Halloween

The Beijing expat community generally embraces Halloween quite fully, and I imagine that this is largely due to the American influence. Ben landed in Beijing at lunchtime on 31st October, and I had thoughtfully shopped for his costume - a web to my tried-and-tested spider (haha). So, in the evening we donned our outfits:

.....and flailed one of my 8 legs at a cab to go and meet Dave and Benny dressed up in..... absolutely no costume whatsoever. The shame! After Faith arrived dressed as a pumpkin:.....we bundled D&B off to the supermarket, where they picked up some token items before heading to the Amrican univertstities alumni party at Ruby Khi, where we paid Y180 for the dubious honour of freeflowing "alcohol", and a good time was had by all:

The biggest surprise of the night was when we emerged from the club to find oursevles in a full on snow blizzard. Without a coat. Dressed as a spider. *shudder*

The infamous youzi, as promised......!

Ahhhh, China!

Last weekend was a bit of an "I-heart-China" affair - I'm not sure why, but I imagine it was largely to do with the beautiful warm weather that came as a surprise after the threat of imminent ice age conditions! I've not been able to post about it until now as I've been quite busy at work (the injustice!), but here goes....

We took a stroll along Nanluoguxiang, where there was a street festival going on. Lots of tourist tack and a huge number of people, but tasty Chinese food in an open air rooftop cafe and pretty decorations all the same - *snappity-snap*:

Then we hit the outdoor gym for a workout. I love these outdoor gyms, and this one even had weights and a massage machine! Genius. We attracted some funny looks, but this is all part of the fun of being a redhead in China....

These gyms are often to be found in the central area of apartment buildings, and families gather there in the mornings and evenings to enjoy the outside space and take some exercise. Ben's friend has been importing these for use in the UK. Coming to a town near you! Thoughts on whether they would be used? Or how long until they'll be vandalised? I'll get a project update and let you know.....

Also popped by* an enormous fruit and vegetable market, where I bought the biggest youzi known to man. It's about twice the size of my head! This in itself made me very happy, but then, when I was looking for a link to describe this fantastic fruit, I found this website - and I am thrilled! An entire youzi festival! Life just got a little bit sweeter.

* read: "eventually-stumbled-across-after-2-hour-wild-goose-chase-led-by-Dave"

To the left, to the left....

Dave bought me a ticket to see Beyonce for my birthday - thanks Dave! Here we are enjoying ourselves....:
And here is Beyonce, giving it her all:
What was weird about this concert is that there was no support act and no encore - despite the HUGE efforts to encourage one, that rendered us hoarse. Apparently a "get them on, get them off" attitude is the norm for China, which is a bit of a shame! Other than that, it was a great concert - she has an amazing, strong voice, and I was suitably impressed.

It was also entertaining to see the usual tricks fall a bit flat on a non-English speaking audience ("Say my name, say my name........" [silence]). It must have been pretty tough to perform in such a foreign environment, especially without the benefit of a warm-up act, and with the added encumbrance of enhanced security in the area directly in front of the stage, where standing up, dancing or generally having a good time seemed to be prohibited!

Finally, it has to be said that my enjoyment of the evening was certainly enhanced by my three male companions, who spent the entire evening with their tongues hanging out and their eyes out on stalks, letting out involuntary giggles and yelps of pleasure and excitement as Beyonce reappeared in a variety of sparkly, revealing outfits. You can but imagine how this enthusiasm for her, ahem, "talent" was magnified by the close-up projections on an enormous screen!

Wowzers!

Had my flu jab (not Avian, not swine...) yesterday. I said, "I don't like looking" and turned away. "Me neither!" he exclaimed, merrily jabbing me in the arm. *shudder*

what a wedding feast!

The food at the wedding was so varied and exciting in itself, that I have devoted a separate post to it. I was sat next to Jasmine, a lovely and very helpful food-bully, who marched me through each of the dishes (and believe me, below is only a small selection of the weird and wonderful dishes on offer!) in turn, explaining what each was, how expensive it would be, and how and why to eat it. This meant that I was totally full by the end of the evening, and that I had tried all sorts of tings I might not have dared to otherwise! I was even bullied into trying some sticky, boiled (pork?) fat, allegedly renowned to be "good for women's skin" - but unfortunately this was not a highlight....

