dad's visit day 3 & 4 =)

Day 70 – 28 Sept (Sun)

Had a simple breakfast with my dad this morning... (very unlike yesterday =P) haha... we just ordered some noodles and a xiao long bao... after breakfast, we went to the optical shops near my SH apartment to make new specs! Haha... I made a new pair of frameless specs, while my dad made himself a pair of reading glasses... =)

We took the mtr to 陆家嘴... showed dad the oriental pearl, which he took a couple of beautiful shots of... then we walked around the huge super brand mall again... and my dad also remarked about the countless restaurants in the whole shopping mall... in the end, we had lunch at lisboa restaurant, serving hk-portugese cuisine... ordered quite a few dishes...food was good! =)

courtesy of my dad...the oriental pearl... 东方明珠塔 =)


蚝油芥兰 (oyster sauce kailan)

delicious portugese egg tarts!

澳门炒饭 (macau fried rice) NICE! =P

海鲜咖喱 (seafood curry) very special curry! =)

海鲜汤 (seafood soup)


after lunch, we went to check out a new place called 蓝村路 (lancun rd)... there were quite a couple of steamboat restaurants but we weren’t really hungry yet... so we just continued walking... by the time we kinda felt hungry, there wasn’t any decent restaurant in sight... so we settled for this small Chinese eatery and ordered simple stuff for dinner... the food was cheap but average... didn’t look too hygienic... so yah, it wasn’t a great meal... haha... we had a shengjian bao, a bowl of 酒酿丸子 (small glutinous rice balls in a soup with a bit of wine), and a bowl of noodles... headed back to the hotel after that... =)

Day 71 – 29 Sept (Mon)

Breakfast was fantastic once again... haha... we had hairy crabs AGAIN! Haha... and this time round, not 2, but 3!! Haha... sinful indeed... but well, my dad was saying, since it’s sorta the last day we’ll be spending together in shanghai (before we fly to xi’an and then to nanjing), we shall just pamper ourselves and savour the hairy crabs once more before my dad returns to Singapore... =P we savoured the crabs slowly back in the comfort of the hotel room... after that, we went 七浦路 (qipu rd) to shop around... my dad has actually been there before as well, coz it was part of our tour package in our family trip a few years back... since it was the weekend, the whole place was really crowded... at qipu rd, there’re actually quite a no. of shopping malls congregated in that area, selling more or less similar stuff, with lotsa imitation goods... so it wasn’t really nice to shop... there wasn’t anything we wanted to get anyway... so after walking around a bit, we went to a street nearby where there were some small eateries and food stalls... we just had some snacks like mutton satay, some small bun thingy that was pretty nice =) and since there wasnt really anything decent for lunch, we headed for some ajisen ramen at a nearby shopping centre... hahaha...

After quite a tiring afternoon of shopping, we went back to the hotel to slack for a bit... then dinner was settled at this Chinese restaurant opposite my SH apartment called 跃民酒店... I’d been there with my mom previously... so we ordered a few similar dishes... and tried some new stuff too... =)

abalone　& broccoli

水晶鸡

红烧鱼　(braised fish)

dad's visit day 2

Day 69 – 27 Sept (Sat)

Our day started off with a sinful breakfast... sinfully fantastic breakfast... hahaha... my dad and I wanted to get breakfast somewhere near our hotel, but we saw a stall selling the all-famous 阳澄湖 (lake yangcheng) hairy crabs! Haha... after bargaining a bit with the seller, he quoted us 55rmb for each crab (male/female)... well, my dad was saying that hairy crabs in sg can be really quite ex, especially those sold in restaurants... coz they’re somewhat considered a relatively rare delicacy in sg since you gotta import the hairy crabs from china or elsewhere... so 55rmb was already considered quite cheap... haha... so well, we bought 2!! =P haha... the crab seller even helped us to cook the crabs on the spot, for us to eat them in this small Chinese eatery right next to his stall... it was a very simple cooking process... he just placed the 2 crabs in a pot of water, sprinkled some salt into the water, and placed the pot on an electric stove... it took around 30mins for the crabs to be nicely cooked, after which, the crab seller brought it into the Chinese eatery for us... as he entered, we were greeted by the steaming hot and highly appetizing red crustaceans and simply couldnt wait to feast on them! =P true enough, the crab were not the least bit disappointing... the freshness and natural sweetness of the crab meat lingered in our mouths even after we took the first bite... heavenly... the tinge of salt added brought out the taste of the flavourful seafood... yummy...=D

阳澄湖 (lake yangcheng) hairy crabs!! (before cooking)

