Today on our COOK SNAP WIN 2019 adventure in Shanghai, we’re venturing a little bit out of the hustling and bustling city centre.
The Zhujiajiao Water Village is over 1700 years old, and is the most well-preserved of Shanghai’s four ancient towns. We’re super lucky that the weather was really nice, so we explore the area with a quick look at the local street food. Zhujiajiao Water Village is considered to be Shanghai’s Venice, so our experience here wouldn’t have been complete without a boat ride to take us down the river to enjoy the scenery and the lovely weather, and we get to see some of the old Ming and Qing dynasty stone bridge on the way to our next destination.
The beautiful, picturesque Kezhi Garden is another must-visit spot in the water village. After wandering through the gorgeous gardens and learning about its rich history, it’s time to play dress-up! We throw on some traditional Chinese costumes and did a fun little photoshoot in the garden, capturing memories to last a lifetime.
Then it’s back on the boat we go to head back to town for a lunch by the river. The special dish at this Fang Sheng Qiao restaurant is the beef stew, with chunks of beef slow cooked in a delicious braising liquid until melt-in-your-mouth tender. The braised pork trotters, and sweet and sour Mandarin fish are also some of our favourite dishes we tried there. We need to burn off some of those beef stew calories, so more exploring in Zhujiajiao it is! Everywhere you look is something fascinating (scorpions on a stick!) or some delicious street food treat that’s calling out to be tasted.
Because we can’t get enough of beautiful Shanghai gardens, we’re heading back to Yu Garden to explore and wander around its surrounding markets. The area is known for its old-style buildings housing shops, markets and street food stalls.
After a lovely stroll through the inner gardens, where we learnt some facts about its interesting history, we’re treated to a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Here, we try out different varieties of Chinese teas, and learn about how the traditional ceremony is more than just pouring the hot infused water into a cup. They also show off some of their flower tea balls, which open up and “bloom” in the hot water.
Unfortunately, drinking tea isn’t a substantial meal, so we’re hungry! It’s time to try Shanghai’s signature dumpling, the xiao long bao. Finally getting to taste these incredible little soup dumplings in Shanghai is definitely an experience we’ll never forget.
After exploring the markets at Yuyuan Garden for a few hours, we’re ready for dinner. The Bund is known for being a super fancy joint on the Huangpu River, overlooking the Shanghai skyline over on the Pudong side of the city. This famous waterfront is home to a number of high-end restaurants and bars, so we thought we’d splash out and dine at M on The Bund, one of the pioneer eateries at this fancy neck of the woods. We spend the evening wining, dining, sharing photography tips, taking photos and enjoying each other’s company over dinner. By 11p.m., we’re knackered from the jetlag and long day of action, so it’s a good time to head back to the hotel for some shut-eye.
