Country Eatin'

Shanghai's Home of Sticky Ribs

STICKY bones aren’t really the first idea that pops to mind when you think about eating spare ribs. For me it’s all about slow-cooked meaty goodness oozing tasty marinade. Dapuqiao’s new barbeque joint, Morganfield’s, at the Sun Moon Light Center, delivers on both fronts. Home of Stick Bones is their slogan and they are really living up to that reputation. When it comes to country food done right this restaurant is a diamond-in-the-rough in Shanghai. From retro music associated with country radio to freshly done mashed potatoes with hickoryflavoured ribs, Morganfield’s has their finger on the pulse of carnivore desire and Outback culture. 

It’s a rustic ‘50s style set-up with high and low-set wooden tables and brick walls to compliment. If the country atmosphere isn’t for you, then focus your attention on the old-school Disney cartoons playing on the big-screens. There’s also a casual but busy bar and outdoor eating area on a balcony overlooking the shopping mall. If meat eating isn’t your thing, stick to the original and creative offerings on the drinks list. The Ginger Pop is by far the winner. A mix up of fresh mint, honey, brown sugar and ginger ale, this drink is the perfect way to enjoy a Shanghai summer’s day or night, especially in 35 degree plus heat. Sitting on the deck is also a great escape from Tianzifang tourists and keen shoppers. Enough of the atmosphere, let’s talk food!

 What really gets me with this joint is how fresh and tender the meat is. It’s one hell of an ask to fulfil carnivore urgings in Shanghai but Morganfield’s delivers sensationally. At this joint, there are no small-portions of not-so-fresh meat that are so often served at Shanghai restaurants. Move over Kakadu, Bubba’s and Outback Steakhouse, Morganfield's has got you covered. This Singapore-owned restaurant company is setting a new standard by serving quality imported ribs from the US, very generous portions at reasonable prices (ribs start at about Y128) and great service. The menu is flexible - you can buy extra sides (also well-sized) for reasonable prices. Morganfield's also seem to have a secret chips recipe - some of the best in town by a long shot. The ribs flavours include: Black Peppercorn, Garlic, Hickory, Jim Beam and Jack Daniels. Slow-cooked and old-fashioned, it’s sure to make anyone feel at home. Hickory is the all-round favourite but the peppercorn flavour really seeps into the meat adding a little pop in the mouth as you chew. Beef and mutton ribs are also available. The mutton ribs were a little tough compared to the pork option and the portion much smaller. 

The only downside is that the happy hour deal doesn’t match the large plate of wholesome food. Happy Hour is a buy 1 pint get 1 glass free deal. Downing a pint and then following that up with much smaller glass seems cheap and inauthentic. Management would be better to consider offering an after-meal liqueur instead. Be sure to book, this place is very popular with locals, testament to the quality and quantity. 

South Africa

Colonial Cross-Over

ONE of the great things about being a foreigner in China is that you are not only immersed in modern Chinese culture but also that of many other nationalities. I don't think I have ever been in a city where you run into so many people from so many different parts of the world. My point here is this: Shanghai is so diverse that while I was looking to move apartment earlier this year an opportunity came up to live in a two-bedroom apartment with a girl from Madagascar. Now I don't care where in the world you are from, that is the icing on the cake, the Inter in International. 

Along with this beehive of nationalities, you need to get the context of everyone's humor and cultural attitude. Sounds easy and it usually is. This morning's event at a teacher workshop was just the opposite. This workshop included myself (an Australian), a Canadian, an American, a Brit and a South African. None of us really knew each other so we were just talking about where we are from. I mentioned to the white South African guy, "South Africans really are a mixed bag of people and accents." 

He replied: "So am I. I am not a South African."

 I laughed thinking it was all a joke. I imagined myself saying I am not Australian. Things couldn't be further from the truth, especially when I think of my Outback roots. 

"So what are you," I asked mockingly. 

"I am a colonial South African," he answered, nose slowly tilting up. 

"What's that mean," I questioned between laughter. 

"That means my grandfather is from England," he boasted, nose now at 45 degrees. 

All of the teachers in the circle went quiet. It was a bit awkward. I thought to myself, how on Earth does that make you more colonial - or pioneering - than anyone else from an immigrant country, like Australia, Canada or America? At this point the only answer I can come up with is this: none of those countries are in Africa. 