阳澄湖 (lake yangcheng) hairy crabs!! (while cooking)

阳澄湖 (lake yangcheng) hairy crabs!! (after cooking)

omg... look at all the roe inside...=O


after our satisfying breakfast, we went to science & tech museum’s underground shopping mall... my dad was busy looking out for some golf equipment, but apparently, the stuff there was too chui for his liking... shopping here is really a good test of your bargaining skills... I had gd practice once again... bought a nice pair of court shoes and a grey hooded jacket which you all will probably see in some of the pictures uploaded...

after some nice shopping, we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant... there were actually 2 rather similar restaurants side by side, and we were wondering which to enter... in the end, we just chose the one with more people inside... haha... follow the crowd... hope it doesn’t go too wrong... and yay...thankfully, the food was pretty good!

sci & tech museum restaurant - braised mushrooms

prawns!

chicken 三杯鸡

sweet & sour fish

sumptuous lunch... =P


After a great lunch, we went to ren min guang chang to walk around... went to the nearby 南京路步行街 with the beautifully lit shops and took some pics there... since china’s national day was in a few days’ time (1st oct), there were lotza china flags hung outside buildings, flying in the wind... quite a pretty sight... =)

happy national day, china! =P

pics taken at 南京路步行街



We were finding a place for dinner, when I spotted this restaurant on the 2nd level of one of the buildings along 南京路步行街 which looked really crowded... so we decided to check it out... the restaurant’s called 干锅居 and had a full house! so we figured that it must be quite good and decided to wait... we got a table soon after, and ordered some stuff... but ALL turned out to be disappointing!! Omg... their supposed specialty, 干锅鸡 was just bones with hardly any meat! And the whole dish was just bland... not salty, not spicy, just bland!! >_< the 麻婆豆腐 tasted alright but was freaking oily... and the vege soup with meatballs was so average... all in all, a lousy meal! >_<

yucky 干锅居

disgusting 干锅鸡 at 干锅居... >_<

super oily 麻婆豆腐

finally...my dad's visit!! =P

Day 67 – 25 Sept (Thurs)

Yay! I’m finally progressing to the date of my dad’s visit!! Haha... –excited- have been procrastinating blogging coz I’ve been busy with work and other misc stuff... so yup, shall now blog about my dad’s visit! =P

my dad was supposed to arrive in shanghai at around 10pm on Thursday, but his flight was delayed for 4.5 hrs, so he only arrived in the wee hours of the morning on Friday! >_< well, according to him, at least he was given some kinda food voucher to dine at a crystal-jade like Chinese restaurant at changi airport while waiting for his flight... -_-“

so anyway, I checked into the hotel first, and went out for dinner... the hotel stay only cost about S$30+/night, but it was really comfortable! definitely value for money! It has a huge king-sized bed, and the room’s basically quite new & has all the basic necessities like a tv, dressing table, and even FREE INTERNET! Haha... oh, it just didn’t have a fridge (not really necessary in my opinion, especially if it’s just a short stay) and it didn’t have a wardrobe either... in place of that were just hooks and hangers, which were good enough since they served the same purpose... =) so anyway, there wasn’t very much to eat nearby, but there was a 重庆鸡公煲 (chongqing chicken hotpot)... I’ve tried it before, and it’s quite nice... you can check out my earlier blog entry to find out more... =)

重庆鸡公煲


after dinner, I headed back to the hotel to work on my Chinese presentation (for tomorrow’s lesson) while waiting for my dad... haha... oopz... rather last minute work... (as usual...-_-) but of coz, I was easily distracted online and ended up progressing rather slowly... but eventually, I managed to get it done, and was about to head to bed when my dad finally reached the hotel! =D WELCOME DAD! Haha... really glad to see him since it’s been quite a while...about 2 months since I last saw him on the night of my departure... =)

as expected, my dad carried a huge luggage filled with stuff for me, and only carried a small bag with a few pieces of clothing and some basic necessities for himself... oopz... hehe... =P courtesy of everyone at home, my granny as well, I had lotza nice food too! My mom specially prepared some mushrooms cooked and marinated with soya sauce while my granny cooked her specialty shrimp sambal chilli! Woohoo! Delicious home-flavoured foodstuff to spice up my meals...=P

Day 68 – 26 Sept (Fri)

Had my presentation during the Chinese movie lesson in the morning... think it went quite well so yah... getting an S shouldn’t be a prob... =P went to meet up with my dad after lesson... we had lunch at the very nice Chinese restaurant called 金桂皇朝 at 静安寺that I visited with my mom previously... the place with the delicious roasted meat and durian puffs! Yummy... let the pics do the talking... –feeling hungry already- >_<

烧味拼盘 at 金桂皇朝 (mixed roasted meat)


sumptuous feast!


