Waldorf Salad Shanghai-style

John and I have visited the 1000 Islands many times and love to

tour the grounds of Boldt Castle where George Boldt, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria was building a European-style castle in the early 1900s. 

Waldorf Salad was an instant success when it was created by the Waldorf Astoria’s maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tshcirky in 1896.  The original version contained apples, celery and mayonnaise served on a bed of lettuce. Chopped walnuts later became an integral part of the dish. Boldt insisted that it always be on the hotel’s menu.

Today, that iconic American hotel now has sister hotels located in several places including Shanghai. The Waldorf Astoria on the Bund in Shanghai is a luxury hotel that is home to the famed Long Bar where, during British times, patrons were positioned at the bar according to social status. The higher the status the closer to the Bund. The views of the Bund are fantastic. While in Shanghai my husband, John, and I stayed at the hotel, had a drink at the Long Bar, and had the opportunity to try the Waldorf Salad Shanghai-style.  The familiar salad had a Shanghai twist to it. 


Shanghai Waldorf Salad with Truffles & Candied Walnuts

Candied Walnuts
1.5 cups cooking oil
½ cup apple juice
1/8 cup honey
3 tb molasses
3 tbs maple syrup
½ cup walnuts

Heat the oil to 180° in a sauce pan. In a separate sauce pan warm up the apple juice, molasses & maple syrup. Bring to a strong simmer & add the walnuts and turn the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 min. Remove from the heat and strain the nuts, carefully fry the nuts in the oil for 20 sec, or till golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and spread out on a try that is lined with parchment paper. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Dressing
1/3 cup crème fraiche
1/3 cup plain yoghurt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbs walnut oil
Salt and ground pepper to taste
¾ tbs minced black winter truffles

Mix the crème fraiche, yoghurt and lemon juice in a bowl, whisk in the walnut oil correct the seasoning and fold in the truffle

Waldorf Salad
1 granny smith apple
1 gala apple
3 stalks julienned celery
2 tbs celery leaves

Julienne the apples (unpeeled) into matchstick size strips. Transfer into a mixing bowl, add the julienne of celery. Gently fold in the dressing till well combined. Put in serving bowls and garnish with celery leaves. Scatter with the walnuts.

George Boldt enjoyed his days in the Thousand Islands. He especially enjoyed fishing. Thousand Islands Dressing was born in Clayton, just across the river from where he was building his dream castle. Legend has it that around the turn of the century, Sophia LaLonde, wife of a 1000 Islands fishing guide, shared her dressing recipe with a prominent stage actress named May Irwin, who dubbed it Thousand Island Dressing. Irwin gave the recipe to fellow 1000 Islands resident Boldt. Boldt, in turn, instructed that it be included on the Waldorf Astoria’s menu where it was introduced to the world.

Thousand Island Dressing – Shanghai Waldorf Style

¾ cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup bottled chili sauce
2 tbsp Heinz tomato ketchup
2 tsp sweet pickle relish
Kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

In a bowl mix all ingredients together till thoroughly combined and correct the seasoning to taste.

Shanghai is incredible

Today I think people would love to be shanghaied as Shanghai,

China is truly amazing but back in the 1800s most adventurers were heading to the west coast of America, especially the gold fields of California.  The practice of Shanghaiing was prevalent in San Francisco, California; and Portland, Oregon. During that time sea captains were unable to secure enough able-bodied seaman to make the onerous two-year journey to China by legal means so they would pay middlemen about $50 a head to kidnap sailors. The unsuspecting sailors were drugged, plied with liquor, and/or knocked out. When the sailors woke up they were on the ship headed to Shanghai, or shanghaied. According to historical data the practice in Portland occurred between 1850 and 1941.  There is a Shanghai Tunnel Tour in Portland that is on my “Gotta’ Do List” that deals with the practice.

Shanghai is the largest city in China and ranks as one of the largest in the world depending on how you define “city.”  One accounting has the population at around 24 million.  We have been to Shanghai several times and are always impressed. It never seems several times larger than New York City. But I think that is because the Bund, the area on the western bank of the

Huangpu River that was once the hub of international settlement, has an open ambiance. I find the Bund fascinating – it is like the Yin and Yang of the city.  One side is lined with early 20th century buildings in the Beaux Arts style and building heights are restricted while across the river in Pudong the skyline is one of towering buildings, many with a futurist look. At night many of the buildings are illuminated with LED lights. 

