Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner... Shanghai, China!

Feeling fancy? You know it! I wanted to make this 'Shanghai' edition of 'Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner' pop off! A late breakfast? I do think! A blast from the past at Shanghai's 'People's Park?' It was a 'flashback moment' for me! Did dinner get chaotic? It did! Ordering something needed to be done, it was getting boozy! Shanghai gave me what I needed, it was blessed! Yes, let's eat!

Now, no Chinese food would pass my lips during that whole Saturday! Well, that is what I told myself! I set out from my hotel before a reasonable time on that November Saturday morning, I had an idea about a Chinese snack but I decided against it. I found myself walking down a rather 'foreign looking' road, was I in the 'French Concession?' Now, I wanted to know but all I could tell you from that moment I was starving! I saw '兰巴赫/Lenbach' along '富民路/Fumin Road', that 'Brunch-looking' place had me hesitating for a few moments. I have more to say about the area but soon, you know I decided to take the plunge! I was impressed by their menu, it was very international and that was the vibe my day needed to have! Getting out of Ningbo for the weekend was what I needed, I craved for something bigger and maybe better in the sense I just haven't jelled with my current working city. I have time for Ningbo, it's just complicated. I already knew what I wanted! Before I ordered, it had been a lovely morning, I did feel content!  

I soaked up that vibe, the weather remained dry with a cool autumn breeze, it felt like I was overseas! I ordered the shakshuka because it wasn't Chinese, I felt satisfied with my late breakfast choice. I also ordered a fancy hot coffee to pep me up because my super soft hotel bed had kept me awake for most of the night, I needed a serious boost! It didn't take long before my whole order had arrived, I was impressed with the speedy service even though 'Lenbach' was heaving with Saturday morning patrons. I loved my 'different' breakfast, it was nothing like I usually eat on a regular because I have only ever been for one breakfast/brunch outing in Ningbo! Shanghai gave me what I needed, I was able to recharge and recalibrate because I had 'People's Park' set in my sights! I had visions of me enjoying a Shanghai breakfast like this in the future, that I don't know about the particulars but I am sure Ningbo has similar spots? I am sure of it! Shakshuka, she better did! Yes, the coffee was the right liquid refreshment for me! Go, go! 

By lunchtime I wasn't playing, I headed towards a haunt that had greeted me during June 2015 during my first ever day in China! Yes, Shanghai had been my first ever point of entry into China but even before the Pandemic I had not visited again properly! Done with breakfast, I was very ready to revisit 'People's Park', I needed to tell that Shanghai landmark that I had become experienced with China. I did feel a pang of excitement that was tinged with anxiety, it had been a long time since June 2015, I wanted to pick the correct exit to mirror that forming moment. I was able to take the very same ascending escalator, taking me int0 the sunken square. I caught several 'flashback' moments during that November 2024 weekend, I felt a huge sense of pride as I surfaced from that metro exit. I had been beyond bewildered during that first evening after I had slept off the jetlag in that questionable form of accommodation. It felt very strange to see that founding landmark once again, it was a lot! That Xmas December 2023 visit didn't count!

Being early afternoon, I was given a whole different viewpoint because those neon lights were shining down upon me in June 2015 as I clambered up those steps to Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street. I chose not to walk down Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street because I wanted to explore the park further. I found a paved area that faced the main road, it was open and allowed me to take a seat, I wanted to watch the people of Shanghai do their thing! I looked up at the sky and already knew that a visit to the Bund wasn't the one, I chose to hatch a different kind of Shanghai plan. I felt very accomplished during that Shanghai moment because life had moved on monumentally since my June 2015 visit to Shanghai's People's Park, I had done more than well! I felt content, returning was just what I needed! Lunch had been served up in a way that I could handle, that portion of People's Park brought things back around in the most subtle way. Where would I end up next? To be very honest, I only had those founding places in my mind! A mixed drink? No! 

Now, my dinner plans were non-existent! I was a functioning mess as I decided what I would be having for my evening meal! Much like breakfast, I didn't want to eat anything Chinese because I was in one of China's most cosmopolitan cities! Did I not mention that my hotel was around the corner from my first ever Shanghai stomping ground? I had upgraded and then some but it was golden to be starting my evening with my first ever China hangout around the corner. I want to keep that 'reunion' hushed because there's always time for another blog to narrate that time in more detail. Breakfast had been boujee and lunch had me memorable but literally I had not consumed anything since breakfast, Shanghai didn't care that I was heading for danger! She didn't care! Yes, even a 'get ready' high ball was enjoyed after I had finished with the area surrounding the 'Yu Garden'. To be honest, I wasn't hungry and the area around my hotel needed to show me more promise before a dining choice became alluring to me! Not this, 上海! 

It was getting late and I did mind! I had decided that drinking several pints of craft lager would be a fantastic idea, it wasn't! I headed around the corner from that 'bar' to 'Tangsiu' because I needed to eat if I planned to drink anything else! I had to get real because I was getting really boozy, that wasn't fun! Ordering a pizza had to be done, please don't ask me what type of pizza it was because I was on my way! The pizza had healing properties, allowing me to drink a little bit more as I ate, I went for a mixed drink because too much beer can be a lot! That negroni set me on the path of destruction, meaning I needed another one immediately after the first! Do you know what? I ate my dinner at my high-level table and felt like I had become one of those Shanghai foreigners! Really? I did and I felt great because I felt like being outside again was what I needed but those 'snooty expats' can keep their attitude because I'll be representing my newly crowned 'first tier' city of Ningbo!' 'Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner' in Shanghai was immense!

我爱上海! 

Desperately Seeking Adventure