Over the weekend, while biking to Shanghai’s Silk Market, Jacob and I got lost in a maze of side streets. This was a side of Shanghai visitors seldom see. We rode past a few “free-range” chickens (with feet leashed to a pole, to prevent straying) pecking on some dirty lettuce. On the other side of [...]
Tag Archives | Shanghai
Karaage! – Japanese-Chinese Fried Chicken
Now, America isn’t the only country that adores fried Chinese food. In Japan, diners go wild for karaage, Chinese-style fried chicken. According to Maki from Just Hungry, “the word kara refers to China, meaning that this method of preparing chicken originated in Chinese cooking (age means deep-fried)”. Like the Chinese, the Japanese also marinate their [...]
Shanghai Street Food – Friday Muslim Market
Travelers to Shanghai sometimes expect to find a vibrant street food scene that’s on par with that of Bangkok, Singapore, Chengdu, and other tropical or subtropical Asian cities. But because of a northern-ish climate (despite the Beijing tendency to think of Shanghai as “the south”) and a culture that prefers indoor eating, good street food [...]
Mochi Sweets
I first fell in love with mochi in college. At Trader Joe’s, a 10 minute drive away, there was an addictive mochi ice cream that brought me back week after week. I loved the mind-tingling coldness of each bite. I loved the sweet glutinous rice that stuck to my teeth and forced me to run [...]
Din Tai Fung, Shanghai
It is almost perverse how much I crave a good xiaolongbao. There are few moments more highly anticipated than seeing my order slowing coming from the kitchen to my table, in a stack of steaming baskets. The dumplings are all beautifully pleated at first, enticing but prim. But when picked up by chopsticks, they become [...]
French Toast Cube
I have eaten Hong Kong-style French toast many times before, but not this variation. In Hong Kong, French toast can range in thickness from regular sliced bread to John Grisham paperback. Usually it’s topped with butter, peanut butter or sweetened condensed milk, or all three. And sometimes pork floss. And every once in a while, [...]
Pan-fried, Meaty, and Juicy
Xiaolongbao, those glorious steamed dumplings with a meat and soup filling, have migrated far beyond Shanghai and gained a cult following. Meanwhile, another obsession-worthy Shanghainese specialty has remained a local secret. Shengjian bao, they call it here. Think of it as a fried version of xiaolongbao. Well, a bun, really. A soup bun that is [...]
Macarons from…Mister Donut?
Over the weekend, Jacob and I stayed at a friend’s lane house in Shanghai’s French Concession. It’s a live-work space that is occupied by a web company, and all the techies is get their caffeine and sugar fixes from Paul, a French bakery that opened in the city last year. (I’m sure in Paris Paul [...]
Appetite for China is all about fresh and simple Asian cooking. Welcome and bon appetit!
