Just a quick note here: apparently the Chinese government has stepped up its campaign against the photography-sharing site Flickr. While the bandwidth is throttled, and until recently accessing flickr required using a special anti-censorship plug-in to Firefox, it was basically fully usable. Now, however, photographs more than three or four months old are blocked - and not just blocked, but hard-blocked, where even my normal anonymous proxy (and really it's sad that I can use the term "my normal anonymous proxy") Anonymouse, can't view the pictures. Despite the failings, I still recommend Anonymouse, which has a convenient Firefox Plug-In.
While it's not as convenient as Anonymouse, the only real alternative I'm aware of is Tor, which does a better job of getting around the firewall. It allows one to have a look at flickr, or even to check out, say, Wikipedia's Falun Gong page.
One can go to their site and then enter the desired website into the boxes on the bottom right of the page. There's also a Firefox Plug-In that adds a bar to Firefox, with an address box - anonymous browsing is done within this second address box.
Hopefully this flickr censorship won't last forever - a lot of web 2.0 censorship seems to come and go within a week. Regardless, Tor is a very useful tool for accessing websites the government blocks, for whatever reason.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Looking around Kunming
For years, I've kept an eye on airline prices. Even if I didn't have any real intention to travel, I like the idea that I'll see some insane deal and just snap it up! The opportunity finally presented itself several months ago, when I was looking around on Chinese travel site elong, and saw 80% off tickets to Kunming, a city in Southern China. Not bad at all, and I made a quick trip of it.Kunming wasn't actually the final destination - the idea was to arrive in the afternoon and take an overnight train to Dali, I'll have more to say about Dali soon. Still, what I did see impressed me a lot, I wish I had more time to look around.
When I first arrived at the airport, I took a taxi to the train station, it was only fifteen minutes or so. I got my overnight ticket without a problem, and then went to walk around the city, with a heavy backpack in tow. The area around the station was fun - a little scruffy, with a lot of small shops and stalls aimed at the train and bus passengers.
Kunming was a fun city to wander around - the weather was great with blue skies, there wasn't much pollution, the sidewalks were generally wide, and there were interesting sites scattered here and there. I also liked how the Qingnian River flowed through the downtown:
In that picture the buildings are stacked up right against the water, but overall the city didn't give me the impression of being so packed. Here's another picture of kids playing alongside the river:
Against expectations, there were some very old, shoddy buildings to be seen, even just walking around the downtown. I just took some quick snapshots, I wish I had gotten some better pictures, as I haven't really seen anything like them in Shanghai:
Jinmabiji Square, downtown, had a lot of people and a lot of shops. There was also a Best Buy, a Carrefour, and other Western chains. Here's a picture facing West - if I had taken a picture to the East, there would have been a lot more buildings. In Shanghai a shot like this would be impossible - there's no blue skies going up against buildings!
And North of the Square, was a long road filled with vendors selling snacks, or tea, or fruit:
There was street food all around Kunming, just the way it should be. Most of it was stuff I'd be able to get around Shanghai, but what I had was top-notch, and generally cheaper than Shanghai as well. These lamb kebabs were just awesome, with a great hot sauce brushed on!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Buying Photographic Equipment in Shanghai
I love taking photographs, but I'm too much of a nerd about it: I also like window-shopping the cool camera systems that I can't quite rationalize purchasing, and if I go on a trip I'll pack two or even three cameras along. It's so pathetic!
While I like looking at cameras, Shanghai is not the best place to buy a camera - I think that title would go to the US or Hong Kong. It's too expensive, and some things are just not at all available. However, there are definitely fun places to look around, and there's unique products that can't easily be found elsewhere.
I'd like to go from easiest to hardest, but I'll get this out of the way first: taobao.com should be a buyer's reference. It's a Chinese EBay, with a few slight differences - it's almost entirely e-shops with set prices, and the money is held in escrow until the buyer is satisfied. It also requires a Chinese bank account that has been set up for e-purchases, and the site's language is all in Chinese. However, generally it offers the best possible price for items, and shows what's available in China, so it's a useful starting point. Also, entering the English names of equipment into the search box usually is fine, and will give about as many results as using Chinese. I've used taobao a couple times with no problems.
