Last day at sea level

Back in Shanghai one last night before we leave for the TAR. My cough has not gone away, and so I have taken my impending altitude sickness as cause for one last feast. I won't have much of an appetite when it hits and all. We went to a Hong Kong chain called, Yi Ge Huoguo, 一哥火鍋, or Number One Hotpot, and ordered all-you-can-eat and ate all of this and more.

Note the delicious and still undulating abalone on the white plate in front. If not overcooked, abalone is one of my favorite things. It tastes somewhat like a silky, soft clam without the seaweed aftertaste. Clearly, the taste is very unique. In terms of phylogeny, abalone are snails with a shallow shell, which doesn't bother me, but then again, I eat most everything. I especially like eating, in my sister's words, "foods that feel like clam."