Shanghai Revisited

Going back to the city I lived in 2008 was very exciting because I love the energy of Shanghai. The super-sonic growth that this city has enjoyed has given it a shiny confidence to greet all visitors. I had the pleasure of showing my American partners, Amy Happ and Eric Woodworth, around Shanghai during our recent visit in October.

One of the things I really wanted to do was to visit my friends Martijn van der Valk and John Laing, who have built a new luxury boutique hotel in the heart of the city, near Jing An Temple. It was so exciting to see the fruition of their dreams, after having listened to them share their visions and plans for the place during our long champagne brunches in 2008.

Posing with Martijn and the brand new Mercedes SLS AMG on the grounds of Hotel PuLi

Zhongguo zaijian! (Goodbye China)

As I'm packing the last six months of my life into 2 large suitcases, I can't help thinking how quickly time flies. It seems like only yesterday when I arrived in Shanghai, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to take on world hunger...hmmm...

And as I sift through the vignettes of my life in China, there's no denying that I've learnt some valuable lessons:

• First and foremost, my command of Mandarin has improved (hip, hip hooray!) after 40 arduous hours of classroom time. This really means a lot because I've always had a mental block with the Chinese language. It's been a (secret) source of frustration not being able to understand or speak Mandarin. So while I'm not yet a classical scholar, I feel a lot more comfortable carrying out simple conversations in casual and business settings.

• Secondly, I've opened up and allowed myself to be amazed by 5000 years of Chinese history and culture. Having seen the Terracotta Warriors, Great Wall, Forbidden City, Grand Canal and gardens of Suzhou with my own eyes, I leave with a greater sense of understanding and respect for the achievements of my ancestors. And yes, I'll definitely think twice before glorifying the superiority of Western over Eastern civilisation again.

• Thirdly, I believe that China is starting to reclaim prominence on the world stage. We are on the brink of a new Chinese dynasty and only time will tell if its achievements will rival the golden years of the Han, Tang or Ming dynasties. And the rise of nationalism and pride of 1.3 billion Chinese citizens is something that we're all going to have to learn to contend with in the future.

Now, to answer the million-dollar question - Have I completely shed the "banana" image? (yellow on the outside, white on the inside)
Of course not! Joanna Yeoh will happily remain a colourful mosaic of East and West - striving to make the best of both worlds.

Feeling the LURVE

Given the intense focus I've given to my career, it's not surprising that I spend most of my days and nights on emails, meetings and conference calls - even on my birthday. But this year's birthday has been very special. I *really* felt the lurrvvee!

Thanks to Facebook, the greetings and virtual gifts started arriving long before the actual day. Today started with a lovely call from my parents in Penang and Julie in the US. And then my teams at work sprang a bigger surprise. The Singapore team sent me a delightful Powerpoint presentation. Thanks girls - you definitely don't need any more training - it's perfect! ;-D

As part of the wrap-up of my stint in China, I'd planned to visit my Suzhou team today for a final coaching session. I was so touched when they presented me with a lovely bouquet of pink roses and a fresh cream cake at dinner. When you spend as much time as I do at work, it means so much to have colleagues cross the work boundary into my personal domain with such sincere affection. THANK YOU so much!

Aunty Jo Jo with Emma, Huang Ying, Mandy, Vicky and Lu Min @ Li Gong Di

Beautiful rose bouquet and delicious fresh cream cake from the Suzhou team

Aunty Jo Jo attacking her birthday cake... and Lu Min following suit

Fitting end to a wild week

It's been a CRAZY week. There's been non-stop news of financial markets in turmoil, bank failures, billion dollar rescues, job losses, political upheavals in Malaysia and melamine-tainted Chinese milk in my fridge. By noon on Friday, I was ready for a BIG drink. And I got my wish.

Sid and John, whom I know through work, invited me out for a night on the town and I gladly accepted. I've heard so much about the great nightlife in Puxi but haven't experienced much of it due to extensive work travel and living in sanitary Pudong. I was ready to *PARTY*.

