Shanghainese cuisine is one of the lesser-known types of Chinese food, generally characterized as sweet and oily. The name "Shanghai" means "above the sea", so unsurprisingly seafood predominates, the usual style of preparation being steaming. Some Shanghainese dishes to look out for:
xiao long baozi (小籠包子, lit. buns from the little steaming cage, or little dragon buns), probably the most famous Shanghai dish: small steamed dumplings full of tasty (and boiling hot!) broth and a dab of meat. The connoisseur bites a little hole into them first, sips the broth, then dips them in rice vinegar (醋 cu) to season the meat inside.
dazha xie (hairy crabs), best eaten in the winter months (Oct-Dec) and paired with Shaoxing wine to balance out your yin and yang
xiefen shizitou (crab powder lion heads), actually pork meatballs containing crab meat
zui ji (drunken chicken), chicken steamed then marinated in rice wine, usually served cold
"You Tiao" , one kind of breakfast that is very popular in Shanghai
For cheap Chinese eats, head for the alley known as Wujiang Road. For fancier food in nicer surroundings, try the upmarket restaurants of Xintiandi.
Vegetarians should not miss Vegetarian Life Style (258, Fengxian Road and 77, Songshan Road) where you can experience nice, affordable and organic vegetarian food resembling real meat or fish dishes in a fancy atmosphere.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Old city and market
One of the thinks I was looking forward to visit was to go and see the old city, so one morning we woke up early as usual and headed towards the old city with the intension to have a look at the old city and visit the Yu Yuan Garden. The city was as I imagined, with old houses and narrow streets, with smell of Chinese food and humanity and curious people starring at you, thinking what can 2 European might look for in their old city. Well, what I was looking for was to experience some old Chinese cities. As it was less than 07:00 o’ clock in the morning, the streets were not so crowded so I could stroll around for an hour without being embarrassed by too much crowd.In the middle of this old Shanghai city, there is Yu Yuan Garden, a classical Chinese Garden with corridors and bridges over ponds and nice vegetations, tea houses. This combination of old Chinese architecture, corridors and bridges, vegetation and the air of ancient times makes the Garden special.Leaving the Garden I had a feeling I had just been part of China’s old history.Heading the Xiang Yiang market which was only 30 minutes walk away, we passed through the old city food market which is difficult for me to exactly describe but I shall mention only the tiny, dirty, crowded and smelly streets that one could hardly breathe the air, with people selling fish, vegetables in the most deplorable conditions I could not imagine it existed in the 3rd millennium and which did not at all reminded me of the modern civilization I had previously encountered in the new city area. Those few minutes spent there were ages to me and I had the feeling I could never find the way out from that area. I felt fear, panic and disgust in the same time. The place was so crowded that at any minute I had the chance someone to touch me and as I was keeping tight my bag I was thinking “ What the hell was I looking there? Why didn’t I mind my business and was so stubborn to visit the place?”…because I did not know it was so unattractive.Finally we got to the Xiang Yiang market and was anxious to shop. Shopping in a market can be an interesting experience.
Shanghai Travel Information
GENERAL INFORMATION
Throughout the past century, Shanghai has had numerous name tags attached to it; the "whore of the East", the "Paris of the Orient" and the "Pearl Of China". Images of Shanghai more than any other Chinese city, are bountiful in the west. A visit here therefore, is naturally tainted to some extent, with a preconception of how the city will be.
As the largest and most prosperous city in the nation, Shanghai is the economic, financial and cultural center of China, where Beijing is the political heart. And this image of Shanghai as a fast and modern metropolis is certainly the one that most visitors take away. Those old preconceptions of Shanghai as the home of crime vice and prostitutes are wiped away, as the city successfully projects an image of itself as young, vibrant and cool.
Shanghai is a modern and fast paced city, rich in history and culture and with a wealth of areas and sites just waiting to be explored. One of the nicest aspects of Shanghai is that the crowds here are much more manageable than in a city like Beijing. This is largely because there are no great ancient sites which people flock too. Rather, this is a city to be walked, wandered, explored and discovered in your own time and, in your own style.