After the sumptuous lunch, we took a walk around the 久光 shopping mall, which sells a lot of jap stuff... then went to a coffee bean outlet nearby to chill... haha... it’s been quite a while since I just entered a café to slack over a cup of coffee... I used to go starbucks with my dad to slack quite often... haha... him with his fave americano, me with my rumba frap, which became java chip frap... sinful treats... =P so yup, after a relaxing time at coffee bean, we went nj west rd for dinner! Haha... first stop, pudding green tea... 2nd stop, xiaoyang sheng jian! Haha... showed my dad how to eat that, and once again warned him about william’s cmi (+highly dangerous) shengjian eating habits... beware if you’re wearing light coloured clothing... must siam and get your tissue ready in case the juice from the sheng jian bao spurts out as he sinks his teeth into the sheng jian tactlessly... =P

Ok, 3rd stop, bbq food! haha...we ordered scallops, oysters, mutton satays, chicken wings, bbq fish (1st time trying...very nice!!), octopus and mushrooms... we were sitting in the restaurant, so we had to pay 10rmb extra, but it was well worth it...since we wouldn’t have to queue outside and could get our delicious piping hot bbq food much sooner! =)

By then, we were already super full... so could only show my dad the other delicious foodstalls selling 锅贴, smelly tofu, takoyaki, egg tarts, etc... =)

goodbye pudding milk tea...hello pudding green tea! =P

Day 62 – 21 Sept (Sun)

As you all might know, my fave beverage in shanghai was coco’s pudding milk tea with pearls! But ahem... sadly, with the disgusting melamine scare, I’m steering clear of dairy products! And this includes the milk in the milk tea! Haha... so my new love = pudding green tea with pearls! Haha... yay... the pudding and pearls at coco really rocks! Nice and chewy! You can totally tell the difference between its quality pudding and pearls after comparing them with those from other cmi bubble tea stalls! =)

So yah, armed with the delicious pudding green tea, we headed for lunch at 游子老鸭粉丝馆！it’s one big bowl of vermicelli soup for 10rmb...so 2 people can just share, and pls order their yummy 卤蛋 (soya sauce egg)! haha...that’s 2rmb for 1... satisfying meal for 7rmb/pax! =P

eating 老鸭粉丝汤 & coco PGT!! (pudding green tea) =P


wonderful 卤蛋 & 老鸭粉丝汤


delicious 老鸭粉丝汤... =)


游子老鸭粉丝馆



After lunch, i figured there was still some time before my train ride back to nanjing, so decided to explore nj west rd... usually the food street will draw us there immediately, and we would spend all our time eating, or at most walk around the nearby shops...but since there was more time today, we decided to walk further down, to see what other shops there were... after a 5-10min walk, we saw a big shopping mall with an isetan! Wow... the shopping mall looked rather high-class, lotza branded boutiques... as we entered the mall, we were greeted by melodious music coming from the central plaza of the mall... walking towards the source of that beautiful music, we saw a beautiful stage with 3 pretty violinists performing! I was instantly reminded of a friend who plays the viola superbly and wished she was there to watch them too! =P after the trio finished playing their pieces, another pretty emcee took over and it was then we realized that the whole set up was an publicity stint for a perfume... hahaha... there, I was, thinking it was just some nice, random performance... there were lotza pple taking pics or filming the performers, and I was no exception... haha... I loved a few of the pieces they performed... too bad I didn’t know any of the titles... >_<

the emcee and the beautiful stage... =)


Well, after the inspiring performance, I decided to grab some food for my dinner back in nanjing...bought yoshinoya’s beef bowl! There happened to be a promo, so it cost only 18rmb or something... =) Woohoo... nice and cheap! =P

me on 1st clsas train...

my dinner - yoshinoya beef bowl! =P

food at xu jia hui... =)

Day 61 – 20 Sept (Sat)

Had lessons at jiaotong uni today, went to the nearby hk restaurant called billy & bros (don’t ask me why a hk restaurant sounds so angmoh)... haha... we’d been there 2 or 3 times previously... this time round, I tried the 双拼烧味河粉汤 (2 types of roasted meat – roasted duck & roasted pork with hor fun in soup)... it was pretty gd! =) also ordered 叉烧酥 to share... the pastry was really nice, along with fragrant char siew... =P

billy & bros hk restaurant... =)

my delicious 烧味双拼 with noodles... =P

叉烧酥 char siew puff! yummy... =)


