Facts & Figures: Beijing

It only took 3 attempts to purchase train tickets. We already know things here take twice as long to do, we've established that fact early on, even before our arrival with getting Visa's etc.

Attempt #1 involved not knowing the train schedule and being able to communicate with the non-english speaking agent. Attempt #2 was almost successful but I did not have my passports, which are required for purchase.  Attempt #3 was the trick as we have confirmed seats and we are almost ready for our first express on the "express train" taking nearly 5 hours to Beijing.  I for one think it will be faster than if we chose to fly the 90 minute flight.
 
The Forbidden City was once know as Zijin Cheng ('Purple Forbidden City'). Being that I am a huge lover of the color purple I am even more excited to visit the Purple Forbidden City.  

Train Store

Fun facts of the Forbidden City: 

*It is the world's biggest ancient palace.

*China's most popular single site tourist attraction.

*The structure is almost 600 years old.

*Home of dynastic clans for 500 years.

*1987 UNESCO World Heritage List

*The largest collection of ancient wooden structures in the world.

*It has 9,999 rooms

*200,000 - 1 million laborers and artisans constructed the complex.

*24 emperors lived there.

Fun Facts about the Great Wall:

*The official length is 21,196.18 km (13,170.7 mi) 

*The Great Wall is more than 2,300 years old.

*The Ming Great Wall crosses 9 provinces and municipalities

*The Great Wall of China is the longest structure ever built by humans.

*The widest section of the wall is around 9 metres (30 ft).

*The highest point of the wall is around 8 metres (26 ft)

*Rumors astronauts can see the Great Wall from the Moon with the naked eye are untrue.

An Oldie But a Goodie

I am a fan of Weight Watchers. When I graduated college and was officially living on my own I started to make a more active effort to eat healthier.  

After already being in the habit of journaling my food, a key element to Weigt Watchers success, it seemed like a good strategy for me. 

My friends and I were always looking for easy "zero point" foods that were filling. An egg white omelet with salsa and mixed vegetables was a staple in my apartment. At the time (I'm not sure what the point system is today) 3 egg whites was 1 point and veggies and salsa were zero points. You can imagine how many WW omelets I made/ate. 

My roommate at the time had access to the paid online version to WW. She kindly shared her log in (really it was her mothers log in) and I searched for recipes. Endless recipes. 

I came across this recipe below for Chocolate Chip Biscotti. It seemed like a healthier version of a cookie. 

I have a thin binder of recipes I've saved. In effort to purge I'm getting rid of recipes I am not ever going to cook or cook again. This recipe is a keeper. 

It makes 20 biscotti at 2 points each. Thanks old roommates mom for sharing your log in so many years ago. 

'Tis the Season

It does not feel like Christmas Day here the way we felt Christmas in New York. Much like I hear it is in NY, it's mild here. Not quiet jogging in Central Park in no shirt like I've seen pictures of but still unseasonably warm.  People are certainly in the holiday spirit especially for a holiday they do not actually celebrate.  Below are just a few snapshots of the festive style we pass along our daily walks.  

The Waffle Bar

"A white tree Mommy?"

Carrefour

Local flower shop

Costa Coffee

The lobby of our building

                                                                                      

Good Wall or Great Wall?

Good Wall or Great Wall? I'll be the judge of that.

We just made reservations for next week. New Years in Beijing. It's cold, it's polluted but we are going.  I am banking on the the city not being crowded because it's super cold (apparently in the 20's farenheight) and with the holidays this week perhaps the pollution won't be so bad.  Although they might be working double time to meet deadlines before the Chinese New Year in early February when everything basically shuts down for the month.

In doing my preliminary research about the Great Wall, in fact you can not see it from space. Apparently it can only be seen from low atmospheric orbit not from outer space.

Great Wall we are coming for you!

The Search for Drunk Man Noodles is Over

This may just be a geographically centro post, for those who know about Gan Asia's fine cuisine dishes of Chinese, Thai and Sushi.  

