Another date for the hubs and I, we managed to squeeze one in on one of his days off. We wanted to try something new so we tried out Azul Tapas Lounge on Ferguson Lane in the Former French Concession. 

Be advised that the elevator will take you to the 7th floor, then you have to walk up a flight of stairs. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but for this preggo, it wasn’t easy. I imagine with a baby and stroller, it’ll be even more difficult. Just FYI.

With that said, when we walked in, we were pleasantly surprised by the modern decor and the fresh feel. We absolutely loved it and thought that the rooftop would be an excellent day when it’s nice weather or night time drinks.

They gave us some warmed bread with olives and homemade hummus. The hubs wasn’t impressed by the hummus but I liked it, it was light and fresh. I got the mango ice tea, which was a bit sour for my liking but all the while, refreshing. The hubs got coffee (which was really espresso, most places don’t serve Americano unless it’s espresso + water) with steamed milk. It was strong coffee, he loved it!

We both got the lunch set and can I just say… WOW. That was a LOT of food and we were surprised since lunch sets are usually pretty small. The hubs ended up getting the Cesar salad, it was delicious and I just love that ham they put on there. I ended up paying a little extra to get the blackened tuna taco. Don’t let the picture fool you, it was quite large. Although it was delicious, it was a bit salty for my taste but blackened things are usually salty. (And I’m very light handed when it comes to salt)

The entrees were crab linguine for him, it was SO GOOD. I love a good light (sauce) pasta in the warmer weathers and the crab flavor was so refreshing. I got the beef chimichurri sandwich and it came on a ciabatta bread. The sandwich was delicious but kept falling apart since the bread was so soft, I think it would have been easier to eat if the bread were toasted. But I can’t deny that it was finger licking good!

And of course, I can’t pass up dessert… I pretty much ate all of it! We got the key lime pie and the berry pana cotta. Highly recommend both as they are not too sweet and the perfect ending to our lunch. Fair warning… we were stuffed and probably could have gone with the two course versus the three but…. omg. So worth it.

If you feel like trying something new for lunch, give Azul a try. We’ll definitely be back to try the other dishes on their lunch menu!

I also want to give a special shout out to my friend Vivian!!! Happy birthday Viv!!!!!!! We love you so much and can’t wait till you visit us in August! <3<3<3<3 

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Azul Tapas Lounge
8/F, Ferguson Lane, 378 Wukang Lu (Former French Concession, Puxi)
5405-2252

I used to blog for Weddingbee, way back in 2006-2007 and I’ve made so many wonderful friends through it. A lot of the bees and I have transitioned from wedding to marriage and pregnancy (or fertility issues) and children. It’s an amazing community of women who have always been supportive of one another, offering advice and an ear whenever anyone needs someone.

My bee friend May (lovebird) has been keeping in touch with me and checking in on me all the time and she’s already been so generous with gifts for me during pregnancy! To my surprise, I woke up to a package from her and it brought so many tears to my eyes. 

She knew how homesick I have been, how much I miss my friend and America… she organized a package of cards, pictures, gifts and photos of some of the bees babies and sent them to me in a heart shaped box. Tears started to flow from my eyes as I opened each card, reading all the love from my weddingbee friends. All the bees are from all over America so they sent their cards/gifts/photos to May, who then sent the package to me. 

Each card was wishing us luck, love and much happiness and a lot of them said such wonderful things about me. I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve all of this. May, thank you so much for going out of your way to plan all of this for me! 

I will treasure these cards forever and show Boram how many people already love him. My heart melted.

And of course some gifts from the girls too! A book from May (Lovebird), toys from Kristin (Quiche), clothes from Stephanie (Hydrangea), and lovely stationary set from Nellie (Canary). 

The first page of the book May sent says this:

“I wanted you more than you ever will know, so I sent love to follow wherever you go.”

<3 I can’t wait to read this to my son. Thank you Weddingbee sisters, and especially to you May. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Since I’m so close to my delivery date, the hubs and I took a date night a couple of weeks ago. We always wanted to try Bistro Burger, friends have recommended it to us but we always went to Gourmet Burger in Shanghai Center instead. Shanghai Center is quite close to our apartment but we are always down to try new places so date night is the perfect night to try a new place, no?

According to Smart Shanghai: “Bistro Burger is a gourmet burger concept from Eduardo Vargas, with a range of Craft beers, spiked milkshakes, and burgers of all persuasions.”. It’s a cozy place and decorated really nicely and perfect for a date night in my opinion. It was busy but we didn’t have to wait for table, yay!

