It’s the Saturday after the Golden Week holiday in China which means everyone is on their way to work or school. I was not dreading this, but not very excited especially since I was up until 1 a.m. the night before cleaning the kitchen with my roommates. I woke up a little later since I decided to finally try Jiangbing, which is a traditional breakfast crepe. It’s kind of like a morning street food type deal. Delicious and cheap. Apparently Shanghai is supposed to be littered with them anytime before 11 a.m. until they close up shop for the day, but I hadn’t seen any! While walking to work once I thought I had spotted one, got really excited, but didn't see it the next morning when I went to go check it out. Turns out I just missed it because he was taking a break. So I finally discovered exactly where the Jiangbing man of Guangyuan Lu was located and planned that for breakfast on my working Saturday. I got to sleep in for 45 minutes since I didn't have to have my breakfast routine(banana pancakes, tea, and Bob’s burgers). On my walk as I waited to cross the 5 lane, 6 way intersection I took in my surroundings and sighed at the slightly overcast sky, recalling the conversation I had with my roommates the night before about how the air quality level that I believed to be bad, was not even close to what it gets to. I continued my walk thinking about how delicious my breakfast was going to be(I really am obsessed with street food and food in general). I took my usual route, passing through one of the busiest areas of Shanghai and suddenly entered the very hipster border of the French Concession. My surroundings quickly turned into small, 2 lane streets shaded by the canopy of the Platanus trees. I looked up and saw a house where people had strung out their laundry out of their windows and from the nearest tree to dry and wished I had my camera because it was a great shot.* I walked up to the food stall where the chef was taking a break, resting on some steps deeper in the stall. “Ni Hao ma!” I said to greet him and also grab his attention. He quickly got up and began making a crepe. He asked me a question in chinese to which I nodded, and he laughed. The normal way something like that goes down for me. And so I asked him “Dou shau?” and he replied “si kuai”. I fished out 4 coins from my wallet and he asked me another question to which I nodded and he laughed. Obviously this was not a yes or no question. I smiled guiltily as he flashed me a smile of wonky teeth. He handed me my wrapped up crepe in a bag. I handed him the coins and smiled. “Xie Xie” I said, and waved goodbye. I crossed the street towards my office, almost getting hit by about 4 bikes, and walked up the stairs and entered the quiet office. I put my lunch in the fridge and filled a mug with some fresh dragon fruit and pomelo that was put out for us today. I made my coffee and greeted everyone with a “Goodmorning Everyone!”. From my apartment to my desk, my working Saturday became something I wanted to take in and remember. Not so bad when you remember how lucky you are.
*I actually did get a shot during a walk I took when the power went out
** The power went out in my office today and the whole street. The market I usually go to was forced to move their products to the street so it was chaos.
**Jiangbing photo from:
http://gapersblock.com/drivethru/2014/10/01/ode_to_jiang_bing_chinese_savory_crepe/
*I actually did get a shot during a walk I took when the power went out
** The power went out in my office today and the whole street. The market I usually go to was forced to move their products to the street so it was chaos.
**Jiangbing photo from:
http://gapersblock.com/drivethru/2014/10/01/ode_to_jiang_bing_chinese_savory_crepe/