Nov 17th, 2009 at 4:00PM: Tokyo is the top dining city in the world, according to the latest Michelin Guide. With 11 restaurants at three stars, it's pushed past Paris, the former top dog in the culinary world. Eight of the nine Tokyo restaurants with three starts retained their Michelin ratings year-over-year, and three were bumped up from two stars to three for 2010. Paris has only 10 three-star restaurants in the 2010 ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
HongKong posts
Tokyo restaurants tops in Michelin
Nov 17th, 2009 at 4:00PM: Tokyo is the top dining city in the world, according to the latest Michelin Guide. With 11 restaurants at three stars, it's pushed past Paris, the former top dog in the culinary world. Eight of the nine Tokyo restaurants with three starts retained their Michelin ratings year-over-year, and three were bumped up from two stars to three for 2010. Paris has only 10 three-star restaurants in the 2010 ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Kowloon Walled City
Nov 4th, 2009 at 8:30AM:
Today, it's one of the most peaceful locations in the city. The gardens are beautifully landscaped and connected by long, low archways that are remnant of the Qing Dynasty's architecture. There are ponds, waterfalls, dragonflies; everything you might associate with traditional Chinese gardens.
But just less than two decades ago, the same soil was the foundation to a very different ...South by Southeast: Welcome to Seoul
Oct 20th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
Seoul is not in Southeast Asia. But for a budget traveler like myself headed on to Southeast Asia, this South Korean capital has provided a perfect introduction to my trip. First-time Asian visitors "headed Southeast" often start in Tokyo, the neon Asian mega-capital of food, shopping and nightlife. Yet Seoul matches the urban amenities of Japan's uber-city pound-for-pound, all at a fraction of ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Wan Chai
Aug 29th, 2009 at 9:30AM: The streets are seedy, ragged and flooded with dim red, yellow, and orange neon lights. In between tiny food stalls and convenience stores, dozens of young filipino and thai women in short leather miniskirts loiter outside modest club entrances. Sometimes they call out offers for free cover charges or beseech pedestrians to come inside for just one drink. Sometimes they sit quietly, poised and ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Expat ultimate frisbee
Aug 27th, 2009 at 9:00AM: Confession time. Time to come clean. It's something I've been meaning to get off my chest for a while. Something I didn't know how to bring up before, but here goes... I did the most caucasian thing that an expat living in Hong Kong could do. I joined an ultimate frisbee league. Like the majority of twenty-something American males, I had a brief flirtation with ultimate frisbee in college - ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Ngong Ping
Aug 26th, 2009 at 9:00AM: The world's largest outdoor seated bronze buddha. It sounds more like an obscure sports statistic than a record for a religious statue - and it left me to wonder - where does the largest indoor standing silver buddha reside? My skepticism about the buddha at Ngong Ping was barely trumped by my interest in finally visiting a historically and culturally significant monument in Hong Kong - ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Double Happiness
Aug 16th, 2009 at 8:30AM:
In a continuation from yesterday on my post about Hong Kong weddings, I wanted to shed some light on the interesting history behind a prominent symbol that can be found decorating virtually every wedding in China. Double Happiness.
Sometimes translated as "double joy", or "double happy", the character itself is a ligature of two Chinese characters that mean "joy", pressed together. It's ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Love & Marriage
Aug 15th, 2009 at 8:30AM: Weddings in Hong Kong are big business. In every district, small shops advertise dress tailoring, videography or photography packages, and event planning services. Go into any of the big hotels on a weekend and you'll find over 300 people congregating in the grand ballrooms, feasting over a ten-course meal that boasts elegance and affluence. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to help a ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Family Business
Aug 14th, 2009 at 8:30AM: I arrive at the Houston Center of East Tsim Sha Tsui dripping in sweat - a product of the battle between Hong Kong's unforgiving humidity and my mild-weather Californian blood. I'm here to meet with 23-year-old Ray Lok, a mutual friend and aspiring businessman in Hong Kong. I hope that a quick breather in the air-conditioned lobby will help dry out my shirt, but within minutes I see him step out ...Bruce Lee's former home may become a museum
Jul 30th, 2009 at 11:30AM: digg_url = 'http://digg.com/travel_places/Bruce_Lee_s_former_home_may_become_a_museum'; The former home of actor and martial arts master Bruce Lee may eventually become a museum dedicated to the deceased star. Officials in Hong Kong have launched a competition to design the museum, and the owner of the home has offered to donate it and the HK$100,000 ($13,000) in prize money for the winner.
