We just had a visitor from the US. Our next door neighbor from the condo- Barbara (a/k/a Mrs. B). Barbara has known us for over ten years and she's an honorary Grandmother to Matthew. We've spent many times together in Stamford shopping and eating. Matthew used to go next door and stand on his tip toes to ring Barbara's bell. If he wasn't in the house, I knew he was next door with Barbara. When we were moving away from the condo, we had dinner together every night leading up to our move. Let me tell you a little bit about Barbara. Barbara is a Jewish woman who eats pork, loves Angels and would often be at our Christmas dinners. Do you get the picture? It was truly surreal to see Barbara in Shanghai, of all places! Barbara was in Tokyo visiting her son Eric (a/k/a Renfield), daughter-in-law Hiroko and their first baby- the most adorable Miss Chikage. She decided to take advantage of the fact that she was in the "area" and come visit us in Shanghai as well. We took Barbara to all the usual tourist sights. Jin Mao Tower, The Pearl Tower, Xintiandi, the Shanghai Museum and Yu Yuen. It was a blend of the modern and the historic sides of Shanghai. Who would ever think that we would be able to lead a tour of Shanghai right?
Of course, those who know us, know that we will include a visit to the best restaurants as well. There were many to choose from. We took Barbara to KABB at Xintiandi, Moon River Diner for your typical American style breakfast and of course, The Door. The Door is an Asian fusion style restaurant that has Thai influence decor. Barbara chose the Osso Buco (see left) and it was an excellent choice. Tony had to keep reminding Barbara that we're in China because it felt like we were back in Stamford. She left this morning to return to Tokyo and will be returning to the US soon. We'll see her again when we return to the States in June. Who's counting? ME!!! I am really looking forward to seeing our friends and family again. Matthew and I will be in the States for two months and it will allow us to see everyone we want.
We're expecting more visitors next week. My cousin Stella and her daughter Susan. They'll be coming from Hong Kong to celebrate the Chinese New Year with us. It's our first Chinese New Year away from home and it'll be interesting to see how the Shanghainese celebrate the New Year here.
Those who have celebrated the Chinese New Year with us in the past, know that we usually have a large dinner party at our home. It's a tradition to close out the old year and open the new year together as a family. My friends from IP were pretty familiar with the dinner preparation that I went through, since I would spend days running around town picking up all the ingredients that I needed.
This year, I made reservations, which is truly a first for me. Chinese New Year is a very important holiday to the Chinese. It's Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled up in one. Years ago, my father would tell me..."Dinner's at 6pm. If you're not home by 6:05 pm, you're disowned." Those were the days that I would make sure I left the office two hours ahead of time, in anticipation of any subway delays in New York. The last thing I needed was to be disowned by my father on Chinese New Year. I won't put any restrictions like that on my family. At least, not until Matthew's moved out of the house and is living away from us. Then I'll tell him....if he's not home for Chinese New Year dinner, he'll be disowned. Naah.
