Obamarific!

My friend Tony and I took a daytrip out to the city of Yiwu (义乌), approximately 3 hours away from Shanghai by train. I have fun pictures of the Shanghai South train station and of the Yiwu International Trade City (mega-mall of Chinese suppliers), however I'm dying to post this one picture - Obama pens! Clearly, they are not sanctioned by the Obama administration. Maybe someone wanted to produce a batch as gag gifts, or maybe they sell really well in some developing country, who knows! I had a little chuckle when I saw these, a real gem.

Craving

Sometimes, a good hearty sandwich can really hit the spot. It was one of those days, and we headed to City Deli to enjoy a Reuben (bottom) and Vietnamese sub, the Banh Mi (top). The Reuben was great - bread that was sturdy enough to hold everything together without being tough, soft layers of pastrami, sauerkraut, melted cheese and a sweet thousand island dressing. I believe the original Reuben recipe calls for corned beef, but this variation was just as good. The Banh Mi was not the best Vietnamese sub I've ever had (shout out to New Asia in Richmond, BC!), but this one has character. I liked the combination of pate with the sweet roast pork and it had a good portion of the pickled vegetables. The bursts of spicy from the jalapenos rounded out the sandwich nicely. Craving sated!

Hazy Days

So tempting...

Snoopy is my favorite!!! I may just have to go back to the store and get myself a pair of those fuzzy slippers, or maybe even a pair in each color.

Charity Flea Market at 1933

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!

While grocery shopping...

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.

Happy Halloween ... I <3 Chocolate

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.

Comfort Food

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!

Fall has arrived

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~

Yu Garden

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.