Aunty Jo-Jo and the boys ready for their dinner of roast duck and scorpions

We met at Quan Ju De restaurant on Huai Hai Lu, where we had fried scorpions for dinner. Yes, you read that right - scorpions - for dinner. The restaurant is actually more well-known for its Beijing kaoya (roast duck) but I thought the arachnoids looked more interesting. In its fried form, the scorpions were crunchy and tasty, a little like eating deep fried prawn shells. I had three pieces and am still sitting here, alive and kicking. Although I must admit my tongue feels a little numb :-)

Five large bottles of beer later, we were ready for more action and debated where to go next. Sid and John are big music fans, with a preference for techno, but this Aunty was in the mood for a more mellow setting, preferably with a margarita and a cigar. Being the gentlemen that they are, I got my wish...again.

At the Tara Bar with our drinks and cigars

We jumped into a taxi and headed for Fuxing Park in the heart of the French Concession. Sid knew of this great little lounge called Tara Bar which served absinthe, cigars and a very cute English bartender. Heh..heh...Aunty Jo-Jo could hardly believe her luck. Why hadn't she spent more time clubbing in Shanghai instead of working??

With a margarita in one hand, and a Romeo & Julieta no. 3 in the other, I was at peace with the world. Having banned talk about work, we had a wonderful time chatting about travel, music, dreams and ambitions (among other more PG-rated topics...hahaha) We even listened to some music that Sid had composed and produced - very impressive.

At 12:30 am, we left the bar and wandered around looking for another live music venue. But most of the places were jam-packed and playing Latin American music which didn't quite feel right, so we decided to call it a night and head home.

I want a big THANK YOU to Sid and John for their company. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and fitting end to a wild week.

P/S: And to those of you who are wondering if I've taken up smoking, not to worry. I only smoke cigars and my limit is 2 per year - usually reserved for big occasions and tough weeks.

Playing with your food

Yang Rou Pao Mo is a local Xian Muslim dish that's really FUN to eat because they encourage you to play with your food! Even my mother, the super-strict school teacher, was highly amused when we had it for lunch on our last day in Xian.

1) Assemble an empty bowl, a couple of mo (or unleavened wheat buns) and cloves of sweet pickled garlic.

2) Shred the mo into tiny pieces - the smaller the better. Believe me, it's not as easy as it looks because the buns are incredibly dense and compact. It took us almost 15 minutes to shred just one bun. Our wrists were sore from all the repetitive peeling action. Lisa, our native guide, was of course the quickest bun shredder!

3) Once you've got a bowl full of shredded bits, the waiter will label your bowl with a personal tag and your choice of soup: mutton or beef. I chose mutton, since that's the original version. I was also glad to see the personal tag as I didn't want to lose my bowl of shredded mo after all that hard work!

4) The tagged bowls are then taken away to the kitchen for further processing.

4) The waiter returned with my completed Yang Rou Pao Mo and here's what it looks like. Soup had been added and there were also bits of mutton, tang hoon (glass noodles), black fungus and spring onions. You're welcome to add other condiments such as chilli and sweet pickled garlic. I'm not a fan of garlic chunks in any form so I just added the chilli and tucked in.

Verdict?...errr...it's probably an acquired taste. The simple mutton soup was a little too overpowering and the soppy bits of wheat dough reminded me of the contents of an air-sickness bag. Still, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we'd definitely recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Xian.

Bing Ma Yong

Walking into underground vault containing the Army of Terracotta Warriors (Bingmayong) was a dream come true - in more ways than one. Not only were the historical features better than the National Geographic channel, these men are perfect. Strong - Confident - Quiet. Pity they're all stone cold ;-)

The 2200-year old army stands guard over the ancient imperial tomb of Qin Shi Huang - the first Emperor who united China. While admired for his military conquests and brilliant public administration, his tyrannical behaviour and massive construction projects wreaked havoc on the Chinese populace. His tomb rests 1.5 km from the site of the terracotta warriors and is believed to contain treasures beyond belief.

The army was discovered in 1974 by a farmer who was digging a well. It turned out to be the largest archaeological find of the 20th century, with archaeologists working round the clock to restore the figures of soldiers, horses and other military installments. The farmer hasn't done to badly either. He sits daily at the circle theatre autographing copies of books that are sold for CNY170 each!

