Editor’s Note

More than a quarter of China’s foreign resident population live in Shanghai, with many considering the cosmopolitan city their second home, thanks to its rich and diverse culture and welcoming environment. Each of Shanghai’s foreign residents have their stories about life in this vibrant metropolis and how the city compares to where they come from. From these tales of two cities we can learn something of the differences and similarities between cultures, the challenges of adapting to life in Shanghai — and all the fun, excitement and frustrations that come with this.

Driven by a long-time passion for China, Wilbert Kragten took a job opportunity four years ago and settled in Shanghai with his wife Annette, and their two children, Justin, aged 3, and Zoe, who’s 1 year old.

His interest in the city was sparked by the Judge Dee detective novels by Dutch diplomat Robert van Gulik, about the magistrate Judge Di Renjie in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907).

Kragten says the international spirit of Shanghai is similar to his home city of Amsterdam, which helped him become immersed in the way of life here.

“The two cities are both harbor cities, so there’s a lot of influences coming in,” he said.

“Foodwise, Amsterdam has many different international styles of food, so does Shanghai. The variety of Chinese cuisine itself is very wide. You can go very cheap or very expensive.”

However, Dutch cuisine is mostly conspicuous by its absence. When asked where in Shanghai offers a taste of Dutch food, the brand consultant paused and thought for a few seconds, before replying: “None.”

“Our Dutch cuisine is not so interesting, rather more functional,” he added.

So Kragten usually has to forego hearty Dutch treats such as kroket — fried food rolls with mashed potato, meat, cheese and vegetables, and pancakes.

“It’s hard to get kroket here. It has to be flew in from the Netherlands, and can only be found on very special occasions, such as King’s Day,” he said. “This is probably also when you can buy a kroket, or bitterballen — fried meat balls.”

A typical Dutch dinner, according to Kragten, is meat, potatoes and vegetables.

For breakfast and lunch, the Dutch favor sandwiches, brown bread with a bit of cheese or meat, accompanied by milk or yogurt.

“Now I work in Shanghai, sometimes I have a proper warm lunch,” he added.

The only way to get a taste of home country flavor is to cook at home. Potatoes are a must in the Kragtens’ kitchen, though the choice does not match the 20 to 25 varieties the family could find in Amsterdam.

“Every day our ayi asks: ‘Do you want potatoes again? You just had them yesterday’,” he joked. “What is difficult to find is good potatoes. The potatoes here are not very tasty, all you have is this one big lumpy, ugly potato.”

Brown bread is also a staple. Le Fournil, a French bakery on Hami Road, and Bastiaan’s Bakery on Hongmei Road are favorites with the family. “The owner of Bastiaan’s is a Dutch guy, so they have very good oatmeal bread. I usually go there once a week with my son and buy 10 loaves of breads at one time,” Kragten said.

And while Kragten laments the lack of Dutch food in Shanghai, this is not quite true as he shops at Dutch Pies on Changshu Road for authentic goodies such as appletaart (apple pie)and speculaas taart (spiced almond pie).

The family get most of their groceries from retailers such as Carrefour and City Super, though some veg, “tastes different from those in the Netherlands,” Kragten said. For a taste of home such as boerenkool — kale in English — they look to online retailers such as Fields.

“When it becomes really cold in the Netherlands, we need some heavy food to keep us warm because Dutch people like skating and cycling to work in the snow,” said Kragten.

“A typical dish is to mash the potato with butter and a bit of milk; steam cabbage-like veg, add potato and mash it all up. Then put fried bacon or pretty fatty sausages on top of it. We can eat about a kilogram at a time.”

The choice of cheese available in Shanghai is never likely to satisfy a Dutchman whose home city is close to Alkmaar, the largest cheese market in the world.

Cheese is a staple in Dutch sandwiches, toasties and appetizers. The Kragtens usually have a stash of two boxes of cheese, of various sizes and ages at home.

Favorites include Boerenkaas (cheese from the farm), Goudsekaas (from the city of Gouda), Old Amsterdam (very hard and salty) and Breemster.

“A good tasty cheese is at least 48 months old, has a strong structure, though can smell a little bit. It should taste like proper milk and butter. For Dutch people a cheese is an authentic product which should be produced in the authentic way,” Kragten said.

Nightlife in Shanghai is very vibrant, said Kragten. The bars on Yongkang Road are among the favorites of his and football-loving friends, because of the good atmosphere during World Cup and European Championships.

“We were all in orange, cheering on the national team. People drinking beer, talking, like a real Dutch party,” he recalled.

Kragten describes a real Dutch party as “a family thing” — such as like King’s Day on April 27, the biggest national holiday. People dress in orange take to the streets, stalls sell handmade goods and revellers drink and dance to DJs.

