Examples of advertising in China. KFC

Originally uploaded by Ivan Walsh

Western fast-food chains are a common sight around Shanghai. In the mega shopping/commercial plaza where I work, it’s hard to walk anywhere without running into golden arches or the venerable Colonel Sanders.

When KFC and McDonald’s first opened their doors to Chinese customers in the early 1990s, it seems as though they opened the floodgates to a host of fast-food chains itching to get in on the action. Subway, Pizza Hut, BK, and Dairy Queen are all beacons of Western fare around these parts, familiar faces in a sea of noodles and pigs feet.

The other day I was walking across the plaza on my way to lunch, when out of nowhere a horde of small children came rushing past me screaming “KFC! KFCCCCCC!”, arms waving wildly and red scarves blowing in the wind. Having narrowly missed death by stampeding children, I watched from afar as the horde charged through the shiny, grease-stained doors and disappeared into the fluorescent lighting.

Not gonna lie. I can see where those kids are coming from.

Though I’ve never actually tried any of their chicken products, KFC’s 5.50RMB coffee has saved my sanity on several occasions. …And their hash browns are pretty good too.

Most surprising about the KFCs around here, or any Western chain for that matter, are the culturally-specific menus. Looking for cole slaw and biscuits? Well, sorry. Try the congee and bamboo shoots instead! Even in McDonald’s and BK, I’ve seen everything from tarot pies to shrimp burgers. Once, even a quadruple cheeseburger. Is that even legal in the states?

But translating your brand to Chinese audiences isn’t without its missteps. Apparently, KFC’s slogan “finger-lickin’ good” was once mistranslated into Chinese characters that read “eat your fingers off.”

With all this talk of China being the “next superpower” though, will the tides turn? Is the implanting of Chinese restaurant chains abroad a real possibility? I, for one, would LOVE to see a Little Sheep (awesome hot pot joint) pop up in Gatlinburg. But high setup costs and barriers to entry aside, it’s hard to imagine at this point in time ANY Chinese brand making it big abroad. Korea and Japan have been incredibly successful when it comes to branding (Toyota, Samsung, LG, etc.), but they’re also waaaay ahead of China in terms of business development.

It’ll probably be a while before I find myself enjoying hot pot and Dollywood in one day. For now, I’ll just sip on my KFC coffee and congee.

Best. Birthday. Gift. Ever.

Originally uploaded by mirabile.dictu

(Thanks, Betsy!)

Originally uploaded by mirabile.dictu

More pictures galore at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirabile_dictu/

茄子 (Eggplant)

Originally uploaded by gray_eminence

Eggplant. Aubergine. 茄子. Tinky Winky in vegetable form. Whatever you decide to call this admittedly odd looking vegetable, it all tastes the same to me: DELICIOUS.

My obsession with this vegetable really knows no bounds. During my first week in Shanghai I’m pretty sure I had “qie zi” (eggplant) and rice 5 days in row and by the sixth, I was still begging for more. Luckily, I’ve regained some semblance of self-control by now and realized that eating fried eggplant smothered in garlic and vinegar sauce is a one way ticket to the beetis (this is point in the post where I would usually post a ludicrous Youtube video related to the aforementioned “beetis”, but since Youtube is blocked here, I implore you to look up some combination of the words “beetis, dance, remix, Wilford Brimley”. You won’t be disappointed.)

Wow, what a tangent. See GFW? Look what you make me do. Geez.

Back to qie zi. As I was saying, the most common eggplant dish here is “yu xiang qie zi”, the fried spicy/garlic-ly version that is a staple in my Chinese diet. My friend Betsy is a huge fan of the qie zi as well and together, we’ve unwittingly embarked on a gustatory adventure, in search of the best qie zi in Shanghai. Top contenders include qie zi with basil and 红烧 (hong shao) qie zi, but my absolute favorite so far is a simple qie zi and pancake dish at this wonderful little Shanghainese restaurant in Xuhui.

Call it a qie zi taco if you will. Anyone who’s eaten Peking duck knows just how fun (and delicious) the DIY process is. Well, this dish is the same except that instead of duck there’s, yep you guessed it, qie zi. The combination of the soft, savory qie zi with the thin quesadilla-like wrap is sensational. Tastes so good when it hits your lips.

Here’s a recipe for “yu xiang qie zi” that’s pretty similar to my mom’s recipe and not too hard to make. Make sure the qie zi is nice and soft though by the end. I don’t know about some people, but I like my qie zi goopy.

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/szechuancuisine/r/eggplant_garlic.htm

China National Day flags

Originally uploaded by dcmaster

3 hours of parade condensed into a glorious 3.5 minute timelapse:

China’s 60th Anniversary national day – timelapse and slow motion – 7D and 5DmkII from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Street In Shanghai’s French Concession

Originally uploaded by caffeineguy

I think I’ve fallen in love with Shanghai.

