Pickle Deli Square

Dec 17

Dec 17 Trip Report: SFO United Polaris Lounge and SFO-SAN

Kai

Trip Report

Still one of the nicest lounges I’ve ever been in.

Dec 16

Dec 16 Dawn of Post-Zero-COVID China: United Polaris business class PVG-SFO Trip Report

Kai

Trip Report

Amazingly, I could “just walk in” to Pudong Airport. No more PCR tests or scanning codes. What didn’t change from previous years was the menu on the flight. In fact, the Polaris pre-arrival meal was the same as my pre-arrival meal in Economy 3 years ago.

Nov 15

Nov 15 It keeps on going…: continual COVID testing, quarantine scares, and today's lockdown

Kai

Shanghai

Never-ending nonsense

Oct 14

Oct 14 Chaozhou: Late Night Eats, and Congee x 3

Kai

Food

Trust a city that stays up late to eat!

Oct 13

Oct 13 Revelation! Changfen (常粉) in Chaozhou (潮州)

Kai

Food

A completely different - and much superior - changfen than the thick tubes of rice noodles that I’d previously had in dimsum restaurants.

Oct 12

Oct 12 Chaozhou Highlight: Marinated Raw Seafood

Kai

Food

I don’t even like raw seafood normally!

Oct 11

Oct 11 Ancestral Village: Jianqiao, Guangdong

Kai

Travel

Finding family roots in a beautiful little village between Meizhou and Chaozhou.

Oct 10

Oct 10 Meizhou Eats: Breakfast

Kai

Food

A second try for the typical Meizhou Hakka breakfast of yan mian (腌面) and san ji di soup (三及第).

Oct 9

Oct 9 Lodging Review: Meizhou Chengyu Hotel

Kai

Lodging

Modern, functional, purple.

Oct 8

Oct 8 Meizhou Eats: Hakka snacks

Kai

Food

Special tangyuan (汤圆), and a whole host of other little bites along Zhongshan Road (中山路).

Oct 7

Oct 7 Meizhou Eats: Restaurants

Kai

Food

Three very nice restaurants trying mainly Hakka food, from the well-know braised and steamed pork belly, to these chewy balls of meat and vegetables.

Oct 6

Oct 6 Meizhou Eats: Eating a whole salt-baked chicken (盐焗鸡), at its origin

Kai

Food

So this is what it’s supposed to taste like!

Oct 5

Oct 5 Meizhou (梅州) Impressions, and a visit to the China Hakka Museum

Kai

Travel

Getting a sense of everyday life.

Oct 4

Oct 4 A 1.5-Day (2 Night) Itinerary at the Fujian Tulou (福建土楼)

Kai

Trip Report

A perfect (for me) itinerary

Oct 4

Oct 4 Room and board (and cooking class!) review at Changdi Inn, Yongding Tulou (永定土楼洪坑村常棣客栈)

Kai

Lodging

A warm stay, from booking all the way to farewell.

Oct 3

Oct 3 Quiet moments with persimmons, Hongkeng village

Kai

Food

Sun-dried and oven-dried products of nature.

Oct 3

Oct 3 Tulou Day 2 afternoon: Finishing up key sites in the Yongding 永定 tulou area

Kai

Travel

Wrapping up a big day, where I saw almost all of both Nanjing and Yongding tulou areas, stopping at the “King of Tulou” and the Chuxi village nestled in the green mountains.