More on the stellar qualities of Stellekaya blends
2011-04-25 14:48:33
We continue this week with more about Stellekaya wines from South Africa. Ntsiki Biyela, the country's first black woman winemaker who joined Stellekaya in 2004, is especially good with blended wines. Orion, the flagship red discussed last week, is a Bordeaux blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. Even though it is rare in China, this is a wine worth pursuing.
Taiwan is a treasure island of little eats
2011-04-25 13:53:19
One of the must-dos on every mainland visitor's list is the Shi Lin Night Market in Taipei, usually on the last day of a hectic 10-day round-Island tour. Here, many of Taiwan's iconic "little eats", or street snacks, wait to tempt tourists.
Coming home in style
2011-04-25 12:24:45
Chinese-American architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu found that Shanghai was the perfect place to start a design practice, a furniture company and raise three children. Rebecca Lo talks to them.
Last geisha difies time and waves
2011-04-25 11:01:22
KAMAISHI, Japan - When the earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, this city's last geisha was, fittingly, at home getting ready to sing that night at an 117-year-old ryotei, a type of exclusive restaurant, in Kamaishi where she began working as a 14-year-old seven decades ago.
Behind the magic: Things past, future in 'Potter's' world
2011-04-25 10:51:17
Before visiting "Harry Potter: The Exhibition" at Discovery Times Square, I mistakenly assumed that the real point of this 1,300-square-meter display of movie sets, costumes and props would come at the end, where Potterphiles can purchase $44.99 replicas of Albus Dumbledore's magic wand or $49.99 replicas of Gryffindor's school tie.
The ukulele's untrained melody
2011-04-25 10:42:38
Not long ago the ukulele was an endangered species, seen as cheap exotica or a comic prop. Now the humble, four-stringed instrument permeates the culture, turning up in pop music, TV commercials and YouTube videos. The trend is being fueled by Hollywood directors, advertisers, and musicians who have discovered how easy the uke is to use.
Park eccentrics are breath of fresh air
2011-04-25 10:24:47
I've been in Beijing for more than two years now but, due to an unfortunate combination of aged relatives and impoverished ones, coupled with a lack of jet-setting friends, so far I've had few precious visitors. It's a shame because there's a lot in this great city I want to show off. In my mind, I've pulled on my tour guide's colorful hat and grabbed an imaginary long-stemmed triangular flag many times as I have plotted the places of interest.
Classic Hong Kong ghost film remade 24 years later
2011-04-24 17:01:58
When "A Chinese Ghost Story" hit movie screens in 1987, it wowed audiences with its novel plot of man falls for female demon in an ancient Chinese setting.
No escape from the abyss of life
2011-04-22 12:20:13
"All misfortunes are alike, but every happiness is unique," Liu Liu writes in her latest work, The Marriage of Miss Su, a collection of 12 short stories.
Peering from the shadows
2011-04-22 09:56:37
A writer of "new realism", Fang Fang's fiction is distinguished by a direct and fierce confrontation with reality.
60s celebrity culture from a dog's point of view
2011-04-22 09:53:43
Andrew O'Hagan slipped into the role of the famed American art dealer, Leo Castelli, quite effortlessly at the Bookworm International Literary Festival in March.
In the zone
2011-04-21 19:13:11
The transformation of 798 Art Zone from a village into an internationally famous center of art reflects the country's rise, but not everyone is happy with the changes.