Shanghaied!!! FOOD!!! Yummy! - Part 3

Now I finally get to this post for my Shanghai trip. Arguably perhaps the most important one, that of food! Seriously, how can someone go to China and not talk about food? That would be a good trip wasted! Apologies...this post is late, I finally get my lazy butt to do this post. I guess blogging isn't one of my regular habits.

Ok...the food in Shanghai is...unique. Familiar and yet strangely alien. Mainly if I'm not wrong, the majority of Singapore's Chinese population hail from a different region (Fujian province? Southern coastal regions?), and are more familiar with the cuisine that we know and love in Singapore (which was probably brought over by our forefathers from China).

Anyway, the food in Shanghai tends to be saltier...and oilier. So it takes getting used to, its a weight watchers nightmare. But since I'm there for a holiday...that makes a good excuse to PIG OUT!!! There are some very unique food items in the regions that I visited. First, I'm sure people are familiar with Xiao Long Bao, which you can get at Crystal Jade. But the Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai is somewhat different. For starters, the Bao is actually very juicy and requires a certain technique to eat. Our tour guide warned us first-timers about eating Shanghai Xiao Long Bao. They recklessly bite into the Bao, resulting in the juice (or soup) being shot from the corner of your mouth into some poor soul's face (which would definately be argument/confrontation worthy by local Chinese standards). The correct technique is to bite a bit off the bao to make a small hole, you drink/suck the soup up first through the hole before you take a big bite and finish the rest of the Bao off.

Another interesting dish is Dong Po Rou (Dong Po Meat). Essentially its an exceptionally rich (fatty) slice of pork (what we locally know better as Kong Bak), marinated with herbs and spices. Again the tour guide warned us that the Dong Po Rou is not exactly health food, but they only served us one small slice...so might as well eat it anyway, fats and all. I have to say, it was probably the best slice of pork I have ever eaten! Yummy!

Now in Nanjing for some reason they have a fetish for duck. And one of their specialty duck dishes is salted duck, which is actually served cold. Obviously the duck tastes salty, and since its served cold the meat can be quite stiff, but my father said it was one of his favourite dishes on the trip, and I tend to agree though it needs getting used to. Its a unique taste different from the herbal and roasted duck we Singaporeans like.

Back to Bao's. Ever heard of "Tang Bao" (Soup Bao)? Its different from the previously mentioned Xiao Long Bao in that instead of meat inside the Bao what you get is soup! Thats right! Soup in a Bao! The Bao is made in such a way that theres a little hole at the top where you actually stick a straw in and sluuurp up the soup. Then you can dig out the rest of the Bao from the bamboo steamer-like container and eat the skin. Cute eh? The soup takes some getting used to as its quite saltish.

Almost every meal we had included a fish dish. Don't expect pomfret or sea bass or tilapia though. The fish they eat are fresh water fish and tend to have a slight muddy odour about them. That and they're extremely bony. Lots and lots of fine small bones which make them real tricky to eat. Its not likely that you'll choke on them, just that if one of them bones get stuck on your teeth then...ouch. They still taste good when properly cooked though, almost like any well cooked steamed fish you eat at the restaurants in Singapore (just don't expect Chilly Crab, they don't have that over there).

Almost every meal was accompanied with watermelons. Without fail...watermelons at the table signal that this is the last dish (which is ok cause the restaurants which my tour group ate in had several numerous dishes, so many it was intimidating). According to daddy, the Chinese farmers plant watermelons to make an extra buck while waiting in between rice planting seasons. You can always count on a Chinese mind to think of stuff to sell...and make money.

Every meal is also curiously accompanied by a bottle (or two because of the size of the table) of beer (a locally produced light beer, good for the ladies) and a 1 litre bottle of various western soft drinks (Sprite and Coke usually). In Nanjing they gave us a taste of the famous Tsingtao Rice Wine (I think thats what it was). I tell you that liquid is FIERCE! Its a very strong alcoholic drink. Drinking it down feels like drinking hot lava or something. One member of our tour group subsequently got a red face though he wasn't drunk. Really strong stuff that was.