Chinese small business attitude

Small scale but fast moving

THE shopping mall was maybe two years old when I first visited. I would end up working there, at an English school, on the fourth floor. That floor was mostly filled with training centres for adults and children focusing on math, music, art and English. A shopping mall with a floor dedicated to education is a Chinese norm. It was one of the busiest floors in the mall, parents bringing children to class, professionals brushing up on their English or dance skills. On weekends the mall was full of shoppers, during summer extra busy with most people coming indoors to enjoy free air-conditioning.

Spending my free time there and shopping didn’t really interest me. Either the shirts were a misfit on me or things were too expensive. Although I didn’t pay too much attention to anything happening business-wise, the storefronts did become familiar. The colours, slogans and music blaring out of the door to lure customers in was a daily ritual as I made my way to work. I could walk past these businesses with my eyes shut and know what was being sold of my left and right by listening to the music being played - the tunes were never changed and usually repeated after every third song day in, day out.

I finished working there and six months later went back to visit some old colleagues. I had since moved to Shanghai and needed to pick up some stuff I left behind. When I first entered the shopping mall I thought I had landed on Mars. Every store front had changed. Every business was new. In the space of six months 90% of the stores had changed things up in a big way. Either they were selling something completely different or they had reinvented what they were already selling.These small businesses, which in total had been open less than 18 months, had gone through rejuvenation on a mass scale. It got me thinking. What is a Chinese businessman’s approach to business?

Clearly, flexibility is key. Even here in Shanghai, along streets in the French Quarter which I regularly walk, over a 2-3 year period, I have seen plenty of businesses change things up. From a lasagne-themed restaurant transformed into a chocolate-themed restaurant. From a Turkish speciality store to a teahouse. From Irish Bar to upmarket Italian restaurant. Watching this lightning speed of transformation led me to one conclusion. Businesspeople in China don’t look at their shortcomings as negatively or as seriously compared to their western counterparts. Instead they embrace the wave. They retreat with the low tide throwing away what seemed like a golden venture and roll back in with new goods and a new attitude on the high tide. That right there is a huge difference.

The length of time between low and high tide as far as a business is concerned in the West is anyone’s guess (especially if you are one of those window shoppers who regularly stroll by and don’t communicate with store management at all). Here in Shanghai you can bet your top dollar on which day of the week the store will re-open and win big. It usually takes less than a week for carpenters to tear down old decorum, gut the rooms and replace everything with an entirely new concept.

It's all a matter of gambling with ideas and knowing that one day you will hit the jackpot. Back home in Australia, businesspeople would persist with an idea and try to turn the tide, make the swell hit consumers. Wait and make them want whatever goods you got. Here in China you roll with the times and let the punches teach you a fast lesson. Flexibility is your weapon to achieve financial success as far as small businesses are concerned. If you don’t change, don’t expect the potential consumer to either.

The other big thing I see here is the approach to responsibility. Westerners take great pride in standing on their own two feet and generating their own income through a small business venture. For a lot of Australian’s, achieving this standard of independence is a symbol of strong work ethic and determination. You are a sole creator of cash flow and master of your own universe. Of course you have to know your product just like the specialist who made it in order to boost sales. Really what this means is that you almost will never stray and dabble in different industries. You don’t go from corner store grocer to vegan restaurant. Or hairdresser to bottle store. Fear of failure or financial catastrophe drives many Australian business-owners into constant stress and panic. It seems like the end of the world if your idea doesn’t catch on, or people don’t like your coffee, or people don’t like the brand of pasta you use, or the shirts your are selling are a little too-out-there. Here in China, you take take a mental-note and try Option B, or Option C, or Option D. What have you got to lose? Not much compared to the West. It’s only a week between business boom and bust here. 

HuaiHai Rd Dreams

 Catwalk Living on HuaiHai Rd

 

WALKING down Shanghai’s HuaiHai Lu is an adventure in spotting the largest designer logo. From Swiss watch brands I have never heard of to the unmistakeably bold gold-painted PRADA logo, your head spins around so fast it’s like a space ship floating through a black hole. How many Prada signs and watch stores do you need to see to feel special? It’s super-unique to walk into one of these stores and see that there are no potential customers - except for you. Chances are your Chinese bank account has never had enough money in it to even come close to purchasing one of these “famous”, “boutique”, “cool” brands. 

