Thanks for this great information!
I am glad for the bakery info, ekscrunchy
& gpanda! I am really looking forward to
Jia Jia Tang Bao - I do love dumplings! If
there's no English on the menu, how do
you know whichkind of dumpling is which?
Do you just point at things on the menu?
Sorry it tooka while to thank you for the
info-I've been in New Zealand & now in
Australia-sometimeshard to get to Internet!

Florida: The woman behind the cash register, in front of the menu posted on the wall, in the front of the restaurant will help you. She knows the English words, "crab" and "pork." If she cannot, the other diners will help; the place is very friendly and welcoming to outsiders.


There is really only one choice for you: Do you want pork or crab and pork?

Make sure to also get the ginger which is listed for 1Yuan.



More, from three years ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/tr...ewanted=1&_r=1

Great article! Thanks so much! Thanks also for the practical information on how to order! Will be sure to get the ginger too! Maybe I should get both pork and crab and pork and compare the two!

Florida1: I don't think they serve tea with the xlb so get an order of the seaweed egg flower soup, it is an inexpensive daily staple of shanghai family meals, and you can make it at home yourself.

For some reason, the last three times I pulled up this thread, the posts were all in tiny letters. Unreadable. I've never seen this before. There's some wierd forces interacting with this thread. Does anyone else have this problem?

Thanks, Shanghainese! Will definitely do that! If you have a recipe, I'd love to have it!

Gpanda - I haven't had a problem with the thread... but- glad to hear your good news! Glad to hear you have the green light to travel to Asia!

Confusion reigns. Russia. I can't explain.

Russia? Has dogster been recalled to the motherland? Or does this have to do with scurrying?

Maybe LA can tell us if this is a verse from some obscure song. She probably even knows all of the words. Or maybe dogster's following Mr. Leary's instructions, in the correct order. In any case, make sure you know where the lifeboats are, dogster, and drop us an explanation from Copenhagen. Inquiring minds want to know.

Florida1, Gladly, it's very simple.

Servings for 4 persons.

4 cups water, 2 eggs, few pieces of roasted seaweed (nori in japanese for making sushi), 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil, salt.

Beat eggs, bring water to boil, using 1 chopstick posed vertically right above the water, pour beaten eggs slowly down the side of the chopstick while moving the chopstick around the surface of the water (hence the egg flowers). Add seaweed, sesame oil and salt to taste.

On weekends mum made it with chicken broth sans the oil, I've added petite peas or diced carrots for color. If you leave out the seaweed, add thin-sliced mushrooms, hot sauce, dark chinese vinegar, it can masquerade as hot and sour soup.

Dogster,
Have some caviar for me and don't miss the Russian museum in St. Petersburg

And after St. P stop off in Novgorod on the way to Moscow. Unless, of course, we're talking about, say, Archangel....

Does this have anything at all to do with those clumsy "spies" that were just apprehended in the NYC suburbs? Just asking...

This case is now turned over to agent Hanuman, since dogster's next stop was to be Bangkok on 1 July. If reports are true that dogster was crowned czar of Russia while in Flam, his plans may have changed. Very confusing indeed. Keep us informed Mr. Hanuman!

I'm not sure exactly how much being czar of Russia currently pays. The retinue may not be all that large. It may be below even Dogster's low expectations.

Did anyone else notice how the sneaky OP jumped right in on the diversion and had not one substantive addition to what started as a trip report? Ever clever EKS.

I have indeed, noticed that. However, I have not (yet) objected because I want to hear what dogster is up to.

I too am interested in what dogster is up to. He seems very confused but, when last I heard, was somewhere near Berlin. It's all falling dominoes. One seems to crash into another, propelling him further and further into outer space. Luckily his cut-price Thai ticket expires on 10th July, not that that means anything. He may make it to Bangkok by then but nothing is certain. If he doesn't, well, que sera sera.

His tragic appendage seems to holding up, provided he takes the slow road. In fact, the more he does, the better [relatively] it gets. I can report that he has put on enormous amounts of weight and seems almost human [relatively].

Dogster sees himself as a mere diversion to Ms. Eks' thread, filling in the ever-increasing gaps between postings. All will be revealed, if and when he gets out of Russia alive.

"somewhere near Berlin" AND in Russia? Unless we're talking Kaliningrad, confusion reigns indeed!

Meanwhile, is eks still in Shanghai, or have they boarded the train to Hong Kong yet? More confusion...

"Ever increasing gaps". I'm not the only one. Perhaps EKS was enthralled by the old wwekly installments of thrillers at the movies during her youth in the 1930's. She wants us hanging on the edge of our seats before she posts some tiny substantive element of her report. She has forgotten that we have the attention span of a gnat. After two days, we've completely forgotten what has preceded.

