Lockdown Day 57: Snacks! — Pickle Deli Square

Going on very little sleep, with a big day ahead, I was glad to have my tortilla de patatas, bread, and grated tomato all ready to toast and eat.

Thankfully, today’s PCR test happened right after a meeting. The arm of the hazmat suit on the guy checking and collecting antigen tests has a red patch with the sickle and hammer on it.

Lunch came in courses! First, I found the time to wash and stir-fry some bok choy and enoki mushrooms, with oyster and soy sauce. I also finished up the roasted broccoli stems.

Then, just as I was about to have the next course, we were called down by entryway lady to hand out goodies. I think she’s always really excited to give us things. This time it was a selection of ready-to-eat things from the same brand Qiaojiazha 乔家栅 in the delivery a week and a half ago.

We got mung bean cakes 绿豆糕. I like these!

Then there was a kind of babaofan 八宝饭 dessert.

Three mantou 馒头.

A bag of small meatballs 小肉圆. I’m really excited to cook with these. In a soup with the Napa cabbage from earlier this week, perhaps?

And a Shanghai specialty 4-ingredient kaofu 四喜烤麸, kao fu (wheat gluten) 烤麸 with black wood ear fungus 黑木耳, lily flower 金针菜, and peanuts 花生米. Just like last time, I’m really happy to have both ready-to-heat food and ready-to-eat snacks.

And as chance would have it, the second course of my lunch that I had already prepared was the meat bun and glutinous rice shaomai from the same brand.

For an afternoon snack, I had the mung bean cake 绿豆糕 with tea. Basically it’s pureed mung bean and sugar pressed into a mould. It so hit the spot, I had seconds!

In the afternoon, I did the antigen test as usual.

After a very long day of work (and a quick workout), I decided to finally use my pass to go outside. With only a few cars and motorbikes licensed to drive around, people were walking, running, and biking on the streets. And a lot of people were out!

Especially at this little block, which during normal times is always teeming with (mainly expats) drinking outside. It looked like old time were back - but I think this was surely self-organized, as the restaurants are closed. There were several police cars around with flashing lights around them, but I don’t think anyone got in trouble.

I was surprised, just walking slightly north on Fumin Road, that there was still a lockdown neighborhood 封控区. Like a Scarlet Letter, this neighborhood had a red placard with this designation hung around the gate (and an empty water bottle for good measure?), along with metal barricades.

As I walked around, I saw that in every little public area, there were people gathering. It really felt so lively.

I still think it’s so funny how ATM booths got their own “locked down” seals. Hmm, an ulterior motive could be to prevent a capital flow and run on banks by controlling withdrawals.

When I came back from my walk, I showered, and then cooked dinner. I had done the prep work before the walk: chopped cabbage, two eggs, cold rice from last night, chopped red sausage, kimchi, and just a tiny bit of scallion from my scallions in water!