Shanghai Dolly
Hello, how is everyone doing?
I just wanted to take the time to apologize for my long and continued absence while I get my life back on track. There is a whirlwind of activities in the office and made it inconducive for taking my regular outfit shots. The personal life also took on a toll and there were many ups and downs. Many of you sent me tweet love and even emails to check up on me in which I am very grateful for. We may be online friends across distant land but you bothered. I wish you to know I am doing well as I march towards my 30th birthday next month, something I've dreaded for the longest time but decided to try my best to embrace.
View from the 26th floor of my hotel room.Right now, I am in Shanghai on a work trip. I find it strangely liberating to explore the city alone yet filled with trepidation that I will lose my way. It is also boring to eat dinner by yourself so I ordered room service in for 2 nights in a row now. I expect things to get better as my Canadian friend will make his way down to spend some time roaming over the weekend with me.
I don't want to overpromise and underdeliver but I hope to update this space very soon again. Thank you for keeping me in mind and take care, every single one of you.
Labels: Shanghai, Travel, Wanderlust
Kuala Lumpur Getaway, The Last of 2010
I disappeared into the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia over the weekend with the Boy and we ate. Yes we ate.
My favourite mall has to be
Pavilion because it is
vast, full of goodness (read: huge Forever21, Topshop/Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Warehouse) and has a lot of uppity boutiques that I am happy to just gaze through the looking glass.
Christmas came a mite early for Pavilion. They had elaborate decorations all over the mall and played Christmas songs even in the foodcourt.
Perfect time for me to get pictures of myself and my cute bag. I'm a tourist! Everyone was taking pictures so it's not awkward!
Rows of Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
The Sticky guys twisted the leftover candy into a lollipop and handed it out to the crowd.
Some blouse I tried at Forever21 with giant, puffy sleeves. I really like the bow over shoulder thing but that blouse looks horrid on me!
Petronas Twin Towers - especially spectacular in the night.
Labels: Food, Gastronomy, Holiday, Ice-Cream, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Petronas, Twin Towers, Vacation, Wanderlust
Eating Hard in Penang
At the risk of exposing my entire gluttony being, I bring to you pictures from the
recent Penang getaway where we promised to eat at each stop and made no attempt to stop eating and test the stretchability of our tummy power.
The best of the rest is this char kway teow. At a hefty price of 8.50 ringgit a plate for the biggest plate (which is really not big at all), we would have screamed foul if it hadn't been so incredibly, mindblowingly tasty. It was the first stop of the day and set the precedent for every single meal after. At the end of the day, it won the unanimous vote of championship from our 6 greedy mouths.
We were told that there is a good wanton mee and hor fun store just down the road from where the char kway teow is but we didn't know how near we were. It was barely 2 minutes before we sat down again in a different kopitiam no less and continued ordering.
The texture of the noodles in Penang is different from the ones in Singapore. The noodles here were springy and bouncy, a product of it being well-made and well-cooked. You know how noodles turn into a starchy lump when overcooked? These noodles are what I'll like to call as well-defined but it's probably the wrong term for it. The gravy of the hor fun is a little too starchy for my taste but overall, they are delicious. For one, I am impressed by the number of bones stewing away in the broth to give them the flavour.
Tzi Char, a mix of vermicelli and noodles, stir-fried.
Prawn noodles with hardly discernable prawns but the soup base is amazing.
I am not a big fan of assam laksa but I ate because it is one of the signature dishes of Penang.
Succulent, barbecued chicken wings but the ones in Singapore could be as good.
This wanton mee is cooked in a dark soy sauce as compared to the one we had earlier.Labels: Food, Malaysia, Penang, Reviews, Wanderlust
The Hungry Birds of Notre Dame
When we saw Peter stealthily pocketing small loaves of bread from a basket served to us while having lunch at a nearby café after touring the
Eiffel Tower, we were amused.
"For supper?" we asked cheekily.
"No. For my cousins." he replied deadpan.
