by joanna on July 25, 2010
If you want to go where the locals go for weekend dim sum, read on…
(photos by Joanna)
I have a special affinity for Hong Kong. Between the city’s relentless energy, vibrant nightlife, limitless shopping and local cultural scene, what’s not to love? But perhaps more than anything I love Cantonese food – in particular the weekend tradition of dim sum. Nothing says Sunday to me like an indulgent dim sum lunch with friends. And on my latest trip I asked around to find out where the locals go to enjoy their Sunday dim sum ritual. The answer? Super Seafood Dim Sum. [keep reading…]
by joanna on July 21, 2010
If you are looking for custom made women’s clothing in Singapore, now is the time!
Our regular readers will remember my experience at Cayen where I recently had some clothing custom made. Since moving to Asia, I have struggled for years to find clothing that actually fits. I am not big by American standards (size 10/12), but by Asian standards where the largest size is often an 8, I had pretty much given up shopping. Until I found Cayen. So I am excited to tell you about a special offer that Cayen is running now – the Cayen Carousel. For a limited time, some of their designs are available at a very special price.
Here’s how it works – every week Cayen will be announcing a special offer, the Carousel offer. The offer lasts for one week only and is for a specific design in selected fabrics and at a special price, only be available on the Carousel. [keep reading…]
Knives are personal things for chefs. Not only do we (I’m just a few months into cooking school and saying we LOL) use them a lot (for me third only to the wooden spoon and little metal tasting spoon), but knives also kind of give us our personality in the kitchen. With so many things the same – the white coats, uniform pants, black shoes, etc… there’s hardly anywhere left to express a bit of indivuality or show some personality. When I saw the knives of New West KnifeWorks I had to try them because they’re certainly different from all the big-name German knives out there. [keep reading…]
by joanna on July 11, 2010
My favourite places to go for massage when in Shanghai
Massage has been a part of my self care ritual for years now. And as much as I travel and sit on planes, it’s not infrequently that I am suffering from some sort of neck pain or other such traveler’s ailment. When I am in Shanghai, I prefer to go to Green Massage or Dragonfly Massage to work this out with a traditional Chinese acupressure massage. [keep reading…]
by joanna on July 10, 2010
South Asian meets European at this Rochester Park Hideaway
We’d kept hearing about Krish, the newest dining experience in Rochester Park. There had been a lot of buzz about the South Asian / Indian fusion cuisine. We didn’t actually know anyone who had tried it yet but after the 3rd person asked for our opinion and if we had been yet, we decided it was high time to make the trek over to Rochester Park. [keep reading…]
We really liked out dinner at Spruce. So we were excited to see they offer brunch… and not just your normal “let’s try and do a brunch to drum up sales/get rid of old product” brunch. The menu at Spruce looked to be a proper, well-thought out brunch. All the favorites, with a slight twist… just like the great dinner entrees we’d already had. As soon as we could line up all the brunch crew, we were off to see if it lived up to our expectations.
[keep reading…]
It’s safe to say there’s a bit of animosity in Texas towards the French. I have no idea why or how it started, but some folks, particularly Texas males, find the whole concept of France… too French. Thankfully I’ve left home and experienced the wonderful culinary traditions of France and no longer share in my hometown scorn. As a kid growing up, you hear about the snails, the exploded duck liver, the rich sauces. For some reason the simplest of French cuisine never found it’s way to our ears. If there’s one concept though that could unite these two varied peoples…. it’s Steak Frites. There’s nothing more Texan than a steakhouse, and add all you can eat fries to the mix and you have a winning combo in my book.
In Singapore we have Les Bouchons. And it’s lovely in it’s simplicity. Could easy make a francophile of the staunchest red-blooded hillbilly 
[keep reading…]
by joanna on June 22, 2010
My favourite thin-crust pizza in Bangkok
The first week I was in Bangkok a friend took me to Limoncello. Having just moved from New York, I was impressed by the authenticity of the thin crust pizza being served. I hadn’t expected to find this in Bangkok and frankly at the time, I thought, well I guess they must know how to do good Italian in this city. Well….yes and no. Not everything is good, but there is lots of high caliber Italian in Bangkok (Zanotti, Vino, Guisto, Vicolo 4, etc) – and it turns out Limoncello really is special. After several years in Bangkok, it remained among our top Italian food destinations. [keep reading…]
by joanna on June 20, 2010
Faux designer bags, jewelry, clothes and more
On West Nanjing Road, the side of Nanjing with the more local stores, lies 580 West Nanjing Road. An emporium for fake bag, jewelry, clothing and more. Here you will find everything from Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Marc Jacobs bags and wallets….to Tiffany sterling silver…to Paul Smith men’s clothing and accessories…Burberry trenches and scarves….to North Face parkas. The selection is constantly changing but one thing stays the same, this is the most comprehensive assortment of top quality faux designer goods in Shanghai.
And 580 Nanjing Road might be one of the only places in Shanghai where English is comfortably spoken owing to the throngs of foreign visitors that come through its doors. So shop comfortably and don’t forget to bargain hard….never accept the first price and only pay what you think is reasonable. When all else fails, be prepared to walk away and you may find that the shopkeeper will come after you with his best price.
Happy shopping
by joanna on June 17, 2010
An amazing retreat only 1.5 hours outside of Tokyo
Just West of Tokyo, lies Hakone – a picturesque Japanese town famous for its views of Mt Fuji, ryokans and onsen (natural Japanese volcanic hot springs). While one can go year round, undoubtedly the most popular time of year is summer.
Hakone itself is very easy to get to – only an 80 minute ride on the JR Express train from Shinjuku to Odawara, then a quick transfer to a switchback train at Odawara to Hakone Yumoto. Yumoto is the area of Hakone with the most popular onsen, hot spring resorts. Honestly, there is not much else to do here besides soak up the local scene, literally and figuratively. [keep reading…]