Pit 1 - 6000 terracotta figures of warriors and horses face east in a battle array

Currently, there are three pits open to the public with Pit 1 containing the most number of restored figures. Work is proceeding at a slow pace because the authorities are taking great pains to preserve the vivid colour of the sculptures - which disappear within hours of being unearthed. All the figures so far reveal unique facial features, without duplicates. The ranks of these warriors can be recognized by their headgear and battlegear:

• One hair knot - Common soldier
• Flat hat - Middle-ranking officer
• Double hair knot - General (there are only 7 in the entire collection)
• Kneeling with hands at the side - Archer
• Loose clothing with hands together - Charioteer

Xian by night

Xian is a city that has featured largely in my imagination for many years. It is cradle of Chinese civilisation, has served as capital to the great Qin, Han and Tang dynasties and was the eastern terminus for the caravans of the Silk Road. Romantic, exotic and colourful are words that immediately spring to my mind.

So when I finally arrived yesterday with my parents, I couldn't wait to explore the city. Thankfully, our hotel is just across the road from the heart of Xian so after settling dinner & bedtime for the folks, I hit the markets in the Muslim quarter.

What a glorious sight it was - there were trinkets and street food galore! Thanks to the Arabic influence from its Silk Road days, there are over 60,000 Muslims living in Xian and they provide a refreshing touch of colour and culture. It's so delightful to have "makciks in tudungs" (aunties in headscarves) offering their wares to you in Mandarin!

And the street food is simply superb. From shao ping (pancakes) to kebabs to rou jia mo (Chinese burgers), everything is just so flavourful, cheap and halal. While I usually steer clear of street food in China, all the food here is freshly prepared from vendors that have a supply of running water. Plus there was no way I can resist the mouth-watering aromas and sights in that night market. So far, so good.

Street vendors preparing their delicious pancakes and kebabs

And if food just isn't your main focus (why..oh why?), there are plenty of sights that light up Xian's night sky. Just look up and be greeted by the ancient beauties known as the Bell and Drum Towers. These are Ming Dynasty architecture erected in the 14th century to help Xian city dwellers mark time. The bells greet the morning, while the drums signal night time.

The Bell and Drum Tower - masterpieces from the Ming Dynasty

Would you pay $10 for a cricket?

From time immemorial, travellers have often labelled strange practices as "exotic" in order to sound more politically correct. Well, I'm going right for the jugular to declare that yesterday, I stumbled upon a market in Shanghai that is just plain *strange*

The Flower, Bird, Fish & Insect Market is located on Liuhekou Rd, just round the corner from the Dongtai Lu Antiques Market. The market has a pleasant facade of flower & plant shops in the front, but the real curiosities lie way in the back. Here you'll find row upon row of small clay jars containing live crickets! Crowds of people squat around these jars in animated conversation, while poking away at the insects with reed sticks. There are also huge rattan baskets filled with large bugs and other creepy crawlies.

My parents immediately understood what was going on and tried to explain that cricket competitions are a form of gambling. I suppose the gambling part makes sense since this is China after all, but I still don't understand why anyone would want to pay up to RMB100 for an insect. Do you?

Customers shopping for the best crickets at a market in Liuhekou Road

Evening along the Huangpu

I've finally made it to the home stretch of the China assignment...phew! And I'm so glad to be sharing it with my parents, who arrived in Shanghai yesterday. This evening, I introduced them to an authentic Shanghainese dinner at Din Tai Fung (a Taiwanese restaurant - why not?). We had xiao long bao (dumplings), Shanghai noodles & dumplings, zui ji (drunken chicken), fried rice and vegetables.

After the highly satisfactory meal, we decided to take a stroll along the Pudong side of the Huangpu River, and wait for the famous Bund to light up. This iconic skyline of Shanghai is a feast of historical architecture not to be missed - especially at night. What a spectacular sight!

