We are shang-HIGH for food

We visited Shanghai and absolutely enjoyed all the food we had. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME ACTION-PACKED FOR REALZ #FOODPORN ?

First stop: Airport food

We had a late-night flight and we came directly from work (or was it just me?) Anyway, we blessed the trip with a morning meal.

Yong He Soy Bean Milk: A local store that began its roots in Taipei, Taiwan. Their soy bean milk became a hit and has since been turned into franchise. We had an egg roll, fried dough and soy bean milk. Pure goodness.
*Soy bean is also said to be good for ladies and is often a substitute for protein intake among vegans. Add the pan fried roll and fried dough, all effort is lost 🙂

Random snacks

So we went to a shopping mall near our airbnb and found this gem. We didn’t know the payment process – everything is done online in China apparently! (It’s either through wechat or some other app) and we just didn’t have that. Good thing the staff were really nice and well, we got ourselves a Chinese speaker to ease that process. THANK YOU, Hiko!

Pan-fried xiao long bao? Where have you been all of my life? Heard there are some in Yokohama as well but I wonder if it’s legit?

Sheng jian bao (pan fried “raw” pau) or shui jian bao (pau pan fried with water) is the real name. The random mall is situated outside Tiantong station.

Will the real Shanghai xiao long bao please stand up? They decided they are badass enough to come sitting in a steam basket. So this place is always full… you actually have to share a table most of the time. We didn’t queue for too long (like Disney type) but still there was a lot of people. Xiao long bao dreams have been achieved!

Maybe it’s the hipster in me but isn’t this just so cute? Also, I’m a sucker for soymilk. – PH

There’s some salty egg yolk in there too. Each bite gets you to food paradise (or burns your tongue). We now proclaim that Chinese food is the best. *runs away from political correctness and internet haters*

Jia Jia Tang Bao: A seemingly harmless little store that is often bustling and serves awesome xiao long bao. Thin dumpling skin coupled with juicy meat filling.

Walking around the streets and found this. They say the best way to enjoy a city is by trying out its street food.

We forgot what this was. LOL.

This random store is situated along the streets outside Nanjing East Road station. And the bag was probably full of fried chicken. Before we devoured it.

Family Mart

We just had to buy it. Fish balls, squid balls, prawn balls, all sorts of seafood balls in SPICY soup.

Family Mart: Yup, will not be expecting this in Family Mart but then again, Japanese-convenience stores are known for their absolutely unbeatable customer service. So providing a variety that is beyond your imagination is basically what they do. FRIGGIN’ SPICY by the way. I was tearing.

Here’s our lovely Europeans (seriously, they can pass off as models. Any scouts reading this?).

They say it’s one of the best bakeries in town. Well, we think so too. Hopefully they’ll have a branch in Tokyo.

They got us some egg tarts for merienda and we munched on them on a work hub where one of their friends works. We went to the “pantry” and somehow got caught up on a corporate party. That didn’t stop us from getting free espresso though. How to be millennial 101: Get that trendy pastry and drink a free coffee on a work hub. YES.

Hogan Bakery: Fancy looking bakery with quality bread and pastries. Hiko approves.

More pastry, anyone? (See the sign for wechat pay? Hint: Green)

This random sweet and chewy pastry is found in Yu Garden.

Probably a mango drink. Hiko doesn’t remember but she loves mango so she’s going to assume anything yellow is mango.

Probably mango cake. Same logic as above.

Wagas: A cafe that provides wifi, coffee, desserts, and also simple lunch (pasta etc.).

By now, I hope you are wondering how the hell did we eat so much within 4 days. But, wait for it… here comes more 🙂

 

Round 1: We played a mini game of bubble tea. We were to buy from different stores and picked the best. Verdict is as displayed. Winner: Yi dian dian.

Just in case you can’t read Chinese characters, this is the store front of our winner. yi dian dian.

Round 2: Just had to have more. This was in the random mall.

Verdict: Pretty good. Hiko is pretty and that’s good.

Round 3: This time, we all get to have good bubble tea.

Bubble tea is never too much! Especially when they got mangoes in ’em.

Shop: Xie Ji.

When will someone stop having bubble tea? The answer is either diabetes or NO, NEVER. Nothing is going to stop us, especially when one cup costs about USD 5-7 in Japan and China offers it at USD 3.

And we’re not done yet. We promised #FOODPORN so here comes the main meals.

PROPER FOOD

Cheers to one of the best (the other is Baya, of course!) travel guides one can ever have! Love how most restaurants we’ve been to have large photos of food in their menu. Good marketing strategy.

Baya & Hiko’s favourite dish: for its good taste and funny but disgusting name. Kou shui ji: literally saliva chicken. Chicken so good that makes you salivate or chicken made from someone’s saliva.

Will the real #tantanmen please stand up?

Shui zhu yu (fish cooked in water?! lol): That fish dish soaked in oil, pepper and chillis

Maurya: Fancy interior with turquoise-blue walls and a huge peacock painting. Watch out for the queue during meal times.

Are you a dark beer person as well? Cerveza Negra!

Not sure what this is but it was like hell in my mouth. The good kind.

Lamb skewers

Meat stew with pumpkin. A pairing made in heaven.

Happy faces of happily stuffed people.

Xin Jiang Mi Zhi Restaurant: serves Xin Jiang food. Our first but definitely not going to be the last. Asia is amazing.

Various mushrooms for a starter. (This was one of my favourite. – PH) Yunnan cuisine uses a lot of mushrooms!

A lot of veggies! But cooked in a way we wanted.

A pot of stew. Stews are so good for locking the taste into meat.

OMG more carbohydrates. Chinese pastry tends to be savoury but still I love them all. Like pokemon.

Spicy fish. Not sure if we were paying for dried chilli or the fish. Still, I love it.

By now, we can’t remember what we are eating but it was good too. Honestly, did we dislike anything that were served to us in Shanghai? NO!

Middle 8: located in Jing An District. We had our lovely Shanghai guides order for us and everything was perfection.

Best way to end our last night in the city: rooftop bar!

Who says we can’t get classy with shorts and sandals? The main point here is to feel the summer breeze while sipping pina colada, and watch cheesy dates get awkwardly conscious with a big group hanging out in a lounge corner (yes, that’s us).

A moment where #justchillin can be best put to use as a hashtag. Lovely way to end the trip. Thanks for the memories!

Random rooftop bar and a lovely gentleman took the bill when we just met for the evening. How is that possible? #chinesehospitality

Hope you guys are full/got full. ‘Cause if not, then this post is just torture. xx