First thing to note is the cigarettes and matches that were served up with the cold dishes.* Appetising! I politely refrained, natch.

Next dish of interest,was the poultry. Mmmm, duck? Chicken? Guinea fowl? Nope - quail, and here's the evidence. Tasty though!

Next up, an enormous and delicious lobster!

And then....

'What is that?', I hear you ask! Well, rightly so. It's snake. No, not how we expected snake to look either, but we collectively determined that it must be a section of the snake's vertebrae (see here if you are not afraid of snakes). It was bony but delicious, and yes, of course, it tasted like chicken...

Due to the large number of bones, I would not advise this eating technique.... but hey - we were first-timers!
And last, but not least, the messiest dish of all - Shanghai crab! It was served on a sticky rice cake thing, which is a bit like Chinese gnocchi. According to Jasmine, this is a particularly special and expensive dish, and the tastiest meat is in the legs. Although this may well be true, but after a lot of effort (removing the legs, cracking along specific lines in the shell, opening the leg, and sucking it out....), it yields the tiniest reward!

*Incidentally, does anyone know anyone who likes the Chinese cold dishes?

what a wedding!

WOW!!! Dave and I just got back from a fabulous wedding in Shanghai. First things first, and that's a massive thank you to Jiong and Binhong for inviting us to share their evening celebration! It was a fascinating and fun experience, and I'll talk you through it with pics and tips below.....

TBH, it got off to a bit of a bad start when Dave rocked up at the station in Suzhou at 3pm to be told that the next (2hr) train to Shanghai left at the time the wedding started. A bit of haggling later, and Y350 worse off, he was en route but estimated he would be about an hour later, so I made the executive decision to go it alone (I have never been very good at slipping in unannounced, and especially not in China - I blame the hair....).

And so it was that, clutching my hongbao, I arrived and was thrust into a photograph with the bride and groom. I signed in on a big piece of red cardboard and wrote my 'wishes' in a small gift tag. All, while desperately offering my now-obviously-cheap-and-tacky-version-of-a hongbao to everyone and anyone in the vicinity until it was eventually taken off my hands..... *phew*

I headed straight for my spot in the seating plan, predictably on the laowai table, and watched in amazement and trepidation as a huge variety of foods were set out before us. *tip* At about 7pm the formalities began, and from 5.30 until then, the food and drink was off limits - so plan carefully!

As far as I can tell, Chinese weddings work differently to those in the UK. For example, you need to register and the marriage itself is a brief civil ceremony that does not attract much attention. Most important are the subsequent celebration-come-party-come-food-fests, with a range of traditions and anomalies thrown in for good measure.

The wedding ceremony was carried out by an MC with a microphone - this chap really was an all-singing, all-dancing marry-maker who I feel would not be out of place in Vegas. Keep an eye out for him, where's Wally style, below.

After some video clips of the bride and groom each talking individually about how they met, how they fell in love, and what the other's person's flaws are, there was a parade down a neon-flashing runway to the stage, which was decorated in sparkly pink, and came complete with a bubble-making machine:
There was some more MC action, before the exchanging of the rings. It took us a while to work out what was going on when an enormous gold box was placed in front of the happy couple, but when it was opened, helium balloons flew out, and each of the bunches that were left tied on to the box held a ring! Genius. I can't help feeling that this kind of stunt has disaster written all over it, but no calamities in this case...Then came the cake-cutting and the more spectacular pink champagne fountain!
At this point, the couple were pronounced married and *tip* this is the cue for everyone to start eating and drinking the vast spread in front of them (see separate post!). This merriment continued until the MC takes to the stage and begins part two, involving speeches from most people in the room - mothers (see below on the flashing catwalk), fathers, grandparents - and presentations of flowers. *tip* The etiquette at this point seems to be to eat, drink and carry on as normal, paying a modicum of attention to the proceedings if you feel like it (unless you are under the age of 10, when it seems to be your duty to cause as much disruption as possible).Stage three is where things start to get exciting - especially if you are a guest who has yet to participate! A small tree was produced with greeting tags on that everyone has written on arrival, and then it starts off with family members being called to stage to pick one, and then that person reads his wishes out and wins a prize!More and more people are called up from their tables at random ("pretty girl, come on down!") until the prizes run out, and completely bewildered laowai are encouraged to stutter some Chinese on stage, to raucous cheers, applause and prizes (cuddly toys and handbags):And last but not least is the cake-feeding game. Apparently, the tradition used to be for groups of people to go round to one of the family homes and play this game until there was no cake left, but here we made do with three couples on stage, one of each who was blindfolded and being fed cake. The quickest to eat the cake, won! Hilarious, but perhaps less so if you are chosen for this game and wearing your Sunday best, so *tip* get involved earlier on if you can!
Everyone finally turns back to the dinner table, while serenaded by family members and the MC (obv), and the bride and groom go around each table in turn, toasting every single guest. To this end, they are followed by assistants to ensure they never run out of their drink of choice! As there were about 150 guests, Binhong was very sensible to stick to Coke! More sensible than the inevitable drunk uncle, who followed, ganbei-ing a full glass of wine with all and sundry...

