Did someone say (moon)cake????

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a very important holiday and falls second in line behind the Spring festival. It occurs every year on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar (September 27 this year), and is supposedly the day when the moon shines the brightest each year.  I believe there was a super moon on this day, back in the states and many people were disappointed due to the number of clouds that blocked out the visibility of the moon.  Well, the Chinese people celebrate this!  They seem to celebrate everything here, and with that they also get many paid days off of work... how can you complain about that?? This celebration calls for a reunion with the family, lots of moon watching, lantern lighting, and of course FOOD!  The absolute best thing about this holiday is the delicious desserts called mooncakes that I have become mildly.... okay not mildly at all, but rather extremely obsessed with!!!! They are a pastry on the outside and filled with either bean paste, egg, lotus seed, and now there are even many modern styles that are filled with ice cream!! I prefer the old school pastry style and my favorite filling is the bean paste!!!! I'm proud to say I think I've tried every kind of mooncake there is to offer here and that I enjoy them more than the average Chinese person.  Our company sent each employee an enormous box of mooncakes for this holiday ( I think as more of a "sorry, but you won't be getting any days off like the rest of the country" gift), but regardless they were AMAZING and only fueled the fire for more solo mooncake purchases (as pictured below).  Thankfully, the holiday has ended so the prevalence of these delicious treats won't be as common on every street corner for only 2 RMB (30 cents!!!!)....  Here are pictures of the many different styles, colors, and fillings of the mooncakes I have enjoyed :)

 

Restaurant Week!!!!!!!

The best week of the year is here!!!!!! Well actually, in China restaurant week lasts for two full weeks and happens twice a year, so the name "restaurant week" is very misleading.  Fortunately, for my wallet, I found out about restaurant week a few days before it ended, so I was only able to make it to one of the many restaurants that took part in this event.  Any restaurant that wants to participate can, all they need to do is provide a set menu for lunch or dinner.  As customers, we are able to look online at all of the restaurants that have opted in and decide which menu looks the most appetizing. There is also one set price for lunch and one set price for dinner.  Many of the restaurants are very high end and provide a lot of great food for a low set price, which is why many people partake in this week of feasting.  Two coworkers and I decided to go to a Turkish restaurant called Garlic on the last night of Restaurant (two) Week(s).  The menu looked fantastic and we were absolutely amazed by how much food they actually served us!!! Please keep in mind three girls consumed all of the food in the following pictures (some food not even pictured)...  To start we were served many different dips and hummus plates with lots of bread and a very large pita to share.  There were also salmon rolls, salad, a stuffed mushroom, and fried mussels (not pictured).  The beginning appetizer and dip part of the meal was my favorite, because as a former vegetarian (yes, China has turned me back into a carnivore), Turkish people and I both share a love of veggies!! The main course was the meat platter and was by far the largest, most mind blowing amount of food we were served, as there were 3 different types of meat (lamb, chicken, and beef) as well as potatoes and other assorted vegetables, all of which were absolutely delectable.  As you can see below we had absolutely no problem licking the plate clean (literally).  To polish off the meal we found room for some tea and Turkish ice cream and pastries.  We left the restaurant stuffed, satisfied, and short 330 RMB!!!

       Main Course Before......                                                                                 After..........                                                                                                                                                                            

Don't Rain on my Parade

Another adventure I took part in during my four day weekend, was exploring the Yuz Museum.  They currently are featuring an incredible exhibit titled "The Rain Room" until December and after hearing about it, a colleague and I decided we had to check it out (mind you, we decided to go on the opening weekend).  It wasn't our smartest move to go on opening weekend as we found out AFTER purchasing our tickets that we would have to wait an hour and a half just to be in the waiting room for the rain room.  However, there were other small art exhibits and rooms that we were able to explore in the meantime.  We had lots of time to kill, so after exploring we sat in the lobby where they conveniently had an overpriced cafe with lots of drinks and food options.  In this cafe, I found my one true love..... WATERMELON JUICE!!!! It's only the tastiest, most refreshing drink I have ever tried. Why do we not have this in the states??? Not only did it delightfully cleanse my palette, but also took a chunk of change out of my wallet..... I have to say it was 100% worth it!! Finally, we were able to enter "The Rain Room" after a long wait.  This exhibit has traveled all over the world, because it is pure genius. The room is essentially filled with rain falling from the ceiling, but the miraculous part is that wherever you walk in the room sensors will detect you and keep you from getting wet.  I must say it took a little trust and observation of others before I fully stepped into the room, but after placing my hand in without getting wet, I was fully committed.  The experience was absolutely mind blowing, and the only way to truly understand is to experience it for yourself.  The still pictures I captured simply don't do the work justice, but rather give you a small glimpse of what it was like...

WATERMELON JUICE!!!

