Located right next to the Element Fresh in the Shanghai Centre- Portman complex, this is one of a series of Paul Bakeries that have opened around Shanghai in rapid fire in the last 6 months. Hailed from France, Paul's key selling point is that they even import the flour from France. I'd have to agree that basic ingredients matter a lot in baked goods; for some reason, the local flour just does not produce very aromatic breads and cakes (or I'm just prejudiced?) That said, I still think Paul is too expensive to make it an everyday affair. The Centre location has a pretty sizable sit-down area -- atmosphere is great with large windows looking out to a terrace, which will make excellent outdoor seating in the summertime.
We ordered a croque monsieur, a croque madam, and another kind of sandwich, along with some coffee drinks. The sandwiches range in the high $20's to $40', and drinks are Starbucks prices. The food is decent, but I think it's the location that's really worth the bucks. Didn't try their desserts yet, and think I'll go back for afternoon tea next time. They offer a $45RMB set where you can choose a drink + dessert during the weekdays.
See other cafes and restaurants nearby.
2008年2月17日 星期日
Laifu Hotpot at Fuxing Rd/ Huaihai Rd
In the dead of winter, what's better than rounding up a group of friends and heading for a delicious hotpot dinner? Laifu is a reliable place in the French Concession that is not outrageously expensive. We spent about $80RMB/person, including a couple beers. The decor is more elegant than your typical hotpot restaurant and the atmosphere is pretty cozy and relatively quiet. You can order the usual "Yuan Yang" 鸳鸯锅 with with the pot divided into 2 halves, holding 2 kinds of soup base. I like the light bone-stewed broth + spicy oil soup base combo, but you can also order a variety of other types of soup base, such as Chinese-style sauerkraut fish. There are also a dozen or so DIY dip sauces that you can mix to your liking -- this is definitely something you can't really prepare at home. For the more adventurous ones, try the curdled duck blood - it tastes perfect in the spicy oil! Other noted dishes include small egg dumplings with fish paste filling 婆婆蛋角, "bai ye"百叶包 tofu packages, and special beef 秘制牛肉. There's another location near Hengshan Rd.
See other cafes and restaurants nearby.
See other cafes and restaurants nearby.
2008年2月13日 星期三
Moganshan 莫干山 mountain retreat for a long weekend
I'm parking the info I found so far on Moganshan here. The mountain area is only 3-4 hours away from Shanghai (one hour from HangZhou) and supposed to be the perfect getaway for people who are trapped in Shanghai with no beach, no mountain, etc. I've wanting to check it out all last year and friends were waiting for me to organize the trip... Well, it's gonna happen this year!
Where to stop for fresh coffee and authentic Brit meals: The Moganshan Lodge
Historic guest house that looks beautiful: Yiyuan 颐园 and Priest Villa
Where to stop for fresh coffee and authentic Brit meals: The Moganshan Lodge
Historic guest house that looks beautiful: Yiyuan 颐园 and Priest Villa
Buying a local mobile cell phone SIM card
Getting a local SIM card makes sense if you expect to make and receive frequent calls and text messages during your travel. The most common network in China is the GSM system, which runs on frequencies of both 900 and 1800. Unfortunately, the US GSM system runs on 1900 (yes, they did this on purpose to sell more phones), so your safest bet is to bring a tri-band phone. Worst case is you can buy a cheap 900/1800 phone in China for $300RMB (I've seen a pretty decent mini-Motorola at that price). I also have one available for rent for my guests ;-) China Unicom, the other mobile company, runs on CDMA, but I'm not too familiar with it.
The most popular prepaid GSM SIM card that you can buy from street vendors is China Mobile's 神州行畅听卡16元版（Shen2Zhou1Xing2), $16RMB/month, unlimited call receiving edition. The packet and card look like this:
Getting the SIM card
You can usually find shops that sell them near the subway stations. You can also find shops that sell cell phones inside shopping centers. The prepaid card comes with $50RMB credit, but sells for anywhere from $55-100RMB per card. The vendors will try to sell at the higher prices, claiming the phone numbers are better -- no 4's (same sound as death in Chinese) and more 8's or 9's (same sound as prosperity in Chinese). You'll also see a card with a scratch-off PIN, which you can use as the password to log on to the China Mobile's Shanghai site to check your phone number account (only in Chinese).