Another thing I really ought to cover in China is tea. They brought us to a tea plantation in Hangzhou where we get to sample the supposedly famous Long Jing Cha (Dragon Well Tea). There are several variants of Long Jing Cha, the one we tried (supposedly the most authentic and best tasting) was Xihu Long Jing Cha (West Lake Dragon Well Tea), so named after Hangzhou's iconic Xihu lake (and a huge and very beautiful lake it was). Curiously enough they don't harvest the mature tea leaves, they go after the young shoots that contain the most flavour. Dry them out (which takes quite a bit of time) and fry them a bit with some oil, which mysteriously disappears as it gets absorbed and dissapated by the tea leaves. We got to taste a sample of some good quality Longjingcha. Now I do drink tea, though I'm not a tea fanatic, but you don't need a degree in tea making (which was apparently the qualification of the Manager who gave the sales talk) to know that the tea is really good. It tasted fresh, natural and very refreshing with a very rich aroma.

Some tips on making tea, or tea in general:

1. For heavens sake don't boil the tea leaves!!! You're killing off the vitamins and all those nice healthy tea leaf properties! If you want your tea hot, put it in warm water about 80 degrees C, no more than that.
2. The best way (apparently discovered by the Japanese) to make your tea is apparently to have it "cold". Just take a water bottle with room temperature water and sprinkle some of the tea in. Wait 20 minutes to 2 hours (for best results) and you'll have tea in your bottle. This method preserves all the nice vitamins and healthy properties of tea. My dad tried putting ice cubes and said it tastes even better and enhances the refreshing taste of the tea.
3. If the tea leaves get in your mouth while drinking go ahead and eat them. They're nice and crunchy. By the local custom, it is impolite to spit out the tea leaves anyway, so if you get the leaves in your mouth the proper thing to do is to eat them. For this reason, the locals don't "drink" tea, they "eat" tea (this is in their own local lingo).
4. You can eat the tea leaves by their own with no water. My mom describes them as being like eating Prawn Crackers (like Keropok). Its still a healthy treat so no worries.
5. If you get grade AAA tea (there are several grades, far too numerous to name, they only showed us AAA, AA, A and B grades, AAA supposedly being the best grade) like my parents who bought quite a bit (its quite ex though but my parent love tea, and I don't mind tea either), you grab a bunch of tea leaves with 3 fingers (from the thumb to the middle finger) and thats enough to make your tea, the tea leaves are that potent. Lower grades might require more.
6. Tea leaves (since they're dried) can last as long as 4 years! 6 if refrigerated! That is...if I remember correctly...

Moving on from tea. Another thing you might want to look out for is the local candy. You can get them from the local candy shops, which are easy to identify cause they're usually quite crowded, though they can be easily mistaken for a TCM outlet (they look almost identical with the displays of various exotic spices and herbal ingredients). They sell the candies really cheap, by the plastic-bag-full! The candies resemble Australian Nougat, in that they mostly consist of nuts, but they taste very different. You also get those sour plum and other preserved fruit treats in salty/sweet/sour variations.

I you're adventurous, you might want to try the local street food. You need to be careful though, some of the street food vendors are unhygienic. They fry their food from morning to night without changing the oil at all (meaning the oil turns from clear to a nasty black). Apparently a good proportion of illnesses (both minor and serious) in China are the result of of unhygienic food preparation, at least, according to what the tour guide told us. However, if you find yourself in a more upmarket area then you should be alright. The stalls look very much like the ones you find in Singapore, although the foods that they offer are vastly different. My parents tried this little treat called Xiao Huang Yu (Little Yellow Fish), which is kind of like a deep fried fish fillet. The bones are still there but its all been fried tender. Its nice and juicy (abeit quite oily) and at least you can taste the flavour of the fish. We also tried Chou Tofu (Smelly Tofu) which of course, smells nasty. The one we ate had a somewhat sickly greenish colour to the tofu but actually tasted quite nice (accompanied with a local variation of sweet chilly sauce). Essentially its fermented tofu, kinda like Stinky or Blue cheese in France. They're all in the acquired taste category. In terms of preference, I still think the Chou Tofu in Taiwan is the best.

There are other street food thats a bit too outlandish to try. They actually sell small fried birds on a stick. Imagine a whole fried bird (possibly a baby bird) slightly larger than your 3G handphone. Now imagine 3 of them stuck on a stick BBQ style. Yup you got the picture, kinda like chicken wings in Singapore except this time you eat the whole bird.

