Sunday, June 10, 2007- Shanghai
Yesterday's sightseeing was great although the walk was too long, I think we walked about 6 miles or so.
We began our day late because we wanted to check out the Bund and Nanjing Dong lu at night when all the neon signs are all illuminated. Since it was around noon when we got to town we went back to Yu Yuan Gardens to eat at their food court. Remember, I mentioned this food court had lots of local food portioned out in plates ready for the taking. All you need to do is browse through the selection and pick a plate, put it on your tray then continue the process until you feel it's enough for your meal, then you pay at the cashier.
We grabbed the recommended soup dumpling (which you drink the soup with a straw through the huge dumpling the size of a manapua), a plate of fried chicken, a bowl of bird's nest soup, a plate of fried bread rolled up (looked interesting), a plate of a fried bean curd look alike, and a plate of green vegetables. The food looked so good, but it tasted weird and not so good!
Peter went back hoping to get better tasting food. He grabbed a plate of pork barbecue sticks and a plate of sweet lotus root with sticky rice. They were both so-so.
Fortunately, there was this old chinese lady going from table to table asking for leftover food, we gladly gave her our food since they were still good to eat. At least we didn't feel like we've wasted the food.
We realized that the food here was mass produced and because of that the taste and quality was sacrificed. This mistake cost us about $18.
To rectify this, we went to Honeymoon Dessert. We both were pretty happy that at least our dessert was delicious and good.
The walk from Yu Yuan Gardens to Huaihai Lu was long. Thank goodness the weather was not too humid. Our destination was the place of the First Congress for the CPC. It is located in Xintiandi. This area is reminiscent of French streets, wide sidewalks, tree lined streets, and beautiful parks and gardens. We were able to get in the museum for free. It wasn't much, mostly old documents and pictures and a wax replica of the group in a meeting.
What's ironic about this is that the museum is in a corner of an two block area which is now full of shops and restaurants. Very interesting.
Our next long walk took us to Fuxing park, once called the French park. It really is a nice park. Lots of local chinese were there, exercising (this one old man in his 70s, I think, was doing dips for his triceps, very strong guy), dancing, and other things. There are nice thick trees and lots of benches to sit on.
Next we went to Maoming Lu located in the French concession area to find the cafes and restaurants only to find them enclosed and not as crowded as in Xintiandi. So we went back to Huaihai lu and found a small restaurant inside this mall near the subway station - it was japanese cuisine menu and the food was so-so.
As Peter said, when we make a mistake (usually in our food choices) we make it big.
By nightfall we went back to the Bund, had to walk far from the subway station at People's Square through Nanjing Dong Lu then the Bund. There were so many people. I mean, a sea of people, all hanging out at the promenade. It was making us feel a bit claustrophobic being near so many people in the sidewalks and the streets. We had to keep walking fast to find spaces just for ourselves but it was difficult especially in this area. We didn't stay that long at the Bund. Took pictures and stayed a few minutes before going back to catch the subway for Zhongshanlu.
We did some grocery shopping first before heading back to the hostel and getting us some delicious dessert to make up for our not-so-good choices in food this day. At least, we can say that the desserts we had were pretty good.
~~~
Today we will visit the Jade Buddha then to Pudong. Will post later...
Yesterday's sightseeing was great although the walk was too long, I think we walked about 6 miles or so.
We began our day late because we wanted to check out the Bund and Nanjing Dong lu at night when all the neon signs are all illuminated. Since it was around noon when we got to town we went back to Yu Yuan Gardens to eat at their food court. Remember, I mentioned this food court had lots of local food portioned out in plates ready for the taking. All you need to do is browse through the selection and pick a plate, put it on your tray then continue the process until you feel it's enough for your meal, then you pay at the cashier.
We grabbed the recommended soup dumpling (which you drink the soup with a straw through the huge dumpling the size of a manapua), a plate of fried chicken, a bowl of bird's nest soup, a plate of fried bread rolled up (looked interesting), a plate of a fried bean curd look alike, and a plate of green vegetables. The food looked so good, but it tasted weird and not so good!
Peter went back hoping to get better tasting food. He grabbed a plate of pork barbecue sticks and a plate of sweet lotus root with sticky rice. They were both so-so.
Fortunately, there was this old chinese lady going from table to table asking for leftover food, we gladly gave her our food since they were still good to eat. At least we didn't feel like we've wasted the food.
We realized that the food here was mass produced and because of that the taste and quality was sacrificed. This mistake cost us about $18.
To rectify this, we went to Honeymoon Dessert. We both were pretty happy that at least our dessert was delicious and good.
The walk from Yu Yuan Gardens to Huaihai Lu was long. Thank goodness the weather was not too humid. Our destination was the place of the First Congress for the CPC. It is located in Xintiandi. This area is reminiscent of French streets, wide sidewalks, tree lined streets, and beautiful parks and gardens. We were able to get in the museum for free. It wasn't much, mostly old documents and pictures and a wax replica of the group in a meeting.
What's ironic about this is that the museum is in a corner of an two block area which is now full of shops and restaurants. Very interesting.
Our next long walk took us to Fuxing park, once called the French park. It really is a nice park. Lots of local chinese were there, exercising (this one old man in his 70s, I think, was doing dips for his triceps, very strong guy), dancing, and other things. There are nice thick trees and lots of benches to sit on.
Next we went to Maoming Lu located in the French concession area to find the cafes and restaurants only to find them enclosed and not as crowded as in Xintiandi. So we went back to Huaihai lu and found a small restaurant inside this mall near the subway station - it was japanese cuisine menu and the food was so-so.
As Peter said, when we make a mistake (usually in our food choices) we make it big.
By nightfall we went back to the Bund, had to walk far from the subway station at People's Square through Nanjing Dong Lu then the Bund. There were so many people. I mean, a sea of people, all hanging out at the promenade. It was making us feel a bit claustrophobic being near so many people in the sidewalks and the streets. We had to keep walking fast to find spaces just for ourselves but it was difficult especially in this area. We didn't stay that long at the Bund. Took pictures and stayed a few minutes before going back to catch the subway for Zhongshanlu.
We did some grocery shopping first before heading back to the hostel and getting us some delicious dessert to make up for our not-so-good choices in food this day. At least, we can say that the desserts we had were pretty good.
~~~
Today we will visit the Jade Buddha then to Pudong. Will post later...
posted by Mimi | 4:44 PM
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