So with that out of the way, I'll say the places for getting cameras:
1) Xujiahui - Best Buy opened a branch in Xujiahui district, it's part of a larger plan of expansion into the Chinese market. The environment is about the same and I generally think it's dependable, although the return policy is less generous than in the US. Many of the workers there speak English, and the selection is pretty good, if entirely digital and not excellent - they only have Nikon and Sony DSLRs - they'll sometimes stock Canon but they don't carry Canon's lenses or equipment. It's easy to hold onto and test out the equipment. The prices are generally up to 25% more than it would cost in US, however, and that was true even before the dollar's recent travails. A year ago I managed to get a camera there for much cheaper than the US price, so maybe there's some luck involved. Even if it's cheaper elsewhere, I'd be tempted just to go there as it's the least hassle.
There's also a lot of shops selling digital cameras in the electronic malls immediately nearby, really it's a bazaar of little stalls. The prices as listed are very very high. I haven't tried bargaining with them, I'm sure you'd have to bargain pretty hard and a foreigner wouldn't get a break. I doubt it's worth it.
2) Huan Long Zhao Cun Shi Chang - a photo mall directly across from the North Train Station, at 360 MeiYuan Street. It had been closed for re-building until recently, and is still in the process of being set up, so there's obviously many more stores to open. Hopefully that re-building process will involve a sign - right now there's only a non-distinct, Chinese sign. It's on the 2nd and 3rd story of the mall across the street from Subway Line #1's Exit #4, and there's a Burger King around the corner, to the left of the entrance. The 1st floor is a normal department store.
While I've only bought a single roll of film there, it's a bunch of clean, brightly lit stores, with long hallways where it's easy to get lost. It centers around digital cameras, with some shops selling used but excellent-condition cameras, at a premium cost. I saw the Nikon D3 there, which is supposedly really hard to find even in the US. Prices seemed to start high but I'm sure there's room to bargain. There's a few places selling film, and a few places selling books about photography, and other stores selling general photographic equipment.
Some of the places will speak English, some won't. Most (all?) places will charge slightly more if you want the receipt than if you don't. It's so they can avoid taxes.
3) Xing Guan Photographic Mall - I really like this camera mall, although the feel is only a step or two above a large flea market. It's six floors, on the corner of Luban and Xietu Lu - not very far from Luban Lu Station, on line 4. The first floor is digital, the upper floors are used equipment, flash equipment, camera repair places, and other general equipment that would be useful to a professional photographer.
I especially like the used equipment shops, mostly on the fourth and sixth floor. A lot of it is very old school, cameras that look like they saw better days in the 50s. To my surprise, there's not as many Chinese cameras as I expected, and very little Russian. Much of the vintage equipment is German. It's more expensive than EBay, but not terrible. I get the idea there's little room for bargaining at most of these stores, which I'm fine with.
For me, I'm somewhat interested in getting an old Medium-Format Chinese camera. Both the Seagull TLR and the Hongmei HM-1 folding-bellows camera are to be found, for around $30 before bargaining. There were pretty good prices on Mamiya systems and the like, which is probably a better idea.
Similarly to Huan Long, some of the places speak English, some don't, and they give you a small break if you help them cheat with their taxes.
It's definitely the best place to get film - there's a number of stores with a good selection, and the prices for non-professional film are good. One little oddity is, it's impossible to get 1600 film in Shanghai, and I've only once seen 800 film! 800 is available at every drugstore in the US, but even on taobao.com is only available as a Hong Kong import - I find it very mysterious and annoying. In the meanwhile I've become a big fan of Fuji Superia ISO 100 film. I think the crazy red and yellow saturated colors work very well in China, where people often like to have bright red and yellow decorations. It's available as 120-size film, I believe that's not true in the US. It goes for $1.50/roll.
There's also local brands of film, which really aren't very popular, the most common being Lucky, which is easiest to find in ISO 100 B&W. There's other brands like Shanghai B&W or color films, I haven't tried them but I hear they're not as good as Lucky. Lucky film is kind of eerie looking and I hear quality is inconsistent and really it's ISO 50 (which doesn't help on overcast Shanghai days), but a roll of 120 film goes for $.75, so...
4) Wei Ma Professional Photo / Frontier - two film photo stores which are right at the entrance to neighboring alleys, with Wei Ma focusing on Kodak, and Frontier on Fuji. On 457 & 459 Wulumuqi Lu, South of Yan'an Lu, on the East side of the street.