Woah...another long post! Well, China wouldn't be China without such diverse cuisine. I'd have to write a book just to detail all the culinary delights (and eccentricities) of the Shanghai region. For now, let me rest me aching hands...and all this talk of food is making me hungry... :-P

Shanghaied!!! The People, Their Business and Their Shopping - Part 2

The People:
Alright. Well the Chinese have never been known to be the friendliest of people on this good Earth, and I can pretty much attest to that. A few observations about manners in China:

1. Bumping or shoving past or into people is not considered rude.
2. Talking in a loud voice (and they talk really LOUD) is not considered rude.
3. Spitting in open view is not considered rude.
4. Arguing is encouraged.
5. Being a wisearse smart alec is encouraged.
6. Its nothing personal, its business!
7. While driving, sudden and rapid lane changes are encouraged (in fact, judging by the traffic, it is often a necessary maneuver).
8. Smiling is NOT encouraged (everybody looks kinda grouchy in China, even the pretty girl at the counter).
9. If thanked by customer, ignore. If argued at by customer, argue back (see 4).

So yeah...China has quite a way more to go in the manners and service sector. But before I start complaining about bad manners I should look at myself first. That goes for all Singaporeans (Chinese Singaporeans especially), cause we have the potential to be just as obnoxious as the mainland Chinese. In fact we are often quite obnoxious ourselves, we just don't know it.

The thing about China is that its so big that the mannerisms of the people are quite complex as well. Apparently the Suzhou women are known to be very soft spoken. By contrast, the Wuxi men are known to be soft spoken (and under the mercy of their women once married apparently). The Nanjing and Wuxi women are also known for their beauty, though the Nanjingers tend to be more aggressive personality wise.

According to our tour guide, the people in the cities in the thriving coastal regions of China tend to be more aggressive and are quick to anger. Its mostly stress. Whereas people in less congested cities or in small towns and villages tend to be a bit more laid back and easy going. Of note, the tour guide highlighted that Beijingers are especially fierce since Beijing is the Capital where all government and administrative functions are concentrated. The city has an abnormally high concentration of officials (including the big shots, and in China if you're up there, you're really UP THERE), and Chinese officials have been known to be fierce.

Well I can't say that the mainland Chinese are the friendliest lot, or the most polite, or the most civilised. Cause in a country as big as China, there's really no shortage of talent and manpower. So everybody's pretty much looking out for him or herself. Its hard to make a name for yourself in a place with so many people (Shanghai has about 60 million people I believe. Singapore has what? 4 million? Thats puny compared to any major Chinese city).

Business in China:
When Godfather Corleone says "Its nothing personal...its business", he means exactly just that. And the Chinese pretty much take that adage to heart. Whoever thinks China is still communist ought to be shot. From what I see on the ground, I get the feeling that China is a personification of capitalism. The Chinese people are the ULTIMATE capitalists, right down to the salesperson.

In most stores in Singapore or other countries, when you buy something the salesperson is quite happy and thanks you for the purchase. Not so in China. You buy something, the salesperson will try every sales pitch and tactic to make you buy more! And if you buy that, they'll try to get you to buy something else! Don't be surprised if the salesperson shows you over to a display where they exhibit their most expensive goods on the pretext of "just letting you take a look", they really want you to buy the thing. They'll use any trick in the book. Flattery, negotiating, bargaining, arguing, giving discounts, slashing prices and the like. What happens if you decide not to buy? Its really quite cute...and intimidating. They'll press you, make you feel bad, plead with you, extol the great benefits of their products. It takes a lot before they finally give up, and even then, they'll still be watching you out of the corner of their eye.

Let me tell you, those salespeople are real smooooooth operators. They make one helluva sales pitch. Their sales talks are smooth, well oiled affairs that have you hooked before you know it. My dear mummy almost got convinced into shelling out $800 Spore dollars (the original price was in RenMingBi of course) for a gold necklace with a singular, rare and hence very expensive yellow pearl, and thats after already buying quite a few necklaces. The sales pitch that nearly succeeded was simple...that such rare and expensive pearls necklaces were reserved only for the Chinese Empress. Smart...appealling to dear Mummy's vanity. Very smart. So why did the pitch fail? Cause daddy intervened and scolded her out of the room before she could make the purchase. Mummy would later say that she didn't like the $800 necklace anyway...figures...

I really have to hand it ot them though...those salespeople were really dedicated to their work. So dogged and insistent! Its hard not to admire their drive and dedication, that is if you don't get intimidated first by their aggressive sales tactics.

