He Said:

Peking duck is an imperial Chinese dish originating in Beijing, which is formerly known as Peking . It was prevalent throughout Chinese history, was written into an imperial food and beverage guide in 1330, and became the dish we know today during the Ming dynasty. It is the food of emperors. The first restaurant to serve Peking duck opened in Beijing in 1416, but my first experience with Beijing's crowning culinary invention took place in Shanghai.

JP and his co-worker, Frank, who is another friend of ours from the NYC days, had been to Xindalu a few times for business dinners. It's located in the Hyatt hotel on The Bund, and it’s known for being one of Shanghai’s most famous restaurants, despite the fact they serve Beijing’s most famous dish. JP and Frank booked it well in advance for our birthday dinner because you have to preorder the ducks and arrive on time when they come out of the oven, which was no easy feat after a ride home from Suzhou with three kids and no time to spare.

The restaurant was founded around its classic brick oven and two expert chefs, all brought south from Beijing . The birds cook in an open kitchen, are brought to your table, and are sliced up with classic methods right in front of you. The skin is thin and crisp, delicious when dipped in sugar and minced garlic. The meat is tender and juicy. To eat it, you line a thin pancake with hoisin sauce, slivers of scallion and cucumber, and slices of duck. Our dinner was fantastic. And any meal at Xinadalu gets you access to the rooftop Vue Bar after, which overlooks the skyscrapers of Pudong.

After dinner, JP and I hit the town for the midnight birthday pass off. Our birthday's being one day apart, we've done this in New York, a few years ago in The Keys, and now in China. I had read about a place called the Long Bar, which is located in the Waldorf right on The Bund. It’s an old colonial-era space that serves quality classic cocktails on what they call the longest bar in all of Asia. It stretches the length of the entire room and feels like a trip into Shanghai of the 1930s . After I managed to knock a filling out, I knocked down a few negronis. Midnight struck, the birthday torch was passed, and we wound up closing down the Long Bar. Fitting after a long day of touring, traveling, and eating.

The next day was kind of quiet. Yes, it was my 40^th birthday, but we celebrated the night before, we were out of laundry, and I could tell we all needed a little rest. After some down time in the morning, we went to the tourist market, which is basically hallway after hallway of retail stalls accessible by subway. I’ll let Alli give the details on this one, but I was happy just to chill. We walked across Century Park in a light drizzle, let the kids go on some of the small amusement park rides, and then we settled in a big couch on The Porch at The Kerry for dinner. It poured so hard, we were getting wet under the overhang. The thunder came simultaneous with the lightning, and we finished dinner inside and called it a night.

Monday was back to touring, and for Sebastian, it was apparently a day of worship . We met up with Frank’s wife and daughter, Darrah and Brea, and we started our day at the Jing’an Temple. This Buddhist "Temple of Peace and Tranquility" sits right in the middle of one of Shanghai’s premier business districts, which is anything but peaceful and tranquil. The contrasts were amazing to see (especially the architecture), but the temple contains some sights of its own. The Sakyamuni Buddha, known as the first Buddha of Buddhism, is the largest sitting jade Buddha in China and is made from Myanmar white jade. The Peace Bell weighs more than seven tons, and its ring lasts for more than three minutes. Sebastian? He jumped right in and started mimicking the locals as they knelt and prayed.

Little Buddha continued his antics at the Jade Buddha Temple, one of the few active monasteries in Shanghai. The temple was completed in 1928 and has a more used feel than Jing’an. People really seemed to worship here, kind of like comparing Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur in Paris . The main piece is a Buddha statue made of pure jade, which stands almost two meters tall. Alli took the photo, which is strictly prohibited. There’s also a famous reclining Buddha.