What happened next was a bit odd - it was about 9.30pm and suddenly the room emptied, without rhyme or reason! We decided to follow suit, but several people still had their hongbaos to get rid of (*tip* give them to the groom or one of the mothers!). Dave and I ended up in the bar on the 88th floor of the Jinmao tower for a cocktail and a dissection of the evening's events before heading home.

Water dispensers in Shanghai Hongqiao airport - you can choose your temperature - 99 degrees or, if you fancy a refreshing drink, 95 degrees. Enjoy!

Sunny Shanghai

Dave is planning to move to Shanghai early next year, and as we have seen many of the tourist sights before, we set about discovering what you might do if you actually lived in the city. Cocktails, dim sum (at the reasonably-priced and tasty Crystal Jade, which I believe is a Singaporean chain) and a wander around the network of tiny lanes around Taikang Lu (home of the now famous Chinese-speaking bird), full of interesting art galleries, coffee shops and small boutiques. It was here that I had my first good coffee in China - and a big one at that!

We met up with Dom, a colleague of mine, and enjoyed another few cocktails at Constellation, though my first choice wouldn't have been the toxic mix of lemon juice, vodka, red wine and sugar.... each to their own! We then enjoyed Yunan food at Lost Heaven on GaoYou, which was a lovely place with tasty food. I have been consistently surprised at how upmarket many of the bars and restaurants in Shanghai are, especially when compared to those in Beijing. There is a corresponding price difference though - applicable to dining, drinks and taxis - which could have a significant impact on my new found life of luxury if I were to live here longterm! It would certainly be a nice place to lead a comfortable life, but people's incomprehensible accents and Shanghaianese itself could provide some hurdles!

As you would expect, Shanghai is a much more modern and Westernised city than Beijing, but it retains a pleasant mix of old and new, and wandering around the tree-lined streets of the French concession is lovely. How long this charm will survive in the face of tower blocks and skyscrapers as the business district expands is anyone's guess...

After dinner, we took a break from cocktail bars and headed to Time Passage - a pub-like venue that is much more the Beijing scene! Live music and cheap beers made for a fun evening, and we played a few Chinese-language pranks which is always a good source of amusement...! On Sunday morning, it only seemed right to work through the hangover with a champagne brunch. This was a very civilised affair, largely because the courses were served to the table and explained to us in detail by the waiting staff, and the Veuve Cliquot was free-flowing - delightful! I was born for a life like this. The Jesubites among you might spot a familiar face - yes, we bumped into Alison while in Shanghai - she was on holiday there from Australia! It's a small world, and I always love catching up with friendly faces around the globe....

We decided to sleep off the champagne at the Jazz Festival in Century Park on Pudong. It was nice and leafy, and reasonably quiet for a music festival (and in fact for any spot of Chinese land), so I had a good nap until the sun went down and it got a bit chilly...

We moved on to the "Rock Stage" (what this and an "electrograss" stage were doing as two of the three stages at a jazz festival is beyond me....) and 'rocked out' there for a while. One of the group had heard good things about the headline act, Cui Jian, who was on at 7, and told us a bit of the background. As you can see from the Wiki link if you're interested, Cui Jian is a bit of a political icon in China, and one of his songs, "Nothing to My Name" became an anthem to the student protesters during the Tiananmen protests. In c. 1990, one of his concerts was stopped by police, and the rest of the tour cancelled, when he wore a red blindfold on stage while performing. He allegedly avoided excommunication by "donating" one million yuan to pay for the Asian games in 1990....

