Every day the Masters Cup organisers have set up an optional tour for players, coaches and their guests. Departing from the hotel lobby around 10:00 and returning by lunchtime. Today I decided to join in and went with 2 of my friends on a shopping and dumpling excursion!
The tour guide Rik Wong is a Chinese American who loves tennis and knows the city like the back of his hand. After yesterdays bullfrog and turtle experience, I'm convinced this is the best way to see the sights and experience the best resturants. We ended up at Din Tai Fung which was one of the New York Times top ten eateries last year and supposedly makes the best dumplings in the city.
I made a big effort to use chopsticks (with a fork as back-up). Each course of dumplings was put in the centre of the table and you had to try and pick one up and negotiate it to your plate without puncturing it. You also had a small bowl which you filled with vinegar, soy sauce and ginger. That self-made sauce was for dunking your dumplings in.
The first ones had beef and a kind of gravy in them so you didn't want that bursting mid mouthful and mucking up your clothes. It was delicious though.
The second course had spinach and mushroom (veggie option), not such a hit but the third course had shrimp and pork, which was again delicious. The fourth course was dessert - it was supposed to be some kind of red berries but looked and tasted like christmas pudding. Not my cup of tea. If it's not chocolate or cream, it's not dessert:)
The whole thing was a very enjoyable experience though and the restaurant was mobbed which has to be a good sign.
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* Andy will be hoping to win his group by beating Roger Federer today to complete a cleansweep of wins.
There are 20 million people in Shanghai which is quite scary - that's 4 times the population of Scotland in one city and it's one of the 20 most expensive cities in the world.
So at the tennis the Gold Group qualifiers are Djokovic and Davydenko while the red group will be decided tonight. Simon plays Stepanek and Andy takes on Federer. Should be fun...
More tomorrow