Me in "The Rain Room"

My friend Madeline

The Art of Eating- Soup Dumpling Edition

To celebrate the end of training and the end of my first two weeks in Shanghai, a few coworkers and I went out and about on our 4 day weekend.  We travelled to East Nanjing Road, which is a very busy and famous road, that has lots of food and great shopping! We ate some delicious "Shanghai" food... yes, in China there are MILLIONS of different kinds of "chinese" food and it's named after the area that it's from! Shanghai food is famous for it's soup dumplings (xiaolongbao), which are absolutely delicious!!! They are either fried or steamed and are typically filled with pork, vegetables, or shrimp and then a little bit of soup.  There's an art to eating these little treats though, and if you do not know the tricks you can end up scalding your tongue and mouth with piping hot soup (yes, I learned the hard way).  The key is to take a small bite of the dumpling to let out the steam for a few seconds and then you are to slurp... yes I said slurp, the soup out of the inside of the dumpling, before shoving the rest of it into your mouth.  It felt very unattractive to slurp out the soup the first time, however it is not only acceptable to do so but it's encouraged, and hey who am I to go against the expectations of proper dumpling eating etiquette.  They also give you a bottle of vinegar and some pepper to mix in a small bowl that you can dunk your dumplings in before devouring (I highly recommend it). Naturally, I thought it was soy sauce and was a little overgenerous with my dunking... what a surprise it was to discover it was vinegar instead.  Definitely important to use ALL senses in China when trying to determine exactly what you have been presented. After chowing down on our delicious Shanghai treats, we ended our rendezvous at a very small and cute place called "Bell's Bar" for happy hour.  It's located in Tianzifang, which is a very touristy area with lots of small shops, restaurants, and bars, primarily geared towards foreigners.  It's absolutely beautiful to walk around at night, because there are lots of lights and decorations.

East Nanjing Road

Xiaolongbao 

Tianzifang

Mi Casa es Su Casa

Might as well throw some Spanish into the mix, considering I hear just about every single language here in Shanghai on a daily basis. The number of expats and foreigners that live in Shanghai is mind blowing and I'm reminded each day as I ride the metro and wander around the city.  It's comforting seeing the number of foreign faces that have found their niche here.

On to the big news.... FINALLY after 2 weeks in that cramped hotel room, living out of my suitcase, and eating out for every meal,  I HAVE A HOME!!!! It took many apartment visits and lots of searching online through smartshanghai.com, but I finally did it!  The view from my bedroom is awesome, and I think I have the best window in the whole flat (it's very odd but people call apartments flats here).  I have 3 "flatmates", I have started calling them "flatties" (get it, roomies?) they think it's hilarious.....  One is a girl from South Africa who is also teaching English here, another is a Ukrainian girl who is studying Chinese at Jiaotong University and is a lifesaver when it comes to communicating with natives for essentials (like jugs of water for the flat)!!! Finally, there is the energetic, enthusiastic, and CRAZYY french boy who is the entertainment of the flat.  The landlady, Mia, is an absolute GEM, and helped me out with so many things that she didn't have to!  As soon as I moved in I felt welcomed and right at home, it really could not have worked out more perfectly. Below are pictures of my room in my new home away from home :)

Is butter a carb????

Answer- Yes Regina George it is and so is bread!

I swear I told everyone, "I'm banking on losing weight in China" at least 50 times before I left.... boy was I wrong.  Not only are noodles and rice a staple in almost EVERY chinese meal here, but there are bakeries literally on every block! Not just one or two but maybe 5 within a few hundred feet!!!! HOW CAN I LOSE WEIGHT WHEN I'M SURROUNDED BY CARBS?!?! It also doesn't help that everything is ridiculously cheap... Example:  1 very generous loaf of fresh bread from one of these delicious smelling bakeries can be as low as 8 RMB (a little over 1 USD).... insanity!  I've trained myself after a month to turn my head as soon as I get a whiff of the glorious aroma found on every street AND in all of the metro stations (well most of the time). However, my first month called for many "firsts" and that means indulgences, so naturally I've included only a few pictures of the countless pastries and desserts I've encountered......

Honey, I'm home!

The all powerful and mighty hotel key card

I have created this blog primarily for friends and family, who are curious about my life in Shanghai. Unfortunately, due to a 12 hour time difference and a job that requires me to work weekends, I have a very limited window of time for chatting with people back home in the states.  I'm starting this blog a month after being here, but giving you the play by play from the beginning....

Upon my arrival in Shanghai Pu Dong Airport, I was greeted by a man holding a sign that read "Natalie Craig", THANK GOD! My biggest fear was to arrive in China without a means of communication (no Chinese sim card) AND little Chinese speaking ability. Even though I knew the company provided transportation to the hotel (which they also provided for 2 weeks free), I still worried that no one would be waiting for me.  The greeting was short and before long I was being whisked away in a beat up looking taxi, praying that I was headed to the right place.  We proceeded to the hotel in silence (the driver spoke ZERO English), and might I add the ride was about an hour long!  It cost only 200 RMB which is equivalent to about 30 USD (I hadn't exchanged any money and was so thankful that the company prepaid for it). Reality sunk in as I lugged my two large 50 pound bags and 25 pound carry on up to the front desk, when I was confronted by a friendly Chinese man who immediately said "no English"... fantastic.  Somehow, we managed to get everything settled through what seemed like an endless game of charades, and I found myself in my room.... but WAIT. No air conditioning!?  Oh there was air conditioning alright, but you had to place your key card into a slot which turned on the lights and the air conditioning (this I figured out after 30 minutes and 2 trips to the front desk).  Next on the list, how the hell do I access the wifi and work the television??? Well I never did figure out how to work the television even after 2 weeks, but I sure did figure out the wifi (again with help from the front desk and a mix of gibberish and hand gestures). My very small and cozy (emphasis on small) room was my home for the first two weeks in China. Although, I wouldn't call it ideal or homey it did the job and gave me somewhere safe to sleep and shower as I searched for a suitable apartment..... many humorous and interesting events took place during my first two weeks in this hotel (hooker cards I received under the door every night and being yelled at in Chinese by the maid each morning for throwing out my own trash in the hallway trashcan) but there's no need to get into all of that right now....

The evermore confusing remote 

The tv I never got to work.... :(