Although baffled, we did not for a moment believe that he could be hungry. If Paris could be made up of a certain food type, I am sure it would be baguettes and croissants. I have never seen a country consume as much bread as the Parisians or maybe I've been to too few places. We were served baguettes and croissants for breakfast at the Vintage Hostel which we resided, then it was baguettes for lunch and baguettes for dinner everywhere else we dined. The rest of them thought I was joking when I said that it is customary to use baguettes to wipe the plates clean of pasta sauce. And of course you eat them flavoured baguettes.
We proceeded to
Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris after lunch and right in front of the cathédrale were bushels of hungry birds.
Can you see them birds?We saw a wondrous sight. An Algerian girl was standing on a bench beside the bushel and she held out bread crumbs with her hands. As we peered at her, she looked like a vision with birds swarming around her outstretched hands, pecking excitedly. I could have sworn that she had a fluttering halo of birds under the very bright, indiscernible sun. It is too bad I did not think of taking a picture of her then because our friend, Peter, unloaded his haversack of purloined baguettes, broke them into small pieces and did the same.
Oh my god. Then he looked like a vision.
"These are my cousins that I was talking about." he explained.
It was one hungry bird at first ...
Then there were two ...There were times when there were five to six birds hovering around his hands. Tourists were now crowding around us, snapping shots furiously. Even I got over my initial fear of being pecked and gave it a go. I managed to feed a few hungry birds but was not as popular a choice for the birds as Peter or Chris for that matter. I reasoned that my fancy fingernails of gold and black zebra prints spelt danger to the birds. Come on, I was holding
bigger pieces of bread ...
We must have played saints to the birds for at least half an hour and also offered the purloined baguettes to other tourists who asked us for some.
Labels: Birds, Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, Travel, Wanderlust
Nine Doors, The Easier To Run Away
A coworker told us that we can find old Beijing food in a food street set in a traditional courtyard called "Jiu Men Xiao Chi" (九门小吃). Since our aim in Beijing is to eat, live, tour Beijing, we took note and paid a visit. I couldn't see how different old Beijing food can differ from the current anyway so with an empty stomach, we set forth.
Entrance of the "Jiu Men Xiao Chi" literally translated as "Nine Doors Small Eats"What an interesting name, I thought. I wondered if there were nine doors to the eatery. It was quite a small street consisting of no more than ten stalls. Business was sparse but I attributed it to the fact that we might have been too early.
"Da Lian Huo Shao" (褡裢火烧), a sort of beef meat pie wrapped by fried sesame crusts
Mung Bean Milk or "Dou Zhi" (豆汁), a favourite drink of the old Beijing folks
I have no idea what this is but for what's it's worth, it looks like the sesame crust coiled around by a fried doughstick atop of flaky pastries.
An array of dubious fried food and cardboard-like crusts. Like the eggs placer.
Year cake or "Nian Gao" (年糕). This one looks soft and chewy though.
Our first breakfast in Beijing. Well-anticipated but less than well-received. From top left: fish in soy sauce, shaved goat's head meat (yes you heard right), beef meat pie and goat's milk.Unfortunately I think whoever recommended this place to Eileen and I had it bad for us. It was a strange and awkward meal with many a deliberate chewing and occasional
hurummmms of uncertainty. Eileen watched a Taiwanese food show and excitedly ordered shaved goat's head meat on impulse (or so I would like to believe). The stall owner lifted a decapitated goat's head onto his chopping board and started shaving pieces of meat off its ears. Its very dead eyes were boring into mine.
I'll never touch it, I declared but all the same, I was
coerced into trying and I swear I'll never eat it again. It was cold, crunchy, salty and had a strong smell to it. In fact, all the food were cold and seemed like leftovers. The best of the lot had to be the meat pies since the sesame crusts were warm and vaguely gave a semblance of normality. We left most of our food untouched which was a real pity but we just could not stomach it.
