Don't Be Caught Off-guard By The Irish Rooster!

I've had just enough time to...  be caught off-guard by the Irish Rooster

Is that an Irish Rooster in Shanghai?

Irish Music - The Rooster Lyrics

We had some chickens no eggs would they lay

We had some chickens no eggs would they lay

The wife said honey we're loosing money

Because those chickens no eggs would they lay

Then came a rooster into our yard

And he caught them chickens right off their guard

They're laying eggs now like they never used to

Since that rooster came into our yard

Did You Fall In Love With The Music or Musician?

I've had just enough time to...   wonder if I love the musician or her music?

Taken one spring night in Shanghai...

It was a pleasant spring night and I was having a stroll in the entertainment district of Shanghai where old and new buildings are well blended into an interesting and sometimes incongruous mix of modernity and history. This place then is aptly named新天地; "New Heaven and Earth". In the distance I saw brightly lighted kiosk selling this “mixture of everything” – Chinese helmets (why?) and Chinese Soldiers cap (this I can understand), ladies purse of modern design and traditional colours, and dolls. Porcelain dolls wearing traditional Chinese costume in elegant poses. And graceful modern dolls in gowns playing musical instruments. Maybe, it is this mix of contradictions that made me asked “Did I fall in love wih the music or musician

...of the musicians and their music and...

Did You Fall In Love With The Music or Musician?

Did I fall in love –

With the music or musician?

I couldn’t tell

Not when she is playing, not when

Her sound wraps round me

Like fur on a winter morning

Before the sun melts the icicles,

Lifts the heavy fog

Off the sleepy lake and

Prods lives under thick blankets

She wakes me up

And leads me to the sun

Did I fall in love –

With her or the sun?

Chinese ladies in their traditional costumes...

No Photo, Yes Tomato.

I've had just enough time to...   shoot a "No Photos" sign

Taken in a Shanghai food exhibition :D

I said “no photo” 

You said “yes tomato” 

I said “no film” 

You said “yes firm” 

I wrote it in black & white 

You said its blue & black 

I said “its Chinese” 

You said “No Italian” 

I look at you 

You look back at me 

I smile sadly 

You smile back 

I put down my sign 

You put down your camera 

The world is alright

These are the celebrity chefs they asked us not to shoot, ain't you glad I did! :D

Hungering For China & Hairy Crabs

I’ve had just enough time to…   savor the unique taste of hairy crabs

Is this a male or female hairy crab? Read further...

I’ll be going off to China at the end of the week. And right in the middle of the hairy crab season though I’m not going to Shanghai this time where the best hairy crabs are reputedly from or more specifically these two lakes – Lake Tai and Lake Yangcheng. The first time I had hairy crabs was on the way from Shanghai to Kunshan last year in one of the lakes where hundreds of small stalls and larger restaurants lined the shore of the lake selling just one product – hairy crabs! 

 Served and ready to be eaten...

These crabs are not cheap and a single crab can set you back $20 depending on the size. The female crab is best eaten September to October and the male crab is best eaten October to November due to the quality of the roe. And the roe is what these crabs are so highly prized. They are always steamed. I don’t know how to begin describing the unique taste of the succulent orangey yellow roe. It had been described as a delicate lingering creamy flavor. The meat is dipped in sweet black vinegar sauce with shredded ginger. 

A family harvesting hairy crabs

The hairy crabs are so-called because of its furry dark hairs on its claws that looks like mittens. Thus, they are also called mitten crabs. You can distinguish the female by the oval-shaped belly. The males have more hairs on their claws and a triangular designed on their belly. So can you guess if that picture is that of a male or female. Maybe I will get to eat hairy crabs again on this coming trip to Beijing. But if not, I will settle for Peking Duck!

________

A Hairy Crab Vending Machine?...

Chocolate Nightmare on Elm Street

I've had just enough time to...   have a chocolate nightmare

Taken of the chocolate sculpture in a Shanghai Baking Exhibition

A piece too many of any delight

Will a nightmare comes

Creeping, crawling, ready to pounce

Behind your shoulder it silently loom

Every road you take takes you to Elm

Shadow encroach your every step

But the shadow following, what is that?

The chill running down your neck

Is it wintery wind or frouzy breath?

You turn around

There is none

Your relief is short

For the nightmare on Elm has just begun

This is also fully sculptured from chocolate.

There Is No Reasoning With Orcs!

I've had just enough time to...   confront an Orc and lost for I use reason.

Taken in outer Shanghai of the Orc guarding the door.

I have powerful fists to smash faces in

Brute strength to break your limbs

Metal chest to prepare for war

I’ll be the last to fall!

You ain’t passing thru!

I don’t hear your reasons

Thinking is treason

Tears won’t do any good

But some gold would.

Only gold will get you thru!

_______

Is there a noble way to die?

- Warcraft 3 Orc Ending.

A Bowl of Hot Noodles In Chilly Weather.

I've had just enough time to...   enjoy a bowl of hot noodles in cold winter.

Taken just seconds before I dug into this hot bowl of noodles on a cold Shanghai noon.

Days of summer or

Winter chill, all I need is

Steaming hot noodles

On a cold winter noon in Shanghai, we were in-between meetings. There is too short a time for a proper meal but too hungry to forgo it. We spied an eatery that serves fast food – Chinese style that is. And there is nothing better than a steaming hot bowl of noodles on a cold winter day.

I ordered a bowl of “Lion Head Noodles”. The Lion Head refers to that single large chunk of minced meat that took pride of place in the soup. It is said that if the Lion Head is really good, it will stick to the wall if you flung at it. I was too hungry to give that a try and let my mouth did the evaluation. This beats a burger any time.

Know A Country By Its Arts.

I've had just enough time to...  witness the change in the Chinese Art Scene.

Taken by surprise in the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Contrast the previous painting (in the last post) done during the Mao Tze Dong era with this very large painting that I found in the arrival section of Shanghai Pudong International Airport. I have been in and out of China since the early 80s and what a change I had seen. From padi fields to high rise in a blink of an eye. From an universal grey to the latest French fashion. From a third world to one of the largest economy in the world. The speed and scale were mind-boggling.

Still it surprised me when I saw this painting in clear view just prior to the arrival hall. They will allow this suggestive painting in the airport? My friends from the West may think nothing of it. But most Asians are still conservative when it comes to nudity and suggestive portrayal in Arts. They have no problem if such paintings are displayed in studios and museums but have strong reservation when they are shown in public places in full views of children and their grandparents. And what can be more public than an airport?

China has come a long way in the last twenty years. How far? This tale of two paintings show the quantum leap.