Hey, you! 😎
When I thought about what we did at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the first word that came to my mind was "chill".
I have to admit though that our first impression of the Shanghai Pudong Airport wasn't all that "chill".
Our first experience of Shanghai was of firmness and authority. As soon as we got off the plane, unsmiling airport staff were waiting for us and pointed us to where we had to go, "Here, here, here", they would say in a stern voice. No hellos, no good mornings.
I remember our daughter asking me, "What's happening Mom? Is everything alright?".
"Everything's fine babe. Just follow what they say and the people in front of you," I answered. There was no room for nonsense here.
Don't get me wrong though - I think this is perfectly normal. We are in an airport after all and safety and security is a priority.
Anyways, the chilling began as soon as we got to the boarding area. First things first was finding toilets. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were many toilets in the airport and they were quite spacious and super clean! How I wished the airport toilets in Germany and France were as clean as in Shanghai. 🙏 And because there were so many available toilets, there were no long waiting lines! Weeeeeee!
Next we looked for an area to rest and eventually nap. Luckily we found one just opposite one of the toilets. Turns out, the air-conditioning vents were just outside the toilets so the benches just opposite had the perfect temperature to combat the Asian humidity.
We settled down and quickly decided to take a nap. It was absolutely glorious! And above all, much-needed.
Next was food. I know that I mentioned in a previous post that airport food was notoriously known to be expensive, so this is a classic case of "do what I say, not what I do". LOL
There were a lot of souvenirs shops and of course, Duty Free, but we had a hard time looking for a restaurant. So we basically went to the first place we saw which was a café called, Hope Kaweh. We ended up having such a good meal, I could cry!
I love our daughter, S, but mannnnn she can get hangry (hungry + angry) sometimes! Today was the case! Worst thing though is that she won't admit to being hungry. She'll be like, "oh I'm fine, don't worry about me, I don't need specifically anything, I'll just have a bite of whatever you're having". And then proceeds to wolf down everything she can! LOL
Food's not her thing, unlike me - I basically live to eat. But man, when she's hangry, she turns into this food hulk! I swear it's hilarious and truthfully I like her seeing like that.
I wanna say we had lunch, or was it early dinner, at Hope Kaweh which is located in Terminal 1. They served Dimsum which I was super excited about.
Here's what we had:
I knew I had to get Steamed Chicken Feet with Soy Sauce when I saw their menu. I'm the only one in the family who actually enjoys this. It was soooooo yum! I once tried to make it at home, but got freaked out when I had to remove the nails. I should try again someday.
We also got Steamed Pork Spare Ribs with Black Soy Bean, which was so good too!
If Dumplings are on the menu, then you can be sure we will order it. These were Shanghai Pork Dumplings with Crab Roe. These were good, but I couldn't really taste the crab roe.
We also got Poached Asian Greens - cooked with soy sauce. We always love having greens to counter all that meat.
And finally ...
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, which was fantastic. I don't know how authentic it was, but we enjoyed this very much. I would love to visit Taiwan someday.
*We paid around 30 Euros for our meal including drinks.
So with our tummies full of good food and being well-rested from our nap, we were very happy at the Shanghai Pudong Airport. Our layover going to Cebu was 14 hours and our layover going to Frankfurt was 18 hours going back home, but we honestly didn't feel time pass.
To board our plane going to Cebu, we had to change terminal so we took their free train. It took about 5 minutes to go to the other terminal. I couldn't help but notice how clean everything was. Not just clean though, like really really clean. Shiny clean. It was quite impressive. Or maybe I've just been in Europe for too long?! Oops ...
On our flight going home, we decided to follow what a lot of people were doing - eat Ramen noodles! Since hot water is free and easily available, all one has to do is buy instant noodles and add hot water to it. I loved how big their instant noodles are (twice the size of what I can find here in France). We were quite full after we finished our bowl of noodles.
Before boarding, we grabbed a quick bite and drinks at Starbucks. S was so happy to be able to try things we can't find at Starbucks France. Same here, baby, same here.
I had a Iced Matcha Latté which was hands-down the best Matcha I have ever had in Starbucks. It was smooth, so tasty, and without that yucky soil taste. Tip: never order Matcha in Starbucks France. Trust me, it's no good.
S was super happy to finally drink their Pink Drink, which is not available in France. Not sure what it's made of (I have to look it up!). It had dehydrated strawberries and reminded me a bit of yakult. It was delicious!
We had a Chicken Croissant Sandwich. It was meh. Look at the sad state of that salad. LOL.
The Pineapple Bun was really really good. It was served warm, buttery, and just melted in the mouth. There's no actual pineapple in it. I think it takes its name from the way it looks. Delicious!
Three words come to mind when I think of Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
Clean, Comfortable, and Calm. The 3 C's.
Every nook and cranny of the airport that we were staying was spotless and I'm not exaggerating. I had no problem going to the toilets as it was highly maintained. Not a single spot of dust could be seen. We found comfort in the working air-conditioning. The benches we slept on were not particularly comfortable, but we had space and the temperature was perfect. Drinking water was free and available everywhere. My only mini-complaint would be the lack of internet, but that was ok anyways, as we talked the whole time. And finally, I honestly thought that for an airport that is ranked as one the largest airports in the world, it was quite calm and zen. We felt safe the whole time, even when we were sleeping away. Discipline and respect to rules truly does pay off.
Oh the things we do. 😂😂
What's your favorite airport in the world?