Shooting film is cheap in Shanghai. Getting a roll of Fuji developed at Frontier only costs 5 kuai, about seventy cents. It's twice as much in Wei Ma labs, though. They both charge a lot more to develop B&W. Development at Frontier usually is ready several hours later or the next day, Wei Ma takes a couple days. I normally use Frontier. Wei Ma does have English speakers, though, and it makes medium-format prints for 2.5 kuai/picture, not 5, it also stocks chemicals for B&W developing. They also have a stockpile of expired Feb. 2006 ISO 100 Kodak Portra 120 film, marked at 15 kuai/role. It's been stored OK so I'm guessing it should be fine.
35mm prints are a little expensive at 1 kuai/print, but I just scan the film up at home. They'll scan a roll for $5, I tried it at Frontier once but wasn't happy with the results.
There's also a million Kodak stores & stalls all around Shanghai, they're fine for making prints off a digital memory card, developing a roll of film, and small things like that.
Update 4/15/2008 - I also have a word to say about Buying Holgas and Toy Cameras in Shanghai.
While I like looking at cameras, Shanghai is not the best place to buy a camera - I think that title would go to the US or Hong Kong. It's too expensive, and some things are just not at all available. However, there are definitely fun places to look around, and there's unique products that can't easily be found elsewhere.
I'd like to go from easiest to hardest, but I'll get this out of the way first: taobao.com should be a buyer's reference. It's a Chinese EBay, with a few slight differences - it's almost entirely e-shops with set prices, and the money is held in escrow until the buyer is satisfied. It also requires a Chinese bank account that has been set up for e-purchases, and the site's language is all in Chinese. However, generally it offers the best possible price for items, and shows what's available in China, so it's a useful starting point. Also, entering the English names of equipment into the search box usually is fine, and will give about as many results as using Chinese. I've used taobao a couple times with no problems.So with that out of the way, I'll say the places for getting cameras:
1) Xujiahui - Best Buy opened a branch in Xujiahui district, it's part of a larger plan of expansion into the Chinese market. The environment is about the same and I generally think it's dependable, although the return policy is less generous than in the US. Many of the workers there speak English, and the selection is pretty good, if entirely digital and not excellent - they only have Nikon and Sony DSLRs - they'll sometimes stock Canon but they don't carry Canon's lenses or equipment. It's easy to hold onto and test out the equipment. The prices are generally up to 25% more than it would cost in US, however, and that was true even before the dollar's recent travails. A year ago I managed to get a camera there for much cheaper than the US price, so maybe there's some luck involved. Even if it's cheaper elsewhere, I'd be tempted just to go there as it's the least hassle.
There's also a lot of shops selling digital cameras in the electronic malls immediately nearby, really it's a bazaar of little stalls. The prices as listed are very very high. I haven't tried bargaining with them, I'm sure you'd have to bargain pretty hard and a foreigner wouldn't get a break. I doubt it's worth it.2) Huan Long Zhao Cun Shi Chang - a photo mall directly across from the North Train Station, at 360 MeiYuan Street. It had been closed for re-building until recently, and is still in the process of being set up, so there's obviously many more stores to open. Hopefully that re-building process will involve a sign - right now there's only a non-distinct, Chinese sign. It's on the 2nd and 3rd story of the mall across the street from Subway Line #1's Exit #4, and there's a Burger King around the corner, to the left of the entrance. The 1st floor is a normal department store.
While I've only bought a single roll of film there, it's a bunch of clean, brightly lit stores, with long hallways where it's easy to get lost. It centers around digital cameras, with some shops selling used but excellent-condition cameras, at a premium cost. I saw the Nikon D3 there, which is supposedly really hard to find even in the US. Prices seemed to start high but I'm sure there's room to bargain. There's a few places selling film, and a few places selling books about photography, and other stores selling general photographic equipment.Some of the places will speak English, some won't. Most (all?) places will charge slightly more if you want the receipt than if you don't. It's so they can avoid taxes.
3) Xing Guan Photographic Mall - I really like this camera mall, although the feel is only a step or two above a large flea market. It's six floors, on the corner of Luban and Xietu Lu - not very far from Luban Lu Station, on line 4. The first floor is digital, the upper floors are used equipment, flash equipment, camera repair places, and other general equipment that would be useful to a professional photographer.
