chaoshan 潮汕 and vicinity food documentary series

I can never have enough of culinary shows, especially ones that are well made. Netflix just released a new Netflix Original documentary series - Flavorful Origins. Season 1 covers Chaoshan 潮汕 and vicinity (including Chiuchow 潮州) food even to me I discover so much I didn't know and how diverse and blessed the region is.

cantonese slang and underworld secret phases 廣東濁語和黑社會暗號 - part 2

Very often I am in search for Cantonese written words that are commonly used in Hong Kong and Guangdong (Canton). I have written before that Cantonese, and especially those developed in Hong Kong can be very colourful often with an undercurrent of dark humor.

a generic brand video

came across this noteworthy video

bend it like niemeyer

With the World Cup in full swing now in Brazil, it is only fitting to write an article on Brazil's most celebrated modernist architect.

a few german songs

Some of the most poignant songs that deal with life's joy and sorrow, and mortality are from German composers based on poems. Here are a few that are particularly moving.

clean your ears while watching on your monitor

I just can across this interesting Japanese gadget. It is very common for most Asian to pick clean the ears but in the West, most people would think twice and frown on the idea of inserting a strange contraption into the ear canal. Just plug into an USB port of your PC...

why chinese companies use number in URL

I was very puzzled the first time I noticed numbers being used in URL in China. It turns out it is very common and there are very good reasons. For non-speakers of Western language Chinese, numbers are easier to remember than URL constructed with alphabets. For example, China Mobile uses 10086 as the base part of it's URL (www.10086.cn). For regional subsites it tacks on "sh" for Shanghai and "bj" for Beijing.

a great vw westfalia camper travel blog

I recently came across this travel blog. It has to be one of the most inspiring adventure in the VW Westfalia Camper van for a family of three - and soon a family of four.

cantonese slang and underworld secret phases 廣東濁語和黑社會暗號

Chinese has many dialects. Because of Mao's decreed that Mandarin is to be a national language everyone in China can speak Mandarin which also is referred to as (普通話) common language. In the name of progress of efficiency Mao also forced the people to use the simplified written language in which many words he himself designed.

tokyo trip - 2001

Still more photos from old album. These were from a business trip to Tokyo in 2001, taken with a first generation digital camera. It was my first visit to Japan, a country which I would return many times.

macau - 2008

I was browsing through my old photo albums today. I found some photos that I had not posted previous and here they are. These are from my trip to Macau in 2008. While Macau is very small many of these photos were taken off the beaten paths of tourists.

washoku 和菜

I was watching NHK World recently and learnt the word washoku 和菜. UNESCO recently has identified washoku to be designated as a culturally intangible heritage. Washoku 和菜 means traditional home cooking that is passed down by generations. The host said that a lot of younger generation Japanese now have little idea what washoku 和菜 really is. Some surveyed thought it includes food dishes such as curry, fried pork chop (tonkatsu) and fried chicken. These dishes are yoshoku 洋食 - meaning they were western dishes that had been localized.

asia trip - winter 2013 part 13

The last of my blog posts on my recent trip to Asia.

asia trip - winter 2013 part 12

More photos from Bangkok that was a part of my recent Asia trip.

thai cookware shopping - part 2

I am a cookware junkie. I cannot resist in buying cookware especially those that has cultural or ethnic significance. I either buy them for functional or entertainment reasons. I should fashion a bumper sticker "I Brake for Cookware".

One of my favorite travel activity when in Thailand is go shopping for Thai cookware. In my recent trip I brought back some more.

asia trip - winter 2013 part 11

I have been anxious about hitting the storage limit with the thousands of photos I posted in my blog. I have checked my Google account many time to no avail. Are the photos that I uploaded stored in my Picasa account or in my Goggle storage. I had a hard time telling if Picasa and Google storage (now called Google Drive) one and the same.

asia trip - winter 2013 part 10

more photos from bangkok

asia trip - winter 2013 part 9

The flight from Macau to Bangkok took about 2 hours. Air Asia has the best rate as long as you don't care for the free drinks other airline give you. Their young crew run a very tight ship in each flight. Meals are pre-order so there is no waste.

The down side of flying Air Asia is it uses the older Don Mueang International Airport. Getting from Don Mueang to where your hotel in Bangkok requires going though the worst of Bangkok traffic jam that flows with the brisk pace of molasses.

asia trip - winter 2013 part 8

Still more photos of the old part of town in Macau.

asia trip - winter 2013 part 7

Off to Macau 澳門 I went departing Hong Kong. I was pondering where to go after Macau. I originally was thinking about Taiwan instead of going back to Thailand. I have been to Taipei in my business travel. I didn't feel that I had explore the city and that was my wanting to return. However I am aware food in Taiwan tends to be quite blend to my taste and I have been reevaluating going there. While I was in Hong Kong I checked in with a travel agency for a self tour package which including visiting Taipei as well as so other places of the island nation. I struck up a conversation with the clerk and he too commented that the Chinese food there looks good when you watch on youtube, but is too blend to his taste. That was enough to put a nail to the not visiting Taiwan coffin for me. I made travel arrangements to go to Bangkok after Macau. This including booking the flight, hotel, and exchanging enough Thai baht (you get better rate once you arrive and exchange with USD) until I checked into the hotel.