The Capital of the South

This past weekend we returned to 南京 (Nanjing) - aka the capital of the south and where we lived and met in 2004.

We spent our two days there revisiting old friends and eateries, with the exception of spending an evening of eating and movie-watching at the new and posh 德基广场 (Deji Plaza) at 新街口(Xinjiekou).

Pre-movie snacking with old friends Zhou Lufei and Zhang Quan at Deji Plaza

Other pre-movie snacks:

芒果冰沙 (Mango Icee)

Hot sago delicacies (first one had fruit and yam; second one had peanut and red bean...another example of when you just need to trust us when we say it was really good)

Post-Movie Dinner at Deji Plaza

(photos taken surreptitiously due to a regulation against visually capturing this restaurant's food)

Selection of cold appetizers (duck, spicy sprouts, and tree ear fungus)

Tea Tree Mushrooms fried with a goose liver-flavored outer skin

Spare Ribs

蒜茸苋菜 (stir-fried amaranth with garlic)

Fish-ball soup with leafy greens

Plateful of food (in the bowl is soft tofu stew with crab roe; plate has the spare ribs, stri-fried amaranth, tea tree mushrooms, and some not yet pictured 粉丝 [bean vermicelli])

Familiar Eateries (spread out among the remainder of our time in Nanjing)

Owen's favorite 香辣鸡汉堡 (spicy chicken sandwich) place

After he got his fill of spicy chicken sandwiches...

I went for some peppery 鸡丝汤面 (shredded chicken noodle soup)

We were full, but it was nice to see that the exploding 包子 (baozi) place was still doing well (and they even spent some of their hard-earned money to get themselves a sign...)

Skyways Bakery moved from Hankou Xi Lu over to Shanghai Lu (and is now even closer to the Hopkins Center). A gaggle of foreigners were still sitting at tables inside.

The Suguo is still in the same location, but also seems to have splurged for a new sign.

The new bubble tea place is called Baida and their signature drink can be described as "bubble tea plus". It's milk tea with pearls and red bean and little aloe pieces and little soft yellow pudding things...and it actually is superior to regular bubble tea. They have everything though from regular bubble tea to fruity icees (冰沙）