Beijing and Shanghai dining help.

We will be going to China for the first time this Fall. We will be with my SIL, who was born in Shanghai and lived in Beijing, but we still need some tips from the Berserker family. We will also be in Xi’an and Chengdu. [dance-clap.gif]

Really excited about this one!


Cheers!
Marshall [berserker.gif]

In Beijing I always look forward to duck at the Scitech branch of Ya Wang (Duck King restaurant)…awesome duck, just don’t expect great ambience or formal service. I also like the baozi at the famous baozi branch right outside the entrance to wang fu jing snack street.

In Chengdu there are some nice spots in Kuan Zhai Xiangzi where you can watch Sichuan opera and feast. Must try dishes there are the shui zhu yu and gong bao ji ding. Also definitely try a Sichuan hot pot restaurant and if you want a true local vibe go for some chuanchuan.

The best duck in Beijing is at Quan Ju De. The best location (there are several) is the one at Qian Men.
You probably should have someone book you a table or risk waiting a while. it’s expensive, but it’s spectacularly good. Now some will argue other places are ‘just as good’ but cheaper…
yah there are cheaper places, but no there aren’t better places. Quan Ju De isn’t QPR. it’s just the best there is… and with a 6:1 exchange rate, you probably don’t care that the one time you’re in Beijing and having duck, it costs $35 vs $25 elsewhere.

XiAn - go to the muslim street, and eat the street bbq stuff… it’s dirt cheap, but woaaaa ti’s good… drool… Also you can have a ‘dumpling’ fest in XiAn as well… good but the street food is hard to pass up :slight_smile:

ChengDu - SiChuan hot pot once for sure… see what ‘spicy’ really is if you’ve not had it.
Just know that everything is quite spicy here… so ‘medium’ might be too much even.
Enjoy some cold noodles if you’re going in the summer time… it’s delish, and cheap

Curious - are you going to Jiu Zhai Gou (Valley)? probably good to go for 2 days depending on time of your/dates you’re going to be there… Fall in Jiu Zhai has lots of people but it’s some of the most beautiful scenary you’ll see anywhere in the world.

Shanghai - to me Shanghai food is boring, too sweet, and mediocre. The city has nothing except business/finance, and food… so since i don’t like the food, i find the city quite a bore.
If you can day trip to HangZhou (West Lake) and another day to SuZhou (Gardens and cheap trinkets), they’re lovely places…

Those are 3 amazing cities and Shanghai. Have a great time.

Mark and Doug; Thank you…nice info!

Great start! flirtysmile

Cheers! [cheers.gif]
Marshall

Marshall, I was just in Shanghai last year (check out my FB album for pics) and had a wonderful time, so I am very envious of your upcoming trip. One of my musts whenever I visit is the Din Tai Fung in Xiantiandi. Yes, I know there is one in Arcadia and (now) in Costa Mesa, but these two US locations really do not hold a candle to the one in Shanghai (and of course Taipei). In the same mall, there is also Crystal Jade, which does outstanding hand-pulled noodles and dim sum. I especially recommend their crispy pork belly. For a bit of a spurge and a nice view of the Bund, Mr & Mrs Bund is whimsical and delicious, especially the foie gras with pomelo and the short rib teriyaki. For a cheap but absolutely delicious snack, try Yang’s Fried Dumplings. I was not impressed with Table No. 1, however. Even though Jason Atherton is a Gordon Ramsey protege, the food just did not live up to the hype.

Have a great time!

Thanks [thankyou.gif] Paul; Need to talk before I leave.


Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

Go eat lots of Shen Jianbao in Shanghai! Probably one of my favorite foods.

My family is from Chengdu and besides eating my aunt and uncle’s cooking, I love the street foods. .25 for some bao zi or $1 for some delicious noodles.

If you want to try hot pot but don’t want the hole in the walls, there’s a local chain called tanyoto that’s clean and good.

http://travel.cnn.com/most-creative-kitchen-chengdu-092981

I went to Yu’s Family Kitchen in my last visit to Chengdu. The presentation was excellent and if you have a big group, it’s pretty cheap per person. Some of the dishes were very good but there were a few misses too.

Have a great time!

