Hairy Crab - Take 2

We went on a company outing today to Suzhou for a taste of hairy crab. It didn't matter that I went with my friends just a few days ago, any chance for hairy crab...I'm game! We embarked on a two and a half hour bus ride to Suzhou and then boarded a boat to arrive to our destination. Matthew and Tony have never experienced hairy crab and it was a good way to get them to try it. It was nice to see Tony's colleagues and their children again. We met some of the new children who were just born recently and were amazed at how big all the kids have gotten.

We had a ten course banquet and the hairy crab was served at the end. It was messy but very good. We had three crabs between Tony and I and it was all gone. It took me almost an hour to pick through the one crab that I had. Matthew and the other kids weren't interested in tasting the crab. They were more interested in torturing them instead. After our dinner, Matthew and the kids played a game of soccer in the front yard of the "restaurant". I'm using the term restaurant very loosely because it was more like someone's house that we had dinner at. We boarded the boat for our ride back to the dock to pick up our bus for our long ride back to Shanghai. All was quiet on the bus since we were all full and tired.

Thus is almost the end of the hairy crab season. We'll be gearing up for Thanksgiving next week. Tony will be arriving into Shanghai on Thanksgiving day and we'll be breaking bread and sharing turkey at the clubhouse with my friend Anne and her family. Another eating marathon will begin when Tony arrives!

Hairy Crab

My friends and I went on a tour to visit Tai Lake located in an area called She Shan in Suzhou. Suzhou is about two hours away from Shanghai and is home of the famous freshwater hairy crab. This is the season for hairy crab. When the first autumn chill sets in, many of the aficionados dine on hairy crab. The reason is the chill in the air signals that the crabs move less and thus bulk up with fat and produce more roe. It's a short lived season- ranging from September through December. The crabs are considered a delicacy. They are dark green in color and have fine golden hair on their legs and a patch of dark hair on their claws.

We left Shanghai early and arrived at a crab farm where we learned about the different products available from that area. Gingko nuts, mandarin oranges, tea leaves and crab. We went out on a fishing boat and took a tour of Tai Lake and saw how the farmers captured the crabs. We returned from our tour to sample our first hairy crab and to learn how to take one apart. In the States, the crab bashes equip you with plastic bibs, hammers and little picks. Here, you roll up your sleeves and use your hands. No fancy plastic bibs, no cute little hammers. Just you and your ten digits.

The crabs are tied up and boiled with ginger for about 15 minutes. They are bright orange red when they appear and this is where the fun begins. Andrea and I decided to share one. Anne passed since she's not a big fan of shellfish. It's a bit of a mess when you take the crab apart. The legs are used to pry the meat out and there is a bright orange cream that is very rich. The meat was very sweet and it was good. You dip the crabmeat in dark soy with vinegar and ginger. I can now honestly say that I have tasted a hairy crab.

Now, I'll just have to get Anne and Andrea to try fried scorpions.

Anne and Andrea

Meet my friends Anne and Andrea. They are residents at the Shanghai Racquet Club. We met two months ago and have been inseparable since then. Anne (on the left) is from Nottingham, England and arrived in Shanghai late August with her husband Tony and daughter Amy. Andrea (on the right) is from Michigan and was transferred mid-assignment from Tokyo and arrived in Shanghai in July. She's here with her husband Patrick and two children Tanner and Foster. Since I've been here longer than the two of them, I'm considered the guru of all information of Shanghai. Not true. I am full of useless information. Anne and Andrea learned early on that every excursion with me includes a meal (or two) somewhere in town. This bring back memories of my days at IP. (Lip smacking sound effects are in order here).

They can often be found in my kitchen enjoying whatever homemade concoction is available with fresh ground coffee after we stampede home before the kids get off the bus. Anne's daughter knows to come directly to my house to find her mother. Amy often says that despite all the running around I do, I still find time to cook and bake for my family. She'll ask her mother why she can't do it as well. Amy has threatened to move in with me because she likes what she finds in my kitchen. Tanner and Foster have told Andrea that they want to move in with me as well. They've told her "Mrs. Susan is nice. She has two hamsters. Why can't we have that too?" Who knows, before the end of the year, I may wind up with three more kids. The beauty is, I didn't have to birth them and they've all been potty trained. You know I'm being sarcastic right?

