Originally from Canada, Andy, DeAnne, Brady (15), Liam (15) and Josh (19) are no strangers to living abroad. After moving around Canada for some time, they decided to give living internationally a shot, first with Hong Kong in 2008 and later moving to Shanghai in 2011. After five years of experiencing this diverse city, The Dolphin-Adams family are saying goodbye as they depart for their next adventure in Seattle this summer. But before they leave, they tell Urban Family all their favorite things they have discovered during their time here in Shanghai.
Our Favorite…
Restaurants
Din Tai Fung, of course – who can resist those dumplings? We also like going to Fat Cow. Mr. & Mrs. Bund has very good food and the view from the restaurant is so beautiful [they were there the night before the interview].
Date night spot
Now that the kids are older, it’s easier to leave them at home, so we usually make a day out of Saturdays and just see where we find ourselves after a day of running errands. But usually, if it is a true date night, we go to Mercato on the Bund. It’s a good balance between casual and formal dining, which makes it comfortable. The eggplant Parmesan is so good and is a longtime favorite. We have been to Liquid Laundry a few times as well, especially when it first opened.
Summer activities
It’s so hot here in the summer so we usually make a trip back home to Canada. But when we are in Shanghai, the kids like to go to the F1 track, paintballing at Weicheng Paintball Shooting Sports Center and go-karting at SIC Kartworld.
Places to entertain visitors
We always take them to the water town Zhujiajiao on the way to Suzhou where you can get hairy crab and stinky tofu. The Bund is always nice to take them on a walk when the weather is nice. Actually, we have been known to submit visitors to the paintball experience. Last time, it was adults against kids; the kids win every time.
Places to travel in China
We would have to say our favorite is Guilin because it is absolutely stunning – and we have actually all been there on separate trips. Anhui is also really nice, but Beijing is probably our favorite because of the history. Taking the high-speed train from Shanghai to Beijing is the best trip for first time travelers to China
Kids weekend activities
We like to hang out with friends and we always go paintballing when we can. We also go to Jump 360 or play pool at Blue Frog.
Places to travel outside of China
We really liked Boracay and the weather was so great when we were there. Borneo was amazing and we saw the orangutans and even got to hold the babies. But overall there hasn’t been a place in Asia that we have visited and haven’t loved. With three boys we always have to find adventure in every trip, and no matter where we go it has to have some type of physical activity involved, which always keeps things exciting. We've done scuba diving, mountain biking, treetop trekking and white water rafting throughout Asia.
Places for culture
We really liked going to Red Town, which is an old steel factory that has been turned into a series of private galleries. It has a lot of sculptures with a giant open park and it’s really interesting.
