My latest Addictions

* Hi-chew / those candy bars you can get at all Lawson/Kedi/Alldays/Supermarket/Watsons, etc. Good for your breath and extremely sweet. Peach is the best one, trust me!!!

* The new girlgroup Millionaires, I listen to their songs while I sort my files at work (cheeky lyrics)

* Egg tarts, Why don't they have those in Sweden?????????????????

* Mango daquiris at De La Coast, Mmmmmmm

* Lounge18; the music, the people, the location, the decor, aaaaaaaaaaaah

After work I'm going to Fake Market 580 and then to Blue Frog to have their burger!!! 2 for 1!!! Every Monday! While gossiping about this weekend's escapades ;)

Funniest Conversation

Wednesday Night 3.15 am
-Wei, Wo yao Big Mac, Double Cheeseburger, etc. Home delivery
- Wait 2 hours
- Aaaaaaaaah?? Ni feng le ba? (bad western pronounciation, it means are you crazy)
- No I am not crazy, you will have to wait for two hours.

Click...
Ended up with us going there ourself to get the hamburgers.

This doesn't sound so much fun but you should've just heard the voices, HILARIOUS!!!

Tonight, Mao, De La Coast, Laris martini night...hehe
right now at Will's Plus in Jinmao building, going to work my ass off!!!!!!!
oh and before I forget, I bought the nicest pair of shoes tonight (400rmb), will wear them tonight =)

Changle Road

Today I went to my favourite street Changle Road, saw many nice things I wanted, but was a good girl. Just ended up with buying this dress. 280 rmb. Those shoes I had bought a week ago for a very good price, can you guess?

After the shopping I went to Simply Thai on Dongping Road/Hengshan Road to have dinner with friends, awesome resturant. The food is absolutely amazing!!! On Mondays they cut 50% off your bill. YAAAAAAY!!! But make sure to call them before and ask for this offer!!!

Sex and the City - the movie

I watched it last night.Eeven with the bad quality of the DVD I enjoyed every single second of that movie. It was extremely good! There were so many funny parts that I laughed out loud, and then in the end I cried sooooooooo much. When she flips through her email and found the letters, Oh My God, I was crying like a baby watching that scene.

This movie is so fantastic and I loved it so much!!! Apart from the movie, I could kill for Carrie Bradshaw's clothes. I wish people would be as daring as her, when I'm 40 I'm going to look just as good as Carrie....with no botox.

Yesterday night was a perfect Wednesday night for me, went to Daniang Shuijiao to eat dumplings at Zhongshan Park, then walked home, grabbing a smoothieshake drink with egg in it!!! (I saw this couple who went there, it was only the girl who bought the drink, but the guy paid for her and it was a natural thing, she didn't even mention anything and just let him take it, OK, it was 4 rmb...but still). Back in the apartment I watched SATC and had a good night sleep ^_^

Food

I am currently sitting on Costa Café on Wujiang Road (What have they done to MY Wujiang Rd??? Now it's some kind of nice cozy luxury sh1tjoint!!! Before it was charming and authentic!! I'm mad). I think after my Shanghaitrip is over I have been to every single coffeeshop offering free wifii in downtown Shanghai, haha. 

Here are some of my (lame) food tips for you guys.

• When you go to Carrefour you can NOT miss the place where you pick your vegetables/tofu/noodle and then some person will mix it for you and add spices and nuts into it. I bought a big bag = 9.80 rmb ^_^
• When you go to Wagas you have to try their Chicken Blue Cheese salad with pear, sooo yummy! But they COULD slice the lettuce a bit more!!

• I'm drinking this Mint Vanilla Frescato, 30 rmb for this sh1t!!
  

Why are Chinese men fat?

I see LOTS of fat Chinese men here in Shanghai. It is a weird sight to me because usually women in general tends to have more bodyfat then men. Men has more muscle mass than women so they usually tend to burn fat faster than women.

I see FAT Chinese men all the time, I mean not chubby but obese Chinese men, whilst it's harder to see obese Chinese women.

My theory is..........as in China people still prefer having a son as their only child they spoil the son soo much with good food and they turn out like this? Or what do you think? You have another theory?