You know that Anne and Andrea have been roped into my book club and they are also my mules. Andrea's going home to the US for the Christmas holidays. She'll be carrying all my US holiday cards to mail from Michigan. At least, I know they will arrive unlike the fiasco we had last year with the postal system here in China. Anne will return to England and will bring back the baking supplies that I need. It's a beautiful relationship we have.

Ironic that they bear the names of people that I loved while I was at IP. Now, I just need to find friends named Deborah, Melinda, Mary, Charlie and Janice and I'll be all set. It doesn't matter if I find friends with these names. The next friends I make will get renamed by me so I can very happy.

Textiles

Now that the banking fiasco has been resolved....I can get back to what I really like to do. I've spent some time wandering the stores looking at antique textiles. Some pieces have caught my eye and I took Tony to one of the shops to show him some of the pieces that I liked. He agreed and we purchased three pieces of antique textiles. The piece you see is from the Qing Dynasty (from 1644-1911) during the reign of Xian Feng (1851-1861). It was taken from a robe that was worn by a young prince of the royal family. I've been trying to find a robe in the imperial yellow color but it's almost impossible to find and if I can get it, it will be extremely expensive.

The two additional pieces are also from the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Xian Feng. One is gold embroidery of a dragon from a woman's skirt and the other is gold embroidery of a phoenix from a woman's skirt. For those who don't know, the dragon is male and the phoenix is female. Thus is the start of our collection. I'm sure there will be more to come before we leave this area but it's nice to have something that will always remind us of our time in China.

Issues

Communication is a major problem here in China. In the US- we're quick to acknowledge and respond to emails so at least the recipient will know when to expect a resolution. Here- radio silence. No response, no acknowledgment. The mentality is ... if we don't respond, it'll just go away.

Tony's expense reimbursements since August have not been paid out. After sending numerous emails to the finance department ..... three weeks later we finally get an answer. It seems that the reimbursements have been deposited into a colleague's account. Oops. Finance writes an email to his colleague and asks that he give the cash to Tony. Maybe the finance department doesn't see the issue that is blatantly glaring at me. There is a paper trail issue. In the US- finance would offset the cash paid out against any future expense reports submitted by the colleague. Finance will then pay out the outstanding expense reimbursements to Tony again and DEPOSIT it into the right account. Two weeks go by, no cash has been handed and now we're at a crossroads.

I'm tempted to do something Soprano like. You know..."Badda bing, badda boom. You don't hand over da cash, I'm a gonna hafta take you to the back and rough you up a bit. I'm gonna get Paulie involved and he's gonna hafta knee cap you." My other option is call in the Chinese triads. The way I see it, It's nice to be set up on both sides. Life has it's advantages here. I often tell Matthew if anyone bothers him at school, he should say he has ties to the mob and to the triads. That ought to keep the bullies at bay. I have an over active imagination. I know. I know.

Getting back to the expense reimbursement fiasco. The other day, I went to the bank to check on the reimbursements. I wait over an hour at the bank only to be told that Tony has to appear at the branch where the account was opened with his passport, work permit and some other documentation. The teller muttered something that I didn't quite understand. All I can figure out was the account had been suspended.

Tony takes the day off today. Mr. Miao, Tony's driver takes us to the branch which is 1.5 hours away from our home. We wait in line to speak to a teller and before our eyes, several people are gathered at the terminal and they are whispering something about the account status. One representative is on the phone but no one tells us what is going on. Finally after 1.5 hours, it turns out the account was suspended because someone was trying to electronically transfer funds out of the account. Uh, hello .... did anyone try to contact us about this? No. The bank just suspends your account without sending out a letter or even try to contact you by phone. Oh, yeah, right. I forgot. No communication.

After 3 hours at the bank, I am happy to report that the account has been reinstated and Tony can go along his merry little way and I can continue my day job as his accountant, secretary and bouncer without pay. Now, I just have to find my brass knuckles and rough up his colleague and shake the lunch money out of him. Just kidding.

Antiquing

My friends and I went to a seminar today about antique furniture. While walking down the alley way, I spotted a shop called "5,000 Year Antique Furniture." First, you can't afford it since it will be outrageously expensive. Second, you won't be able to take it out of the country even if you can buy it. Smart tactic. Catchy name...makes you think you're getting a real antique. My friends and I strolled in and found that a majority of the pieces in the shop are new replicas. We looked around and walked out. We like the stores that carry the older furniture. From the condition and smell, you know it's the real stuff from years gone by.

