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.

A wonderful spring day!

Tony and I walked around Shanghai on Saturday for 3 1/2 hours! The weather seems to have turned the corner and hopefully now we will see sunshine and warm weather in the days and months to follow! We had a nice lunch sitting outdoors at the Park Tavern and then explored new digs in the French Concession area of downtown Shanghai. When Tony said that he really liked the area we were exploring I mentioned that the area is called the French Concession. He suggested that I not tell him that because knowing it's "French" ruins it for him!

Langkawi, Malaysia

In 2 weeks we will be heading out for a week vacation in Langkawi, Malaysia! Here is a little bit about the area.

One of only four inhabited islands in an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea, Langkawi is a nature-lover’s dream – relished for its equatorial climate, tropical flora and fauna, and clear emerald waters. Two-thirds of the island’s dramatic mountainous landscape is covered with rainforest, while vibrant coral reefs lie just off shore.

Once a haven for pirates, Langkawi’s intriguing cultural and ethnic diversity can be traced back to its days as a centre for Chinese, Indian and Arab traders. And, in a spectacular setting on Langkawi’s northern cape, Four Seasons Resort Langkawi offers easy access to discoveries on land and at sea, from bird watching, snorkelling and diving to jungle trekking, golf and island-hopping tours.

I just can't wait!!!!

St. Patrick's Ball and Parade

A great time had by all!!

There are no pictures, there are barely any words.....

This is a terrible and tragic story. It begins quite nicely, three girls out walking to Yu Yuan Gardens for some shopping. We were chatting and trying to keep warm by walking quickly - it was cold with an icey breeze at times to remind you it was still winter. We had a map but none of us had our reading glasses so the small streets on the map remained a mystery. We had been walking for a while and realized, twice, that we had gone in a circle and had passed this street or that shop earlier. It was not a problem, our program for the afternoon was a walk, no one had to be home at any particular time so we just enjoyed being together and being outside.

We had stopped to try and read the map with the small streets and heard this awful scream. A long and wailing scream. I looked across the street toward the scream and saw a man with his hands covering his mouth looking up. I turned to look in the same direction and saw nothing. I saw nothing because the tragedy had happened. A person, don't know, man or woman, had jumped from the top of a 30 story building. I found this in the paper this morning.

Click on the highlighted area and you will be directed to the Shanghai Daily Newspaper.....I think.

About 5 minutes later, 10 men, ambulance and police, were running into the building to the back garden area (I guess where he fell) to scoop him and well......

I cannot explain what an awful feeling it was to know what had just transpired, my whole body was weak, sickened at the thought. So sad. I thought wanted to cry but no tears, just this huge wave of emotion and sadness.

When does the shopping stop...........

As I have mentioned there is a lot of construction going on in Shanghai, a lot of tearing down of buildings. Well this was one sight I'll never forget, a building being torn down around the shop and they were not leaving until ....well ......until the building was gone? Heck I don't know, I do know the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) would frown at this situation.


This is my friend Gaby, she and I were taking a walk when we saw the "shopping".

Christmas Gold - Chinese New Year Red

For the Christmas Season, which the youth (18 - 30) celebrate, these wonderful golden ornaments were placed on our street. By the way the celebration of Christmas has nothing to do with religion, it a time where they go out with friends and exchange cards. As always in China nothing is wasted, everything that can be, is recycled. So for Chinese New Year, Feb. 14 - Feb. 21, the street ornaments have been painted red. Red being the lucky color for New Year. Isn't that great!

Now We Know.

Sometimes you just don't know how to respond.
This menu was at the Cheerway Restaurant at the airport.
I wonder who has the cool tips. What could they be?
Maybe if you are seated in the "cool" section you are informed of the cool tips.
Oh well....TIC.....this is china.

Tearing Down Shanghai

Shanghai is changing rapidly and for many reasons. First there is new money and people want to move up, buy new homes. Lots of great real estate speculation and tons of new construction. Also Shanghai is getting ready for the World Expo, what use to be known as the Worlds Fair, and the government would like to have Shanghai look it's best, so out with the old.