For $16.99 you get an entree dish of deliciousness of Drunk Man Noodles described from the Gan Asia menu: Broad rice noodles sautéed with tender chicken, bell peppers, white and green onions, fresh basil, and Chinese eggplant, in our spicy black soy sauce. I special thank you to Tamar Davis from introducing me to this heaven and breaking me out of my tried and true order of General Tso with brown rice.

Tonight I have found a comparable version of this dish, AT HOME!  Seems I might have miss named my search while in China. In the meantime I'll enjoy my findings.

Taxi, Dishi!

Getting a taxi in Shanghai is much like getting a taxi in NYC.  You go out to the corner and stick your arm up.  There is a lot more competition to Uber to "reserve cabs" with services like Didi and WeChat taxi .

Basically every cab has two lights, one on the top and one on the dashboard.  If the top is green and the dashboard is green then the cab is available.  If the top is green and the dashboard is red then the cab is reserved from a call or an app or they just don't want to pick you up (as I am recently learning).  If the top is red and the dashboard is red then the cab is clearly unavailable.

On the dashboard is a plaque with a photo id of someone who may, or may not be your driver along with a number.  The lower the number, the long the driver as been driving.  Drivers with numbers over 350,000 are newer drivers, 200,00 ranger are average and anyone with a number below 100,000 is considered a veteran driver (meaning knowing the streets of Shanghai best not necessarily safe driving).

The star system on the id card is based out 5 stars.  The drivers seeking higher stars must past extensive written exams.  I have been advised that any taxi with 2+ stars is considered good and will safely get my to my destination in one piece.  Maybe three times since I've been here I've been in a cab with 4 stars and the majority of the time the drivers have no stars.  Apparently the drivers who have 4+ stars have more likely been driving for 20+ years.

It's an experience every time you get in the cab.

Smoking, required.
Seat belts, not required.
Air conditioning, not likely.
Traffic, a must.  

Chestnuts Roasting

I've seen them popping up in street corners, on the back of bikes. I thought I've seen just about everything, flowers, fruit, nuts and now chestnuts.  Apparently it is chestnut season.  Courtesy of the Shanghai Daily News, a feature article and recipe suggestions. I am tempted to try to make the chestnut rice with chicken and shitake mushrooms.

My father always got a kick out of us enjoying things he liked, for example, roasted chestnuts, potato chips and crossword puzzles (I learned in my teens that he would just fill in the missing clues with random letters to make it look like he completed the puzzle).  I am not sure he would enjoy such an unorthodox form of chestnuts in the recipes below, but I enjoy them more now knowing he liked them too.

The Heat is On!

While it is certainly not as cold here as it is in New York (thought I heard it was nearly 66 yesterday), it is chilly, some days.  The other day my husband commented, "it really is starting to feel like fall," to which I responded, "it's about time it is December already!"

Fall is not as nice as it is in New York but I am enjoying the delayed onset. I hate the cold. I hate being cold. There is a reason I went to college in Miami, Florida.

I remember whenever I was with my dad, during the summer, he always had the air condition blowing at full blast. I was an icicle and he didn't seem to care.  And I hated it.  He reminded me that when he grew up he didn't have air conditioning.  Makes sense, give yourself and your kids what you didn't have yourself?

I guess I am doing for me what I felt by running my heat anytime I feel chilly.  I like it cozy warm. Not drowsy warm, but cozy.  You may come to our apartment and feel like it is a sauna, sorry, but I don't like being cold. It does not feel like Eilat thought, I can tell you that much.

Lego My Ego

My son had a pollyanna at school this week. The request was to spend under 100RMB which is about $16, age appropriate toy for a boy. We gave a football (soccer ball).  I figured my kid likes kicking it around, why wouldn't one of his classmates?  Below is the gift my kid got. Please note on the box it says age 6+. Perhaps the kids in my sons class are super advanced?  It's a mix between Lego's but called M38's and a transformer.  How quickly do you think it will *fall to pieces once my son starts playing with it??

*update: seconds, under 5 seconds.

The goal

331 pieces

The finished product

The left over pieces

Wok and Roll

I bought a wok. Yes you might think it would have been one of the first things we bought here but it wasn't. And we managed nearly 10 months without one.  While at Ikea the other day I was intrigued and bought a wok.