We headed over to Hu & Hu, a very reputable antique dealer shop and we learned alot about the various antique pieces that are found in shops. We're in the process of looking for a small cabinet to put under the staircase and will bring it back to the States once we're done with this assignment. I have an idea what I'm looking for and would rather buy something that is antique rather than get a reproduction made. I did spot something and took a picture to show Tony. Now, I just have to take Tony to the shop and have him look at it. If all goes well, we'll probably have something in the house by next weekend.

Family Photo

Its that time of the year again. We headed into the city this afternoon to have our photo taken by Gang Feng Wang, the same photographer who took our holiday photos last year. We had the photos taken in the alleys of the old Shikumen style homes. These homes will all be torn down by the end of the year and it's our last opportunity to have our family photos done in this setting. Shameful that this area so rich in history will be gone and new high rises will stand in its place.

It was great to see Gang again and we're excited about our new photos. It'll be ready sometime in the next two weeks and then I'll have to create the holiday cards and have them all posted before the end of November. Hopefully, they will arrive in your mailbox before the end of the year. Then again, judging from last year's disaster....some cards made it before the Christmas holiday and some showed up end of January/beginning of February...or in some cases...not at all.

We'll see how it goes this time. It's always a crap shoot on how the mail system works here. I have a theory and it's not a pretty one but nevertheless, I'll be happy to share it with you over a cup of coffee when I'm back. Don't even get me started on packages. That's another unpleasant story.

In the meantime, check your mailbox middle of December and let me know if you do get the card.....or not.

Halloween Parade

I baked all day yesterday in preparation for today's festivities. I baked 4 kilos of cut out butter cookies (which was about 100 cookies), 48 cupcakes and Tony even got into the act by frosting the cookies last night. Thank you!!! Matthew and his school mates were dressed in their costumes this morning and we all hopped the school bus to school. I had a hard time getting onto the bus with all my junk- a big box of cookies, a bag full of Halloween frosting and sprinkles and three trays of cupcakes. The kids arrived and dashed off the bus and headed to their designated area for the parade. It was very cute to see the little ones dressed up and showing off their costumes. The teachers got into the spirit as well. There was one dressed as Austin Powers complete with the "Yeah Baby" chant and others dressed as witches and goblins. The school principal was dressed as Mario and her assistant was dressed as Luigi (as in the Mario Brothers video games).

Afterwards, we had the class party. Matthew was wrapped up in toilet paper by his fellow classmates and looked like a mummy. The class moms and I put out the cupcakes on the table and passed out the butter cookies and in less than 5 minutes- it was all gone. Literally. I did see one sprinkle rolling off the table but I think a kid was going to dive for it to stop it from landing on the floor. Then again, if it did land on the ground, the 5 second rule would apply and it would have gone in his mouth.

I left 18 kids in class with Mr. Monteith all sugared up. They were leaving for recess so hopefully, the sugar will wear off by the time they return to class for their math and science studies. Ok- now that this is done, I'll have to go pick up some candy for the trick or treaters this weekend. We got a note that there will be approximately 150 children stopping by. That's a far cry from what we got last year at the old apartment....which was none. I know the little bag of 50 M&M's won't be enough. Time to go shopping and stock up on all the candy I can get my hands on before the weekend.

Newest Members

Meet Speedy and Junior. The newest members of the Malgioglio clan. For weeks, Matthew has been eyeing the dwarf hamsters at the pet shop at the market. Tony was adamant about having new pets in the house. It's a responsibility that we're not ready to take on again. I know, I know, Matthew SWEARS that he'll take care of the pets but ultimately it falls on our shoulders again. So, while we were at the market shopping for the ingredients for Matthew's power pasta, he was visiting the hamsters and trying to convince his father to change his mind.

Mind you, I've seen them everytime I'm at the market and I swear that they're all on crack. The hamsters are bouncing off the walls (literally) and for those who don't know, hamsters are nocturnal animals. Which means ....they're up at NIGHT. Judging by the activity in the cage, you can just imagine what the noise level will be at night. We've been down this road before with Matthew and have done the funeral thing (John, Jack, Jaws, Richard and Skippy- may they all rest in peace) in the backyard in Stamford. My friends kid that we have a pet cemetery in the back yard.