The burger menu ranges from 60-80RMB from the simple to the extra fancy. There were other non-beef burgers but I really wanted to eat a really delicious, juicy hamburger. And of course… all the fixings.

The hubs had a nice frosty beer, very refreshing on the humid, hot day that we went. I miss beer… 

To my surprise, it was Lady’s Night when we went! On Thursday nights, ladies get a free milk shake and I was QUITE happy. They even have spiked milkshakes but of course, being pregnant, I just got a regular one. The hubs and I were saying that we need to always come here on a Thursday night because of how much I enjoyed the milk shake. 

We ordered a plate of chili cheese fries. The fries were thick cut, extra crispy and the chili was a thick meat sauce with a kick. We loved it! We haven’t had chili fries that were very good in Shanghai so far, so we highly recommend this if you’re craving some. The chili didn’t have too much cumin (or maybe it had a small amount) and we liked that since sometimes chili can smell a bit like body odor to us. And BO just doesn’t smell that great when you’re pregnant. (Ok.. it never smells good)

I got the Hawaiian burger which had deliciously grilled pineapple, spam on a burger with cheese. It was surprisingly not salty! I completely expected it to be super salty but it was the perfect balance between slightly salty and sweet with a tomato-oregano salsa. I got the burger well done and it was extra juicy and tasty, great quality burgers really make the difference no matter how well done they are cooked.

The hubs got the Argentine Gaucho burger, which has chorizo, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses with a chimichurri sauce. The hubs said it was really delicious, salty (especially from the chorizo) and while it was absolutely heavenly… it was too much meat for him. Though, at the same time he doesn’t regret it! If you’re a meat lover, this is the burger for you. 

Both burgers came with a choice of fries or salad and we opted for the salad since we ordered chili fries. I can’t wait to go back after we have our baby so I can eat it medium rare and order some of the burgers that have some cheese that I can’t eat during pregnancy. 

So what do I think of Bistro Burger? 

My favorite place to grab a burger, fancy or not… the quality is amazing. Definitely going in my favorites.

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Bistro Burger
A Mansion, 1/F, 291 Fumin Lu, near Changle Lu
Puxi

Oh heavens help me… I met up with my friend Joanne yesterday and after our lunch she suggested we go to Awfully Chocolate. Last time I had a lunch date with her we also ended up going there and sharing just a piece of cake. It was amazing.

They have so many delicious desserts and I highly recommend ANYTHING chocolate there. I haven’t had anything but chocolate there, since the name itself says the word… I figure, I should stick with it. She had to pry me off the display case, I was drooling and pressing my face up against it. Not the most spectacular image of a 9 month pregnant girl but… you get the point.

I keep meaning to try the cupcakes above but I always get distracted and order other things. I must, MUST try these next time. For a girl that has no sweet cravings… I drool every single time I come to this place. 

We ended up sharing the flour less chocolate cake and it was so rich, flavorful and I can’t believe I’m saying this but… you should share it! It’s so decadent that I think it would have been impossible for me to finish on my own. 

And because it was around 81 degrees yesterday and I was sweating, hot and red in the face… I decided to get two scoops of chocolate ice cream! WHOA! It was a lot bigger than I thought so I shared with Joanne as well. It was just the chilling dessert that I needed for a hot and humid day. Yum. 

I went to the location off of the Nanjing West Road Exit on Wujiang Rd pedestrian street but there is also another location if that is easier for you. If you’re in the mood for something extremely chocolately and sweet, this is the place for you!

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Awfully Chocolate

When you take the line 2 subway to Jing’An Temple, off of exit 2, you’ll find yourself in a food court area of the Jiu Gang Mall. One of the first places I took immediate notice was Uncle Tetsu’s Cheese Cake. You can’t miss it with the gigantic lines, probably the only place in the food court you’ll find a line this long.

Every single time I have been, the line is just too long to bear. I’ve always wanted to try it but neither the hubs or I wanted to wait that long. This is where my in laws come in… I took them to the grocery store that is next door and was telling them how much I wanted to try this cheese cake but the line is too long. 

My FIL told me he doesn’t mind waiting and told me not to worry, he’ll buy some for me. Awwwwww, I told him it’s not a big deal but he did! Him and my MIL both waited 45 minutes for this cake! You can only buy one per person so they wanted to make their wait worthwhile so they bought two.

The cakes are cheap, 39 RMB per and baked fresh in front of you. It’s given to you steaming hot, right out of the oven and the smell is wonderful. It’s quite funny because when I showed them this place, they showed me a picture of the same thing in Taiwan! It’s famous there as well, with giant lines and when we did the currency exchange… it was about the same price. I hear they also have this in Japan as well.