Kragten said he used to go clubbing a lot, but seldom does today as the clubs in Shanghai are not like those back in the Netherlands.

“Here people sit around the table, put bottles of cognac there, and that’s it. No action on the dance floor. People are just busy with themselves, trying to be stylish, cool and rich,” he said.

“For me, clubbing is to feel the music and experience the crowd,” he said. “I tried M2, Myst and Mook, but none were actually worth the effort.”

He used to go to Bar Rouge for nightlife, enjoy champagne, great views and good conversations. The place is now closed for remodeling.

He also enjoys going to the jazz bar JC for some jazz while Fairmont Peacehotel, with its classic setting, is another option.

While Kragten may venture out to the city’s nightspots now and again, he describes the Dutch way of life as “stay healthy, eat healthy.”

To this end, he play water polo, training at least twice a week at Oriental Sports Center in Pudong. Sometimes he also takes the children there with him for games. His club, the International Chinese Club, has taken part in tournaments overseas and recently played against the Shanghai women’s team in Qingpu District.

The Kragtens visits the flower market on Hongjing Road once a week for roses, tulips (naturally enough for a Dutch family) and other fresh flowers. “Actually, I get better prices than my ayi does, because I know the prices,” he said, insisting that Dutch people are born green-fingered.

All this water polo and plant haggling can be tiring work, so Kragten says like many Dutch people, he embraces coffee as an essential pick-me-up.

“The typical way of making Dutch coffee is not so much to do with the beans but the way you make and how much you drink,” Kragten said.

A self-confessed coffee nerd, he has collected a dozen coffee makers at home.

“The authentic way is to pour hot — boiled and left to cool slightly — water on top of the coffee and let it drip through the coffee and filter paper. This way you only taste the true coffee taste as the water won’t burn the coffee, which gives it a bitter taste.”

He recommends ground coffee made of Arabica beans by Illy, which “are smoother and gentle compared to the robusta beans.”

Q: What do you think is the most charming thing or place in Shanghai?

A: The Bund; especially when it’s illuminated, the Bund is the most majestic, most impressive sights in the city. Every time I see it, I’m amazed. The buildings, the river and thousands of Chinese people strolling by the river, that’s the most beautiful thing.

Q: What’s the biggest difference between living in Shanghai and Amsterdam?

A: Air quality. The first thing you do in the morning here is check the air quality. If the air is good, we open the windows and let the air in. If it’s bad, close the windows and switch on the air purifier. We just deal with it. If it’s good, I go running outside; if it’s bad, then I run inside on the treadmill.

Q: What’s your impression of Shanghai and its people?

A: What I like is that they combine the old and the new. You can have the feeling of old Shanghai maintaining the soul of the city, but with a backdrop of skyscrapers.

Q: What do you find most difficult about living in Shanghai?

A: Traffic is one. I don’t like traffic jams, so I bought a scooter, so I can avoid them. But the infrastructure is very good, just sometimes it’s very busy.

Q: What’s most convenient?

A: I love massages and can get quality massage at a low price. For me it’s part of a healthy lifestyle. I do sports a lot but I also need to make sure I don’t stress my body. Chinese massage is very strong, with focus on acupuncture points.

Q: What’s your favorite Shanghai food?

A: Fried dumplings. But I don’t eat them a lot because it’s fried. We have this little eatery near our house called Lucky Dumplings. We go there because my son is really into Chinese food. But you see the meat and eat the dumplings, you know it very unhealthy so we don’t go there very often. But when my father-in-law, who is Chinese, is here, they go out to eat and return with fried dumplings.

Q: What do you tell your Chinese friends about your hometown?

A: For something immaterial, Dutch people like to be together, and have a word for it: Gezelligheid. Dutch people often invite their friends to their home, have food, put on music and enjoy the atmosphere. There’s good energy going around, and that’s what Dutch people really like. When you feel that, you’re feeling gezelligheid.

Q: What do you miss most about home?

A: I never talk about “missing” anything. To say “miss,” it seems you won’t be able to get it again — that it’s gone, which it’s not. It’s better to say, the things I appreciate about the Netherlands. What I really like about Amsterdam is the city vibe.

Pannenkoeken (Pancake)

Ingredients:

Half a liter full cream milk

Organic wheat flour

2 eggs

Salt

Cheese

Syrup

How to make:

Put half a liter of milk in a bowl, add the 2 eggs, and mix, adding 12 to 15 spoons of the flour into the bowl.

Heat a wide large frying pan on a medium heat and put a knife end of butter (full cream too) and add cup of the mix.

Let it cook for a minute or so till it can move freely in the pan and the bottom is light gold. Flip the pancake and let the other side fry for a bit till both sides are gold. Add sugar, syrup or jam. For a savory twist, add cheese or cooked bacon.