In case you were wondering: They do BBQ in China.

And it is outdoors over hot coals... but slabs of steak or chicken won't be anywhere in sight.

I was invited out to Zhujiajiao again over the weekend, but before we headed to the quaint canal town, they surprised me by telling me we were headed to a BBQ. Now I've been to plenty of BBQs in china - mostly in the form of a Korean BBQ restaurant. So imagine my surprise when we pulled up to an outdoor park with dozens of public stone BBQs coupled with stone picnic setups? And in December no less!

Of course I had a few chuckles once they started pulling the selection of meats out of the cooler. And this wasn't before the entire table was covered in a thin plastic sheet, turning it into a giant plastic wrapped cutting board. I didn't really see why they'd need to do this until they started preparing the meats right there on the table. Everything from itty-bitty sausages to luncheon meats were pulled out and stuck on skewers. And yes I did say luncheon meats - the thin chicken kind you stick inside a sandwhich. It almost reminded me of a certain frat house-esq cuisine I was exposed to back in university. hmmm.

They did get some things right; There was pepsi and chips and some kind of bbq/fish sauce to dip everything in.  Seems that there are a universal BBQ must haves for any true international barbeque. Unfortunately no one ate with their hands; we were all given plastic gloves and toothpicks to pick the meat from the plates, which is probably why they only bring lunch meats and sausages... You just can't pick up a thick juicy slap of steak with a toothpick now can you.

Here are a few shots:

Scallops on the left, fondue beef (the closest things to steak!) bottom right, mini sausages on top along

with pre-cooked corn, lunch meats in bag...

Preparing the table

Tables and Barbeques (And yes they do

leave all their garbage behind like this)

The Barbie!

See the raw chicken on the bottom there? My dear friend here was dipping her sausage into the sauce she had put into the frozen chicken wing tray.  Clearly no worries of Salmonella here. eep.

No tray needed to bring the cooked meat back to the table, no siree when you have a plastic cup you're all set!

Clearly pepsi and lays are must haves for any international BBQ... even if those are blueberry and cucumber chips.

Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

xx!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is definitely not a holiday the Chinese celebrate, but you can bet the Canadian and American expats will!  I was lucky enough to get an invite from an expat who was kind enough to host Thanksgiving at his place this year (Thanks Annie's Brother!) While there wasn't any turkey at the table, there was delicious Chicken, two kinds of mashed potatoes, gravy and all the fixin's !

mmm xx!

The Spouse Market aka Marriage Market

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8063777.stm

In Shanghai it's good to know that there is a market catered to all of your needs, wants, and uttermost desires. From fruits and veggies, to fake bags and shoes, bedding, fish, crickets, fabric, electronics, and even nuts and bolts... Shanghai has it all.

On a regular weekday you can get a custom sequin dress made for you in the fabric market, and then take a 3 dollar taxi to buy a Gucci clutch in another market, of course you can grab some chicken in another market for that supper you'll be making for the blind date your grandpa hooked you up with in the Marriage market. Oh yeah, you heard me...Marriage Market. Like I said there is a market for absolutely anything your little heart desires.

The average young Chinese person works 6 days a week. And if they aren't living at home with mom and dad, they're living in unisex residences. If you think it's hard to find a hot date back home, just imagine yourself working 60 hours a week and only having one day off a week. Oh yeah, and you share a room with 4 other people.

In China, the average girl is expected to marry in her early 20's and the men before their late 20's or early 30's. Also consider this one: It's frowned upon to date during high school and even sometimes, during university as well; mom and dad's only hope to a good retirement is that one kid and you pretty much have to pull straight A's to get that prime job after school. And you're also competing against a billion people. So when are you supposed to find this dreamboat you say? What to do?

Well, don't worry about it: Mom and Dad know just where to go! In comes the Spouse Market in People Square:

Every Saturday and Sunday, Mothers, Fathers, and even Grandparents post up little advertisements of their kids and then wait for a bite. These posters include the all important details: Sex, Age, Height, Schooling information, job description, and of course, salary. If one mother is interested in another’s daughter they’ll sit, discuss, and arrange a blind date. All the kids need to do now is meet up and see if they are each other’s eternal loves.

