Longan Soup: It’s Love!

Once upon the time, there was a princess who suffered from misandry – fear and hatred of men. She had a good reason for it, too. Let’s hear it from her: That was an inimitable duet of Eva Marton and Placido Domingo at the Metropolitan Opera. Princess Turandot was originally written by Carlo Gozzi as…

Kitchen Queen

Originally posted on lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown:
Kitchen Queen Her souffles are a marvel and her cakes a work of art. Every single thing she cooks, a product of her heart. Her kitchen full of luscious smells and openness and levity, every disaster solvable and noted for its brevity. She surmounts each…

Chinese Cabbage, Japanese Cat, and a “Frenly” Family Store

Contrary to a popular belief, the ubiquitous Chinese fortune cat is actually Japanese. There are several legends about it, but most agree that it first made its friendly appearance around 17th – 18th century, when Tokyo was called Edo. A samurai was once caught in a rainstorm. Finding shelter under a huge tree, he glanced…

Rudyard Kipling’s Dream: East Meets West

“East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” predicted Rudyard Kipling, and boy! was he ever wrong! Meet an amazing blogger, brilliant Kathy Man, who thumbs her lovely nose at him. Enjoy her lively and entertaining article, Beautiful People! Imogene Lim wrote . . . . . . “Gonna get…

Exceedingly Flavorful Chaos – Baked Wontons

“Where are the hornless dragons which carry bears on their backs for sport? Where is the great serpent with nine heads and where is the Shu-Hu?” (Zhuangzi ca. 3rd-2nd centuries BCE). The dragon, it seems, is right here, but both Shu and Hu have gone visiting. Their host is none other than Mr Chaos, as Confucius…