I especially like the used equipment shops, mostly on the fourth and sixth floor. A lot of it is very old school, cameras that look like they saw better days in the 50s. To my surprise, there's not as many Chinese cameras as I expected, and very little Russian. Much of the vintage equipment is German. It's more expensive than EBay, but not terrible. I get the idea there's little room for bargaining at most of these stores, which I'm fine with.
For me, I'm somewhat interested in getting an old Medium-Format Chinese camera. Both the Seagull TLR and the Hongmei HM-1 folding-bellows camera are to be found, for around $30 before bargaining. There were pretty good prices on Mamiya systems and the like, which is probably a better idea.Similarly to Huan Long, some of the places speak English, some don't, and they give you a small break if you help them cheat with their taxes.
It's definitely the best place to get film - there's a number of stores with a good selection, and the prices for non-professional film are good. One little oddity is, it's impossible to get 1600 film in Shanghai, and I've only once seen 800 film! 800 is available at every drugstore in the US, but even on taobao.com is only available as a Hong Kong import - I find it very mysterious and annoying. In the meanwhile I've become a big fan of Fuji Superia ISO 100 film. I think the crazy red and yellow saturated colors work very well in China, where people often like to have bright red and yellow decorations. It's available as 120-size film, I believe that's not true in the US. It goes for $1.50/roll.There's also local brands of film, which really aren't very popular, the most common being Lucky, which is easiest to find in ISO 100 B&W. There's other brands like Shanghai B&W or color films, I haven't tried them but I hear they're not as good as Lucky. Lucky film is kind of eerie looking and I hear quality is inconsistent and really it's ISO 50 (which doesn't help on overcast Shanghai days), but a roll of 120 film goes for $.75, so...
4) Wei Ma Professional Photo / Frontier - two film photo stores which are right at the entrance to neighboring alleys, with Wei Ma focusing on Kodak, and Frontier on Fuji. On 457 & 459 Wulumuqi Lu, South of Yan'an Lu, on the East side of the street.
Shooting film is cheap in Shanghai. Getting a roll of Fuji developed at Frontier only costs 5 kuai, about seventy cents. It's twice as much in Wei Ma labs, though. They both charge a lot more to develop B&W. Development at Frontier usually is ready several hours later or the next day, Wei Ma takes a couple days. I normally use Frontier. Wei Ma does have English speakers, though, and it makes medium-format prints for 2.5 kuai/picture, not 5, it also stocks chemicals for B&W developing. They also have a stockpile of expired Feb. 2006 ISO 100 Kodak Portra 120 film, marked at 15 kuai/role. It's been stored OK so I'm guessing it should be fine.35mm prints are a little expensive at 1 kuai/print, but I just scan the film up at home. They'll scan a roll for $5, I tried it at Frontier once but wasn't happy with the results.
There's also a million Kodak stores & stalls all around Shanghai, they're fine for making prints off a digital memory card, developing a roll of film, and small things like that.
Update 4/15/2008 - I also have a word to say about Buying Holgas and Toy Cameras in Shanghai.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
A Lament for 4Live; Pixeltoy in Shanghai
I never wrote a proper blog update about 4Live, a live music club that was easily Shanghai's best in the time I've been here. I'm speaking in the past tense, because it closed last month. This will have to do, an update on one of the better bands I saw in the club, Pixeltoy.
The Shanghai music scene being what it is, every semi-decent band is visiting from Beijing. However, Pixeltoy varied it up a bit by being a semi-decent band visiting from Hong Kong! It's a two person band that lists Cornelius as a big influence, and their best music has the sound of a happier, poppier Cornelius, even if the videos don't quite match up to his:
How did it sound? Not quite as good as their Youtube videos, I'm afraid. Maybe it was the heavily-produced nature of the music: done live, I thought they didn't have quite the energy. Plus there's not many musicians who can look cool, when staring at an Apple laptop for most of the show. Here's their live rendition of the same song. Not horrible, but not the best version possible, either.
And while I'm at it, I've seen more Velvet Underground Covers in the last 6 months than I would have imagined possible. Unfortunately, they're often the low point of the show, as was the case with their version of "Candy Says":
But here's a recording of one of the best ones I saw, by the generally awesome Carsick Cars (of Beijing - I'll have to talk about them some time), doing a Shoegazer-ish, heavily distorted cover of "Sunday Morning."
