Fashion in Shanghai

I have finally found a blog dedicated to the fashion scene in Shanghai. Shanghai is known for many things but unfortunately its Fashion Scene is not one of them.

Beleive me it was hard to find this blog but for those of you interested, click on here: http://thestreetaholic.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Summer Fruit

The start of summer means an introduction to a many new fruit here in Qing-pu. You can always tell what is in season by what the street carts are selling.  For about two weeks now, along with a light green peaches, watermelons, and lychee there was an interesting - if not bizarre, looking fruit that seemed to be a real crowd pleaser.  I can only describe it as a round raspberry with really small drupelets. Unlike a raspberry it isn't hollow on he inside but does have a pit, much like a cherry.

They are used here to sweeten wines or are eaten dried, but I was introduced to them plain and simple - washed and eaten whole.  One of the grade 1 teachers brought them into the office on Friday and gave me a bag full along with simple instructions if I were to purchase some myself: Wash them and soak them in salt water for about 10minutes.

They are hard to describe, but perhaps the raspberry analogy is fitting enough, although they are a little fleshier and not so soft. They come in shades of dark red to a deep purple and I can say with confidence that they are my new favourite summer fruit. 

The name for them in Chinese is yángmé but in English I've come into two different translations: The Bayberry or the Waxberry. Since the fruit is a little waxy on the outside (not so much that you taste it) I have adopted the Wax version.

here's some more information on the fruit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrica_rubra

If you ever come across these interesting berries, purchase a few, wash them, and soak them in salt water for around 10 minutes. You won't be disappointed!

Blossoms in Shanghai 2

I bought a couple of bouquets for some of the Chinese teachers on my last day before the summer holidays.  Flower bouquets are a huge industry here in China and flower shops dot every street in a ratio of about 2/10.

Each shop opens at around 7:30-8am and I've caught a few of them receiving some of their flowers in the "rough" and getting them ready for bouquets. Roses seem to be the most labour intensive since the stems have to have their leaves and thorns stripped before they are used for anything else. Thankfully shop owners have a special tool that looks like something you would use on wiring to remove plastic coating and thorns and leaves are removed in one swipe.

The average price for each bouquet is between 40-100rmb depending on the flowers used and I picked up a beautiful lily bouquet for 80rmb and a purple flower bouquet for 50rmb.  Popular choices for are roses, lilies, carnations, and mini plush toys (yup... imagine a bouquet but instead of flowers are little stuffed cows!)  Generally you can just walk up to a shop and the bouquets are placed on one side of the shop but you can also pick from an array of flowers and pay a little more for a custom piece.

It's also custom to wrap every major stem in coloured gauze or tissue as filler instead of using foliage, which honestly I've found to be a little tacky, but heck, that's just how it's done here!  Every bouquet is then finished off by wrapping it completely in coloured tissue. Bouquets are quite the serious matter here!

Enjoy!