It's gettin' hot in here

I thought I was used to steamy heat after living on the equator in Singapore for two years.  But no, Shanghai is a doozy.  Summers here are horrendous; very humid and stinking hot. Thank goodness for aircon.

So that's what speed does to your face...

The FINA World Championships are on it here at the moment in Shanghai - swimming, synchronised swimming, diving, etc.

I actually watched the Mens platform diving competition the other day on TV, complete with Chinese commentary. Funnily enough, I totally got what was going on. They dived, the judges scored, the divers celebrated. Easy.

I just love this collage of the divers' faces mid-dive. Read more here.

Source: www.cnngo.com

Loving this new song from Gotye

My brother-in-law put me on to this (thanks Patto!), and I've replayed it a million times. I love it. Aussie music at its finest. And it's a pretty great music video too.

Gotye's new album, Making Mirrors, is expected on August 19. Can't wait.  In the meantime, I might go back and re-listen to his last album, 2006's Like Drawing Blood.

Gotye- Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)- official film clip from Gotye on Vimeo.

Movies set in Shanghai: my three favourites

Lust / Caution (2007)

A controversial one for sure. This espionage thriller, directed by Taiwanese director Ang Lee, is a taut drama set in WWII-era Shanghai with some pretty racy sex scenes. The movie's lead actress Tang Wei was even been banned from working in China due to the sexual nature of her performance. It's a complex film, beautifully shot and with fantastically nuanced performances.

Empire of the Sun (1987)  

Another movie set in WWII-era Shanghai when the city was under Japanese occupation. The central performance of Christian Bale, aged just 12 at the time of shooting, is nothing short of brilliant. This is one of Steven Spielberg's more under-rated films and definitely worth a viewing. 

The Painted Veil (1986) 

Naomi Watts is one of the most gifted actresses in Hollywood and consistently works on interesting movies often playing unlikeable but complex characters. Here she plays an unfaithful wife caught between her lover and her husband in1920s-era Shanghai. Then she battles a cholera outbreak in a Chinese village. The cinematography is beautiful and the performances by Watts and Edward Norton are excellent. 

Who knew Russell Brand was such a good writer?

Russell Brand has written a really interesting blog on the passing of Amy Winehouse. His writing has really surprised me. He's actually very good. Perhaps I should give his book a go.

Read his blog here:  http://www.russellbrand.tv/2011/07/for-amy/

Congratulations Cadel

I have loved watching this year's Tour de France. It was a nailbiter to the end and I am overjoyed that Cadel Evans made it to the top of the podium. He is a truly inspirational sportsman. And Australia's very first TDF winner. Incredible.

Albums on high rotation at the moment

Lots of good music out at the moment. These are my current fave albums.

Vetiver - The Errant Charm

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Battles - Gloss Drop

Eddie Vedder - Ukelele Songs

  

Seeker Lover Keeper - Seeker Lover Keeper

Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Boy & Bear - Feeding Line

Gomez - Whatever's On Your Mind

Liam Finn - Fomo

Felix Riebl - Into the Rain

This one's been out a couple of years, but I've loved listening to it again lately, particularly the track '16th and Valencia Roxy Music'. He is just the coolest dude.

Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be

Come on Cadel!!!

I've been really getting into the Tour de France for the past five years or so, mostly because of this guy - Cadel Evans. He is such an inspiring sportsman. I hope he can beat that whinging Andy Schleck and become Australia's first TDF winner.

I just wish China offered live coverage so I could stay up all night and watch stage 19 tonight. A trip to the pub may be in order. My local pub screens the TDF each night, but alas their coverage is from Japan.  The pictures are top notch, but I love commentary, and it's just not the same in Japanese. Although tomorrow night is the time trial, so I should be able to follow it...

Another day, another single

Bjork's second single from Biophilia, Cosmogeny has arrived. Loving it.

Breaking bad with Bjork. But in a good way.

Two of my favourite things have returned at the perfect time for the ultimate distraction from real life: Bjork and Breaking Bad.

