Saturday, March 10, 2012

4th Day SH

Yesterday we had lunch at Table No. 1 near my daughter's office. It's Restaurant Week in Shanghai and there are special offers; aren't we lucky. In fact, because of the cold weather, we find that SH is quite different from our previous visits. The streets are less crowded and the crowds at The Bund are gone. We walked 3 hours (yes) from The Bund to Nanjing Lu in 5 degrees weather! There was wind too and it was SO terrible. I had forgotten to bring a scarf so I wrapped a sweater around my head. Who cares. When we sat down to eat shen jian bao, I couldn't hold my chopsticks. It was a weird feeling. Table No. 1 didn't disappoint although I found the mains not exceptional, just very very good. There are so many more restaurants Yi and I want to eat in but Hub's indifferent. I want to eat at Old Jesse, supposedly SH's best SHainese restaurant. I also want to check out Trip (Japanese) and The Grumpy Pig (modern Asian). I also want to eat a Korean meal because the best Korean meal I've eaten was here in SH, not Seoul. I just read about a 3 Michelin star restaurant that opened recently. The food looks to die for. Restaurant prices in SH are very reasonable and you'd expect to pay about USD100 to 150 for the really fancy restaurants. I don't think you can do that anywhere else. But I don't think I'd do fancy restaurants this trip. Been wearing the same thing everyday. My nose has turned red from the cold and my eyes and head are stuffed. I like to dress better when dining fine. Our relatives have backed down and allowed us some freedom in scheduling our meals. I shouldn't be ungrateful because they really just want to spend time with us. And gossip about my girl I think because so far it's been "Yi's so good, she isn't jiao chi (princess, high maintenance) and she's so hard working. I know what's coming next. "Does she have a secret boyfriend we don't know of?" "She should be thinking of marriage!" I have my answers all ready. I am proud of Yi. I wouldn't be able to hack it here, especially in winter. She lives in Hub's grandfather's long tang house and there's no central heating. Long tang houses can be so beautiful but the old folks are used to the dipilidated state and don't want any renovations. They have apartments in another part of the city but they don't want to move because thier long tang is just a few steps from Huahai Lu. When the taxi dribers send us back, they tell us that "You are wealthy to live here, and you must be the original SHainese because these days only people who had ancestors who lived in long tang get to live there. Everybody else lives in apartments." I don't mind the old house short term but it's really tough going in winter. The bathroom is not only not attached, it's old and basic. I opened Yi's wardrobe and the handle/knob came off. There's a powder room upstairs but to shower we need to use the bath on the ground floor. I can't think of any of my friends' daughters who would live like this. This Sat morning, she ran out with her wet hair tied up and she's going to work. On a day off. I feel sorry for her. The relatives are a little upset that she's not coming for lunch.

10 comments:

Michelle Chin said...

why does this post sounds so poignant?

:(

fishm0i said...

This post of yours make me go :( hang in there

Heather said...

She's awesome, that girl of yours!!!! :)
As for the cold, try going to UniQlo and getting the 'heattech' long sleeved t's - they also have it in turtleneck and are very very very smartly warm. BUT it's not crazy warm in heated places like thermalwear. Trust the Japanese to come up with smart clothes like this. It's what made me survive SH winters, and is really a beauty to wear.
And have you gone to Spicy Joint this trip? I am dreaming of the food there now!

Anonymous said...

wow,huang hua lu, can visit Adeline Yen Mah's house as well, the writer of Chinese Cinderella!

Yes, you are lucky, to be able to travel as and when you like, and you have a such a lovely and outshining daughter, sure, they will be jeolous. I also envy you.

Anonymous said...

hello there, I read your blogs all the time and thought this is the by far the best post ever.

I am certainly very move by your love towards your daugther. Really remind me of my mum who passed away a few years ago.

I am sure you will have a great time in Shanghai. Your daugther is such a strong person with so much talents and potential to succeed. You have done well as a mother as well as a wife. Keep it real!

PS: drink some warm ginger tea as it helps you fight the cold!

Shelby Lim said...

Hey aunty , Yi is a cool kid.. She is well-trained by u and uncle.. Modern kids wont want to live there.. I swear, even I can honestly say i cant stand there too if I put Yi in her shoe... Even my hostel I cant stand it but Yi, she is so strong.. Modern kids will be ewww-ing around,spend hours showering make-up-ing even boys too.. I really don't understand what they do in the shower for so long.. Even I shower only for 10 mins.. max 15 minds if I sweat a lot especially after sports, that would only take another 5 mins.. But i have friend that get ready for an hour and he is a male.. Oh gosh!

Laura said...

Oh...I really liked these last posts of you! Yi is so lucky!! I imagined her office...I've never seen one like that in Italy (and I'm sure it doesn't exist one like that in Italy)!! She's lucky, even if it should be hard living like that, working a lot, ...but I beg she's happy and having lot of experience!
Thank you for your posts, I have more more and more will to find the right job for me!!!
A big hug to all of you!
Laura

Milosh said...

It's always funny to me how tropical people react to cold weather. I can only imagine how would it feel to you if you were, in my home town, a month ago. We had -28C, and below -20C for ten days. It's fortunate you don't have relatives in Harbin to visit :)

Anonymous said...

Enjoying yourself. Staying in a cold house with a temp. of 5 degree inside and outside is no joke. But convenient is so important,too. Hong Kong is cold this week. I am still sleeping with an electric blanket.

Beau Lotus 涟 said...

I am envious of the idea of Yi living in a long tang but must admit that I probably would prefer to live in a HDB flat in reality. Still, it's a great experience while it lasts, I suppose, since not many exist any more and many yet may be demolished in the future.

I found Table N°1 so-so too. During Restaurant Week we dined at Nougatine chez Jean Georges and found the food really good there. If you have the time, maybe a quick lunch there (or at Mr and Mrs Bund) could be considered?

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