A soak by the Great Wall at Anantara Spa

January 30, 2012

BEIJING, CHINA – The concrete jungle of Beijing can take quite a toll on a gal’s sense of beauty and well being, what with all the smog, traffic, and why-did-I-wear-heels cobblestones. Sore feet, strained calves, clogged pores, and a general sense of fatigue are potential side effects of navigating the… (more)

A hutong gets a remake (via Malaysia) at Café Sambal

November 21, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – As Beijing’s traditional hutongs (mazelike alleyways of courtyard residences) are increasingly “chai’d” (demolished) to make way for the sleek, modern high rises of the cityscape, they’ve almost become like “endangered” habitat to those who treasure history. At Café Sambal, a delectable Malaysian restaurant in the Gulou neighborhood,… (more)

Dodging mullets at Catherine de France

November 19, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – Walking into a salon and coming out with a bowl cut or helmet head is a fate you might expect in small towns of America’s heartland, where (with good reason) crops are generally cut more carefully than hair. But in a sprawling cosmopolitan metropolis like Beijing, you’d… (more)

Commune with the fishes (and sharks) at the Blue Zoo

November 14, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – Aquariums are one of those sights I love visiting over and over again. There’s a certain calmness that comes over me when I enter the dark halls illuminated by the blue shimmering light from the tanks, and I love losing myself for hours in these marine worlds.… (more)

A rare Beijing hand-and-foot haven at Lovely Nails

November 13, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – In many international metropolises, quality nail care is easier to come by than good health care. A broken tip? No problem. A broken bone? Good luck. The opposite, however, is true in China, where the public health care system in urban areas like Beijing is widely accessible,… (more)

Bourgeois decadence at Serve the People

August 27, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – You can be excused for thinking that Serve the People might dish up the simple peasant fare eaten on the Chinese Communists’ Long March or have wait staff dressed as People’s Liberation Army operatives–after all, it is named after one of Mao’s favorite catch phrases. But in… (more)

Middle East meets Far East at Niu Jie Mosque

July 21, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – In China, there are as many ways to practice spirituality as there are cycles of the moon. Over the centuries, Buddism, Daoism, and Confucianism have all made their mark here and Beijing is brimming with beautiful ancient temples that are shrines to these diverse devotions. Though less… (more)

Rolling with the sushi tides at Hatsune

July 13, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – For sushi purists, cute and ironically named sushi rolls are like a death knell of authenticity. You can generally expect the likes of “Pimp My Roll” or “Moto-Roll-ah” to bring on the gasps and eye rolling you’d get from a serious oenophile who’s just been passed a… (more)

Tempting Tuesday: ‘G’ whiz, that’s a swell hotel deal

July 12, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – Even when we’re trapped in the city on the finest days of summer, we’re always looking for ways to maximize our outdoor fun. (Much as we would love to while away our days at a beach house on the Cape, it’s not really a practical option for… (more)

Hungry hungry hutong: sampling Beijing’s back alley eats

June 25, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – Beijing and I have a dysfunctional relationship. I’m constantly threatening to leave on account of its bad behavior (dust storms, terrible internet connections, and complicated bureaucracy, I’m looking at you), but somehow…I just keep coming back for more. Try as I might to resist its charms, as… (more)