we’ve been getting better at having people over for dinner and last week, buster even wore his bowtie to celebrate!

my camera ran out of steam this weekend so i barely managed any photos — we went to the tongchuan seafood market for a delicious feast of stone & dungeness crab, and this time we wised up and brought our own wine. so delicious! also, some friends and i checked out the newly opened moules, which is supposedly french owned but very obviously decorated by a chinese nouveau tai tai’s eye (read: super tacky decor). the mussels (pictured above) were really great though, fresh, plump and delicious, and for only 150rmb per pot (massive pots), it’s a pretty good deal. however, the lobster bisque was not delicious, unless your idea of delicous is lobster flavoured water?

the 1st photo from the above is from the opening party of the Culture Chanel exhibition at MoCA. things got pretty ridiculous so i’ll only post that photo and say no more. xoxo

went back to the tongchuan seafood market last weekend, ohhhh man.

the last few days have been full of good eating, and john surprised me by taking me to a new Korean restaurant that recently opened in the newly renovated Jiashan Market. it’s called Annion Kitchen and the food is fantastic — the standout of the night was the bulgogi, which was cooked perfectly with the usual mix of scallions, onions, green chilis and garlic as well as just the right mix of sweet and salty. we also tried the kimchi stew, which was not the same kind of stew that you would probably find at a typical Korean joint but still really tasty and a nice blend of flavours. in all, the service was fantastic and there are interesting little touches (menus housed in paper envelopes with song lyrics from the cure & david bowie stamped on the front, business cards tucked in discreetly with your bill & change) that pull everything together. it’s being touted as ‘hip Korean’ and i guess it’s run by two Korean brothers, definitely recommend checking it out!

we also (on a different night, i promise!) went back to the David Laris owned Purple Onion for dinner. i’ve been before but only with large groups of people – this time we were only two and still managed to tuck away a fair share of food. favourites: the mussel dish – somehow they are sourcing these massive mussels, and though i usually prefer the tinier morsels, these were succulent and delicious with a light savoury broth. also, the prosciutto tomato pizza, which might have just gotten my vote for best pizza in town. on our way out, we ran into lex – i must be the only person living under a rock who didn’t realize that he was the mastermind chef behind all our tasty foods? he kindly provided us with a little post dinner gossip and a little mackerel toastie. if you haven’t been to the Onion yet, go and make a reservation, it will be très magnifique!

the best thing about both of the restaurants mentioned is the price – it’s good to see that Shanghai is starting to understand that it’s all about the food and doesn’t necessarily have to cost an arm and a leg. reasonable prices, seriously good cooking, expertly trained staff is always the way to go. xox

a couple of photos! BUSY AS USUAL. every blog post is the same, dear diary, i am really busy, dear journal, why is life so busy?

quick update: last weekend i went to the tongchuan seafood market with a large group of friends. if you haven’t been, you really should, as it’s essentially a fresh seafood free for all for anyone and all. we spent an hour running around purchasing various kinds of crab, clams, and other shellfish, and then headed to a restaurant where they cooked up our goodies fresh and tasty. the icing on the cake (the wasabi in the soy?) was bringing our own butter, which was melted and served to us during the meal – would highly recommend a trip down there!

upcoming this week – my birthday! eeeeeeeeeeeeh. expect more photos soon, xo.

.

yessssssss, it is valentines day and it’s the first day of the year of the tiger! we arrived in kitzbühel via munich and london a few days ago, but there has been no wifi anywhere, can you imagine? the flight to london was uneventful, mark’s new apartment in west london is amazing, with a crazy view of the parliment and big ben. we flew to munich the next day, and rented a car (they messed up our reservation and so we are tooling around in a fancy BMW X5) and drove the 2 hours to austria. the cabin we’re staying in is very very sweet, and the two days of skiing we’ve done so far have been incredible. i haven’t skiied in a few years, and i took a 2 hour private lesson (with the ridiculously named yet charming BRUNO). still, i’m terrified of going too fast (as usual) and memories of childhood ski trips and bailing super hard are still too fresh in my brain – i like to call my style of skiing more of a ‘controlled slide’ down the mountain.

we’ve been eating pretty much nonstop, (after consulting monocle’s city guide) we stocked up the teeny tiny cabin fridge with amazing fresh produce and meats. also, yesterday, we ate at the the michelin 2 starred rosengarten, ummmmm hello amazing. above are some photos of the food orgies we’ve been having.

1. neng myun at the beijing airport (surprisingly tasty, but a bit too sweet + no self serve mustard and vinegar)
2. mark’s rotisserie chicken + green beans and potatoes, our first meal in london.
3. first breakfast in the cabin, i made open sunny side up + cheese sandwhiches.
4. chili con carne on the mountain for lunch.
5. cheese and meat platter for a post ski snack.
6. we found nice meats at nicholaus fuchs, and i came up with lamb for dinner.
7. sausages + 3 cheese egg scramble for breakfast.
8. amazing (and rich) (and pricey!) dinner courtesy of chef simon taxacher.

another post coming soon! so excited to meet up with collin and kate tonight! wheeeee austria.

.

john took me out for dinner last night for a break away from turkey (it’s all we’re going to be eating this week!), and it looks like they added new options to the menu…. ha!

.

what a lovely friday evening! john and i hosted our first thanksgiving dinner ever, with 10 people and a large turkey, pies, so much food! afterwards we played guitar hero and lazed around and chatted and laughed. especially sweet was that two of our guests had gotten engaged earlier in the evening, and another friend had just finished his GMAT and had a score to celebrate. the 12 bottles of wine, bottle of champagne and 2 bottles of jim beam probably helped the sweetness as well… yum!

.

sunday marked the official beginning of winter in shanghai, the temperature has dropped and suddenly, after weeks of t-shirt weather and sunshine, it’s cold and windy, gray skies and the rest. wintertime means more time spent inside, and i think this winter i’ll be cooking more than usual – over the last few months i’ve been making dinner two or three times a week.

last night i spent around 2 hours making a lasagna, which turned out really well, i cheated by using store-bought pasta sauce, w/ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and cottage cheese but it was still tasty.

over the summer, i was making alot of salads, with a really simple garlic, salt&pepper, oil and vinegar dressing, as well as baked salmon on the regular, baked in tin foil, with a ton of spices topped with thin slices of lemon. also, vegetable soups from scratch!

now i’m looking for more recipies, ooooh, what should i make? please give me some ideas, oh it’s hard cooking in china.

.

john and i have been hanging out at kitchenette lately, i think it’s my new favourite place in shanghai. right next to our office, it reminds me of all those great breakfast places on main street in vancouver (but shrunk down to azn size),and it’s got a comfortably tiny menu which means it’s always easy to decide what you want. they do a decent breakast for 35rmb (eggs, bizarre sausages, good bacon, little potatoes + two pieces of sourdough bread) and refillable cups of coffee for 15rmb. super cheap eats western eats!