Cicadas in Jinan

I love the sound of cicadas. I remember my first trip to Asia many years ago, mid-summer in Kyoto, Japan. I was a typical first-timer, taking pics of everything in sight. But one day I was hiking in a rural mountain area, and the sound of cicadas in the trees was so mesmerizing, I shut my camera and bought a cheap tape recorder. For the rest of the trip I recorded sounds instead of snap-shots. The sound of cicadas didn't leave my mind for months after that trip. Years later, I still remember the sound, and I look forward to it every summer I'm in Asia.



The cicadas make a different sound rhythm in China, at least in Shanghai, where I spend most of my time lately. But I still like it. It's more of a drone here, compared to the rising-falling hum-buzz of the Kyoto cicadas. Turns out there are many different varieties of cicadas, and each has their own sound.

Some cicada fans have made a website about to their favorite bugs -- Cicada Mania: "Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world."

I'd heard a few times that people sometimes eat these insects, but I hadn't ever seen them on the menu until my recent trip to the cold harsh north.

I had a DJ gig in a nightclub in a second-tier Chinese city called Jinan. Jinan is in Shandong province, and is, I guess, about 5 hours south of Beijing by train. At a restaurant here in Jinan, I checked out the fish tanks and vegetable crates that serve as a menu. A lot of the hotel restaurants and banquet places in China have these areas -- crates and tanks of live animals (mostly fish and seafood, but sometimes more -- more on this in another article), and sample plates of prepared dishes (sometimes plastic versions like you see everywhere in Japan). Anyway, at this Jinan restaurant, there were two items that were easily identifiable as "weird." Scorpions and cicadas. Live ones. The scorpions were really small ones, dull brown, almost colorless critters. I'd already had big black ones, and I wasn't really doing the ordering so I politely ignored them. My host did catch me looking at the cicadas crawling around in a bucket, however, and challenged me to try it. Little did he know, I'm the Weird Meat guy!



So minutes later, we had a huge plate of fried bugs. I'd say about a hundred of these little bite-size insects were deep-fried crispy. Everyone liked them. Even my friend Boya from Texas, usually not as adventurous a diner, enjoyed them.

At one point during our stay in Jinan, I suggested trying some street food. Mr. Boya wasn't into that. So we popped into the safe, global-standard KFC for some chicken nuggets -- and had to spit the first one out as it was raw in the center. Hahah, the irony. Maybe the safer stuff is on the dirty streets.

Let me be frank. Jinan is a boring town. There's not much to do there. I sulked around the new shopping mall district, disgusted with the crass new buildings and pointless, stupid shops. I did find a maze of back alleys behind these tacky new malls, that were bustling with street food. Had a nice bowl of soup with fresh hand-pulled noodles underneath an overpass. Also a really good bbq skewer of quail eggs.

As we were running to catch our plane at the modern Jinan airport, we noticed an airport lobby restaurant had "dog meat and flesh" on the menu, under the "chicken meat and flesh" and "beef meat and flesh".

Shanghai Restaurants: Top 10 Favorites

(or ... 10 Restaurants in Shanghai That Don't Suck)

WeirdMeat received a lot of feedback about our public disapproval of Shanghai cuisine. Some good, some bad, but no one (as of this writing) has offered any solution or suggestion that there is something good about Shanghai cuisine. Maybe we're right? Seems like they even admit it. We've challenged many a Shanghai friend to find us a decent Shanghainese meal, but they always suggest Sichuan or Cantonese or Xinjiang food. (I'll write about Xinjiang food soon, you'll be delighted to hear about the texture of raw sheep heart and the vertical penis tasting!)

[enter generic pic of shanghai skyline]

One popular Shanghai dish, for example, is ... pork cuts, deep-fried with a crunchy corn meal coating. Over that, they pour a sickly sweet mayonnaise, and then -- the horror -- they sprinkle those little rainbow-sprinkles that kids like to put on cheap ice cream sundaes.

Another example -- for breakfast -- they have these street food vendors that make crepes. The crepes are very greasy -- squeeze them and yellow oil pours out like it's a sponge. But it's the combination of what goes inside that's revolting -- sugary-sweet thick brown gravy, bits of fried pork, green onions, pickled vegetables, eggs, and then more sugar spooned on top. Beverage of choice? How about some chocolate milk? Mmmm. I guess you might want something to get the bowels moving in the morning, but isn't this a bit extreme?

