Culture Matters on ICS and blogs

On Friday night I watched a fascinating segment on "Culture Matters" (ICS channel). The host interviewed Kenneth Tan, a Singaporean guy who moved to Shanghai 5 years ago and started up a men's underwear brand and the very successful news website/blog Shanghaiist, a local Shanghainese man with a very succesful self-titled blog Wang Jian Shuo and CEO of Kijiji China and an Asian bureau chief and global technology journalist for Securities Industry News Maria Trombly.

They talked about blogs, what blogs are, can blogs help you make money? etc etc. They also interviewed random people on the street (looked like Raffles/People's Square area to me) both Chinese and Western and asked them their opinions about blogs, do they read them?, do they have one?, etc etc.

It was probably a bit simplistic and basic for me but I still found it interesting and found myself wanting to hear more from the panel of 'experts'.

Culture Matters blog

Massages and Genji Japanese restaurant

Sunday 16 March - Genji Restaurant

A week ago we had our fortnightly massage at the place we always go to. Once again we have very interesting conversations with our masseuses (that word looks funny typed out). Hubby's Mandarin is getting better and can have a decent conversation with them too although I still need to translate a few things for him, and also I don't understand everything they say myself!

They are interested to learn about our lives back in Australia and we are interested in learning about theirs.

We pay 60 RMB for a 1 hour massage (either full body or foot (which also includes a back massage done sitting up)). From this they are paid a measley 16 RMB per hour (that's around $2.50) but they get an extra 5 RMB if we specifically ask for their number. Ones that we like are 8,16,17,27,37. Every time our list of numbers just grows because often we can't ge the one we want, then we realise we are pretty happy with the new person/people we get! Maybe it's because I'm not so fussy but maybe it's because I realise that back home in Australia it costs more like $60-90/hour for a massage and they aren't nearly as good.

I also learn that they work 12 hours, every day of the year. They are allowed to take time off (most will take a couple of days off during Chinese New Year only though) but choose not to because they are so hard-working and intent on making more money. However, they don't actually work for all of those 12 hours. (they work in shifts either 10am-10pm, 12noon-12midnight or 2pm-2am). Usually they only work 5-6 hours but they still have to be there in case they are called upon. During their time off they hang out in a little room next door where they either watch tv, play mahjong or sleep. The guy I spoke to (no. 27) says it's really quite boring and he doesn't like it because he's sitting there and not getting paid.

Most people have horrible calluses and protrusions growing on their knuckles from using their knuckles so much. They say it doesn't hurt anymore once it gets to a certain stage.

While they were telling us their 'stories' I almost felt like crying. Well, I was crying on the inside. That they work so hard, and make so little money, and they still seem so happy, cheerful and cooperative.

Hubby got a lady, no. 37 last week. We hadn't seen her before but she's seen hubby plenty of times. Mostly because he is tall and fair-haired and stands out easily amongst the sea of black-haired people! (most customers are Japanese). At 30, she would be one of the older staff members although she is still younger than me! She has a 4 year old son, who lives with her inlaws (as is the case with all traditional Chinese families). She says she misses him heaps but what can you do?

All of the staff members come from poor country towns and different provinces, noone is actually from Shanghai. The scary thing is that although the pay seems so low to us, the pay in Shanghai is actually the highest in the whole country! (Shanghai also has the highest cost of living, even moreso than Beijing). No. 27 - the guy I've had 3 times now says he is 25 and already feels a bit 'old' because he's not married yet and most of his friends are. Most of these country people marry in their late teens or early 20's and have had at least one kid by the age of 25 or by 29 at least. Also, in the country they can get away with having more than one child, especially if the first is a girl.

If only all of us Western brats (and yes I admit I am one) could learn something from these poor hardworking people who have hardly anything...


Congen Massage Healthcare Club

兴义店 - 兴义路48号新世纪广场1F

XinYi Branch - 1F, New World/Hong Kong Plaza, 48 XinYi Road

(they also have branches in Gubei, Jing'an, Pudong, etc..)

Ph: (021) 6209 3813 / 6209 6615




OK onto dinner!

Instead of going to our usual place we tried a new one. This place is usually very full but we never went in because it was usually full of lots of smoking Japanese men. Erk. I HATE SMOKERS! Anyway for some strange reason it was kind of empty so we decided to give it a try.

The waitress asked us if we wanted ala carte or buffet. We weren't sure but decided to go for the buffet. Of course the Chinese/accountant side of me took over and I had to calculate if we were getting our money's worth. The Japanese buffet offered here (and at many other places) isn't like Sizzler's or your typical buffet. It's still ala carte (in that you have to order off a menu) but you can get as much as you like!

It was 145 RMB per person and we ended up eating about 450-500 RMB's worth. So a total bargain! We totally stuffed ourself with as much as we could take. It also included as much tea, coffee, juice, water or beer as we wanted. Anyway enough about the rave, on with the details!












源氏

新红桥开发区兴义路48号新世纪广场

Genji

48 Xinyi Road, Hongqiao (next to the massage parlour)

(also at 1414 Huaihai Middle Road)

Ph: (021) 6208 7910

Mochi in Shanghai

I found mochis in Shanghai today! I'm not sure if they've been there long, but today I found a stand at the Freshmart Japanese supermarket in the Jiuguang complex next to Jing'an temple.

I briefly mentioned mochis before in this post here. Anyway, I realised there was something strangely familiar about this mochi stand in Freshmart (right at the entrance/exit near the trolleys). It was the exact same brand as the one I tried in Osaka!