In any event, he has a legion of fans in China, all of whom know the words and embrace his music and performances enthusiastically. Towards the start of his set, an enormous, inflatable hammer and sickle was carried down to the front of the audience and it all together made for an exciting performance. I am now learning the lyrics for my next karaoke outing (and intend to adopt his distinctive gestures) and joining that legion of fans for the time being!

欢迎欢迎!

This bird speaks Chinese! What a genius. For the budding ornithologists among you, he can be found in the lanes near Taikang Lu in Shanghai. He gives lessons for 50RMB a pop...

The view from my desk - looks grainy and a bit like it's from the 70s as it was taken through my window!

I regularly get delivery from my fave Chinese restaurant, Xiao Wang Fu. It turns out they give you chopsticks sufficient for the number of people they assume will be eating the food. Embarrassingly, the above meal for myself and Mary came with FOUR pairs. Even worse, on Wednesday night Dave and I opened the bags to find SIX pairs... We are hungry people, what can I say?!

trip to tropical paradise

Tola and I decided to treat ourselves to a weekend away in Langkawi, and although I had been keen to really explore Singapore, when the time came I was definitely pleased that we were able to escape the hustle and bustle of Asian cities for a few days!

We chose to splash out, and my God was it worth it! I cannot recommend the Bon Ton Resort enough! Tola and I arrived and were greeted with a glass of chilled white wine, before being shown around our Malay villa for 5 people (long story....). Each villa is uniquely decorated, and we stayed in 'Silk', which was over 100 years old. The pool was inviting and the food and cocktails were delicious and reasonably priced - what more could you want?
We got off to a slightly awkward start when, having brushed off all the references to romantic strolls along the moonlit beach and cosy dinners for two, we returned to our villa to find only one of the queen beds turned down for the night! While it is a very romantic destination, for sure, it is also a perfect venue for a relaxing weekend away with the girls!

Needless to say, the attentive service and stunning surroundings meant that we were not too keen to leave the resort - especially as it was just SO relaxing! In the end we did venture out for a brief shopping excursion, and we (convinced ourselves that we had) fulfilled our Malaysian culture quota with a huge Malaysian meal put on by the hotel. This included about 12 traditional Malay dishes, all of which were incredibly tasty, and enjoyed around a large table with some nice people. I have requested the recipes, so I'll keep you posted!

Singapore

I have just returned from six fun-filled days visiting Tola and Christina in Singapore, with a sneaky trip to the beautiful island of Langkawi (see separate post) over the Chinese national Holidays - good times! It was my first visit to Singapore and, although practically struck down by the heat and humidity, I enjoyed it, particularly the vast opportunities for food and drinks.... And of course, it was fantastic to see some friendly faces and catch up!

Sights: China town looked quite spectacular, with all of the lanterns up to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, but, seeing as I see plenty of China on a day-to-day basis, I fought my obsession and decided to wander around Little India instead. It turned out to be a colourful, friendly and aromatic experience, which brought back fond memories my time in Bangalore back in 2003. Michelle and I spent a morning exploring the Botanical Gardens. These were a real highlight, and in particular the National Orchid Garden showcased a huge number of immensely beautiful and colourful flowers and plants. We were particularly fond of the COOL HOUSE, which offered a little respite from the mugginess and heat of the day, with the excuse of admiring varieties of unusual plants! Genius.

Singaporeans generally look immaculate and are very well-presented, so Tola, Michelle and I immersed ourselves in local culture by getting a mani-pedi, while watching a film. Luxury, and by all accounts, a worthwhile stop on any tourist trip to the city!

Wandering the streets and the shopping arcades along Orchard Road (so many it is impossible to count!), I was generally pleased to see that the fables of how clean Singapore are true! It is a well-designed and attractive city, with a lot of pruned decorative greenery, and very easy to navigate (by tube, bus and cheap taxi...) and this must be part of the draw to the huge expat community. Not to mention the proximity to various Malaysian islands and the year-round balmy climate!

