Dive into Shanghai

Deciding against any more complicated taxi journeys I decided to hit the streets on foot.
I would have preferred to have done this on bicycle but I could not find anywhere that would hire one. I asked the hotel and they looked and me puzzled and pointed at the taxi rank.

Heading north I wanted to find a few shops that are mentioned in the Lonely Planet Guide to Shanghai. Madame Mao's Dowry (70 Fuxing Road West) was my chance to find some authentic Chinese antiques or at the very least bric a brac. Hoping to nab a few bargain retro items I should have gone to the bank first for a loan. Beautiful handpainted Mao inspired painted vintage mirrors were around £150. Large framed communist posters were a similar price. Having the ability to pick the most expensive items in shops I decided to leave before I got really tempted as there were some really nice pieces of furniture.

Behind Fuxing Road West using a combination of spotting the occasionally sign and detective work, I found Shanghai's Hand-printed Blue Nankeen (batik) Museum and Shop (No. 24, Lane 637 Changle Road). The collection includes a display of dying tools, wooden printing blocks and wax paper cutouts. The small museum shows how the production process has remained unchanged for many years and historic patterns are still reproduced. The technique looks similar to batik. I don’t have much more information about his place as the only leaflet left was in Japanese (I think the owner might be from there also) and the owners speak limited English. The prints echo the blue-glazed porcelain of the Song Dynasty (420-479 AD). I bought some lengths of the more wacky designs. Some of them remind me of African fabric.

Nankeen fabric to add to my small collection of textiles.

This is what wikipedia says about Nankeen.

The term blue nankeen' describes hand-printed fabric of artistic refinement and primitive simplicity, which originated on the Silk Road over three thousand years ago.

Hand-carved stencils, originally made from wood but now from heavy paper, are prepared and a mix of soya bean flour and slaked lime is applied through the openings of the stencil onto the 100% cotton fabric. When dry, the fabric is then dipped numerous times into the large tubs containing the indigo dye. After the right color is achieved and the fabric has dried, the paste is scraped off, revealing the white patterns on the blue cloth. The fabric is then washed, dried, and ironed before fabrication into the Nankeen collection. Such fabric represents a fast-disappearing historic art form which embodies ancient Chinese culture and traditions.

In the courtyard garden lengths of freshly printed fabric are hung over the Camellia bushes.

Even if you are not interesting in textiles the route to find the museum takes you right into the heart of urban residential life in Shanghai. This is a chance to see communal style living which within a short period of time will be replaced by skyscraping apartment blocks. The previous night I had seen a short documentary about life in these communal houses. Residents were asked what was good and bad about living in this way, a concept alien to western cities where most people don't even speak to their neighbour. Here kitchens and bathroom are shared. Each family has their own food but household chores are shared. There is of course no privacy but there is also no isolation. People are not dying alone and undiscovered for weeks.

More on communal living here:

http://www.yawningbread.org/apdx_2002/imp-090.htm

On the subject of textiles I came across this humorous blog about Shanghai and PJ’s

http://pictureyear.blogspot.com/2008/05/more-pjs.html

Within a stroll of Ruijin No 2 Road I chanced upon a miniature version of Shoreditch. Down a dark anonymous alley is a labyrinth of independently owned artisan shops and bars. Many of them are run by young Japanese or Korean owners. Meshi (Shop 37, Lane 248, Taikang Rd) sells Japanese teaware and households items. To get onto the shop you have to walk on large stepping stones set within a miniature Zen garden. There are lots of small bars and restaurants and even a Tibet shop!

In the evening I hooked up with some Brit ex pat guys for a traditional Chinese banquet with obligatory rotating table. The dishes chef seemed to be into creative slicing of fish.

For the full Chinese nightlife after the meal we piled into a taxi to an underground bar otherwise known as a dive bar where drinks are RMB 10. The only way to describe the atmosphere was a Chinese squat party. Expat DJ's play anything they feel like playing. Drinks are cheap and spliffs are passed around. I did not inhale which is just as well as I found out in my final leg of my Asian journey. Female foreigners were in the minority and the couple of guys I was introduced to spent most of the time leaning on their shorter Chinese girlfriends. 'I love it here. Back home I never get dates but Chinese girls zone in on us foreign guys. I can take my pick. I've got several on the go.'

On that comment I quickly made my excuses. Viewpoints like this may be held by some young guys back in the UK but you just don't say this kind of thing. Single female foreigners find it really hard in the dating game in Asia. A ex-London friend of mine says the majority of guys are only interested in the local girls and the ones that are not you really would not date if they were the last guy available. Which is probably why she set up the Asian equivalent to Ann Summers. See my Singapore blog later.

Ready Steady...Shop Local

Having given up four wheels or rather the four wheels gave up on me, I've become creative with my shopping.
Gone are the days when I just use to jump into the car and get to my big supermarket in 10 minutes. So I have forced myself to try the local shops. It is also the new trend in shopping.