The ...Spoil yourself at the Four Seasons Hong Kong
Jul 27th, 2009 at 12:00PM: When the Four Seasons Hong Kong was completed in 2005, it entered one of the most competitive markets in the world. Hong Kong is home to a collection of premier hotels, all constructed to take advantage of the city's stunning scenery and appetite for luxury services. In my search to review the best that Hong Kong has to offer, the Four Seasons is certainly the definition of grandeur and style. One ...Dim Sum Dialogues : Getting down to business
Jul 23rd, 2009 at 8:30AM: Let's face it - if you're an aspiring businessperson or entrepreneur, there's an excellent chance that you'll be doing business in China within the next decade. Whether it's manufacturing, finance, or trading - China has the second largest economy in the world and isn't showing any signs of slowing down. One of the best things about Hong Kong is the speed with which people network. A night out ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Little Manila
Jul 21st, 2009 at 8:30AM: Dark clouds rumble through the steel corridors of Central - the remaining signs of a level nine typhoon that swept through Hong Kong last night. I dash out of the MTR station onto the wet streets, and gaze at hundreds of dark-haired, dark-skinned people around me. A clamor of chatter echos from outspread blankets, partially covered by a patchwork of makeshift shelters. Groups of girls paint ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Chinese Tea
Jul 15th, 2009 at 8:30AM: One of my only objectives this weekend was to write an article about traditional Chinese tea. I had been entertaining visions of myself walking down a dark side street in Central and discovering an old wooden tea house guarded by an ancient man with a long wispy beard. I would then bow with respect or give him a secret handshake that would allow me inside access to a tea that the man had just ...Dim Sum Dialogues: Planes, Trams, & Automatic Doors
Jul 8th, 2009 at 9:00AM: This is a continuation of yesterday's column on the transportation of Hong Kong. After seeing various Youtube videos of the infamous landing at Hong Kong's now defunct Kai Tak Airport, I'm disappointed that I never had the chance to experience a 747 roaring over a narrow Kowloon street. But the beauty and convenience of Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport make up for that disappointment, and have ...Dim Sum Dialogues: The MTR
Jul 7th, 2009 at 9:00AM: I love public transport. For me, it's one of the factors that define whether a city is good or great...and after living in Los Angeles for 4 years, I've been overdue to live in a city with great transportation. I've navigated the underground systems of most of the major U.S cities, as well as London, Barcelona, & Paris - but none of them are as efficient or well-maintained as Hong Kong's MTR. ...Dim Sum Dialogues: HKSAR Establishment Day
Jul 2nd, 2009 at 7:00PM: Growing up in America, I've been accustomed to celebrating the 4th of July with the typical afternoon barbecues, long days at the beach, and nights of firework displays. When I found out that July 1st was Hong Kong's equivalent holiday, I guess I imagined similar celebrations - with seafood replacing the dogs & burgers and maybe a few more firecrackers set off in the streets. I was wrong. I ...$452 million to be invested in Disneyland Hong Kong
Jul 1st, 2009 at 3:30PM: The Walt Disney Co. said on Tuesday that it will be investing US$452 million in park expansions, seen as necessary to compete with a planned rival park in Shanghai. The expansion will include three new "lands," and thirty new attractions. A source familiar with the plan stated that two of the new lands will be exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyland for five years after opening. The park will have ...Dim Sum Dialogues : Top 10 Facts About Hong Kong
Jun 27th, 2009 at 1:00PM: Before I start to dig deeper and bring you the best of what Hong Kong has to offer, I think it's appropriate to share some of the most essential pieces of information that I've discovered about the territory in my past few months here. 1. The name Hong Kong is a phonetic rendering of a Cantonese name meaning "fragrant harbour". 2. With a population of 7 million people but land area of only ...Photo of the Day (6.23.09)
Jun 23rd, 2009 at 9:30PM: Today's Photo of the Day comes from our very own Stephen Greenwood, our newest blogger and resident Hong Kong expert. He'll be blogging from southeast asia for the next few months in his series Dim Sum Dialogues, absorbing the culture and taking us on a journey through the massive city state. In case you hadn't figured, he's a damn good photographer too. Think you've got what it takes to submit ...
