China PHOTOS AT LONG LAST!

[Amooliakin]

Counting down the days and hours. We have spent at least as much time preparing for our GF food needs on the trip as we have picking clothes and books and gifts for relatives and getting passports tickets and visas.

I am filled with excitement and trepidation. Our daughter is doing so well here that it is scary to go out in the world with her. But we will have a lot of food with us, a lot of knowledge thanks to you guys, and my spouse who has relatives and is not afraid to speak up.

I tend to be more timid... but in this case I won't even have to worry about speaking up since I'm not the one who speaks the language.

I will be sure to report to you all when we get back.... and of course I will post pictures.
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Amy - Mom to two kids, one with Celiac, and assorted pets...

[ostrich]

I can only imagine how nervous you are. I think all the butterflies would make my stomach explode! Good luck, and make sure you post those pics.
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

[jayhawkmom]

Best wishes to you! I hope your travel is safe and your trip is fantastic!!!

[gluten-free-mike]

China should be a fun trip. I'm so jealous! I hope you have a good time and are able to find safe foods to eat on your trip in addition to what you pack. I would say to learn a few key words in Mandarin, like wheat, gluten, barley, etc., but having tried to learn a few Chinese words, I don't think that'd be easy... I found it not even close to intuitive to learn, as compared to something like Spanish, Italian, or German.

Now, if you could just get your hands on one of those fancy handheld translator computers where a person speaks in one language and the computer says the translated equivalent to you, that'd sure help. But, I don't think the machines I'm referring to are out in the public yet (I saw one on TV that the military was testing out). I look forward to the day I can get one for translating *all* languages when traveling, then it should be much easier to figure out what is safe to eat.

Best wishes for your trip!
_________________
Mike
GF Since 2003
Severe weakness for Desserts

[Amooliakin]

Ah but you see we don't need one of those translator gizmos... my spouse already speaks Manarin, Shanghainese, and Cantonese. So I won't have to say a word

We may have to look up the word for gluten though
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Amy - Mom to two kids, one with Celiac, and assorted pets...

[aklap]

Ahhhh but will they know what you're talking about once you use the correct word

They certainly don't know about it here in the States. Glu-what??!?!? <as they look at you like you have 3 heads>.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[Amooliakin]

[Amooliakin]

I will send photos and more detail soon, but I wanted to let you all know that we are back and had a great time. In Shanghai we had dinner every night at Nancy's cousin's restaurant. She had a special room for us and had 5 cooks in the kitchen working to make wonderful GF versions of all the Shanghainese foods. We had brought our own bottle of GF soy sauce and with that on hand they whipped up some wonderful stuff.

The one thing Rebecca had said she missed since going GF was dumplings, and though she can have the rice noodle wrapped around various things, it just wasn't the same. But these guys managed to make a sticky meat dumpling in rice and tapioca flour. It made Rebecca so happy, and Nancy's cousin was so thoughtful that she had an extra batch made so we could bring them home frozen.

At other restaurants Nancy had long conversations with the wait staff about what Rebecca could and could not eat and everyone was concerned and helpful. It was absolutely INVALUABLE that Nancy speaks Cantonese and Shanghainese since we were in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. I don't think we could have survived otherwise... or not as well at any rate! I think it also helped that Rebecca is a cute little girl. That way we seemed like concerned parents and not just picky Americans.

The hardest part was when we were out and about and the rest of us could try local delicacies that Rebecca could not. She was pretty sad about that, but we did our best to find substitutes. She had lots of fresh vegetables and rice and fish, and we were also able to buy some Western foods in Hong Kong (although not as much in Shanghai).

The ironic thing was that we had brought along a freezer bag filled to the brim with GF bread and pizza crusts. But we were not able to find a toaster in any of the 3 places we stayed, nor at any of the restaruants. One day we tried to microwave the bread... not really good.... so back it all came with us.

Best laid plans can go awry....

For the first week Rebecca felt great, but we must have made a mistake somewhere around the middle of our trip since she started feeling bad towards the end. It was either a sticky rice dessert we let her have that could have had other things in it, or perhaps the Yo Baby yogurt which was (oddly enough) the only kind of yogurt we could find.

The first thing Rebecca wanted when we got home was a piece of toast and butter.

It was great to be away but it is nice to be home....


Pictures to follow....
_________________
Amy - Mom to two kids, one with Celiac, and assorted pets...

[aklap]

Glad you're back safe and sound!! I've been wondering about y'all

Looking forward to the pics!!
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[ostrich]

That's wonderful to hear Amy, I'm glad it went so well! I'm sure all your info will be invaluable to other people who're thinking about traveling to that area.

Post those pics soon!
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

Time falls away, but these small hours
These little wonders still remain

[gluten-free-mike]

welcome back.
sounds like you had an interesting trip, and yeah, I'll bet it was invaluable having someone that could speak the language. sounds like the trip was an overall success. Yet another place I'd like to someday visit.
_________________
Mike
GF Since 2003
Severe weakness for Desserts

[paw]

It sounds like you did really well with finding foods. I am not surprised that there was one mistake, considering how different things are in China. I have enough problems just shopping in a China grocery store, so I know communication is hard if they don't feel motivated to help you.

I am very glad you had Nancy to translate. I would love to have someone like her along when I shop for my special flours at the China grocery store.
_________________
Dairy free 7-2004
Gluten free 10-2005
female

[cruelshoes]

Congrats on your trip. Be sure you cough up some pictures.

I agree with Paw - I'd love a translator to go to the Asian grocery store with me. My sister just started dating a guy who is Vietnamese. Maybe he will come shopping with me...
_________________
-Colleen

Where are we going, and what am I doing in this handcart?

[Amooliakin]

OK guys and gals.. here are some of the photos. I took over 1600, so this is just a sampling... And all the food in these pictures are GF... as far as we could tell....

Our whole family

Pudong

Canal town of Tong Li


Discussing the GF Menu

Fresh water shrimp - delicious!

Eggs with tiny white fish - superb!

Cotton candy for the kids

Street venor in Shanghia

Candy coated "haw". A kind of cranberry

Panda's in the Shanghia Zoo

Special GF dumplings made for Rebecca

Rebecca and rice shrimp dumplings

Nice hot potatoies on a cold day

Wine sold on the street (no we didn't get any)

Yummy rice dessert!

Staying on Lantau Island off of Hong Kong

Shop til we drop in Hong Kong

Night time on Hong Kong Bay

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Amy - Mom to two kids, one with Celiac, and assorted pets...

[Fidissimus]

Awww! That's great! Brings me right back...
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Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/