Editor’s Note

More than a quarter of the foreign residents in China live in Shanghai, with many of them calling the city their second home. Foreigners have long had an impact on the cultural history and diversity of Shanghai. Their presence offers fascinating glimpses into the differences and similarities of cultural influences. Every month, iDeal talks with some of those expats about the fun and frustrations of living in a different culture.

“The British are coming!” was a popular cry coined during the American Revolution. But it could be applied equally to Shanghai, where British influence is part of the city’s history as well as its current culture.

Among the British nationals who are now making the city home are chef Scott Melvin and school headmaster David Cook.

In 2009, Melvin came to Shanghai for the first time, after accepting an offer from partner chef Jason Atherton to manage his new restaurant called Table No. 1.

“It was my first visit in Asia,” said Melvin. “I fell in love with Shanghai straightaway and vowed to come back.”

Three months later, he was true to his word and started his new job in Shanghai as head chef of the restaurant. He brought with him years of experience that included work at the Michelin-starred Maze and sister restaurant Maze Grill, under the Gordon Ramsay Group in London. Both restaurants are among London’s most popular fine dining places.

In April 2013, Atherton and Melvin decided to open another restaurant, the Commune Social, in the Jing’an District.

The restaurant gained instant popularity for policy of “no reservations, no service charges.”

In addition to that, Commune Social earn a reputation for creative food and drinks, served in an open-plan setting where diners could see what was going on in the kitchen.

“We don’t take reservations because we don’t want guests to be waiting while tables are vacant,” Melvin said. “We want more people to come in and enjoy the food. To me, consistency and quality of service, plus the food and drinks we serve, are the most important values to a restaurant.”

Melvin now serves as executive head chef for both Table No. 1 and Commune Social, giving plenty of range for his culinary talents.

“The seasonal vegetables are rich in Shanghai,” he said. “I walk past a food market every day and I check what’s in season. If I see vegetables that I want to use as ingredients, I take pictures with my phone, then show my staff and ask them to buy some. It’s good to be able to source some vegetables and fruits, like strawberries, all year around.”

Even though the Commune Social’s specialty is Spanish cuisine, it’s not hard to find Chinese touches in its dishes.

“My favorite Chinese ingredients are tofu and bamboo shoots,” Melvin said. “For example, we mix soft and hard tofu together to get the right texture for our dishes. We also use rice vinegar as a dressing.”

In his five years here, Melvin said he has seen many changes.

“People didn’t have so many choices five years ago,” he said. “Foreign cuisine meant Italian ­pizzas and pastas. But now it’s much different. There are more and better chefs here, and more variations to choose from.”

He finds industry camaraderie welcoming.

“Chefs in Shanghai are really nice,” he said. “If I like a scallop dish and ask where they get it, they just tell me. In London, chefs don’t share secrets. When I’m off work, I hang out with friends who are chefs. We try out newly opened restaurants and share information.”

Melvin now considers Shanghai home. Two years ago, he married his pastry chef Kim Melvin. They just welcomed the arrival of their first baby six weeks ago.

“We have a nice apartment in a nice area,” said Melvin. “I love the lifestyle in Shanghai. It’s so very diverse. We like to take the baby out for walks.”

As a Brit, Melvin is a big fan of teas.

“I drink at least four cups a day,” he said. “But I also drink coffee because I need caffeine to keep me moving in the kitchen. I often work from 9am to 10:30pm, so I don’t have much time to cook at home. When I do cook at home, it’s often a full English breakfast.”

Q: What ingredients are the hardest to find in Shanghai?

A: Cheeses.

Q: What’s your favorite British dish?

A: Pork pie. Everything is inside and it is easy to hold as well.

Q: What’s your favorite Shanghai food?

A: Hongshaorou. I love the texture of the meat and its sauce.

Q: What are your least favorite ones?

A: Jellyfish and octopus.

Q: What’s the most difficult thing for you living in Shanghai?

A: Banks. I get really frustrated when they keep changing rules without informing you.

Recipe Collector

Small pork pies with quail eggs

Preparation time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Cooking time: 30 minutes to 1 hour for 6 pies

These dinky little pies are perfect for picnics or as part of a plowman’s lunch. The jelly is a nice touch but not essential if you’re short of time.

Ingredients:

For the hot water crust pastry:

200g plain flour

40g strong white flour

50g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

100ml water

1 tsp salt

60g lard

For the filling:

6 quail eggs

1 onion, very finely chopped

350g pork loin, finely chopped

100g un-smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped

Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 free-range egg, beaten

1 chicken stock cube (optional)

150ml boiling water (optional)

2 leaves gelatin (optional)

Procedure:

1Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease a 6-hole muffin tin.