Ever since Shanghai was designated as a Special Economic Zone by the Central Government in 1984(?), it has become the premier commercial and financial center of China. Yes, the economic activity in Shanghai is intense, but this city of over 20 million people offers the visitor a plethora of interesting things to do and see that can keep one’s interest occupied for weeks. Like any great city, Shanghai is a cultural center - museums, art galleries, temples, music, etc., abound. Take a walk along the historic Bund and you will feel the ghosts of Shanghai’s colonial past. If you’re in the mood for jazz, check out the old jazz band at the Peace Hotel (go before 9pm). You may even see some musicians who were playing back in the days before the Revolution. In the mood for an unparalleled view of the night skyline? Go to the rooftop bar of the Indigo Hotel, have a cocktail or two, or a bottle of wine, and marvel at the spectacular view of Pudong to the east and Puxi to the west. The lights of Pudong and Puxi turn on at dusk, and by nightfall, you will see all of Shanghai lit up like you’ve never seen before. Be sure, however, to get to the Indigo Hotel well before 10pm because after that most of the lights of the city are turned off.

A few words about Shanghai cuisine. It is true that the food is characterized by some sweetness, the result of culinary influence by neighboring Wuxi and Suzhou. It is only poor restaurant cooking, however, where the food is marked by an overt sweetness. The glories of Chinese cuisine have always been in the home, and it is here that Shanghai cuisine really shines. My wife’s grandmother was from neighboring Ningbo, and her cooking was never sweet, but pleasantly salty, a quality of all Ningbo cooks. As Paul Lin above recommends, I second Din Tai Fung for all manner of dumplings, but especially xiao long bao. Simply wonderful. For a change of pace, try Lost Heaven, where the cooking of Yunnan Province is on display. I spent lots of time in Yunnan Province, and I can say that the kitchen at Lost Heaven does Yunnan cuisine proud.

China is full of parks, and it’s no different in Shanghai. Take a stroll through People’s Park, and you will see something that can only happen in China. There is a place in the park where match making parents hang up the “resumes” of their sons or daughters. Marshall, assuming you don’t read Chinese, have your sister-in-law translate some of these “resumes”. Priceless!!!

I wish all of you a great time in China!

Zhi and Peter: Thank you so much for your detailed information…Very much appreciated. flirtysmile Since photography and food are two of my very favorite pastimes, I fully expect to be overwhelmed with the scope of China. This is a trip I have been looking forward to for a long time and am getting more and more excited as the trip draws near.


Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

Luckily you will be traveling with Xiaopei to run interference for you. When I was in Beijing in December, it was like running a gauntlet to deal with all the hustlers who will sidle up and start chatting, particularly around any tourist attractions. All connected to one scam or another. Even I, as suspicious as I am, got taken INSIDE of the Forbidden City by a fake art scam. Not a big deal to me, like $40, but it was bizarre to think that a commercial sting operation is allowed to be set up and run with the obvious approval of whoever manages the City. Enjoy, but be wary, everything about China seems to be a potential scam.

Wow, could you have painted China with a bigger brush? Scam artists are found everywhere. Where there are tourists, there are likely to be scams. So I think your comments apply to all tourist destinations, not just China.

I think scam wise, China is a lot better than places like Turkey/Brazil/India etc…
but Hawkers wise, there aren’t many places worse :wink:

Alan,

If you go to China again and don’t want to be bothered by the hustlers, you only need to know 2 words of mandarin: 1) bu, 2) yao.

Put them together, don’t even worry about the tone, and repeat as needed. It really works!

So, Alan, if everything about China seems to be a potential scam, where else did you get scammed?
And that you got scammed inside the Forbidden City, whose fault was it? As Doug says, your friend in China is “bu yao”.

Bangkok is the worst. White people get taken for scams all day long [snort.gif] [snort.gif] [snort.gif]

Sorry if some of you are offended by what I wrote. I have traveled extensively around the world over 40 years (though not Asia). No doubt there are scammers everywhere, but in my experience (and I’m sure because the differences in appearance are so obvious), I have never, ever been so bombarded by scam artists as I was in Beijing. Couple that with commercial dealings I’ve been involved in, leads me to my own conclusion that China has a culture that is steeped in dishonesty and corruption. I don’t think that’s really saying anything new, is it? Maybe it’s unfair to judge by experience in the capitol city, where tourists abound, but I have some similar experiences in other less touristy cities as well.

Thank you for the phrase to use next time. Whose fault? I guess mine, ultimately, as a naive, trusting American tourist. I assume the Forbidden City is on the order of a U.S. National Park or Monument, no? Owned and controlled by the government. Does it seem reasonable to expect a full fledged art gallery, supposedly selling original drawings by the local art schools, is entirely a scam? I’m not talking about someone set up for the day on the sidewalk, I’m talking about rooms inside a building, plastered with art objects everywhere, official looking staff, cash registers and all. I bought a small hanging for my son’s girlfriend, who is Chinese and an artist herself. Wasn’t a lot of money, and frankly I still feel like I got my money’s worth, but it was nothing more than a scam - with much more expensive art farther back in the room to hook the bigger fish, I’m sure. There is not a chance in hell you would find an operation like this in any major museum or national tourist attraction in the U.S. or Europe. Clearly someone who manages the Forbidden City is allowing this, and I assume profiting from it. Or is it even worse, and the government itself is behind this? Take your pick, it was pretty disturbing to me.

