The weather is getting really warm here, My host thinks it's time for me to change out of my sweater. She happens to have something that fits my size.
I try to tell her that I am a boy... but I guess she doesn't understand Russian. Oh well... at least I am not sweating like crazy...
Today we are going to try some Shanghainese food. The restaurant is in Tsim Sha Tsui, not far from the Avenue of Stars we visited a few days ago. Here is another view of the Harbor, where the cruise terminal is.
This restaurant is called Crystal Jade Ramen and Xiao Long Bao.
One of the most famous food from Shanghai is the Xiao Long Bao. We are reading the restaurant's placemat, which has a story about this dumpling.
Let's see what we shall order!
The dumpling (bao) comes in small bamboo steam basket (xiao long). Traditionally, pork is used as filling. Chilled meat gelatin is wrapped inside, so once it heats up, the dumpling is filled with hot, juicy soup.
We also order some ramen noodles. Ramen literally means "pulled noodle" and the noodle is made by stretching a round of dough, folding it and pulling again, repeating until you get many strands of noodles. Sounds easy in theory but takes lots of practice to get noodles that are thin, uniform in width and not broken apart. We can kind of see the chef at work pulling the noodles, but he is working too fast for us to take good pictures.
We first enjoy the Za Jiang Mein. (Jajangmyeon in Korean) It is a popular Northern China dish with minced meat and bean paste on top of noodle. You can call it a Chinese style spaghetti bolognese.
Next is the hot & sour noodle, which is noodle in hot and sour soup.
This is a dish of fried eel, a little crunchy and sweet.
Turnip pancake.
And last, something sweet to end the meal. Steamed buns with a sweet paste. Usually the paste is made with azuki beans or lotus seed or egg custard.
