Yes, I like walking into a heated Ichido on a freezing Sunday afternoon. What I don’t appreciate is being surrounded by asshole cakes and pastries loaded with cream and sugar. What are you trying to do, make me regret those gravy fries I had for brunch? Assholes.
They #1: You know, now that I take a closer look at Eric, he DOES look like Han Hong (韩红) after all.
They #3: Who’s Han Hong?
They #2: That female mainland singer from Tibet.
They #3: Oh you mean that fat one?
Me: Thanks. Thanks everybody.
They #1: But Eric, she’s really talented! She’s got a great voice!
They #2: Yeah, she’s super talented. She can really sing. You should feel flattered.
Me: Yes, I do. I may look like a fat female singer from Tibet, but at least I look like one who can really sing!
(Judge for yourself, do I really like like her? Don’t think so)
Here are 3 pictures from Debbie’s birthday this past weekend. I don’t know how our friend Sabine does it, but she can put together a themed party at a piano bar, complete with props and costumes, in a span of 48 hours. Props to her, and to all the people who deftly mixed single malt whiskey and lots of red wine.
This is cross-posted on Shanghaiist
Looks like Shanghai’s Year of Pho will soon have its first cage match. Yes, our pleas for decent pho through the years have been thoroughly drowned out by the sound of so many pho restaurants popping up left and right, front and back. But something intriguing is happening on Wujiang Lu, where Pho Sizzlin’ has, up until now, laid claim to its pho-main with is colorful personality but decidedly average noodle offerings. A challenger has set up shop on the same street, and Pho26 is no glass-jawed pretender.
As with most pho joints, the prices vary depending on how many ingredients you choose (one of the few establishments on this planet besides Fox News where on has to actually pay more for the privilege of being served tripe). Pho26 steps it up a notch by offering a bowl served with A4 grade kobe beef, which clocks in at 100 RMB, though we were too humble try anything other than their combo bowl. Our skepticism at having a side dish with only peppers and a lime wedge (the bean sprouts and basil are already in the bowl when served) slowly dissolved as we dug into the very deep and ample bowl. The thin noodles were of the soft and fragile variety, but being overcooked added much appreciated flavor to them. Beef slices were rare and tender and delicious; the broth was a fragrant consommé that surprisingly refused to take on a sheen of oil on its surface. Note: our friend who shuns all things beef tried the pork neck rice and said it was really dry, so until we delve further into the matter stay with the pho.
The owners of Pho26 cut their teeth on having successfully run the first four shops in this chain in fickle Hong Kong, and they ostensibly have enough confidence in their product to park themselves but a few meters away from one of the most popular pho servicers in town. While it may lack the warmth of service and cheerful disposition of Pho Sizzling (they scored points with us long ago with their semi-campy instructional videos on how to eat their dishes), Sizzling should take notice: the new guys serves a very good bowl of pho.
Pho26 – 2/F No. 178 Wujiang Lu, near Shimen Lu (越旺餐厅 – 吴江路178号二楼. Tel: 5228-6597. Price: 28-35 RMB per bowl of pho
My original plans of ordering a roast chicken and sharing it with my mom for a low key Thanksgiving were dashed when Debbie called all of us together for a big Shanghainese dinner at Fu1039. The reason? Her awesome mom (who just now offered to set me up with a fleet of China Airlines flight attendants) is in town to drink whiskey and chill with her daughter and her awesome friends. So Jason and I both brought out our mothers for a big giving of thanks. Per usual custom, Debbie went all out at this very nice Shanghainese restaurant, the pinnacle of her efforts to please being the crab cake and dumpling pictured below. Shredded crab meat and crab egg yolk baked in a tiny crab shell, with crab sauce smothered in a ball of sesame sprinkled fried dough. We definitely have much to be thankful for. Good friends and family and food and fun. Hope all of you got yours as well.
Every now and then this really old street barber will set up shop (if you can call it that) on the street in front of our office and seemingly only take equally ancient customers. Took this photo yesterday after lunch because old Chinese people are really adorable. Especially when they’re grooming each other. Now how ’bout those eyebrows?
I want to be like my BFF Vivian and start blogging from everywhere except in front of my laptop. I finally upgraded my Wordpress to versions 2.8 and can now use the Wordpress iPhone app. And naturally, I am now blogging this from my desk on my laptop.
Anyway, I’m hoping that since I have intercourse with my iPhone almost every waking minute, I can start blogging more often now in more frequent and spastic spurts, just like Viv does on her wonderful blog.
Or, I can do what I’ve done the past couple of years and just not blog at all.
Finally found pho that I can really enjoy here in Shanghai. My review will be up on Shanghaiist in the next few days. In the meantime, if you’ve got a hankering, check out Pho26 on Wujiang Lu. It’s doing battle with Pho Sizzling next door, And to me it’s the clear cut victor.
Why do some lucky fools get to see hot girls making out with each other on the subway, and I get to see some old dude clipping his fingernails?
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