Enjoying the beautiful night vistas of Shanghai with Mum & Dad

We settled along the embankment and spent an hour enjoying the colourful parade of boats and barges that paraded their way up and down the river. Some were river cruises ferrying passengers while others were simply barges mounted with giant LCD screens carrying advertisements. The free entertainment, cool breeze and thin crowds made for a delightful evening for the Yeoh family.

Floating parade of boats & barges along the Huangpu River

A pictorial representation of the buildings on the Bund - click to enlarge

National Palace Museum

Last Wednesday, I visited the National Palace Museum in Taipei. It is THE must-see destination for any art lover. Asianart.com describes the historical treasures residing within the Gugong Bowuguan as:

"The works of art in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, are classified as national treasures; some have been passed down from dynasty to dynasty since the Northern Sung period (960-1127), the era when the foundation of the collection was amassed. The greater part of the Museum's vast collection entered the Palace during the reign of the Ch'ien-lung emperor (reigned 1736-95), and many of the objects, especially those in jade and bronze, are intimately connected with state rituals. Others have served as symbols of sovereign power such as the Emperor's jade seal, which in China is the equivalent of the crown of a European king.

Following the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911 and the eventual expulsion of the last emperor from the Forbidden City in 1924, the Palace Museum opened in Peking in 1925. With the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the imminent danger of an assault on northern China, the government took measures to safeguard the treasures in the Palace Museum. A large group of the finest objects was carefully placed into wooden crates and shipped south, beginning a 30-year odyssey that took the art over thousands of miles by train, boat, truck, and even hand towed barge, usually under the most adverse wartime conditions. At war's end, the nearly 20,000 crates, which had been divided into several shipments to avoid detection, were reunited in Nanking for a brief period before Chiang Kai-shek moved a selection of them containing more than 600,000 pieces to Taiwan in 1949. It was another 16 years - during which time the collection was stored first in sugar warehouses and then in specially constructed tunnels, before the National Palace Museum, Taipei, opened in 1965 and the public was again able to see this legacy of Chinese civilization."

The centrepieces of the museum collection: Jadeite cabbage & Jasper stewed pork

I was in awe of the thousand-year old treasures and it dawned on me how advanced and sophisticated Chinese civilization really is. The evidence stretches from the early jade pendants of the Zhou Dynasty to the celadon porcelain of the Sung dynasty to the calligraphy of the Qing dynasty.

Which is why I find highly amusing that the centrepiece of the prized collection is a cabbage and a hunk of stewed pork! At the end of the day, everything still revolves around food. How very Chinese! Now, I know where my love of food really comes from - my genes :-)

One World One Dream

How lucky can a girl get? This is the second time I'm living in a country that's hosting the Olympic Games: Sydney in 2000 and Beijing in 2008.

OK...ok... so I'm actually living in Shanghai but who cares? Everyone who has Chinese genes can be rightly proud of the host country. Zhongguo jia you! (loosely translated as C'mon China!)

So, let's put aside our political views & economic woes and just enjoy the spirit of the games, remembering the famous words of Baron Pierre de Coubertin: L'important n'est pas de gagner, mais de participer. (The important thing is not to win, but to take part.)

Church in Pudong

I discovered a Protestant church in Pudong today, and its just across the road from my apartment! It's quite embarrassing that I've not noticed it before.

The Abdundant Grace International Fellowship (AGIF) is based in 455 Hongfeng Lu, Jinqiao and it serves the expatriate community in Pudong. The English service for foreign passport holders is at 3pm, while the Mandarin service is at 8:30am.

Walking into the church, I couldn't help noticing how large and packed it was. It's interesting to see how church services in China are always crowded. I was also very encouraged to hear that there are 10 Protestant congregations in Pudong, with numbers of over 1000 people each...praise God!

There was an Order of Service with a combination of hymns and modern worship songs. An interesting segment took place halfway when the pastor gathered all the children at the pulpit and taught them a song and a short text. I've never seen that before. I was also very blessed by an English pastor who preached on "Unity and Maturity" with the text taken from Ephesians 12 v 1 - 16. We were reminded of the need to love others, teach the Word and become more like Jesus. As always - very simple to hear, very hard to live up to. It's good that we live by Grace.