When I hear wok I think sukiyaki.  Who knew this was a real, authentic dish not something my mom made up to have a fast and easy dinner for her family.  I honestly did not think this was a recipe until my mom so kindly shared it with me when I got married.  All this time I thought it was something she made up.  And now I have a real wok, as she did, to prepare it.

Does the shape of the pan really change the flavor of the food? Basically I have read that the shape of a wok heats faster, cooks faster which means less cooking oil which equals healthier food.  Because of its shape, the ingredients always return to the center, where the heat is most intense.

And look at all the cooking styles you can use with a wok:  stir frying, steaming, pan frying, deep frying, poaching, boiling, braising, searing, stewing, making soup, smoking and roasting nuts

And since I have a "wok flame" on our stove top, why not utilize it.

My first attempt with my wok....Mexican fajitas.

*While not my mom's recipe, this was close enough.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin strips
2/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup white sugar
3 small onions, sliced
2 cups chopped celery
1 (14 ounce) can bamboo shoots, drained and chopped
4 green onions, sliced
1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained
1 teaspoon cornstarch

PREPARATION

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Brown beef in hot oil, then stir in soy sauce, MSG, broth, and sugar. Mix in onion and celery, and cook until tender. Stir in bamboo shoots, green onions, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. Reduce heat to medium, stir in cornstarch, and simmer until sauce is thickened.

Mommy What's That?

I know it's only a matter of time before someone asks me, "mommy what's that?"  The kids are always asking what's-what.  But this is a first.  In any Wawa, 7-11, Duane Reade, bodega in Israel what is by the counter at check out? Gum? candy? cigarettes? All GREAT guesses, but not for China.

Durex condoms has one of the largest displays, pretty much, in every store.

Family Mart, a Japanese based convenient store has apparently opened the market for Chinese to shop, pay bills and apparently buy birth control and sex toys all while getting their morning coffee or lunch break. And making an already interesting dialogue with my 4 year old something else...

Durex Breaking Sexual Taboos in FamilyMart Shanghai, granted the article is from 2009, clearly this is a fad that is staying in style.  While China has become more lax with its one-child per family policy Chinese are still being safer. Turns out with the recent change on the family planning policy many Chinese are reluctant to expand families because of the high cost of raising a child.  This gets me thinking, if the Chinese have been limited to one child all these decades and now the rules are changing but they are not expanding because of the cost why in our society can we have 4, 5, 6 children? (see my previous post Hasidic Chinese). Private school education cost as much per child in Shanghai as it does in New York City.  Rents are also highly comparable to Manhattan rents. Granted I know not everyone lives in NYC but that is my frame of reference.

For someone who things he just rolled out of my tummy, as he informed me today, I'm sure this will be revisited again and again and again, much like most of his deep thoughts that make me mentally exhausted many days of the week.

"Mommy can I ask you one more question?" It's never just one more question. Paybacks Mom, right?

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late

Special shout out to my friend Kobes-Prages who instagrammed this photo!

It gives "it's the middle of the day in China" new meaning when we read this Mo Willems book. Thanks for thinking of us!!

book.

Search Renamed? Part 1

I might have to call off the search for General Tso and rename my search for custom made clothes. I am in the land of needle and thread. Many people assume clothes are cheap here.  Some clothes are cheap. But when you are not the frame of an average Chinese woman, petite, it is very difficult to shop.

I am in a clothes crisis.

In my 20's I embraced the popular term used as the "Quarter-Life Crisis".  This term made a generation feel better about not knowing what they wanted to do after college.  Being on my own, finding my way in NYC, a job, friends, what I really wanted to be doing, I was doing another search.  It was fun, though I am sure my family would beg to differ. I said fun, not easy.

Now in my late-30's I am struggling, and I use that term very lightly in view of current events, how to dress.

I'm a mom but I don't want to dress like a "mom".  And now moms dress so hip anyway; but I mean the image of "moms" I have in my head from when I was a child.  I am not going to an office everyday so I don't need to wear my Banana Republic Martin pants I lived in during my 20's when I worked in advertising.  And jeans seem so comfortable but at the same time youthful/juvenile. And then when I do wear jeans, which is 99% of the time, are they the right fit, color, style???