Rates
With this type of card, local calls are $0.13RMB/min, and receiving calls from anywhere is free. China domestic text messages are $0.10RMB/msg, and international texts are $1RMB/msg whether you're roaming or not, so most people end up texting a lot. Receiving text messages is also free.
Making internationl calls
I'm sure you can probably get a cheaper rate by using a calling card, but make sure you figure out how much those cards really cost (can be bought at a steep discount) and what the calling rates are. Recently, China Mobile is promoting its "12593" access number for international calls. For an additional $1RMB/month, you can dial 12593 in front of international numbers and get $0.4RMB/min calling US, Canada, HK, and Singapore, $0.7RMB/min to Taiwan and Macau, $1RMB/min to Japan and Korea, and $1.5RMB/min to most of European countries. This is by far the cheapest rate you can get on the mobile phone without using a calling card, and in some cases it's even cheaper than dialing from a land line. To activate this service, you can send a text message of "KTXGX" to 10086. You'll receive a Chinese message back to confirm. Just don't forget to put 12593 in front the numbers when you dial! Dial like this: 12593+00+COUNTRY CODE+phone number.
Roaming outside of China - Not recommended. It's pretty expensive to use a China number while roaming outside of China, and you'd need to put down a hefty deposit to even turn on the international roaming option.
Making domestic long distance calls from Shanghai Basically, calling anywhere in China outside the city you're in is considered long distance. The best rate I can find is to subscribe to the "17951" plan, where you pay another $1RMB/month to receive a $0.20RMB/min long distance rate. Send a text message of "IPYH" to 10086 and begin adding 17951 to all your Beijing or other inter-city calls when in Shanghai. Calling while roaming outside of ShanghaiIf you plan to travel to multiple cities within China, you can pay another $1RMB/month to activate the trusty 12593 code to get discount rates when roaming domestically. This is the same code as the international long distance but you have to pay again... but you need to send a different text, "KTMYB", to 10086 to activate this one (are you confused yet??). Under this plan, you pay $0.49/min when roaming and calling and $0.30RMB/min when you receive calls. If you don't do this, receiving calls under the original plan would cost you $0.6RMB/min PLUS $0.07RMB/6 seconds. These can rack up pretty quickly and drain your prepaid credits.
Refill and checking credit balance
For refill cards, you can also buy them at those same shops I mentioned above, or at tables set up on the curbside selling these and calling cards -- just make sure you complete the refill process successfully before leaving the vendor. To refill, call 13800138000 and enter "2" for English. To check the amount remaining on your phone, send a text message "YECX" to 10086 and it'll come back with a Chinese text message containing a number in it -- that would be the amount you're looking for.
So is it any wonder that China Mobile is raking it in? With complicated rate plans like these, callers can easily make mistakes and spend a fortune. To summarize, you basically should spend an extra $3RMB/month to cover your basis. A word on how long these SIM cards are good for -- basically if you don't return to China for more than 3 months, you're better off getting a new card next time you're back, because they'll continue to charge the monthly fees even when you're not using it until all the money in there runs out.
If you're staying longer
One good news is that you can convert to other calling plans without changing your phone number, should you decide to stay in Shanghai long-term. The plan I currently use is the China Mobile's GoTone $50RMB/month plan, where you get 450 free local minutes included (but you'd still need to pay addtional subscriptions here and there to get those discounts). I wonder if I can make money by becoming a calling plan optimization consultant?
