shanghai eating part i

last time i was here, i ate deliciously, but thanks to gary soup, likealocal and other avid shanghai eaters, this trip has been scrumptious.

i love food. and i particularly love xiaolongbao (aka soup dumplings).

since the typhoon finally passed, my first stop this morning was Jia Jia Tang Bao (which has gotten praise from the reviewers out there).

the place is small but cute, and they have a notebook with the English menu. i love that they're actually back there making your dumplings... TO ORDER! my mom wanted the crab & pork (19.5rmb) and the shrimp & pork (9rmb), so i let her choose.

the dumplings themselves had perfect skins. they were thin, almost transluscent, and not doughy or gummy. however, i have to say that i was disappointed with the crab & pork -- there were many little bits of crab shell inside, and the flavor wasn't as i'd hoped. the soup was more fishy than i expected.

the shrimp & pork was a delightful surprise as they were exactly what i'd hoped the crab would be: flavorful, delicate yet rich and magnificent.

jia jia tang bao
90 huanghe lu (near fengyang lu)
peoples square
shanghai, china

efficiency

last night on our way out of the hotel for dinner, we found a note under the door (see image, to come). since it was in all chinese characters (as you can see), i went to the front desk to ask what it said. "close your windows; there's a typhoon coming."

who needs to check the weather when you can get notes slipped under your door??? chinese efficiency.

in sync

on my flight to Shanghai on monday, i awoke towards the tail-end of the flight to some bells and chimes indicating that there would be an announcement, which was this (slightly paraphrased): "After your long flight, please take a moment to stretch your body." Then on the screen, a video comes on with a full stretching routine. But the best part was the majority of the passengers actually did the stretch! SYNCHRONIZED STRETCHING ON A FLIGHT??? it rocked.

of lore and legend

the S.O. called in a favor and got Giants tickets for today's game v. the Packers. i tore open the hand-messengered envelope when it arrived to find the golden tickets. i'd never seen tickets so big and gold-trimmed, but i was confused. row Y??? i was convinced that the rows at Giants Stadium were numbered. then i confirmed with my friend who's a die-hard Giants fan that the rows are numbered.

my poor S.O. got stuck working, so i brought my girlfriend chani who supports the Eagles (i still like her though). we arrived at section 133, and i showed my tickets to the usher, and he told me to walk down to the 2nd usher. the 2nd usher? i've never heard of such a thing. umm... the 2nd usher is at the very bottom of the steps. and row Y... is the FIRST ROW!!! turns out these seats are called the Legend Seats, and my first game of the 2007-8 season is legendary.

do not turn Giants Stadium row Y or Z down EVER.

friday night cocktails!

yesterday, the S.O. realized he could get out of work to have dinner with his high school buddy (a real estate tycoon AND model in from dallas for a weekend). they left choosing the venue in my capable, but overplanning, hands. the criteria: people watching, outdoor option, food the picky S.O. will eat. after lots (and lots) of thought, i settled on morandi, keith mcnally's (balthazar, pastis, schiller's) somewhat newish italian joint in the west village.

basically, it was perfect: a sweet, adorable hostess; a not-offensively-crowded bar to wait at (we didn't have reservations); a generally attractive crowd, plus a celeb-sighting (carla gugino); opened french doors leading out to a quasi-sidewalk cafe; and who doesn't like italian?

the food was fine. it didn't impress my standard outlets (New York magazine, the New York Times, Chowhound), but the S.O. and his buddy really liked it. the baccala fritti, their take on fish & chips and a friday night special, was delicious (actually the fries were just average, but the salt cod... YUM!).

the space was great (rustic, warm), there were cocktails and good wines (i loved the negroni and the S.O. loved the Tuscan red), and never a shortage of people to watch.

plus it was walking distance to horrible buddha bar. i wouldn't have gone except it was the birthday boy's choice. we had two bottles, and i requested another carafe of soda water. our waitress (a petite blonde idiot) flat out said, "No." i asked the DJ to play better dance music. he might as well have said no ("i don't play commercial crap"). we walked around TWICE looking to recruit attractive girls for the birthday boy, and the best we found were these cheezy blondes, both wearing trashy-cheap outfits. the only ok parts were the guy at the door who was actually friendly rather than stoic and aloof. and the guy who showed us to our table, who maneuvered around buddha bar's ugly patrons with major skillz.

morandi
211 waverly place between seventh avenue south and charles st
new york, ny 10014
212.627.7575

buddha bar
17 little west 12th street between ninth ave and washington st
new york, ny 10014
212.647.7314 (but why you'd want to call is beyond me)

photo credit: Robert Presutti for The New York Times

hidden gem

i went to college in baltimore, and when the weather starts to warm up, i start to crave delicious Old Bay-seasoned Maryland blue crabs. i rarely get back down there, especially during the summer (it's hot enough in NYC!), so my friends and i always look for places a bit closer to home that may serve these delicious treasures.

there actually are a few places in NYC that serve crabs: Clemente's in Queens near JFK (but is that really close?); some spot in Long Island City; Mara's Homemade in the east village supposedly has them (but i've never heard anything good about the restaurant, so can i trust the crabs?), and most recently, The Hideaway.

i finally found a winner in The Hideaway, not just because of the Monday night crabs (which they plan to suspend until next summer now that it's September), but because of the space. it's cozy and comfortable with a big wide bar. there are a couple tables, but not too many. and you have a view of a TV from practically every table or seat in the place... which is perfect for FOOTBALL. during my transient days, i lived in a sublet in tribeca for a few months, and i wish this place had been open then. a cool bartendress is an added bonus.

if they had wings, i'd think i'd died and gone to heaven.

The Hideaway
185 Duane Street between Greenwich and Hudson Streets
Tribeca
New York, NY 10013

let the games begin!

the S.O. and i bought a Nintendo Wii this weekend. i've played before, and i've heard hilarious stories involving this game, but i was anti-purchasing because i know me and my obsessive tendencies.

i'm a changed girl.

the Wii is addictive, but you have no choice but to stop playing after a little while because it's exhausting! and today, my arms, shoulders, upper back and obliques are sore. i didn't need to go to the gym all weekend because i was running around my living room lunging for those corner shots in Wii tennis. it may not take the place of cardio, but it's far better than sitting on your arse watching tv... which is what i would've been doing. and since i didn't invest in a gym membership this year, the $300 splurge doesn't seem too bad.