New Yorkers get chance to cook Shanghai foods, appreciate city's culture

NEW YORK - Joyce Fox, a 64-year-old New Yorker, switched her usual afternoon routine of hanging out with friends and instead attended a culinary class during the Shanghai Food Festival and Tourism Promotion event held from Monday to Wednesday.

For Fox, it was a rare chance to form a closer bond with the unique and spectacular culinary culture that she was really into - and an opportunity to learn about making authentic Shanghai cuisine.

Themed "Eat, Love, Shanghai" and held at Macy's flagship store in New York, the event featured a free taste of Shanghai's signature food including xiaolongbao (steamed soup dumplings), qingtuan (green sticky rice balls) and savory mooncakes, as well as a cooking class during which three Chinese chefs demonstrated how to make the delicacies.