Sebastian must have been tired from all praying because he fell asleep before our next stop – the aquarium. We saw pristine tanks arranged by continent, and after he finally woke up, we walked through some viewing tunnels and looked at the glowing jellyfish. He liked the sharkies. Of course, there’s nothing like finishing up a visit to the aquarium than a great sushi dinner…

On Tuesday, we rested up a bit during the day, as I think we were all still dragging – possible remnants of the Suzhou bad air day? In the afternoon, I went with Alli, Carolina, and the kids for the first half hour or so of their return trip to the retail market, and then I headed to the Rotary Club of Shanghai for my first international make up meeting. This was something I was looking forward to doing, being that Rotary is an instant connection into communities throughout the world . It's a great way to expose ourselves to new ways of doing things and connects us with people from other cultures despite our language barriers or political/religious differences. I've never met a Rotarian who wasn't interested in "solving the problem" first and foremost, whether it's a clean water project in some remote village, efforts to promote local literacy, or the global push to eradicate polio.

I met the president elect of the Paris Alliance club, and chatted it up with a few Brits who had expatriated to Shanghai. We ate skewers of lamb and squid on a top floor patio overlooking the city, and we talked about potential project ideas our two clubs could collaborate on. According to President Frank Yih, that night was the biggest party in the history of the Rotary Club of Shanghai. Not only was it their annual summer BBQ, but that day, notification was given that two more Rotary clubs were being started in China to go with the two that already exist (Shanghai and Beijing) .

Wednesday started off kind of slow, too, as I really didn't want to push anyone too hard in advance of our Thursday trip to Beijing. We took Vicky to pizza while Caro and Tomy went to an appointment, and after we all reconvened and napped, we headed to Nanjing Road for a quick stroll. Nanjing Road is one of the oldest streets in Shanghai and is one of the most famous in China, as it was the site of the country’s first department store. Today, the East Nanjing Road section is pedestrian-only, has tall neon lights that were just starting to illuminate, and is as close to Times Square as anything else in mainland China.

We couldn't leave for Beijing without one more trip to Din Tai Fung. I couldn't stop thinking about those dumplings, especially the spicy pork wontons and the traditional Shanghai xiaolongbao, which are steamed dumplings filled with pork and a soupy broth. Many locals poke a hole in the skin, drink the soup with a straw, and then dip the dumpling skin and remaining innards in black vinegar . Even without trying the duck in Beijing, at this point I’m quite certain this will go down as my favorite restaurant during our trip to China. Din Tai Fung is absolutely incredible…

Other Observations - Access to certain websites like Google and Facebook are hit or miss in Shanghai. If you're holding a child, people will tap you on the shoulder on the Metro and offer up their seats. Restaurants have enormous menus that are like books, and typically, only one or two people at the table receive them, not everyone. Napkins are also tough to come by, and it's customary to literally chase servers down if you need something. The sound of cicadas must be included in any China summer soundtrack. They are extremely loud.

She Said:

The ride back from Suzhou was uneventful. Through what looked a lot like pantomime and some gestures, JP communicated to Wu that we were late and supposed to be at dinner at 6:30 for JP and Chad's birthday . Wu got it and drove as fast as traffic would allow, which still took almost two hours. But, I think we set some kind of record for getting four adults and three kids home, showered, dressed, and out the door in under 30 minutes.

We were meeting up with Frank (and his family), a friend we knew when we all lived in NY that now works with JP in Shanghai. His wife Dara and daughter Brea were here visiting as well. This highly anticipated dinner was at a fancy restaurant in the Hyatt hotel. Apparently, the Peking duck we were about to eat was ordered like a week prior to this reservation and had been slow cooked for a number of hours.

Chad took Sebastian to the back to see the ducks hanging behind the glass. I still don't think we know the damage seeing those ducks might have done to his perception of "duckies". Nonetheless, the duck tasted amazing. Eating the skin dipped in sugar felt gluttonous but tasted absolutely decadent. The rest of the meal was almost equally as delicious, but I'll leave the culinary descriptions to Chad .

The next day was Chad's 40th birthday. We decided to take it easy in the morning, sleep in, and get some overdue laundry done. The kids played, and after naps, we headed to the local market for some shopping. Chad really wanted to have a dress made for me, as he knows how much I hate shopping because nothing ever fits me right. After about 10 minutes of attention and negotiations, I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and was done with the making of a dress.