As a quick final word on 4Live: what a shame! From what I understand there were a lot of reasons behind it closing: problems getting people going to concerts to also spring in for drinks (especially Chinese concert-goers, who it seemed never ever drank), problems getting anybody to come in when there wasn't a band, the generally moribund Shanghai music scene and the difficult economics of getting visiting bands in, and the high rent. Even without the music, it was a fun place, dark with lots of red lights, pretty big, all in all just like a music club should be. And of course I'll miss the pseudo-propaganda painting upstairs:
The Shanghai music scene being what it is, every semi-decent band is visiting from Beijing. However, Pixeltoy varied it up a bit by being a semi-decent band visiting from Hong Kong! It's a two person band that lists Cornelius as a big influence, and their best music has the sound of a happier, poppier Cornelius, even if the videos don't quite match up to his:
How did it sound? Not quite as good as their Youtube videos, I'm afraid. Maybe it was the heavily-produced nature of the music: done live, I thought they didn't have quite the energy. Plus there's not many musicians who can look cool, when staring at an Apple laptop for most of the show. Here's their live rendition of the same song. Not horrible, but not the best version possible, either.And while I'm at it, I've seen more Velvet Underground Covers in the last 6 months than I would have imagined possible. Unfortunately, they're often the low point of the show, as was the case with their version of "Candy Says":
But here's a recording of one of the best ones I saw, by the generally awesome Carsick Cars (of Beijing - I'll have to talk about them some time), doing a Shoegazer-ish, heavily distorted cover of "Sunday Morning."
As a quick final word on 4Live: what a shame! From what I understand there were a lot of reasons behind it closing: problems getting people going to concerts to also spring in for drinks (especially Chinese concert-goers, who it seemed never ever drank), problems getting anybody to come in when there wasn't a band, the generally moribund Shanghai music scene and the difficult economics of getting visiting bands in, and the high rent. Even without the music, it was a fun place, dark with lots of red lights, pretty big, all in all just like a music club should be. And of course I'll miss the pseudo-propaganda painting upstairs:
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Making Cocktails in Shanghai: Manhattan, Negroni, Margarita
There's not many places that mix a decent drink in Shanghai. Clubs and bars will mostly give highballs - a soda, juice, or maybe a tea, mixed with an alcohol. It's tough to go wrong, but it's not very exciting, neither. Higher-end places are good but not great, with a tendency towards seriously sweet drinks involving vodka and frou-frou things mixed in.
As a cocktail fan I find it all a bit tragic. If I want a good cocktail I have to make it myself. However it's not as easy as in the US: there's some Shanghai-specific issues I'll bring up in making my favorite cocktails. I won't go into details on the actual mixing, as I think it comes down to personal preference, although I'll say you should used bottled water for the ice! Click on the titles for a recipe, and this video of a Negroni being made is fun:
Made correctly, a Manhattan is the best cocktail.
A Manhattan is basically two parts rye whiskey, one part Italian (sweet/red) vermouth, and a dash of Bitters. There's the caveat that the amount to use in the recipe depends on matching the strength of the whiskey to the sweetness of the vermouth - balance is key. While each combination definitely has a unique optimal blend, being a little off still results in a very good drink. The picture is a CC shot taken from flickr.
Even though bourbon is usually used, it's a bad idea. It's just too sweet to make an interesting drink - there'll be no contrast in the final product. Rye is the way to go - unfortunately Rye isn't available in China!
The best alternatives are Wild Turkey Bourbon, which has a substantial percentage of Rye, or Canadian Club Whiskey, which also has some. Neither is perfect: Canadian whiskeys are mixed with neutral spirits to make a seriously wimpy product, and Wild Turkey Bourbon just doesn't taste quite right with the drink. I'd go with Canadian Club, which can be found at various superstores and foreign groceries around Shanghai. Also a CC Flickr picture.
Martini & Rossi vermouth is relatively easy to find in Shanghai, and goes great with rye, but overwhelms any bourbon - matched together, it tastes sickly-sweet, gummy, and frankly a little gross. The Lawson's Market, near Huangpi Lu, stocks the mellower Cinzano vermouth. It's a lighter vermouth, but one still needs to go easy when matched against the light-flavored Canadian Club. It costs 100 kuai (about $13) for a 1 Liter bottle. This is more vermouth than anybody needs, and vermouth will start tasting not as good a couple months after the bottle is opened. But smaller bottles aren't available and there's no choice.