Two Tales of One City

It's a rainy Sunday morning in Shanghai, and I've had to abandon plans to wander around the colourful, crowded, humid streets of Puxi and stay home in Pudong instead, to enjoy the air-conditioned comforts of a home. And I began to wonder:

Why does Puxi feel so different compared to Pudong?

While it's fun to wonder around the lively atmosperic streets of Puxi, would I really want to live there permanently?

Some of my younger colleagues love the wide open spaces and orderly streets of modern Pudong, and why not?

Many lament the loss of old shikumen (stone terrace houses) as the city modernises, and I understand their frustrations. After all, my beloved Bukit Bintang Girls' School, a beautiful century-old colonial building is now a spanking new shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur. Many developing cities often sacrifice the historical values and aesthetics at the altar of commercial development.

Romantic idealism aside however, I also identify with the aspirations of many local Chinese who want to better their lives and living conditions. After all, many of these old structures are dark, damp, musty and often not very hygienic. Why wouldn't they aspire to live in a modern apartment with electricity, running water, wireless broadband and a swimming pool? Every parent works to better the lives of their children and next generation. It's the energy that fuels evolution.

Old Shanghai alley house vs. Modern apartments in Pudong

As with all things however, there is a need for balance. In our rush to modernisation, we must not lose our cultural identities and links to our roots. So, let's build our comfortable new condominiums, but let's also conserve areas of historical value so that we won't forget the sacrifice of the generations past.

After all wasn't it Sir Isaac Newton who said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".

Just Jiaozi

It's been a long time since I've written about food and that's so wrong, so here goes...

I've completely fallen in love with a delicious northern Chinese dish called jiaozi or Chinese dumplings. It's a wonderful blend of ground meat and vegetables encased in a dough wrapper. It can be boiled, steamed or pan-fried and eaten with a vinegar-chilli oil sauce. This picture was taken at Baoyuan Dumpling Restaurant in Beijing. It had an unusual filling of meat, egg omelette & tomatoes...simply divine...yum!

Jiaozi is a staple food in the north, unlike in Southern China where rice is preferred. I must have some northern blood in my system because I have always preferred dumplings over rice. Even as a child, I would do anything to avoid having rice at meals. One enduring memory of childhood is my dad feeding me dinner with a spoon in one hand and a cane in the other!

Thankfully, those painful mealtime memories can be banished since I can now indulge in as many jiaozi as I want. Especially here in China, where it's cheap and plentiful. I always have a couple of packets stashed away in the freezer, and an ample supply of vinegar and chilli oil. Dinner anyone?

For an interesting article that explains how deeply jiaozi is identified with the Chinese psyche, follow this link

A true man?

He who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man - goes a famous Chinese saying.

So I guess these pictures speak for themselves? Grin....

Peasant at the Palace

The Forbidden City has been home to the Chinese Emperor and his household for over five centuries, spanning the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Coming from peasant stock in southern China, my Yeoh or Chong ancestors may never have had the opportunity to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing. So, it was pretty exciting to set foot into the imperial palaces last Saturday morning.



First impression - it's big, very big. Trudging from the Meridien Gate to the Outer Court to the Inner Court, I definitely got the idea that was intended by the master architects - the Emperor is No. 1 and the peasant bows and scrapes. But rather than stooping to the level of an insect, I actually felt happy and relieved. At least the peasants were free to roam the fields, villages and towns experiencing life rather than being locked up in a gilded cage.

And even as I admired the majestic structures, golden statues and imperial throne room of the Outer Court, it felt a bit hollow. It was only when we entered the eastern palaces, where the imperial household lived, that I actually felt engaged. It was much easier for me to identify with stories of Emperor Qian Long spending his retirement in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity than as an Emperor issuing royal edicts from the Hall of Supreme Harmony. I had a lot more fun roaming the back alleys and stumbling upon small palaces than actually walking the Imperial route. That's probably my peasant DNA kicking in :-)



I did learn a lot about Chinese history and am very grateful to my travel companion - Daisy Wu - for showing me round Gu Gong. And also to her best friend - Whitney Wang - for helping to organize the trip and planning my itinerary. You're both STARS!