On another topic, do you think the Pandaw cruise should be subtitled, The Love Boat? The thought of the elderly scurrying still amuses.

No, there is no confusion! Dogster and I work as a team. More I cannot say.

Meanwhile, back at the Ekscrunchy ranch, the last three days have witnessed a trio of plumbers arriving promptly at 8:30am and remaining on the job until close to 5. There is a promise to return for more of the same tomorrow.

The bagged evidence now includes lengths of brass pipe painted to resemble copper in what was obviously a successful dodge to fool the NYC Building Inspector.

Dogster, use your tragic appendages wisely and remember the fate of the Baltic States.

A new horrible thought, i.e., the Ekscrunchy Ranch. Populated by a bunch on non-frizzy haired obsessive travelers. Every meal is 3 hours late because they are discussing the menu at great length. The horses are terrified. Each has been taken on some endless shopping trip and burdened with tons of knick knacks that would fit right in to a nook or cranny of the NYC apt. Yippe, Yay, O EK.

Down, boy! And take that chaw out of your mouth before you address me!

Howdy, M'am. How you all doing today? It does a cowpoke's heart good to see the ladyfolk up and at 'em as the sun rises. Now, get some breakfast on the table and go about your chores.

Just typical jawing at Ekscunchy's Ranch. She runs a couple of hundred head of cattle around a small spread far out on Long Island.

Dogster thinks he's in Finland but is so drunk he may be wrong. Bear with him.

From Jia Jia Tang Bao, I took a taxi (easy to hail in the street) and headed back to Shanghai Tang on Maoming Nan Lu to pick up the reversible silk “coolie” jacket that had been sent over the day before from their Pudong outlet.

Then, after a quick taxi ride back to the hotel to drop off the jacket, I set out in yet another taxi for more shopping, this time along crosshatch of streets comprising the DongTai Road market.
If Shanghai Tang represents 21st-Century Shanghai, the Dongtai Road area retains more than a whiff of the quickly expiring early 20th Century city.





This is what I wrote about the area on my visit three years ago:




“After breakfast, I took a taxi to Dong Tai Road "antiques market." This area consists of two main streets which intersect. Small shops and open-air stalls line both axes. I thought this was the second-best shopping area of my trip with Beijing's Dirt Market being the first. I spent a few hours here; the more interesting items were often inside the shops so don't look only at the stalls. From calligraphy brushes to minority textiles to jade sculptures to antique porcelain figures to Mao busts to ancient fossils...it's all here at very good prices, if you are willing to bargain. I bought a few things, including a brush pot made from a resin-type material. I wish I could have understood the long explanation about the material, which apparently comes from tree sap.. Very few of the shop owners speak any English but they all have calculators.”




The area looked much the same as it had in 2007 but I was surprised at the lack of tourists this time. Early in the afternoon on a Friday I spotted only a handful of other shoppers, mostly European. Deliberately holding myself back from adding yet more items to my gee-gaw collection back home, I contented myself with strolling around and examining the various outdoor stalls, most of which were appendages of actual shops which lined both sides of the street. The only actual purchase I made that afternoon was a long strand of blue-and-white porcelain oval “egg” beads. (Several similar lengths of porcelain beads and red coral chunks spill from various containers on my shelves back home.) The asking price for the blue-and-white necklace was 250 RMB and we settled on 100RMB, or about $14; I am almost certain that continued bargaining would have resulted in an even lower price. (I’ve since looked online and found these for about the same price as I paid so I cannot pride myself on ferreting out a great bargain!).

At the edges of the two main shopping street that comprise the market, a few more upscale shops have opened their doors since my last visit. For example, Shanghai Rong Xing Ming Qing Furniture Shop, at #34 Zhishong Road, appeared to have some nice vintage country items and appeared to be a favored haunt of at least one expat shopper.

After about two hours of wandering, I returned to the hotel by taxi.
En route, we passed a street (off Fuzhou Lu, between the hotel and the Yanan Dong Lu Elevated Expressway) lined with shops selling snacks and fresh food and I made a note to return and explore this stretch in more detail later in my stay.