They brought it home and I was so thankful for their patience to buy it just for me. (I’m so spoiled, so lucky huh?) We had some after dinner and we all enjoyed it very much. At room temperature (and I imagine hot) it has a strong egg taste, more than a “cheesecake” taste. It’s light, airy and spongy. Quite good in my opinion.

We put the other cake in the fridge overnight and had some today and I have to say that I prefer it cold. The egg wasn’t as strong and it did have more of a light cheesecake taste. It reminds me of a Japanese cheesecake I used to love. 

Now, is the wait worth it? 

It depends on your patience. It’s cheap, it’s delicious and to me it’s worth it if you can stand a 45min-1 hour wait. But I know that most people probably don’t have that kind of time. But I really like it for afternoon tea or dessert and feel pretty blessed to have the in laws sacrifice their time for my sweet tooth.

If you happen to try this, let me know what you think and if it was worth the wait.  

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Uncle Tetsu Cheese Cake
1618 Nanjing West Road, Jiu Gang Mall B1 (Subway Line 2, Jing’An Temple: Exit 2)
南京西路1618号久光百货B1楼(近静安寺)

Fellow expats, I have to say… and I know there are a ton of you who email me and ask me where I get my groceries from. I was ordering online from here and there but never really found a place that I felt 100% happy about. Sometimes I would receive veggies or fruit that was half spoiled… sometimes I would just plain be disappointment just because I couldn’t find things I wanted to find.

I had lunch with a fellow expat friend, who is COMPLETELY awesome so you should go check her blog out right now: Donuts to Dumplings. And she recommended Gusto’s Fine Foods who have recently partnered with Kate & Kimi. Kristin was telling me how the quality of their produce is excellent and all the top hotels and restaurants on the Bund use their products!

I placed my first order to be delivered on Monday, ordering some meat and a veggie/fruit box for 2-3 people.

I am… BLOWN AWAY. (See above picture, that’s everything from our box!)

The quality of the fruits and veggies were out of this world. Tomatoes with no bruising? Salad greens without mold??? I know these are silly things as I should expect it but honestly nearly every delivery place I’ve ordered greens or tomatoes from have been horrendous. The variety and quantity of things in my veggie and fruit box were amazing, I am more than satisfied with it and will be ordering this weekly. Did I mention that they even threw in herbs for free with my box? *swoons*

I also know that once Boram is born and he’s old enough for baby food, I’ll be making my own baby food for him using their Baby & Toddler box. I’ll be posting recipes of what I make once I do!

I can’t wait to order their other products and do another review on them. If you’re looking for high quality produce, meats and much more… give Kate & Kimi a try! Let them know that I sent you because I’m always looking to help other expats out! While you’re at it, take a look at their FAQs, that is really what sold me on them!

We’ve been to Sunflour a few times and it has been a favorite place to get brunch. They have plenty of delicious breads, pastries, bagels and other baked goods. 

I love that they speak English, have free wifi and although it’s busy at peak times (Sunday brunch), it’s totally worth going to.

We always get the English breakfast because the portions are large and I love the variety. Plus being pregnant, I can actually eat a lot… thought it takes a while for me to finish! I really miss eating runny egg yolks, so I had to get the scrambled eggs but it was still delicious. They have a delicious multigrain bread with breakfast and it was so good. I love my healthy breads!

I had hot chocolate (with skim milk) and the hubs got coffee. I drank that in one gulp, it warmed me from head to toe and it was just the right amount. They have a huge chalkboard menu on the walls, drinks, breads and other things. If you’re interested in a western type breakfast, this is the place to go. 

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Sunflour
308号 Anfu Rd  Xuhui, Shanghai, China
+86 21 6473 7757

Another one of my favorite places to eat in Hong Kong happens to be a delicious seafood place. Sure, you could go out to Lei Yu Moon and the other seafood places by the water… But since this preggo girl wanted something convenient and in a restaurant, this is always a favorite place for us to go in Hong Kong. And… I can’t believe it was walking distance from our hotel!

They have many locations but we went to the one in Wan Chai. We had dinner with my BIL and can I say we ate pretty epic? We wouldn’t have it any other way, we stuffed ourselves and guess what ended up happening afterwards? We went back to our hotel and passed out. LOL Get ready for some food pictures here… I can’t believe 3 people finished all of this. Well, actually 3.5, if you count Boram.

I love well prepared snails! If it’s overcooked, it gets rubbery and chewy, yuck. But these are always perfect and a great way to start of the meal!

Delicious fish soup that has a milky sheen. In the past, drinking milking soups has caused allergic reactions for me so I only had a small bowl. This tasted so fresh, clean and I absolutely love Cantonese soups!