I got a peach-flavoured one, green-tea, and sakura cherry-blossom flavoured one. Hmm... If you are not used to them.. they are kind of an acquired taste though. Soft and cold and sticky, and filled with a bit of cream.

Yum!

Mochi Sweets





上海市 静安区 南京西路1618号
久光百货 B1F

Level B1, Freshmart, Jiuguang Plaza, 1618 Nanjing (West) Road, Jing'An, Shanghai, China

Ph: (021) 5464 0822

(Line 2 subway)

Tetsuya's lookalike in Taipei

Link

This post is not related to Shanghai

Tetsuya's is a French-Japanese fusion restaurant in Sydney, owned by Tetsuya Wakuda. I first heard about this restaurant sometime in 2000. I read about it in the SMH Good Food Guide book. I thought it sounded really good. Never got a a chance to go there though because:
1) the price for their degustation menu is something ridiculous like $180/head
2) it is so popular with yuppies you have to book at least 3 months in advance
3) I realised that the menu is mostly seafood and I don't even like seafood that much. Unlike most people I don't go gaga over prawns or raw fish!

But, you can get your Tetsuya fix in Taiwan for only $50/head! Amazing!

Taiwan is a foodie's dream come true. You can get all sorts of different Asian cuisines and European ones, catering for all price ranges. The foreign food there is cheaper than here in Shanghai! As well as that most restaurants are smoke-free and the staff are super friendly and polite. And despite me being paranoid about eating street food, I ate at Taiwan's famous night markets and didn't get sick. It is so cheap (approx. $1 a meal) and quick and tasty! How can I not promote Taiwan as an eating destination? ;)

Shortly before a recent trip to Taiwan, I was given a red-hot tip for a restaurant just outside the capital, Taipei. A colleague's friend had dined there last year and reckoned it was in the same league as Sydney's Tetsuya's but one-third of the price. It sounded like an ambitious claim. Last year Tetsuya's was named as the fifth best restaurant in the world by London's Restaurant Magazine, and was awarded the top accolade of three chefs hats by The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. It would be fair to say I was curious but sceptical.

Armed with a name - Da Shan Wu Jia - and an address, a group of us took the plunge and headed away from the bright lights and scuffle of Taipei. We hit the foothills that surround the city and followed a narrow, winding road to the restaurant. We were greeted by an elegant waitress dressed in black and ushered to a long wooden Japanese-style table.

It was one of only six such tables, each cordoned off by bamboo screens. The decoration was simple but striking. Japanese prints and mandolins on the walls; plants and decorative ornaments placed sparingly around the room. Candles and Chinese lanterns provided a flickering, intimate light while traditional Chinese music played softly in the background.

The staff spoke very little English and although we were accompanied by a Mandarin-speaking guide, it wasn't a necessity. There are no menus to labour over and only one option available to order: a 10-course set menu.

Ten minutes later a platter of beautifully sculpted white dishes arrived on an engraved wooden serving board. Each dish contained a cube of red wine jelly which, after exchanging quizzical glances, we slurped like an oyster. It was a deliciously sweet but potent palate cleanser.

Next up was a creamy square of tofu studded with wasabi and goji (a berry often used in Chinese medicine), together with a spoonful of succulent lobster garnished with white Japanese seaweed powder.

By now my initial scepticism had been replaced with bewildered astonishment. Each course that arrived set a fresh benchmark in terms of presentation and flavour.

Over the course of three hours we sampled 10 intricately prepared culinary treats. Highlights included a citrus salad topped with juicy chunks of tuna and salmon sashimi, whole shrimps with roasted pumpkin and eggplant and a steamed egg topped with grapefruit foam served with mountain potato and crabmeat.

Some courses were better than others, but they were never less than beautifully presented in an elaborate array of ceramic, stone and glass dishes.

With regard to the comparison with Tetsuya's, two of our group had dined there recently and said that Da Shan Wu Jia was definitely in the same league. In fact, the only area in which it let itself down was the bill, which came to a very un-Tetsuya's-like $50 a head, including wine.

The chef and owner of the restaurant, Mr Yo, joined us briefly at the end of the meal and through our guide we learned that despite the Japanese influences in his cooking, he's never been to Japan. The menu changes seasonally and he often experiments with new dishes to keep his regular clientele happy. He has no website, never advertises and relies purely on word of mouth for business.

So, if you ever find yourself in Taipei and fancy both a culinary and a cultural adventure, I know this great little restaurant you simply must try.

Da Shan Wu Jia (meaning Priceless Big Mountain) is an hour from the centre of Taipei:
No. 62 Sec. 3, Beiyi Road, Xiandian City, Taipei County.
Phone (+886) (0)2 2217 8891

(I think they have a typo in the address and it's supposed to be Xindian, not Xindan! I was staying in Xindian for some of my time in Taipei too!)

Funny and interesting blogs

I read way too many blogs.. I thought I'd share with you some that I like.

Kitty Hell - this is where I found out about the cafe in Taipei. This blog is hilarious and it doesn't matter if you like or hate Hello Kitty. The writer just has such an amusing way of writing! I've been reading this blog for about six months or so and it continues to amuse and inform me!

Photoshop Disasters - just found out about this through another blog last night. I work with and use Photoshop quite a lot and found this site hilarious too!

In other unrelated news.. That Japanese Tetris game show (look it up on YouTube if you don't know what I'm talking about) is coming to America! How cool is that?