Jiaozi! Or in English terms....The Dumpling Restaurant

Hey Ya'll! 

I wanted to share with you one of Elle Lay's and my favorite places to eat here in Wuxi, 

the "Jiaozi" place. 

This is the Business Card to the restaurant. 

This is probably my favorite of all the Chinese restaurants in town, though we have so many good ones. If you are looking for a place to eat with all of your friends, or just a small group this is the place. They have lots of private rooms with large round tables that fit just about any size group. The best part is, you can order TONS of food for really cheap. 

I love all the different dumplings, the green beans, honeyed sweet potatoes, and the sweet and sour pork dishes. But there are so many more wonderful dishes to try. That the best thing with going with a large group, you get to try lots of different dishes that on your own you may not have ordered. 

This restaurant does have highchairs. I normally don't use them though since I take my fold up one with me, but they do have a few there for you to use. 

One thing to remember though when going, the menu is totally in Chinese but it does have pictures. 

Chinese style "Round Table" 

Your dishes come wrapped in plastic. 

This is Pickle's favorite dish...Chinese style green beans. Yum! 

Delicious! 

Look at all the food! 

This particular visit we had 15 people and the bill totaled to 560rmb, which is 37.8rmb per person. Talk about CHEAP!!!!! 

So go try it out and enjoy some amazing food! You'll walk out stuffed. 

Thanks Ya'll, 

Belle

Wuxi City Guide

Hey Ya'll, 

Today I want to share with you one of the BEST resources that you will find about what is in Wuxi. 

The Wuxi City Guide!!!! This book has been put together by some friends of ours who are expats and have been living in Wuxi for 10 years. 

The Wuxi City Guide is a complete, pocket-sized map and directory for everything expats living in Wuxi care about - restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, websites, Chinese classes, cable TV, and transportation. It is crammed full of useful tidbits for expats learning how to live in Wuxi.

www.wuxicityguide.com


This book has been the best thing for Tractor Man and I. They have all of their listings in English and Mandarin so it doubles as a taxi card. It's wonderful. What is even better is that they have everything on their website as well. I recommend checking that out before you even get settled here in Wuxi. This will allow you to get a feel for everything Wuxi has to offer. 

Grab a book and get ready to explore all the great things about Wuxi! 

Thanks Ya'll, 

Belle

Monday = Coffee Time!

Hey Ya'll,

Once you get to know me, you will know I am a coffee-aholic! I LOVE coffee and having Starbucks here in Wuxi has been fabulous. A dear friend of mine and I started a year and a half ago walking from our apartment complex to Starbucks every Monday. It makes Monday's the day I look forward to! Now our group has grown!

This is amazing way to meet expats in Wuxi, just come to Starbucks in New District on any given Monday. We normally arrive between 10:00am and 10:30am depending on if we all walk over or not. There are usually between 5 and 15 expats joining together from all over to have coffee together and let the kids play. Come join us! 

Starbucks (Software Park) 星巴克（软件园店）

---

0510-81819056
16 Changjiang Rd, 1F, Room 8102
无锡市新区长江路16号1楼8102室

This is our Starbucks...our home away from home.
There are always lots of people to meet from all around the world. We would LOVE to have you come join us. 

Even the kids have a good time! 

Thanks Ya'll, 

Belle

Wuxi International Club - A Gathering of Expats

Hey Ya'll!

One of the most important topics in anything we can write is....how do I meet people? If you are like me, I crave friendship and love being around people. I know this is not everyone, but if you are looking to find a community of friends in Wuxi, this is the place to start.

The Wuxi International Club! Below is an introduction from the club president and a link to the website. We would LOVE to have you come join us!

Wuxi International Club (WIC) is a voluntary organization of expats from various countries based in the Wuxi area of Jiangsu Province, China.  For a family to join our club, one member of your family must hold a foreign passport.  We charge an annual fee of 200 RMB per year per family payable in January.  If you join us after June, the fee is reduced to 100 RMB for the remainder of the year. 

We arrange events to enrich the social and cultural lives of members and to help them become familiar with Wuxi. We also give back to the local community with our members volunteering and donating to various organizations in the area. 

