In case no one has noticed, Jenn and I are dead set on eating our way through China. We are sort of self-proclaimed foodies who are open to eating pretty much anything which has made us pretty good travel companions. We are armed with some recommendations from American Express, episodes of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, and how can I forget Fodors Choice travel book recommendations (Fodor hasn’t led us astray on any dining recommendations yet and Jenn will not leave home without it).
The famous Shanghai BBQ place, Yu Xin Chuan Cai, is unbelievably huge and a local favorite. It has hundreds of private booths for as far as you can see and the restaurant guide says that it can seat hundreds people. We use the trusty point and pray method once more to order spicy Dan Dan noodles, a potato and corn bento box with some amazing “crack” sauce, and tea smoked duck. It was unreal…even better than Peking duck.
Tea smoked duck..and yes, it was as good as it looks
potatoes and corn with "crack" sauce- so good
After dinner we had to Nanjing Street to check out the touristy lights and shops on our way to grab a drink on a rooftop bar near the Bund. We get our picture taken on the street as wall as take some pictures for other tourists on our way to New Heights rooftop bar on the#3 on The Bund. And this is where we think the “Major Snafu” occurred….When we reached the restaurant (which was very cool and had a fabulous view of Pudong by the way, despite the snafu distraction), we bought 2 lychee fruit martinis and prepared to enjoy the view of the bund and the pudong. When we were asked to pay for our drinks the Major panic ensued….Jenn’s wallet was nowhere to be found.
View of Pudong from the Bund
At New Heights rooftop bar
The $180 picture that cost Jenn her wallet
Panic Ensues and a Taxi Driver on Crack
Jenn called the hotel and the restaurant we just left to make sure that she hadn’t left it when we paid our check. The language barrier seemed to be a little too much though when translating “I lost my wallet and can you call the restaurant where no one speaks English to look for me.” So we did what any rational person would do and hopped into a cab to go back to the restaurant and search it ourselves. Thus far any cab driver we have encountered has truly done a fantastic job in getting us to our destination in a timely manner and within the $1-$2 range…that is until now. As we freaked out about Jenn’s wallet missing our taxi driver drove us in circles around the city as we pointed to a restaurant business card printed in English and in Mandarin. After 30 minutes of driving to a destination that took us 40 minutes to walk to, we were so irritated by our taxi driver trying to make an extra buck that the wallet situation only got more intense. Needless to say, we didn’t find the wallet, and 24+ hours later we realized that maybe we should think twice about taking pictures for others when we are walking on crowded tourist streets. Jenn’s wallet is officially gone- but she only lost 2 credit cards and a few hundred dollars cash, things could be worse. We also remember exactly who orchestrated the big heist and I swear that I will never forget his face- it had to be this scrawny European kid who asked us to take his picture to distract us while his friend slipped his hand into Jenn’s purse. After taking his picture he took ours, and we both had a funny feeling about the whole situation. We both consider ourselves savvy travelers, but even hours after the snafu, we still weren’t totally sure that the most likely suspects had actually snatched Jenn’s wallet while I took a picture for his partner in crime. What can you do though? Jenn is handling things well though and isn’t letting this snafu destroy the trip.
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