UPDATE: I'm seeing this huge guy eating a big milkshake drink WITH cream and another cake with lots of cream!!! His girlfrind is not too goodlooking but is eating less than him.

Best place in Shanghai

The BEST place for girls and women here in Shanghai is not the spas, nor the clubs where they have ladies nights. I think it is Zhong Shan Park's metrostation. Go ahead to exit 4-6, you will be walking under a white tunnel, keep walking til you find lots of small shops. You will find really really nice shoes for under 100 rmb and some very fashionable clothes, you need to search! Also besides all these cool female clothing shops, there are also smoothie bars, dim sum bars, sushi bars, etc and for a very good price. I ordered a mango and carrot smoothie for 8 rmb, and you see them making it. And if you wanted manicure you can get that as well for a good price.
I actually don't want to tell you foreigners about this place because if you all go there, they will start rising the prices on there which they have already done a bit. Today I bought one starpatterned dress, a silver jumperdress (looks like stella mccartney) and a pair of black ballerinashoes, 200 rmb for everything!!! I cannot upload pics from my computer atm, but they will come later)

I love Chinese Starbucks

Yes, I really do. Some people may find them way too ON, asking you questions, bothering you with all the choices. Yes, they do, but so what?

I'm sitting in Starbucks right now, and I just got free sample drinks of their new chocolate frappucchino (it's good) and sample o their new lemon coco cake (not very good), and they just came and ask me for feedback. I said the drink was very good, and the girl was like: Ohhh, take more, we have more and smiled sooo much.

Such a sweet girl :-D

I just got a massage and a new haircut, I love my new haircut, I look like a tall Japanese girl now ^_^ I'm so happy being in Shanghai

Shopgirls loves to eat

That's a rather embarassing statement especially when the person (me) who says that is a bit chubby. But anyway, today I received some new pictures from my Italian friend and he had apparently a fascination of me and food, because a lot of those pics included me eating something. I also want to add that I think people who never eat chocolate or icecream or whatever are sad people, come on, food is a very important pleasure of life and you should enjoy it. But you should also go to the gym!!!!!!!!! Today I did cardio for 50 minutes, some situps and pushups, one hour class of streetdance, tomorrow I will go to step and bodycombat!

Enjoy! Here it's a video of me and Catharina learning the Iranian PhD student how to dance in our bodyjam class. Music: Sebastian Leger - Aqualight    (I wear my pyjamas in this video)

Foood!!!!!

Actually I will miss this kind of food when I'm in China...but I will just switch salads and MAX hamburgers to xiaolong baozi...YUMMY

Guess who's the unhealthy person? hmmm

I'm addicted to icecream

This is not good!!! I'm trying to lose weight but suddenly I feel this HUGE cravings for icecream, probably because of the nice weather Sweden is getting after a long and painful "this is not real cold winter, nor is it spring feeling".

And NO, I can't replace icecream with yoghurt (except if it's yoghurt icecream), NO I can definitely NOT replace icecream with fruits!!!

If I was in the US, I would be in heaven concerning their icecream selection

Mmmmm.... baskin & robbins, eddy's, cold stone, ben and jerry's in EVERY flavour, Reeses peanut butter icecream, Häagen Dazs in every flavour, etc. etc. Mmmmmm

and the best of all? It's friggin cheap with icecream in the US!!!!

I am disgusted

Bluh, I feel so bloated!

I have been so extremely unhealthy these days except Sunday. It's sick how much I have eaten these last days. Yesterday I had an icecream when I didn't even really feel like having it, and then afterwards I felt this HUGE craving for Chinese food, so I went to the store to buy lots of ingredients. I ate too much of my own Chinese food although it was raaaaaaather healthy. But I just ate too much so it looked I was pregnant afterwards. Then these days I have also had pralines because there's a box of pralines in the kitchen for everyone >_<

Today I had whole grain chips with less fat, a small chocolate milkshake from McDonalds, and then I had LOTS of food at my friend's restaurant (had authentic Chinese food such as fried rice, fish and duck), and then she gave me a strawberry cake afterwards with cream. :'(

I'm so full that I can hardly breathe! I miss starving at the moment.        B-l-u-h!