So, while I was paying for the groceries, I see Tony negotiating with the shopkeeper for a package deal for two hamsters, cage, food, bedding and what not. OH NO. I walk over with my cart of groceries and Matthew is busy picking out Speedy and Junior. Before we know it, Matthew's carrying the cage out of the store with two hamsters bouncing all over the place.

So, the newest members will be around for a bit and we'll just have to figure out who will be the lucky babysitter when we go away for the holidays.

Matthew's Power Pasta

Matthew has been participating in a health class designed to teach the children about the nutrition and to encourage healthy eating. The kids have been assigned a project....create a nutritious meal and cook it for your family. Interesting twist.
We went food shopping and picked up the ingredients for the bowtie pasta with vegetables and chorizo sausages.

Matthew prepared all the ingredients and then cooked the meal. He did receive some help from us. You didn't seriously think that we would let him have full reign of the kitchen now...did you?

In the end- a wonderful meal was planned and prepared by Matthew. I told Tony that we'll keep this up and maybe within a year- he can be preparing all our meals. Now all I have to do is teach him how to do the laundry and clean the house and I can go into semi-retirement. Just kidding.

Fashion Statement

It often boggles my mind when I am wandering through the streets of Shanghai, I would find the locals parading through the streets in their pajamas. Men, women, children...they all seem to do it. Men in particular, are fond of strolling through the streets in their undershirts and boxers. During the summer when it's extremely hot in Shanghai, the men will wear only the boxers. You'll find them sitting on the corner with their friends (also amply undressed) chatting away. I find the women tend to walk the streets in their pajamas and would either be walking their pet or shopping in the market or just walking with their friend and strutting their stuff.

Today, after the soccer game at school, I was on my way to meet my friend Anne for lunch. A woman was slowly strolling along Jin Feng Road. Slowly sauntering, strutting her stuff and just showing off her pajamas. I was told that the ability to own a set of pajamas is a sign of prestige. Most locals can't afford it and when they have it, they'll show it off. Strange, but hey, I don't plan to walk the streets in my pajamas anytime soon.

Fifth Grade Soccer Day

It's that time of the year again. All the international schools got together today for a friendly game of soccer against one another. We had beautiful weather and I was hanging out on the sidelines cheering the kids on. It was great to watch the kids interact and cheer each other on as they waited their turns as well. Unlike the experience we had last year at the Pudong campus, there wasn't any name calling this time. It was just a great game and the kids all had a great time.

I'll be gearing up for my baking process soon. Halloween is around the corner and there will be a party at the school. Lots of cupcakes and sugar cookies to go around. Nothing like feeding sugar to the kids and sending them off to class afterwards. I'm sure all the teachers will be thanking me personally next week. I plan to ignore all the calls when they come in. I'll return calls after the sugar rush is done.

Kung Fu

Matthew studied kung fu when we were in the US on Sunday afternoons after his Chinese language classes. This was going on for several years and because of our move to Shanghai, he discontinued for the past year. It was hard to get him started on a program when we first arrived. We had no idea where to find a place and how to get there for lessons. Often it would turn out the classes were on the other side of Shanghai and it meant finding a way to get there.

Over the summer, Matthew expressed an interest in studying kung fu again. I set out to find a martial arts academy on this side of town and was ready to sign him up when a notice came under the door. It turned out that our compound was offering classes on Thursday afternoons after school. Yeah! The timing was perfect and he was signed up and ready to go.

Master Bruce is the kung fu master who teaches the kids. Matthew's been attending classes for the past several weeks and is very happy. Though there was a long break, he picked up as if he never left off. Master Bruce has told us that Matthew is one of his best students and is serious about his kung fu style. Over time, Matthew will learn to use weapons and he's really looking forward to that.

Another Typhoon

Golden week has just ended and it ended with a bang. We've been hit with torrential downpour of rain due to Typhoon Krosa from Taiwan. We got the call from Management last night to move all the furniture to the corner and keep all doors and windows closed due to the high winds. It has rained so much that the lawn behind the house is like a very wet sponge. The winds have been strong and we've done all that we can do to keep things in place. Matthew was hoping for another typhoon day. Fat chance. The kids just had a week off for the holiday. I seriously doubt that the school will be generous to grant another day.

So, Tony will give Matthew a ride to the bus stop and endure his commute to Pudong complete with flooded roads and I'll have to walk over to the school in a little bit to sell the tickets for the international fair. Tony told me to call a taxi to give me a ride to school rather than get soaked to the bone. I'd rather wait on the corner for Noah's Ark to pass and hitch a ride instead.

