44 articles Articles posted in travel

Moganshan

by on August 15, 2012, 1 comment

I haven’t yet had much opportunity to venture into the Chinese countryside. After our anniversary trip to Moganshan a few weeks ago, I’ve decided we must do this more often. With the industrialization of many Chinese cities, escape to a more natural and serene setting isn’t just a nice, leisurely thing to do — it’s almost a necessary measure to restore your sanity and replenish your oxygen supply! :)

Moganshan, being about three hours outside of Shanghai and a little over an hour outside of Hangzhou, has served as an escape from city life for over a century to all kinds of people, from foreign missionaries to Shanghai mobsters and even to Chang Kai-Shek and Mao Zedong! It’s not hard to see why…

Given that our trip was a bit of a last-minute idea, many of the properties here were booked, but we were able to get an “earth hut” at Naked Stables, an eco-resort run by a company called Naked Retreats, which also runs a property of restored farmhouses called Naked Home Village (also based on ecologically sustainable principles).

I loved the earth huts! They’re made of cement and compacted earth, and the architecture is inspired by African rondavels (the founder is South African). Many of them sit on hillsides, so they almost feel like treehouses.

There are also some pretty crazy villas at Naked Stables available for short stays or even for sale!

During our time at Moganshan we also got to sample some of the foods cooked at Naked Stables. Naked boasts ingredients sourced from either their own organic farm or directly from the producer (local whenever possible). Not every dish was amazing, and obviously we only sampled a small selection of what they had, but there were a few standouts, including a hand-pulled noodle soup where I thought the highlight was the giant crispy bamboo shoots. They also serve a great burger, which is hard to find over here!

I actually would’ve liked to check out the Naked Home Village, as it is made up of the original farmhouses of an actual village that the founder stumbled upon. It’s further up the mountain and so is more remote. And given the history of the structures, it seems to retain more of the original feel of the locale. Each house in the Home Village is also assigned an ayi (housekeeper) who cooks local dishes that many reviewers have said good things about. About half of the farmhouses are also meant for larger groups, so it seems like a fun place to go for a family reunion or church retreat or even just a gathering of friends. Each of these farmhouses has its own kitchen, so you also have the option of cooking your own meals, whether with ingredients you bring yourself or DIY meal sets purchased there.

I also had the chance to take some walks around the area, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I came upon rice paddies, tea plantations, bamboo groves, corn fields, and running streams. It was breathtaking. And I didn’t encounter a single person!

Our stay was definitely a respite from city life. And I was not the only one who had a nice time. :)

Hangzhou

by on July 29, 2012, 2 comments

Just wanted to post a little update after arriving in China four weeks ago. We’ve been in Shanghai for a little longer than intended, due to a couple unexpected complications and what my husband calls the molasses speed of the paperwork process we encountered. But! We are scheduled to head to Beijing this coming Tuesday, and I am relieved to be nearing the end.

I don’t know what it is… the first time I was in Shanghai, I was absolutely smitten with the city — the history, the sophistication, the friendliness of the people. All of that is still true, but I guess this time around I’ve been more exhausted. We moved three times in less than two weeks (and still haven’t arrived at our intended destination). The weather’s been typically hot and humid (though the air quality is much better here than in Beijing). And the addition of a baby this time, of course, complicates things a bit, including how much longer it’s taken to get over jet lag (he has, though, been quite good overall!).

All of which to say, I have done virtually nothing in Shanghai and consequently have hardly anything of interest to report back here.

We did, however, take the opportunity last weekend to go visit some DC friends who moved to Hangzhou last year. While we were heading out that way, we decided to take a little getaway trip for our anniversary (which happens to be today!) to the bamboo forests of Moganshan. More on Moganshan later, but here’s a bit on Hangzhou from our trip last weekend. [Link updated.]

There’s an old saying that goes, “In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzhou.” It’s purportedly one of the most beautiful cities in China. Given how industrialized most cities have become in China, though, I’m never quite sure what to expect. Perhaps that was for the best, because it allowed me to be pleasantly surprised by just how lovely Hangzhou actually is.

The city of Hangzhou is so refreshingly lush with trees and water. It actually smells naturey! Our friends Melanie and Brian took us on a nice long walk through their treelined university campus and on to West Lake and then back to their apartment.

To give you an idea how hot it was, here’s our poor little guy trying to stay cool.

On our way back, we stopped at Pur for dinner, a favorite of our friends’. We started with a carafe of lemonade that included lemon, calamansi lime, and passion fruit — a fragrant tropical drink that really hit the spot after a hot afternoon of walking.

Even little E seemed to be doing better (well, he had food but not lemonade :).

