Rice with a bang

炸米花 (puffed rice) made on the street in Chuansha (川沙). Bring your own oil, sesame, and rice or corn, and put your bag in the queue.

Great taste, especially when still warm. Crunchy and a tiny bit sweet.

When the rice is almost ready, the pot-thingy opens with a big bang.

Eva: “When we were young and you heard that bang, everybody yelled ‘Quick, get in the queue! Get oil, get rice!'”

For a whopping 35 RMB fee btw (preparation fee). I overheard someone say “It used to be 2 RMB.” So maybe some will a sign about the Chinese economy in there — but I think it’s another reason why it’s so nice to live in Chuansha, on the edge of Shanghai.

In 2025 (November) in Tangzhen (唐镇):

Latest

Passing on the Baton

Passing on the Baton

Day 2876 in Shanghai and I’m walking with Hasse on Dongdaming Road (东大名路) in the Hongkou district. In 2018, I lived next to this road; here I registered my first Chinese bank account, bought my first baozi in a FamilyMart, and it’s here that I photographed so many random things because Shanghai was all new […]
April 13, 2026
Arriving at an emotion

Arriving at an emotion

Before moving to China, I wondered what it’d be like to live in an entirely different environment — and it was the same for holidays like Cambodia or Vietnam, or when Hasse was born. You try to imagine these things and how they’d make you feel, how you’d react, or what they’re like. But everytime […]
April 10, 2026
People of Nantong

People of Nantong

I’m carrying Hasse around in Nantong (南通), in the historical block surrounded by the Haohe River (濠河) — while Eva in the hospital visits a sick relative. Hasse, being a seven month old baby, is a true 显眼包 (eye-catcher), so dozens of bypassers turn their head or want to touch her (which I quickly have […]
April 4, 2026
Cozy market alleys and pot stickers

Cozy market alleys and pot stickers

We’re in  Zhuqiao Village (祝桥镇), again. I love these old streets, filled with market stands or scooters and trikes parked everywhere. These alleys are so full of life, devoid of big brands with their uniform protocols and brand guidelines. And because the whole scale of it is smaller than modern shopping malls, everything feels so […]
March 31, 2026