Musings of a Food and Travel Addict
…and I’m not going!! Looks like fun and since Cathay Pacific is a sponsor, figure they’d make a silly commercial.
So this beeyoutiful team in Red stymies the All Blacks. I think they play dirty; the team in Red, that is. I mean, who brings a beverage cart onto the field? And the tripping foul is negated by the pillow and blankie I guess. Heh. Click through for the commercial.
Taken from the Park Hyatt at the top of the Shanghai World Financial Center. That’s the Jin Mao Tower in the foreground and the Oriental Pearl Tower in the back. The fog rolled in so thick that night that flights out of PVG were delayed for hours the next day. I know, because I spent six hours at the FM lounge waiting for my flight back to Singapore.
It just gets easier and easier to do things in Mainland China. During my last trip, I broke down and purchased a China Mobile prepaid SIM for use during my visit. It makes things a lot easier when you’re out there.
It was a lot simpler to buy a SIM card than it was before. Here’s what you need to do:
1. Find a China Mobile (they have better coverage) store.
2. Walk inside and ask if someone can help you in english (对不起，你会说英文吗?).
3. Bring Passport and unlocked GSM phone; the former to register your SIM card and the latter so the staff can test it out for you.
It really was that easy. Here’s a site with more detailed information. It’s a couple of years old, but the information is still valid.
I ran the SIM card on my unlocked Nexus One. Phone calls and SMSes went through fine. I was able to purchase a data bucket to run Google Maps, the internet, Foursquare and most importantly, Google Translate! For standard GSM phones however, you will be running on EDGE. If you’re wanting 3G speed, I’ve read conflicting reports that China Unicom has a prepaid 3G service. Unlike most prepaid service in Asia, you can’t punch in a USSD code to pull up your balance or to purchase services. You need to call 10086 and press 2. Service is 24 hours and their English speaking staff is pretty good.
One more thing; Boingo Mobile works with a lot of the pay-hot spots around Shanghai. So if you have that service, you can always save your data by logging onto Wi-Fi.
So, the moral of the story is: be adventurous and ask! Usually people will be nice enough to be helpful, especially if you try to speak Putonghua. Which I can’t.
Image via Wikipedia
Once again, I’m out here in Singapore getting over my jet lag and preparing for adventures further afield. Since my arrival on Tuesday, it’s been a non-stop blur of seeing friends, making new ones, numerous makan sessions and a civilized evening at a hidden Cigar Club that involved, yes, eating some home cooked Singapore food on account that it was Hari Raya Haji on Wednesday.
Unlike my usual trips to Asia, this time I will not be stopping off in Hong Kong. However, the craving still hits for proper Hong Kong cuisine: yum cha and won ton noodles. Thankfully, both can be (temporarily) sated during my time here in Singapore.
I went to Hua Ting for yum cha. Hua Ting is inside the Orchard Hotel, just where the famous street begins. It is, probably, the fanciest restaurant I have been to in Singapore (I usually visit hawker stands and what not). When I was there, the restaurant was configured with large tables for the family lunches that occur on public holidays.
They’re known for their yum cha but surprisingly, the menu had less items on it than a typical place would have. It was a case of quality, not quanitity as the go-to standards were pretty good.
Again, it IS a “nice” place so it’s appropriate for family meals, taking the inlaws out or a semi-serious date with someone interesting. The best part, according to my friend who lives here, is that the total price is very reasonable. No tacky add on charges for a napkin or tea, which makes this a rarity in Singapore indeed.
Hua Ting Restaurant at the Orchard Hotel
442 Orchard Road,
238879
Singapore
+65
The other craving that hits when I’m afield is the simple bowl of won ton noodles, Hong Kong style. That means: prawn won tons, thin house made egg noodles and the light broth made from fish. Such a simple dish that is very easy to mess up. See what passes for “won ton noodles” in different parts of the US for example. Most places use thicker store bought noodles that taste like a used dishwashing sponge. The won tons usually have some kind of meat inside instead of prawns and the broth is MSG flavored instead of fish flavored. Bleagh!
Singapore has its version of wantan mee; it’s served dry on a plate with meat won tons, generous slices of chow siu and has a dipping soup for the noodles. It’s very good when you visit the right stall and the fact that the main dish is dry invites generous application of chilli sauce and raw chillis. It’s hard to get the condiments right if they’re going into soup.