As a foreigner in China, your wages are higher than locals. Finding a job could not be easier – there is a never-ending supply of English teaching jobs. If you are happy to eat street food day in day out, there’s a chance you can really save some big bucks. Even at that point, say after six months of street food, when you realize every time you go to the bathroom something abnormal happens because of all that recycled oil, you wouldn’t have saved enough money to buy one watch on Huaihai Lu. My point, life here is easier for a foreigner than a local, especially money-wise.

So who is buying these products? Paris is the number 1 tourist destination for Chinese people. They flock to that city. Priority: buy Cartier, buy Gucci…. The list goes on. What’s the point of having those stores here in China at every mall if the locals are more than happy to buy that ticket to Paris to do all the shopping? 

It’s the same with buying a car. Shanghai has strict car ownership policies. You have to apply to a Government lottery to buy number plates. That usually takes six months. It costs upwards Y70, 000 or about AU$13,000. That deters nobody. If you can justify paying that amount into a lottery and waiting for number plates, you are still winning. Those new drivers go on to buy the most luxurious of brands. Forget Ford, forget GM. It’s all about Porsche and Mercedes. Some people even get their car specially made in Europe. I apply the same math to buying watches on HuaiHai Lu. The tax on most foreign products here is through the roof. Yet these “boutique” stores exist here in abundance - unmatched by any other country. How much of one thing can you have before it becomes the new normal? 

Many of these upmarket store customers may be buying gifts for VIP clients. This style of "let me wooo you with a gift" is institutional. Some pen brands even advertize it. "The perfect gift for your employee of client." Some students' I teach actually own gift-making companies, catering solely for companies who wish to purchase gifts for clients. No matter what the concept is here in China, it's always big business. 

Cartier and Mercedes dominate brand names here. Most Chinese people who can afford such products can definitely justify travelling abroad to pay for it. That means less tax and perhaps better quality. There are stories that foreign brands sell products made from poor-quality materials here in China. A given sales boost down the track,  this formula guarantees a future market. While you drive a Ford in Australia for decades, that same make and model in China might not last 10 years.  

The wealth gap is so extreme that prices and quality issues don’t detract from consumption. It doesn’t make the news. This is the aspiration of many modern-day Chinese people. Make so much money that you can beat Government bureaucracy and regulation. Make so much money that Prada is your go-to brand. That you own more than one handmade Swiss watch. For those at the bottom, their children’s children may one day get there. Although wearing these up-market brand names must became so exhaustive that people need to move onto the next big thing in luxury. We will have to wait on that one - these brands haven’t been defined yet. 

Italian Food, KFC Money

Italian Food  Brought to You by the Owners of KFC

 

KFC is proving it can compete with the best of the best in the art of high-end dining. What better place to test out a new food concept than Shanghai. Compared to the usual KFC-next-to-the-subway-exit-and-opposite-McDonalds location, Yum! Brands clearly did their research on this one. In order to attract corporate high-flyers and cashed-up tourists, the fast food chain chose a location on The Bund. The historical heart of Shanghai, this stretch of buildings alongside the Huangpu River is home to some of the world’s best eateries. Atto Primo, Yum! Brands Italian baby, is now one of them.  Shanghainese - and Chinese - are avid supporters of iconic global brands and wouldn’t discriminate against a fast-food company cooking up some high-end Italian. It may be a new concept for the group behind KFC (who are in a 9^th straight year of declining store counts) but they are going down the same path of reinvention as many other fast-food conglomerates. 

Take Popeye Louisiana Kitchen, for example. With sales on the downward spiral for at least a decade and a history of bankruptcy, CEO Cheryl Bachelder turned that statistic around 180 degrees and into history. Selling fried chicken as if it’s a cultural experience and introducing a fast-casual restaurant theme, this chain has seen renewed customer loyalty. Not to mention shareholder confidence. Popeye’s shares are up 950% since 2009. 