What makes Shanghai particularly attractive are the many different styles of architecture and design throughout the city. Shanghai was once divided up into different "Concessions" or districts and the boundaries of these areas still remain today.The famous, Bund was home to the "British Public Park" and this boulevard has a plethora of colonial structures to visit, all reminders of Shanghai's days of decadence. The Japanese and the French Concessions too, are fascinating areas to explore. The French quarter is a particularly charming district to wander, and there are many former residences to look at and discover something about old Shanghai and the people who lived here. The area known as the "Chinese City" is also worthy of a visit. Take a break from the tourists around the Yuyuan and do some serious antique shopping or just lose yourself amidst the old alleys and streets.
But perhaps most of all today, Shanghai is a spectacularly modern city. The pace of development here is unbelievable. Currently, seventeen percent of the world's cranes are in the city and developers boast that the city is changing at a rate incomparable to anywhere else in the world ever. The newest area of the city, Pudong, has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and is almost unrecognizable from the way it was when development began here. Two of the most impressive city structures can be found here, the Jinmao Tower and the Oriental TV Tower.
For any visitor to China, perhaps the most attractive thing about this city is just how fashionable it is. Museums, galleries, restaurants and bars have emerged in the past few years. This cosmopolitan cultural scene which harks back to the heydays of the 1920s and 30s and the new found wealth in the city are helping to reinvent Shanghai as a place with a fabulous and optimistic style and attitude.
Throughout the past century, Shanghai has had numerous name tags attached to it; the "whore of the East", the "Paris of the Orient" and the "Pearl Of China". Images of Shanghai more than any other Chinese city, are bountiful in the west. A visit here therefore, is naturally tainted to some extent, with a preconception of how the city will be.
As the largest and most prosperous city in the nation, Shanghai is the economic, financial and cultural center of China, where Beijing is the political heart. And this image of Shanghai as a fast and modern metropolis is certainly the one that most visitors take away. Those old preconceptions of Shanghai as the home of crime vice and prostitutes are wiped away, as the city successfully projects an image of itself as young, vibrant and cool.
Shanghai is a modern and fast paced city, rich in history and culture and with a wealth of areas and sites just waiting to be explored. One of the nicest aspects of Shanghai is that the crowds here are much more manageable than in a city like Beijing. This is largely because there are no great ancient sites which people flock too. Rather, this is a city to be walked, wandered, explored and discovered in your own time and, in your own style.
What makes Shanghai particularly attractive are the many different styles of architecture and design throughout the city. Shanghai was once divided up into different "Concessions" or districts and the boundaries of these areas still remain today.The famous, Bund was home to the "British Public Park" and this boulevard has a plethora of colonial structures to visit, all reminders of Shanghai's days of decadence. The Japanese and the French Concessions too, are fascinating areas to explore. The French quarter is a particularly charming district to wander, and there are many former residences to look at and discover something about old Shanghai and the people who lived here. The area known as the "Chinese City" is also worthy of a visit. Take a break from the tourists around the Yuyuan and do some serious antique shopping or just lose yourself amidst the old alleys and streets.
But perhaps most of all today, Shanghai is a spectacularly modern city. The pace of development here is unbelievable. Currently, seventeen percent of the world's cranes are in the city and developers boast that the city is changing at a rate incomparable to anywhere else in the world ever. The newest area of the city, Pudong, has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and is almost unrecognizable from the way it was when development began here. Two of the most impressive city structures can be found here, the Jinmao Tower and the Oriental TV Tower.
For any visitor to China, perhaps the most attractive thing about this city is just how fashionable it is. Museums, galleries, restaurants and bars have emerged in the past few years. This cosmopolitan cultural scene which harks back to the heydays of the 1920s and 30s and the new found wealth in the city are helping to reinvent Shanghai as a place with a fabulous and optimistic style and attitude.
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