Formula One

Golden week is coming to a close and we headed over to the Marriott Hongqiao Hotel today to have brunch and watch the Shanghai Formula One race. Ina and her husband Rainer joined us as well. For some reason, every time the Formula One race is in town, it always rains. We got up this morning and saw the dark clouds. Tony kept hoping the clouds would disappear but to no avail. We watched the dark clouds roll in just before the start of the race. Like last year, the weather was bad and it rained....no...poured actually and we were glad to be at the hotel instead of at the track.

Trust me, being at the hotel is not the same as being at the race track where you hear the sound of the engines roaring by but, it was nice to be able to watch the race and enjoy brunch at the same time and not get soaking wet. Everyone was anticipating that the McLaren rookie- Lewis Hamilton would win the race. He had 25 laps to go and due to a maneuver that put him into a sand trap, he was retired from the race. It was a tight race between Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren's Fernando Alonso. We were all voicing our opinions on the McLaren spy scandal but in the end, Ferrari won first and third place and Matthew and Tony were ecstatic.

Nice way to end the long week with a day at the races via a big screen television and lots of food and drinks.

Golden Week, Who Cares...We Get A Week Off!

We've been home this past week. The whole country shuts down from October 1 through October 7. Offices and schools are closed and all the locals go on vacation somewhere in China. October 1, 1949 was the official start of the People's Republic of China. This is equivlant to independence day in the US except, there is no real independence, if you know what I mean.

We've spent the week just doing nothing. Getting up later than usual and just putzing around town...or not. We've been exploring areas that we've never had a chance to do and just spendng time together as a family. It's nice to have everyone home. We've been enjoying leisurely breakfasts, Matthew hanging out with his friend Alastar and Tony and I just reading by the pool.

We'll all be back on schedule next week when the break is over. Tony will be back on his travel schedule, Matthew will be back at school and I'll be baking for the school fair and running all over the place.

Why Can't I Say No?

I've been pretty busy the past several weeks. Besides taking my relatives around, I've been busy at Matthew's school. I've been participating at the morning coffee's with the principal, PTSA activities for fund raising and been working with the class mom for upcoming events. I've also joined a committee at our compound. Today, I had back to back meetings. Principal coffee, PTSA and class meeting for upcoming events. After a quick lunch with my friend Anne, I rushed home to attend the committe meeting on the compound. Reminds me of the days when I was working and getting paid for what I was doing. Fast forward, one year later, gainfully unemployed, extremely busy but not getting monetary compensation for my work. Oh well.

As of today, I've been roped into doing the following for the school: baking for the class Halloween party (last count- 36 cupcakes, 36 Halloween cookies), selling tickets for the upcoming International Fair, baking and selling the goods for the International Fair, organizing the Thanksgiving meal, baking for Christmas, doing something for Chinese New Year (though I can't remember what at this point). For the compound, I'll be starting a book club, organizing retreats and will help start a newsletter. I must have the following words tatooed on my forehead: "Sure, no problem. I can't say no. Just tell me what you need. If no one will volunteer, you can bet that I will".

I was class mom for many years. It started when Matthew was in nursery school and continued through 4th grade. It wasn't enough to be class mom at the elementary school, I did it at Chinese school and also helped out at the after school program. I really wanted a break this year. I was willing to help but, didn't want the responsibility of planning things or baking everything. Now, we're a month and a half into the school year and somehow....I can't say no. Old habits die hard.

Go.......Be Free My Little Friends

Today is Tony's birthday. He's been feeling pretty miserable about his birthday and on top of that it was a horrible weather day. It's been raining non-stop for the past few days ever since Typhoon Wipha. I dragged him into the city to have brunch at our favorite place ... Moon River Diner. Only this time, I thought it would be nice to go to the newest location ... near the Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel. I thought it would be a 5 minutes walk to the diner from there. So, we hopped the shuttle bus and went into the city. We arrived and walked ...... and walked ..... for about 20 minutes to get to the diner. Tony was literally soaked to the bone. We ordered breakfast and by the time we left, it stopped raining and the sun was coming out. Of course, Murphy's law. You know how it is.