However I still carry the financial scar of my last trip to the local grocery store when I was robbed of nearly £2 for one aubergine at The Grocery. I have re-named this shop Harrods East London Food Hall for its over pricing.

The vastly different alternative to the HELFH is Iceland. Fresh fruit and veg is minimal, well I guess the clue is in the name. Huge sacks of either potatoes or apples and very little else.

Fearing rickets and scurvy might set in due the lack of fresh food I decided to chance it at one of the '24hr(ish) we sell everything' Turkish shops.
Disguised as one of these stores is possibly one of the best greengrocers I have have found. Herbs, salad leaves, seasonal and non-seasonal fresh and cheap. I have no idea of the name, something Oluk.
For less than the price of one aubergine round the corner I bought all of this:

Note the empty sweet wrapper. I think I might need to buy shares in Cypressa as this chocolate covered halva bar is delicious. Halva is a sweet type of confectionery. In Greece they base it on tahini (sesame paste).

So it is possible to find cheap fresh fruit and veg in central London if you just go out of your comfort zone. You might just find such a place around your corner, disguised as something else!

Frozen Tea

We've spent several days with the HK pioneers and today we got a chance to see where they work.
This is VIP's office at Many Many. Not only can he produce high end animation he has a great interior design eye.

Next stop Jidou (in Japanese Jidou means automation and in Chinese self-empowerment) where Amy works for CEO Alexander Wong, an eccentric boyish looking creative entrepreneur who originally trained as an architect.
He has amazing amounts of energy fulled by a strictly controlled diet of only one small portion of carbs per day and no alcohol.
He has a truly unique approach to marketing and brand concepts.

Alexander recommended that we visit Dragon-I to eat. Thankfully they do serve carbs and booze in fact I had a fantastic sashimi. The interior has had no expense spared with hand stitched leather seating giant birdcages and mirror tiled bathrooms. David Beckham was a guest during his visit to HK. Desert was green tea ice cream.

A stinging of a starter

Tuesday 20^th March
Another United Nations breakfast and possibly yet another 12 course lunch means I force myself to the gym. However it is located in another block to the hotel and the walk seems a workout in itself! The pool and health suite are on the 11^th floor. I am beginning to forget what ground level looks like.
The morning was spent at the very nice building for the British Council in HK. They have free internet access – hoorah I miss my email. There has been no time to check it as the schedule has been so packed. It has been strange having your day planned and being taxied around.

We were given a talk and advice by 3 of the people that were on the interviewing panel for the HK pioneers.

Prof Desmond Hui with whom I share a gardening interest , he told me I must visit a place called Miaoli in Taiwain where he has a holiday home.

Bee-Leng Chua director of the Centre for Entreprenuership at the Chinese University of HK

Dr Gino Yu is Head of the Digital Entertainment Association of HK and a man who knows everyone. I am to seek out a man called Bobsee who owns the Life Café in HK and likes to plant trees,

More interviews on video are given – I really prefer being behind the camera especially when there is no hair and makeup artist on hand.

A lavish lunch was given at The Meridian and Vernie Yueng joins us but sadly I didn’t get a chance to ask him about what it was like working with Kylie Minogue.
Adventurous dish of the day is jelly fish. I‘m use to beating them with stones and burying them in the sand in Greece. They look just like noodles and if I had not been told what they were I would never had known that they were actually a stinging sea creature.

Tonight we visited the Asian Film Awards.

It’s a bit like the Oscars for Asian cinema. Lots of screaming fans (female) with illuminated boards saying I luv u! and waving them at the male actors up for nomination.

The event was held in the conference centre next to our hotel with amazing views of the harbour. They previewed lots of films I can’t wait to see. Hope I can get them back in the UK. Best Film was The Host from South Korea.

Do fish have balls?

Monday 18 March

In the evening we headed for MongKok Kowloon for something to eat and a chance to see street life in HK. MongKok means flourishing or busy corner in Chinese. Well every district we have been to fits this name.

There are so many places to eat that you can become overwhelmed with what to choose. Many of them are curb-side food stalls. Most of them sell traditional snacks such as fish balls, fried tofu and various dim sum

Following my own rule of a colour co-ordinated interior design must mean a clean kitchen I dragged the guys into Aberdeen Fish Ball Noodles. I only found it was called this from Amy the next day as there were hardly any signs in English. But if you are trying to find it yourself look out for the black and white décor.

Stafford and Stef looking very apprehensive about where I have dragged them into.

I must admit I am a little nervous when I see what is on the menu.

Don’t worry guys they serve beer...

San Miguel and according to the waiter it is local beer!

There is supposed to be a flower market in this district but we did not find it – one for the next visit.