Hey Alan, just curious (and honestly curious), how is that a scam vs say a scam in Turkey where they take u to a club and basically rob you and force you to pay a ton of $$ for a drink?
I guess to me a ‘scam’ is where u get your money ‘taken’ for nothing in return… what you describe sounds like a heavy tourist premium?
i.e. u pay $40 for a piece of art work that probably some local drew up… ok but it looks nice yah? did u vastly overpay probably… but not sure if ‘scam’ is the word?

Can you describe the scam part b/c i’ve been inside the forbidden city countless times, admittedly i’ve never looked to buy anything hahaha. but i’d be curious to be on the look out next time! [wow.gif]

Another example, i go to Egypt, the guide tells me, my meals is $5… (cheap!) his meal while eating with us is around $0.25. We’re eating the same thing… Is that really a ‘scam’? or just tourist premium?

Btw i’m not offended by what you say… i think China is filled with corruption :wink: i’m really just curious b/c i’ve been so many times and i’ve never had anyone sell me art!

Mark, as I read about all the potential scams, the ones you describe are prevalent as well (tea house, club, etc., grossly overcharge, then I assume threaten you with either violence or report to the police to get you to pay). I never got beyond chatting for a while with some lovely young girls out in the open among thousands of other people, so didn’t find out what actually happens. The tourist premium you describe is kind of a scam, not sure if your guide was just laying off his cost on your bill, or the real cost was actually 25c. I guess that’s just expected everywhere, maybe even here in a way - if you’ve ever taken a wine tour of any kind through Napa, there’s a good chance the guide/driver took you to at least one place where he gets a kickback from purchases you make. I had that happen on a corporate outing sponsored for some customers who were visiting. I could see the hard sell and obvious linkage between the guide and the “winery” (a storefront wine tasting outfit off Healdsburg square that no longer exists). I tried to kick my friends under the table, but when the VP of a large Silicon Valley tech company (who is your boss) falls for it, you keep your mouth shut :wink:

The Forbidden City art scam worked like this (for me): I was inside the FC, i.e., inside the paid admission walls. Went through it from south to north, then turned back to get out the front entrance. As I was wandering through the grounds, and attractive young lady found me, started talking (obviously) in near perfect english, then told me about a student art show they were having. I was pretty much done for the day, just trying to kill jet lag, so agreed to look at it for fun. We went through a large wooden door to another courtyard, and then into a decent size art gallery/shop, with stuff plastered on the walls all over. She gave me her pitch about some of the art being done by professionals and teachers, and some of it being done by students, and that sales would contribute to funding the art school. I’m not stupid, and am pretty darn skeptical. Had actually already dealt with a couple of similar pitches outside the FC on the public street. But being located inside the walls seemed to give this a little more authenticity - and this wasn’t some popup art stand on the street, like you see in Paris, it was a large, fully equipped room, with tons of stuff up on the walls, clearly not something you could do even overnight. As I said, I bought something that was nice to look at as a Xmas gift for my son’s Chinese gf. Overpaid, and it was certainly a print, not an original, now that I understand the scam. So instead of buying an airport souvenir, I bought a Forbidden City souvenir for a few more bucks. Thing is, there were much more expensive pieces in there, and much more sophisticated sales guys (adult, well dressed men) hanging around to up-sell someone who might fall into the trap of believing they were looking at real art.

Couple of web sites that outline the most common scams:
http://www.tour-beijing.com/blog/china-travel/tourist-traps-in-china/top-10-tourist-scams-beijing/

If you look Chinese I assume they would never approach you. Westerners (or any non-Chinese) are the targets.

Different cultures have different expectations, obviously. American culture is very trusting, I’m unusual having spent a lot of time throughout South America bargaining for everything and dealing with that different culture. If you do move here, get ready to see people trying to bargain for products with the Costco cashier :wink: Seriously, I’ve seen it.

Oh fascinating… i’ve heard a lot about the ‘art school’ scam outside forbidden city… but like you, i’ve never heard about it INSIDE the walls… that’s quite odd…

And yah his cost is actually 25 cents… it’s not a kickback… he’s got a arabic menu but the number in the price area is the egyptian equivalent of 25 cents. :slight_smile:
I asked him if i randomly pointed to something on his menu, can i pay his prices? :wink:



Lesson learned Alan. If anyone comes up to you speaking English in a non English speaking country, walk away :wink: