This special bao...

This is called a "shen zian bao". It originated from Shanghai and I believed it is only here that you can see such bao. Very similar to your potstickers but the dough is a bread dough.




The base is deliberately fried till slightly burnt, then half a cup of water is poured into the pan and covered, cooked till the rest of the buns are well done. The taste? Need I say more?

The double R lamb...

The weather is turning freezing cold, I must say, it is as cold as Macungie, minus the snow. The locals are expecting some snowfall (yes, Shanghai does snow). Usually, at this time of the year, the Chinese will buy lamb to eat. It is a meat which they believe will keep their body warm.

I did the same too. I bought this boneless leg of lamb and grilled it. Simple recipe - rosemary and red wine, marinated the lamb overnight. But I had one concern, will the alcohol content caused an explosion when I grilled it in the oven. My dear son said that alcohol is combustible and it might just blow up. It got me worried and I sms a foodie friend in Singapore and he confirmed that it won't. So here it is...the double R lamb. Simple and delicious. Once again, it is proven, the simple things in life are the most enjoyable.


Yum...mo!

The upside down truth...

I found this from my US pastor's blog. The cleverest thing I have ever seen, read and listened.

I am sure you will be fascinated by it.

When you know, you understand...

Many of us often fail to understand people, situations, environment... and why we fail to understand, many times, it is because we fail to know. Profound?

Shanghai is a vibrant city but to really live here is not quite the same as holidaying here. It takes a lot to live here and so I am full of admiration for those who have survived here. This is not a place for the weak. It takes a lot of acceptance, love, patience and kindness to live in this city. Just like the other day, I was buying things at a huge store, there were many staff standing around chatting away but only one cashier was serving a long Q of customers. Frustrations, blood reaching boiling point but what can I do but to remind myself what the pastor preached on Sunday - "be patient, there is nothing you can do to change their culture." (Close friends will remember, many years ago at Malaysia, at one of the restaurants, yours truly was so impatient with the food, snail crawling out from the kitchen, actually went to the kitchen to bring out the food to serve everyone) Yes, I am such, if I can do to change the situation, I will but... in this case, I can't but to be PATIENT. One mama whom I know, who is always travelling with her husband and kids on his job, she is a true blue, seasoned 'relocated' mum. She said this one thing, "I have been to many countries and have stayed here for the past six years, this is the most trying country to live in."

Remember in my earlier blog, I wrote about how grown ups - adults peeping in public and I found that to be utterly disgusting. I couldn't hold on any longer (I have been afraid that he might feel offended), I decided to ask Mr Zhou as to why the men especially, like to peep in public. He explained to me that these men are not Shanghainese, they are people from other poorer province. To them, getting a job in Shanghai is like finding a pot of gold. Most of these people are truck or bus drivers and they work very hard to earn a living. Back in their village, most of their houses are not fitted with lavatories, they just do it in the open, so to them, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Even if they do have lavatories, there are no flush system, hence no habit of flushing after use.

I now know and I now understand. There is nothing I can do about them but there is something I can do about myself ... be tolerant, be accepting. So, don't be surprised when you next see me and I am no longer type A!
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
Wisdom to know the difference

The next sports woman in the making...

Ann had her games day and of course, mummy dearest was there to cheer for her and ...



her team won the first prize! Way to go, my little princess

Be a certified dim sum chef

The dim sum school adminstrator walked into the kitchen and handed me a book and a stack of exam papers. She asked me to sit for the professional Shanghai dim sum chef exams. I stared at the stack of papers while my dim sum teacher was nagging me to go for it. She said I will surely pass the practical exams but, but....

I stared again at the stack of papers and the thousand of tiny Chinese characters were staring back at me. They recognised me for sure but I did't recognise them. Hello...these are not your simple Chinese characters of 'tian', 'de', 'san', 'sui'....they were 'deng fun', 'xiao mai fen', 'lao chou', 'sheng chou'...


Since I have improved in leaps and bounds, my teacher imparted more 'kungfu' to me. Nice, eh


Red bean crepes (Chinese version)


These are jiao zi.

In case, you are wondering what's the difference between one dumpling from another. It all depends on the method of cooking, the type of flour being used, they way the dough is being made, some used cold water, some use warm water. Even rolling pins come in various shapes and sizes. Yes, a lot of knowledge and skill involved and to think we just glupe down a 'har kow' in a split seconds!

Wholesale market

Yes, over here, you can step into a wholesale market to do your marketing.


All kinds of fruits are available, even the king of all fruits...the durians!


Care for some live chickens. Ultra fresh, This place reminds me of my late great mother who used to rear and salughter and eat her own chickens


Why is everyone so nosy? What are they doing? Waiting for their chickens to be slaughtered. How do they know which chicken belongs to who? Well, they have a great system running

They are not afraid of hardships

I am referring to kids in SH. Why is China rising up so fast? They are people who are not afraid of hardships and it starts from young...


Rain, wind, sun or snow...come what may, that's how some of the kids get to school.


Young girls like this one, manages a seafood stall in a wet market

This has been an eye opener for Kai & Ann. As they witness first-hand how kids in other world live. I try to make use of every opportunity to teach them to appreciate what they have. Just to correct your perception (if you have been having a wrong one) Studying in an international school is not going on a honeymoon for the kids. In fact, homework is a whole lot much more and not forgetting... higher Chinese to cope, journals to write, book reviews to do, projects to hand up...although, running dry myself, I try as much as I can to be the fort for the kids and I thank God for them, so far, they have been coping very well.

Lunch with Mother nature

A nice cool sunny Saturday in autumn...

We decided to head outside for lunch. It was really nice to be embraced by Mother nature again.



It was an enjoyable simple lunch. 'Quiche of lamb' made by yours truely for the very first time. It tasted very good, Greek style, I suppose.

After this meal, the cold wind descended upon us and it was freezing cold and we thought we have ended our days of cold freezing weather...

Back to my dim sum class

Last week there was no lesson and I was like suffering from 'cold turkey' but managed to get my 'dose' from making my own 'bao'. Sorry, no pictures, all eaten up...they were pork-ribs bao.Yum..mo!

This week, it was back to class and we made the Chinese version of the Japanese mochi and mini (ba chang) rice dumplings. Horray, I finally learned how to warp a ba chang!


I like this size, small and easy to eat


"Ye zi jiu" - coconut balls but it tasted just like mochi.