Anyway, Jolie was wearing the cutest bunny sweater I bought at a Market in Hong Kong along with her new boots! (also bought at a market - cheap and good!) Cute right...
I've got my new FOX jacket and my new boots too! :)
Anyway, we're headed to Cheng Huang Miao (城隍庙) today, which was supposed to be a must visit place for tourists. Even if you are not the religious type, there are plenty of shops surrounding the place, so it's a good place to wander.
There's a famous restaurant there that sells xiao long bao that's not so xiao. See how big it was!
Yeah we were quite sick of xiao long bao after that, and we all plan to swear off xiao long bao for at least a few weeks. After breakfast, we realised that you can actually queue downstairs to buy their bao. It's actually cheaper because you get more pieces for the same price, but you can only have it on a paper plate and you have to eat it outside the restaurant premise. Interesting...
There were lots of shops around the area, so it's kind of old architecture meets modern shops like Starbucks. But hey, Cobby and I were really excited to see our beloved Starbucks. We got our Starbucks mug there, but my coffee got screwed up as the idiot added Cinnamon into my cappuccino.
Like I said, there were lots of stores there, so we were munching as we walked along... Sweet soup dumplings or tang yuan...
My favourite, deep fried stinky toufu...
Mom looked like she's posing with the crab, but actually she's just warming herself up under the sun...
Jolie here with the mascot for Shanghai Expo 2010. She look so hip-hop with her parka.
Sis and I caught a traditional Chinese "movie", which four people sit on a long bench, look through a hole into a box and watch a "movie" made of paintings while the narrator tells us the stories and does "magic" using lighting to make the paintings change. Super interesting! Sis and I were giggling as the narrator was so funny.
This was the actual temple itself. It looked simple but you can actually walk all the way inside.
We continued to venture to the older streets around the area, which was more interesting as it was less tourist-sy and you get a better sense of the real Shanghai.
In one of the little alley, we found a tiny noodle shop where a young man was busy "pulling" noodles and cooking them on the spot for hungry local customers. We weren't really hungry, but how can we resist? It was kind of embarrassing, as the six of us, plus Jolie, all cramped up in the tiny store, sharing only two bowls of noodles. Haha... niao...
We walked further and hit the jackpot! We found this street called 上海老街 (old shanghai street) and it was lined with local eateries! There were stores selling all sorts of biscuits, noodles, toufu, everything! OK the street may not look very clean, so maybe it's not for the faint-hearted, but everything is cooked on the spot, so it's quite fresh, warm and delicious!
Crispy, flaky egg rolls made on the spot...
Pan fried spicy stinky toufu...
Roasted sweet potatoes bought from a friendly old man...
Vegetable pan fried dumplings...
We were so busy eating we didn't take much photos. But we did eat till our stomach was nice and round! Heehee... Check this out, you can find everything in China. Even FAKE GATORADE...
We decided to go back to the hotel to rest awhile before going for a boat ride in the evening. Sis and Dad headed out to check out some book stores. I would love to go too, but I had to stay at the hotel and get Jolie to take her nap. Halfway through even Cobby and I took a nap too.
We left quite late in the afternoon and walked like FOREVER along the riverside to the ticketing booth.
It was freaking cold that evening, and the timing didn't allow us to have dinner, so we quickly ta-pao some food onto the boat. ;) Jolie's cheeks were all pink from the cold after the long walk.
Our boat!
The boat has indoor seating as well as a open air upper deck for night scene viewing. Everybody flocked to the upper deck, so it was easy finding good indoor seats. Cobby bought Burger King, so it was quite shiok to be munching on a Whopper and fries while enjoying the view from the warm and toasty indoor seating.
Of course we didn't waste the trip on just seating indoors! After our burger we put on our coat and went upstairs. Beautiful view!
After the boat ride, parents were a little tired, but we were still a little hungry from the lack of dinner. So Sis suggested that the rest of us go hunt for a good and proper restaurant and pig out!
Turns out to be more difficult that we expected! It was only 8pm plus, but most of the store were either not too appetising, or closing for the night! Besides, we had to find non-spicy, non fast food too. :P
In the end we found this Korean BBQ restaurant on top of a huge shopping centre. The shopping centre's already closed, but thankfully the restaurant was still opened. So we ordered this set meal that was obviously for 8 instead of 4! The Chinese have huge appetites! We ate and drank Shoju till we could not drink anymore! It was quite fun as we walked back to the hotel, stomach full and warm from drinking the alcohol.
Sis bought a toy that people were selling on the streets. It's like a lighted thing you shoot into the sky and it would slowly spin down back to you. It's kind of fun, except that I keep shooting my own hand. :P
That night Sis told us how funny our dear bro was. High from the alcohol, he chatted non-stop about how funny it would be if the ribbon the dancers (they were watching TV) were dancing with were snakes! We laughed and laughed the next morning while he just denied everything. :)
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