The new Shanghai Tower is finished on the outside but they are still working on the interior.  It is 121 stories and 2,073 feet high making it the tallest building in China and second in the world surpassed only by Burj Khalifa in Dubai. However, they are building one that will be 2,170 ft high in Shenzhen, China that will surpass the Shanghai Tower in 2016. There are many buildings in Asia with interesting architectural design but I don’t think this Shanghai Tower is of them.  To me it looks a little twisted, tilted and not plumb.  It should be open to the public

sometime this year and will have a hotel. The first time I came to Shanghai in the 1990s I was impressed with the Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower, which was the tallest structure on Pudong at that time.  It made me think the designers of Pudong had watched “The Jetsons” when they were younger.  Everything looked so space age. We never

took the tour to the top of the TV tower but did go to the top of the Jin Mao Tower which is only 88-stories with a view of the area and an incredible view down the atrium of the Grand Hyatt hotel.   The Jin Mao Tower and a boat ride on the Huangpu River were included on our hop-on bus sightseeing tour making the bus tour an excellent value.  We also took the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel under the Huangpu River. The meglev train trip is nearly a half mile in length with multi-media effects long the way some of which are a bit garish but it is still an interesting way to get to Pudong. 

Learning to make Hot Pot

One of the places I check when I am researching a destination is Global Greeter Network,www.globalgreeternetwork.info. Greeters are volunteers who love their city so much they volunteer to give free two-hour tours. They take visitors to parks, shopping, or lesser known neighborhoods.Greeters are not professional guides so Greeters do not take their guests to museums leaving that to professional guides. On our recent trip to China we signed up for a Greeter tour in Chongqing. We wanted to learn about hot pot which originated in Mongolia one thousand years ago and is a signature dish of the Sichuan Province. 

Our guides, college students proficient in English, met us in the lobby of our hotel, the InterContinental, located on a pedestrian street lined with high-end shops. Our guides took us to a traditional food court on the lower level of a mall. There was a variety of food from grilled corn to dim sum and a hot pot area.  The hot pot table had a recessed area for the hot pot which

was divided into spicy and mild broth – the ying and yang of hot pot. The menu of items to cook in the hot pot was in Chinese so Nick, our guide, ordered for us. We preferred vegetables but Nick preferred the organ meats. With hot pot everyone gets to eat what they like because the items are served on a plate and diners dunk the items in the preferred broth. Wooden chopsticks work best for selecting items and cooking them. Selected items can be placed in the broth and retrieved when cooked or held in the broth with chopsticks until ready. Eating hot pot is a very socially interactive way of dining and great from dining with a small group of friends.

John and I learned how to eat hot pot but it was not until we were on board the Century Legend Yangtze cruise ship that we learned how to prepare hot pot. Chongqing is one of the ports used by Yangtze cruise ships. The cooking lesson was just one of the activities offered. Hot Pot is easy to make and can be created to please the palate of everyone from mild to tongue-numbing hot.  Divided electric hot pots are available but in lieu of that consider using a fondue pot or crockpots. 

Broth

Mild

6 cups of chicken or beef stock

¼ cup diced green onions

¼ tsp minced garlic

¼ tsp minced ginger

3 bay leaves

Spicy

To the above ingredients add and adjust amounts to desire hotness

1 tbsp minced dried chili pepper

1 tbsp doubanjiang (spicy bean paste)

3 star anise

Suggested items to be cooked in broth

Thinly sliced beef and chicken (frozen meat and chicken is easier to slice)

Spinach

Zucchini cut in long, thin strips

Mushrooms of any variety

Spam (a favorite in Asia)

Place broth, onions, garlic, ginger and bay leaves in a pot, bring to

a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes creating the mild broth. For a spicy broth pour off half of the mild broth, set aside until serving time. To the pot add chili pepper, doubanjiang and anise. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. The broths can be made ahead of time. Heat desired broths in a hot pot or in a crock pot. Place items to be cooked on individual plates.