Angostura Bitters are the Gold Standard. They're available at the same market, a 200mL bottle for $15. It's a rip-off, but that's enough to last a number of years, and it keeps perfectly even without refrigeration. There's no orange bitters available, which isn't a surprise, although Orange Bitters used to be a de rigueur ingredient. There's a few versions occasionally available in the US, and I understand Suntory sells an authentic pre-Prohibition style, but only in Japan, and it's hard to track down.
The Negroni is actually a much easier drink to make in Shanghai. It's definitely an acquired taste, but I've come to enjoy them very much. It's one (or more) parts gin, one part Campari (an Italian Bitters), and one part sweet vermouth.
So although Rye can't be found in the US, and there's not much selection of Bourbon, Rum, or tequila, gin really isn't a problem. I think Shanghai alcohol importers just follow the lead of Hong Kong, and import what's popular with English people. Not every popular brand is available, but most of them are, including the more expensive gins like 10, Plymouth, or Bombay Sapphire. But these gins are not very good in a mixed drink. The way to go is a more traditional, stronger flavor, like Beefeater's (which is sporadically available at Carrefour), Tanqueray, or the easily-found Gordon's. They're all slightly cheaper than what they cost in the US.
Campari is also not a problem. It's sold at at most places that import alcohol, at Carrefour it's 100 kuai. My friend likens the taste to "carpet cleaner." So be prepared to not be a big fan, right off the bat.
Finally, sweet vermouth, the same type or vermouth as used in a Manhattan. Either brand I mentioned will work fine, although one would want to slightly up the amount of Cinzano to make up for it having a mellower taste. Be careful, too much vermouth (especially Martini & Rossi vermouth) is really a terrible thing with this drink.
This drink is widely available but seldom tastes right, and there's good reason for this: the ingredients are hard to find in China. It involves one part lime juice, two parts Orange Triple Sec (hopefully Cointreau), and three parts tequila.
The good news is Cointreau, it's a definite necessity for a decent Margarita. In local alcohol shops, it can still be found for 120 kuai, about $17, compared to about $35 in the US. Unfortunately the Carrefours and so forth have raised the price to $23 or so.
There's no real reason to experiment away from Cointreau, but for slightly more, Grand Marnier is also available, it's sweeter and has a brandy base. Lejay-Lagoute is recently available at City Market, a foreign grocery. It's more expensive, lighter in proof and taste, and comes in a small 500mL bottle. But I had a free sample and it seemed usable.
Lime juice is a tough one. On very rare occasions, Key Limes are available cheaply, it's always worth getting them even if there's no intention of making a Margarita, they're awesome. Usually, though, it's normal-size limes, for a very expensive price, maybe a dollar a lime. And usually these limes are some weird kind I'm not familiar with: stuffed filled with seeds, a nice fragrance, but a very astringent taste. I haven't devised a means to tell them apart from better limes, and they're sold under the same names at various stores. It's easy to buy Lime juice concentrate, and while the taste is there, using concentrated fruit juice will result in a boring drink. I've tried mixing it half and half with the concentrate, and while it's really not satisfactory, it's better than nothing. The sweetness of the triple-sec should be matched against the sourness of the limes, so if using weird limes, it needs a taste-test to make it properly.
Finally, the tequila. There's some easy-to-find brands - Olmeca, Jose Cuervo, Sauza Gold. All sell for $12-$18, and all of them are more suited towards frat parties than a nice mixed drink - still that's probably as good as it gets for making a Margarita.
Tequilas are sold as gold (crap), silver (unaged, stronger tastes, although from cheap brands it just means it's gold without caramel coloring added), Resposado (slightly aged), and Añejo (aged). All good tequilas are 100% Agave. Silver and Reposado are best suited to a Margarita, by the time it gets to Añejo the tastes are too different, it doesn't really work with a Margarita. That said, there's some decent Añejos available in Shanghai - some foreign groceries sell Jose Cuervo 1800, a peppery 100% Agave Añejo. The actual best tequila available in Shanghai is Don Julio Añejo, going for a ridiculous 650 kuai ($90) in Lawson's.
You're allowed to bring two bottles of alcohol into China: a cocktail fan should take advantage of this. And on the positive side, Shanghai has Havana Club 7 relatively easily available at foreign groceries. Even if it's not quite as cheap as it was a couple years ago, it's about as good as rum gets. Also there's some surprises- Rhum Agricole is available at the Japanese Groceries, various absinthes of wildly different qualities, and low-grade Maraschino Liqueur, which still makes for a top-grade Aviation.
