My days in England

Taiwan sojourn

Cathy Ervay's semi-memoir about the foods of her heritage is such a luminous homage to the cuisine of Taiwan, it's surprising to learn that it came about almost by accident.

'San bei' flavors a crowd pleaser

"I really love the san bei dishes - San Bei Ji (Three Cup Chicken), or San Bei Squid, or clams or eggplant," says The Food of Taiwan author Cathy Erway. "It has a flavor combination that I find irresistible, and I think it's so much fun that you can apply it to practically anything, like lamb or tofu and who knows what else.

Eat Beat

Beijing Fun with food

Best bets

2015 WDSF World Open DanceSport Championship in Shenzhen

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Activities

Make declarer work for his winners

Fred Allen, a comedian who died in 1956, said, "A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well-known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized."

Best bets

The Marriage of Figaro in Beijing

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Activities

Watch out for and eliminate losers

Ogden Nash said, "A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal and the common cold."

Essence of napa

California wineries are getting more serious about the Chinese market. Dong Fangyu samples some of the New World's best tipples at a recent Beijing seminar and wine-tasting

The most common errors that I see

I teach a lot of classes during the year. The majority are on the east coast of Florida during the winter season. In the summer, I run approximately one Bridge Camp Without Tents each month somewhere in the United States. Each typically lasts three days, and details are available at my website, phillipalderbridge.com.