At Shanghai’s high-speed train station in the morning, I had the obligatory first croissant of the trip. (Plain, not the standard chocolate.) But it’s not because I was dying for a croissant. It was basically the only thing I could order. All of the major train stations I went to had food concessions on the upper floor. There were many fast-food type options. But I didn’t see any English anywhere. I went to a bakery, and the croissant was the only thing that I could be sure I knew what it was. So, I had the first croissant of the trip.
After I arrived in Hangzhou, I had a slice of lemon cake. I don’t remember this at all, but I wrote it down, so it must’ve happened. After I toured around Gongchenqiao a bit, I was ready to take the water bus back into central Hangzhou. Just as I got back to the dock, a loaded-up water taxi pulled away from the pier. Nearby was a sign all in Chinese characters except times that were indicated in our Arabic numerals. Based on the times posted on the sign and the fact that a boat had just left, I was able to figure out what time the next water bus would depart. I had time to grab lunch! Close to the pier was an underground mall with some fast food options, including one with a menu in both Chinese and English. Score! I got fried rice with cumin beef and a kiwi juice. After paying at the counter, I grabbed a table. A server came by to collect my order number and then returned with my dish once it was prepared. Very efficient. And quite tasty.
I headed back to the pier after lunch. My return water ride showed up right on schedule. When I returned to the train station in Hangzhou at the end of the day, I had similar issues trying to get food as I had in the morning in Shanghai. Plus my departure time was approaching. No dinner in Hangzhou for me. On the train, snack packs with crackers and nuts were passed out. Nothing was open at the station when I got back to Shanghai because everything closes so early. So the train crackers were dinner for me. (People who know me know I’m not into nuts.) I was getting a little concerned about my trip at this point. A miserably wet day in Hangzhou, and not a lot of luck with food. Although the fried rice with cumin beef was absolutely yummy.
[Disclaimer: Many people have heard me state that I don’t eat red meat. However, I do eat red meat when I travel overseas. This is for two reasons. One, I don’t want to unnecessarily restrict myself when it comes to trying local dishes. Two, sometime it’s hard to get something that doesn’t contain beef or pork when eating overseas. This was especially true with all the dumplings I had in China, including the soup dumplings on Day 1. You can count on them having been filled with pork.]
The two food items here that would have been new to me are lemon cake and kiwi juice. Although, I would imagine lemon cake in China would be their version of a lemon tart here in North America. At least you managed to get the fried rice with cumin beef to tide you over for a bit while transiting out of Hangzhou.
I learned to really savor the good meals that I got.