Shanghai Hairy Crabs - 大闸蟹

Going forward, I will periodically profile the different types of food that can be found in Shanghai. Some will be good, others will be bad.

For today's post, I am introducing a type of seafood that is in season right now in the Shanghai region - the Shanghai Hairy Crab or in Chinese - 大闸蟹。 This type of crab differs from the blue crab that is found in the Northeastern part of the US (this is the type that I was familiar with in my days in New York). Physically, the hairy is somewhat smaller than the blue crab. The main distinction is the very bushy hair that grows on its front large claws.

The hairy crab has a reputation of near religious proportions. This time of the year, nearly all good restaurants will be serving them, and every market will be selling live ones. You couldn't go a day this time of the year without seeing them a few times a day.

Having had both the hairy crab and the blue crab I can say that the blue crab's meat tastes better and there is more of it than the hairy crab. The meat of the blue crab has a sweet flavor to it while the hairy crab has a neutral taste. It is also not as difficult to get to the meat in the blue compared to the hairy. If the hairy crab has a tougher shell, less meat, and less flavorful meat than the blue why does it receive so much attention here in Shanghai? It is the brain and the egg of this crab. Since this is the peak time that this crab breeds, there is plenty of eggs to be had in the females and that is why it is so ubiquitous right now.

The hairy crab is not cheap this time of the year, they go for 100RMB for a pair of live ones (a male and a female). This is the equivalent of $13. I can get 6 live blue crabs in NY for about $8 so you can see how expensive the hairy crab is. Think of it another way, 100RMB means a lot more to a Chinese living in China than $13 means to an American living in America.

I personally think that the hairy crab's brain and egg are just sublime, but after you consume that part you will expend a lot of time and energy going after the little meat that it has.

The topic of food takes on such importance here in China. You can bring out the topic of food and get into a serious discussion with anybody over here. This is one of the things that I really enjoy about living here.

Good Bye, China!

Well, that rise in readership was short lived. Looks like blogspot is blocked again. Wondered if the computer programmer in charge of blocking blogger realized his mistake last week and made an emergency migration (programmer talk for making changes to a program) today.

China Giveth, China Taketh Away

Well, I guess the other shoe has dropped. As mentioned in my previous post, I just realized that Google blogger or blogspot is no longer blocked in China. But guess what? I realized yesterday that youtube is now blocked in China. I can't even maintain my account in youtube anymore which differed with the partial block previously with blogspot. At least I could still maintain this blog even though I could not see the home page.

Based on what I am reading, it seems that youtube recently expanded into China and I guess this is just another measure to keep the natives rested. I guess the Chinese government knows what they are doing. Keep the natives happy with a sizzling economy, soaring property values and a skyrocketing stock market. Right now I get the feeling some people in China thinks money grows on trees and they are reveling in it. I guess there is another shoe ready to be dropped...

Welcome, China!

China works in mysterious ways. For whatever reason, my blog is now viewable in China. Once I realized it I e-mailed the url to some friends outside of Shanghai and they also confirmed that my blog is not blocked.

I also discovered that all blogs hosted by blogger (google) are now viewable here in Shanghai. I don't know what happened and how long this will last but I guess I will enjoy my wider reader ship while I can until the other shoe drops.

I don't know if it is a coincidence, but this past Monday 10/15 marked the beginning of the 17 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. There has been daily sessions for the whole week where the leaders of the China give sort of a "State of the Communist Party" speeches. Also on the agenda will be future plans of the Party along with reshuffling of positions within the party. Don't know if the new political year marked a loosening of the media. Perhaps the fact that blogger.com is now viewable might be an indication. Then again let's wait and see what happens. I will be sure to give an update on this if things change.

The communications/information superhighway

The internet. I remember the days before that ubiquitous word. I remember the days of going to the library if you needed to do research. Times when you need to read a newspaper to get the news. Times when you have to actually pay bills with a stamp.

Since coming to Shanghai, the internet has impacted my life in a different way than the way it did when I as back in NY. Now I can stay in touch with family and friends via e-mail, IM or even be able to speak via messenger programs such as Skype or Yahoo Messenger. This does not take the place of actually physically meeting up friends and family but considering I am over 10000 miles away its not bad.