Food: where to begin?! I was hit by a welcome onslaught of spices and flavours not commonly found in China, and it was such a treat! After meeting T&C for a Thai lunch, I took a wander around Little India, and before I know it I was sat with a Mango Lassi and a sneaky Tandoori! Oops. Delicious though, and very friendly service!

Singapore is rife with Hawker Centres, where hundreds of small stands are manned by budding entrepreneurs cooking up delicious Asian dishes - Indian, Malaysian, Thai, Chinese and Singaporean food and an abundance of stalls selling tropical fruit and fresh juices all to be found in one big cluster! At bargain prices too. These are generally open daily from noon until 10pm and are quite a spectacle! Tola and I ate at Lau Pa Sat on Monday night, and on Tuesday Michelle and I ate at the Newton Hawker Centre for a grand total of about S$4 a head, and I had a particularly delicious Laksa. Inevitably, I think it's wise to exercise a little discretion over which stall you choose....

Michelle, Tola and I ate Chinese seafood at No Signboard Seafood, which came lauded with good reviews and reasonable prices in the guidebook. What it failed to mention, however, is that if you want to eat fish or crab (generally thought to be the speciality), the prices rocketed past S$100 a dish! Luckily, we struck a deal on a set menu, and happily set about indulging in delicious steamed fish and white pepper crab, creating quite a mess in the process!

Cocktails: Tola, Christina and I enjoyed a few (hugely expensive) Singapore Slings in the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel, and especially enjoyed the freedom to cast monkey nut shells onto the floor like there was no tomorrow!

Tola and I also took a trip to the New Asia bar on the 71st floor of the Swisshotel, where we slurped delicious, strong cocktails at surprise "sundown" prices (aka happy hour...) - definitely recommended for sunset, and the views over the city are spectacular.

Overall, I was struck by how much Singapore is a real fusion of so many Asian cultures and traditions, and how everywhere in the city is influenced by another part of Asia so much that it is hard to find anything "typically Singaporean". I enjoyed this mix and I imagine that the city must be a culturally-diverse, (sweaty!) and interesting place to live as an expat.

mooncakes and festivities

Today is the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival (中秋节) which falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar every year. This year, it happens to coincide with a particularly special National Day (see previous post), and so China (and me!) is enjoying the entirety of 1 to 6 October as national holidays.

For several weeks before the Mid-Autumn festival, all over the country you will catch sight of people laden down with boxes and boxes of traditional mooncakes to share with their friends and family during this age-old festival. Yes, moonCAKES! You can no doubt imagine the thrill that this sends down the unsuspecting laowai's spine on his or her first encounter with the festival. Mooncakes are often 'enjoyed' with tea:

BE WARNED! Really, please pause and take note. Mooncakes are typically round, heavy and dense pastries, filled with a thick lotus seed paste and salted duck egg yolks. Perhaps I did not stress this enough to Mary before she insisted on trying one of these little pockets of calamity:*
*Bahahahahaaaaaa. Really, she insisted!

National Day!

Hats off the the Chinese, they certainly know how to put on a display!

On 1 October 2010, the People's Republic of China celebrated 60 years of Socialist rule, and championed its place in global history, present and future. It was a celebration of its political rule and military presence, demonstrated by parades of tanks, missiles and soldiers through the streets of Beijing, but also a nod to their sporting prowess with many Olympic stars riding on huge floats. To top it all off, and to my great surprise, the weather shenanigans worked and the blue skies were fantastic and a huge contrast to the mist when I left on Wednesday night!

I decided not the stay in China for the National Day celebrations, and I thought I might regret this nearer the time; and in a way, it was a shame for me not to be part of the huge party in Beijing. However, strict traffic control and tight security meant that only 30,000 people or so were able to watch the parade, and several thousand more were involved in it by invitation of the Chinese government. If you were not one of these people (which I was not, no doubt due to my lack of guanxi!), then you were 'encouraged' to stay at home and watch it on TV - which was certainly impressive in any event. As my apartment is located bang in the middle of the celebrations and there was a ban on going on my balcony, or in fact entering or leaving the building, I am glad I came to Singapore for these 6 days.

As always, the fireworks in the evening looked spectacular, and demonstrated just how special this day was for the PRC.