2010-2010

It’s 1.1.2011 here in Shanghai! I know that most of you are still in 2010, so happy early new year! see you in 2011! 😀

My life in shanghai continued to be extremely relaxed. Every morning I wake up with no plans but a full day to do whatever I feel like. It could be just stay at home, watch TV, talk with my mom and snack all day long; it could be a dine out with my mom or friends; it could be a movie with tears and laugh; it could also be a full day of shopping. 😀 Boring? it might sound like, but it is not for me because I know this kind of 100% relaxed vacation will reach to an end soon.

Few words of recap for 2010 and expectations about 2011.

Important events in 2010:

• we got married!
• Star got transferred to US
• I run my first 1/2 marathon
• I learned that there is no such an ideal job
• New thoughts about friendship
• Attend to a dear friend’s wedding
• I had taste of work-stress
• I visited Hong Kong with my mom
• My name appeared in the news 😯
• A life experience
• I’ve became a semi-bread making expert 😉
• I moved to a new apartment

Expected events in 2011

• Graduation
• Wedding in 7/31/2011, Shanghai
• New job
• Buy a big house and have a real married couple life

Goals

• Be thankful about everything I have
• Be careless about issues and annoying people
• Learn to balance family, work and life
• Communicate more and better with Star
• Call more often to my parents
• Keep in touch with friends
• Visit new places

What are your expectations and goals for 2011?

Pics of food that I’ve been eating

A meal at home prepared by my mom

soup of pork ribs with fresh bamboo

this is fresh bamboo

sauteed greens

sauteed bok choy with fresh shiitake and bamboo

stew of potato, carrots, bamboo and pork made with spicy bean sauce

served with rice

Lunch at a japanese restaurant. I had seafood & veggie stew

it came with a salad and rice

Dinner with my mom’s friends

salad of greens

spicy chicken

sauteed noodles

fish and lettuce porridge

sauteed mushrooms

egg cake with seafood

bullfrog

spicy fish head

my dear mom

Me: meditating (about what?)

Do you know what’s in now? rounded scarf! I got four! 😆

Fresh market, Japanese food and my favorite quick meal

Every time I am in Shanghai, I like going to the fresh market first thing in the morning with my mom to buy fresh vegetables for the day.

Look these fresh mushrooms… they’re so pretty

fresh bamboo

the market is always crowdy

only seasonal vegetables can be found

my mom buying corns for me 😉

I’m eating 2-3 of these EVERYDAY! 😀

This is a japanese restaurant. Its decor is very typical in Japan. This is where a friend, who I met >20 years ago, and I meet every time I visit Shanghai.

a sashimi boat

extra salmon sashimi, steamed egg

a seafood soup served in a tea pot

egg, turnip and japanese fake seafood cooked in seafood broth

we also had grilled fish and fresh oyster

and lastly, my favorite quick meal in shanghai: it is called 麻辣烫 hot and spicy pot

my mom’s pot

Mine

I can eat this everyday!!! 😆

Happy Holidays Everyone! 🙂

Typical shanghai food & German Restaurant

Hi there~ It has been four days since I arrived Shanghai. Other than trying to deal with jet lag, shopping, meeting friends, I’ve been eating too 😀

Let me present one of my favorite typical shanghai food to you: 生煎包 Crispy Pan Fried Buns

Much like a soup dumpling, pork, pork tallow, and pork fat are wrapped in a thin dough and sealed shut with a twist. Unlike a soup dumpling, these babies are lined up in a huge cast iron pan, covered, and fried with the seal side down.

鸡鸭血汤 Soup made with chicken and duck blood

排骨年糕 Pork ribs and rice cake cooked in red sauce

辣酱面 noodles with chili soy bean paste, shanghai style

It was a relatively cheap meal but DELICIOUS!!! 😆

A visit to a German Restarant

before we order anything, they brought us fresh bread with butter

Beef soup‘

beef and potatos

quite tasty 🙂

a greek salad

and fried pig feet

served with a gray sauce

the food was good and meeting with my first childhood friend (yes… we met when we were 18 months old) was even better! We talked, we walked, we talked more and we walked more! 😆

More food pics to come! 😀 Trying new food and meeting with friends are the only things my days are dedicated to!!! It’s good to be vacation! 😀