Candied haw/fruits in sticks or "Bing Tang Hu Lu" (糖葫芦). I tried the candied peaches and the flavours and the juice were wonderfully retained, sending you into a sugary high.To conclude, old Beijing food has been around from the olden days and they are worth a try just because they gave us the idea what people used to eat and this is from my most diplomatic point of view.
"Nine Doors Small Eats" does need the nine doors ... for me to run away from in a hurry!
Labels: Beijing, China, Food, Gastronomy, Jiu Men Xiao Chi, Travel, Wanderlust
Quack Up A Storm!
北京前门全聚德烤鸭店The moment we touched down in Beijing, our first dinner thoughts reached out to Peking ducks. How could we not, when we flew this far to attest flattering reports of crispy duck skin and tender, juicy meat? A friendly chat with the local cab driver sent us to the Quan Ju De's (全聚德烤鸭店) multi-leveled outlet in He Ping Men (和平门) which he said is the most authentic and delicious of all outlets.
A welcoming sight of rows of ducks still in their birthday suits greeting usThe restaurant was run in absolute efficiency as they quickly ushered you through the levels by use of walkie-talkies to ensure that you have a seat. The ducks were roasted with non-smoky hardwood fuel such as peach and pear to give its subtle fruity flavour.
We were well rewarded for our six hours flight when we took an initial, crunchy bite. It tasted of heaven.The helpful waiters/waitresses also stopped by each and every table to explain the history of the very duck being violated and demonstrated with ease on how to make a roll with the use of just a pair of chopsticks but in the end, I gave up, the process was too time-consuming.
They were efficient with the chopsticks while I was still living in stone age where my hands are my chopsticks but what's the fuss? The duck is still well-appreciated!It was very gratifying to sink my teeth into such succulent meat after a flight of anticipation but I have to say that after your basic craving is satisfied and the need for duck goes away with every bite, my marginal utility level dipped. It was too oily to be consumed in great quantities. Nevertheless, visitors to Beijing should definitely put this on their agenda to try at least once. I would advise that no one gets too over zealous since almost every single dish on the menu has something to do with ducks. You end up getting duck rice, duck noodles, duck meat soup and vegetables fried with duck and it could be very disorienting.
The surgeon and the duck in which there was no hope of survival under the blade.地址/Address:
北京前门全聚德烤鸭店 Beijing Qian Men Quan Ju De Kao Ya Dian
北京市崇文区前门大街32号 Bejing Chong Wen Men Qu Qian Men Da Jie 32 Hao
电话：01067011379
老北京炸酱面大王One of our very last meals in Beijing, we decided to end it with a duck note. "
I come for duck, I leave with duck" was my skewed mentality at that time. After a full one day tour at the Great Wall, the
Ning tombs and the Temple of Heaven, the cab driver (we ingratiated well with cab drivers during our trip, they withhold a wealth of culinary information!) made a recommendation that we try out Lao Beijing Zha Jiang Mian (老北京炸酱面) which is translated to "Old Beijing Minced Meat Noodles".
Image taken from Fan TongYou are served with a plate of plain, unadorned noodles with an array of sides that you could choose to mix your noodles with to customize your favourite way of eating
Zhang Jiang Mian. The dark sauce ii the picture is yellow soybean paste which is very salty so please go sparing on it. The pink strips are ginger slices and the greens are chopped celery and cabbages and there are also different kinds of beans. In Singapore, you can also find
Zhang Jiang Mian in some of the handmade noodles stall in hawker centres or food courts and even Crystal Jade La Mian restaurants. However, mostly the local
Zhang Jiang Mian are only topped with minced meat and thinly sliced cucumber strips.
A deep-fried crispy duck with tender meat on the left. Preserved vegetables fried with glass noodles on the top and soft deep-fried milk desserts on the right.I apologize for the desecrated duck since we tucked into it way before recalling we needed a picture. The duck turned out ugly but had the most crispy skin and tender meat. Never judge a duck by its outlook. It was not oily at all, a little bit on the dry side but you could eat the whole duck without feeling inundated. The deep fried desserts were very soft, sinking your teeth right through the milky goodness. I imagine them to be very popular with toothless old folks.
