Adventures in Shanghai – Part 2
Further along the same bustling street, we encountered dessert of a different kind. The base, when we got to tasting it, was like claggy batter but the top was prettily studded with dried and glaced fruits and nuts. There was a HUGE and I mean HUGE line waiting to get a cup of this but my recommendation is ‘watch the guy making them – the pan is an interesting shape – but don’t go out of your way to try’.
Thsi vendor was making four different types of filled pancakes but I could only understand what two of them were – red bean and chesnut paste. My recommendation is ‘Skip these – sticky (undercooked?) and bland’.
These grilled scallops created the most heavenly smells and I would definitely try them next time.
Can you see the hand just to the right of the photo? Well, they weren’t too pleased with us taking photos. Maybe they thought we were about to run away with their secret traditional method of making these fairy floss-like sweet (I’m thinking, surely there is a less labour-intensive way).
Funnily enough, I saw a lady making the exact same thing in the exact same way in London’s Chinatown a week later. Too late!
Adventures in Shanghai – Part 1
Adventures in Shanghai – Part 3
Images of Shanghai
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:43 am
Yummo. Gorgeous photos Cin! I can just picture the hustle and bustle of the outdoor markets
That dessert looks psychedelic too!
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:30 pm
That colourful dessert looks good. And those pancakes, oh I love them. I had so many of them when I was holidaying in Asia. They have the traditional flavours like red bean, green bean, yellow bean etc, but I loved the newer modern flavours like blueberry, durian, green tea, chocolate.
I find that Chinese people in China are very nervous when you try to take photos. I guess it comes from years of being communism and never sure what someone’s intentions are.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Helen: It was great to stumble across this busy alley way. It was obviously where everyone went for lunch.
Thanh: Pretty but not good
I would love to try a good version of the pancakes as these were quite ordinary. Didn’t come across any of those modern flavours although that would have been really cool.
In terms of photos, didn’t have aproblem with anyone else but maybe that’s why those guys were particularly worried…