Favourite Local Breakfast in Shanghai
Did you know the favourite local breakfast in Shanghai? Too many choices as it appears. There’re fritters (油条), you have them with porridge; or wan ton (dumplings); or savoury pastries… just follow the locals, check out the queue they are in. I have discovered the best fried dumplings in town, Yang’s Fried Dumpling, I have been there backwards and forwards several times during this time, with the easy access transport. Today, it’s the ‘chive egg pancake’ at the same street, Huang He Road (one of the many foodie street areas), shown in our blog image Old Shanghai Pancakes, one of the favourite local breakfast, only a few yards from the celebrated Jia Jia Dumpling, oh the long queue once you get there, worth the waiting, promise …
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How to make the most of Spring in Shanghai
how to make most of Spring in Shanghai It is a long wait to come after the damp winter, finally we see the cherry blossoms in parks and alongside the pine trees. Flowers festival will open till the mid April, in Gu Cun park and Pu Dong. Sports events like Marathon, takes place just before Spring.
A friend shot the image for this blog. It’s an old saying in China, duck can tell the weather the first. You always know that heat is on its way. Close to the Easter, people visit the grave of late family members or relations at Qing Ming Festival, a type of glutinous rice ball (糯米青团) in jade colour served for the occasion.
If you are a foodie, you may be interested in the local food tour with 12 dishes for 3 hours, is it somethings you are tempted?
Hot pot is getting popular in England recently with the influence of Chinese students, a type of comfort food in the cosy winter nights, it is fun to taste in this season. I have my favourite hot spot for the hot pot. This one maybe just what you want for the experience of hot pot on the cruise .
You are not going to be disappointed if you are a fan of traditional Chinese food, it will be great fun to impress your folks, master Dumpling making and get to know plenty of anecdotes at workshops.
Friends often rave about the scenes and the experience of laid back, after they have had excursions. Over the time, B&B at Farmers (农家乐) have grown with strength, attracted more and more city dwellers for weekends, you may also find fascinating when you explore outside Shanghai. Check on water towns nearby and talk to your local guides.
Check out our previous blog
More about Shanghai Walks v04
More about Shanghai walks, today we stretch out to the border of Xu Hui district, where the new Shi Ku Men lanes are revamped lately.
Just passing by Shanghai Orchestra, we are at Jian Guo west Road, the lanes are neatly knitted and feel like in the maze of beautifully structured waves of red brick walls, we saw a boutique (like one of the many in the area), we step inside the porch and patio, we discovered a perfume boutique “Facon”. The idea of the scents was conceived in Shanghai and produced in Grasse. A restless kitten was running inside the store cheerfully, the lady in the store showed us an article about its creator Mr. Bonzom, I think he is very brave to do so in such a competitive market. we are given some samples before left.
This area has been turned into a string of luxurious villa, Jian Ye Li, owned by Capella. It’s cleverly done, the villas with two or three bedrooms have own entrance, facing the courtyard, quietly nestled in the heart of the city. On the opposite of the road, we stood in awe, we saw the shops lighten up on the ground floor alongside the road. It is amazing, where traditional architecture brings you to the 30s at this moment and the interiors chic and contemporary.
We continued our walk before dusk, back to the buzz of Shanghai itself. I am always amazed about the adaptability of this city, where one style can seamlessly merge with the another. My friend suggested not to stop, a lot to see at Xu Hui, one of the coolest neighbourhoods by TimeOut. Happily, consented, I know not far we will be sitting in a cool place, sipping our favourite drinks.
Interested in the area? Read more our blogs
Oh, what are the fun & tell me more
How to get around in April Shanghai
How to get around in April Shanghai? Mirrored to the Easter, there’s Qing Ming festival in April, where the families pay tributes to their deceased members, as called “sweeping the gravestones” by the locals. Traffic tends to gridlock on the way out to the outskirt for the weekends. People enjoy the traditional dim sum “Qing Tuan” (glutinous rice dumplings).
Drizzling April has its charm and it brings the hope that Spring is on the door step. In the school, Chinese kids learn the great poem of Tao Yuan Ming, which celebrates April’s idiosyncrasy: How to get around it drizzles endless during the rainy season / travellers along the road look gloomy and miserable / when I ask where I can find a tavern / a shepherd boy points a hamlet nestling amidst apricot blossoms in distance. (translation quoted and modified from the edition of XianYi Yang & NaiDi Dai).
Outdoor and nature are the prime choice in April, an exhibition of variety of flowers in Chong Ming runs from March to July. April seems a wise choice considering the temperature at the time, Go Chong Ming Island. This weekend comes with the first practice of Chinese F1 Grand Prix at Jia Ding district. Plenty going on to suit different tastes for culture and entertaining, including a Tibetan heritage show .
For a city which strives to be the best with never ending metro lines and sky scrappers, it has come around to preserve its celebrated unique culture: alleyways and backstreets where you discover the local living, those gems hidden behind the glittering shopping malls and office buildings, will get a makeover, How exciting. We recommend the tours, for the authentic local food as well as with walk.
Expats in Shanghai form own sense of being a local, ask them where to go or what to do, follow TimeOut to check on any seasoned tips.
Read more on our Blog Best time to visit Shanghai
Read more on Alleyways will get a makeover in Shanghai
How to enjoy Chinese New Year like a local
How to enjoy Chinese New Year like a local, so you are in Shanghai, you are not flying away somewhere afar, the town is nearly empty, traffic is kind…
Whether you go for the traditional Chinese affair, or, stay on the trend, you will always find your type. Let’s start with indulge yourself with the traditional flavour, all the fanfare and folk stuff. There’s the carnival.