The biggest impact the internet had on my life here in China is that I am able to follow the news and happenings back in the States. It has become a double edge sword. While I am able to follow news about things the I am familiar with, it has in some ways inhibited me from really plunging myself into my new surroundings. I think sometimes I am not really in tuned with what is going on over here in China. While I am able to stay informed about national news here in China, I don't get to follow local news as often simply because they are not really covered in English. I also know less about events that are being held locally.

Despite some downside, I really feel that the internet has really enhanced my life during my time over here in China.

Gore for President?

So the headlines blare "Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize".

I must admit, my initial reaction was "huh?". I always associated the Nobel to people like Ghandi (even though he never won it but certainly is the embodiment of it), Mandela or Martin Luthur King; people who stood up to oppression by peaceful means and inspired others to do the same. As I thought about it more and more I realized that Gore does deserve to win the award. I even debated my friend Siu in New York via Skype about this. I think the spirit of this award should include the person who made accomplishments that furthers the betterment of mankind, and I think Gore did that this past year.

I watched his movie "Inconvenient Truth" last year. Even though I am not a scientist, I am a bit of a science enthusiast. After watching the movie, I realized that some of his assertions are going to be a bit controversial since it was not proven entirely, such as some of the associations between global catastrophes to global warming.

When such a high profile politician makes such a splash in Hollywood there are going to be suspicions that he could be doing it for his own political gain.

For the many who criticize Gore and the movie about these things are missing the point about the importance of this movie. What this movie has done is heighten the awareness of this very important issue from just the science enthusiasts like me to the mainstream. When the dialog about this topic reaches the mainstream that is when important things can be done.

Many of Gore's supporters are now calling on him to run for President so he can "save the world". I think that is a mistake. The reason Gore was able to go on this crusade was precisely because he was not as intimately involved in national politics after his defeat in the 2000 Presidential election. He was able to extricate himself from the world where votes could be bought, where one's beliefs are compromised in the effort to appeal to more voters. This is a place where you don't necessarily do what is right, but what will appeal to the masses.

Now the he has won the Nobel Peace Prize, there is no doubt that Gore has become the undisputed leader in this cause and he can do far more good by staying out of the mainstream politics. He will now be an even more powerful voice for the environmentalism movement.

Look out below!!

Just to provide an update on an earier post. I mentioned in a post on 8/22/07 about the rampaging stock market over here in Shanghai. The Shanghai index on that day closed at 4980. Well in less than a month the index now stands at 5771. This mania has even spilled into the Hong Kong stock market since the Chinese government announced that they will start to allow Chinese citizens to invest in the Hong Kong stock market. Since that announcement on 8/20/07 the Hang Sang index has risen from around 20,387.13 to 28,569.33 where it stands today, a 40% rise. As this bubble continues to roil seemingly unabated the inevitable crash will be more and more painful.

Quotes for the Shanghai index:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=000001.SS

Quotes for the Hang Sang index:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EHSI

Different place, different pace

October 1, 1949 is the day the People's Republic of China was founded. So the Chinese celebrate this day by granting the entire week off for its citizens. Me and the wife took advantage of this period by returning to her hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It just so coincides with the wedding of her brother.

As I am writing this entry in Malaysia, I am struck by how different the pace is between China and Malaysia. Malaysia is a tropical country near the equator where the population is primarily made up of 3 ethnicities - indigenous Malays, Chinese, and Indians.

During my travels, I have discovered that people who live in tropical areas tend to be more laid back about life than most. This is definitely the case here in Malaysia. This is really the first time that I have gone directly to Malaysia from China and I can feel the difference immediately. It is most evident when one is just doing normal everyday things like walking on the streets, shopping or eating out.

In Shanghai it is a controlled chaos. When you are out and about there are constant challenges facing you. After I have lived there for 1.5 years I am use to it, and it takes going to a place like Malaysia to remind you how tired you are of a place like Shanghai. There are no hordes of bicycles whizzing by you from all directions as you walk on the streets. There is no pesky salesperson following your every move when you enter a store. There isn't a sense where you are being rushed to do anything like there is in China with nearly everything that you do. This aspect is quite possibly the most annoying thing about living in China. For instance, when you are on queue paying for something in a store you can either be cut in line by some impatient soul who was not on line to begin with, or you could be cut by the person behind you if you are slow to present you items for payment when it is your turn. This is the case in all aspects of life in China. They take the saying "You snooze, you lose" to an exaggerated level. This mentality creates tension in nearly every thing that you do in China.

Well, I am going to enjoy my remaining 4 days relaxing over here before going back to the chaos that is Shanghai.