The flip side to the smooth and professional Chinese salespeople are the Chinese street vendors. This guys go incognito, looking like any ordinary person. They see that you're a tourist and they approach you to see if your intersted in buying bags or watches and other stuff (all imitations and fakes going for cheap prices). They wip out a card and follow you trying to convince you to come over to their store. Word of advice: If they ask you to come to their home or to some isolated backroom in their store, say no immediately and walk away. Avoid eye contact and walk away calmy. They usually give up after awhile.

Its quite harrowing to walk around and have these guys ambush you. Its frustrating and irritating cause these guys are EVERYWHERE and you don't get a moments peace. I notice they don't usually target the locals as much though, they're probably used to them. China has a big piracy problem, they have entire shopping malls that sell nothing but imitation and fake goods. I visited one and the interior kinda looks like Beauty World in Singapore, old and cramped with this very dodgy atmosphere (if you get my meaning). I have to admit though...its hard to pass the chance to buy Hugo Boss and Armani lookalikes at such a cheap price. After all I will be needing some nice long sleeve office attire once I get a job...*ahem**cough, cough**throat clearing*...

Shopping:
One other thing...I went to Shanghai expecting to see lots of Western labels and brands but was surprised to see very few. They have their own local brands that I have never seen before, so I guess they're pretty self-sufficient where fashion is concerned (though admittedly their fashion sense is lagging by just a tiny bit...as if I have fashion sense...haha). I saw Esprit, Baleno, Giordano...what else? Thats pretty much it. I was expecting to see Armani, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada and maybe even a bit of Ermenegildo (is that how its spelled?) Zegna. Nope, none, zilch, ditto. What I saw were local brands, which looked quite decent actually.

I suppose since China is so darn big and has the resources, why depend on expensive foreign imports when you can make your own? I doubt the regular Chinese can afford such Western brands. The tour guide made it clear that buying such brands is not worth your time even with the exchange rate in Singapore's favour. Because they're imported, the prices are exorbitant, higher than Orchard Road supposedly. So why buy Western brands when you can settle for...*ahem*...their alternatives?

A small piece of advice, when in China, shop like the Chinese. You see a store which is crowded, it might be worth your time to have a looksy...you just have to survive the crowd. My mum got lots of local Chinese sweets (which bear more resemblance to Australian nougat, lots of nuts...and yes they're quite yummy) this way, sweets I doubt you'll find in Singapore.

Phew...this is quite a long post...I'll continue another day. Still haven't talked about another VERY important aspect of China...FOOD!!!

Shanghaied!!! The City(s) - Part 1

Got back from my family's 7 day vacation to Shanghai China on Saturday night. Twas a pretty good holiday experience. Well technically the holiday wasn't in Shanghai cause we were travelling all over the place.

We started in Shanghai, went to Suzhou, Wuzheng, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi and back to Shanghai in that order. That's a lot of travelling, we spent about a day in one place and then moved on to the next. The only hotel that we stayed for more than one night was when we got back to Shanghai and had about one day of sightseeing followed by one day free-and-easy. Surprisingly this holiday was a very leisurely one despite the travelling. It was well planned and not rushed at all, so far there were not significant hitches or setbacks. We didn't spend that much time on the road as well...with bus rides averaging around 2 hours (except the bus trip from Nanjing to Wuxi which took 4 hours).

Here's what I observed or have to say about the trip:

The Country:
Well, China has grown A LOT the last time I've been there. That was about 10 years ago when I went to Beijing with Mum and Grandma. Back then Beijing was crummy and dusty and pretty much backward, pretty much what you expect of a third world country. Shanghai is VERY developed, and several times the size of Singapore. And I'm pretty sure that the development that has occurred in Shanghai has been translated to Beijing as well.

Shanghai is one thriving, bustling megalopolis. Expressways and flyovers this way and that. They have flyovers that I estimate are 10 or more stories high and they crisscross in a complex network. Our dear Benjamin Sheares bridge is puny compared to whats over in China. They have expressways with 4 lanes going in one direction. We only have about 3 at most. In fact most of the time my tour spent driving around China was on expressways and its partly due to the highly developed road and expressway network that we could get from one place to another quickly. We also took a ride on the Maglev (Magnetic Levitation) train in Shanghai. This train did 370km/h when we were riding it, and that's not the top speed. It wasn't rush hour so they were conserving the electricity needed to power the thing for later, when a faster speed is needed to accommodate rush hour. This train is even faster than the Bullet Trains of Japan. The ride was slightly jerky (side to side), but smooth and quiet (any noise was due to wind noise).