For the meal, we were eager to try some of our friends’ favorites — a cold pumpkin appetizer dish topped with parmesan, and tofu cubes in a nest of bread covered with tomato sauce. We also ordered a couple meat dishes, a claypot rice dish (bo jai fan), some stir-fried water spinach, and mango sorbet. It was all really well done and, what’s more, came to only about $8 (US) per person.

In the end, Hangzhou turned out to be just the break we needed: trees, water, fresh air, good food, and good friends!

Update (5/13/2013): The Hangzhou friends we visited tell me Pur is no longer what it was — skimpier portions and not quite as good food. Nevertheless, here are the details, and more (including a map) can be found in a review here.

Pur 朴墅餐厅
Qingzhiwu, 61 Yugu Road
玉古路61号青芝坞
Phone: 0571 8720 3383

Provence: Markets

by on May 31, 2012, 0 comments

It was interesting to see the difference in market fare between Paris and Provence. There were a lot more Mediterranean goods in Provence, obviously, but also some North African things, like Moroccan leather and hammam towels. We were based mostly in Aix-en-Provence during our stay, and I tried to time our excursions elsewhere to coincide with local market days.

We got some of this roast chicken and potatoes in Aix — and, I have to say, I think the potatoes were tastier than the chicken after soaking up all the drippings!

Arles sure had an incredible market for such a small town. It seemed to go on forever, and there were even live chickens and rabbits!

I had originally wanted to go to L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, which is known for its crazy Sunday antiques market, but due to a change of plans, we never made it. Instead, we spent a leisurely Sunday in Aix sipping coffee, which was a pretty welcome break that day.

While I’m talking about markets, I also have to give a shoutout to Monoprix, which we visited in almost every city. I like to think of it as a French Target… or Super Target would be more like it, since, in addition to all the clothing, pharmacy products, and household goods, there’s also a full grocery section, usually in the basement level. But the great thing is that there are Monoprix stores located right within the city. (My other love is Carrefour, which is like a humongous French Super Walmart, but these are usually located in the outskirts of the city.) We got things to supplement what we picked up at the outdoor markets and also picked up a good number of other non-food items, like pharmacy products, a few shirts for baby E, and I even found these cute little chalkboards in the stationery aisle.

I loved the different foods available in France that are usually harder to find fresh and affordable back home, like magret de canard (duck breast). We also found pre-packaged steak tartare that came with the seasoning mix as well as beef carpaccio. Ok, these were nothing fancy, but they were decent and easy. I kind of wanted to make a rabbit stew, but decided not to in the end ’cause it would’ve meant staying in much of the day.

We actually ate in most nights, which works out better when traveling with a baby, and it was nice to unwind in the evenings at the apartment. Here’s a glimpse of some of the meals we prepared in both Paris and Aix-en-Provence… Sometimes they were just simple meals with the fresh foods we got from the markets, and other times we did a bit more cooking.

My favorite part, though, was the daily cheese and charcuterie plate we always put together. I sure miss that!

I also made sure to sample some La Fermière yogurt I found at Monoprix. This stuff is amazing. It’s incredibly smooth and light. I could only find the vanilla flavor, and you can actually see the specks of real (Madagascar) vanilla bean in the yogurt. So good. What’s more, it comes in these beautiful painted terracotta pots! I tucked a few in my suitcase to bring back, and one of them is now holding my pens.

We brought back all kinds of gifts and goodies to try from the various markets we visited. I used this helpful guide on things to bring back from France by (who else?) David Lebovitz. As for what you can get through U.S. customs, I followed these guidelines from the U.S. customs site itself. I actually did not realize you can bring cheese (hard and semi-soft) into the U.S.! According to the list, though, foie gras, being a poultry product, is not allowed, although I’ve read that it all really just depends on your customs agent. Not wanting to take too many chances, I only brought back a few cheeses and cans/jars of foie gras and declared them on my form. We got through without any problems (I’m not sure our agent even read my form, so don’t take my word for it).

Here’s a peek at just some of the things we brought home… others have already been given away, and others still already consumed. :) Any suggestions on what I should make with the sundried tomatoes, vanilla beans, or lavender?

For more posts on France, see…
Eating in Paris
Not Eating in Paris
The Bastille Quarter
Bistrot Paul Bert
Markets (Paris)
Oh, the Cheeses We Ate
Aix-en-Provence
(La Vraie) Bouillabaisse in Marseille
Provençal Specialties in Nice

