Shanghai Post 1 - Din Tai Fung

Hugh's camera is currently broken, which is why I've been posting so far. He is also currently out in the desert somewhere, in Inner Mongolia. But a Hugh authored post is coming soon, I promise! I am spending the week in Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Here is Shanghai Food Post #1 (special edition since it is not Hunan!) - none other than the famous Din Tai Fung, located in Xin Tian Di, which is a district of restaurants, shops, cafes, bars with cobblestone streets. It's very pretty but extremely fake looking.

Anyway, Din Tai Fung, which originally started in Taiwan, is famous for its delicious dumplings, including xiaolongbao, which is a juicy pork dumpling Shanghai is very famous for. It is a little on the pricy side but worth every bite! Eating xiaolongbao is tricky because you have to make sure none of the juice falls out, and you also want to make sure you don't burn your tongue.

Xiaolongbao - yes, that is steam

Dan dan mian - spicy Sichuan noodles

Pork dumplings

Veggie dumplings

Shao mai (open-face steamed dumplings) - dumplings steamed with rice in soy sauce and vegetables

For dessert, a well-known dessert chain called Honeymoon Desserts, which offers Chinese style desserts with mango, sago (really small clear chewy balls often in desserts and drinks), coconut variations.

Mango with sago

Mango, coconut, and red bean (and Peter's arm..)