Ni Hao!
That’s “How are you?” or “Hello!” in Mandarin 🙂
Perhaps my absence wasn’t so noticeable, but I was actually away for a couple of days over the weekend. Thank you so much to everyone for your lovely birthday wishes. I wish I could respond but it’d be too much, so THANK YOU! 😀
I had a great time on my birthday. I was in Shanghai! 😀 And if you are asking, no I wasn’t there for the Shanghai Expo 2010. I was there for something work related and stayed on for a bit of fun.
I am back now though and, as you can tell, trying my darnest to get back to grips with things so this is unashamedly a filler type of post… erm… filled (for want of a better word) with some large photos, so do be warned.
If you’d rather read something beauty related, I’m afraid you’d have to wait a bit. Maybe all of 24 hours 😛
Here, proof that I was indeed there 😛 This was at the Shanghai Bund area which was swarming with tourists, mostly local Chinese. I had to jostle my way to taking this photo or all I ended up with were other people’s heads.
Paid a quick visit to the trendy XinTianDi area which is a redeveloped area of Shanghai filled with trendy stores and restaurants housed in ancient buildings. I loved the look of the buildings even if I wasn’t enamoured with Starbucks and Coffee Bean. In fact, Starbucks abounds in Shanghai! I kept seeing one nearly everywhere I went.
Here’s a 1920’s designed mansion – One XinTianDi – which is a private clubhouse. It looks pretty amazing from the outside, since I clearly couldn’t go inside.
And of course, what is a visit to Shanghai without indulging in its food! I ate so much and so often because I had so little time but wanted to try everything!
We have of course the ubiquitous Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai Dumpling or lit. Little Basket Dumplings) which would be familiar to most Asians. These are pork meat dumplings (or sometimes mixed with crab meat) and when steamed has some soup inside the dumpling skin. Delicious!
And there was this other Shanghainese steamed dumpling which I don’t know the name, but which has a flour case with minced meat and lots of soup in it. You drink up the soup with a straw, and all the bits of meat too!
October-December is Hairy Crab season! So of course it had to make an appearance on the menu 😀
I did eat a lot more stuff and went to a couple more tourist spots like the YuYuan Garden, People’s Square and Nanjing Lu shopping belt, but I think that’d just bore you silly so these were some highlights. It did rain a lot while I was there which put a bit of damper on moving around. I didn’t do a lot of shopping but I did get a winter coat made.
I also did not go into many shopping centers and only popped into a Mannings (what we know as Guardian) and Watson’s where I picked up a couple of drugstore stuff for the fun of it. But otherwise, it was more of a gastronomic trip and less of a shopping one. Oh and work too of course 😛
I hope you enjoyed a bit of mid-week virtual travel 🙂 We’ll resume regular beauty transmission soon.
Paris B
Eeeek PB! You are having fun on your beeday! My bro just called me asking me to visit him! Aaww I missed Shanghai and I missed XiaoLongBao!!!
Take care!!!
Time to visit your bro! 😀 It was fun but now its back to work and reality!
ahhh… looking at pictures of food early in the morning upsets my tummy! 🙁 It’s nagging me to feed it now.
Btw, I love my kitty mirror. so cute. hee hee. Thank you!
After not having dinner last night I did not want to look at the photos too long either!
XIAO LONG BAO!!!!! (Small cage Bao literally) Hairy Crab!!! I love!!! (Damn eczema, I can’t eat any now!)
I miss Shanghai… Did you try the Dong Bo Rou? (Dong Bo Yuk here in Cantonese), the huge chunk of meat with the fat that goes “toing toing”?? That rocks too…
Yup! I had lots of local Shanghainese food with lots of different people 😀 I found the Dong Bo Rou a bit too sweet and oily. I prefer having the ones here 😛
hairy crab! looks all sexy with the hair!!!
You had to say that! 😛
Nin Hao, Paris! LOL 😛
Glad to know that you ate a lot on your birthday 😛 and bubbly cheerful as always 😀
Hehe… yup! I ate A LOT! Its time to diet and detox 😛
Wow, you went to Shanghai, my hometown! I am so happy for you!
Yay for visiting your hometown! Its a beautiful city – I love all the Art Deco French style buildings
oh, any shopping haul? do share, i will be there next month! ;-D
Not much to be honest. Just some bits and bobs. Next month will be cold! Wrap up warm!
LOL…trust Xin to say the hairy crab looks sexy! 😀 so THAT’s where you disappeared to – sounds like you had a good birthday weekend!
Haha… yeah sucked that I had to work on my birthday but glad that it was in a different land 😉
Envy your travels even if it’s just for business.
We were there for a stopover/delay for a day but didn’t like the shopping (malls were like Sg Wang Plaza or old KL shops imo) or get to see much besides a few touristy spots.
psst! I agree with you about the malls. Stepped into a couple but it was quite meh. I mainly saw the same old same old brands available worldwide so I preferred to wander around the streets eating LOL
Ooooo….birthday trip!
Actually, work trip that fell on my bday 😉
Wonderful birthday trip!!
I always salivate when I see food reviews on tv about the dumpling soup. Too bad mostly are pork-based or non-halal meet. I wonder whether there are any halal Chinese Restaurants in KL that carry this dish.
My apologies for having to feature a porky dish! I don’t know where in KL to find a halal restaurant selling xiao long bao but I hope that a reader can help!
Hmmm. There’s a chinese-muslim restaurant here in Subang Jaya, USJ 9 to be exact. The chef/owner is from the Mainland, maybe the restaurant carries them?
http://www.foodstreet.com.my/food-street/bpage.s?by=Chinese+Muslim+Food+Paradise&bid=158 here’s the link!! Enjoy!
Oh! I remember that one from when I was living there – they’re still around?! Hope they have Xiao Long Bao! 😀 I knew some reader will come through 😉
Just because I’m a USJ local, ahahaha ^.^ They have dumplings tho.
Paris, no apologies needed!!! I love food regardless whether I can eat them or not. That’s why I salivate just watching the food channel!!!
Hanny, thanks for the info. Will check it out sometime when I’m in USJ area since I’m living in Ampang. I have been to another Chinese Muslim Restaurant in this area (Hj Sharin Low) but I don’t think they had the dumplings – or I didn’t fully browse their menu. Maybe I should check them out again. 😛
So loving ALL the infos on MWS. Congrats to you Paris for putting up this site. 🙂
So that’s where you went! Terribly sorry for those sms’es then… hope you can charge them to work account or something, heh.
See.. told the hubby we should go Shanghai just for look-see, your trip looked fun! He said it’s no use going with me, the Chinese who can’t speak/read Chinese for toffee.
Can survive with our kindy Mandarin – I did! 😉 For food just point and go haha! Its fun but there are horrid bits too which I’ll tell you when I next see you 😛
That’s a wonderful birthday trip. I hope you had a great time. The food looks yummy!
It was and I did 🙂 Thanks Gio!
maybe the big bao is called tang bao? soup bun.
You could be right you know – I have absolutely no idea 🙁
Eek!! I heart SH! Hope you had loads of fun there….Let me know when you’re going next, you need to try some restaurants there that I found just really yummy!!
Whoa! That would be awesome! I’ll definitely get in touch the next time I plan to go 🙂
Wow! Lovely pics- hope you had a great birthday.
Thanks Sam! It was a lovely (but rainy) birthday lol! 🙂