been awhile since my trip to NY and it feels like a blink of an eye. work is insane and taking over my life and my wit! sad face.
haha yeah...right. luckily i still have most of the weekends and every week night to explore the city (aka eat). however all this eating has finally gotten to me and this weekend i finally got a stomach bug and was out of commission for the entire weekend and most of this week. this is legit the most depressing thing ever.
not to mention the weather here is amazing. it's turning summer quickly, but these few weeks have been a warm 65-75 during the day with the occasional but not disruptive shower. unfortunately, with my 'stay close to a bathroom' strategy this weekend, i was only able to enjoy the sun through my mini balcony.
before my bathroom sentence, i had the pleasure of enjoying a few great eats
1. grumpy pig. if i could live here i would. it is the restaurant behind a hipster sneaker store. as per the name, it serves tasty pork dishes, has a dj at night and a soul play list during the day. its sunny dining area and kind staff are a plus. last weekend they had open face banh mi sammies: crispy pork belly on a french baguette, smeared with pate and some pickled veggies + jalapeno on top. yum.
now i must admit this was no fair opponent to my usual grumpy pig sammie: beer braised pork, spicy aioli, bacon relish on ciabatta. that shit is poppin. or the pork ramen. damn. im hungry. this cracker diet is depressing.
2. mr and mrs bund. a popular terrace spot for visiting friends (aka parents), this place is on the bund, facing pudong with a great view. may that be smog? perhaps. however the weather was perf at a mild high 60s and no sun. perf. enjoy the outdoors without tainting my silky fairness. haha!
sophia invited me to join her friends from beijing for what turned out to be a hilarious, slightly rambunctious 3 course meal brunch.
my first course aka the breakfast course, which i quickly devoured before photographing, was a plate of blueberry pancakes, butter and a thick slab of bacon, smothered with a rich maple syrup. delish. then the second course, which i might equate to lunch or even an aggressive first course at dinner, was a beautiful plate of pumpkin and ricotta stuffed tortelli in a brown butter sage sauce. i mean really who doesn't like that.
i know, it's not fair. it's not fair that i live this life. i tell myself that every day that i dont have a stomach virus. haha seriously. ok my last picture is what may or may not have caused my stomach virus. i cant imagine it because it was so freaking good and had no immediate side effects and thus i will consume this again. yes, it's banana milk. omg. amazing. it's a bit pricey (8.5 kuai per mini carton) but man is that a pick-me-up if i ever saw it.
in other news, my zhongwen is progressing. last week was a MONUMENTAL week. i ordered my own waimai (delivery)!! it was spotty and i did it on speakerphone with my tutor but the food came and it was awesome. every time i think about it, i want to cry. hahahahaha there is nothing worse than a simple communication barrier between you and your most desired meal. now that is (kind of) gone! im so happy.
ok that's enough for now. this weekend is labor day so we have a 4-day weekend; my friends and i are going to ningbo (a really random city in china). it is near a large lake and a mountain so we are staying at a nice resort near there. it's a 3 hour train ride there so should be a good venture outside of shanghai. weather should be in high 70s low 80s and they have a huge pool so im hoping for a nice relaxing, sun filled, room service weekend. it will also be the first weekend i bust out my summer wardrobe. even though it was 77 today, people were still rocking the fleece jackets. enough of that. flip flops out!
