A Fork And A Suitcase

In need of some traditional cooking, we made our way to Grandma's Home/Grandma's Kitchen. We were prepared for a long wait since this is a very popular restaurant, but got lucky and only waited for 15 minutes.  It was after 8pm, maybe that was the reason.  There is a computer at the entrance where one can register for a table.  We just gave our name to the girl inside the lobby, she in turn handed us a paper with our number on it.  As we waited outside, we kept our eyes glued to the screen in the lobby showing the ticket numbers.  When our number came up, the lobby girl gave us the number of our table and we took the elevator to the 8th floor. The numbers are on the edge of each table. I really liked the design of the restaurant.  It was creative in the use of old jars with words scribbled on them, chalk like drawings on the walls and bamboo beams creating a roof above us.    The menu was in Chinese but we...

We didn't really have a firm dinner plan for our first night in Hangzhou, but found this place after a short walk from the hotel.   It was after nine in the evening and quite a few places were already closing their doors.  We were grateful to see a few restaurants that were still open in this neighborhood.  So, upon entering the patrons are welcomed to this room of water tanks which were filled with fresh fish and seafood.  We were lucky that this nice gentleman helped us with the selection.   This guy was desperate to escape, he did eventually but was put bank in the tank.     Once seated, we were given sauces and spices, along with a timer to help us with the steaming of our dinner. The fish came dead and prepared for steaming as did the crab. There were large steamers in the center of the table and the attendant made sure to stop by and set the timer for each dish. The f...

This is a map of Jewish historical spots in Hongkou district in northern Shanghai.  Shanghai was a safe haven for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi occupied Europe during the Holocaust.  It was one of the very few places in the world where visas were not required.  By 1941 close to 20,000 European Jews found refuge in Shanghai.  Jewish community existed in Shanghai since the late 19th century when thousands of Russian Jews fled the Bolshevik Revolution.  In 1930's Nazi Germany encouraged the German and Austrian Jews to emigrate, but most countries closed the borders to them or had very low Jewish refugees quotas.  There were very few options for the refugees.  The Evian Conference (1938), was held at the urging of Franklin D. Roosevelt to discuss the increase in the numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution.  The conference was attended by representatives from 32 countries and 24 voluntary organizations.  At the end, only Costa R...