Shanghai Coffee

Starbucks, Coffeebean, Costa, Jamaicain, UBC...can you come up with any more big coffeechains?

It's amazing how all those big coffee chains are profiting from setting up their businesses in China. Considering a coffee is around 25 rmb, which is expensive! For 25 rmb you can buy 10 Coke bottles! In Sweden one Coke bottle is around 12sek (12 rmb), so 12 multiplied with 10 is 120.....the real price of a Starbucks coffee is 120 rmb!!!!! Ding dong surprise!!!!

Personally I prefer Coffeebean and Costa, Starbucks is so overexposed that I'm bored now. I have never tried Jamaicain but I have heard good things about it. Being honest I don't even drink coffee in a regular basis, if I'm drinking coffee I want to pose :)

I just heard that Jamaicain has just opened up on 5th floor in Citiq Square on Nanjing Xi Road. I'm glad because usually Jamaicain hasn't been available for me as I tend to hang out in very central areas in Shanghai. But it can't be more central than Citiq Square!!!! Just next to plaza66! YAY.

My Goodbye Dinner

Teppanyaki with lots of sake! All you can eat and drink for only 100kuai! And they have really good selection, the food is fresh and has good quality. We later went to Zapatas and then Babyface (I don't like Babyface!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Laris on Thursdays

If you read my top 5 drinks in Shanghai, forget everything I said, because best drinks are in Laris.
On Thursdays they have their martini nights, 2 for 60 kuai. I have never tasted so good drinks as in Laris, their chocolate martinis (is to die for), mango martinis, berry martinis, mmmmmmmmmm.

And the crowd is good as well, lots of beautiiiiiiful people inside and the decoration is so nice as well. Cool music and nice ambience.
A bit sad that I found this place in the end of my stay :(

Also another deal is that you can enjoy Italian snack buffet in Westin Hotel (pictures) for 100 kuai including 2 glasses of cocktails/wine/whatever. They really can mix drinks, my Cosmopolitan and Singapore Sling were perfect!!!

Real China

I know some people who go to China for the first time is surprised with that there aren't that much of people as they expected.

BUT, they will regret saying that if you are outside Raffles City Mall at 6, 7pm.
FULL OF PEOPLE!!!

btw, I bought the cutest Hello Kitty mouse for my computer today, for only 30kuai!!!! It cost 130 in Science and Tech market and they refused to let me get it for a cheaper price.
Also today, a seller threw me out from their store because I told them that their prices are ridiculous :(
This happened outside Yuyuan..........
I had dinner at Lu Bo Lan Restaurant where people such as Fidel Castro, Bill Clinton and Queen Elizabeth have eaten! Cool huh? Being honest, I think the food is a bit overrated though...

Best Brunch in town

After having a very busy Saturday night (Hooters, Moca Party, Ministry of Sound at Attica) we decided to have a nice brunch at Maneo (under Mint club on Tongren Road). For 158kuai it is "All you can eat" from the menu. I have heard a lot of good things about it, but it really exceeded my expectations. My friends thought it was awesome as well.

It was soooooooooooooo good, and the quality of the food was really amazing as well. The waiters were a bit stupid but that is totally OK when you get food like that for ONLY 158kuai.
If I had this brunch in Sweden, it would have cost at least 600, no doubt about that.

I'm still in awe. It is absolutely AMAZING. Best brunch I have ever had in my whole life.

Today, I joined the gym, MOB Fitness. Wooooooohooooooo!!! I need some endorfins.

What can you get for 28 kuai?

28 kuai is about 4 US dollars.

This is taken at a Japanese Restaurant on Xinle Road close to Donghu Road (almost opposite the clothing shop The Source). You'll see a red Japanese lamp hanging outside the entry.

You get a main course plus around 5 several small dishes for only 28 kuai (that is what mine costed) plus Japanese tea.

You see how happy and satisfied I am?

Weekend of SH

I'm starting to get bored that on every Monday I'm writing about what I did during this weekend and I guess that you guys are bored as well. But I want to remember how much fun I have had in SH.