At around 3:30 pm today, after deciding to forgo the bus and instead navigate the patch of land between Nanjing West and Fuxing Middle by foot, after strolling alongside steel skyscrapers and fresco-ed villas all in one block, after seeing patches of blue sky peeking through those trees that shade the French Concession, after passing by a dance troupe of little girls clad in neon pink and yellow and after handing over 20 kuai to the old woman on the corner of the street who sells the juiciest red grapes I’ve ever eaten,

I fell in love.

Granted, I’d consumed two cups of tea that morning, but the inordinate amount of caffeine that was unquestionably coursing through my body was no match for the glee I felt from just walking around the city.

Just to be clear, I have not always felt this way about Shanghai. To be honest, when I first arrived, I wanted to take a blowtorch or an equally destructive device to the 24/7 construction, suffocating pollution, and non-stop pushing/shoving. I was convinced that by the end of my stay, I’d either:
a) develop a black lung
b) turn into one of those crotchety people you see in the subway whose expressions always seem to threaten “I will f’ing cut you if you make eye contact with me again”, or
c) become a … (dun dun dun) CAPITALIST.
Nooooooooo!

But instead of having my soul sucked clean by a Haibao-looking Dementor, Shanghai has actually softened me a bit (as if I could get any softer!). Perhaps I’ve just been lucky enough to meet interesting, incredibly friendly, and even more incredibly patient people here who are willing to bear with me as I struggle to form just one coherent sentence in Chinese.

Somehow I’ve managed to have conversations about everything from Chinese politics, pianos, and public transportation to the sale of body parts on China’s black market. That’s what happens here: one minute you’re making small talk about the weather and the next thing you know you’re rhapsodizing about amputees and a shared love of Nutella.

It’s hard to walk anywhere in Shanghai without being bombarded by the 2010 Word Expo mascot, Haibao, a blue androgynous creature that’s supposed to resemble the Chinese character for person (ren) but instead looks more like if Gumby had fallen into a batch of blue toothpaste.

Adorable yet kind of creepy, this Haibao character insists on reminding me of the impending World Expo wherever I ago. Construction walls, posters, statues, commercials, counterfeit stuffed-Haibao carcasses being sold on the street – everywhere I go, there Haibao will be.

As you can imagine, Shanghai is planning on pulling out all the stops for the Expo. Beijing had its Olympics moment and now, it’s Shanghai’s time to shine.

Much of the focus has been on upping the city’s “green” ante and working towards the Expo motto of “Better city, better life” (which basically means “there’s gonna be a helllll of a lotta construction going on until the Expo but it’s all for the greater good so suck it up and get used to it k thx bye!!”). Several green venues are being built, including one that will be completely made up of used CD cases! Pretty awesome.

But my main concern is whether Shanghai will be able to get its air quality act together by next year. There’s talk of regulating polluting enterprises and bringing in electric cars but for the most part, they’re all short-term solutions. Here’s to hoping that once Expo mania has passed and Haibao bids us adieu, Shanghai will still feel the heat from environmental watchdogs and continue to press forward with their greening efforts. If anything, the Expo is all about bringing in new ideas and technology – could green entrepreneurialism be the next big thing?

I’m a sucker for narrative slide shows. Especially this series by the Boston Globe:

Part 1 – Spinning in Shanghai

Part 2 – A New Place for Confucius

(Also, on a completely unrelated note, I recently visited VoraciTee’s brand spankin’ new website! And it is so awesome. Major props to the people who made this happen!!)

After 17 + hours battling airline food, restless leg syndrome, and that person you awkwardly have to crawl over whenever you want to use the bathroom, I finally finally! made it across land, ocean, and multiple time zones to Shanghai. Woohoo!

Since I was only in Shanghai for a measly 5 hours before being whisked away to Chengdu, I can’t really provide a description of the city, but I can tell you this: I’ve never seen a more orderly airport. For some reason, landing in a new airport always reminds of going on a first date, with all the first impressions and whatnot. For Shanghai it was no different. The high vaulted ceilings, sleek interior design, and highly-efficient customs personnel all screamed “hey, check me out, I’m a well-dressed and eligible bachelor with a 401k and spotless criminal record”. But then you walk out through the sliding glass doors into the Arrivals area and find out that ohmygod he’s addicted to painkillers and clubs baby seals for a living.

In other words, outside was Chaos with a capital C. People, people everywhere, running (though sprinting is probably more apt) this way and that in hopes of getting that coveted spot at the front of the line. Chinese drivers are known to be a little more aggressive when it comes to cutting through traffic, and Chinese pedestrians are no different. Survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, I tend to lose out in these types of environments, my Southern gentility getting the best of me. It’s probably best that I adapt and assimilate though and stop saying things like “bless you” whenever somebody sneezes. It’s starting to weird people out.

More on Shanghai and my sojourn in wonderful, beautiful, chaos–free Chengdu later!

I made this mock lattice pie last night on a whim…actually, it was less of a whim and more of a combination of over-caffeination and the fact that Gossip Girl was a rerun. I think baking has become my new form of stress relief. Better this than those squishy stress relief balls. They’re not even edible!