/ Food

Cheap Eat Beat: Kumquat Season

Kumquats are in season! But lucky for us, we're on the Kumquat's home turf. According to my extensive Wikipedia research, kumquats originated in China and have long been cultivated here, noted in literature dating back to the 12th century. The fruit originates in Guangzhou, and the name comes from the Cantonese word "kam kwat" meaning "golden orange".

Even more exciting, they are sold in kilo bags for about RMB15, not the boutique prices of other countries. Eaten peel and all,...[read more]

Cheap Eat Beat #4: Does This Chinese Food Make Me Look Fat?

A lot of foreigners are convinced that Chinese food is the culprit of creeping waistlines and spreading derrieres. I admit there are times that my dish seems more fried than noodle, but when compared to a lot of Western cuisine Chinese food (eaten right) probably kicks our cuisines fat butt. I mean, my own America is the home of both McDonalds and the Atkins diet! For years, dieticians over there have been telling us "Eggs, no eggs; juice, no juice;...[read more]

Shanghainese food

It's possibly the narrowest, steepest - and maybe even the most dangerous - staircase in the city. Getting down is even more hazardous - going down backwards is the safest option. At the top of the stairs you come to a room measuring about 3m by 5m, inside which is also a fridge (disappointingly it doesn't contain beer but frozen meat), some wardrobes and a TV. It looks suspiciously like someone's makeshift bedroom, with a sofa lining one of the...[read more]

Cheap Eat Beat #3: Street food shut down (part 2)

As mentioned in my blog last week, Shanghai seems to be cracking down on street food. Despite my loyalty to these traveling cheap eats, the sweep has some defense. The government cites sanitation as the big danger of street food vendors. If people get sick or die, it's hard to trace which vendors are cooking with contaminated food or oil, and even harder for the sanitation department to do regular investigations. The city is also responsible...[read more]

Cheap Eat Beat #2: Street food shut down (part 1)

Eating late, the best bet for my neighborhood is the trusty shaokao place around the corner. Operating out of a storefront past 4am, the place is perfect for a beautiful night of squatting on little stools and tearing meat off sticks. Last Sunday however, just as I and my dining partner had tucked in for a 9pm feast, the grill-master informed us that the police were coming and that we couldn't eat there. They promptly took the seats from under...[read more]

Cheap Eat Beat #1: Picking your hole in the wall

The lights are neon. The walls are white and bare. The wait staff ignores you until you kick them in the shins. Picking the right hole-in-the-wall (HITW) restaurant can be difficult because they are ubiquitous in their dingy looks, non-English menus and the fact that they never get a smiley face from the board of hygiene.

However, some of the best Chinese food is served for cheap in the crummiest looking places, even in Shanghai. Telling between a HITW that serves...[read more]