It may already be 2020, but the start of the lunar year of the Rat began yesterday! Are you ready for what the year has in store? Do you know your animal sign? What about your element? Which signs are you compatible with? Who should you steer clear of? DO YOU EVEN KNOW YOU? Yes, […]
23 Chinese New Year Greetings (Mandarin & Cantonese)
Happy Chinese New Year everyone! This weekend you may have a line-up of Chinese New Year get-togethers with elders, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and everyone in between. Of course, it’s fun to see family and friends, and maybe score a hong bao red envelope or two (or three or ten), but Chinese New Year courtesies can […]
10 Traditional Mid-Autumn Festival Foods
The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here! It falls on September 13 this year. I hope you’re ready, but in case you’re not, we’re sharing 10 traditional Mid-Autumn Festival Foods served during this holiday! Mid-Autumn Festival Memories The Mid-Autumn Festival can get lost in the American mainstream, but it’s an important Chinese holiday, and one that […]
Seeking Love in Shanghai: The People’s Park Matchmaking Corner
I can’t remember when and how I came to know about the Matchmaking Corner (上海人民公园相亲角) in Shanghai’s People’s Park. This place came about ten years ago, when a few hobby matchmakers decided to meet, exchange photos, and set up dates for their acquaintances. Apparently their success rate was surprisingly high, and the word got around, […]
Dragon Boat Duan Wu Festival & Rice Dumplings Galore!
The Dragon Boat Festival, better known in Chinese as the Duan Wu Festival or Duānwǔ Jié (端午节) falls on June 25, 2020 this year. It’s a three-day holiday in China, and always falls on the 5 day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar. I fondly remember my mother referring to it simply as […]
The Shanghai Breakfast Club: How to Eat Like a Local
Recently, I’ve found myself back in Shanghai. I left Shanghai 33 years ago, and although many of you know that we lived in Beijing for three years, it has always been my intention to come back to Shanghai to live like a Shanghainese again and reminisce about the past (Translation: Eat Chinese breakfast or more […]
Fried Prawn Crackers for Chinese New Year & Tips on How to Celebrate!
When I was a kid, prawn crackers (sometimes also referred to as fried shrimp chips or “Ha Peen” in Cantonese) were one of my first waking thoughts on Chinese New Year morning. It might sound like an exaggeration, but it was reality for a chubby kid like me, who was also an early foodie! Later, when […]
Chengdu Temple Fair, Chinese New Year Celebration
With the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year celebrations coming to a close, we’ve been reminiscing a bit about our time in China. While our celebration lasted only a day here in the U.S., it was at least a weeklong affair back in China, where the Spring Festival is far and away the most important holiday of the year. […]
