We took the long way home to the U.S. in June, via China, where we met Adam’s best friend from high school for some exploring in Shanghai. Jeremy was gracious enough to be our tour guide and translator as we ate our way through the many delicacies the city had to offer.
We only explored Shanghai for 4 days but we ate more food in those few days than we would normally eat in two weeks. To give you an idea, here’s a list of the consumption we managed to keep track of:
Fried pork buns
Wonton soup
Fried pork chops
Fried dough stick
Egg tarts
Roast dove
Natural frozen yogurt
Live drunken prawns
Garlic prawns
Bean noodles
Drunken crab
Fried crab
Stuffed lotus roots
Pork stomach
Pork belly
Potato salad
Snow pea leaves/snips
Wild grass stir fried
Corn fritters
Fish wonton soup
Stinky tofu
Xiao long bao (soup buns)
Hot and sour soup
Pork neck meat
Mini razor clams
Tapioca coconut drink
Frozen kale with wasabi
Roast duck
Stir fried clams in black sauce
Hot Pot -Sichuan style (Beef, Lamb, Prawns, Bamboo shoots, Ice tofu, Duck/chicken blood, Gluten balls, Cilantro, Spinach, Oyster mushrooms, Straw mushrooms)
Waxberries
Duck Gizzard snacks
1000-year-old eggs
Sichuan prawn with rice balls
Shanghai lemon butter steak
Egg custard
Smoked sugar fish
Clovers
Pork, bamboo and winter melon soup
Krispy Kreme donut =)
Dim sum brunch at Tang Palace (Roast Dove again, Red bean buns, Shrimp rolls, Shrimp dumplings, Chicken rolls, sweet pork buns, Spare ribs with taro, Egg tarts, Egg tarts Portuguese (sweet), Rice porridge with 1000 year egg, Rose tea)
And we loved every last bite. There are a few dishes I will be dreaming of for years to come. The best meal was with Jeremy’s Grandma, Aunt and cousin, where we had such a wonderful variety of dishes. A highlight was the drunken shrimp, still alive and jumping at the table as the alcohol in which they were soaked killed them…I only ate one of those – just so I could say I did. I have to admit it was quite tasty, but I just don’t like the texture of raw shrimp.
A highlight for Adam was the roasted dove. Yes, the bird of peace on a plate, head and all. The boys were convinced that it could be a hit in the U.S., but I doubt that Americans would go for eating a beautiful symbol or even it’s cousin, the pigeon, aka dirty flying rats.
Ok, let’s get to details other than the food. Shanghai is a buzzing metropolis much like many other large cities. Public transportation is affordable and easy to come by, there is a large shopping street and malls galore, but the most fun place to shop is the black market…if you’re looking for knock-off hand bags, shoes, shirts or just a fun time barging, this is the place. Jeremy’s skills earned us a great deal on a purse and we found out that you’ve got the best price when you walk out of the store and the owner comes running down the hall saying, “Ok, ok”. It was quite fun.
We also explored the old city, which was also buzzing with small shops. We journeyed there to get some famous soup buns, but the wait proved too long and the boys settled on some stinky tofu instead. The smell sent me back to the streets of Taipei where the odor was simply too much to overcome and I couldn't summon the nerve to try it. It’s difficult to describe, but this farm girl can tell you it smells like pig poop, salty pig poop. I actually gathered the courage to try a tiny bite this time and it just tastes salty, minus the poo smell.
We then made our way to the Shanghai Aquarium where we saw some new “deadly creatures of the sea” and met an albino turtle. One room was dedicated to saving sharks due to the large consumption of shark fin soup in China. I’m not a big fan of sharks, but the way they harvest the fins is cruel as they catch them, cut off the fins and throw the rest of the shark into the ocean to drown at the bottom. The aquarium featured a small, open tank of bamboo sharks available for the public to pet and appreciate. It’s a nice idea, but I don’t think it would phase many Chinese or the hungry men I was with.
The aquarium had the best display of jellyfish I’ve yet to see. The lighting made them seem so beautiful as they danced around the water…but I’m still holding a grudge from the one that stung me in Singapore.
After a wonderful few days with a great friend and a few extra pounds, we parted ways to go and conquer The Great Wall in Beijing.
But first we had to make a 13-hour overnight train ride…