How important is it for food companies to change things up and trial new ideas? Fast-food restaurants in particular are renowned for selling the same products around the world. For travellers this can be a Godsend. You are in a very opposing environment to your own one at home, people speak a foreign language, and you are not sure what local food to try. The tour bus leaves in 10 minutes. It’s the perfect time to down a Fillet’O’Fish and coke. It’s a reliant stomach-filler. You know you won’t get sick from it. You know you can trust it. Depending on which country you are in, it usually won’t cost an arm and a leg. 

If these companies demonstrate versatility in their own business model, why can’t they change up their more famous products to be healthier? We hear arguments that McDonalds shouldn’t be situated next to schools, that McDonalds shouldn’t sell toys in Happy Meals, that soft drink cups should be limited to a certain size, that the menu must show the calorie index. Who are we kidding? We love how downright dirty and unhealthy these foods are. The satisfaction factor of savouring over a cheeseburger may not last long after you finish it, but each bite is a bit of heaven ground up with cheese on top. 

If Yum! Brands can find the “culture” to create an upscale Italian restaurant in the emerging global city of Shanghai, there is nothing stopping the global giant from getting super-creative with its KFC menu to meet our desire to cut down on fats and oils. But for the longest time such companies have abstained from doing so. Why? Probably because consumers, deep down in their stomachs, don’t want to take responsibility for what they love to shove down their throat. Instead we raise our index finger and say: “I have sugar addictions because of your burgers. I have a weight issue because of your fries. How dare you offer me a tray of oil I cannot say no to.” This attitude is not just limited to food. 

How many times have we heard people say in their own home: “The Government needs to action on climate change.” Meanwhile, the kitchen is abuzz with the hum of a dishwasher cleaning all those filthy plates. Washing dishes in this day and age is a difficult, dirty job manpower cannot solve. Dishwasher trumps manpower everyday. We must recognize the facts. The Government must help me to stop damaging the environment. They are also accountable for my fats and oils and MSG yearnings. 

Let's put sarcasm aside for now!

It never ceases to amaze me how surprised people are to find out about the goings-on in the food production cycle in the United States, as demonstrated by the documentary Food Inc. This is not just an American model. This formula of producing factory meat is followed in a lot of developed and developing countries. Did urbanites really believe that all that meat they eat came straight out of the Outback, or off the Prairie, as depicted by company marketing? There is a reason most people don’t really know how meatworks facilities operate or how your meat is grown in the feedlot. It’s unpleasant to look at. 

What’s more pleasant is fulfilling those deep-down stomach yearnings. It’s clear when you buy a chicken to cook at home that its shape is not the same as the chicken you might have seen at your cousin’s farm, or while walking through a Chinese village. When you buy milk, do you really think it’s a good idea to buy it with all those extra vitamins? Is that natural? Yes you fulfill your vitamin A and C needs. What are you cutting out of your diet because you choose to consume that special, vitamin-induced milk? What is your body missing out from because you get your vitamin fill from a different product that naturally doesn’t contain any of those specific health benefits? 

Don’t let that rant stop you from supporting the experiments of fast-food companies. In the case of this upscale Italian restaurant, the conglomerate got it right. Go to Atto Primo and see just how good YUM! Brands is at re-modelling itself as a genuine Italian classic.

Coca-Cola and Milk

Soda sales dip, so make milk

A FAMILY of Polar Bears celebrating Christmas in the North Pole. It's about the only TV commercial I remember as a kid. It featured my favourite drink. These two idea's together seemed cool and obviously unforgettable. Just like the taste of my favourite drink. You guessed it - Coke. Who doesn't like Coke at the end of a hot and hard day's work on the property? Or at the beach? Or once you leave the office? Or with dinner? I certainly can attest to being that person several times over. 

I know Coke isn't so cool and refreshing for your body. On the other hand, it certainly does good things for the mind. It's relaxing and it's fun to drink. Puts some pop into your life. Here in Shanghai, it's used for home cooking. Called Coke Chicken, all you need is to cook up one chicken and saute some onion and garlic. Put it all together with a bottle of Coke and an hour later you will have a nice casserole. Not the healthiest but Coke does great things with flavor, permeating through the meat like none other. 

