Yin
Snacking would appear to be a national pastime in Shanghai. One only has to walk down the street in any neighborhood, and a street vendor can be found cooking up various culinary delights. At any time of the day, people will be in one of two states - either they are waiting in line to buy a snack, or they are in the process of eating said snack.
Snacking would appear to be a national pastime in Shanghai. One only has to walk down the street in any neighborhood, and a street vendor can be found cooking up various culinary delights. At any time of the day, people will be in one of two states - either they are waiting in line to buy a snack, or they are in the process of eating said snack.
The types of food being cooked can be a bit of a mystery at times. Grilled meat on a stick is pretty common, however we have also seen "meat" that we are unsure of (perhaps it is octopus or duck tongue), and something that looks like crab coated in batter.
This picture was taken on an ancient street in Suzhou, and the stand of dumplings beside the crabs on a stick were also really tasty. They were shaped in various forms and came in all kinds of brilliant colors. We have not seen these in Shanghai, so I suspect they are geared for tourists, but they were delicious nonetheless.
This picture was taken on an ancient street in Suzhou, and the stand of dumplings beside the crabs on a stick were also really tasty. They were shaped in various forms and came in all kinds of brilliant colors. We have not seen these in Shanghai, so I suspect they are geared for tourists, but they were delicious nonetheless.
On a recent foray on the metro to an area called Qi Bao, we witnessed what appeared to be a street fair with loads of vendors selling every imaginable form of edible product. There were several stands set up like this one baking tiny eggs (not sure how these are eaten, but they smelled very sweet).
While much of this looks so strange to us, I try to picture what it would be like for someone coming from Shanghai to Calgary and attending their first Stampede. Walking along the midway, it must appear very strange to see vendors preparing deep fried butter, banana bacon ear, or chocolate dipped jalapenos, and every year they seem to come up with odder and odder concoctions.
While much of this looks so strange to us, I try to picture what it would be like for someone coming from Shanghai to Calgary and attending their first Stampede. Walking along the midway, it must appear very strange to see vendors preparing deep fried butter, banana bacon ear, or chocolate dipped jalapenos, and every year they seem to come up with odder and odder concoctions.
Tea houses are abundant here, and various types of teas are sold, ranging in price depending on how exotic or rare. We finally decided to venture into a small family-run place and experienced the process of preparation and tasting of several types of tea. An older gentleman was also at the table, and proceeded to offer Pierre a cigarette; upon the refusal of said offer, the man put his pack away and enjoyed tasting tea with us.
We eventually purchased some lovely tasting tea which came in the form of little pellets, and then went on the hunt for some type of device with which to brew our own batch. This was not as easy as you would think, but we finally found something that looks like a to-go cup with a little filter inside. The little pellets turn into gigantic leaves once boiling water is added, so it doesn't take much
We eventually purchased some lovely tasting tea which came in the form of little pellets, and then went on the hunt for some type of device with which to brew our own batch. This was not as easy as you would think, but we finally found something that looks like a to-go cup with a little filter inside. The little pellets turn into gigantic leaves once boiling water is added, so it doesn't take much
Despite the constant snacking that goes on, we have witnessed very few overweight people here. Maybe it has something to do with all of the tea they drink - here's hoping that same principle will apply to us!