As a long-time and frequent visitor to Los Angeles, I like to think of myself as a bit of a local when travelling to the Southern Californian metropolis. While that may be wishful thinking on my part, a way to feel like you belong is to stay at a hotel that is a bit of a hidden gem rather than just a cookie-cutter chain you can find anywhere in the world. Read More...
All these rituals are meant to keep us on the good side of our ancestors. There are also certain things we should abide by to avoid provoking malevolent beings.
For example, it is believed that spirits live inside umbrellas – so you shouldn’t open them indoors, as this is a direct invitation for ghosts to enter your home. If you bring home a stranger’s umbrella, that’s even worse – you are unwittingly providing shelter for wandering ghosts. Read More...
The character changed from “skewer” to char, meaning “fork”, which could be due to the evolution of Cantonese in the southern provinces where char siu and roast meats were most prominent.
As a reflection of changing tastes, during the 1950s the best variety in town was “floor scraping” char siu. Fortunately, the term did not apply to the cooking method, but to the pigs used that were so fat their bellies scraped the floor – a sign of the preferred fat content at the time. Read More...