This is something I usually make at home but not quite as fancy! It’s egg with white fish, fried with some scallions. The fish I use are the ones my mother in law brought from Hong Kong, dried and tiny. I have to say it’s delicious both ways but fresh is absolutely heavenly.

Baby napa cabbage with crab roe… are you drooling yet? I am.

Green bean vermicelli, satay sauce and beef. Classic dish in a hot casserole bowl, very flavorful and tasty.

And the main star: “Under Bridge Spicy Crab”! Fried garlic and scallions, extremely juicy crab meat that is sweet and a punch of flavor from all the garlic! It was messy to eat but totally worth it! YUM.

So if you find yourself in Hong Kong and want a nice place to eat dinner, especially with your family or a group of people… give this place a try!

I also apologize for the quality of these pics, the lighting was bad and I only had my iPhone with me!

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Under Bridge Spicy Crab (many locations, please look at second picture)
G/F-3/F, Ascot Mansion, 421-425 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Every single time I go to Hong Kong, I make sure I stop by this place for afternoon tea. You’ll find that Yee Shun Milk Company is quite busy during the time for afternoon tea… so I suggest that you go during off hours. 

They are famous for their steamed milk with two films and their steamed milk with ginger juice. I love the steamed milk (two films) cold and you guessed it, there is a film of milk on top. It’s quite delicious, smooth and slightly sweet. Perfect for an afternoon snack. If you’re a ginger fan, opt for the ginger version… hot or cold, up to you!

Since it was afternoon tea for the hubs and friends, we got condensed milk toast and some milk tea. I have to say, this is one of my favorites in Hong Kong and was seriously sad when we couldn’t go a second time. Make sure you check for the hours, we went and it was closed.  

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Yee Shun Milk Company 義順牛奶公司

Jordan
G/F, 63 Pilkem St, Jordan
Tel :  (852) 2730 2799

Causeway Bay
G/F, 506 Lockhard Road, Causeway Bay 
Tel:  (852) 2591 1837

Nathan Road
G/F, 513 Nathan Road  
Tel:  (852) 2374 5460

I just love Hong Kong, so very much. I never knew that I did until I started dating my husband many years ago… I love the food, I love the city and my goodness do I love your people. 

We went to Hong Kong last week for a mini vacation/see friends/fill up on food/shopping and oh… I don’t know what else. But it was amazing, refreshing and just what this pregnant lady needed!

One of my favorite places (ever) for breakfast is a local diner in Wanchai that my FIL introduced me to. My FIL took us there during my first trip to Hong Kong and it was absolutely amazing! I love the noodle soups, side of eggs, buttered bun and of course who can forget the milk tea?! 

So every single time we go to HK, that’s my first stop. It’s called Honolulu Coffee Shop, located off the Wan Chai subway stop. The menus are in Chinese but I’m sure you can take a look around at what people are eating and point. I love their egg tarts (dan-ta) and I swear, it’s the best I’ve ever had. The custard part is the right consistency for me, it’s creamy and eating it warm is best! 

We also got the breakfast set which got us soup noodles, eggs (any style you want – scrambled for this preggo) and I ended up getting a lai-cha (milk tea), hubs got an in-yeurn (milk tea/coffee). I was in HEAVEN, so happy! Although we didn’t plan on hotel being on the same street, it kind of worked out for us. They also have another location on Stanley street so look it up before you go!

Some other YUMS I ate on the trip and very typical Cantonese breakfast: French Toast. I don’t even like french toast but I love HK french toast. Don’t mind the fried goodness, it totally hit the spot for me as a snack!

We went to so many random diners for breakfast that I didn’t even write down the addresses. Honestly, they are all good! The big guys like Tsui-Wah or little hole in the walls are just as amazing. The above picture was our last day and we had breakfast with my BIL. One of the highlights of our trip there was being able to see him as much as we did. There’s seriously nothing like family and I hope the next time he’s there, he’ll bring his family with.  

I can’t believe I dedicated a whole entry just to breakfast in HK. But seriously, come on… doesn’t this look delicious? Are you drooling? (I am…) I must have drunk at least 3 lai cha/lemon tea/and whatever else a day in HK. I miss it, it’s just not the same in Shanghai. (though, not bad… just not the same)

I ate so much there and I can’t wait till we take Boram there one day to experience the food and culture. He’s going to love where his daddy’s side is from!

I’m hungry now… lol <3

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Honolulu Coffee Shop 檀島咖啡餅店
G/F & Mezz Floor, 176-178 Hennessy Rd., Wan Chai, Hong Kong