The Broke Diner: 30 RMB for 48 Hours

So I’m back in Shanghai and just spent the last few days desperately searching for a new abode. The good news is that I found one. The bad news is that I’m now paying out the nose for a tiny (if almost overwhelmingly cute in my opinion) apartment and that the 1-month deposit + 3-month rent + agent fee policy left me rather broke. After exhausting my Chinese account on rent, my American bank’s policy not to allow more than $500 in ATM withdrawals in a 24-hour period meant I had no cash on hand. I had to borrow 300 RMB from Nell to finish paying the agent fee, then had 30 RMB left for….the next 24 hours.

Fortunately in China, you can do a fair bit with 30 RMB. Wandering around my new compound, I found a plethora of small Chinese places. Nell and I chose Wu Yuan (吳怨) on Yanping Lu (somewhere between Kangding and Wuding Lu) and sat down for some noodle soups. I ordered some kind of mystery meat noodle soup whose meat was so unidentifiable and oddly colored that I steered clear of it entirely. Nell’s vegetable noodle soup however at least appeared appetizing and contained an array of cabbage and mushrooms. We also got a nice vegetable side dish that was reminiscent of tabouli in both texture and flavor. Later, I ate mini Reeses cups for dinner.

On Sunday, still entirely cash strapped, I finished up all the Reeses in my kitchen before heading to the street for more eats. I settled on a 1 RMB la rou bao (辣肉包) at a little stand near Wu Yuan, but on the other side of Yanping. It wasn’t exactly filling, and the meat was probably of no higher a grade than that in yesterday’s noodle soup, but I liked the spice, and the juicy meat gave the surrounding bun center a soft-but-not-slimy feel that I liked. If I had to, I could probably head to that cheap little bun spot and eat three buns at a time for three squares a day, letting me stay within a 9 RMB/day budget. Fortunately, my kind and appropriately-named friend Grace took pity on me and treated me to a salmon sandwich from Paul (the Croque Monsieur is much better) and chocolate hazelnut dessert later on. Dinner? Pao mian (泡面）from the convenience store for 5 RMB.

Okay, so this isn’t the best cheap eats article you’ve ever read. I mean, who wants to eat Reeses Pieces and instant noodles all weekend in a city like Shanghai? Well, I promise that as I await my next paycheck to rebuild my bank account, I’ll be scoping out cheap but decent eats in the Jing’an area. Stay tuned…the search has only begun.

Shau-Ru is the manager of Dining Secretary's English department and one of the writers of the Shanghai food blog, Dumplings to Donuts. For more food-related adventures, check out www.diningsecretary.com/blog.