Haipai Desserts in the Eyes of Teens

By Urban Family, 2020-12-02 19:54:31

Alina Chen is currently a Grade 9 student at Shanghai Star River Bilingual School. Her interests include history and baking. Connecting the two seemingly irrelevant subjects, Alina did some research on the people around her to discover their stories relative to old-school dessert in Shanghai – the Haipai dessert. Her short documentary was created in an effort to show the city’s Haipai culture to the world. 

Below, Alina shares her video link and tells us a little more about her video:

https://v.qq.com/x/page/y32060gfowt.html

Born and raised in Shanghai, I am used to living in the most fascinating city in China. I almost take it for granted. The city has its broad avenues and glamorous skyscrapers, but it also has old neighborhoods and narrow streets. For a foodie like me, the city always holds plenty of surprises – a good bite is easy to find, and does not necessarily cost you much.

Being a student in this competitive city, I’m super busy. My schedule is packed with school, extra lessons, piano practice, debate team sessions, etc. Of course I feel exhausted from time to time. Thankfully, I have something to keep my spirits up – yes, dessert! I know I’m not supposed to eat too much sweet stuff because of health concerns. That’s why dessert is always a treat! I not only enjoy eating desserts, I like to make them, too. The good thing about baking is that you get all the fun, but you can share out the calories to your family and friends!

Shanghai is a city heavily influenced by western culture. In the movies, people were drinking coffee and eating cream cakes in as early as the 1920s. Now you can easily find all kinds of bakeries in the city, but among them, some bakeries are rather special. The stores do not look fancy at all, but they don’t lack customers. Their clientele are usually older people. The desserts do not look so delicate, either. To me, they’re plain-looking. But among local people, they hold a special place in the world of dessert. How do the young people think of these traditional desserts? On a beautiful afternoon, I invited my friends to join me in this special cake-tasting party. All of us were born in the 21st century. In China, people call us linglinghou, which means “born after 2000”. Perhaps our conversation could be revealing as to what the new generation like on their dessert plate.

Apart from my peers, I also shared the sweetness with my grandparents. They have been living in Shanghai all their life. They probably never had cakes when they were my age. And there was also a time when western-style desserts were seen as luxury. But of course, today, desserts are easily affordable. Do my grandparents enjoy desserts of this kind? What do they have to say, being “old Shanghainese”?

My family and friends told me a lot about their love for dessert and for the city. Very soon, I am going to leave this city for the United States to attend school. I know I’m going to meet a lot of new people there. When people first meet, they almost always ask each other “where are you from?” I used to think of it as just a casual question. Well, I come from Shanghai, China. It’s a big city, like any big city in the world. It turns out there’s so much that I don’t know about this city. Even the desserts can tell an interesting story about the city – its people, its culture, and its days of the past. Next time people ask me where I’m from, I’ll proudly tell him or her that I come from Shanghai. Some people say it’s just like New York City. Maybe the skyscrapers do look alike. But Shanghai is unique in her own way. The haipai culture, or Shanghai style culture, is a hallmark of the metropolis, combining elements from the east and the west. What is it like? I think the answer lies in these simple treats. It’s something sweet, with an unfading appeal.

 

[Images via Alina Chen]