Old and New

Here is the new Shanghai in Pudong, the building that looks like a bottle opener,on the right hand side of the picture, is the Shanghai Financial Building.

Old Shanghai, nice contrast to the above picture.

Lunch at New Heights

Here we are eating a light lunch at New Heights restaurant down by The Bund. Bund means muddy embankment in Hindi (as in India) language. Most people think it's a German word but it's not. 100 years ago the riverfront was a muddy embankment, hence Bund. Now the muddy embankment is a nice large concrete pedestrian walkway which is usually packed with what seems like a million people on a nice weekend day. Great view of the skyline in Pudong, that's the name of the area across the river, although it is still part of Shanghai. The strange looking building with the 2 spheres is called the Pearl Tower and was built in 1995.

Ducks ducks ducks

Duck is so inexpensive here it's incredible. 6 whole duck breasts for $3.00 or 21.88 RMB the conversion is 7RMB for every $1 USD. Every time I cook duck I think of my cousin Pete and one of the first times I had dinner with him and his new bride in their apartment. I suppose it was shortly after they had gotten married. I was so impressed with his mahogany colored duck with crisp skin. I asked him how he did it and he said his mom told him what to do and it was really easy. Duck has been a dish I never seem to get enough of and there are plenty of ducks here in China. Unfortunately I usually don't like how they season the duck here unless it's Peking style duck so I always cook 'em up myself. Recently I made Duck Rillettes and that was a huge success. Duck thighs slowly roasted with 15 cloves of garlic and delicate seasonings of cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, garlic and onion, just magical. The thighs are cooked in their own fat, sort of a braise in fat. The meat is meltingly tender and moist. Today I celebrate my cousin Kristine's 40th B-day and cooked up 2 of the breasts in the pan. Sorry I didn't take a picture of the final plating as I made a red wine reduction sauce to go with the duck. But you can just use your imagination.



They kind of look lonely here in the pan but they were super yummy! Happy Birthday cousin Kris!

Breakfast Burrito

Here I am enjoying a nice Chinese breakfast burrito on the back streets of Shanghai. It's basically a large thin crepe; folded inside is a long thin fried wonton then some dark chinese bbq sauce, chopped pickled onions, fresh chopped scallions and cilantro and if you ask a little bit of chiles. This is the basic breakfast burrito for 2 Yuan or 30 cents. The crepe is about 16 inches across, very big but very thin. If you would like to add a bit of chicken and lettuce then the cost increases to 50 cents. I really like adding the lettuce for the crunch, I can skip the chicken. You just never know where that chicken has been or even where it came from. Then they stick it in a plastic bag - tres elegante! You can't find these in any mall, they are on small back streets where the locals live and you have to know where to go to get one. Wanna Bite?

Migrant school visit

Learning how to draw.


This week I participated with a group to visit a school that is set up for the migrant workers children. Our group gave some resources toward an after school art program. It was wonderful to see the children in class and some children sang for us. The new buildings that are being constructed in Shanghai are being built by migrant workers. These workers come from the countryside to work in the city because they can make more money then working on a farm. They bring their families and the government provides a special school for the children of these workers. It was a lovely experience.

Langkawi Malaysia

The resort grounds were beautiful!
The room spectacular!Even an outdoor shower!




Our favorite waiter.

Downtown Langkawi seafood restaurant.

Best sunset in the world! Finally a sunset that is better then a Sarasota sunset.




The magical pool.


We had a wonderful time at the Four Season resort in Langkawi, Malaysia. 5 nights 6 days of sun, surf and relaxation.