Tonight we popped out to Tang Yun tea house just one subway stop from our apartment. (At the Hengshen Lu stop on Line 1.) Liz tried out her ordering skills again and unadvisedly answered "OK" to several unintelligible questions posed by the waitress. She thought she ordered 3 small dishes and some tea -- we got a feast covering Peking Pork, bok choy, soups, rice, custards, peanuts, pears, apples, watermellons, bananas, tomatoes, some very interesting aged eggs, grapes, nuts in shells, gooey dried fruit, and two pots of Pu'er tea. (Luckily most of these dishes were on the house.)
Here's Liz in front of the unexpected spread:
You think you like eggs? These eggs are OLD! The whites turned into a rubbery gelatin and the yolks became a moldy green goo a la blue cheese.
We loved them but we can take only so much moldy yolk.
Ok, you know you're poor in Shanghai when the Buddhist monk to your left has a better cell phone than you.
The menu of the foot massage parlor next to our apartment building on Fahuazhen Lu. The "foot pinch" lasts one hour and costs about 8 bucks US.
Here's a blog dessert video for you all who slogged through those pictures of moldy eggs. This is from the arcade in Metro City in Xujiahui.
Is he dancing? Or playing a video game with his feet? I can't make out the what's on the video screen.
Checking on your news access - did you know an apartment building in Shanghai collapsed two days ago?
-Sherry
Sherry said...
July 2, 2009 at 10:49 PM
I do hope your "ordering" skills improve, we arrive in 13 days!
-mom
PS I am SO borrowing that blouse!
arleen said...
July 2, 2009 at 11:16 PM
Just noticed that on the Foot Massage sign they have "Cupping". Liz, did you know that your great-grandfather had a "Cupping" set?
arleen said...
July 2, 2009 at 11:27 PM
Did you save me any of those eggs? After all, they couldn't get much worse with age. From the pictures I saw, the building didn't collapse, it just laid itself down and went to sleep. Really wierd.
Counting the days!!
DadSteve said...
July 2, 2009 at 11:27 PM
His own cupping set? TMI mom, this is a PG blog.
I bought that shirt for 5 bucks at a store just next to our house. There aren't as many bargains as I thought there would be. Actually most clothes and jewelry cost more than they do in the states. There is a watch store near our gym that sells second hand luxury watches for 10,000 USD.
The video is of a guy playing the popular video game 'Dance Dance Revolution.'
Seth and Liz said...
July 3, 2009 at 4:37 AM
DDR rulz! I kud pwn that g33k!
Anyways... I think I could smell those eggs from the pictures alone. And what ringtone did the monk have? Oops I did it again? I'm dying to know!
Love ya'll!
P.S. how do you say "ya'll" in chinese =P?
BroDave said...
July 3, 2009 at 5:51 AM
I don't think we are talking about the same "cupping". Cupping is like using "leeches" or
"bleeding". You heat small glass cups with a candle & place on the skin. The skin rises & swells. It is supposed to rid the body of toxins.
arleen said...
July 3, 2009 at 6:13 AM
Re shirts and other shopping, someone I know was telling me to go to the "knock-off" market in Shanghai. He said there are a number of them around and that the merchandise sold there is inexpensive and resembles the actual brands (i.e. shirts by Tommy Bahama, etc.).
DadSteve said...
July 3, 2009 at 7:38 AM
Have you found the "knock-off" market yet? Only reason to go to Pudong. Take the subway to the Science & Tech Museum, the market is right next to the underground station, big and clean. Sharpen your bargaining skills and should end up paying 10-15% of the opening price. Remember these are knock offs of name brands, Tommy B, Chanel, Gucci, Prada.
Liz: you can bargain in stores too, except for local designer clothes and jewelry (Art Alley on Taikang Lu near Xintiandi, the cashmere prices are steep), the prices shouldn't be close to the US. You can pick up gifts for American friends at Yuyuan market, there is an alley at the end where you can buy beads and pearls, and the vendors will string them for you (stay there when the do the stringing). If you do it in Tongli, it'll be 1/2 the price of Shanghai.
Ali said...
July 7, 2009 at 9:23 PM