Update 4/22/2008 - I ran across Delish, a small import store and bakery at 98 Yanping Lu, a little North of Jing'an Temple. There's a small and overpriced but definitely interesting selection of alcohols. Patron Silver is the standout, at an expensive $65 - Don Julio Añejo is the better tequila, but Patron Silver makes the better Margarita. They also have Marie Brizard alcohols and Orgeat (for a Mai Tai), grappas, Rhum Agricoles, and other exotica.
As a cocktail fan I find it all a bit tragic. If I want a good cocktail I have to make it myself. However it's not as easy as in the US: there's some Shanghai-specific issues I'll bring up in making my favorite cocktails. I won't go into details on the actual mixing, as I think it comes down to personal preference, although I'll say you should used bottled water for the ice! Click on the titles for a recipe, and this video of a Negroni being made is fun:
The Manhattan
Made correctly, a Manhattan is the best cocktail.
A Manhattan is basically two parts rye whiskey, one part Italian (sweet/red) vermouth, and a dash of Bitters. There's the caveat that the amount to use in the recipe depends on matching the strength of the whiskey to the sweetness of the vermouth - balance is key. While each combination definitely has a unique optimal blend, being a little off still results in a very good drink. The picture is a CC shot taken from flickr.Even though bourbon is usually used, it's a bad idea. It's just too sweet to make an interesting drink - there'll be no contrast in the final product. Rye is the way to go - unfortunately Rye isn't available in China!
The best alternatives are Wild Turkey Bourbon, which has a substantial percentage of Rye, or Canadian Club Whiskey, which also has some. Neither is perfect: Canadian whiskeys are mixed with neutral spirits to make a seriously wimpy product, and Wild Turkey Bourbon just doesn't taste quite right with the drink. I'd go with Canadian Club, which can be found at various superstores and foreign groceries around Shanghai. Also a CC Flickr picture.
Martini & Rossi vermouth is relatively easy to find in Shanghai, and goes great with rye, but overwhelms any bourbon - matched together, it tastes sickly-sweet, gummy, and frankly a little gross. The Lawson's Market, near Huangpi Lu, stocks the mellower Cinzano vermouth. It's a lighter vermouth, but one still needs to go easy when matched against the light-flavored Canadian Club. It costs 100 kuai (about $13) for a 1 Liter bottle. This is more vermouth than anybody needs, and vermouth will start tasting not as good a couple months after the bottle is opened. But smaller bottles aren't available and there's no choice. Angostura Bitters are the Gold Standard. They're available at the same market, a 200mL bottle for $15. It's a rip-off, but that's enough to last a number of years, and it keeps perfectly even without refrigeration. There's no orange bitters available, which isn't a surprise, although Orange Bitters used to be a de rigueur ingredient. There's a few versions occasionally available in the US, and I understand Suntory sells an authentic pre-Prohibition style, but only in Japan, and it's hard to track down.
The Negroni
The Negroni is actually a much easier drink to make in Shanghai. It's definitely an acquired taste, but I've come to enjoy them very much. It's one (or more) parts gin, one part Campari (an Italian Bitters), and one part sweet vermouth.
So although Rye can't be found in the US, and there's not much selection of Bourbon, Rum, or tequila, gin really isn't a problem. I think Shanghai alcohol importers just follow the lead of Hong Kong, and import what's popular with English people. Not every popular brand is available, but most of them are, including the more expensive gins like 10, Plymouth, or Bombay Sapphire. But these gins are not very good in a mixed drink. The way to go is a more traditional, stronger flavor, like Beefeater's (which is sporadically available at Carrefour), Tanqueray, or the easily-found Gordon's. They're all slightly cheaper than what they cost in the US.Campari is also not a problem. It's sold at at most places that import alcohol, at Carrefour it's 100 kuai. My friend likens the taste to "carpet cleaner." So be prepared to not be a big fan, right off the bat.
Finally, sweet vermouth, the same type or vermouth as used in a Manhattan. Either brand I mentioned will work fine, although one would want to slightly up the amount of Cinzano to make up for it having a mellower taste. Be careful, too much vermouth (especially Martini & Rossi vermouth) is really a terrible thing with this drink.