After lessons, we slacked at metro city’s food republic coz we weren’t that hungry yet... think I was watching some jap drama on my archos player or something... then when it was finally dinner time, went sushi tei! Yummy... jap food... my all-time fave... =P

The salmon sashimi was still on offer, so we grabbed a plate of that... shared an agedashi tofu which was woohoo! =P for my main course, I had a nice tempura udon! Oishii!! Haha... nice soup, nice tempura, nice udon... yummy... =D

After the sumptuous dinner, we headed right home, coz I had to pack some stuff for my dad to bring back to sg... he would be coming down to visit next week!! Yay!! =D

salmon sashimi! =P

agedashi tofu! =P

oishii tempura udon! =)

sushi tei at xu jia hui's metro city... =)

haha...i know my blog's super outdated... =P

Day 60 – 19 Sept (Fri)

After lessons in the morning, we went to 静安寺 again... it’s almost become a weekly routine... haha... as usual, since it was lunchtime, lotza restaurants were crowded... we decided to try the thai restaurant at the basement... I ordered a seafood tom yam noodles for 23rmb... the soup tasted not bad, slightly sweet, probably to cater to the locals... ingredients wise, there was a tiny mussel which wasn’t too fresh... but well, it was an alright meal lah... unlike William... who was kinda ‘cheated’... he ordered a tom yam soup for 20rmb, and a bowl of rice to go with it... but it turned out that his tom yam soup came in a very small bowl, definitely insufficient to fill his stomach with... haha... it he’d just 3rmb to get my noodles, it would have made a whole lot of difference... but well, too bad for him lah... wrong choice... haha... so he had to order an additional dish of pandan leaf chicken which cost 25rmb I think... what an expensive meal for him... >_<

thai restaurant at 静安寺

william's 'cheaterbug' tom yam soup! >_<

my pretty gd tom yam noodles...=)


We decided to go somewhere new, so went to check out 中山公园 which has a park and a few shopping malls nearby... it turned out that the park was really pathetic, small and poorly maintained! >_< it was really cmi, especially after we’ve visited beautiful places like 玄武湖公园 (lake xuanwu) or 雨花台(yuhua tai) in nanjing! Totally thrashed it hands-down... =P

Then we went 陆家嘴’s super brand mall, where we found 喜多屋 (xi duo wu), this international buffet restaurant, recommended by my friend, shanshan... it’s really ex... the dinner costs 220rmb = S$48 based on current exchange rate...>_< weekday lunch is cheaper, 20 or 30% off that price... they supposedly have the alaskan king crabs, lobsters and various types of seafood... and the main highlight’s that the restaurant is near the huangpu river, so if you choose the seats by the window, the view of the huangpu river at night is very beautiful...=) but you’ll have to place reservations way in advance if you want the window seats, coz the restaurant’s really quite popular.. it tends to be full-house on weekends especially... we figured that we were too full to try the buffet today, and that we should perhaps go for their weekday lunch since it’s be cheaper, so we went to check out another Chinese restaurant which shanshan recommended... she loves seafood, especially fish, so she told me about this 鱼馆 which serves very fresh fish coz they just fish it out of the tank and cook it for you in the restaurant... we chose a 江鱼, i.e. fish from their Yangtze river, considered a freshwater fish I believe...it cost 48rmb/斤 (500g), so we ordered a fish that weighed slightly over 500g, and since it would be cooked in a steamboat style, we chose this clear tonic soup base, and ordered a serving of cabbage and mushrooms for the steamboat... instead of plain white rice, we shared a 牛腩炒饭 (beef fried rice) which was pretty nice... only 32rmb for a huge portion...=) the fish tasted slightly fishy, probably coz of the clear soup base, but luckily it still tasted very fresh coz the chef actually fished out the fish and showed us to check if we were ok with it, before he sliced the fish and served it along with the pot of hot soup... =) we were really full after the meal, but just before leaving, the waiter served us some complimentary fruits and a small glass of corn juice each... haha... first time trying corn juice, I found it quite alright... interesting taste... but William didn’t like it... haha...

our fresh fish at the 鱼馆

straight from the fish tanks in the restaurant... =)

the restaurant...nice ambience... =)

our steamboat soup+fish...

smooth and yummy fish! =P

娃娃菜

mushrooms! =P

牛腩炒饭 (beef fried rice)

steamboat! woohoo...=P


After dinner, went to the lotus supermart downstairs to shop around while waiting for our food to digest... bought some stuff for my family, coz my dad would be coming down to visit during the golden week holiday, so I can pass the stuff for him to bring back to singapore... =)