But ... we've been living in Shanghai for several years now, so we've found a way to survive the dining scene here, (partly by making several trips a year to other cities to make sure we're not just jaded).

WeirdMeat was previously a restaurant critic -- here and in the States -- for (don't say it) more reputable publications, and we've done a bit of globetrotting, so we've had a lot of experience eating all sorts of cuisines. Mom's an eclectic cook too, we grew up eating all sorts of yummy homemade food, from falafel to fajitas to fufu to fun chow. We know good food, no matter where it's from.

So here's a list our current favorite 10 restaurants in Shanghai. Shanghai's a big place, so this isn't a list of what I feel are the "best," because I haven't tried enough to make that judgment. But these places are good. (Not in order, just a list). And we'll update this when it's necessary...

1. Charmant (Taiwanese Chinese) - Also see Bellagio, 3 locations, which appears to be the inspiration for Charmant. They're all pretty good. Taiwanese takes on various Chinese cuisines, the desserts are stand-outs. Excellent service. Affordable but nice enough for just about any occasion short of a honeymoon. Corner of Huaihai and Fuxing xi lu.

2. Hengshan Cafe (Cantonese) - Despite the frequent service break-downs, the food here is some of the best homestyle Cantonese food we've had anywhere. The daily soups are darn cheap but the best in town -- hearty and comforting. Some things are a miss on this menu, including the BBQ meats that are showcased, but there's enough good stuff on the menu here to warrant frequent visits. 308 Hengshan lu, plus new locations.

3. Lisboa Macau Restaurant (Macau) - Macau-style food, a brilliant blend of Cantonese and Portuguese. So much good stuff on this menu, from the won-ton soup to the African chicken. The ice milk coffee is so delicious but will keep you awake for a day or two. Inside the Times Square building basement on Huaihai Lu.

4. Casanova/Velvet Lounge (Pizza/Italian) - Sorry, Jimix got the axe, after 4 recent disappointing visits. We think the best pizza in Shanghai is at Casanova above the Velvet Lounge. They got other good Italian dishes here too, like pastas and salads, and they get extra points for pouring a decent house red in a full size glass. Julu lu @ Changshu lu.

5. Vedas (north Indian) - The best Indian food we've had in China, and it's even better than almost all the North Indian restaurants we went to in America. Jianguo xi lu near Wulumuqi lu.

6. Shanghai Uncle (Shanghai fusion) - OK we wanted to put at least one "Shanghai" style food on the list. This place is so much more evolved (sorry!) than any other Shanghai style food we've had, locals probably wouldn't even recognize the fresh ingredients and colorful, flavorful seasoning. Several locations.

7. Saleya (French bistro) - We love this place! It's a quiet little colorful bistro, so classic, and it's affordable enough for a weekly visit. The duck confit and creme brulee are tops in the town. Changle lu near Xiangyang lu.

8. Yuxin (Sichuan Chinese) - After trying all the Sichuan places, this new-comer kicks it! The tea-smoked duck is similar to but far superior to Peking Duck, imho. And the water-cooked fish is the best. Inside the STV tower on Weihai lu.

9. Rendezvous (Singapore/Penang Malaysian) - Closed. Too bad. They turned into a Thai restaurant last month and it's horrible, completely nasty.

9. Southern Barbarian (Yunnan Chinese) - Yes! Finally. The other Yunnan restaurants in Shanghai didn't do it for us (with the exception of a few fine dishes at Lost Heaven). Southern Barbarian opened their new location on Maoming, north of Ruijin lu. Affordable, friendly, yummy!

10. House of Canton (Dim Sum). 4th floor of Isetan shopping mall on Nanjing Xi Lu. Despite the generic, old-school sounding name, this place is modern and minimally gorgeous, and very civilized. The dim sum here is our current favorite in town. While the menu is short, everything is top notch and reasonably priced, especially considering the atmosphere, service, and quality.

... still looking. Got any recommendations? Send a comment!

P.S. Found an interesting article about the history of Shanghai cuisine, but I'm unconvinced there's a renaissance of new, good food going on here ... yet. Read the article.

If you know of any lists of Best Shanghai Restaurants, or just want to share your favorites, post in the comments below...