Shanghai Food

Any travel would not be complete without experiencing the FOOD, in China's case I am certain we have all had our share of Chinese Food. I mean Chinese food has gone global and is usually equated with fast, fried, flavorful food! The big question is how authentic is our local Chinese food? During my trip in China I made sure I would experience Chinese Food as authentic as it can be.. heck I am in China! (Anthony Bourdain- wannabe) 

The Chinese Fast Food -  Shanghai Expo

The Expo had several cafeterias with various cuisines to offer, depending on the theme location of the section you are in, you can choose from European, Mediterranean, American and Asian. Fortunately the nearest cafeteria served mainly Asian Food.

Typical Chinese Fast Food Tray @ Shanghai Expo

Tray on the left was for my friend, consists of (upper right clockwise) Miso soup, radish on the side,generous serving of rice, chicken curry, scrambled eggs, grilled pork and meat balls with taro, pumpkin with special sauce. That is if i remember it correctly.. hehe

I had the tray on the right, with the following (upper right clockwise), sweet and sour meatballs, a ton of rice, corn,carrots and green peas, miso soup, pork with carrots in tomato sauce more like menudo and that viand I can not remember! hehe 

The Verdict:

Price: 50-60 CNY, reasonable price considering the amount of food you get.

Taste: ★★ , I anticipated it would be really good considering most Chinese I have back home is flavorful read: salty 

Overall: I have had better meals, I hope our next meal is better.

Meet the Dimsum - Yu Yuan Garden

After the tiring wandering experience at the Yu Yuan Garden, my friend and I had to cool down. We found this refreshment shop that had all sorts of liquid refreshment. I know it isn't the smartest idea to have local ice since you wouldn't be sure how your stomach would react, but what the heck I was hot, thirsty and hungry! Turns out the drink was pretty darn good.

Sweet and Tangy - I can barely remember what was in it but it was pretty good. I think it had chunk of fruits.

After cooling down we decided to look for a restaurant to have our first meal of the day and to plan out our itinerary for the day. We settled for a dimsum place because, first it was right next to the refreshment stand, second and most importantly we were starving and  the dimsum is already there you just have to pick it up and start chowing down.

L-R : Kuya Mushi, Steamed Dumplings, Rice with Chicken and mushroom wrapped in Lotus Leaf and Fried Vegetable Dumplings

Fried Vegetable Dumplings, unlike most Chinese Restaurants outside of China, Vinegar is the staple dipping sauce.

Yummy  steamed rice with chicken and mushroom wrapped in Lotus Leaf

Steamed Dumpling, I can't seem to remember the exact content of this dumpling but its not Hakaw

Steamed Egg with tofu and shrimp. In Japan this is a staple dish called Kuya Mushi.

The Verdict:

Price: 15-35 CNY, relatively cheap compared to dimsum here, and the place had a good ambiance

Taste: ★★★ , Although I have had better dimsum, they weren't that bad, I guess just normal.

Overall: Normal Dimsum nothing worth remembering, except the dumplings were already cold.

New Shanghai Cuisine -  Downtown Shanghai

On our last day in Shanghai, my friend suggested we try this famous restaurant that serves this special fish. According to Qing, it is a traditional recipe with a modern twist. I was not in a position to decline his suggestion since I have committed to try chinese food as authentic as they can be!

Typical Chinese Appetizer: Carrots and Cucumber with chinese Vinegar and oil with a dash of sesame seed

Cucumber bathed in milk and honey. Perfect to cool down the pallet from the spicy fish.

We decided to have the fish cooked two-way. The left part of the basin, yes it is an actual basin that has a divider in the middle, is the spicy one for Qing. It isn't that spicy at first but once you've had a couple of spoonfuls you get that burning sensation, that is why it comes with the cucumber salad to cool down your pallet from the heat of the fish. The fish on the right was for me, it was salty and oily, it is almost the same fish you will have at a Szechuan Restaurant my only problem with the fish is that they didn't bother removing the bones so you would have to spit it out since it is mixed with the fish.

Fish Two-Way. Spicy and Salty

The Verdict:

Price: 200 CNY, the price was bordering cheap and just right, with the tonnage of the serving it was well worth every penny.

Taste: ★★★★ , Although I got my tongue burnt, the cucumber cooled it down, the dishes were very chinese yet had a twist of modernity in it. This is a perfect dish with your friends with a bucket full of cold beer and you have all the night away to waste.

Overall: I finally got my wish! to experience Authentic chinese food but with a modern twist.. or so i think i still have Beijing food to conquer!

McDonald's Chinese Menu -  McWings Goodness!

Whenever I travel abroad I make sure I swing my McDonald's to check out their localized menu, like here in the Philippines we have spaghetti, burger mcdo, rice and mcChicken, in China they have these really good chicken wings called McWings that comes in three flavors!

Surprisingly McDonalds in China do not serve rice, so we settled for french fries!

I must say the chicken wings were pretty darn good! L -R. Sweet Chicken Wings, Crispy Spicy Wings and the Salty Chicken Wings.

Probably the best McDonald's Chicken Wings existing!

I rarely have McDonald's when I am here, I just make the most of my travels and experience what they have to offer that aren't readily available back home. I am just being honest when I say these chicken wings are pretty darn good!