Food Shopping in Shanghai

During my ten-day stay in Shanghai, we ate street food. But we also shopped at Carre Four, a French-based mega grocery store in Pudong. From a distance, the shelves seem familiar. Close up, the cultural differences become apparent. The variety of food is mindboggling, the labels are in Chinese, the clerks do not speak English, and often the food is live.

Fresh seafood...

...including live eels

...and live turtles. Poor dears. In the meat section one can hear the steady chop chop chop of meat cleavers separating fresh beef from bone.

A sampling of noodles and rice. One container that fed five adults and two children cost the equivalent of U.S. $1.50.

Take away food. This is a Chinese "salad bar". You pick out the ingredients and ladle them onto a tray. Then you visit a clerk, who mixes your choices to your specification with oils, sauces, spices, and other condiments. This section is packed with well-to-do Chinese on Saturdays and Sundays.

More choices from the "salad bar."

Chewing gum aisle. The candy and chips aisles are even more extensive.

A variety of meat- or vegetable-filled dumplings, all freshly made.

And enormous amounts of fresh and dried fruit and vegetables. People are standing in line (if you look closely) for fresh eggs, which had just arrived that morning.

Prices were amazingly different from what I expected. California wines were more expensive than French wines, and Great Wall wines cost only $3/bottle.


Chocolate chips were prohibitive at $8/bag, but kroepoek (shrimp wafers common to the Philippines or Indonesia) cost only 30 cents per bag of approximately 60 precooked chips. I found American foods in the imports aisle, and spicy condiments, such as sambal, for 1/10 the price I am accustomed to paying.

Tourist gifts for one's friends

What does one bring back from vacation in China when one's single piece of luggage is filled to the brim with one's clothes and necessities? Small or flat souvenirs of course!

All my friends eat Chinese food with chopsticks. So I found some bargains at the "Fakes Market" in Pudong.

These Ebony & Tin Chopsticks are decorated with inscribed silver caps. The ends are weighted and make it easier to snag your food. I bought 6 ebony and 6 rosewood chopsticks with matching rests for my coworkers. Lovely. Simple. Elegant. Affordable. And packable.

In addition, my host "bargained" the shopkeeper down in price. Most memorable moment? When the shopkeeper pulled out a knife after we beat down the price, and pretended to stab himself in the gut, proclaiming, "You are killing me!"

Na ah. We paid twice the going price and then some.

Here's another great gift for friends and relatives - ten handmade silk wine bottle covers for U.S. $ 1.00. I will purchase some memorable bottles of wine and will wrap them in these exquisite wraps.

Here are a few more flat gifts from the "Fakes" market:

Five pashmina scarves

One cashmere Burberry scarf:



Two reproduction Tifanny silver bracelets


and four Coach hand bags

In addition, I bought five silk paintings and a few tiny red and green Chinese parasols as Christmas ornaments.

Total cost? A lady doesn't tell. Let's just say that Ms. Place brought some spare change home.

Back for Action

Dahlings,

I'm back from fabulous Shanghai and the vacation of a lifetime. I never thought to say this, however: I'm salivating for an authentic, artery clogging American meal. After 10 days of eating the most exquisite and exotic foods, I am yearning for macaroni and cheese and a nice, juicy hamburger.

In addition, yours truly will never complain about traffic on the I-95 again. In Shanghai the road philosophy is this: The biggest vehicle gets the right of way. This means that bus and truck drivers can pretty well do what they please and pedestrians (including babies in strollers) are fair game. After you get the hang of crossing an intersection, strolling the streets becomes a wonderful adventure of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. (Believe you me, I did not pass up a single opportunity of sampling street foods.)


Enough of the tourist talk already, here is why I love being back:

1) I can blog again. Blogs and wikipedia were blocked during my entire stay. I had hoped to post from abroad, but this was simply not possible.
2) The Internet is accessible at all times. (Access was frequently blocked, especially my university account).
3) Cable service is reliable. (Our cable service was pirated from the Philippines, which saw fit to block all but the religious channels during the last four days of our stay.)
4) No crippled beggars tugging at my heartstrings.
5) No fear of pickpockets (I lost my camera, dahlings.)
6) Clean air.

Here is why I loved Shanghai:

1) No graffiti
2) State of the art public transportation
3) The Chinese cuisine (Lots of Asian fusion foods as well)
4) Fabulous art museum
5) Bargain shopping
6) The excitement and energy of a new frontier

Despite my excitement over this visit and my sadness at learning about the Virginia Tech massacre, I am ecstatic to be home again. God Bless America.