Our activities are planned by our members. They are varied and targeted towards our member's interests. For example, we have a monthly lunch at western style restaurants, toddler play dates, coffee mornings and organize visits to local attractions. Members are sent our newsletter on a monthly basis packed with things to do for the entire family.  All our communications are in English. We are a small community and all have one thing in common, we are expats in China!  You can find out more information about us on our website: Wuxi International Club

Pickle having fun at the play date with his friends. 

Ladies from our playgroup! 

Pickle playing with the baby animals at our WIC Easter brunch. 

Some sweet ladies enjoying coffee at one of our "coffee morning" outings. 

We all love Starbucks! 

Come join in on the fun. We can't wait to meet you!

Thanks Ya'll,

Belle

Organic Shopping in China

Hey Ya'll,

I know in America right now "organic" food is the big things that people are wanting. You can definitely find things here in Wuxi and the surrounding areas, but at times it will be pricy.

Here a great contact, The May Farm.

The one drawback to ordering from here is that right now the shipping fee to Wuxi is 300rmb ($49). Because of this, a dear friend of ours from Germany has graciously said she would be willing to be the contact person for anyone wanting to place an order. This way you can split the cost of shipping with others and make the price better. So browse, shop and enjoy.

The May Farm

Contact: Trixi Gudo
              trixi.urbanneck@gmx.de


Thanks Ya'll,

Belle

Dental Appointments in China

Hey Ya'll! 

I love having my teeth cleaned and it had been way to long since I had been to the dentist, until last week. Though we have a dentist here in Wuxi, I had a hard time getting them on the phone so I ended up making an appointment for Tractor Man and I at Parkway in Shanghai. 

I have been to Parkway for a lady doctor visit and for Pickle to go to a pediatrician visit. Our visit were good so I decided to try and schedule an appointment. Parkway makes scheduling appointments very easy for the most part. What is even better for me is that they take Saturday appointments, so it makes it easy for Tractor Man and I to go together. 

The Dentist office was fabulous! It was brand new and they had all new equipment. We saw Dr. Henry Zeng and I was impressed. He actually did the cleaning and examination all himself, which was shocking to me, but good. 

Parkway Health

021-64455999

203 West Retail Plaza

1376 West Nanjing Road

Shanghai, China

The dental clinic is located in the Shanghai Centre. There is a Starbucks, Element Fresh, and a City Shop Supermarket in the same location! So make an appointment and make a day out of it.

They take most insurance policies, but you can check their website for most information. 

Getting to the clinic is very easy. You can take the train from Wuxi into the Shanghai Station and then get on the metro Line 1. Take Line 1 to the People's Square stop and transfer to Line 2. Then you can get off at West Nanjing Road. From here it is just a short walk down Nanjing Road.

Enjoy!

Thanks Ya'll,

Belle

Finding a place to live in Wuxi.

Hey Ya'll! 

Finding a place to live is probably the top concern in moving to a new country. I wasn't so sure how it would work out, but Tractor Man did a GREAT job! I wasn't able to come over at all before we moved  to Wuxi since I was pregnant at the time, so he had to do it all and I personally think he did great and I tell him this often. 

In finding an apartment you normally have to go through a rental agency. Most companies on "look and see" trips will set you up with a relocation company that will get you set up with an agent to take you around to look at places that fit your needs. 

Before this time you want to think of things that you want and/or need in a place to live. This will help the agent help you find the right fit for you. So here are a few things to think about.

1. How many people are in your family and how many bedrooms will you need?
2. Do you want a yard or would you prefer an upper floor apartment?
3. Do you want to live downtown or away from the city?
4. Do you want to live close to your job (or spouse's job) or are you ok with having to drive?
5. Do you want an apartment or a stand alone house?
6. Do you want to leave near expats or are you alright with being farther away?
7. Do you prefer an apartment within walking distance to most things or are you ok being further out?


Once you find your apartment and are working on negotiations with the rental agent/landlord, you need to know what you are going to ask for. Here in China some of the things that we take for granted in America are not common here, so you need to make your requests known. This is a list of some of the things that we asked for.

1. Western style, large refrigerator.
2. Oven (specify that you want something other than a toaster oven)
3. Clothes Dryer
4. International TV
5. Western style mattress

This is not an all inclusive list by any means, but more of a start to get you thinking. Each situation is different. Enjoy the move! Can't wait to have you here in Wuxi!

Thanks ya'll,

Belle