It's spring break here in our Chicago suburb and suddenly I have three kids home all day. Yesterday we walked into town for brunch.Today we bought, ate, and read about dumplings.At the library this morning, I was thrilled to find Grace Lin's new MG novel, Dumpling Days … [Read more...]
One month and counting
When I booked my flight to Hong Kong two months ago, my late April departure date seemed so far away. Now it's a month from today!I still remember that night Tom and I decided to buy those tickets to Hong Kong. I couldn't believe I was going to return to a place I hadn't … [Read more...]
Dim sum birthday brunch
My daughter Rachel turns five today. We're having a kids' party for her tomorrow, mostly with girls from her pre-school class, but we had to do something fun for her birthday today. So last night I asked where she'd like to go. She shrugged her shoulders."What about dim sum?" … [Read more...]
Mission to Metro
When I think of all the changes in China since I left in the late 90s, one that stands out is the advent of the warehouse grocery store. That was so not the case back in my day. So here's Stuart Beaton, our man in Tianjin, to explain just how great the shopping in China has … [Read more...]
The Wonders Of Westin
When guest blogger Stuart Beaton told me about the sudden turn of events at the Raffles Tianjin, I couldn't believe it. After all, he'd just blogged here about the Raffles on Christmas Eve. (Stu's podcasts can also be found at http://rastous.podomatic.com/). Stuart will explain … [Read more...]