your spoon. It coats your tongue. It coats everything!

And even though they refuse to serve you water, their chocolate would make Max Brenner grow hair.

P.S. Blogging from an iPhone isn’t easy.

Best egg tart in the world

The last time we were in Shanghai, we had the good fortune of being stuck in a jam on the corner of Huaihai Zhong Lu and Maoming Lu.

Our friend Han Tong was in the taxi with us. And when we asked him why the heck people were queuing outside a hole in the wall, he told us it was because Lillian Cake Shop was one of the most famous confectioneries in Shanghai.

So yesterday afternoon, we happened to walk along the same street corner, and decided to see what it was about.

The girl behind the counter simply asked, “how many?”

And so we bought four of the best egg tarts on the planet. Still steaming hot, the soft custard had a crust worthy of it being called a Chinese creme brûlée, held together by the most buttery, flaky pastry.

OMG, we’re so gonna try to buy some to bring home lor.