BACK TO THE BASICS 101 Obviously, you won’t run into any trouble eating at a Western restaurant or a really posh Chinese restaurants at a 5 star hotel. However, points below are helpful when you venture to more local and authentic eats around town, and regardless, the Chinese eating etiquette tips will be helpful in general. Happy reading & eating!
ALISHAN SERIES: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRANSPORTATION TO ALISHAN! (Part 1/4) Maybe a brief intro about Alishan first. Located in the middle between Taichung and Tainan and is pretty much in the smack center of Taiwan, Alishan is a mountain inside the Alishan National Scenic Area. Now, within this area is another area called Alishan Forest Recreational Area and you can think of this area loosely as a large park/village with lots of hiking trails for you to explore the outdoors. Alishan is most famously known for 5 things, which they deem as the 5 wonders of Alishan: 1) The gorgeous sunrise 2) The authentic Alishan Forest train that you ride to and from Alishan 3) The equally gorgeous sunset 4) Cloud sea 5) The Forest Trails. The 2 other things I would like to add are: 1) The Alishan Railway bento box and 2) Cherry blossoms. The below information is easily found on the Internet; however, getting information in English about the transportation to and from Alishan was difficult, so I’ve decided to make it easier for travellers looking to visit Alishan! In fact, there is a whole Alishan series to ensure you’ve got everything covered, from the Top Things To Do in Alishan, Where To Stay in Alishan, and 5 Things You Should Know Before Going To Alishan.
WHAT IS MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL? Also known as Lunar Festival, it is a huge festival and one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture (other cultures celebrate Mid Autumn as well, such as the Vietnamese). I’ve made an 8 part Mid Autumn Festival Series so you can learn a little bit more each day about the festival to countdown so you’ll be totally ready the day of! So what does it celebrate, when does it happen, what are some of the traditions to this festival, what are the legends to the festival and many more questions answered! Read on.
CANTO SLANG: EPISODE 26 I guess I should have released this slang during Chinese New Year because it looks like the most auspicious slang ever right? MIX LUCKY WTF is that? Actually, the meaning is literally the opposite of what it looks like. And also, for my entire life, I always thought that this translated to “Mix Tangerine”, but it turns out that the character for tangerine actually has the “wood” radical on the left hand side so it looks like this :桔. To find the origin, let’s travel back in time to the good ol’ 60’s in HK…
CANTO SLANG: EPISODE 25 As I do research for these slangs, I’ve come to realize a lot of slangs involve airplanes and poultry… And this one is no exception! RELEASE AIRPLANE WTF is that? Be very careful about this slang because it should not be confused with the other slang “hit airplane” because they mean two totally separate things and you could be at the cockpit of all jokes if you get them mixed up. The severity of the situation if you confuse the two slangs is that, “Hit Airplane” is NSFW or dinner conversation, but “Release Airplane” is.
CANTO SLANG: EPISODE 24 This is a slang that I wished I learned 4 years when I first arrived in Hong Kong so I could describe my haggling experience, or rather, my experience being hustled, to all the others around me! SEAFOOD PRICE WTF is that? It’s basically the equivalent to what a “whitie price” would be… The origin I find more to be more amusing than the actually meaning…
THE BEST LOCAL CRAFT BEERS IN HONG KONG So what is the craft beer scene in Hong Kong like? Well, it’s still very much so in its infancy stage, and nowhere near as established and mature like the craft beer industry in the USA. From the brewmasters I’ve talked to in Hong Kong, the majority defines craft beer & craft beer breweries as being more focused on the taste and quality of the beer versus the quantity and volume produced per month in the brewery. If you are primarily a lager drinker and drink craft beer for the very first time, you may find it to be really bitter (or as they call it “hoppy”) & basically a much stronger beer. In this post, we cover what we recommend as the best 10 Hong Kong craft beers to try. This list is no means exhaustive as even as we speak, there are a ton more breweries, brewpubs and nano-breweries popping up in Hong Kong, but the below is a good place to start and build your Hong Kong craft beer repertoire. Let’s begin.
