Mea culpa. Now how do you say that in Chinese?

Sorry. Really can't seem to get my act together. I had exams and then was in a blogger-censored place (China). But that's really no excuse. Just perennial laziness.

I discovered something while in China though, that I never realised.

It's actually quite beautiful.

My attempt at being artistic.

West Lake, Hangzhou.

If you look past the smog and the spitting people.

Something I knew from before, though, was that food was awesome and cheap.


These dumplings are a must-have in Shanghai. I'll just go out and say that they are probably the best fried dumplings in the world. These are '生煎包'(shengjianbao), which means they are fried from their raw state, not steamed prior. They are a cousin of xiaolongbao, those of Dintaifung fame, but better - because they're fried! Still retaining a hot burst of meaty soup on the first bite, but with the contrasting texture of the crispy pan-fried bottom and the silky non-fried top of the dumpling, with the juicy meat fragrant with ginger. Perfect brunch at only 4.5RMB (approx 75cAUD for 4)!

High-tea, Chinese style.

A tradition of Hangzhou, an area about 4 hours drive from Shanghai, is tea. Although not confined to the afternoon, tea consists of Dragon Well tea grown locally, accompanied with a never-ending stream of snacks, usually nuts and candied fruits. We also had lotus soup, a subtle floral but thickly gelatinous gloop, which was surprisingly soothing.

Shanghai was also uber-trendy. Amazing shops, from super-brands (all the ones you could think of, including the whole LVMH family and some I had never heard of). There's even a Super Brand Mall. Also - pop-up stores are really popping up everywhere. Here's the Vitamin Water store. Where you got -free- vitamin water!

Pretty awesome, huh? And I promise I won't stay away so long this time.