We sauntered back to the Portman and there was an Expat Show at the Exhibition Center. We wandered in and picked up a bunch of brochures for different places. Information that will come in handy one of these days. We were getting ready to leave and Matthew decided to participate in the Decathalon exhibition for the kids. A bunch of games set up and the kids get to win prizes. He caught three cat fish, which he promptly named: Loco, Chimichanga and Burrito. Don't ask why the Mexican theme but hey, it works. He brought them home on the shuttle bus and promptly released them in the pond in the back of the house. He did this last year at the old apartment as well. He caught about 20 goldfish and released them all in the pond in front of the old apartment. Everyday, he would check on the fish at the pond and on occasion, would feed them as well. The fish were still alive when we moved in May and I suspect that they will be alive for a while. It was Matthew's contribution to the apartment building. So, Loco, Chimichanga and Burrito have been released in the pond and will live very happily in their new home and I'm sure Matthew will go searching for them from time to time.

Meet Me At Beefsteak Charlie's

Well, against my better judgement, I am turning 45 this Sunday. One of my best friends, who is also named Anthony, was born on the same day and year as me. I know, kind of freaky. So every year we would make plans to go to Beefsteak Charlie's a local food chain that would give you a free meal on your birthday. Yeah, that means we'd eat for FREE, the both of us. We really wanted to see their faces when we told them we were both celebrating our birthdays and we weren't paying a dime for it. Oddly enough, we never did it. Every year we would make plans but would not carry it out. Years passed and Beef Steak Charlie's eventually went out of business, probably from all the free birthday meals. Well now I am middle aged, living half way around the world away from my good friends and so I say to Ant, I'll meet you at Beefsteak Charlie's and "Happy Birthday".

No Snow Days Here...Just Typhoon Days

Shanghai is in the midst of typhoon season. Typhoon Wipha has been dumping tons of rain and causing havoc on the traffic. 1.8 million people have been evacuated from the coastal area and we've been experiencing winds reaching 165 miles per hour. Tony was at a meeting in town yesterday and it took him over 4 hours to get home last night. The journey started at 5:30PM and he walked in the door at about 9:30PM. Matthew returned from school completely soaked from the run from the bus stop and it took me almost 3 hours to get home from the center of town. The roads were flooded and it was like a large shower turned on and was left on. Tons of rain clogged the roads and it was pretty dicey that I could make it home. It was surreal to see people on their bicycles trying to navigate through the high waters on the roads. Visibility was pretty poor and cars were stuck on the side of the road because of the high water levels.

Matthew and I moved all the patio furniture to the corner, brought in the bike and razor scooter and took the umbrella off the table. The last thing I need is to see anything flying through the deck doors. Nope- not on my list of things to do. All I can say is thank goodness I have things in the freezer to make for dinner. I was supposed to go out today with my cousin to go shopping and pick up food for tonight's dinner. In fact, we have enough food in the pantry to last us a week if needed. Those who know us, know that you will never starve in this house.

Massive flight delays and the storm is not at it's worst. We're expecting the worst to take place this afternoon. The City of Shanghai has ordered all schools and businesses to be closed today. Matthew's pretty happy since he doesn't get snow days here anymore. It doesn't snow in Shanghai. He gets typhoon days instead. It's never a dull moment with us.

Zhouzhuang

Took a two hour car ride with Cheung Yau and Gloria to a water village outside of Shanghai called Zhouzhuang. It's a water village that is nine hundred years old. Zhouzhuang's claim to fame is due to a Shanghainese artist named Chen Yifei who painted scenes of Zhouzhuang. Zhouzhuang has many beautiful sights and has several very well preserved homes dating back to the Qing, Ming and Yuan dynasties. First stop, the Zhang Residence. This home was built in 1449 alongside the Ruojing River and has six courtyards and 70 rooms. The house has a pond next to its main hall where riverboats dropping off visitors could turn around. Something of a private slip and only can be achieved if one is wealthy enough to have one. We then stopped to see the Chen Residence which had seven courtyards and 100 rooms including separate men's and women's quarters as well as furnished bedrooms, a large kitchen and a shrine. It was amazing to see how well preserved all the homes were and to marvel at the antique furniture. I fell in love with a table and was trying to get my cousin to help me "borrow" it from the residence without getting stopped by the security group.