As popular a drink as it is, Coke sales have dropped to a multi-decade low. That doesn't mean the global giant that is often found in our fridges and pantries is about to disappear. Introduce premium high-protein Coca-Cola milk. Trading under the brand, Fair Oaks Farms Brands, and named Fairlife, this milk has 50 percent more natural protein and less sugar than regular milk. In the US, the enhanced milk product is being rolled out to grocery stores throughout this year. Like all good things for our body, Fairlife milk will come at a higher cost. In the US prices for a half-gallon jug of the specialised milk are about $4.59, almost $2 more than regular and organic milks. 

 

The Fairlife bottle isn't so eye-catching like the Coca-Cola brand. So how is the multi-national company going to make sure your fridge is stocked? Through your mother. Advertisements will be directed towards homemaker's who, generally-speaking, are female. 

 

At this point it's unknown when Fairlife will be available globally.

The a2 Milk Company & Chinese Opinion

Feelin Gluggy - Try that A2 Milk

 

In mid-2008 hospitals in China were being overrun with infant patients. A total 54,000 babies were made ill by the infant formula they were being fed, unbeknownst to their families. A type of resin used to make plastic was later discovered to be the cause. Some died, some had kidney failure, some recovered. Since that scenario, people held accountable within infant formula companies have been executed. 

This lesson about life and trust is fresh in the minds of most Chinese people. It’s a common belief here that Chinese milk cannot be trusted. I often teach on the weekends and am not surprised at some of the opinions I get from my students about milk. “What are you up to this weekend,” I ask. Common answer: “I have to go and pick up the infant formula I ordered from Germany.” Or a student mentions: “I love Australian milk,” or “Can you buy me some infant formula when you go home next?” 

Recently I read about New Zealand’s a2 Milk Company on news.com.au. I coupled together the idea that Chinese people like clean, fresh milk and the latest in milk technology and thought, hey, why not do a class on milk. It’s going to get a good result. So I read up on The a2 Milk Company and found out what A2 means. It’s in the protein of the milk. It has a different protein, beta-casein protein, known as A2.  Not like the normal A1 milk most of us drink. New Zealander milk specialists believe that, historically, Europeans drank A2 protein-based milk before that gene was bred out of dairy cattle. With their research, cattle were specifically bred to grow a2 milk. Considered an alternative for lactose intolerant people, A2 leaves you feeling less “gluggy” and able to handle your dairy products better. The perfect formula for Chinese people, a lot of whom are lactose intolerant.

The company markets A2 milk as being easier to consume for people who struggle to digest dairy products.     www.smh.com.au

I explained this to my students. I thought it would be a winning idea. The debate was quickly squashed by some: Why drink what we don’t really know about? How do we know it is good for our babies? A baby’s milk must follow tradition. (Meaning the formula cannot change for 22 months.) 

We further debated and the topic changed to GM food versus foods grown with hormones. Most students were opposed to GM food consumption, but the classroom went quiet when I asked what would you prefer? GM food, food grown with growth-hormones, or both? In China a lot of meat, fruit and vegetables are grown with the aid of size-enhancing drugs. The result: apples the size of grapefruits, carrots the size of eggplants and a sweetness nobody can resist. It’s true; a lot of Chinese fruit is grown with special sweeteners fed to the blooming crops. This helps keep those strawberries and pineapples tasting sweet as maple syrup. 

For these reasons I expected my students to be very open to the concept of milk made traditional, with A2 protein. I was wrong. But everybody agreed, if New Zealand’s a2 Milk Company sold its fresh product on the shelves of Shanghai, there would be none left to buy. The company’s infant formula is currently available here. I’m sure that will be a success story.

HeiLongJiang, China

Trekking in DongBei

SITTING tight for four hours inside a budget plane, on the tarmac, is a test of patience. My destination, Harbin, was only 2.5 hours from Shanghai, about half the time spent squeezing my body into a comfortable position during the delay. The loss of travel time was initially put down to fog, but when the airplane next to the one I patiently sat in took off ahead of time I knew it was all trickery - an all too common experience here in China. Why Chinese airport authorities are reluctant to allow a foreign budget airline take-off gets the rumor mill turning. Nobody has ever really confirmed the truth behind the delays. The number one reason Chinese people give is that the carrier, Spring Airlines, doesn’t have a good relationship with the authorities.
 