I am not one to wear leggings out for many reasons. One of the those reasons is because Tim Gunn said leggings are not pants.

I've been told the jean skirts I wear are too teenager-ish. And I'll wear black yoga pants if I am going to exercise right after drop off.  Yes I wear yoga pants and I don't do yoga.

But what does a 30-something work-at-home/stay-at-home mom wear and still feel like a real person, themselves AND is age appropriate?

 I am open to suggestions.

Family Lights

Cherry Hill, NJ

New Rochelle, New York

Jerusalem, Israel

Washington, DC

Stamford, CT

Stamford, CT

Beijing, China

8 Lights for 8 Nights

Night 1

Night 2

Night 3

Night 4

Night 5

Night 6

Night 7

Night 8

Ruminations

When your kid asks for pancakes with strawberries (and you clarify that it's cooked in) and then you give him the pancakes and responds, "GROSS what's that pink stuff!?!?"

Gluten free pancakes are NOT as good as Betty Crocker pancakes!

When your 1.5 year old copies EVERYTHING your 4.5 does. Literally everything.  Maybe we can potty train early? #instereo #surroundsound

When you have more fun with the kids Hannukah gifts than they do?

That Shabbat is OVER here and my NY peeps haven't even woken up for Saturday yet!?!

That we are going to a Henna (a Moroccan pre-wedding custom) in Shanghai!?!?

Air quality is not a front page story in the paper here. 

That cars are not the major factor for poor air quality in China, it's the coal emitted from the factories. 

That there is not one kids movie that does not have one scary part or scary guy (let's face it most movies have scary guys not scary girls).

I found a toy in our apartment, "Made in Malaysia"

Spice and ...

My cooking is off.  I am not sure why or how. Perhaps it is the lack of my normal kitchen accouterments. We left our entire kitchen (dishes, pots, pans and utensils) in storage.  By the time it all would have arrived in China we'd still of had to buy the basics to get us started and hold us over.

With the help if Ikea we have the basics. And I mean basics.  But I can't out my finger on why exactly my seasoning is off.  Maybe it's because things aren't as accessible as they are in NY? I mean I can get everything I need to bake and cook here, for the most part, but some things are at stores a little further away.

I have been motivated to take my own advice. I have a notebook full of recipes I have torn out of magazines or printed out from online.  I am trying to filter through them and cook them so I can decide which I will keep and which are duds.  Breaded asparagus, baked salmon with a brown sugar and soy glaze were hits. Homemade ravioli, challah and banana muffins mediocore.

It just seemed easier and more natural to cook and bake in my apartment in New York.  I didn't struggle as much to think of shabbat meals or dinner ideas during the week.  And yes we have the Ayi to cook too but I do miss cooking myself.

You Say Car Pool, I Say Mommy-Push

While getting ready for school this morning I found we had a few extra minutes. We decided to Facetime our dear friend in North Jersey and wish them a Happy Hannukah.  Our friends were sweet, they sent us a picture of their kids in front of our apartment in the city because they missed us.  If only we were home to hang out with them.

As we were wrapping up the conversation I said we had to go as we are going to school.

My friends daughter was confused as they were getting ready for bed. So to speak in terminology this 5.5 year old could understand I told her we had to get ready for car pool.  "Ahhhh she", she said, "have a good day."

Then I hear from the other room here, "mommy, what's car pool?" We walk to school. Much like I did myself when I was in school, we walk the mile to school (in rain, in cold, yada yada).  We have the same commute to school in China as we did in New York (minus the 1/2/3 train as an alternative/short-cut).  Here we say it's 2 kilometers instead of 1 mile.

I push the kids in our double stroller.  I told my son a car pool is how some people go to school. Our friends in our building take Uber to school.  I've tried getting my son in on their car pool but he likes me dropping him off in the morning, go figure.  When we walk and he asks for a short cut I tell him he'll have to go in the Uber.  You go to school by the mommy-push.  He'd rather take the long-cut I guess.

The Story of....

I was invited to my son's school to read a book and share the story of Hannukah to his class.

Now I remember the story how I was told as a child and built on the reality and details of that story as I got older and it became more conceptually age appropriate for me. 