2To make the pastry, sift the flours into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Bring the water and salt to a boil then add the lard and stir until the lard has melted.

3Pour the lard and water over the flour mixture and stir to form a dough. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and work into a smooth ball (you must work quickly or the dough will become too firm to handle).

4Roll the pastry out to a thickness of about 3mm. Cut out six 15cm circles and use each circle to line a hole in the muffin tin. Cut six 10cm circles for the lids and set them aside.

5For the filling, cook the quail eggs in a pan of boiling water for two minutes then refresh in cold water, peel carefully and set aside.

6Put the onion, pork, bacon and parsley into a bowl, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix until well combined. Spoon a little of the mixture into each lined pie case, place a quail egg in the center and spoon over a little more filling.

7Brush the edge of each pie case with a little beaten egg, place the lids on top and crimp the edges together to the seal completely. Make a small hole in center of each pie and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

8When the pies are cooked, set them aside to cool for 10 minutes. If making the jelly, dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water. Soak the gelatin in a little cold water until soft then squeeze out excess water and whisk into the warm chicken stock.

9Pour the gelatin mixture into the hole in the top of each pie until the hollow cavity within the pies to set in the fridge overnight.

‘Vibrancy and cultural awareness’

As a founding headmaster of the Wellington College International Shanghai, David Cook said he has enjoyed life in Shanghai since he came in 2013. So much so, that his wife Debbie and their six children joined him here last August.

“Shanghai is truly an international city, with vibrancy and a deep cultural awareness,” Cook said. “It has a great climate, nice homes, great entertainment and a wonderfully supportive and welcoming expat community.”

Cook has a big family, compared with most Chinese families. He said the city offers far-ranging activities and entertainment for his children.

“Shanghai is ideal for their sporting and cultural interests, providing so many opportunities,” he said. “Most evenings, weekends and holidays are taken up with ferrying my children to their various activities.”

Although born in southern England, Cook grew up in Wimbledon in southwest London.

“Shanghai and London share many things in common,” he said. “Both certainly flourished due to rivers in the heart of them.”

Cook has a great passion for football. He remains a supporter of Leicester City in the English Premier League. Watching his favorite team is easy nowadays, even a world away, thanks to the Internet, cable TV, Skype and other modern technologies. It’s also effortless for the Cook family to stay in touch with relatives and friends in the UK.

“I can’t imagine how people did it a hundred years ago,” he said. “It took three months on a ship before you even got here! Then, too, a faraway land held a questionable future. I have taught in Dubai, Thailand, Qatar and Tianjin, but I find more touches of England here than anywhere else.”

Having a familiar department store like UK-based Marks & Spencer in Shanghai helps ease any twinges of homesickness, he said. There is also a good range of restaurants doing European cuisine in Shanghai.

“Some of my favorites are M on the Bund, Cuivre, D.O.C and the Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo,” he said. “For the bars, I like the Liquor Factory at the Intercontinental Expo and the Jade on 36.”

When it comes to Shanghai dishes, many foreign expats would vote hongshaorou, or braised pork belly, drunken chicken or dumplings as their favorite dishes. But Cook said he prefers seafood, no matter in what form it’s prepared.

He has no complaints about traffic in the city.

“Shanghai is relatively easy to move around in, by comparison with Beijing and many other cities in Asia,” he said, “I find the two airports in Shanghai incredibly convenient. In most cities it is a real hike and often very expensive to get to the airport. Try a black cab to Heathrow!”

Although the Cook family usually spends summer holidays in the UK, they stay in Shanghai over the Christmas season.

“We can get all the holiday trimmings here, even a turkey and plum pudding,” he said. “The kids were relieved to find NORAD’s Santa tracker took in Shanghai, and their presents all duly arrive on Christmas morning.”

Q: What’s your favorite place in Shanghai?

A: Wellington College. Away from the school, I love playing golf at the Sheshan Golf Club, while my children always look forward to going to the Mercedes Benz Arena to see their favorite rock and pop bands.

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

A: The driving!

Q: How many cups of tea do you drink a day?

A: It’s really mugs and probably around four.

Q: What do you miss about home the most?

A: Seeing my two eldest daughters, who are boarding at Wellington UK, and watching Leicester City play live.

Q: What’s your favorite British dish?

A: Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes, with horseradish, accompanied by a bottle of Burgundy.