Shanghai Bites:

In searching for a particular dish I wanted to try in Shanghai (I’ll leave it to you to guess), I stumbled across Weird Meat, a blog by reformed vegan Michael Ohlsson. It’s such a gem I can’t believe it hasn’t come to my attention before. Michael’s a former San Franciscan, a current Shanghai resident and looks a mensch, so I’ll forgive him for dissing Shanghai cuisine generally (though he liked the vertical pork bone).

Despite the title, Michael’s blog is not meant to shock or tittilate, certainly less so than the posturing of Bourdain (which Ohlsson gently twits for wussiness in one post) occasionally becomes; it is a sober-sided and truly intrepid expedition in food anthropology, even accompanied by reading lists. Although the blogger’s travels have taken him all over Asia and elsewhere, his his most fruitful (weird meatful?) hunting ground is Chain, and it includes the fare served at some of Shanghai’s more popular restaurants.

Here’s a guide to just the juicy bits you may be looking for in Shanghai, with commentary by Michael Ohlsson, extracted from his “Mater List” of weird meats on his blog.

• Pig Brains
• Raw Sheep Heart
• Horse Meat Ham
• Dog Meat
• Bird’s Nest
• Worm Fungus
• Sea Horse Soup, Shanghai
• Mudskipper, Shanghai
• Baby Pigeon, Shanghai
• Sheep Testicles, Shanghai
• Live Drunken Shrimp, Shanghai China
• Cow Stomach, Shanghai China
• Chicken Heads, Shanghai China
• Duck Tongues, Shanghai China
• Cow Cartilage, Shanghai China
• Vertical Pork Bone, Shanghai China
• Chicken Feet, China

Enjoy!

(Modified version of an earlier post in The Gary Soup Blog)