Much like the Maccabeats sing it, it's all about the Nais (the miracle). But how do I (a non educational trained person convey the story of Hannukah to a group of 5 year olds. I'm sorry, a group of 5 year olds who most of their native language is not English and never heard of Hannukah before. 

Initially, I contacted a teacher friend of mine who teaches this age and asked if she had a book I could borrow. She came to the rescue and shared it with me, "Chanukah Lights Everywhere" by Michael L. Rosen. 

Reading it was more about family, being together and the symbols of Hannukah, applesauce, driedels, menorahs and gelt. All a great message to convey but not about Judah and the Greeks or oil lasting 8 days. 

It made me want to look and see what of our books at home might work. PJ library has been a wonderful resource for holiday books. Most are big hits in our house like "The Schmutzy's" and "And Then Another Sheep Turned Up".  Turns out the two Hanukkah books we have from PJ are similar to the book my friended shared with me. "Melly's Menorah" not such a winner for this crowd and I'm not a fan of the message, blow off the youngest child all day until that child ends up saving the day, forget that the book did not touch on Judah and the Macabees at all.  Maybe at 5 years old the kids aren't ready? 

I felt like this was an opportunity to share our experience as Jewish with kids from all over the world, a unique experience. 

I told the kids about the Greeks trashing all the oil and how there was only oil left to last one day. But by a miracle it lasted 8 days. I brought in the awesome menorah my son made last year at MDS day school in Morah Yehudis class and we demonstrated how we put the candles in and light them each night. 

I hope our sharing will leave an impression on these kids so they'll be able to say " yes, my classmate and his mom told us about Hannukah". 

10,000 Steps A Day?!?!

Most of have heard that if you walk 10,000 steps a day one can maintain a healthy weight/lifestyle.  Pedometer,  Fit Bits and other funky devices have been created and marketed to us to help motivate us to move.

I remember as a young girl measuring my stride with my mom's pedometer thinking I was so cool having it attached to my hip like a beeper.  A beeper, ha!  Because when you are in 7th grade and already walk to school you need to walk more?  Yes, 10,000 steps equates to an average of 4-5 miles depending on our stride.  And now pedometers are so sleek in design but did you ever think where did the formula of 10,000 steps came from.

"Manpo-kei" is Japanese for 10,000 meters which was the term that was created in the 1960's to help walking groups motivate for healthier blood pressure and sugar levels.

万: man - 10,000 

歩: po - step 

計: kei - measure

This idea, in fact, was not researched with scientific findings that proved people lost weight, which is what people think will happen if you walk 10,000 steps a day.  When in fact the basic concept of moving more will keep you healthier is not rocket science.  

                                                

Perhaps the earliest advertisement for the first pedometer, ever!

This article in 2014 from US New and World Report did research the benefits of walking 10,000 steps a day and it seems you may not lose weight but you may improve your cardiovascular health, strength, mobility, mood and sleep.

I thank my aunt for enlightening me with the truth behind this non-researched idea that has taken our nation by storm.

First First

I remember watching the New Years Eve celebration on TV when they show you the highlights of 12:00AM in all the time zones before New York.  Having celebrated New Years either on the East Coast or Israel there are always many more time zone's that have struck midnight before where I am.  Hannukah this year is different for us!

Another first first, we were the first of our friends and family to light our Hannukah Candles last night.  Unless we know anyone celebrating Hannukah in Korea, Australia or New Zealand, which of course there are Jews celebrating Hannukah there; I however do not know anyone there.



Holidays and birthdays seem to last an extra 13 hours for me because while we have lite our candles and said our bracha's and opened and played with our new presents my family and friends are just getting ready to light the candles, say the bracha and open their presents.  The spirit lingers for an extra 13 hours for us. Waking up and see my friends pictures makes me even more excited to see the spirit of Hannukkah span the globe.  

On a side, I follow a friend on instagram who shared this deliciously delectable picture of sufgoniyot from the shuk in Jerusalem.  I am not having FOMO (fear of missing out) right now I am just having MO right now.  Enjoy!!

You Say Today, I Say Tomorrow

Here is a little lesson about the days of the week in China.

