Shanghai City

If you are in HongKong, China or any Chinese countries which is basically almost everywhere in the world, you might have tried or at least attempted to try some Chinese food once in your lifetime. If you visited these places and you have no Chinese blood and loved the food, chances are, you had the "authentic" kind of Chinese cooking which is mostly served at family dinners or intimate gatherings in Chinese restaurants.

I never had the so-called authentic Chinese cooking when I was younger back in my hometown and the closest I had, was the "chop-suey" because of what the name sounds like. Until after my 27th year when I moved and lived in Hongkong with a Cantonese family whose grandpa was a chef in the family and every dinner served was like a feast of 30 people! And whenever I got invited by the whole family to a restaurant, I felt like eating forever each and every single dish served on the round table, one after the other. You know when you are coming to an end is when the whole steamed fish is on the table and waiters start serving the rice. Very opposite to the Filipino way but for some reason, there's always a room for fried rice! Even a bowl of soup is served with grandeur and honestly, I've never really paid attention to how food is done, served and eaten until I lived the HongKong way. Like each and every ritual had its own meaning and that's when I started giving food more respect. Not that we don't in the Philippines, but I was young back then and I grew up barely with no one guiding me in the kitchen. I learned my own way mostly with some help from my dad and auntie every now and then.

And then HongKong changed all that. From holding the knife to cutting against the grain of meat, and the whys, to why you have to eat this and start serving the person tea next to you before yourself, all that, I still owe it to the old man chef of this Canton family. I miss it. I miss the Chinese food since I moved to America and I've never ever really had anything like it since. The closest I had must be HON'S when I used to live in New Westminster. Everywhere else I've been to, were these smorgy restaurants that claim good chinese food but honestly, nothing even close to it if you had been to a real one, trust me. And maybe then I'll believe you why you hate and never had Chinese food. Unfortunately, there's no where in town where I can take you. Until maybe yesterday, this one we tried the first time may pass your taste buds: Shanghai City! They don't have a website but I will let you judge through the photos I took from yesterday. So far, it's better than what we had in all claimed Chinese food restaurants here in Parksville. Until then, "sihk faahn"!....

By the way, the place was clean and I love the colors, the view and the waitress and owner. The ribs on the last photo is from another place we went to the other night and that's another story altogether. Hope you are having a fun Sunday!