Work recently asked me if I would head up to China to spend some time designing out of the office based in Shanghai. I jumped at the chance. I have been itching to get here since Holmes and Marchant opened the office so this was a perfect opportunity for me to do so, and here I am writing this whilst sat on the balcony of my apartment overlooking the city. Amazing.
A short(ish) 5 hour flight from Singapore I arrived to a very "cool" Shanghai. The first thing I notice different to Singapore is the temperature that hits you when you step outdoors. The humidity is so much less here! A very pleasant temperature. The taxi queue goes by quite quickly and I find myself in the back of a cab, having given the taxi driver a piece of paper with the address on. They speak very little English so I don't even attempt to tell him the address myself as I know he won't understand me. As we hit the motorway and the cab picks up speed I scramble looking for my seatbelt. There isn't one. I literally just hold on tight and don't look out of the front of the cab the entire journey. The views to either side are much better anyways!
On arrival at my apartment I am greeted by Catherine (China MD) and her husband Martin who took me out for a very "hot" dinner. They had asked if I liked spice. And I do. But this was super spicy to say the least! Pin Chuan is a Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant. Let there be spice...
"Sichuan cuisine is marked by its rich traditional flavors which stem from a culture of hundreds of years and in part, shaped by climatic influences. Authentic Sichuan cuisine offers a unique dining experience full of adventurous and creative sensations. Hot, spicy, numbing and sheer exhilaration as our taste buds are given a true workout!"
Catherine and Martin visit Pin Chuan often and I leave it up to Martin to choose our dishes. We end up with a wonderful selection. Mouth Watering Chicken (spicy sliced chicken and bamboo shoots marinated in soy sauce with chill and black pepper)...
Chinese lettuce salad (with peanut sauce) which was the only non spicy dish...
Pork Spare Ribs (with minced green and red peppers and cumin)...
Baby tiger prawns (stir fried with dried chilli)...
Mandarin fish (poached whole with preserved vegetables and glass vermicelli), and served in an amazing bowl...
Green beans (dry-fried with mildly marinated pork, bean sprouts and red chilli), and the highlight of the night for me. Frog. You guessed it. With chilli!
After dinner we head to a bar for few glasses of wine at a bar called Abbey Road. I can tell instantly that I am most certainly in an "expat" part of town!
Lost Heaven did not disappoint and it was a perfect end to the weekend and a great evening catching up with Carine. I think I'm going to enjoy my time here!
* WOW Shanghai mobile application
A short(ish) 5 hour flight from Singapore I arrived to a very "cool" Shanghai. The first thing I notice different to Singapore is the temperature that hits you when you step outdoors. The humidity is so much less here! A very pleasant temperature. The taxi queue goes by quite quickly and I find myself in the back of a cab, having given the taxi driver a piece of paper with the address on. They speak very little English so I don't even attempt to tell him the address myself as I know he won't understand me. As we hit the motorway and the cab picks up speed I scramble looking for my seatbelt. There isn't one. I literally just hold on tight and don't look out of the front of the cab the entire journey. The views to either side are much better anyways!
On arrival at my apartment I am greeted by Catherine (China MD) and her husband Martin who took me out for a very "hot" dinner. They had asked if I liked spice. And I do. But this was super spicy to say the least! Pin Chuan is a Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant. Let there be spice...
 |
| http://www.simplylife-sh.com/pc/ |
Catherine and Martin visit Pin Chuan often and I leave it up to Martin to choose our dishes. We end up with a wonderful selection. Mouth Watering Chicken (spicy sliced chicken and bamboo shoots marinated in soy sauce with chill and black pepper)...
Chinese lettuce salad (with peanut sauce) which was the only non spicy dish...
Pork Spare Ribs (with minced green and red peppers and cumin)...
Baby tiger prawns (stir fried with dried chilli)...
Mandarin fish (poached whole with preserved vegetables and glass vermicelli), and served in an amazing bowl...
Green beans (dry-fried with mildly marinated pork, bean sprouts and red chilli), and the highlight of the night for me. Frog. You guessed it. With chilli!
After dinner we head to a bar for few glasses of wine at a bar called Abbey Road. I can tell instantly that I am most certainly in an "expat" part of town!
In the lead up to Shanghai I've literally been rushed off my feet and today is the first Sunday in a long time I've been able to have a lie in. I fully embrace it! Towards mid afternoon I decide to take a walk along the stretch of road that my apartment is on. It leads me to Nanjang West. I have stumbled across Shanghai's answer to Oxford Street or Orchard Road. I'm really hungry but literally everything is in Chinese. I have no clue what most stuff is. And then I see it. The big "M". Can't go wrong. Even that's spicy...
When I first moved to Singapore I was lucky enough to meet Carine, who recently moved to live in Shanghai. This evening she took me out for a delicious dinner at a restaurant called Lost Heaven, again in the French Concession.
"The cuisine of Yunnan Province isn't usually found outside of China, unlike Cantonese and Sichuanese dishes which are known all over the world. However, Shanghai has some great Yunnanese restaurants where you can sample the regional foods of the ethnic minorities who live in the "land of the clouds" down south. Yunnan Province borders Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Tibet and its food has taken influences from all four countries. Over nearly half of China's 56 ethnic groups are found in Yunnan, so it's cuisine also reflects this diversity.
Lost Heaven in the heart of the French Concession is arguably Shanghai's best Yunnanese eatery. It was founded by a man from Yunnan who was exiled to Taiwan with the Kuomintang. On returning to China, he vowed to spread the word about the food of his beloved home province, so opened up a restaurant in Shanghai.
Lost Heaven is certainly no hole in the wall; rather, its' an opulently furnished space with dark wood walls, low lighting, and Buddha statues dotted around. Waitresses wear ethnic outfits and the food is authentic and incredibly tasty!" *
Lost Heaven did not disappoint and it was a perfect end to the weekend and a great evening catching up with Carine. I think I'm going to enjoy my time here!
* WOW Shanghai mobile application
No comments:
Post a Comment