The 1933 building has always intrigued me. Something about it being a former slaughterhouse? A pharmaceutical manufacturing plant? (Started as the former when it was built in 1933, changed to the latter in the 70s.) Having only read about it in guide books, the charity flea market was a good excuse to go check it out. It's just a few minutes from Metro Line 4 (where along the way, we managed to score a super tasty scallion cake from a street vendor) and as we approached, we could see a large intimidating facade. We entered by the American Apparel store (only one in Shanghai so far) into the concrete maze. The building is full of stairs, walkways, passages...we saw lots of photographers taking advantage of the space. The building is essentially circular and the top floor has been transformed into an amazing viewing area, with a see-through floor, to the space below.
The charity flea market was pretty well attended and occupied most of the, was it the 2nd or 3rd floor? We found some small gifts there, then wandered around the building. The coffee at Ann's Coffee wasn't bad and was relaxing after the shopping. A trip to 1933 is definitely recommended!
What more can I say? There's never a shortage of weird and entertaining uses of English in China. Those are chocolate bars, by the way.
Adam and I spent Halloween apart, not that it really matters since we're not really into dressing up anyways. I'm not against eating candy though! Especially chocolate covered extra-crunchy peanuts. I like this brand (see picture) and definitely could not resist the Halloween packaging.
Whenever we feel like a bowl of no-frills Shanghainese noodles, we head over to 王家沙. Inevitably it will be in the evening for dinner, when the items on their menu board start to dwindle (we like the counter service area on the ground floor). I've been on a mission to try their eel noodles, only to find it sold out each time we go. This time, however - success! The eel strips are served on the side, covered in a glossy, garlicky, dark sauce. The noodles are al dente, swimming in a simple broth. I was very pleased with this choice and rank it a close second to our all-time favourite, the dan-dan noodles!
Since the beginning of October, the weather in Shanghai has been so pleasant! The humidity is gone, the sun is shining and it comes with a crisp breeze. It's no wonder so many friends/family pick this time of year to visit~
Adam's dad is in town, so we're finally hitting some of the tourist spots that we have been saving up. The destination today was Yu Garden.
I last went to the Yu Garden area in 2001 with a friend - it was a rushed affair, the driver dropped us off and directed us to the xiaolongbao take-out window, we lined up for it, then hurried back to the car to eat the steaming dumplings in 35 degree summer heat. We didn't get to see much and needless to say, it was not the best experience.
Today was a pleasant contrast. The weather was cool. The crowds from the national holiday break had since gone home. And I actually got to see the inside of Yu Garden. The garden is serene, like an oasis in Shanghai city. Yu Garden has been around since 1559 and showcases some beautiful architecture, ancient trees, and lots of lucky koi and turtles swimming in the ponds. There are also two resident cats, seen here napping in the shade.
The maze of stores in the Yu Garden area provides plentiful choices for souvenirs and trinkets. The day so far had been relaxing and I didn't mind a bit of good-natured bargaining on behalf of Adam's dad. After wandering through the stores, we ended up back at 南翔, the ever-popular XLB joint. As expected, the line at the take-out counter stretched along the wall. Instead of waiting in line, we went to the upstairs sit-down section and enjoyed the XLB while taking in the view. Much better.
Wonderful weather today, spent the day hanging out with Chellis, her parents, and Chellis' dad's co-worker (all visiting from the States). Highlights of the day included: coffee and view at the Bund, shopping and browsing at Tianzifang (田子方), dinner at Xintiandi (新天地). I brought my trusty Time Out guide just in case and we found a picture in the book with the exact view from where we were!
I'm slowly building up my repertoire of places to bring out of town guests - trying to find a balance between touristy "must see" places and lesser known fun places.
We don't venture over to Pudong very much, but this weekend since Adam had a bit of business over there we decided to stick around for dinner. Some quick online research led me to Sushi Inc, the sister restaurant of Haiku by Hatsune, which we had heard good things. It's on the second floor of the Citigroup Building office tower, so it's not at all crowded on weekends, probably much more popular for business lunches. Nonetheless, the food and the service were good (and a nice change from the crowds at Super Brand Mall). An amuse-bouche of bitter melon salad was provided as we looked over the menu. We started with cold tofu and sashimi salad (the only dish that was a bit disappointing), then got the "Clayton" roll (very tasty), assorted vegetable tempura and a grilled fish head. Sushi Inc, like Haiku, is famous for the extensive list of creative sushi rolls. Next time, we'll probably check out Haiku and try a few more rolls.
We found that an old wireless mouse mysteriously became sticky on one side, like the plastic had melted.
It still works fine, so what to do? Nothing a bit of fabric, glue and craftiness can't solve. Here it is, in restored condition, sporting some new stripes!
The 1933 building has always intrigued me. Something about it being a former slaughterhouse? A pharmaceutical manufacturing plant? (Started as the former when it was built in 1933, changed to the latter in the 70s.) Having only read about it in guide books, the charity flea market was a good excuse to go check it out. It's just a few minutes from Metro Line 4 (where along the way, we managed to score a super tasty scallion cake from a street vendor) and as we approached, we could see a large intimidating facade. We entered by the American Apparel store (only one in Shanghai so far) into the concrete maze. The building is full of stairs, walkways, passages...we saw lots of photographers taking advantage of the space. The building is essentially circular and the top floor has been transformed into an amazing viewing area, with a see-through floor, to the space below.