During the time of Mao and all his various movements the one thing that was not done was create more/new housing for the people. From 1950 - 1970 the population in Shanghai went from 4 million to 10 million and no new housing. Instead, at the time, if you had a home with 6 rooms, 6 new families probably moved in, each family getting their very own room. Remember the government now owns everything, it is a Communist society. There was a common kitchen area and probably no toilets. The water source was outside the house, sort of a garden pipe. And yes your bathroom is a chamber pot. Not too many of these places left but I have seen a few. These homes were once beautiful and they were part of the architectural history of Shanghai. As the government began "leasing" land to real estate speculators and companies, old buildings were torn down and new high rises were being built. The government gives you money and a new home if your home (room in the home to be accurate) was torn down. This is a great deal! Sort of.... your new apartment has a 70 year lease. You have to leave after 70 years as the property reverts back to the government. But you get hard cash too - about $100,000. There is some formula to it all. Here is an interesting story about one case of begin "bought out".

The woman on the top floor is named Pan Yong. She lives in a four-story building with a living area of 480 square meters (about 5,000 sq ft.!) in the Minheng district of Shanghai. Both Pan Yong and her husband Zhang Qilong were born in this district. In the 1990’s, the couple went to study in New Zealand and obtained citizenship there. In 2004, the two returned to China. Zhang renovated the rural house of his father and moved in there. In 2008, Pan Yong received a notice of demolition from the Hongqiao Airport Traffic Centre. This disrupted the tranquil lives of this family.

According to the notice, their house lied within a construction zone and therefore they must move out because their house will be demolished. It was calculated that Pan Yong will receive 761 yuan per square meter for relocating the house and 1,480 yuan for land acquisition. In total, Pan Yong was going to receive a total of 673,000 yuan in compensation. This equals about $100,000.

Pan Yong said: “I told them that I will give them 700,000 yuan and they are supposed to buy a house that is more or less like mine. I told them to buy one for me. They said that it was impossible.”

Pan Yong lives in the Minheng district near the Hongqiao airport. The current housing prices in this area is as much as 15,000 yuan per square meet. Pan Yong’s house should also be able to fetch 4,000 yuan per month if rented out. Therefore, she thought that the compensation did not meet market level. The family decided that they will not sign the agreement because they won’t accept the assessment.

Pan Yong said: “You can’t take away my lamb and hand me back a chicken. You can’t just say that the chicken looks handsome and it can lay eggs, and expect me to take it. I don’t want it. This is unacceptable.”

Here are some pictures of what was once a very beautiful neighborhood.

Hot Pot - Beijing Style

Yummy yum. It's been so cold here, average temperature 35 degrees, so Hot Pot seems to be the perfect meal. We went to a very local restaurant with some of Tony's office mates. It was a good time and the was food great! We would never be able to go to this restaurant without a Chinese person as the menu does not have pictures or English translation. You have to be able to read Chinese characters to order. For 7 us to eat and drink came to $100 and we ate like kings! This hot pot restaurant was different from some others that we have been to in that the pot was a different shape. Usually we have seen just a nice big pot in the middle of the table with a heat source under it. This pot had a cone in the center and inside the cone was charcoal heating the soup around it.

For those of you who may have forgotten, soup is ordered and set in the middle of the table. It's a clear soup, usually chicken base and if you want you can also ask for spicy soup. Tony really likes that one. I use to like it but I find I can only eat a little as my mouth gets too burned up from the spicy peppers. Now I go for the plain soup. Then you order all the things you are going to put in the soup. This is like fondue only much healthier. Popular items are, sliced beef, mushrooms, all kinds of green vegetables, tofu (which has no taste, and I have tried all kinds), noodles, fish balls, small dumplings and well anything that can be cooked or heated up in boiling soup can be added. You stick in your stuff and then scoop it out and yum! There are all kinds of dipping sauces to dunk your 'boiled' food in. I mean let's face it boiled food can be a bit bland. The sauce really makes the meal. After you finish cooking up all your items you then end the meal by having some very flavorful soup.

Tony's New Tux

What a nice way to start the year, buy a new custom made Tuxedo! It took about 3 weeks to make and 2 fittings. We are going to a St. Patrick's Ball in March and Tony has a holiday office party next week. I think they are celebrating Chinese New Year, but it could just be an office party. No spouses to this affair, which is normal for Chinese office functions. Oh well.

Doesn't he look nice! How about that beard! It's about a month old now and looks great! Tony says he may have to shave it off because of some important meeting coming up in Feb.