On Friday I had my first pedicure in my life (I really needed it), with my clean toenails my friend and I went to HFZ (Red house) - the first french restaurant in Shanghai. The interior there is beautiful!!! We stayed at the terrace with our drinks. Later we went to my friends leaving shanghai- house party. It was one of the best house parties I've been to. A lot of cool outgoing people there. Later to Glamour Bar (but they were closing), so we left for Attica (I'm starting to get really fed up with Attica), last to Be for Time 24 hour restaurant (GOOD STUFF).

On Saturday I went to Air Bar's Anniversary Party (one of the worst parties I've been to), the air condition didn't work so it was like a sauna inside. Drinks were so light, too many people around the bar, boring music, the interior sucks, etc. Don't go there!
Bonbon was a lot better, Dnb DJ Fabio was playing and I had a very good time there from what I remember. My friends had a bit of too much tequila. I love bonbon but their alcohol is SHIT!!! Don't drink much of it if you don't want to throw up the next day.

On Sunday I didn't feel very good but still managed to go to Azul Viva for brunch with some girls. I have only good things to say about it. It is sooooooooooooo good!!! For 120 kuai you get scones, muffins, 2 courses (their goat cheese bruschetta and Spanish chicken with saffron risotto is the best thing ever!!!) and coffee. Too much food for me, I couldnt even finish my half Spanish chicken.
But I will have to go there again some day, because it is simply the best restaurant I've ever been to here in Shanghai.

Top 5 cocktails in SH

1. Pina Colada (Barbarossa)
2. Dragon Pearl (Glamour Bar)
3. Frozen Banana Daiquiri (KABB)
4. Dry Martini (YY's)
5. Redbull Vodka (Mint)

My friend say that they make the best Chocolate Martinis in Laris which I haven't tried yet.
Please tell me where you have had the best cocktail/drink in Shanghai.

Another weekend

The whole Saturday I went to grocery shops to find the ingredients I needed for my aunt's birthday on Sunday. Finally after 3,4 shops I found my dill in Cityshop in Portmans. The picture shows what I made :) (smorgascake, meatballs, mashed potatoes with parsley, appetizers, browniecake etc.)

Later that night I went to the launch of Lords and Ladies First in Cafe Neo (I loooove Cafe Neo, the interior is so fun and creative) on Weihai Road. It was so funny, I saw the guy in Cafe Neo that was standing before me in the line in FreshMart (Cityplaza's basement). Turns out that my friend knows him and we get introduced. I know I say this all the time, but SH is soooo small).

Later Mx and I took a cab to Glamour Bar, their drinks are awesome (try Dragon Pearl, something like that) and the service is quite good; The waiter accidentally kicked my almost empty drink and got me a new one fast. The lightning in there is awesome and makes you look better :P. The crowd varies a lot, there are old businessmen, there are sleazy guys, there are gay guys, there are ladyboys (saw 2!!!), there are younger crowd, etc. This very stupid Brit was so drunk and aggressive that he smacked some car's window outside and made traffic chaos.

Later we went to Attica (through the VIP line of course, hehe), the music was awesome!!! Went home around 4.30 and today I'm sick!

What a FRIDAY

Had Teppanyaki at this awesome place, it is hidden so it's a secret place my dear readers, PM me if you really want to know it, hehe. 100 kuai for all you can drink and all you can eat. The food is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

After Teppanyaki a disco bus took us to this new club MAO, I think I was too shitfaced to check it out in detail. But it has several floors if I remember correct, pink/red lightning. After MAO we went to Bar Rouge (I don't like BR anymore, my statement), so I went home earlier than everyone else.

Today I've been to Carrefour, Freshmart (in the basement of City Plaza) and City shop to find ingredients for my big feast tomorrow. It's my aunt's 60 years old birthday and I'm going to make awesome Western food!!!

Two nice dishes

This clementine thing is supposed to be a dessert, they have put sticky rice in it so it gets the Clementine flavor, it's really delicious and healthy, too bad I was so full so I couldn't have much of it.








Shengjian baozi is theeeeee shit!!! Sooo good, this is what I'm longing for everytime I'm not in SH. Xiao Yang Shen's is the best place to have it at, it's a chainstore and one of the store is on Wujiang Road. They are famous for their shengjian baozi.

