Three Weird Shanghai Things, Part 3

Note: This post is part of an on-going series of posts on weird things in Shanghai. Find the others by clicking right here.

Banana Sticker
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Bananas and Doritos: a perfect combination!

I’ve seen plenty of stickers on bananas. Mostly, it’s the brand of the banana like Dole, Chiquita, Yellowang, Banana Republic, etc. Sometimes it’s an ad. But an ad for Doritos corn chips on a banana? That’s a weird combo even for China. But on further scrutiny, the sticker has both the Doritos logotype and electro-scribble AND a banana on it. So maybe this is a Doritos brand banana. If so, it better not be Cool Ranch flavor.

Perverted(?) Bund Viewfinders
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Ladies in here.

In the bowels of the Bund, near the ticket window to the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, is a row of these viewfinders. They’re coin operated, and while they draw a lot of attention few actually use them. Over the weekend, we tried one out. For 1RMB ($.15), you get a time-limited view of a woman. The gal we saw was Chinese, normal looking, with calm expression, and fully clothed in a pink dress. Call me crazy, but can’t you see thousands of normal-looking clothed Chinese women in real life? Above ground? For free?

Engrish, but French: Francrish
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Classy.*

A popular diner-style restaurant by the office has a prominent sign on the wall above the area they prepare juices and desserts. It reads “Cafe de juice bar.” Well, nothing feels as worldly as a combination of English and French inside a Chinese restaurant. Especially when the translation wouldn’t make sense anyway. They might as well call the place “Restaurant of food stand” or “Bistro of eatery.” They make a mean juice, however.

*Photo courtesy of Andy.

6 Comments


jon:

you should open up a competitor juice place nextdoor called ‘bar de juice cafe’ and have everything in there be a mirror image of the cafe de juice bar.

daniel daum:

you mean four weird things in shanghai don’t you? You didn’t include yourself! Nice mullet!

Irene Ellis:

Good chuckles. You’ve got a great eye.

For some reason I think the Doritos banana sticker pretty much sums up China. But maybe only for those people who have lived here. Thanks for the laugh. I’m really enjoying your photos (& your partner’s at her site). It’s nice to see Shanghai/China through new eyes.

Nik:

Hey Global Gal,

Thanks for comment. We’ve been enjoying your website too. It’s seems we’ve been noticing similar things.

Peter:

Hey dude, you wrote “Large birds tied to a boat for no apparent reason.” In case you wondered, no, they are unlikely to end up in a cooking pot.

See: Cormorant fishing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormorant_fishing

and

http://www.city.gifu.gifu.jp/kankou/08_eng_01.html

The Chinese and the Japanese have been using these birds to fish for centuries.

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April 1st, 2009. Categories / China, Shanghai

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