using supertatas super simple recipe for butter cookies:

- 150gr all purpose flour
- 100gr butter
- 50gr sugar
- a little bit of lemon
- use a cute cookie cutter for bonus points
- 10 minutes in the oven

et voilá! instant treat for your warm milk :)

yay! dunkin’ donuts is finally here, and the donuts are delicious! the service was a bit clumsy, but we forgive them since it’s the first day…

shanghaiist is right though, there seems to be somewhat of a donut war going on at the moment, with so many donut shops opening in shanghai. the more the merrier, i say! this dedicated reviewer shall visit them all and report back.

ever since moon river diner closed its doors, we’ve been “on the market” for another place to hang out and work a couple of hours. our only requirements: a quiet place with simple food and internet.

we did indeed find it. it’s called munchies and it sits on the corner of wuding road and jiaozhou road. munchies has all the ingredients to be good. it’s not pretentious, since the place is small and lacks the fancy furniture. the walls are painted with colorful flora, and orange lampshades hang from the ceiling, making the place rather funky i think (opinions vary).

the menu is a collection of american favourites, including hamburgers, hot dogs, cincinnati chili, sandwiches, ice-creams, smoothies and milkshakes, and also some mexican dishes. we’ve tried a bit of everything and apart from the chili (everybody raves about it, but we just don’t find it such a big deal), the rest of the dishes are great. tasty, fresh and yummy.
our lunch today, a mushroom burger with pasta salad, chicken quesadillas and cosmic charlie smoothie (apple+pear+raspberries):

they deliver in the neighborhood, their prices are decent and the service is fast and friendly (people actually speak/understand english). what else could you ask for? :)

this has been on our to-do list for far too long. after yesterday’s rain, today the day seemed quite clear, we could see well into pudong from our balcony, so we decided to take the chance and venture to climb the lupu bridge. besides, the bus number 36 starts right outside our house and stops exactly on the base of the bridge. how’s that for convenience?

the entrance to the bridge will set you back 68 rmb, and you’ll be guided around by the young people who serve as staff here. they send you to an elevator to the bridge platform, and after that… stairs. lots of them, since this is the longest arch bridge in the world, according to wikipedia.

along the way, you’ll notice the construction frenzy on both sides of the river. expo 2010 is coming, and you can already see the china pavilion taking shape!

once you’re up on top… wow! you get a 360 degree view of the city that is just breathtaking. all the buildings in the distance, the sand carrier ships, the cranes, the cars speeding under your feet, and the crazy wind… it’s all worth it.

a cool field trip for a lazy sunday! will definitely climb it again in 2010, when (if) we return to shanghai for the expo, to see how the city has changed in the meantime.

cartoon by steve benson.

Happy Valley Racecourse: It was first built in 1845 to provide horse racing for the British people in Hong Kong. Before it was built, the area was a swampland, but also the only flat ground suitable for horse racing on Hong Kong Island. To make way for the racecourse, Hong Kong Government prohibited rice growing by villages in the surrounding area. The first race ran in December 1846. Over the years, horse racing became more and more popular among the Chinese residents. (from wikipedia)

one of the highlights of hong kong was the happy valley horse races (how come lonely planet doesn’t mention them?!). tons of dressed up expats in the ground near the track, cheerfully socializing with beers in hand, discussing horses and jockey performances, while the stadium balconies were brimming with chinese people, carefully watching the screens and checking their notebooks and newspapers for guidance. despite the contrast in attitude, everyone seemed really into it - her majesty would be really proud!

for us newbies to the sport, it was great! the atmosphere was really enthusiastic, exploding into cheers during the race itself, and then relaxing again during the betting time, with lots of drinking and smaller events going on. we didn’t place any bets (the system is a bit tricky) but still had fun just immersing ourselves in this environment. in don’t miss it if you get the chance to go there!

well, as we found out in our recent stay there, they camp under the hsbc building and on parks and empty streets in central for the purpose of socializing. they’re literally everywhere you can look at!

we had a bit of a hard time “understanding” why so many people were there (especially hsbc’s plaza?), but as we discovered, they stay there all day, doing each others nails, having picnics, chatting, dancing and singing, exercising, knitting, doing business, playing cards… it’s really quite something and a big surprise to see that the government actually cuts some roads for them to “occupy” on that day!

we didn’t get any good pictures of the phenomena, but here are a few from flickr (by furiousgeorge and ljubisa):

impressive, isn’t it?