Shanghai Shopping. Shop Shanghai Food Markets. Best Chinese Food. Noodles in Chinese.

I was finally able to pry away from the 2010 World Expo, USA Pavilion, for a few hours to shop in Shanghai. Shopping in Shanghai has been a complete experience, unlike any I had encountered. In China, you MUST negotiate the price for everything, otherwise they feel you “loose face”. I played along and picked out some new tailored clothing and explored the area called OLD CITY. This neighborhood is located across the Huangpu River from the Pudong District. (5 minutes by ferry and for 1/2 a Yuan)

I stumble upon my first Shanghai urban food market, sliced me off a real piece of Shanghai, please.!  Touring China with a guide book is okay, but exploring the back streets you will see the REAL CHINA that dates back thousands of years. The Old City is a step back in time from the common tourist trip to The Bund or high profile financial district. The hold city has changed little in the past 400 years, you will see old French architecture, mah-jong gaming houses (illegal), food markets, street vendors, and the pinnacle of it all is the famous Tea Boss and his camphor-wood table.

Yes, indeed China is a rising super power of the world but I often quetsioned is that all a front for politics. The local and national goverment came down on Beijig residents several years before the Olympic Games and they did the same for the 2010 World Expo.  Sending media messages and propaganda around that warns residents not to walk around in their pajamas, spit on the streets.  Esentially telling the majority of these poor residents that their behavior needs to be hidden from the Western world or their will be harsh penalties. The neat thing is you will still find this traditional Chinese way of life here in the OLD CITY, that is until the government comes along and knocks it down. (be mindful of the saliva land mines!)

Shopping at the local food market was an adventure.  The market any American- Asian market smell like a bed of roses, pass health inspection with an A, and make you feel like you are in a 5 star resort!  Unlike most Westerners I don’t look down on these practices, it’s just different.  Most vendors can not afford refrigeration or freezers so the only buy enough product to sell out each day. The food scene was a wild and adventuresome experience. Forget about the cold boxes, take a look at the photos and you can see how exotic the Chinese food and wild products can be!

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Footlocker Closet

I took a little time to wonder though the area known as People’s Square in the Huangpu District.  This area has gone through a drastic transformation from a horse racing track, all thanks (surely) to the new Communist government, which banned gambling.  The area is now a massive hub for shopping from locals and tourists alike.

After passing though some of the mega malls selling everything under the sun, I decided to step out of the main street Nanjing Road (estimated 1.3 million people pass through daily).  The story is classic China.  Much like in Texas the weather takes a turn on a moment’s notice, and sure enough it went from brutally hot to a border line monsoon!

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Cooking lunch for Miss USA- Rima Fikah

What a rough first week!  I have met several celebrities but the one that happen to stick out most to me (wonder why…) was the current Miss USA, Rima Fakih.  Rima was great to meet, she had lunch at the Pavilion, then was all about taking a few photos- that is the nice part about being the chef…

I am sure everyone wants to know what she had to eat… she sent a special request in advance for a Cobb salad with sauteed shrimp…

thanks, Donald- I owe you one! Can you send Miss Universe next please?

Eating in the Old City (Part II)

China has been great to me so far… We went to this restaurant in old Shanghai (post street snacking.. poor Lassie). It was beautiful… nobody in the joint spoke a lick of English-so we pretty much had the luck of faith!  One of the chefs that was with me had on some Australian board shorts and sure enough a familiar dialect was heard.  Someone jumped in after we had ordered about half the food- it was the voice of a Chinese guy saying that he studied in Kangaroo nation for 10 years- and how could he help us order….

Now we were really in business!  We went from pointing at a few pictures, drawing a pigs face on the back of the servers guest check book (to let her know we wanted some pork), to just plain rolling the dice.  Not even remembering what we had ordered up to this point we just let this new found friend finish out our order.

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Old Shanghai- (Part I)

After arriving and seeing a few things around the Expo Site I was dying for some real Shanghai… you know the image we all have of China! Let’s forget about the giant Trinitrons and flashing lights- let’s get back to the basics… fabric markets, street food, and wild dogs roaming around (then cooked on a stick for you..)!

Well, lucky to say I have met an excellent chef here- who was given the job of making sure I got settled in. (sounds dangerous)So needless to say we have become friends and from Day 1, and has shown me the starter ropes of Shanghai! Enough to say hello, thank you, and a few other things that can only lead one to get hitched or in big trouble- thanks for the lessons in Mandarin!

The real China that every chef is craving for… I had a friend (another chef) visit me from the States who’s general plan was to see Shanghai- I agreed but in trade he was going to have to help me in the kitchen… (… so much for that vacation he thought he was about to have!)  Guys this post is dedicated to the good times we had in OLD Shanghai… what’s actually left of the 200 year old French Colony.

Not sure what was better- the street food or the 18 items we ordered at the restaurant (no English on the menu… yes, a major crap shoot in what was coming out..)

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