What followed was definitely more my type of shopping – chotchkee market shopping. We walked the aisles, bargaining for everything we bought. JP and Carolina had this down to a science already, and as good as I thought I was at bargaining, they completely put me to shame. It was hilarious to watch but quite impressive at the same time. There were secret rooms with locked doors where they kept the "real" fake purses, wallets, and bags. I don't know Michael Kors from Michael Jackson, but this was a cultural sideshow not to be missed .

After a few hours, the kids' patience wore off so we rewarded them with a trip to the park and some rides. Sebastian rode something that appeared to be the equivalent to Disney's People Mover with Chad, and the carousel with me. The weather changed for the worse, and we quickly walked home in the rain to catch some birthday happy hour time. We settled on a great outside restaurant in the hotel residence where they lived. Sebastian was happier than a clam to play in the water fountains and proceeded to get himself soaked. Just as our food arrived, the weather took another major turn, and it began pouring (typhoon-like pouring) with very-close-to-the-table thunder and lightening. We couldn't grab the kids, food, and drinks fast enough; so naturally, we left the food and ran inside with the kids and drinks! Somehow the hotel knew it was Chad's birthday and had a cake waiting for him (it does feel like "they" are always watching) that we brought up and enjoyed together.

We met up with Dara and Brea the next morning for a full day of sight seeing adventures . We started at a beautiful Buddhist temple where Sebastian was beginning to learn the motions of those praying. He threw money onto the dragon, helped light incense, and knelt down on the pew imitating the prayer-like movements of the people. Initially, we stopped him, as we did not want this to be perceived as disrespectful. But I genuinely believe that he was just curious, so we let him explore this new world a little more independently. The ornate altars with the many different Buddhas and positions were so interesting to learn about. Sebastian kept calling the Bodhisatva the "mommy Buddha". On our way out, we caught monks briefly singing in a ceremony.

After the first temple, we walked next door to a fancy mall (which had the first and nicest changing table I had seen yet) and let Chad order us all some lunch. The kids enjoyed mango smoothies while we tried muttonchops, veggies, and a noodle dish. Between bites, Sebastian was making friends at a nearby table calling out, "Hi people", which they likely didn't understand but thought was quite funny and took photos of him .

The next temple was famous for a life size Jade Buddha. We toured this temple quickly but took a little more time with the life sized Jade Buddha. It was quite a site, and though we were told no pictures like the Sistine Chapel, I couldn't resist and took an undercover one. Hopefully, "they" won't read this blog and see it!

Sebastian was long overdue for a nap and closed his eyes just as we pulled up to the Shanghai aquarium. Waking him would have been cruel to all involved so we let him sleep for the first hour or so. He woke up just in time for the jellyfish, sharks, and many other amazing tanks of fish – not a bad place to wake up from a nap! We met up with JP and Frank after the aquarium to grab some of the best sushi I've had in a long time.

Sebastian woke up with some congestion and a little fever the next morning so we decided to stay indoors for a bit. It was another poor air quality day, and he was beginning to develop a cough . We opted for another trip to the giant play area before coming home to lunch. Chad was heading off to a Rotary meeting, so after only a short time with us, he left. Carolina and I hit the market for round two, just the kids and us. They were awesome again and let us shop for almost two more hours!

We offered to watch Vicky the next morning while Carolina took Tomy to an appointment. She and Sebastian played around the house, and then we took them around the mall to play some more. We had a proper NY style pizza lunch, and all went down for a nap.

Wu picked us up a few hours later, and we headed to Nanjing Road. This is a popular pedestrian street with more mainstream shops (e.g. H&M). It reminded me of our very own Pearl Street in Colorado but with much more colorful characters and more modern buildings lining the street. Sebastian was obsessed with riding the little train that was going back and forth along this street. After trying a Korean rice patty (which was slightly gross), we hopped in for a quick jaunt up and back. It doesn't take much to make a two-year old happy. We met up with JP for a second round of dumplings and traditional Chinese food and went home to pack up for Beijing.

Sebastian Said:

About Xindalu kitchen – Eat ducky.
Looking at Hyatt lobby – Bamboo.
About Bodhisatva Buddhas – Mommy Buddha.
About temple incense – Fire.
In the aquarium – Sharky!!!
About our last dumpling dinner – Dough.