You can’t go to Shanghai and not have Xiao Long Bao! Actually you can… Din Tai Fung is pretty damn good.

Adrian suggested this hole in the wall place in the French concession. I can’t remember the name of the place, but when I do, I’ll update this post.

He said the crabmeat Xiao Long Bao was a must try, and it didn’t disappoint. These little packets of juicy fresh FRESH crabmeat was just so flavourful, it was the best seafood Xiao long bao ever tasted. I won’t go as far as saying it’s the best Xiao Long Bao, because I still like the traditional mince meat ones from Din Tai Fung.

Order at the counter, walk pass the group of ladies chatting away and filling Xiao Long Baos, seat yourself on one of the tables and just wait. It will take awhile because they only make it on orders.

I did say I’d make it a point to try new food this year, so I had a tiny bite into the chicken blood soup. Not bad, but not great. Edible but passable.

What a strange name. I wasn’t sure if people were saying Bund, Band or Bun!

The Bund is a stretch of buildings on a road which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River. It sits between Baidu Bridge and JinLin East Road. The embankment has a 771-metre long wall built for flood control. It’s also probably the most famous skyline in Shanghai with mentions in famous movies, books and songs.

After googling a bit, it was said that grown all around that area are Chinese wisterias, gingko trees and azalea. I wish I took notice of the trees, would have loved to see how gingko trees look like!

Pictured below is the Shanghai city skyline seen from The Bund side.

The Bund is a beautiful stretch to walk at dusk on a cool day, but there is nothing much to do there besides that. Take a few city skyline shots and appreciate the architectural styles of the buildings and that is an hour walk about done.

The word “bund” means an embankment or an embanked quay, and comes from the Urdu word band, meaning an embankment, levee or dam (a cognate of English terms “bind,” “bond” and “band,” the German term “bund,” etc.). “Bund” is pronounced to rhyme with “fund”. The term was brought to Shanghai by the family of Victor Sassoon, a Baghdadi-Nepali Jew. There are many “bands” to be found in Baghdad, even today. There are numerous sites in India, China, and Japan which are called “bunds” (e.g. the Yokohama Bund). However, “The Bund” as a proper noun almost invariably refers to this stretch of embanked riverfront in Shanghai.
Source: Wikipedia

Pictured below is the newly refurbished Waldorf Shanghai Hotel on The Bund side, and also where the HSBC Welcome reception was held. Beautiful.

The biggest shocker for me is the architectural styles of the building. They just seemed so European it almost felt like you weren’t in China. Romanesque, Renaissance, Neo-Classical and Art Deco… and building heights are restricted in this area. Good town planning unlike places like Malaysia where the city’s “flavour” is lost by towering skyscrapers and horribly designed buildings. By the way, did you know that Shanghai as one of the richest collections of Art Deco architectures in the world.

On my last full day in Shanghai, I decided to venture into expat/tourist domain.

Here’s where I’ve got to mention my observations about Shanghai. I knew from conversations with friends and family that Shanghai has changed a lot in the past 5-10 years, how it’s grown and evolved into a booming cosmopolitan city. Keywords were Party town, colourful, modern, and fashion-forward.

This is my first time in Shanghai, and it was all of that. I guess I was expecting another Beijing, but I was blown away by the architecture, social scene and the amount of Chinese speaking expats in Shanghai! Old and new. East meets West. Locals and Expats. Shanghai is the great example of modern city living.

One such place where you’ll find all that is at Shanghai Xintiandi a residential area converted into a dining and retail pedestrian street. The buildings, like Tian Zi Fang, were Shikumen-styled. Exterior antique grey brick walls were retained and restored, but the interiors have all be done up in taste of all the modern F&B outlets, retailers and boutiques that have taken over this area.

The place has a really European feel, maybe it’s because of all the alfresco restaurants, bars and cafés. It just didn’t register that I was in Shanghai!

Spent a few hours doing what I love most. People watching. Family friends meeting up after 10 years, couples on dates, backpackers looking for cheap eats, Japanese tourists taking photos.

I sat at an alfresco café, pita & hummus, hot latte and keyword was… content.

One evening I was walking the streets of Shanghai, and was trying to find some dinner. Nothing on the main stretch of road interests me, until I looked down a dark alley and saw a sign for some 小吃 restaurant.

Here’s the problem. The menu was fully in Chinese.

Yes I can read some of it, but not most of it. So with my disgustingly bad Mandarin I asked the waitress to recommend a bowl of noodles.

W: “你喜欢吃甜的还是盐的？“

A: “盐的”

W: “你想试试肝脏面? 很好吃的！”

A: “Urrr….ok” (Had no idea what that was, but ok)

Liver noodles! With capsicum! and Raw-ish Onions!! ALL 3 ITEMS I dislike!! Not to mention the layer of oil on top of the noodles.

I just had some soup, a few mouthfuls of noodles and left the rest in the bowl.

I reckon I was in Shanghai at the best time of the year. It wasn’t hot and humid, not was it freezing cold as some of my friends have experienced. Temperatures usually fall sharply mid November as winter settles in. I was there early November and temperatures averaged around 16°C / 61°F in the day and a cool 9°C / 48°F.

What to wear?
Pictured above:
Day – Long sleeve flannel, Scarf, Jeans, Good walking shoes, Leather jacket (just in case)
Night – Wool dress, Leggings, Scarf, Black Boots, Leather jacket.

When Andrew and Alvina asked me where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do, I said something local. Not knowing how “local” I wanted to go, their good suggestion was to head to Tian Zi Fang also known as Tai Kang Lu.

Tian Zi Fang is a charming neighbourhood characterised by its narrow alleys and shikumen-styled architecture. Trendy bars, cafes, craft shops, galleries and boutiques co-exist with local residents.

Shikumen (simplified Chinese: 石库门; pinyin: shíkùmén), literally “stone gate”, is an architectural style for residential buildings in Shanghai, China combining Western and Chinese elements that first appeared in the 1860s. At the height of their popularity, there were 9000 shikumen-style buildings in Shanghai, comprising 60% of the total housing stock of the city, but today the proportion is much lower as most Shanghai people live in large apartment blocks.
Credit: Wikipedia

Because of the growing popularity from tourists like me who want to get a more local flavour of Shanghai, residents have unwittingly witness the transformation on their little neighbourhood door by door. Right now, most of the places on the ground level have been converted to retail and dining spaces.

The only upside for residents (or downside for store owners) is the slight inconvenience to get there. My regret is not visiting the place in the day, by night the atmosphere is more mellow and quiet. If you make too much noise in the restaurant, you WILL be told off by the residents upstairs.

The place is still very much residential, so expect to see lines of dirty laundry while you sip on your merlot.

Currently listening to:

Great acoustic covers below
Read more…

What I love most about travelling solo is wandering the streets alone and discovering new nooks and crannies away from the tourist crowd.

This little place stood out because, while it was on the main shopping street on HuaiHai Lu, it looked out of place with its worn down service window and a dimly lit room at the back for diners so sit. Was walking down the strip when I caught a waft of the steaming hot buns and dumplings.

Had myself a plate of Guo Tie 锅贴 just to try it out. With my broken Chinese, I ordered a plate, paid peanuts, collected my food at the next window and sat myself opposite an old lady and enjoyed my 小吃. She had the same thing and spent the entire time mumbling under her breath how the dumplings were all annoyingly stuck together.

These humble little dumplings are also known as pot stickers or Jiao Zi.The fillings can be anything from chicken, pork, beef or vegetables, and can be steamed, pan-fried or deep fried.

Best eaten when dipped with vinegar and thinly sliced ginger.

Before I flew down to Shanghai, HS put me in touch with his friend Adrian living there who so graciously offered to take me out. Adrian’s friends were having a clothing line launch, and I was to meet him at the studio. He was going to be late, so I waltzed in there not knowing a soul, but happy to have met new people.

We all went out for dinner to Hot Pot King on Huai hai Lu in the French Concession. First step to Hot Pot goodness is to order the soup base. There were lots to choose frpm such as chicken, fish, pig bone. If you’re in a big group like us, to appease everyone’s taste buds we opted for the popular yuanyang two-broth hot pot. The soup is only as good as the stuff you put in the bubbling cauldron, so next thing to order is the meat and veges.

Hot Pot King has a little condiment and sauce section where you mix your own dipping sauce: Sesame, Soy sauce, Vinegar, Sesame seeds, onions, garlic, chilli, spring onions, Dark sauce, sweet sauce… the list goes on. I reckon there were at least 50 different things concoct your potent dip. Personally, as long as you got the sweet, sour and salty covered, you’ll be fine.

We paid about 100RMB (approx S$20) per person and that included beer. Besides the price, the great thing about this place is it opens till 4am, sure fire remedy after a evening of boozing. And the menu is in English! And wait for it… it’s a pictured menu! Just point and say 这个, 这个 and 这个, and Bob’s your uncle!

Hot Pot King
Address: 2/F, 1416 Huaihai Lu,near Fuxing Lu
淮海路1416号楼，近复兴路
Area: French Concession
Metro: 10 mins. walk from Changshu Rd
Tel: 6473 6380
Opening Hours: Daily, 11am-4am

This should get interesting. I’m sitting here at the Pudong International Airport for another 4 hours due to the fog that rolled in this morning, and trying to get an update on the WGC-HSBC Golf Champions at Sheshan. But with the Great fireWall of China stopping me from seeing any twitter sites, am not sure if its been delayed?

The fog at the airport is so bad visibility is at 100m, lots of flights grounded and delayed till later this afternoon. I doubt the golfers can even see the greens from tee off.

Big thanks to Adrian, Alvina and Andrew for your hospitality in Shanghai. Am very grateful for all your recommendations, time and company. See you in Singapore!

There’s more than the actual game going on at the WGC-HSBC Golf Champions. Visitors are treated to a whole range of hands-on fun at the Interactive Village when they enter Sheshan Golf Course.

First get yourself registered at the booth where you’re given your ID tag and a free cap. With the tag, visitors go round to different stations and log-in their best scores for each game. Attractive prizes to be won for the winners at the end of the day such as Callaway putters, balls, hotel stay at the Le Meridien, and signed merchandise from your favourite golf stars.

Or take advantage of the free 10min coaching session with a CGA golf professional.

What else is free? Two photo booths are also available for all to take home a little souvenir. Had a nice little chat with the vendor and he said on the first day alone 200 pictures were printed within a couple of hours. In Shanghai and still haven’t made your way down to the tournament? You still have one day left.

Wonder what the set up would be like at the HSBC Women’s Champions Singapore in february next year?

Haven’t really followed the tournament circuit, but the buzz in the media centre is infectious. The excitement about this weekend’s golf is probably due to the fact that the world’s top 4 golfers are playing for the coveted title of being world’s #1.

Lee Westwood is currently world’s #1, but a victory by either Tiger, Martyn Kaymer or Mickelson will dethrone the Brit this weekend.

Did you know 15 of the top 20 ranked players in the world are at the WGC-HSBC World Champions in Shanghai this weekend?

Taken from rooftop of The Peninsula, Shanghai.

About The WGC-HSBC Champions
The WGC-HSBC Champions brings together the winners of the highest-ranked tournaments from all over the world and is being held this weekend at the Sheshan International Golf Club from 4th-7th November.

Greetings from Shanghai!

Need to take a break from the Japan posts for awhile with the interruption of a little trip to China. The lovely people at Hill & Knowlton and HSBC have invited me here to let you know more about the The HSBC Men’s Champions 2010. The tournament officially starts today, but press activities already started on Tuesday, and since it was jammed packed with activities, I thought it might be fun to do a “Yesterday, Today” video to summarise it all.

There is more than the golf happening during tournament week. Instead of the usual golf news, I’ll show you something things happening off the golf course.

Highlights of the Day
- Flight to Shanghai – Love travelling, especially by air.
- Watched 2 movies – “Eclipse” and “Despicable me”, both of which I missed in the theatres
- WGC-HSBS Champions photo call – Held at The Peninsula on The Bund, where I got to see Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson and Martin Kaymer try Tai Chi.
- WGC-HSBC Champions Welcome Reception – exclusive private party with golfers, celebrities and business leaders at the Waldorf Astroria on The Bund

Previous Yesterday, Today videos
Yesterday, Today – 28 October 2008
Yesterday, Today – 12 March 2009