Category: foooood

thai house

me and paulo made a list of all the places we want to go before we leave shanghai – i guess we’re now in official count down mode (though i still feel a bit in denial…)
one of the places in that list was thai house, which was one of the first restaurants we visited in shanghai. it was introduced to me by my first colleague in the company i work (in the beginning, it was just the 2 of us, now we’re more than 16 in the office…) who has meanwhile got married and had a baby… yup, china is fast.

anyway, thai house. it’s a little restaurant tucked away inside an apartment building (really!) on wuding road/xikang road. it has the feeling of a hidden treasure that you can brag about to your friends, as if you were a city connoisseur :)
the pictures:

they have a new menu and it is much less confusing than their previous menu with hundreds of choices! :D

the shrimp crisps, they’re so addictive! i almost ate them all before i remembered to take a picture!

i always have pad thai in this place, i can’t help it, it’s delicious!

paulo had the beef and mango dish, and luis had chicken and mango. they were both happy with their choices.

and this coconut jelly dessert is so good! i really like bite-sized desserts, and they get bonus points if they have coconut :)

that’s it! i definitely recommend it, it’s not an expensive thai restaurant (which seems to be the rule in shanghai) and the waiters are all nice and smiley, very thai-like!

Post author By ana
Post date May 17, 2009
1 Comment on thai house

foooood in china

shanghainese food

my teacher decided to present me today with a trip to the shanghai museum for lots of historical learning, and a traditional shanghainese dinner. shanghainese cuisine is typically a little sweet, and uses quite a bit of soy sauce… promising, heh?

she ordered a bit of everything, so i thought i’d do another yummy/bah test :)

salty chicken: hum… mamahuhu, just so so. it was a bit dry and cold… that’s probably the way it is supposed to be, but it’s not really my thing.

kaofu: a sort of spongy tofu, it was good.

meat in black pepper sauce: errrr, it was good, but somehow i don’t think this is a shanghainese delicacy? perhaps she just wanted to be nice and offer us something a bit more familiar. it was quite hard to eat with the chopsticks, but we made it!

egg and shells: sea shells in a semi-solid jell-o-like egg mixture. a bit strange. i still don’t know what to think of it, not my favourite.

deep fried fish: simple dish, but quite good! also a bit hard to eat with chopsticks :)

bean curd soup: when i looked at this soup, i was expecting the worse… it looked quite consistent and i was fearing the flavours might be a bit too strong for me… but actually, they were just right. the bean curd strips were so soft they melted in your mouth… yummy!

spiky fish: i don’t know the real name of this dish, but it’s something to do with pine. maybe pine tree fish? anyway, it’s yummy, probably the best of the bunch. they take the bones out, shape the fish in this spiky form, then cover it with flour and fry. in the end, they top it all with a sweet (and slightly tangy?) sauce. it’s soooo good.

stinky tofu: i’m not sure this is a shanghainese dish but my teacher made a point in making me try it. paulo has this rule: “try everything at least once”, and so he did, bravely. oh, his face was quite priceless! :D i tried it too, but frankly, like paulo, i was also expecting something exceptional that would make up for the horrid smell. the flavor is actually quite bland and honestly… blergh. i still don’t get it how can someone like this stuff. oh well…

so now you know what to expect. my teacher says this restaurant is quite good, so if you’re in the mood for some shanghainese delicacies, it’s a little place called farm restaurant in kangping road, 220 (near huashan road).

foooood links and ideas

sugar stacks

i don’t know if the rest of the world has already seen this, but i’ve just stumbled on the most brilliant website, and it’s making me rethink the way i look at food (especially sodas).

it’s called sugar stacks, and what it does is basically show you how much sugar the food portrayed has, using stacks of white sugar cubes (4g). like so:

1 serving of carrots: 4g of sugar

can of cola: 39g of sugar
small bottle: 65g of sugar
1L bottle: 108g of sugar

starbucks mocha frappuccino + cream: 47g of sugar

jell-o, 1 serving: 19g of sugar

of course, not all sugar is created equal, but still it gives you a very different perspective on the things you’re eating. i mean, i’d never put that much sugar in my tea/coffee, so i’ll definitely think twice next time i reach for a cola in the office… many more at sugarstacks.com

Post author By ana
Post date May 12, 2009
3 Comments on sugar stacks

foooood in china in shanghai

marienbad café

i always have trouble spelling cappuccino. 2 sequences of 2 p’s and 2 c’s? that’s just asking for trouble. plus, i don’t know of many decent cappuccinos in shanghai (it’s not you, mr. barista, it’s the coffee you use).

now, meet this cappuccino:

a real work of beauty, isn’t it? look, look:

*happy sigh*

also, there are milkshakes, some pastas, paninis and other simple things. and a cat. oh, and pizzas. with carrots in it.

all mingled in a strange bohemian/cozy decoration, that you don’t see too often around here. the ceiling is wallpapered with newspapers that have gone yellow, the cat has scratched all the sofas…

and yet, it feels right. i believe i could spend my days here, marveling at the photography books and magazines they have, working quietly, enjoying the soft brazilian music, patting the cat and sipping cappuccinos.

tired of the sterile cafés in shanghai too? the marienbad is on 55 wukang road (but really, it’s on the beginning of anfu road). enjoy!

Post author By ana
Post date May 9, 2009
3 Comments on marienbad café

foooood in china traveling

beijing food!

i bet you were all thinking i was going to talk about beijing duck… et non! i introduce you the donghuamen night market!

i believe we were lost or looking for something else when we stumbled on the donghuamen street market… but we were instantly converted, and came back every day at dinner. food is one of the (main) reasons we travel, and so it was impossible to resist the temptation!

here’s how the tested snacks ranked, according to the “yummy or meh” classification:

crunchy dry yellow thing: meh. quite tasteless, and hard to eat with the mini-sticks they gave us!

stewed meat on bread bun: yummy! this was excellent! perfectly spiced & stewed, with lots of fresh herbs, and lots of sauce from the stew.

squid: meh, not that good. the sauce they covered it on was a bit too sweet for our liking…

fried “banana” balls: yummy! but banana? these things tasted nothing like banana! a fluffy favourite nonetheless :)

meat on wrap: meh. not good.

strawberry/pineapple stick: yummy yummy yummy! those strawberries were gigantic and thus a little lacking in flavor, but the pineapple is sooo tasty… it more than makes up for the rest. you can also have these in other combos (just strawberries, strawberry/melon, strawberry/kiwi…).

meat kebab: yummy! although we didn’t quite get which kind of meat it was, but probably lamb. very tender.

there were also lots of strange things, like snakes, starfish, sea horses or crickets… they must be popular among foreigners, since all the vendors waved them at us… but i’m not that much of a fan.

donghuamen night market, beijing from ana campos on Vimeo.

that’s it! i would highly recommend this place if you want to taste a bit of everything, and i have to say my belly had absolutely no complaints (this being street food and all).

a little advice though: more than 20rmb is probably too much for anything here, so raise an eyebrow and be ready to speak out if they ask you for more than that. don’t be dumb.

Post author By ana
Post date May 4, 2009
4 Comments on beijing food!