Margarita
This drink is widely available but seldom tastes right, and there's good reason for this: the ingredients are hard to find in China. It involves one part lime juice, two parts Orange Triple Sec (hopefully Cointreau), and three parts tequila.The good news is Cointreau, it's a definite necessity for a decent Margarita. In local alcohol shops, it can still be found for 120 kuai, about $17, compared to about $35 in the US. Unfortunately the Carrefours and so forth have raised the price to $23 or so.
There's no real reason to experiment away from Cointreau, but for slightly more, Grand Marnier is also available, it's sweeter and has a brandy base. Lejay-Lagoute is recently available at City Market, a foreign grocery. It's more expensive, lighter in proof and taste, and comes in a small 500mL bottle. But I had a free sample and it seemed usable.
Lime juice is a tough one. On very rare occasions, Key Limes are available cheaply, it's always worth getting them even if there's no intention of making a Margarita, they're awesome. Usually, though, it's normal-size limes, for a very expensive price, maybe a dollar a lime. And usually these limes are some weird kind I'm not familiar with: stuffed filled with seeds, a nice fragrance, but a very astringent taste. I haven't devised a means to tell them apart from better limes, and they're sold under the same names at various stores. It's easy to buy Lime juice concentrate, and while the taste is there, using concentrated fruit juice will result in a boring drink. I've tried mixing it half and half with the concentrate, and while it's really not satisfactory, it's better than nothing. The sweetness of the triple-sec should be matched against the sourness of the limes, so if using weird limes, it needs a taste-test to make it properly.Finally, the tequila. There's some easy-to-find brands - Olmeca, Jose Cuervo, Sauza Gold. All sell for $12-$18, and all of them are more suited towards frat parties than a nice mixed drink - still that's probably as good as it gets for making a Margarita.
Tequilas are sold as gold (crap), silver (unaged, stronger tastes, although from cheap brands it just means it's gold without caramel coloring added), Resposado (slightly aged), and Añejo (aged). All good tequilas are 100% Agave. Silver and Reposado are best suited to a Margarita, by the time it gets to Añejo the tastes are too different, it doesn't really work with a Margarita. That said, there's some decent Añejos available in Shanghai - some foreign groceries sell Jose Cuervo 1800, a peppery 100% Agave Añejo. The actual best tequila available in Shanghai is Don Julio Añejo, going for a ridiculous 650 kuai ($90) in Lawson's.You're allowed to bring two bottles of alcohol into China: a cocktail fan should take advantage of this. And on the positive side, Shanghai has Havana Club 7 relatively easily available at foreign groceries. Even if it's not quite as cheap as it was a couple years ago, it's about as good as rum gets. Also there's some surprises- Rhum Agricole is available at the Japanese Groceries, various absinthes of wildly different qualities, and low-grade Maraschino Liqueur, which still makes for a top-grade Aviation.
Update 4/22/2008 - I ran across Delish, a small import store and bakery at 98 Yanping Lu, a little North of Jing'an Temple. There's a small and overpriced but definitely interesting selection of alcohols. Patron Silver is the standout, at an expensive $65 - Don Julio Añejo is the better tequila, but Patron Silver makes the better Margarita. They also have Marie Brizard alcohols and Orgeat (for a Mai Tai), grappas, Rhum Agricoles, and other exotica.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Walking in a Winter Wonderland
The picture above says it all - it's snowing in Shanghai! My god! I realize it's nothing compared to living in the American Midwest or something horrible like that. It's actually a little hard to even see the snow here, without blowing up the picture. But I've only seen it snow a handful of times in my life, and never to the point that it leaves anything on the ground.
There's not much remaining on the ground - on the street it just melts right away, so I have to search down parks to take pictures. In a few places there's dirty slush, it's difficult to walk on. Really it's pretty miserable - temperatures are already stuck somewhere around freezing, and for the past few days, when it hasn't been snowing, there's been rain or sleet. And it's supposed to stay that way for another week!
That brings it up against the start of the Chinese New Year's, when everybody jumps on a train and heads back to their hometown in the country. Right now trains are being delayed by the snow. If that situation doesn't improve by Chinese New Year's, wow, things are going to be ugly. Also, vegetable prices have spiked while availability has lowered - my friend estimates the prices are twice as high as normal, although I don't know if it's that much. Either way, it's coming on top of the already-existing Food Inflation. In conclusion, I've decided that snow is kind of fun for fifteen minutes, after that it is a pain and we should get rid of it.
Update February 25th: It got much worse over the next week or two, here's a couple more pictures:
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