You’ll chow on Bbq, crawfish, lamb kebabs, wok-fried rice noodles, fruit pudding, Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles and much more from countless hawker stalls, if you have a second stomach. I experienced all this and more on a frigid January evening in Shanghai with the guidance of a knowledgeable, hungry expat who moonlights as a tour guide […]
Tours - Food and Farm
Central Coast Fall Harvest Wine Tour
Wine lovers with all levels of expertise have generally gone on wine tasting excursions where you hop from vineyard to vineyard tasting the most recently released wines. Some plan each day’s wine adventure with precision while others take a more spontaneous approach and let the day take them wherever the path leads. Both have their […]
Shanghai Dumpling Tour with UnTour Shanghai
When in Shanghai you absolutely must have dim sum and try all the different kinds of dumplings if you want to truly experience the local cuisine. Unless you don’t like dumplings, but who doesn’t like dumplings – I would be suspicious of someone who doesn’t like dumplings. Or, maybe you have to adhere to a […]
Best Eats in Hong Kong with Hong Kong Foodies
Hong Kong, long considered the central hub of Asia where the “East meets the West”, prides itself in its reputation as the culinary mecca of Asia – from the finest haute cuisine to unique local treats and street food vendors, it is a food lover’s ultimate playground. Hong Kong is also widely known as the […]
Cure for the Common Cold: The Bee’s Knees
A cure for the common cold and whatever else might ail you, The Bee’s Knees is a honey-sweetened Prohibition-era cocktail that’s simple, clean and refreshing – the perfect drink to usher in Spring. The phrase “bee’s knees” was prohibition-era slang for “the best” and its namesake cocktail is traditionally made from gin, lemon juice, and […]
Oodles of Noodles in Shanghai
One steamy July afternoon in Shanghai and four noodle houses, one Shanghai deco coffee house, a single one-stop shopping wet market later, I feel like I have a good handle on the best locals cum cult favorite noodle houses in this crazy hot city of modern mile-high skyscrapers on one side and historic districts reminiscent […]
Grilled Pluots with Mozzarella and Pear Vinaigrette
On the table in 15 minutes, this fresh and vibrant stone fruit salad tastes as good as it looks! Pluots are used here, but plums, peaches or nectarines are delicious substitutes. Every year around the autumnal equinox (September 22nd this year) the food and drink world is all abuzz with warming spirits, simmering satisfying comfort […]
Eat a Peach
One would never suspect that a morning of picking peaches at Masumoto Family Farm would be where sweat, spirituality, and sensuality culminate in a cloud of fine dust for a mind-blowing experience that leaves you begging for more… take me Elberta, I can’t live another year without LeGrand. We’re not talking’ the big “O” here – […]
Tangerine Dream Parfait with Chia Seeds
I’ve been a supporter of the buy local, eat sustainable “movement” my entire life – in fact, I was an unknowing early adopter. I grew up in a household where nearly everything on our plate was a result of my family’s hard labor: dad’s planting and harvesting, mom’s constant cooking and canning, and the many chores […]