bottledpoetry Posted January 24, 2008 at 06:55 PM Report Posted January 24, 2008 at 06:55 PM maybe it was reading about how taco bell (the only place I know of for "mexican" in this city) is closing, but I'm having a major guacamole craving. Anybody know where to get a hold of avocados in Shanghai? I heard they're pretty expensive here due to being exotic, so heads up on the price would be appreciated too Thanks! EDIT: actually, since I'm now really really craving, what are your favorite recipes with avocado? I wish I was back in California if only to pick up ripe avocados from the ground ::drool:: Quote
msittig Posted January 24, 2008 at 08:02 PM Report Posted January 24, 2008 at 08:02 PM I can't much answer your original question. I've seen avocados occasionally at Carrefour and yes they're hecka expensive. The thing about Shanghai is that you can get pretty much anything now, you just have to be willing to pay for it. I'd imagine City Supermarket would be a good place to look as well. The real reason I'm posting is because I have a couple suggestions regarding Mexican places in Shanghai. Actually I was going to make this part of the Shanghaiist post but I was posting from work and really should have been... you know, working. Dianping.com lists 4 places, and the City Weekend directory lists 4 as well (with some overlap). Adding another recent arrival that I heard about on the ShanghaiExpat forums gives this list: - Mexico Lindo; 3911 Hongmei Rd, Minhang District - Zapata's Mexican Cantina; 5 Hengshan Rd, Xuhui District - Taco Popo; 78-80 Tongren Rd, Jing'an District - Badlands Mexican bar; 895 Julu Rd, Jing'an District - Cal Kitchen; 376 Dagu Lu - Togo; 155 Jianguo Middle Rd Land, #24 b (Taikang Rd area) Actually I can't "suggest" any of them; I haven't had the cravings that would justify an RMB 50 burrito yet, and the old Taco Popo (Maoming Rd?) left me unimpressed. Still, maybe you want to look them up and try them out. I'd be inclined to try the Cal Kitchen first, as it's gotten very good reviews so far on ShanghaiExpat and City Weekend. Although Togo has the nifty location in the artsy Taikang Rd district... Hmm, good thing CNY vacation is coming up, enough time to try them all! Quote
LaoZhang Posted January 24, 2008 at 10:59 PM Report Posted January 24, 2008 at 10:59 PM Recipe: fresh avocados (cut into bite sized chunks) fresh tomatoes (cut into same sized chunks) olive oil salt & pepper to taste. easy and delicious avocado and tomato salad. can add cilantro, garlic, etc if you like. Quote
wushijiao Posted January 25, 2008 at 03:34 PM Report Posted January 25, 2008 at 03:34 PM I'm pretty sure that the supermarket right at Shanxi and Huahai (forget the name) has avacados. The 大润发 in Zhabei (Daning Lu, Gonghexin Lu) also used to have avacados. I think they are something like 20-30 RMB each. Quote
liuzhou Posted January 26, 2008 at 02:43 AM Report Posted January 26, 2008 at 02:43 AM something like 20-30 RMB each Wow! The one and only time I was able to find avocados round here they were only about ¥15 per jin. They sold out almost immediately (I bought most of them), so of course, the supermarket never got them in again! Quote
wushijiao Posted January 26, 2008 at 05:16 AM Report Posted January 26, 2008 at 05:16 AM I know! In HK, it's about 10 HKD per avacado. The last I checked, it was 20-30, and a few years ago it was about 40 in Shanghai. So, I guess the only way to fix the problem is to increase demand (probably from more expats), or have more Chinese farmers grow them. Quote
LaoZhang Posted January 26, 2008 at 10:01 AM Report Posted January 26, 2008 at 10:01 AM or have more Chinese farmers grow them. What's the deal with the lack of availability of avocados in Asia (okay, I'm just talking about China and Japan)? My friend from Japan is here in the US and has never SEEN an avocado before let alone tasted one. They don't have California rolls in Japan either. I wonder if it's the climate or some other socio-economic, historical, economic reason... Quote
bottledpoetry Posted January 26, 2008 at 11:42 AM Author Report Posted January 26, 2008 at 11:42 AM Thanks for sharing your recipes and comments everybody, it's good to see some avo-love They sold out almost immediately (I bought most of them), so of course, the supermarket never got them in again! liuzhou, 15 yuan yi jin sounds pretty CHEAP!! I envy you. actually, reading your posts got me thinking so I googled "avocado in china" (scrolling past many recipes that evidently consider avocado egg rolls a chinese dish ) According to this: -"China has some 80 years history of avocado introduction and trial planting. Avocado was first introduced into Taiwan in 1918 and then into Guangdong in 1925. Nowadays, avocado is reported to be successfully planted on a trial basis in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang, Guizhou, etc. (Cai, Liu, et al., 1998) ." Errr...Guangdong isn't that far.I wonder why they are so expensive?! Maybe this is an uninformed opinion, since they grow like (delicious) weeds in California, but I don't imagine they would be hard to grow China, maybe in some areas with milder temperature changes. Perhaps avocados aren't expensive to grow but supermarkets know they can jack up prices on and expats like me will still buy? Just venturing a guess Actually, I don't know any non American and Mex-American expats who are as crazy as avocados as me, so maybe that's why there isn't such a high demand. Random Avocado Facts! courtesy of Wikipedia (courtesy of Proxy) -avocados are fatal to almost all animals except humans -The word "avocado" comes from the Spanish word aguacate, which derives in turn from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word ahuacatl, meaning "testicle", because of its shape. -avocado in Chinese is called you li, which translates to "oily pear" In other news, it's snowing in shanghai and it is a weird, weird time to be having avocado cravings. Quote
liuzhou Posted January 26, 2008 at 11:55 AM Report Posted January 26, 2008 at 11:55 AM avocado in Chinese is called you li, which translates to "oily pear" As I mentioned before on this thread , I went back to the supermarket today and, sure enough, the sign above the avocados reads "牛油果". The girl on the weigh station insists they are "油梨" and the checkout slip lists them as "鳄梨"! Quote
Stefani Posted January 27, 2008 at 06:07 AM Report Posted January 27, 2008 at 06:07 AM I can't help you about where to find avocados in Shanghai, but they are plentiful in Indonesia I love avocado juice / smoothie, but my favorite that I have to make myself (in the US) is avocado coffee. Mash 1 or 2 avocados in a cup / glass. Add coffee, sugar, and condensed milk. Mix well. Refrigerate it for a few hours. Eat / drink it with a spoon Hm... I have to get some avocados and make it for myself tomorrow! Quote
zozzen Posted January 28, 2008 at 05:32 PM Report Posted January 28, 2008 at 05:32 PM some farmers in yunnan once grew it, but they were not sure its economic value and sold it so cheap for anyone who took care of it. I think this year they possibly won't grow it again. But vietnam is just next to yunnan, i think avocado could be very cheap if local people want it. Quote
slapshotfleury1 Posted February 11, 2008 at 04:40 AM Report Posted February 11, 2008 at 04:40 AM i know they sell it at carrefour, and probably other big supermarkets...i forgot the price but it is definitely pricier Quote
bottledpoetry Posted February 11, 2008 at 06:55 AM Author Report Posted February 11, 2008 at 06:55 AM still looking. Tried the zhongshan carrefour and the workers looked at me like I was crazy. Quote
slapshotfleury1 Posted February 13, 2008 at 05:11 AM Report Posted February 13, 2008 at 05:11 AM yea its hard to explain, but it should be with all the produce so look there...i forgot which carrefour i was at but it was a really big one Quote
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