Categories
in china

on being happy

smile

i’ve just read this quote on mareen fischinger’s blog (she’s an excellent photographer, btw):

“Being happy does not mean everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

apparently, the quote is from albert camus. it stuck with me because i think it sums up rather beautifully my sentiments towards living in shanghai/china these days. in the beginning, we would whine about everything, from the non-queueing to the loud spitting on the floor, the messy and the dirty. and then somewhere in the middle of this year, slowly, things have started to change for me. i started to enjoy life here, in a way that i didn’t before. and i realized that all the imperfections were still there, but i wasn’t giving them as much importance. i wasn’t going to change them, so why bother with raising my eyebrow or complaining?

which sounds simple, but it isn’t. it’s kind of like finding the beauty in the chaos.

(and now i’m going to make some gingerbread cookies)

Categories
foooood in china postcards pretty things

small obsessions

stationery sets

lately, i’ve been obsessing over stationery. all kinds of small envelopes, writing tools, letter sets, stickers, postcards… i love them, i just can’t stop myself! i found a nice shop on fuzhou road called keyroad (very close to dunkin’ donuts) that is filled with korean goodness, and well, disaster ensued. some of the stuff in the picture is actually for a swap but the rest is just sitting here, waiting for an excuse to write a letter :)

speaking of recent korean discoveries, when browsing for video podcasts on itunes store, i found maangchi who makes cooking traditional korean food look fun! in small funny episodes, she will make you a master of kimchi or bibimbap. i can’t wait to try the egg side dishes, simple and yummy!

Categories
foooood

there will be cookies

miau!

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 :)

Categories
foooood in china

dunkin’ donuts！

and the coffee was not bad!
mocha donut and cinnamon roll

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.

Categories
foooood in china

munchies

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):

quesadillas


mushroom burger

cosmic charlie munchies!


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? :)

:)