Paris Shanghai A Two-City Tale

After visiting the client this noon, I dropped by Tian Zi Community to grab a lunch. As I walked into the community, I realised that I actually went to this place FIVE years ago when I was still at Uni..It's just so near my campus and I was there often to do some cheap shopping. So, I was surprised that a very nothing little street has been so famous now. It was not so good as I expected though. I knew this place years ago, and now it's almost the same thing. Except there are much more restos and cafes all over than years ago, and the prices are really reasonable, which is good.

I just took a shot in a japanese restaurant inside this community, the foods taste ok, and waiters were well trained polite japanese people, and one lunch meal set is incrediblely cheap. At the balcony under the sunshine, it was truly a good treat to myself. But still, it was really weird that we ate around the local residences's eyes, I mean, all the restaurants or boutiques are based in the narrow residence. A lot of neighbour residences really wanted to appreciate today's sunshine, so there were the hanging clothes just after being washed all over the head..that was no lovely at all while wandering inside the community and even while eating or sucking a cup of coffee.

Foreigners like Tian Zi Community, those foreigners who are not so bourgeois or well educated..one minute they take the cheap lunch at a street cheap restaurant and coffee there, chatting blablabla..the next minute they just rush into your taxi grumbling some spanish mixed with funny chinese, wanting to get into it before you..Incroyable! I just said "Ting Bu Dong", didn't even want to look at them when I was chocked by their behavior.

Way back to gallery, the driver spitted out from the window while driving..just wanted to mention it for fun.

And also, I should say that, indeed, Wenzhou people are everywhere. In every corner in Europe, Paris and even in Shanghai..to be frank, they are annoying and bad etudated country people, and I wondered how they became to represent the Chinese people in Europe and prentend to understand Shanghainese while they are still and will be forever Wenzhou people owning THE bad reputation in China mainland!

上海因为世博会在到处修建。所以路过了复兴路，走路穿了整个卢湾区，也是西方人口中一直念叨的french concession。我还是喜欢卢湾这个叫法。小时候以及少年时的回忆涌入心头。可是那座经常去的老洋房变成了工地，隔壁教堂也锈了。马当路附近的整条复兴中路变成了不伦不类的三不像。成就了新天地附近的richgate住宅区。很是觉得扫兴和悲伤。原来，变化是日日中的，于是回忆也成了微不足道的变化中的牺牲品。

新天地真的不足一提，所谓french concession，没有什么法国味道，反而把老上海的味道都消了。殖民地味道很重。不是个自豪的事情。新天地就是小欧洲，可是去过欧洲的都会觉得没有什么味道。怎么能比较。还是想念以前的卢湾。以前的复兴路，整条路漂着上海书香味。从这里去岳阳路的音乐学院，从这里走过四年大学路，住在这里老洋房的长辈。于是这个风景都不再有清涩。默默期待工程尽快完工，这里又是夏天乘凉人的天地。

然后突然发现已被我遗忘的不剩的吴越人家。一进小厅，三三两两。没有什么客人。但衣着整洁，吃饭不出声音。突然让我也无意中压低小声。价格比小时候翻一倍了，味道只差不多。不过典型环境让我一身清静，服务的只有上海阿姨，光临的也只有上海小资，弄堂里的小面店，现在看来，还是儒雅清爽几倍。背景音乐吴侬细语，让我觉得，至少还有你。