Visiting Schools while traveling

There are many places where students go to school six days a week

including the school I visited near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Interestingly they only have classes five of the days.  On Thursdays they clean the school and work in the garden where they grow food that is used for their lunch. When I entered the fourth grade classroom all the students stood up.  After greeting them I said that they could be seated. My guide said, “No, they must stay standing as a sign of respect to their guests.”  Oh, my, I can talk for a long time.  I noticed they had their math books open to a page of problems similar to what I saw when I visited a school near my house.  

I do school programs in the United States and in many of the countries we visit.  Visiting schools is a great way for me to meet the local people and learn about their customs.  What we learn in foreign countries we then share via presentations here in the United States.  Some schools are very modern such as International Schools but in most countries there is a wide diversity in the quality of education.  I was surprised when I visited an

International School in Yangon, Myanmar.  The students were dropped off by their parents in new cars just like here in the United States.  In most international schools all subjects are taught in English. There were familiar signs in the school such as “Don’t run in the halls” and the school was decorated for Valentine’s Day.  

We also visited schools in the remote part of Myanmar where the one classroom was made of bamboo with three walls.  Most of the students wore the traditional longyis, a waist-to-ankle wraparound “skirt.”  The girls’ longyis were more colorful than the boys. I noticed one boy had on blue jeans.  He must have thought he was stylish in his Western-like outfit but the truth is that the longyi is better suited to hot, humid Myanmar. 

In many Asian schools we have visited English is being taught.  In some the more remote schools the teachers had an extremely limited command of English but taught the words they knew so we would do an impromptu English lesson.  Tourism plays an important part in the economy of many countries and the language of tourism and business is English so those with a command of English have the opportunity to get a decent job. 

Some things that are the same world over: All students have to sit in

their seat, listen to the teacher, do their work, and afterschool they like to play with their friends.  Schools around the world are interesting in their differences. In a city school in Laos the students stood in line by grades in the yard for morning announcements made by the principal on a megaphone.  At the end she mentioned all the students who had not been doing their work. Many of the remote schools, especially those in Buddhist monasteries, know that visitors will leave a donation that is much needed. Buddhist schools are free and often offer the best education in some areas.

One school we visited in China was for students who went to Chinese schools during the day but in the evenings they attend English language schools. There were one thousand students just in this one location. 

Check out Global Greeters for a free tour

Global Greeter Network, www.globalgreeternetwork.info, is a

wonderful way to find a free person-to-person tour.  Greeters are volunteers who love their city so much they volunteer to give free two-hour tours. They take visitors to parks, shopping, or lesser known neighborhoods. Greeters are not professional guides so Greeters do not take their guests to museums leaving that to professional guides. 

Big Apple Greeters in New York City started the first program of its kind in 1992. They offer tours of many neighborhoods in all five boroughs.  Several years ago we signed up and had a wonderful walking tour of the heart of New York City.  The guide explained fascinating details about the buildings and their architecture.  On my next visit I’d like to explore DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, an area that was once a hub of industry in Brooklyn. 

Big Apple Greeters was our first Greeter experience since then we

have enjoyed meeting Greeters in Chicago, Adelaide (Australia), and Buenos Aires (Argentina). In Buenos Aires we asked Alberto Levin, our guide, to take us to places associated with Eva Peron of “Evita” fame. Sr. Levin was a real help because we had dropped our camera and he took us to a Pentex repair place that would have been impossible to find without his help. 

On our recent trip to China we signed up for a Greeter tour in Chongqing. We wanted to learn about hot pot and other street food.  When we were in Beijing in the 1990s we had hot pot and loved it. The broth was on the table and we went to a buffet to pick out what we wanted to put in the pot. When we were in Chengdu, China a few years ago we went into a traditional hot pot restaurant thinking we would know what to do but hot pot has modernized. The tables now have a recessed hot plate for the hot pot and guests choose what they

want from a menu.  The menu was in Chinese and even though the staff was very helpful we did not share a common language so we never quite figured out the fine points of eating hot pot modern-style.  Nick, our Chongqing Greeter, arrived at our hotel, the InterContinental, with two young ladies.  We were the first to sign up with the Chongqing Greeter Program so I think they were unsure what to expect and there is safety in numbers.  They were all college students and proficient in English.  

