We took a stroll down to Xin Tian Di, an area around 10-15mins walk from my office, and currently at the very top of our list as potential places to live once we move out of this service apartment. Dubbed “Where Yesterday Meets Tomorrow”, the area is a mix of Shikumen (old Shanghai houses) and modern architecture. It’s quieter than the main city area where we’re currently at, and is a lot more ‘open’, with parks/lakes and people strolling around. I absolutely love it! I love the chilled atmosphere and the beautiful buildings.

Unfortunately, I’ve also been told it’s the most expensive area of Shanghai – the place that expats like to live and/or hang out. It’s pretty obvious too – you either see foreigners or wealthy young Chinese all over the place, since the area is strewn with Western-style restaurants and shops. I really like the thought that we can ‘get away’ from the franticness of the city, despite being so close (and technically it’s still considered within the city). I like that people are more chill there, and the higher concentration of foreigners means less pushing and shoving (and of course, the glorious art of spitting).

On the one hand, we don’t want to “sell out” and end up living in the expat area (where locals probably *eye roll* when we tell them), but on the other hand we’re keen to have a lovely home to escape from it all, in a nice area where we feel comfortable in. We’ll see…

Pretty Xin Tian Di

At the park and lake.. which are right in the middle of the city

Gorgeous park

Loads of random exercise equipment

Chris checks ’em out

Oh, we also cooked for the first time in Shanghai! Yes, it was a momentous occasion 😛 So far we haven’t because food is just way too easily available and ultra cheap.. but we felt like vegging at home one day and was also craving for a bit of good ‘ol homecooked food. It was a very no-frills, random meal – fresh ramen with mince beef and veggies. Basically we bought whatever looked interesting/fresh at the grocery store 😉 We somehow managed to hit upon DELICIOUS ramen, I’m in love! They were tender yet with a bite, and a lovely mild flavour. We stir-fried the noodles with some mince beef, carrots and mushrooms and a bit of spicy sauce. Was a cinch to cook, and a lot of fun messing around in the kitchen together 🙂

Fresh ramen with mince beef and veggies. Yes I know it doesn’t look very good,
but we were very pleased with our homecooked meal, and it really was delish!

Watching the fireworks on the 4th day of Chinese New Year.. the entire sky EXPLODED
with fireworks near/on midnight, it was incredible!!

Movie of the fireworks.. all that background noise? It was the millions of fireworks going off constantly!