Mmm Mmm Good / South Beauty

  Shanghai, China
Friday, April 25, 2008

Andy, Palis and me

I was to meet with Andy and his wife, Palis, for dinner at 6.  I remembered that Andy said his office was next to the JinJiang Park.  The fact that I was able to guide Choe around the Metro system, I was confident I could go anywhere in Shanghai with no assistance, so I decided to Metro to Andy's office instead of taking a taxi.  BIG MISTAKE.  I rode the Metro all the way to JinJiang Park, when I exited I realized I was in the Shanghai suburbs.  I consulted my Metro map and saw there was a Jing'an Temple stop was near the business areas, so I decided to ride back to that stop.  After getting off the Metro, I wandered around the street until I finally wised up and showed someone the printout of Andy's address and asked for directions.  It turned out I made a square around his office building, but I finally arrived...1 hour late.

Palis took us to a nearby South Beauty restaurant, a big chain serving Sichuan style cuisine.  Palis ordered dishes that did not require the use of chopsticks.  Andy must have told her about my adventures with the Taiwan Club.  The food was delicious but what I found most fascinating was the presentation of the dishes.  First for appetizers there was noodles and eggplant served in an eggplant carved out to look like a boat

Eggplant Boat

complete with cabbage leaf sails.  Also there was carrots and asparagus served in a martini glass filled with dip so it looked like you had a drink with the carrots/asparagus as the stirring stick.  Next we had thinly cut pork which the waiter wrapped around shredded carrots and served with a spicy dip.  The pork slices were hanging of this wooden structure so it looked like clothes hanged up to dry.  The entree was what Andy called the "Bridge of Meat".  It was a rack of spare ribs laid on the plate to look like one of the arch bridges I saw in ZhouZhuang.  Layered across the plate was a spicy sauce.  The waiter than sliced the pork off the bone and placed in back of the arch "bridge".  Not only did it look good but the sauce was to die for.

Bridge of meat

During dinner I mention my problems with the tours of Suzhou and Hangzhou.  Andy said the next time I come out to Shanghai to let Palis handle the arrangement for the tours.  Of course based on the night's conversation I probably need to return soon because both Andy and Palis seemed tired of Shanghai after living there for 4 years.  They may be returning to Taiwan sooner more than later.  Andy had to excuse himself because an important client was in town and he had to take him out on the town...maybe to get his haircut?  Palis and I walked to the Metro stop and showed me how close their office building was to the exit.  Off course I looked on the bright side, the walking worked up a good appetite so I easily devoured the meat bridge.

So ends my first trip to China.  I definitely must make room for a revisit in my travel plans.  I still would like to see the Terra-cotta soldiers in Xian and the 3 Gorges along the Yangzi River.