The Shanghai No. 1 Food Store has occupied its hulking Nanjing Lu premises since 1926 and continues to offer everything from deer antlers and preserved pig faces to beribboned jars of Nescafe and fresh watermelon juice to shoppers whose numbers approach horde status on weekend afternoons. One thing item that I did not see, and which would surely be a big seller: A t-shirt emblazoned with the legend: “I Survived the 4pm Saturday Mob at Shanghai No. 1 Food Store.” This is the land of the hovering salesperson; it is impossible to stop for even a moment to stare in dismay, for example, at the wine selection (Gallo Turning Leaf Chardonnay, 2006, for the equivalent of $30US) or contemplate the staggering variety of dried nuts and fruits, without having a rather dour uniformed clerk attach herself to your elbow. As a lingering outpost of another, less capitalist Shanghai, this place is certainly worth a look, preferably in the morning. They have a decent selection of fresh fruit and also sell fresh fruit juice; I bought a package of fresh pomelo sections here almost every day.(830 Nanjing Road East, opposite the Royal Meridien Hotel and a block or so east of People’s Park).


For dinner that evening, I had selected the very well-reviewed Fu 1088, an upscale restaurant comprised of about a dozen private dining rooms spread over three floors of an intact 1930s mansion at No 375 Zhenning Road in the former British quarter. (Upon booking, we were informed that there was a minimum charge of 300 RMB per person, or about $44US, a very lofty amount for Shanghai; our total dinner bill was actually a bit less than this)

After about a 20 minute ride from the hotel, we alighted in front of a pale yellow stuccoed three-story villa, and gave our names to the doorkeeper. We were then led past the piano, and down a dark wood-paneled hallway to our own combination dining/sitting room, a vast space appointed with ebonized Victorian furniture, delicate latticed screens, and a curlicued settee upholstered in pale blue satin brocade. We took our places at the vast oval table draped with starched white linen, feeling like the protagonists in a period drama.

Although Fu1088 is currently among the top tables in the city, the service is less polished than one might imagine and there is a definite lack of English speaking staff. We had our own waiter throughout the meal, who did his best to attend to our needs despite the language barrier. Mercifully, the menu has an English translation.

Back soon with the details of our sybaritic dinner..

Finally catching up here myself. Just returning from a family trip to Italy / Switzerland. Now I get treated to the further adventures of the ezcrunchy odyssey and Dogster's tales of the north for intermission.

EZ -- thanks for all the food details! Love it -- I eat it up (both figuratively and literally!)

Dogster -- Try the Russian (or Finnish) Sauna (Banya)! Good for all that ails you!

Dinner at Fu 1088, Shanghai


Here is what we ate that night:

1. Kaufu (38Y)—My favorite Shanghai non-meat dish and one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Stellar rendition.

2. Shredded Bean Curd with Coriander (28Y)—Short strands of linguine-like dried bean curd. Nice, if a touch bland.

3. Pea Starch Noodle with Wild Vegetable/Sesame Sauce (38Y)—Chopped cooked greens, similar to the preparation at JiShi, but here the greens were encased in a gummy bean-starch noodle. There was quite a bit of this left over at the end of the meal, but it certainly was interesting in texture and taste.

4. Marinated Yam with Preserved Plums (32Y) Again, interesting texture; cooking; reminiscent of jicama. Worth ordering as a contrast.

5. Braised Cabbage with Shredded Prok and Hairy Crab (128Y). I tried to dissuade my friends from ordering this dish since it was not the season for hairy crab. This was a soupy concoction of crab and roe whose delicacy was lost on me; I found it bland, but much improved with the addition of the soy sauce condiment provided at each table.

6. Fried Pork Rib with Sweet and Sour Sauce (58Y). Now we are talking! Downright addictive. Fabulous dish which was red-cooked rather than fried. Essential!

7. Sauteed chicken with Mango and Fresh Peppers (68Y). Ordered by my tablemates, this was sweet and sour chicken with the expected orange sauce. Tasty enough but a bit of a waste to order here.

8. Braised Home Made Beancurd with Needle Mushroom in Golden Broth (38Y)—Gorgeous preparation of square of cusgtard-like tofu (with a pronounced eggy taste), crowned by a layer of pressed, dark mushrooms surrounded by a pool of vivid yellow, slightly sweet sauce. Presentation worthy of Jean Georges. Recommended.

9. String Beans with Bamboo Shoots and Minced Pork (38Y)—Classic rendition. Excellent.

10. Greens with Oyster sauce (58)—I asked for the waiter’s recommendation; greens were similar to choy sum.

11. Noodles with Dried Shrimp in Scallion Soy Sauce (15Y pp) This was the waiter’s recommendation among the noodle dishes. Simple; good way to close the meal.

12. Mango and Pastry Cream (dessert)—Delicate flaky wheat pastry; too subtle for me.

13. Raisin ice Cream with Rum Mango Sauce—More semi-freddo than ice cream, this was a light, flavorful, and exquisitely presented dessert.


The charge for three of us, with beer, one soft drink, and a pot of Longsheng tea, totalled the equivalent of US$132.


