(Yep, self-picture of umami.)
One of the reasons for the Shanghai trip was to spend time with Mummy and Auntie L. I planned to show them the glorious architecture, the snippets of daily life played out in the parks, the smell of the old city... all of which they took in with interest.
But not with as much enthusiasm as when I took them shopping.
My mum is a shopping queen. As long as they are selling, she is buying. Even at what I call 'tourist traps' shops, she would give all the outlets a good going over -each shop is different, she would insist. Her stamina is good too. She introduced me to the idea of taking tea in fancy salons during shopping sprees, but in her much younger days she could shop for a whole day without any breaks.
My aunt is her willing partner. Auntie L is blessed with a very petite frame, she is now in her fifties and her dress size is still 'small'. She is also the shop assistants' dream customer because she is unfazed by price tags and does not insist on trying clothes on before buying. Her closet is full of beautiful clothes.
On the first day the two of them blazed a path through Maoming Parade and made the people at the likes of LaiCareFore and Shiatzy Chen very happy. I benefited too- Mummy bought me a lovely pink top from Tsai Ming Hsia. At the fabric market in Dongjiadu Lu, they went quite mad over cashmeres. At Citic Square along Nanjing Lu, they selected nail colours with abandon (they don't just apply nail polish, they do their own nail art too) and fell in love with a Hello Kitty clock.
I think I inherited their shopping genes. The blue coat was from the fabric market, it needed no alteration at all. The scarf was so soft and warm I carried it to bed every night. If I ever live in Shanghai I would need lots of closet space.
Other than clothes, we also shopped for food. At the Shanghai First Food Store I came across these wonderful preserved plums. Rather expensive at about RMB42.50 per 500 g, they were very meaty and delightfully chewy, and flavoured with a myriad of spices including anise. A colleague told me that it is really terrific sliced up and stuffed into cherry tomatoes to make appetizing canapes. At the same store, another colleague introduced me to airy pumpkin wafers which are mildly sweetened. Mitsuba peanut crackers are peanuts with crispy coatings, at Citic Square there was a boutique all to itself; a bag of mixed nuts came with all my favourite flavours like ika (squid), curry and sesame. All above snacks fit into shopping bags and are perfect for snacking yet quite kind on the waistline.
At the Red Earth shop, I needed little persuasion to buy the Honey Lip Treatment. It tastes very much like honey, and at the rate I lick through it, I doubt it can exert its effects. To give it maximum chance, I bought four tubes at one go- as a good shopper should do.