Paris: Markets

by on May 30, 2012, 2 comments

One of the things I was most excited for when we rented an apartment in Paris was having access to a kitchen and all the great markets in the city. I might have even been more excited about visiting the markets than I was about the museums or the Eiffel Tower… Marché Richard Lenoir Boulevard Richard Lenoir, starting at Place de la Bastille [Metro: Bastille, lines 5 & 9; or Bréguet Sabin, line 5] Thursdays and Sundays ~9am to ~1pm I already mentioned the Marché Aligre near the apartment we stayed at in the 11th. The other market we were close to is the Marché Richard Lenoir, sometimes also called the Marché Bastille. We visited on a Sunday morning, when the market was at its liveliest. There were flowers, produce, seafood, meat, prepared foods, and even clothing and furniture. We picked up some snacks here and there, and by the time we reached the end of the market, we had cobbled together the best Sunday brunch ever. :) This we ate while reading the Sunday paper (with a napping baby) on a bench at a little park at the market’s north end. Rue Montorgueil 1st arrondissement, just north of Les Halles and Saint-Eustache Church. Before the end of the shops in the north, rue Montorgueil turns into rue des Petits Carreaux. [Metro: Etienne Marcel, line 4; or Sentier, line 3] Check individual shops and restaurants for hours. Many of them close Sunday and some Monday. There are also these market streets throughout Paris — lanes filled with individual grocers selling their own specialty items. I had high hopes to hit rues Montorgueil, Cler (near the Eiffel Tower), and Mouffetard (south of the Latin Quarter), but ended up only making it to Montorgueil. No matter, though, there was much to take in here. Rue Montorgueil is situated in the area where the historic Parisian markets, Les Halles, used to be (the one and only David Liebovitz has more on the history, as well as a great guide to the shops and restaurants on the street). We actually ended up coming here twice because, silly me, most of the shops were closed on Sunday, and actually some still on Monday as well. It was rainy both days we came to rue Montorgueil, and on Monday, we decided we should take refuge somewhere and get some lunch. After eyeing a number of places, we decided to head into La Grappe d’Orgueil (5 rue des Petits Carreaux) because their special of the day was boeuf bourguignon. It turned out to be the right decision… Nothing hits the spot on a cold, rainy day like eating boeuf bourguignon while sitting next to the radiator… unless it’s molten chocolate cake and a café crème for dessert. :) Right next to La Grappe d’Orgueil was this Italian grocer called Delitaly (5 rue des Petits Carreaux), whose window displays were too enticing to pass up. We picked up some Italian salads and fresh burrata here for dinner that night. I also really wanted to check out two shops on David Liebovitz’s list: the specialty foods and baking supply shop G. Detou (58 rue Tiquetonne) and the restaurant supply house E. Dehillerin (18 rue Coquillière), both close to rue Montorgueil. E. Dehillerin was closed by the time I arrived at the end of the day, but I did make it to G. Detou and got all kinds of goodies there: salted caramels, some good-quality foie gras as gifts, Edmond Faillot mustard, vanilla beans from Madagascar, sel de Géurande, and some beautiful Persian blue salt. (Also thanks to D. Lebovitz, I delighted much over the pun on the name G. Detou [j’ai de tout or I have everything].) La Grande Épicerie 38 rue de Sèvres [Metro: Vaneau or Sèvres-Babylone, line 10]Mon-Sat 8:30 am – 9 pm Finally, who could go to Paris without stopping at La Grande Épicerie? I think we spent over an hour here. Everything was just so beautiful. Seriously — the produce was gleaming, and some of it was displayed on glass pedestals! They don’t really like you taking photos in there, but I snuck a few anyway. It was too unreal. See what I mean? We got a jar of the Christine Ferber jam pictured above, thinking it was pretty and would make a good gift. We ended up keeping it and opening it up to try on Mother’s Day when my sister and her husband were in town. The guys tried it first and declared it to be amazing jam (just picture them taking off that ribbon and polka-dotted cover, if you can). The guys then proceeded to analyze why it was amazing and decided it was because the jam was concentrated and struck the perfect balance between tart and sweet. So there you have it — Christine Ferber jam, recommended now by David Lebovitz and my husband and brother-in-law. Others There are tons of other markets in Paris, many of which aren’t even food-related, that we didn’t have the chance to check out, like the Marché les Enfants Rouges (the oldest covered market in Paris) and the Marché Saint-Pierre, which sells textiles. We did make it to the Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt, the big flea market north of the city (you can find helpful directions here). We didn’t get anything, though there was a lot of nice furniture that was fun to look at. I’d heard that the Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves is much more of a real flea market, but it seemed more out of the way, whereas Clignancourt was at least close to Montmartre. Next time, I’d like to look for some brocantes and vide-greniers as well. We also went to a lot of Provençal markets during the week we spent in the south of France, which I’ll share about tomorrow, along with some of the meals we put together with the market fare we brought home.

For more posts on France, see…
Eating in Paris
Not Eating in Paris
The Bastille Quarter
Bistrot Paul Bert
Oh, the Cheeses We Ate
Markets (Provence)
Aix-en-Provence
(La Vraie) Bouillabaisse in Marseille
Provençal Specialties in Nice