We had been seated in the first room on the ground floor. After dinner, we took a self-guided tour of the restaurant; most of the other diners had departed and we were able to peek into most of the other rooms. Unlike ours, most of the other rooms have doors, so keep this in mind when you book if you desire privacy. The beamed-ceilinged attic room was very atmospheric, but no room that we visited was undesirable.

Thanks for the details of this lovely dinner. When we go will you order for us?

Been out of town, only to return to find:
1. Dogster has apparently had sex for the first time since the '60s ("I'm a lucky man"), possibly with Doris Day. The confusion and Berlin/Russia venues recall "From Russia With Love" (with Robert Shaw and Lotte Lenya), except that 007 is on a ship instead of a train of spies. Something about tragic appendages being revived, too. And...
2. Eks trip report has turned into a Food Channel show, where she wanders from restaurant to restaurant in search of the Perfect Endless Chinese Meal.

Eks, I see why your delicate companions are in awe of the meals your order. Thirteen dishes for three people. Go, eks! (and <i>think</i> before you go, dogster...)

Kathie-if you go to dinner with EKS, she will definitely order. I know this from experience. We went with such Foodies as RhkKmk and Tengohambre and EKS pretty much dominated the ordering.

If EKS were to write a book about her travels, it would be entitles "Eat, Shop, Swim". It would be very well-written over twenty years. At least.

The next day, our second full day in Shanghai, I began my morning with the now customary long swim, returning to my room to snack on the fresh pomelo I had purchased at the Shanghai No 1 food Store the day before.

By 8am, I was in a taxi bound for No 457 Fangbang Lu. Located in a non-descript modern building a few steps from a giant red gate that guards an entrance to the “old city,” this address is well known for its antique and vintage sellers, and for the top-floor convergence of rural dwellers that spread their wares on blankets on the floor. Everything from snuff bottles and calligraphy tablets to blue-and-white porcelain jars and old coins can be found and I would guess that there might be some good buys waiting for perseverant shoppers. I enjoyed the atmosphere, which is miles away from that of the modern city, with rough hewn country people mingling with urban antique dealers armed with magnifying glasses. But by this time I suppose I was tired of this type of Chinoiserie because nothing caught my eye and in about an hour, I was headed by taxi to the Shanghai Museum. Unfortunately, this was a weekend and the line was very long—too long for me to take my place at the end, so I directed the driver back to the hotel and headed on foot to the food street I had noticed the day before. After stocking up on mangoes, papaya, and bananas at the streetside shops, I headed for a small supermarket on the same street where I added to my collection of provisions for breakfast and for the upcoming overnight train trip.

And then it was back to the hotel to drop off my purchases, and off to Yang’s Fry Dumplings, the landmark eatery across the street from Jia Jia Tang Bao, which I had not yet sampled.


Yang’s Fry Dumplings is, in a word, sublime! Again, there is virtually no English spoken and again, none is necessary because there is one thing and only one thing to order here and that is: Fried Dumplings, or Shengjian Bao. There is a menu, however, with English translations posted outside.

The drill is that you take your place on the ubiquitous line and while you wait, watch the master chef shallow fry the dumplings (I ordered pork again) until the bottom attains a crackling golden crust.


You then take your order inside and try to snag a place at the communal tables. (There are other offerings, but first timers need only to order the dumplings) I seated myself at a table with three generations of a Chinese family and proceeded to chow down on these incredible delights. A much better breakfast than the hotel buffet, at a cost of about one US dollar. (Nothing on the menu costs more than 10 RMB)

Here is an article, with photos:


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=9161504


After a scrumptious breakfast, I returned once again to the hotel and met one of my travel partners for a jaunt to the French Concession.

<i>Please</i> do continue both the spectacle and the entr'acte.

As usual, Marija is completely correct. Sometimes, however, the dogster's stupidity gene dominates all others. Wait till I tell you about the 'Russian Ballet' in St. Petersburg tonight... Caveat Emptor to the max.

But we are all the wiser for his stupidity, so just think of it as an act of love.

Dogster in a tutu and the OP torturing an entire multi-generational family. Fodorites are much like a germ. Spreading their special brand of joy throughout the world. I know I do my part.

Was it Complexions?

http://www.mikhailovsky.ru/en/afisha...ate=2010-05-07

Click on the video and join dogster at the ballet!

EKS, my mum lives catty corner from Fu xxxx, we go there if someone else picks up the bill. What rating would you give it taking into consideration the high price?

Marija, you amaze me.

"Hissy Fits" to Joann Sebastian Bach . . . mmmm . . . that could be uh . . . enlightening . . . ?