On the 5th of October we went to see Jie Fu. He
lives about 40 minutes away by
Metro. It's still part of Shanghai, but it's
more suburban.
'Jie Fu' is not actually his real name. It's a
Chinese term of kinship which means Elder Sister's
Husband. But technically, he's married to Sheila's
cousin. Anyway, everyone's really nice to us.
They're very warm, especially Sheila's Aunt.
As soon as we arrived they served lunch. The table
was immediately filled with plates of food. There
were so many stuff to try, it's like a buffet! But
the real attraction were the
Hairy Crabs. Jie Fu's been bragging about them,
that they're the largest ones around and that they
cost him a fair bit to buy them.
Because of their price and stature as a popular
delicacy Hairy Crabs are only served during special
occasions. And they're also in season only for
a short time which makes them very hard to acquire
as well. So in Shanghai, it's a real privilege if
your host serves you Hairy Crabs.
The Hairy Crabs were yummy! And to wash it down Jie
Fu gave me some Chinese Wine. And I was told that I
should drink everything in the cup in one go. So I
did, and I felt the jolt of the very high alcohol
content. Oh yeah!
Jie Fu wanted to give Sheila a handcrafted Tea Set
depicting the 18th Century Novel 'Dream
of the Red Chamber'. He was explaining to her
the story of Twelve Beauties in the novel, as shown
on the tea pot. And while they were talking I helped
myself with all the delicious food that's left on
the table! Yum!
