Still, I'm proud to say I persisted...we spent a day in Pudong among some of the tallest buildings in the world.
The iconic Oriental Pearl Tower, seen from almost anywhere in Shanghai, is so massive up close.
The two we "climbed." Left is Jin Mao (Golden Prosperity) Tower, 88 floors, right is Shanghai Tower, the world's second tallest at 128 floors.
Jin Mao is said to incorporate pagoda features, which I think it does!
The first 53 floors of Jin Mao are office space. a Grand Hyatt Hotel take floors 54 and up. We had coffee and tea in the lobby of the hotel's "first" floor.
That's the Shanghai Tower on the left, designed to look like it's inside a glass cage.
Many skyscrapers had helipads on the roof, but I was also surprised to see a Buddhist shrine atop one, and this garden near the top of another. Can you imagine?
My favorite skyscraper is the World Financial Center, on the left, that I call the "wine bag" because that's what it reminds me of. Turns out its nickname is the "bottle opener," for obviously reasons, and one can buy bottle openers in its shape. I read that the aperture at the top is to designed cooperate with wind resistance.
Love the twist of Shanghai Tower.
It's Shanghai's first LEED platinum-certified skyscraper, the highest "green" certification a building can have.
Floor 108, Shanghai Tower. I hadn't planned to go to the top with Allen, but after doing so well on the 54th floor of the Hyatt, gave it a go. Plus we got senior citizen tickets, 1/3 off regular price.
The ride up takes 55 seconds, world's fastest elevator. I confess to having been shaky during the first few minute on top, couldn't always look out the window, but got used to the height after a bit and was so thrilled to be here!
We were in one of those "small" buildings across the river (just to the left of the Pearl) the other night when we took the light show photos, just for comparison.
The Bund
The day's other wow for me was having lunch in Shanghai Tower in a wonderful, affordable place where I finally got my xiaolongbao, or long bao, "soup dumplings." They're so beautiful, so delicious, and so pleasing, texturally. We also enjoyed a"fragrant egg layer cake," very similar to a steamed bun, and Allen loved his spicy noodle soup with hand-pulled noodles.
Wikipedia:
Xiaolongbao is a type of steamed bun (baozi) from the Jiangnan region of China, especially associated with Shanghai and Wuxi. It is traditionally prepared in xiaolong, small bamboo steaming baskets,[1] which give them their name. Xiaolongbao are often referred to as a kind of "dumpling", but should not be confused with British or American-style dumplings nor with Chinese jiaozi. Similarly, they are considered a kind of "soup dumpling"[1] but should not be confused with other larger varieties of tang bao.
Shanghai-style xiaolongbao originated in Nanxiang, a suburb of Shanghai in Jiading District. The inventor of xiaolongbao sold them in his first store in Nanxiang next to the town's notable park, Guyi Garden. From there the xiaolongbao expanded into downtown Shanghai and outward.
Steamed xiaolongbao made with partially raised flour are more commonly seen in the south. This means that their skin is tender, smoother, and somewhat translucent, rather than being white and fluffy. As is traditional for buns of various sizes in the Jiangnan region, xiaolongbao are pinched at the top prior to steaming, so the skin has a circular cascade of ripples around the crown.
Xiaolongbao are traditionally filled with pork. One popular and common variant is pork with minced crab meat and roe. More modern innovations include other meats, seafood and vegetarian fillings, as well as other possibilities. The characteristic soup-filled kind are created by wrapping solid meat aspic inside the skin alongside the meat filling. Heat from steaming then melts the gelatin-gelled aspic into soup. In modern times, refrigeration has made the process of making xiaolongbao during hot weather easier, since making gelled aspic is much more difficult at room temperature.
Traditionally, xiaolongbao is a kind of dim sum (à la carte item) or xiaochi ("snack"). The buns are served hot in the bamboo baskets in which they were steamed. Around Shanghai, "xiaolongbao" may be eaten throughout the day, although usually not for breakfast.
Clockwise from 1:00 Szechuan, luffa (loofah plant?), foie gras, black truffle, cheese, crab roe, garlic, original pork in center
When you pick one up, the aspic in the center makes the sack droop. The flavors and textures with the juice just delight your mouth!
The other new thing of the day was frozen green tea custard Japanese dessert with mochi balls. Although we caught this guy in a lonely moment, there was a line at his stand the rest of the time we were around.
Not nearly as sweet as a frozen custard, and the glutenous mochi (rice) balls were also quite bland, but now we know about this Japanese favorite!
When you pick one up, the aspic in the center makes the sack droop. The flavors and textures with the juice just delight your mouth!
The other new thing of the day was frozen green tea custard Japanese dessert with mochi balls. Although we caught this guy in a lonely moment, there was a line at his stand the rest of the time we were around.
Not nearly as sweet as a frozen custard, and the glutenous mochi (rice) balls were also quite bland, but now we know about this Japanese favorite!
No comments:
Post a Comment