Of course, where there is tourists, there are vendors who are very eager to hawk their goods. As we wandered down the alleys, we were accosted by many vendors who wanted us to either buy their goods or eat at their restaurant. Every restaurant was pushing their menu of fish and shrimp. I'm sure the food is fine for the locals. I just won't eat any shrimp or fish if it's not from a reputable restaurant. That certainly didn't stop them from running after us. No visit is complete without buying at least one local specialty food. We picked up the soy braised pork leg. OK- not high on my list of things to try but, Cheung Yau was insisting that we give it a try. We picked one up and it'll be on the menu sometime this week before he leaves. Tony and I will try it to be polite. I can tell you that Matthew will not touch it and will find a way to excuse himself from the table.

Wujiang Road

My cousin Cheung Yau and his wife Gloria arrived yesterday from Hong Kong. They will be here for a week and that's plenty of time for us to catch up on things and putz around. We made plans to go to Xintiandi for dim sum today. In Shanghai, everything requires a reservation. In my haste, I forgot to call to make a reservation for lunch. As a result, there was a 45 minute wait. Add a very cranky and hungry child on top of that and you get a very good idea how horrible the waiting time was. We were finally seated and we quickly ordered our lunch. It was well worth the wait. The food was really good and received the seal of approval from two Hong Kong natives.



After lunch, Tony took Matthew home while I wandered around with Cheung Yau and Gloria. We took the train to the Shanghai Train Station to grab a cab to visit the Jade Buddha Temple. The Temple is located in the middle of Shanghai in the middle of a residential area and is home to a pair of jade Buddhas from Burma. In 1882, the monk Hui Gen from Putuoshan Island (which is near Shanghai) returned from his pilgrimage to Burma with five Sakyamuni Buddha images that were each carved from a single piece of jade. Transporting the Buddhas was very difficult and as a result, two were left behind in Shanghai and a temple was built to house them. Hui Gen was able to transport three of the Buddhas back to Putuoshan Island and eventually, all three Buddhas have disappeared. The two Buddha statues were absolutely beautiful. One is housed in the Jade Buddha Hall on the second floor and is a creamy white luminous statue and shows Buddha sitting in a lotus position at the moment of enlightenment. It is estimated that this Buddha is 6.3 feet tall and weighs about 2,200 pounds. The other Buddha is located on the ground floor and is in the Hall of the Reclining Buddha. This one is smaller and depicts the Buddha at the moment of death.




Afterwards, Cheung Yau and Gloria wanted to try the snack foods on Wujiang Road. Wujiang Road is a pedestrian street and is lined with little food shops. I'm sure it has lots of health code violations and you can be sure that items dropped on the ground are put back into the pan to be served. However, the locals flock to it and you can find lots of local specialties. Cheung Yau read about the fried dumplings from this one particular shop and wanted to try it. We found the shop and there was a long line. He stood in line to place his order. After much anticipation, it wasn't as good as he expected it to be but, he can at least say that he's had it and has been on the food street. We wandered through the street and looked at all the snacks available. Some of the stalls were bustling and some were pretty empty. Safe bet that the ones that were bustling were the good ones and the not so busy ones .... well, you'd be taking your chances if you tried their food.

We'll be heading to Zhouzhuang tomorrow for a tour. It's a nine hundred year old water village about a two hour drive outside of Shanghai. I've never been there so I'm pretty happy to tag along for the ride.

Breakfast

Tony returned from his business trip last night. Matthew was very happy to have his Dad home. We ate dinner and had our usual Friday movie night together. Matthew went off to bed and Tony and I stayed up to watch a movie for us. Nothing G rated...something PG-13. Yipee! It ended at 2 AM and I declared that I wanted breakfast.

Tony walked into the kitchen and whipped up two egg white omelets with caramelized onions, mushrooms, ham and cheese. I prepared the toast and we ate our omelets in the kitchen. Coffee was going to be a stretch but, fresh orange juice was good. Cleaned up the kitchen and we know that Matthew's going to be pretty unhappy when he gets up to find that we ate breakfast without him.

Then again, that's going to be in a few hours. Maybe we can have our coffee then and....perhaps some yogurt and fruit.

