This weekend was filled with many delicious meals. After work on Friday, I was craving some beef noodle soup and all I could think about was the restaurant my grandma brought me to in one of the nearby malls called Hometown. I ordered a bowl of noodles and a bubble milk tea. The noodles are not ordinary noodles, they more like shaved noodles so each texture is different. Plus the meat is so tender and soft and since I learned my lesson about the hot sauce, I was able to put in the right, enjoyable amount. Then I washed it down with a simple milk tea. This has become one of my favorite meals. It's great how something so simple can be so good. Oh and only 34 RMB=$5 dollars in the US. Can't beat that!
Beef Noodle Soup and Milk Tea
My usual not-so-sweet tooth was craving something sweet. I was thinking ice cream (when am I not), but decided to try a cream puff from Beard Papa's. While I know they are very popular in Asia (they are a Japanese company), I'm not sure how popular they are in the US, but I highly recommend trying it! I was wondering what all the craze is about since the one in Vancouver is always busy, so I decided to get one. I just ordered a simple vanilla cream puff and it was great. The puff itself is delicate, but crispy and flakey as well and the cream just adds a great finale. I love how there was a bite and texture to it, instead of being a dull puff.
Beard Papa's Vanilla Puff
Saturday afternoon I had one of the best meals I've had yet! It had one of my favorite things: roasted duck. I haven't had it in a really long time and I have missed it. This dish comes in different components. There is the pancake or bun to wrap everything together, the duck (meat and cripsy skin), scallions and cucumbers and the sauce. One essembled, it is one of my favorite stuffed foods (after the burrito, of course). The pancake is warm, the duck meat is flavorful, the skin gives it a crunch, the veggies bring another crunch and freshness and then the sauce ties it all together. I'm crying just thinking about it. I don't even want to say how many I ate, it would be embarrassing.
I went to People's Square that day since I haven't been and going on the weekend might have been a mistake. I have never seen so many people (oh wait, the Expo). Raffles City is a huge mall at People's Square and I walked around there for a while. Things I have discovered about fashion here:
1. Popular styles for girls include: floral print EVERYTHING, chiffon-like material, ruffles, light colors, more floral and ruffles, big writing with ditzy slogans, etc. All of these I look horrible in. The floral and chiffon pair well with pale, light skin that the girls have here. Therefore, my wish-I-was-tan skin looks bad in it. Really bad.
2. The skinny, long-legged Asians look exceptionally well in harem pants and high waisted shorts. SO JEALOUS! Again, my thighs filled with french fries, ice cream, burgers, burritos, everyfoodpossible do not look too good in these fashions. Oh and I'm a midget, so that doesn't help.
Also, after my 22 years of existence I have finally started to like tea. At Chinese restaurants I have always asked for water, but I'm starting to enjoy drinking all kinds of teas! Since I was melting in the sun (it's getting HOT here), I stopped at Starbucks to add some fuel to my body. I wanted to hit up one of the cheap, local juice shops, but it's all in Chinese and I can't read, nor remember how to say the flavors. The Starbucks here have different drink items to cater to the Asian palate. I got the black currant and raspberry tea. There was also a mango tea and a mango and passionfruit frapp, as well as drinks that have that jelly Asians love. I don't think they have these tea flavors in the US (I maybe mistaken), but they should!
Another item of food I have taken a liking for is Taiwanese shaved ice. A favorite of my mom's, I never really liked it because it always had scary looking toppings like red bean, tapioca and a lot of weird colored jellies. But my cousin, who is also a big fan, ordered two large ice's last night after dinner. One had all the scary toppings and the other was mango. I tried both and though I was a big fan of the mango, I also quite enjoyed the one with the various toppings. The ice is shaved really thin, so it's smooth and a great refresher after a big meal and a hot day. The toppings aren't even that bad, though I'm not sure what they are...But I'm in love with the mango ice. It had delicious and fresh chunks of mango and also condensed milk. Not sure what that is, but it makes everything sweet and who has a problem with that? Oh and did I mention this restaurant was famous for its xialongbao. I was tempted to ask their cooks if they would like to move to America and be my slave...I mean cook ;).
Taiwanese Mango Shaved Ice
I know my posts are pretty much all about food, but it's one of the best things about Shanghai! There's so much different kinds of food at a great price and so delicious. Oh and those who know me know that food makes me happy. Very happy.
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