The most popular prepaid GSM SIM card that you can buy from street vendors is China Mobile's 神州行畅听卡16元版（Shen2Zhou1Xing2), $16RMB/month, unlimited call receiving edition. The packet and card look like this:
Getting the SIM card
You can usually find shops that sell them near the subway stations. You can also find shops that sell cell phones inside shopping centers. The prepaid card comes with $50RMB credit, but sells for anywhere from $55-100RMB per card. The vendors will try to sell at the higher prices, claiming the phone numbers are better -- no 4's (same sound as death in Chinese) and more 8's or 9's (same sound as prosperity in Chinese). You'll also see a card with a scratch-off PIN, which you can use as the password to log on to the China Mobile's Shanghai site to check your phone number account (only in Chinese).
Rates
With this type of card, local calls are $0.13RMB/min, and receiving calls from anywhere is free. China domestic text messages are $0.10RMB/msg, and international texts are $1RMB/msg whether you're roaming or not, so most people end up texting a lot. Receiving text messages is also free.
Making internationl calls
I'm sure you can probably get a cheaper rate by using a calling card, but make sure you figure out how much those cards really cost (can be bought at a steep discount) and what the calling rates are. Recently, China Mobile is promoting its "12593" access number for international calls. For an additional $1RMB/month, you can dial 12593 in front of international numbers and get $0.4RMB/min calling US, Canada, HK, and Singapore, $0.7RMB/min to Taiwan and Macau, $1RMB/min to Japan and Korea, and $1.5RMB/min to most of European countries. This is by far the cheapest rate you can get on the mobile phone without using a calling card, and in some cases it's even cheaper than dialing from a land line. To activate this service, you can send a text message of "KTXGX" to 10086. You'll receive a Chinese message back to confirm. Just don't forget to put 12593 in front the numbers when you dial! Dial like this: 12593+00+COUNTRY CODE+phone number.
Roaming outside of China - Not recommended. It's pretty expensive to use a China number while roaming outside of China, and you'd need to put down a hefty deposit to even turn on the international roaming option.
Making domestic long distance calls from Shanghai Basically, calling anywhere in China outside the city you're in is considered long distance. The best rate I can find is to subscribe to the "17951" plan, where you pay another $1RMB/month to receive a $0.20RMB/min long distance rate. Send a text message of "IPYH" to 10086 and begin adding 17951 to all your Beijing or other inter-city calls when in Shanghai. Calling while roaming outside of ShanghaiIf you plan to travel to multiple cities within China, you can pay another $1RMB/month to activate the trusty 12593 code to get discount rates when roaming domestically. This is the same code as the international long distance but you have to pay again... but you need to send a different text, "KTMYB", to 10086 to activate this one (are you confused yet??). Under this plan, you pay $0.49/min when roaming and calling and $0.30RMB/min when you receive calls. If you don't do this, receiving calls under the original plan would cost you $0.6RMB/min PLUS $0.07RMB/6 seconds. These can rack up pretty quickly and drain your prepaid credits.
Refill and checking credit balance
For refill cards, you can also buy them at those same shops I mentioned above, or at tables set up on the curbside selling these and calling cards -- just make sure you complete the refill process successfully before leaving the vendor. To refill, call 13800138000 and enter "2" for English. To check the amount remaining on your phone, send a text message "YECX" to 10086 and it'll come back with a Chinese text message containing a number in it -- that would be the amount you're looking for.
So is it any wonder that China Mobile is raking it in? With complicated rate plans like these, callers can easily make mistakes and spend a fortune. To summarize, you basically should spend an extra $3RMB/month to cover your basis. A word on how long these SIM cards are good for -- basically if you don't return to China for more than 3 months, you're better off getting a new card next time you're back, because they'll continue to charge the monthly fees even when you're not using it until all the money in there runs out.
If you're staying longer
One good news is that you can convert to other calling plans without changing your phone number, should you decide to stay in Shanghai long-term. The plan I currently use is the China Mobile's GoTone $50RMB/month plan, where you get 450 free local minutes included (but you'd still need to pay addtional subscriptions here and there to get those discounts). I wonder if I can make money by becoming a calling plan optimization consultant?
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