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

The Chinese are gearing up to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (also known as the Moon Festival). The Moon Festival falls on September 25th this year. Every year, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the moon is at it's maximum brightness for the entire year. The Chinese celebrate this holiday with family reunions and eating moon cakes. There is a legend surrounding the moon festival. This is the one that I know:

Many years ago, ten suns took turns to illuminate the earth. One day, all the suns appeared together and scorched the earth. The scorching earth was saved by Hou Yi, a very famous archer who was married to the very beautiful Chang E. Hou Yi succeeded in saving the earth by shooting down nine of the suns. The Goddess of Western Heaven, awarded Hou Yi with the elixir of life. However, his wife, Chang E drank the elixir and found herself floating to the moon. Hou Yi tried to stop his wife from floating to the moon by shooting her down with his bow and arrow but didn't succeed. Chang E was transformed into a three legged frog as punishment for tricking her husband.

It is believed that Chang E lives on the moon in a magnificent jade palace, where she presides as the Goddess of the moon. Her companions include a Jade Rabbit who sits under a cinnamon tree preparing a recipe for the pill of immortality. Chang E regretted her selfish action and would long for her husband. It is said that Hou Yi built himself a handsome palace on the sun and he became the God of the sun. Every month on the fifteenth day, Hou Yi is allowed to visit Chang E and she is transformed into a beautiful princess. On this one evening, every month, the moon shines brighter because of their love.

Moon cakes are traditionally given as presents to friends and family. The moon cake would be filled with lotus seed or red bean paste and would have a salted egg yolk in the center to depict the moon. When I was a child, my parents would receive boxes of the moon cakes from family and friends. I would cut the cake into quarters to share with my sisters and I would rip out the yolk. I should tell you that the more expensive boxes would contain double egg yolks. A complete waste if it was coming to my home since I only like the red bean paste.

Fast forward, years later and we're now living in China. It is now our turn to give out the moon cakes. The moon cakes are still available in the traditional flavor of lotus seed or red bean paste. It is amazing when you go to the market, how many different boxes are available. Besides the number of yolks in the box, it's also all about how ornate the boxes can get. The prestige of getting a very expensive box of moon cakes also gives the recipient bragging rights. The varieties available at the market range from the metal boxes with a picture of Chang E starting at about 48 RMB (about $6.40) a box for four up to 1,200 RMB (about $160 USD) for a box complete with dust collecting nick knacks.


The moon cake business is much like the fruit cake and panettone business. It's something that is given...but not necessarily eaten by the recipient. Over the years, many of the younger generation do not like the traditional filling. Besides being a diabetics nightmare and a heart stopper special, it's just not that appealing. Therefore, many moon cakes now come in new fangeled flavors. Haagen-Dazs offers moon cake ice cream (which I'm going to get a box for us to try) and Starbucks offers the moon cake in cheese cake latte flavor, mango and black raspberry with green tea.

Since we're going to present a box of moon cakes to Tony's driver, Mr. Miao, I opted to pick up a box of Starbucks moon cakes for him. It is something that the local Chinese wouldn't indulge in, and will certainly give Mr. Miao bragging rights that he's received a box of Western style moon cakes. Let's see if he'll actually taste it or just leave it out on the table to show off to his friends and family.

Laid Up

Well, I did it this time. I fell down the stairs and have managed to sprain my ankle. My ankle is pretty swollen and I can't put any weight on it. Dragging my leg around reminds me of the time when I was pregnant with Matthew and had very bad sciatica. I looked like Quasimodo going down Park Avenue dragging my left leg behind me trying to catch the Metro North train back to Connecticut....only now I'm doing it in Shanghai without a public audience. Oh yeah, I should mention that Tony's leaving for a business trip tomorrow and I'll be here in the house ALL BY MYSELF.....to hobble my way up and down the stairs. Not a pretty sight. I'm pretty miserable. Sitting around on the coach with my foot propped up on the pillows and taking Tylenol by the handful to reduce the swelling. I've been icing my foot as well to try to get this all under control. Definitely not pleasant for me...since I like to spend my days running around loose all over town. Those who know me know that I don't like to be inhibited....at all.

So, I've got Matthew and Tony waiting on me....hand and foot. I really don't like it since I like to do things for myself. At this time, there's no choice but to adapt and make my two boys my slaves. Matthew will have to be my slave tomorrow...all by him lonesome self until his father gets back. Who said that parents can't bully their kids into doing what they want?

My foot has to heal quickly since we're expecting my cousin Cheung Yau and his wife Gloria next Saturday. They'll be arriving from Hong Kong and will be spending a week with us in Shanghai. It's my duty to drag them all over town and take them sightseeing. If I can't walk around, this will definitely put a monkey wrench into my plans.