Because of the Shanghai World Expo that is being held in the city until the end of October, the city has taken many recent measures to “clean the city up,” including shutting down many of the DVD shops, outlawing the wearing of pajamas in public (see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/opinion/17gao.html), and prohibiting street food vendors that usually sell the tastiest noodles, baked sweet potatoes, and freshly fried dumplings and buns. Now, we have to go into restaurants to get all of these treats.

One afternoon, Joyce took me to a Xi’an restaurant about 15 minutes’ walk from the Dongchang Road Line 2 Metro Station in Pudong.

(I am so grateful for picture menus!)

Joyce pointed out that their 凉粉皮(liang fen pi) was especially amazing, so we instantly ordered ourselves one of those. Homemade mung bean sheets require a long and arduous process, so why not just order them for 12 RMB at the local restaurant? Literally, this means cold noodle skin, or mung bean sheets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_bean_sheet). Usually, they are soaked in a vinegar-y sauce with chili oil, making it a refreshing snack on a hot day.

We topped it off with steamed dumplings, fried dumplings, and my recent favorite staple food, broccoli….boring, but so good.

The thin, crispy flour skin paired with the juicy pork filling make this taste so good.

Lunch for 2: 55 RMB