Monday in Chinese is known as Xingqi Yi (day one), Xingqi Er (day two), etc.
I like to say Xingqi Wu (day five) is my favorite because it's Friday.

My husband was telling me he had his Chinese tutor on Xingqi Wu (Day Five, Friday). He was waiting in the office and waiting and waiting and the tutor didn't know up.  Why you ask? Because my husband was thinking in Hebrew.

He was waiting on day 5 which in hebrew is Yom Hameshe (day 5).  In Israel the week starts on Sunday so Sunday is Yom Rhishon (day one), Monday is Yom Shaynee (day two), etc.

Talk about a cultural cluster clash?  My husband was waiting on the wrong day 5, one day early in China.

Shanghai's Got Talent?

I'm on a planning committee for an event happening for ladies only to celebrate Hannukah. One of the woman planning it is also starring in the event singing a few songs (she is an Opera singer by training).

While at this meeting Opera singer mentions how she is also singing this week at a Chinese Christmas party, holiday songs and Christmas songs. 

The Chabad Rebbitzan asked Opera-woman how she can sing Christmas songs? She replied she has a gift and holidays bring people together why wouldn't she want to share her voice. 

The Rebbitzan responded that she doesn't understand, morally, how Opera-woman can sing Christian songs. Fundamentally it was against what she believes so she would not do it. I'm not surprised by the Rebbitzan's comments one bit. I was also how not surprised how this conversation could have gotten very confrontational and uncomfortable. But both the Rebbitzan and Opera-woman were remarkable respectful and held firm with their beliefs and agreed they both would not budge with their beliefs. 

It got me thinking, how I, much like the Rebbitzan,  would not sing (trust me you are not missing anything) publicly, non-Jewish songs. But what else would I not do that might compromise my beliefs, my values, not just my Jewish practice?

It got us talking at home what are limits would be.  My husband reminded of recent story that happened in NY.  WNBC, the New York affiliate of NBC, has a clip of the employees singing Christmas songs in front of the tree at 30 Rock. We know two friends, who are Jewish, who work at WNBC who were telling us about the commercial and how they actually mouthed fake words rather than sing the Christmas songs.

It was one solution and it was very cool to see them on TV.  I think the commercial, much like what Opera-woman was saying, was about the holiday spirit.  But it's not like they were singing near a menorah or Hannukah songs.  And by those two people not singing had it made a difference? I see both sides to the gelt (sorry bad humor gelt=coin).

While I am still thinking about my limits, I am curious what are your limits?

A Moment of Zen Practice

This really happens, everyday, at the pedestrian street across from our apartment. 

We enjoyed their Zen with a cup of joe. 

Scootaxi/taxscooter

I saw it last week and I didn't know what to make of it.

I saw a scooter. Not the shocking part, stopped at the same intersection as me on our walk to school one morning last week.  When the woman on the back of the scooter got off she was giving the man driving the scooter money.

I thought, interesting a taxi like scooter service maybe?  Maybe car-pooling via scooter? Maybe a neighbor helping a someone get closer to their subway stop?

Then this morning on my walk back to school this afternoon (sans stroller), while I was waiting at an intersection to cross the street, a guy on his scooter offered to give me a ride.  Having seen the situation earlier this week I had a feeling he was truly offering me a scooter-taxi.  So is it a Scootaxi or a Taxiscooter?

Either way I continued you on my walk. The air was ok and the ski was blue.

World's Best

A special Tuesday evening shout out to the World's Best Mom on her birthday.  She is the World's Best because we are in fact living a world apart, a world further than I'd ever think I'd be living from her.

Holidays, birthdays, milestone's always makes me feel that distance that we are living 7,364 miles from our family. Technology has certainly made feeling closer better but I wish I could have given her a hug and enjoyed the delicious looking cake with her, my brother and his family.  

Thanks for your patience, support, unconditional love, and most of all thanks for still being my mom even though I am a mom.

It still feels so strange to be going to sleep at night and knowing she is just starting her day.  Tuesday was a relatively nice day in Shanghai, mild, cool, uneventful and I hope she has a great day at home.

You are the World's Best.