Corridor dinner

They liked my dish and soup!!!!!!!! But the Korean girl ALWAYS make the best dish, she has all kind of native ingredients in her pantry.
I will miss my hall friends who are leaving soon :(
From the picture:
(Spain, Korea, and me)

Going to a food festival today, and do some shopping for friends in SH, I have no time for studying :'(

I'm a cheapskate

Just got back home from the local Swedish chain grocery store ICA.

I try to stay healthy so I bought bread (healthy version of bread), a zucchini and an apple. Guess how much it cost? 40 rmb!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 40 FREAKING RMB!!!

With 40 rmb I can have 8 delicious shengjian baozi, one big watermelon, 200g of sweet potatoe chips, pearl milk tea AND enjoy a nice taxi ride home (and maybe have some left in my pocket)

I CAN'T WAIT to live cheap in Shanghai!!!!

Already have a packed schedule

Hehehe, I already have a packed schedule from the day I arrive in SH!

I probably get home around noon , meet my mum and all my relatives, have a big Chinese lunch including yuxiangrousi, star corn cake, shengjian baozi, that kind of fish that is covered in some kind of tomatoe sauce, etc. After that, I just have to walk over to the local Starbucks and drink their green tea frappucchino! Maybe even do some shopping on Thursday if I have the energy....

On Friday: dinner with mum's friend, later going to either bonbon (Scissor Sister's DJ), I love Shanghai or a house party

On Saturday: big lunch with relatives, dinner with mum's friends, later either bonbon (Mariah Carey's DJ), Attica or a house party

On Sunday: Sasha's justbeer launch (I don't even like beer!!! But heard good things about Cascade premium light)

(although plans will probably get changed, lol)

Then on monday, start working! YAY or NAY...

What do you think?

Another reason to why I like Shanghai so much is that there are no silly moral duties there.

Here in Sweden "GB Glass" has launched a new pink icecream, shaped like a star. The name of this icecream is Girlie.

What's wrong with that you might think?

(Actually there is NOTHING wrong with it!!!)

But according to Sweden which HAS TO BE soooooooooooooo political correct 100% of the time they are now discussing if they should ban this pink icecream with glitter in it.

According to GB, the 'Girlie' icecream signals a "sense of summer", "star status" and "a disco feeling". The Swedish Consumers Association however uses an entirely different word: "gender-profiling". "Girlie, GB's new icecream, is pink and has make-up inside the stick. It says a lot about what GB thinks about girls and how they should be," said the association in a statement.

First of all, why shouldn't girls like make up and the colour pink?

Boys and girls have different chromosomes, they SHOULD be different (Imagine dating a boy who likes to collect hellokitty stickers)!!!!!!!!

Unisex is boring unless we talk about girls wearing trendy big manly shirts.

THIS IS RUBBISH, I WANT TO EAT THIS RASPBERRY ICECREAM!

(PS. I should also say that two years back, GB also tried to launch a liquorice icecream called Nogger Black. I think I can still get it in the grocery store, very tasty in fact.)

One Night in Shanghai

If you only have 24 hours in Shanghai, I think you should visit those places

06.00 Go to The Bund and watch the early old birds practicing Tai Chi, it's a BEAUTIFUL sight! You see the shiny skylines behind and the old people "dancing".

06.30 Walk over to Peace Hotel (Shanghai's most famous hotel) and have some breakfast and an early drink at Rose Garden, you'll get a nice view of the Bund up from there. You better do this soon, because Peace Hotel is going through renovation and won't open until 2010!!! Also you could take the tunnel to Pudong and walk on Binjiang Boulevard and see The Bund from there.

08.00 Walk along the Bund and wait for the stores to open

09.00 Usually all Shanghai's shops open somewhere between 9.00 - 10.00, so go shopping on Shanghai's main shopping street Nanjing Walking Street, then walk over to Nanjing Xi Road for some upscale shopping

14.00 Why eat lunch at some fancy place when you can get really delicious food on Wujiang Road close to Nanjing Xi Road. You'll get very stuffed for just 10-20 kuai. (Also, be quick on this because I heard Wujiang Road is going to change from a food street to a luxury shopping area)

15.00 Grab a taxi or walk to People's Square, I think Shanghai Museum is a must see. I personally love Raffles City Mall, it's a department store just by People's Square. Also if you feel like you have time, go to the underground beneath People's Square where you can find cheap trendy clothes and accessories.