Finally as the plane descended into the capital of HeiLongJiang (Black Dragon Province) it was difficult to make out any buildings. The city was blanketed in snow. An exciting prospect for a guy from Western Queensland. The outside temperature lingered around -16 degrees Celsius, a warm winter day for Dong Bei (North East China). 

I took a bus to my hostel, and as the vehicle slowly weaved its way into the city, it became a historical tour. Russian architecture has stamped itself on this city. Its urban plan is European, its buildings crowned with Russian architectural flare. Pedestrian bridge crossings and bus stops showed the city’s colonial past, all colored green and gold and with neo-classical architecture. Clear as ice, this is where China meets Russia. 

After checking in at the hostel, I quickly made my way to the river. Frozen with a few inches of snow on top, it was like a vast tundra. My sense of sight was challenged at first. Unlike Shanghai, my eyes were free to gaze into the distance. No bike, car, truck, building or person stood in the way of my sight. Just clean air and space. It took a few minutes for my eyes to readjust. 

During the winter cold plenty of thrill seekers head down to the river and race across the ice in their sedans. Watching it at first made me wonder how strong the ice was beneath me. I didn’t feel that comfortable. I didn’t know how strong the ice was. On the other hand cocky motorists felt safe tackling the ice with their 4 wheels. A kind of stay-at-home adventure. 

The next day I took a 6 hour mini-van to a village of only 2000 people. Of all my trips in China I have never been somewhere as isolated or as small as this village. Xue Xiang – China’s home of snow. The mini-van raced through undisturbed countryside and climbed steep mountains, covered in virgin forest, clean air and snow. Arriving at the one and only street in this remote village, heavy wind picked up, blowing snow into my eyes. This reminded me of some dust storms in Western Queensland. The hotel was clean and comfortable, with a small fire under the bed. Windows were double-glass. The first thing that struck me here was that indoors, residents were growing roses and cacti. 

Outdoors I had to learn all about walking in snow. I equate it with walking in sand at a beach. Until you set foot on a soft patch of snow and fall in half a meter. Down to my hips I was just about swimming around trees, trying to find more compact snow to walk on. I really didn’t know how far down I could go but luckily no deeper than my hips. 

The village straddled some small hills, covered in forest, but challenging to get to because of the snow. To me it seemed like the perfect escape from Chinese urbanization. A great place to get peace and quiet, something that doesn’t exist in the hustle and bustle of Shanghai. It also defied what I knew about winter. Trees, in -30degC, had shoots ready to pop once the sun warmed up a bit. Apart from the crunch of snow beneath my feet, the woods were so quiet it was like a non-China. Only for the wind, it was still and quiet, making it eiry.

Beneath the hills, in the village, businesses sold ice-blocks on the street, kept frozen naturally by the temperature. A common traditional Chinese medicine belief is that if the weather is cold, eating cold things is good for the body. Judging by the number of tourists I saw eating ice-blocks at -30degC, I would say it's a popular belief. Another store had freshly-caught game hanging from the door. Frozen solid, the pheasant and rabbit were probably ready for the stew pot. 

Men worked tirelessly with the snow, building fences and bridges of ice and igloo's. It was amazing to me to see how compact and hard ice could become if you worked with it. Or how you could build make-do luge tracks. This is one of my best memories in Dong-Bei, laying in a gigantic tire racing down a slope backwards.

It was fascinating to see in the northern-most province of China how much Russian paraphernalia was sold. Dolls and and vodka were the most popular buys for tourists. Classical music floated around the downtown and St. Sophia Church was churning out a tune from Titanic. Seeing a whole square of downtown designated for this Russian Orthodox church was surprising, made the city seem more connected and legit with its Soviet/Russian history. Iconic in Harbin, the church is emblematic of the Russia-Dong Bei relationship. It has had its moments. Russians drowning thousands of Chinese and the disconnect at the border. One side developed, the other side forgotten about by a government in a very distant European city. 

Dumplings and vodka were common at mealtime. Meat is a vital part of the diet in Dong Bei as is a 3PM bottle of beer or shot of vodka. A few times I came across Chinese fellas reeking of vodka or beer in the mid-afternoon. A warmer I guess.