The InterContinental is located on a pedestrian street lined with high-end shops but they knew exactly where to find a traditional food court.  It was just down the street but we would not have found it on our own. Like all malls there was a variety of food from grilled corn to dim sum.  The hot pot table had a recessed area for the hot pot which was divided into spicy and mild broth – the ying and yang of hot pot. The menu of items to cook in the hot pot was in

Chinese so Nick ordered for us. We preferred vegetables but they preferred the organ meats. With hot pot everyone gets to eat what they prefer because the items are served on a plate and diners dunk the items in the preferred broth. When it is cooked it is time to enjoy it.  Another great Greeter experience. 

Two Do Not Miss Attractions in Beijing

The Great Wall of China is not a continuous wall but a number of

sections built over a long period of time.  If all the sections are included in the length it would span about 13,600 miles. There are conflicting reports on whether or not the Wall was seen from the Moon with most people saying it was not. I would be inclined to agree. The wall, while massive, is a long thin line. We visited the Great Wall on our first trip in the 1990s. On our recent visit to Beijing John and I

decided to visit a different section of the wall. The Mutianyu section is touted as less visited than the Badaling section. The Mutianyu section had a cable car which I thought would eliminate a lot of climbing. We booked an English-speaking day tour with Gray Line. It was a drizzly day with low clouds so when we got to the first stop which was the Olympic Village the views of the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, the iconic buildings used during the Olympics, were underwhelming. 

I thought the experience at the wall was going to be a big

disappointment because of the weather but when we arrived at Mutianyu the skies had cleared and the weather was beautiful. I thought the presence of a cable car meant no walking and no stairs.  I was wrong. From the parking lot it was an uphill climb past vendors and then some stairs to the cable car.  The ride up to the wall on the cable car afforded a view of the wall and treed countryside. There were some more steps but the views and the wall were impressive.  Some people walked to the other watchtowers.  Some of the able-bodied adventurous people climbed up and then whizzed down on a toboggan.  There is also a camel ride available. Interestingly, the wall was built to stop invading armies but it never did.  Is there a lesson to be learned from this?

On the way back we stopped for a Chinese-style lunch in a very nice alfresco restaurant. Chinese meals are served family-style on a Lazy Susan and everyone helps themselves. The meal was excellent.  The last stop was at a tea shop, and, yup, we could have bought all sorts of tea.  Many people did but we did not.

The other must-do in Beijing is visiting the Forbidden City. We

visited the last time but it is always impressive. For about 500 years the Forbidden City was the home of the emperors and closed to the public. Today it is home to the Palace Museum and listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved wooden structures in the world. There are tours but we just walked from the main entrance through the entire length to

the tranquil gardens.  The buildings are beautiful. Every day there are a lot of visitors. There are guides and audio guides but we just walked slowly and read the signs.  A good movie for people planning to visit Beijing is the “The Last Emperor” about Puyi, the last emperor of China. He became emperor when he was two. When the People's Republic of Chna was established in 1949 Puyi was imprisoned as a war criminal. When he was finally released he worked as a gardener and lived as a private citizen.  Life has some interesting turns. I never thought I’d visit Beijing – twice.

Stilwell and Flying Tiger Museums in Chongqing, China

Travel has a way of connecting the dots. A few years ago John and I were in St. Charles, Louisiana where we visited the Imperial Calcasieu Museum. While browsing the displays I overheard someone say, “Claire Chennault!  He is known by every school child in China.”  It caught my attention. Claire Chennault, the commander of the Flying Tigers, a group of volunteer military men who trained in Burma, now called Myanmar, lived in St. Charles. The Flying Tigers helped defend the Chinese against the Japanese before the U.S. entered the war. 

When we were in Chongqing, China we stayed at the lovely InterContinental Hotel.  Sharon, one of the most spot-on general managers we have ever run across, made a point to give personal attention to every guest.  When she found out we were Americans she said, “You have to go to the Flying Tigers and the General Stilwell museums. I will have someone take you.” Chongqing, formerly Chungking, was China’s provisional capital during WW II and dubbed the “Foggy City.”  The cover of fog protected the planes on the ground from the Japanese air force. Without her help we would have missed these two great museums.