Following the current Cultural Carnival, which ends in 14th Feb, Spring Festival Carnival takes place to coincide Chinese New Year (16/02-02/03) at SongJiang District, celebrates with traditional folk music shows, lantern show, stand-up comedians and lights displays, food stalls… Address: 888 LinHu Road.
It’s the 2nd year to celebrate the Chinese New Year for the newly established Shanghai Disney Resort, Impressed, not only by the charm of Disney with Chinese twist. Some locals are keen to have the New Year Eve banquet there, a worthy family event.
Brace yourself, it is crispy cold time of the year. Nothing can put people off to enjoy the brief quietness in such a busy town, you can appreciate the wintery blossom in Central Park, or parks like DianShan, ZhenRu for cool excursions out of the centre. A friend of took the blog image near her house at the recent snowy day.
Chinese New Year is always about the food. With plenty of expats living in the town, rest assured, you will find your favourites. Some apps expedite your decision, like ShanghaiWoW To be truly like a local, you need download the app WeChat, you can find any info you need, we mean any. it works like an altogether of FaceTime, WhatsApp and Facebook.
OK, if you are there, we wish you a happy time and will be great if you get in touch to share.
For the organised celebrations over the Chinese New Year, please check on the link:
How to cook like a local in Shanghai
How to cook like a local? live like a local, not only by staying in Airbnb, eating at the food stalls… It is interesting to understand the culture and customs by learning to cook the Chinese food, so how to cook like a local?
how to cook like a local? Chinese appreciates the food, enjoys the preparation of the food and the cooking… if you can cook a simple stir fry, why not set a challenge for making dim sum or dumplings?
Always a happy occasion when everyone is involved in the process of making dumplings, from preparing the mince, kneading the dough, perfecting the pastry, making the dumplings, tipping them into the boiling pan then joyfully sharing them, it lightens everyone up in a family gathering. It has significance in the Chinese culinary culture. If you are tempted to learn more, why not try a Cooking Class, be creative on your own production, taste the Chinese food made by yourself. Or, take a three hour Cooking & Food Tour, (incl, one hour cooking class), you can venture out the neighbourhood to see the local market.
Another couple of food cooking tours are worth considering, Cooking Class & Market Visit, a tour mixed cooking class with market visit, go price bargain with vendors, source your ingredients, sounds cool. Plenty of vegetarian dishes are available in Chinese cuisine. try Cooking Class with Veg Options (with vegetarian option). Great fun to entertain your friends with the acquired cooking style.
If you would like to know more about Chinese cooking class and tours or live like a local, drop us a note. We’ll get back to you with our best know how. Great to learn your experience and share your knowledge with us.
How to eat like a local when you are in Shanghai
Eating out like a local is so much fun in Shanghai, so many choices and we selected two tours for you to taste.
How to eat like a local when you are in Shanghai, apart from sightseeing, city walks? We have build the recommendations from Viator with selections on ‘top picks’, ‘day trips’ and ‘extended tours’, here with “local food”.
Eating like a local? yes. Now, late autumn, Shanghai-ese are addicted to ‘hairy crabs’, it doesn’t sound delicate, but the dish is a delicacy and delicious for the locals. This has been tradition, it seems get popular to the entire nation’s taste buds.
Food breeds contentment for Chinese, they see it as the source of happiness. That’s why they greet each other with “have you eaten?” When it comes to the variety of restaurants, such as different regional styles, Shanghai can compete any places in the country. It also offers a fantastic range for international cuisines. Shanghai-ese shows tremendous appetite for acquiring the new flavours.
When in Shanghai, it is so much fun to eat like a local. We have selected two tours for eating like a local. The “Local Food Tour” lasts 3 hours, takes you to the old French Concession and the traditional Shanghai ShiKuMen, you taste noodles, steamed buns, 12 dishes at the different venues, currently it runs Evening tour, “Local Food Tour” so you get the chance to start with a beer as well.
Apart from the traditional food tour, another one on our list is the street food tour. You can enjoy the local Shanghai’s culinary scene, busting with flavours and aroma, you taste 12 to 15 different dishes in this 3 hours tour. “Eat like a Local” You are not going to be disappointed.
We will continue to recommend the tours / trips, share our excitement, and, have a feel on our selection. Read More
We’d love to share your thoughts, contact us if we can be of any helps.
Get Grips with Chopsticks Kuai Zi
Chopsticks Kua Zi 筷子 (pronunciation for the two characters) is sort of the things, that you have to be able to grip, before you can enjoy the food in Shanghai. For Chinese, food breeds contentment. They have taken the chopsticks for granted all their lives. The scene of foreigners using the chopsticks first time, or getting hold of the food, amuse the Chinese (for course, vice versa, same for the Chinese with knives and forks though).
It’s only a natural way to finish your Chinese dishes with the chopsticks. So, how are you getting on with the devil? Can you actually hold the steamed rice with chopsticks? then, the same amount of rice has gone into your mouth? Oh, you can, that’s cool. You can even eat dumplings with them, ah, what can I say!.
The more you use the more you appreciate its practicality. The Chinese has been on it for God knows how long. They use them in a variety of ways. For example, cooking, when they deep fry the food (with the longer version ones), like fritters (油条），the dim sum you can find in Shanghai in the morning. Chopsticks style does not vary greatly, although the etiquette can show the sophistication of the diners and food culture. With time, the word of chopsticks epitomises the Chinese cuisine and even extend to the relevant Chinese culture. Smart choice for those who want people to figure out the nature of the business easily.
Chop chop, also refers to be speedy or get going. It is pronounced “Kuai” in Chinese, which means ‘be quick’. Every now and then, my friends show off their smoothness with chopsticks when we dine together, it always makes me smile by looking at them, oh, chop chop …