Post by Alisha Damodaran
There are very few places in the world where you can eat for under $4 a day! I think I’ll always remember our first breakfast in Shanghai. All fourteen of us huddled around a local street vendor close to campus. She was selling delicious hot Jianbing – a crepe-like wrap lined with fried egg, peanut sauce, and spices. For a cold windy morning, and a warm breakfast like that was just what we were looking for.
I’m quickly realizing that street food is an essential part of the Shanghai experience. Having grown up in New Delhi, India, I was always told to stay as far away from it as possible. My mother said “they don’t wash their hands”. Shanghai is different. We eat on the street all the time, and the aroma follows you everywhere. My favorite? The dumplings. We’ve only been here three days, and already had over six different varieties. A friend of mine recommended the ‘exploding dumpling’ – unlike a regular dumpling, this one’s deep fried and full of HOT soup. Patrick had to find that out the hard way!
I can’t wait to continue exploring the streets of Shanghai. Even within the incredibly fast pace of this sprawling metropolis, there are local Shanghainese cooking up a storm – and everyone seems to find time to stop and enjoy the delicious street food!