Call it strange, or materialistic, or even depressing. I call it amusing, if not even romantic. In a world where material possession is all that matters, at least some people are out there with their hearts on their sleeves and hoping for a little bit of love. Who says romance is dead when you’ve got mom and dad as cupid!

Check out the link I added at the top. Great information there as well as fantastic photos.

"Female, 30 years old, 162cm tall, works at FedEx and makes 11,000rmb a year, has her MBA and is looking for a man between 29 and 35 years old."

The waiting game.

Parents also pay agents to take care of it all.

Love!  xx

MoCA

Amy and I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art on Saturday. What a little gem this place is, right in the middle of People Square.

The exhibit this month is "The Fifth Dimension-Art of Fiber and Space", where the creative works of each artist was supposed to "touch the area of visual sense and psychological experience, which traditional sculpture doesn't capture". I'm not sure if the pieces "touched my area of visual sense" as well as affected my "psychological experience" but it was certainly well worth the 20rmb entrance fee (so cheap!)

Check out a few peices that I liked or found interesting.

If you ever get the chance to go see, go!

xx!

Halloween in China!

Halloween is not a holiday in China, although some of the western restaurants in Shanghai had a few decorations to impress their foreign customers a few weeks coming up to the actual date. Many western holidays are starting to infiltrate Chinese culture and Halloween is coming around, albeit still dragging its heels.

I had the joy of teaching Halloween to my students this October. I was a little daunted at first; not knowing how to approach or introduce the topic but soon got into and had loads of fun with the kids.

And I'm pretty sure they just loved learning about/ acting out the scary monsters.

They learnt Mummy, Vampire, Ghost, Pumpkin, Black Cat, Bat, Witch, Mask, Candy, and of course, Trick or Treat, for which I actually had the kids Trick or Treat for real sweets! Dangle some candy and Canadian pennies in front of class and watch 50 disciplined kids go crazy...!!

Here are a few shots:

The kids and their masks. I printed some blank masks and they coloured them in, cut them out, and tied some string around them. Cute!

The masks I made and used as examples for the kids.

Mmm cheap chinese candy!

These were obviously their favourite! Canadian pennies!

Themed stickers

Scaaary flashcards!

More masks!

Love! xx

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

It's official. Summer is long gone and the cold winter rains have washed the last of the warmth out of the air.

I must admit, Shanghai's summer heat and humidity can be a little suffocating sometimes but I still loved it and now wish it would come back as the chill sets deep into my bones. I find myself reminiscing of the hot summer days that seem to have been stolen away by a cruel winter witch and think back on a few things that will remind me of China Summers for a long time: Summer Fruit.

I have already gabbed on about the Waxberry, which I'm sure I'll probably go crazy looking for back in Toronto, but there have been a few other "star fruits" that have been a great treat these past warm months.

Pomegranates were a big surprise here in Shanghai as I always thought they looked a little under ripe with their yellow-pink skins, but I took a couple home with me one day and discovered that their light skins revealed light pink fruit on the inside that I can only describe as "blush". Not as tart as the ones you find in your typical North-American superstore but much lighter in taste and faintly sweet. From that day on I was eating one or two a day until they went out of season.

Blush coloured fruit on the inside. Delicious!

Pomelos were (and still are!) one of my favourites as well. The pomelo tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit - it has very little or none of the common grapefruit's bitterness.  I think it's also the only citrus fruit that has its segment's membranes removed before eating. I can go through a whole pomelo in a couple of days, although a few segments would be the equivalent of a large orange.

As big as your head!

The flesh without any skin. mmm

As fall comes to an end and winter completely takes over, I'll try to find a few more seasonal fruits as they appear. Lets see what comes up shall we?

Love! xx

World's Greatest City: 50 reasons why Shanghai is no.1

CNN recently rated Shanghai as the world's greatest city. Of course I have no objections and couldn't think of a more wonderful place to live in right now.

Check it out:

http://www.cnngo.com/shanghai/none/worlds-greatest-city-50-reasons-why-shanghai-no-1-590704/?pks=ggl+Shanghai+No+1

# 4 sums it up I think:

"Shanghai’s energy is what makes it one of the greatest cities around -- it's the American Dream “a la Chinoise” where everything and anything is still possible."

love!

xx