Ah, food, glorious food - one of my weaknesses, no doubt! I LOVED living with the Rabbaroux in Tours, France back in 1982 because of all the food she prepared for us! She called me "une poubelle," which I disputed as I would not eat just ANYTHING! Like I just WON'T eat the cubed chicken and duck blood here in China - YUCK! Une poubelle means garbage can, in english - the meaning here is that someone will eat anything!  That's why I objected - however, that said I did eat huge portions and the food was especially delicious!!  That's what I paid for as I picked to live with a family that "cost the most."  The location was near downtown and the University - the food was awesome and the accomodations also very good.  For example, we had 7 course lunches beginning at 12:30 sharp - wine with the meal and a course of cheese every lunch!!! My mouth is watering just writing about it!!!   As a railroad worker turned unemployed at this time, I DID eat voraciously and heartlity but having been a vegetarian for two years (the last during the first year of railroad employment), I totally object to eating just anything!! 

ANYWAY - back to the food here in Shanghai.  Just as an introduction - one MAY spend a fortune on food, this is Shanghai after all!!!  However, we have the whole range of prices as we can eat at the subsidized cafeteria (called the canteen here), which can be OK but is rarely good.  However, how does one complain about a 4 to 5 yuan meal?!?  Yes, a FULL meal for 60 to 70 cents!  Then we have tons of spots around the area that sell food - noodle restaurants, rice restaurants, hot pot restaurants, UBC Coffee restaurants (upscale - the coffee restaurant does sell coffee but mostly the "western" name to mean it needs to cost more!), Japanese restaurants, Korean restaurants and OF COURSE the American restaurants: namely McDonalds and KFC, but of course not to leave out the newest, Starbucks!

So the noodle and rice local little restaurants cost from less than $1 to about $4, usually.  To spend more than 28 yuan on a meal at one of these restaurants means that you are leaving food as you can't finish it (divide the yuan by 7.5 and you get the US price)!

The newest addition to my culinary tastes is the steamed Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao - "Nan Xiang" small little dumplings.  Nan Xiang is a place in Shanghai District (I am told though have yet to find), so these are special little meat filled dumplings that are totally delicious!  One dips them a little in balsamic vinegar and revels in the taste!   There is a special little shop that I frequent in old town Jia Ding near the pagoda which also has Xia Xiao Long or shrimp little dumplings.  The xia xiao long cost much more at 12 yuan  - why much more, because the Nan Xiang xiao long cost only 8 yuan or about $1 for 8.  Yes, we usually order a couple "trays" of 8 each and a bowl of noodle soup, which we can't finish.  Total cost is approximately 23 yuan or $3 and WE ARE STUFFED!!!  Laughing - ok, I am hungry now - off to eat!