The cities themselves have come far. High rise skyscrapers, bustling business centers, neon lights (the Shanghai skyline is especially brilliant at night). They were also surprisingly clean and quite green. Gone is the dust and grime of old. Shanghai practically looked like a massive version of Singapore! You walk down Nanjing road (Shanghai's equivalent to our Orchard Road) and you'd think you were still in Singapore...except every thing is in Chinese and they have neon lights...and the cars look older and somewhat more dustier.

Some of the older cities were a bit more rundown. Nanjing for example. Do note though that Nanjing used to be the capital of previous Chinese dynasties so the city is really OLD. Old Nanjing (historically within the city walls of the previous Chinese dynasties, these ancient walls still exist) is kinda shabby and rundown, has a very aged and grimy look to it. Of course modern Nanjing looks like Shanghai with lesser skyscrapers and high rises.

However, my favourite part of the trip was when we get to spend one night in a Chinese water town in Wuzhen. Imagine Venice...but with a Chinese flavour and you get a rough idea of what its like. The town is under conservation, so there are no residents. For the most part its a tourist and historical attraction which the Chinese authorities and conserving and rebuilding. Its mostly still unfinished which was whats so good about the place...its quite and peaceful. Narrow stone alleys, bridges spanning the water, and quaint old wooden houses clustered together and next to each other. All quite idyllic. To get to the town you have to take a short boat ride. And all the boats have no motors! One guy steers the rudder at the rear in a motion like a fish tail, and two guys in front use really long bamboo poles to push (against the riverbed) the boat along and maneuver. The Water town is mostly a facade though, beneath the wooden, quaint, old buildings lie posh and comfortable modern hotels, stores and restaurants. Most are still being built though. But the place doesn't lose its charm.

The thing about the itinery is that we got to see both the new and old face of China. You compare and contrast the modernity of Shanghai with the old world charm (Chinese style of course) of a Wuzhen water town and the natural beauty of the immense Xihu (West lake) in Hangzhou. Its quite surreal and strange, but the Chinese seem to pull it off quite nicely. I also ought to mention that the Chinese authorities had a hand in the conservation efforts of such heritage sites as well.

I stated in my previous blog that I went to Shanghai to see how much China has developed. Suffice to say I was not dissappointed. I am more impressed that the Chinese have taken painstaking efforts to conserve their history and heritage. To juggle the drive to modernity with historical conservation is a difficult act, one which, some argue, Singapore is having trouble doing? Doubtless, the Chinese seem to be managing it all quite well.

They really ought to do something about all that pollution though...

Bon Voyage!

I'll off for a holiday! Flying of this Friday to Shanghai, Nanjing. 7 Days trip with me parents. I relish the chance to visit China and see for myself just how much the country has developed. After all it is the fastest growing economy in the world today. I guess now's my chance.

I go with some misgivings though. Firstly, because I'm still looking for a job (actively looking now), and the holiday might be an interruption. I can only blame myself, after all I should have started searching earlier rather than procrastinating.

Still, in a way, procrastinating is nice...done once in a while its nice...for a change you know? Especially after mugging like crazy for uni exams...its nice to procrastinate for a change. Procrastinating doesn't sit well with me in the long term though...I need a sense of purpose in order to exist properly. By properly I mean as in be able to live with myself and not feel down and depressed all the time. Somehow slacking at home seems harder than I thought, who would have thought that huh?

I guess slacking and procrastinating is easier for some people. I have a mind which has a bad habit of playing mind games, double crossing and second guessing me. So I need something constructive to do to keep me sane and my mind in line.

The job search is hard though. I guess its because I'm looking for a part-time job in the Civil Service, that and I'm only able to work for a short time, before the next semester starts.

I was speaking with my cousin on MSN. She advises me to be more open, take up jobs other than in the Civil Service. She suggested maybe working for a magazine or something of the sort which can practice my writing skills. Now why didn't I think of that?

For now I guess I should just chill out and enjoy my vacation. I can only hope the recruitment agency doesn't call me while I'm away. Somehow I doubt anybody will call me, not much use for an undergrad who can only work a few months.

I guess I'll just relax and enjoy myself over in Shanghai. If I can't get a job I guess I could always help out my OG (Orientation Group) people do the Arts Camp or Orientation Camp for the new university year. That ought to be fun.