We headed off to The Shed after an afternoon at The Expat Show, for some cold beers since we were in need of refreshments after walking around the whole day. It’s not actually a legitimate pub, just a little back room of an Aussie guy, and people just hang out there. It’s astoundingly difficult to find if you don’t know where it is.. and the next room is a little old Chinese couple who live there (and probably wonder why it’s always so noisy next door!).

Anyway, The Shed’s being closed down so it was one last hurrah for everyone, which meant it was more packed than I’d ever seen it. Where do all these people come from?! Loads of Aussies, Europeans and Americans… but no locals whatsoever. Quite strange, because usually meetups have these random locals that will rock up. I guess that’s the benefit of a hidden pub 😉

We intended to go for “just one drink” (groan! people always say that, who has ever actually done that?!) which turned into helluva lot more because it was fun to kick it up and relax. That’s what I like about it, over going out clubbing… when you’re clubbing, you always have to look nice, behave yourself, and have strange men coming up and hassling you. But here no one does since everyone already knows each other. Much more relaxing. You can rock up in a tee, shorts and flip flops, and no one stares at you.

Bummer it’s all over!

An old photo of the shed, during its better days

Sawing the wooden bar top in half. Why? NFI.

Bar top, GONE.

Because starting a fire is always fun, apparently!

Just an all round hilarious shot 😉

I look like I’m feeling that guy up but I SWEAR I’M NOT!

Setting off fireworks outside

After all that smoke and fire, we decided to toddle off for dinner. The good thing is that since we were on Taikang Lu, we were spoilt for choices, even though it was late. The narrow maze of streets are so adorable old school, and jammed with little boutiques, cafes and restaurants. Despite being all cobblestoned and messy, it actually feels incredibly Western.. probably because of the number of western cafes there and also the fact that it’s packed with foreigners. I love the place though, it’s cosy and crazy.

We decided on this tiny tiny tiny hole-in-the-wall (literally, we had to climb inside) Japanese restaurant, and we were lucky to score 1 of the 2 little rickety tables outside. We thought it’d be fun to eat in a little, cheap, authentic Japanese cafe. Well, it certainly was little, and authentic. But certainly NOT cheap!! We were pretty stunned when the bill came, considering the place is such a hole-in-the-wall. Fortunately for them, the food was pretty good… so whilst I won’t bitch at them about the prices, I certainly would never go back.

Hole-in-the-wall, no?

Sitting outside in the little alley, all busy with people at tables from other restaurants

I swear the menu said this was “sashimi in a light sesame sauce” but this was smoked salmon!??!

Prawns. They were lightly battered and absolutely diiiiiiiivine

Clams in ginger broth. Loved this, pity it was so small for the price

Pork katsu. Perfectly crispy

Japanese burger, pretty much like a normal one 😛

It was great!

Tucking in 🙂

Loved the look of the birds/bird cages hanging in the alleyway

Amused that it’s all sunshine and rainbow. Does the quiz ever say
“You’re a stupid shit, please go away”?

Your Name is Yellow

Your name tells people that you are welcoming and cheerful. You are open to all the love in the world. You are a warm person who can’t help but make others feel comforted. You are truly radiant. People see you as someone who has figured out the secrets to life. While that’s not true, you do try to remain positive in the face of adversity. You are the sunshine in other people’s lives. You make more of a difference than you realize.

What Color Is Your Name?