18.00 Grab a taxi to Shanghai's other famous shopping street Huai Hai Road, from there you can walk to Fuxing Road and have dinner. A very cosy street with lots of good coffee shops and restaurants. The street feels somewhat European, as it's part of the French Concession.

20.00 Go to Face Bar for an early drink, Face Bar is in a colonial villa, and the interior is awesome, they have big opium beds where you can lie down at and sip your drink. (Face Bar is a great dating spot, because their lightning makes people betterlooking than they already are, it's TRUE).

22.00 Start the night at bonbon (my favourite club in SH), they have Open Bar so drink as much as you like.

02.00 I think new people to Shanghai definitely should check out Attica, so grab a taxi and head towards The Bund where Attica is. They have a great terrace where you can see Shanghai's skyline at night. Absolutely gorgeous sight!

04.00 Walk over to Bar Rouge on The Bund, a lot of French and Swedish people there as I've experienced. The interior is all red (rouge) and they also have a terrace where you see Shanghai's skyline.

05.00 Hungry? Grab a cab to City Diner on Tongren Road for breakfast, they are open 24 hours.

What girls should do in SH on Wednesdays

First they should start their evening with going to the french Des Lys Resturant on Xin Le Road 178 (close to Xiang Yang Road), they have this awesome promotion only for ladies on Wednesdays, I hope it will still be on when I'm in Shanghai this summer.

For 78 RMB you'll get a main course, a coctail and a dessert! 78 RMB!!! In Sweden, only the coctail would've cost 78 RMB!! I worked close to Des Lys in Shanghai and have walked past the place, it looks so cosy and nice in there. Perfect lunch or dinner spot I can assure.

After the dinner the girls should go to Mint where they have no man's land event on Wednesdays, it means that only girls are allowed in there between 9pm to 10.30pm. There you'll not only get free food and drinks as well but also free give-aways and manicures, etc. As you know Mint has the best house music in town.

Or you could also head to Zapatas where ladies can drink as much free margarithas as they want until midnight(I personally don't like them, they are just too sweet).

Isn't Shanghai the paradise or what?

Lassi

I love Indian Food, and I've heard from friends that lassi (a drink) is really good. As my corridor friend is from India I asked him how to make a good Lassi. He told me that the secret is that you have to blend it for a long time so it gets really smooth.

I made this Lassi yesterday, if you have a big and strong blender, make sure to put some ice in it as well.

It's really really good.

3dl natural yoghurt (no flavour)

1dl water

1 tsp cardamom (kardemumma)
3 spoons of brown sugar

2 mashed bananas

blend it for at least 5 minutes straight!

Cold Stone Creamery in Shanghai!

Tell your friends about www.pkblogs.com so Chinese residents can still read my blog. I'm thinking of buying a domain name so they can still visit my site, but then they wouldn't know my URL.

Ahhh, this is frustrating. What have I been doing these days? Sitting and studying while arguing with guys from the Shanghaiexpat forum as they think I'm a golddigger which is a really funny thought.

Some exciting news! Cold Stone creamery is going to open in Raffles City Mall in Shanghai!!! Cold stone's icecream is even better than Ben & Jerry's as you get to decide yourself what to put in the icecream. I remember my favourite was Mud Pie Mojo and Peanut Butter Cup Perfection. When I was in the US I was totally addicted to it. Let's get fat this summer, the store will open in April. If you tip them, the staff will sing a song. How nice to hear some Jay Chou songs.

FOOOOOOOOOD

I think I have PMS, so all I've been thinking about is food.

1. The Singaporean restaurant on 6th floor in Parkson on Huai Hai Road. You have to go there, they have awesome food, they also have a bar there. My cousin and I went there and we spent 100RMB in total and we both got soooooo full that we had a hard time to walk, and I lost my recommendation letter from my boss. That's what happening when you get that full by good food. They have both singaporean, malaysian, indian, thai food there. Really AWESOME!

