April 2018
We learned two major life lessons on this trip. The first – how to eat the infamous Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) like a pro. The second – when you’re craving XLB and there is a fresh plate in front of you, sometimes the rules go out the window and you just need to shovel them into your mouth and burn your tongue in the process.
64 Hours Left…
We arrived into Shanghai at night and hopped on the impressive MagLev train (magnetic levitation – yes, you heard that right). After zooming into the city at 304 km/hr, we checked into the Kerry Hotel and wandered around to explore. We went for a quick night swim and then hit the hay in preparation for two busy days in Shanghai!
56 Hours Left…
We got up early and admired the view from our hotel and grabbed a quick bowl of noodles from the lobby.
Then we hopped on the metro toward Tian Zi Fang, a neighborhood of boutique shops, tea houses, and street food stalls. We popped into Forever Summer Tea House to do some tea tasting and eventually landed on a delicious white tea with floral and citrus notes.
We had worked up quite an appetite and, let’s be honest, our one real mission was to eat so many Xiao Long Bao that we could go home fully satiated. First, we ducked into Lin Long Fang for the juiciest most amazing XLB and wonton soup we had ever tasted.
Then, we took the metro to People’s Square, visited the eBay office, and got a bit lost while roaming through the underground tunnels beneath the bustling city. We sat down for a delicious twelve course lunch at at Porcelain-Yi II (Changtai Plaza) with some of Rikun’s coworkers. The crab and fish were so fresh and full of flavor.
After that, we embarked on round three – Jia Jia Tang Bao, one of the most famous places for XLB to try their crab and pork version. The crab added a salty goodness to the XLB but we had to admit that round one was actually our favorite of the two.
After inhaling all the XLB, we took the metro over to LuJiaZui, Shanghai’s financial district. We ascended to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Building (the one that looks like a bottle opener at the top) to get an amazing view of the city.
We grabbed a few beers in the financial district and then headed back to our hotel to for another quick swim, grabbed a quick bite to eat before hitting the hay.
32 Hours Left…
We woke up early, hopped in the car and were on our way to Zhujiajiao, a water town on the outskirts of Shanghai. Zhujiajiao was established almost 2,000 years ago and has since become popular for the many rice shops and spice stores that line the riverbanks through the village.
We popped in and out of the various stores along the river admiring the items for sale, many of which were being handmade in front of us. It wasn’t long before our craving for a snack emerged, so we dived into a small eatery making fresh soup wontons. Most places outside of the main city rarely have English menus so you’ll often find yourself pointing or using hand gestures to order. After a quick back and forth of that we found ourselves with a plate of steaming, slippery leek and cabbage wontons in a clear broth.
Needing to lay down after consuming our weight in wontons, we decided to take the gondola style boats they have that run up and down through the ancient town. It’s fun to just sit back and explore the Venice like canals of Zhujiajiao Ancient Town.
After leaving the ancient town we headed back to the city to walk The Bund and grab some famous bao at Shengjian Bao at Da Hu Chun.
In the evening, we met up with some friends at Hyatt on the Bund for dinner, dessert, and some wine.
8 Hours Left…
It was our last day in Shanghai, so we got up super early to get a jump start on the day. We hopped on the metro and, as luck would have it, got stuck. We were packed in like sardines (like the videos you see on YouTube where people push you into the trains) and couldn’t move a muscle. We were stuck for about 45min and obviously couldn’t understand anything the train operator was saying. As soon as we got moving again we flew out of the metro station and decided to walk the rest of the day. Good thing we had our trusty Nikes on!
We walked through the expansive Century Garden and Financial District where we stopped along the way to pick up a roti street snack and a sweet pork bun.
Then we took the ferry across the river to visit Yu Gardens and grab some lunch. The views from crossing the river were magnificent and the commuter ferry we stumbled upon only cost about $0.25. We had to stay out of the way of lots of men on motorcycles, but other than that, it was a pleasant ride!
The Yu Gardens is a Chinese garden built during the reign of Ming Emperor Jiajing as the private garden of Pan Yunduan, an administration commissioner of Sichuan Province. It’s known for many of its architectural marvels which you can see on a peaceful stroll through the garden.
We worked up an appetite walking all day and grabbed a table at Fu You Lu for our last meal (no surprise here) – a bowl of steaming hot beef noodles. We saw a number of people eating another dish with pork, peppers, and rice, so we ordered that too.
After feeling like we had truly made use of three days in Shanghai and eating all that we could eat, we made our way to the airport and started our journey back to San Francisco.