So when the word hit the internet that an executive chef, formerly of Mak’s Noodle fame took over Noodle Place at Centrepoint, the mission became clear; to see if this place can satisfy the urge without having to fly three hours north and another 40 minutes on the train.
In a word, a conditional “yes”. The bowl was the right size and the noodles to won ton ratio was bang on. The broth was very good, having more of the fish essence it should have. The won tons themselves were a bit smaller than I’m used to and part of me was wondering if they used frozen prawns (they just seemed so uniformly small). The noodles had the proper “snap” and had an alkali finish to them. Seems house made to me!
Noodle Place is hidden in the Centrepoint mall on Orchard Road. I say “hidden” because it’s address makes you think it’s on the main floor, but it’s actually hidden downstairs, in the very back of the mall past the Cold Storage and then up the escalator to an annex with a handful of sit down casual restaurants. There were no maps alongside the directories and the people I asked were completely blur. Hey Centrepoint! How about a MAP??
Noodle Place
176 Orchard Road
01-53/56 The Centrepoint
Singapore 238843
+65 6733-3171
The San Francisco Giants pulled it off! World Series Champs! A three run homer late in the game sealed it. Sweet!
Image via Wikipedia
Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese restaurant chain that’s known for its xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). They’re maybe a step or two away from being perfect, depending on which location you visit.
The great thing is that they’re all over Asia so if you’re in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo,
Malaysia, Indonesia, mainland China, Australia or even Taiwan, you’re not far from xiaolongbao goodness. If you live in the USA however, you’re very far from xiaolongbao goodness as there’s only one location outside of Los Angeles and that location has mixed reviews.
Within Asia, all the locations are at an equally high standard. Some locations are more equal than others. For example, the Tsimshatsui location is considered one of the flagships because of its Michelin Star and its larger, more varied menu. Because of its location and its accolades, it’s also one of the more expensive locations. Compared to this, the Xintandi location seemed like a bargain even though it was in an expensive part of Shanghai and in spite of the inequality of the exchange rate (which will hopefully change in about a year).
The appeal of Din Tai Fung is not necessarily the special-ness of the menu (aside from the xiaolongbao, whose equal I cannot find in my half of the world) but that the menu is prepared to the highest standard and that the service in the restaurant is also top tier. That’s not saying much, if you were to mention the Tokyo or Singapore locations; service SHOULD be good. But to get that caliber of service on the mainland or even in Hong Kong is a special thing. When you visit a Din Tai Fung (in Asia), you will get xiaolongbao hand folded 23 times and it will be delivered to your table scalding hot. Remember to scoop it out with your soup spoon and nibble the side like a beaver so that the soup pours out of the dumpling into your spoon. Sip then gulp. Failure to follow these guidelines will probably lead to a burnt mouth. The beef noodle soup will be, erm, beefy and satisfying. The noodles will had that neat al dente snap. The veggies will be locally sourced and fresh. And although it won’t be a lomantic night out, it probably would qualify as a FUN night out. Lomance is handled by the alleyways and bars of Xintandi…
Hawker’s Noodle Soup, Taiwan style
Fried Pork chop over aforementioned noodles
DTF style siu mai
The classic xiaolongbao with 23 folds apiece.
We also had some soup and greens but at some point, you have to stop taking pictures and start eating because all the food is disappearing. No more photos. Just go there!
上海市卢湾
区兴业路123弄
2/F, South Block, Xintiandi Mall, Shanghai (metro: South Huangpi Lu)
6385 8378
Image via Wikipedia
The City went nuts last night (in a good way) as the San Francisco Giants won the National League pennant. Horns blared, lots of people yelled in joy and an M-80 went off on my block. The World Series begins next Wednesday the 27th at PacBellPark. It would be nice to go, but I’m not willing to donate body parts for game tickets. Guess I’ll watch it on TV.
I’m Chinese (American) and I think this commercial is well done!
And no, I’m not offended.
The comparison in the video would be more appropriate to Great Britain who spent itself into irrelevancy creating its welfare state rather than the Romans and Greeks. This video has nothing to do with xenophobia and everything to do with the idiots in Washington DC.
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