2. So far the best bread place I've been to is Marc' Polo, they have this baguette with walnuts and raisins. Recommended! If you know any other good breadplaces, please tell me! I find it a hard time to find good healthy bread in China, seems all bread here are made by white flour. I want grains!

3. Go to City Plaza's supermarket in Jing an si on a Saturday to get lots of samples (now I'm embarassed). They have lots of foreign brands there, it's a typical supermarket for expats.

4. There is a tea shop/cafe just on the corner of Huai Hai Road/Si Nan Road called rnb (something like that) 一茶一坐. Their pearl milk teas are the BEST!!! I had the one with litchi in, sooooooo good!!!

5. I hope everyone of you in China have had "yu xiang rou si"鱼香肉丝, it's my favourite Chinese Dish of all time!!!

[I'm home from uni, and my mum is sooo spoiling me, (I love my mother) I have finally had REAL homemade food now, and my mum bought lots of chocolate for me. I'm hitting the gym as fast as I go back to Stockholm.]

Snack time

Ok, I wish I was in Shanghai this Valentine. Life's hard.

So what can single people in Shanghai do today? There's a party in Bonbon (my favourite club), will probably be heaps of single crowd there if you happen to be desperate.

Otherwise, go to this place Lai Yi Feng and buy their sweet potatoe chips. AWESOME, healthier and better than regular chips. So cheap as well, for 3 kuai you get a plastic bag full of those.

They have their tiny shops everywhere in Shanghai, I have one just 2 minutes walk from my apartment.

What you can do with an avocado

Lately I have been fanatical about avocados. I remember I didn't like them at all in my younger years, but thank god, people change! Now I am craving avocados almost everyday! Yes, they are high in fat, but it's good fat! Not the kind of fat you get in fast food. Put some mashed avocado on a sandwich and put some amount of salt. YUMMY! Unfortunately avocados are very expensive in China as it is an imported product (around 80rmb/kg). Just walk instead of taking the taxi and you feel better saving some kuais. You can find avocados in most foreign grocery stores like city shop or even carrefour.

Avocado, raw (edible parts)Nutritional value per 100 g
Energy 160 kcal 670 kJ
Carbohydrates
8.53 g
- Sugars 0.66 g
- Dietary fiber 6.7 g
Fat
14.66 g
Protein
2 g
Thiamin (Vit. B1) 0.067 mg
5%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.130 mg
9%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 1.738 mg
12%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 1.389 mg
28%
Vitamin B6 0.257 mg
20%
Folate (Vit. B9) 81 μg
20%
Vitamin C 10 mg
17%
Calcium 12 mg
1%
Iron 0.55 mg
4%
Magnesium 29 mg
8%
Phosphorus 52 mg
7%
Potassium 485 mg
10%
Zinc 0.64 mg
6%

Element Fresh vs. Wagas

I think I'm going through a phase when food is always on my mind, probably because I'm trying to be on a diet while being stuck in Sweden with no things to do.

I have been to Element Fresh (Huai Hai Rd/Xiang Yang Bei Rd) three times, and been to Wagas (Huaihai Rd and the one in Pudong by Nextage) three times as well.

Both Element Fresh and Wagas serve western fresh food like salads, sandwiches etc.

Menu selection: This is hard but I think Element Fresh has a more extensive menu (although Wagas have awesome pasta for only 28RMB after 6pm and really good desserts for only 15RMB)

Smoothies: Element Fresh wins. Totally. But don't choose Tropial storm, it's horrible.

Taste: Wagas wins, everytime I've been to Element Fresh I really can't find anything special with their food, plain taste.

Price: Wagas has some good deals depending on what time you go, Wagas has cheaper alternatives while the prices in Element Fresh are all pretty the same. Be prepared to pay around 60RMB to get full at both places.

Interior: Element Fresh, definitely!!! At least the one on Huaihai Rd. The interior there is pretty awesome, you can sit on the roof when it's not winter, and you get a very nice view.

Service: Awesome in both places, although it took almost 40 minutes