I likened
Zha Jiang Mian to be a form of Chinese Bolognaise pasta (only in Beijing, there's no minced meat in the minced meat noodles). I didn't like mine as much as I like the Singaporean form. The yellow soybean paste was too salty for my liking but those who have an affinity to trying pasta worldwide should consider giving this a go.
地址/Address:
老北京炸酱面大王 Lao Bei Jing Zha Jiang Mian Da Wang
崇文区 崇文门外大街29号 Chong Wen Qu ChongWenMen WaiDaJie 29 Hao
Labels: Beijing, China, Duck, Food, Gastronomy, Lao Beijing Zha Jiang Mian, Peking, Quan Ju De, Travel, Wanderlust
The Nu Toilet Revolution (Pre-Olympics)
Photo is credited to a random search in Google, bringing up nostyle's flickr image.One week in Beijing and I feel like the proverbial local. It was a good trip, as any vacation that does not involve work should be but as always, there were highlights and downsides to them. I'll probably blog about the Beijing trip in segments since there are many stories to tell and history to relate and part 1 would talk about the infamous sanitary conditions of the city's toilets.
I visited Beijing 12 years ago on the school's Chinese Orchestra tour (how cool is that! I forgot I used to be vaguely musically inclined) and Beijing has had some quite horrifying toilet stories which I can attest for. The toilets then were all squatters and most had no doors. You will be lucky if there are any partitions at all in between you and your neighbours. Even if there is, the walls separating each "cubicle" were only waist-level high so you can choose to converse with your neighbours if you so wish or exhibit disturbing voyeuristic tendency. There was no proper flushing system so most of the time you find yourself hovering over a nauseatingly deep pit which contained the "essence" of your predecessors. However, ever since the right to host Olympics 2008 had been awarded to the city of Beijing, the Chinese government took the honour very seriously and launched a campaign to renovate all public toilets to "acceptable" levels. You can be sure that the 57 million
yuan investment did not go down the hill. Almost all the toilets at conspicuous places e.g. shopping centres and places of interest are now clean and dry. There is still some room for improvement to reach the level of comfort I am used to in Singapore but going to a public toilet in Beijing is no longer a sensory war or as what I call it, a "mind-over-body" experience.
Most public toilets do have doors and their partitions now reach well over my head, covering me totally. If you plan on making some cursory toilet visits in Beijing just to say you've been there and done that, please do still bring your own stash of toilet paper. The toilet paper dispenser is located in a central location but generally unavailable in each and every cubicle and they do run out. There is still a very unfair proportion of squatters over the seated toilets since the Chinese prefer the squatters for hygiene purposes (they prefer minimal body contact) so be prepared to roll up your trousers or wear skirts for that matter. Oh and though there are now doors, some of the Beijing's citizens are still accustomed to the open concept. My travel partner, Eileen saw two women squatting in their half-naked glory with doors wide open, texting away on their mobile phones and came out of the toilet, reeled in shock. So what does it say? The purpose of having doors is lost on those who are used to the ways of the past.
A short excerpt from an article about Beijing's toilets before the upscale which I found quite amusing:
Zhou said that what tourists objected to can be described in four words: “smell” (tourists said they could find a toilet by its smell); “jump” (once inside they jumped to avoid stepping on residue left by previous occupants), “weep” (they wept when they squatted down and could see maggots in the pit below) and “smile” (when they looked up they smiled in embarrassment when they found they were not alone but with many other people who were staring at each other face-to-face.)My misplaced sense of humour and savvy geekiness sometimes led to interesting finds such as
The Bathroom Diaries which was described by the creator as "a world in which menus of restrooms were posted in the window along with the bill of fare". Very innovative and I have to agree that one shouldn't expose our tender bits to un-reviewed and uncharted zones in which we are not duly informed.
Labels: Bathrooms, Beijing, China, Horror, Restrooms, Toilets, Travel, Wanderlust
