Alright, it is 9am on a Monday,
and Rachel is just waking up.
Rachel is a Malaysian writer,
photographer and food blogger living in Shanghai
and this is her average day.
Moka Moka!
Moka's wondering whats going on.
Rachel lives in a rented lane house apartment
in the centre of the city with her fiancé and dog, Moka.
To start her day she prepares some espresso
before answering some emails from clients
and processing her photographs.
Rachel runs the food and beverage blog, Nomfluence.
A popular go to for news and articles
on all the latest food, drink,
hotel and lifestyle events in Shanghai.
It’s 9:30am and time to take Moka for a walk.
Rachels neighbourhood is in the former French Concession,
one of the most expensive locations
for property in Shanghai
costing from 15 to 30,000 yuan per month.
This morning Rachel will be taking photos
at a restaurant in Xintiandi,
so she feeds Moka and heads out.
To get across town Rachel will be using DiDi.
DiDi is the leading ride-hailing app in China
and has a full English interface
tailor-made for expats and English-speaking users.
It takes around 15 minutes for Rachel to get to Xintiandi,
an affluent dining and entertainment hub of Shanghai.
The main area is composed of reconstituted
traditional mid-19th century shikumen houses
which are now home to many bars, restaurants,
and high-end boutiques.
Rachel arrives at Polux,
a take on the classic French cafe
by renowned chef, Paul Pairet.
Paul Pairet is also the founder of Ultraviolet
and Mr & Mrs Bund,
both high ranking restaurants in Shanghai.
It's just really good stuff,
he's a genius.
Rachel is here to eat and take photos of Polux’s dishes
for her blog, Nomfluence.
Why'd you pop it?
Because it looks better than a white glob.
Rachel has been writing about food & drink in Shanghai
since 2011
and has worked for multiple English media platforms.
She started Nomfluence in May 2017.
And in early 2019, she went solo focusing on branding,
photography and PR within the F&B industry.
It's not really a job, it's more like a lifestyle.
It’s 12:30 and Rachel has a quick appointment with a client
so she orders a DiDi and heads on over to Jing’an district.
Her meeting is on-site at Charcohol,
a new gastrolounge in Fengshengli,
another lifestyle development complex
that has popped up in the last few years.
This is obviously not done yet.
Seating.
Cocktail bar.
Entrance to the kitchen.
So, the restaurant is called Charcohol,
which is charcoal grilling mixed with cocktails.
This is one of the installations.
First thing you see when you enter is
this massive block of wood
that's burnt towards the end
Like charcoal.
This massive thing is lava stone.
I do PR and marketing for them
and every single English word
that goes out on their press materials.
The goal for this restaurant in two years, is to get...
(hopefully)
Top 50 best restaurants.
That's the bosses goal.
With her stopover complete,
Rachel is now heading home to work from her computer.
To get there she’s using, you guessed it, DiDi!
One of the must-have apps for foreigners living in China
to get around the city hassle-free.
While Rachel was away,
her apartment was cleaned by her domestic helper,
otherwise known as an 'Ayi.'
She's a helper.
Cleans up after us.
You're not living life unless you...
you're not living working life unless you have an Ayi.
It really helps.
It's very affordable.
Thankfully.
Saves a great deal of headaches.
Actually, you know what
I have quite a few heart to heart conversations with my Ayi.
She tells me where she's from, her kids...
she's been at this apartment for 5 years,
coming back and forth.
Yeah.
Having an Ayi is very common for foreigners living in China,
our friend Donnie even makes a cooking show with his.
I have received a package!
Randomly.
It's from Goma Greens.
Goma Greens is...
an organic farm
that delivers vegie boxes.
"Crispy greetings from our team!"
Aw that's very sweet of her.
Rachel will take photos of her packages contents
for an upcoming review on the delivery service.
Rachel spends an average of 5 hours a day
working on her blog,
she visits over 20 restaurants a month
and gains an average of 1200 views per article on Wechat.
Rachel will be at her desk for sometime
so let’s fast forward
and now it’s 5:30PM and time to walk the dog again.
Come on.
Tonight Rachel is attending the soft opening
for press and media at a new Thai restaurant nearby
so to get there she will use her electric scooter.
The restaurant she is going to is on Yongkang Lu,
a street once known for its roadside parties and bars
that has now morphed into a quiet, cafe-lined street.
Hey.
Rachel will be writing about the new opening
so she starts by taking photos of beverages and menus.
So that I have all the prices and dish names
and descriptions in my phone.
Kin is a rebrand of Urban Thai Kitchen
and ran in partnership between Camel Hospitality Group
and Camden Hauge.
There are many Thai restaurants in Shanghai,
Kin differentiates itself by taking a northern Thai accent.
Rachel is joined by other publications and influencers
as they help each other in getting the best shot.
The media world in Shanghai,
like most communities in the city,
is a tight-knit circle.
It’s a bit of an “everyone knows everyone ” scene.
And therefore, group dinners like these
end up being like nice get togethers.
It’s 9:30PM and after a long day and a lot of food
it’s time to go home.
And that’s it,
time to say goodnight to Rachel and end the day
which she will repeat again tomorrow.
Thank you so much for watching this episode,
don’t forget to sling us a like,
let us know what you thought and if you are in China, looking for a comfortable way to get around the city,
be sure to use DiDi.
Wither your destinations in Chinese or English,
DiDi English version has you covered.
Goodnight!