The Flying Tiger Museum is dedicated to the memory of the

American pilots, also known as the 1st American Volunteer Group, who fought with Chinese pilots against Japanese invading troops during the Second World War.  In early 1942 the Flying Tigers were the only Americans fighting the Axis powers – basically Germany, Italy and Japan. The Flying Tigers, under the command of Chennault, consisted of three fighter squadrons with about 20 aircraft. Their planes, mainly Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, were easy to recognize with their grinning shark mouth design and their exploits were widely publicized. Chennault instituted the “dive-and-zoom” technique which was counter to what the pilots had been taught. He said, "Always get above the enemy and try to hit him on the first pass. After that keep going." They are officially credited with destroying 299 Japanese planes.

Across the road is the museum that honors General Joseph W. Stilwell who was the Chief of Staff in the China Theater of Operation and Commander-in-Chief of the American Army in the China-Burma-India Theater. Stilwell and Chennault were often at loggerheads about what direction to take in the war effort. Chennault had the ear of Chiang Kai-Shek, the head of the Chinese government at that

time, and was vilified by Stilwell. Regardless both aided significantly in helping the Chinese during WW II. We were surprised to learn that Stilwell helped to train the Chinese army and he was instrumental in the construction of the Burma Road whereby supplies were able to reach China to aid in their fight with the Japanese. In 1991 the museum opened in the house Stilwell occupied for several years with rooms restored to their wartime likeness and displays dealing with the war.

Sometimes we get so caught up in our own stories or the ‘big’ story that we forget the impact of some of the lesser known heroes and the death of others.  During World War II the Chinese lost between10 and 20 million people - civilian and military - about two to four percent of their prewar population.  There are many stories of bravery and sacrifice during WW II but the Flying Tigers and General Stilwell will long be remembered in China. 

Cruising on the Yangtze

Author Pearl Buck called the Yangtze “The wildest, wickedest river

on earth.” All that changed when the river was tamed upon the completion of the Three Gorges Dam in 2012. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the dam’s construction as I am sure there must have been similar concerns when the Hoover Dam was built.  Thousands of people were displaced but the new towns created along the river looked very nice and there is no longer the danger of yearly flooding plus China needed the power to continue its rapid industrialization. Cruising the river between the gorges is still spectacular with the added experience of locking through the flight of five locks.

John and I spent a couple days at the Crowne Plaza in Yichang before we boarded the Century Legend, the newest and most luxurious vessel on the Yangtze. Our plush room had a nice balcony – all the cabins did.  There was a spa, swimming pool, a movie theater and other nice touches. All but two of the shore tours were included in the reasonable price.


After breakfast the first day I went to the demonstration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Then John and I took the tour of the Tribe of the Three Gorges which turned out to be my favorite. It was one of the tours that incurred an extra charge but it was only $46 and well worth it. They refer to the area as Dream Land and I can see why. It was a misty day which brought to mind landscapes

on Chinese silk paintings. The walk up one side of the gorge and down the other was broken up with wonderful sights: a beautiful young girl clad in red standing in a small traditional boat while a young man entranced her by playing the flute.  There were girls washing clothes in the river, fishermen, monkeys scurrying about, scenic waterfalls and, as a grand finale, our group was “invited” to a traditional wedding with someone from the audience picked to portray the groom.  

In the afternoon we visited the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s

largest power station, and sometimes referred to as the “Great Wall of the Yangtze.” The visitor center has a great display that explains the power project and to ascend to the top of the project there are several banks of escalators. Thank goodness!  We found that most of the tours in China include a lot of steps and walking. 

At the end of the first full day we joined the other guests at the Captain’s Welcome Party after which the crew entertained with an excellent cabaret show that included the famous Face Changing routine whereby the performer in traditional dress changes his face mask faster than the eye can perceive. Impressive.  It is really an amazing day and it wasn’t over. After the show it was time to go to the top deck and watch the Legend navigate through the massive locks.  There are two massive sets of five locks to allow traffic to go both up and down

stream simultaneously. I also loved the tour to Goddess Stream on a beautiful traditional style boat that cruised between the narrow precipitous mountains.  It was a wonderful five-day, four-night river cruise and the only thing I regret is not booking it round trip because I couldn’t do everything that was offered and still enjoy the luxurious accommodations.