I just finished Kitchen Chinese (Avon, 2010), Ann Mah's debut novel and boy am I hungry. My husband bought fixings for Moroccan chicken tonight, so at least we're spicing things up. (We did have Chinese last night!)The thing I loved about Kitchen Chinese was that it went … [Read more...]
Hong Kong noir
I'm a sucker for a good film noir. Or one filmed in an exciting location.I stumbled across The Scavengers on Netflix a couple years ago and while the acting and cinematography are lackluster at best, I pushed that aside and immersed myself into late 1950s Hong Kong.Vince … [Read more...]
Sun Ya Hotel 1960s
When I've traveled with my mom, she's liked to stay at nice places. So when I googled the Sun Ya Hotel, where she stayed on her first trip to Hong Kong in 1962, I was shocked to learn it was in the now-densely populated Mongkok area, miles north of the popular Tsim Sha Tsui … [Read more...]
Why be an armchair traveler?
This Pam Am ad from 1962 dates itself by touting "Europe...the Middle East...the Orient!" For $1253, you could depart New York and visit up to 25 countries. Sounds like a great deal to me! You could jump from place to place, touring for a day or two, or staying for a few weeks. … [Read more...]
One of my favorite things
I'm coming clean. One of my favorite books was written for children aged 4 to 8. And it takes all of two minutes to read--if you don't absorb the colorful illustrations and brilliant details of the 60+ pages.Miroslav Sasek, a Czech writer and illustrator, was born in 1916, … [Read more...]