Green eggs

Monday 19th March
Today we had a whirlwind tour organised by the British Council of some of the top CGI and broadcasting companies in HK.
Menfond Electronic Art and Computer Design was our first destination. Entering the labyrinth of shopping malls that is underneath Menfond offices, we meet up with a delegation from CanadaUS who are going to join us on our tour. Ken Bautista from Rocket Fuel, Tom Dodd of Fision Media Group and a delegation from the BANFF Centre.

MEA is owned by Victor and Eddy Wong. Victor studied computer art in the US and Eddy fineBeijing. Their company has produced the SFX for Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Die Hard IV, Ultra Violet and lots of battle scenes for Chinese films. Due to the shortage of skilled animator in the APAC region the company set up their own training course.

It is the first time that I have seen behind the scenes of an animation/CGI SFX studio. I was reminded of my days as a photographic printer. Where you spent all day in subdued light not knowing what time of day it was. These guys (yes hardly any women) sit in near darkness all day looking at a computer screen. Painstakingly adding for example 1000’s of arrows into a battle scene when the original footage shows half a dozen. Each VDU has been customized by the operator with asian style toys and mascots. I really wanted to take a photo but we were forbidden as much of the work is highly confidential and I would get shot – in a CGI kind of way with arrows, ‘Flying Daggers’ style!

Next stop was the Hong Kong Design Centre. The asian equivilant of the Design Council in the UK. Therer current display was for the Design Awards for Asia.

For lunch we are taken to the famous and oldest restaurant in HK Yung Kee.
It is only when the first of about 12 courses (I lost count) arrives that we discover what it is famous for; a very tasty roasted goose but not so edible are the 1000 year old eggs.

Various suggestions are given for what is used to age the eggs and we conclude either urine or a man made chemical. The revolving table comes in very useful when I spot them heading towards me.

Next stop on our tour is to a cable TV company owned by a couple of guys in the 60’s.

More exchanging of business cards, will I have enough to last the whole trip?
Robert Chua pioneered Hong Kong's first terrestrial TV station in 1967 as one of the first executive producers at Television Broadcasts (TVB,) now HK's dominant TV station and a powerhouse in Southern China. In 1979 his company became the first media business to sell foreign TV advertising directly into China. In 2004 he founded Asia first 24 hours interactive channel (TIC) and test broadcast over Hong Kong CableTV with 680,000 households.

When we arrive they are in the middle of a live broadcast called Home Away From Home for Philipino viewers. Stef pretends to be a viewer and posts an sms comment to the show

Ken the wannabe presenter sits in the hotseat.

McFoot

Saturday 16^{th March}

Nathan Road, Kowloon

Our first night in Hong Kong and despite the 12+hour flight we head straight to the Star Ferry which is just by our hotel.

We end up eating in what we affectionately term Chinese McDonalds, Fairwood.
I have a set meal of satay pork, steamed spinach and rice, green tea and a soup with large unidentifiable floating objects – apart from the chickens foot. Hurrah we have arrived!

At midnight Nathan Road is as bright as day thanks to the huge amount of neon and florescent lighting. The huge illuminated advertising signs hang over the street just above our heads and they seem to be bigger than the building they are attached to. This all adds to the sense of claustrophobia and seedyness - not helped by shops called Wanko.

Tonight is St Patrick’s Day, reluctantly we find an Irish themed pub. The place is packed with people wearing plastic green hats. We are greeted by the owner, a Malaysian lady wearing an oversized Guinness pint glass shaped hat. The Irish band keep asking the audience ‘Who is from Ireland?’ – silence… Well my great-great grandmother was. Does that count?

Loukoumades

We went to one of my favourite eateries in town today, located at the beginning of Dikeosinis Street. It’s not your usual restaurant as the place has no name, not that I could see as I had my eyes fixed on the food. I have to warn you that there is a limited choice of what to eat, well that’s an understatement as they only sell one dish, loukoumades - which are deep-fried puffs of dough, drizzled with honey. They are so sweet which means, thank god, you can only eat half a dozen in one sitting. Sorry for the poor food photography - hey I was on holiday and I did not have a home economist with me!

Goldfish

Our first eagerly awaited meal of the trip was in a taverna/ouzeri on Mitsotaki Street in Heraklion. When I say it’s on this street the kitchen is but the seating area is across the busiest roads in Crete – Sofokli Venizelou. The waiters dance in and out of the traffic with the plates over to the tables along the sea wall. But don’t let this health and safety at work performance put you off from going as it is a great place for a traditional Greek meze.

I don’t have a name unfortunately but it is the last eatery on the corner. If you are a foreigner (xeno) you will get the tourist menu which is the ubiquitous plastic flick book with garish pictures of food. However if you are Greek the waiter will bring your own order to fill in. A tick box list of about 40 different dishes ranging from melenzanasalata (pureed aubergine and garlic dip), sagnaki a deep fried cheese. Meat and fish (psari) dishes can also be ordered. J was craving some calcium for the baby so we ordered deep fried whitebait and these what can only be described as goldfish!

We are still looking through the reference books trying to work out what they were.