First up, Breaking Bad. Whoa!  What a great first episode. It's been a long time coming and I must say I loved the first helping and can't wait to see what unfolds in this fourth season. I won't give anything away at all. But it's a ripper. If you're a fan, get onto it ASAP! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, get to a store and buy the first three seasons now.

Secondly, Bjork. I have been a massive fan of the Icelandic songstress for decades. Her concert at Sydney Opera House in January 2008 was out of this world and one of my favourite concerts of all time. I still get chills when I think about that night: the lights, the lasers, the costumes, the wild dancing, the harbour backdrop, her incredible performance. Truly spectacular. She's not to everyone's taste, but she's certainly mine. So I am loving her new single.

There's no official video as yet, but I'm sure when it's released, it's going to be amazing. Michel Gondry is directing. Say no more. Her album Biophilia drops in September and she's going about it in a very post-modern multimedia way: she's designed an app for each single for an interactive experience between visuals and music. Such a cool idea. Download the app for free here.

Taking a break

Hi all, sorry for not posting for the past couple of weeks. After a long and courageous battle, my beautiful mum passed away on the 6th July. For that reason, I am taking some time away from blogging. I hope to be back soon.

My Top 15 Travel Tips and Tricks

Because I travel a lot, I'm often asked for advice on my tips and tricks for bagging a good deal. Here are my top tips.

1. There's a difference between "travelling" and "holidaying". Make sure you know what you want. If you are in need of rest and relaxation, don't book an eight-day, three-city budget break with multiple transfers and connections.You'll come back exhausted. If you're only using your hotel to lay your head after a long day pounding the pavements, book somewhere clean, central and cheap. My rule: only spend more on your accommodation if you plan to enjoy it. 


2. Map out your year and identify the times you'd like to travel. If you don't have a lot of holiday leave days, use the public holidays to your advantage. But book well in advance so you don't pay over the odds. On the flipside, take a holiday at short notice. You can always find last-minute hotel and flight deals. Also look at when the best time is to travel, i.e. high season versus low season. Sometimes the first or last week of low season can bag you a bargain.


3. Shop around for travel deals. I have favourite websites for everything from airline tickets to hotel reservations. Shop around for the best deal, not the lowest room rate, i.e. inclusions such as free wi-fi and breakfast make a big difference. Perhaps find a price on Agoda and email the hotel to see if they'll match or better the deal. If you don't ask, you don't get. When booking your flight, pay attention to airline baggage restrictions and arrival/departure times. A 5am flight might be $50 cheaper than the midday flight, but you might have to get an expensive taxi instead of a train. Weigh up the costs and convenience.

www.momondo.com The best site for comparing flights. You can search by time, duration, stopovers.

www.ctrip.com For China flights. And they'll deliver tickets to your door for cash payment (if you don't want to use your credit card) within two hours.

www.agoda.com My favourite site for cheap hotel deals and checking out hotel pictures easily.

www.tripadvisor.com See what other travellers think of a hotel, but beware of whingers.

www.kayak.com Compare deals across multiple booking websites

www.seatguru.com Pick the best seat when you check-in

www.evernote.com Keep all your clippings here and access via your iPhone when you're in situ

www.tripit.com An excellent resource for storing all your travel details and reference numbers. You can email your email confirmations and it will collate automatically and sync with your iPhone.

And join mailings lists, for updated deals (Agoda, Trip Advisor and individual airlines). When I lived in Singapore, I would book cheap flights ahead of time. It's also something for you to look forward to. I once got an email alert, and booked a return flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia for $10 return.

4. Read up-to-date information. Newspaper travel sections, in-flight magazines, travel and food magazines,  travel and food blogs often have more current info than guide books. That said, I always take a small guide book with me. Wallpaper Guides are my favourite. I like their maps and their breakdown of a city by area, plus their suggestions suit my interests. Luxe Guides complement the Wallpaper guide well as they often cover the same areas (so you can cross-reference) but also provide addresses in the local language.  I also pick up a fold-up city map from the Tourist office in the arrivals hall and pop it in my day bag for the duration of my trip. Lonely Planet Encounters books can be good, although I avoid the larger Lonely Planet guides as they tend to be too heavy and focus on the low-budget and long-term traveller scene. My backpacking days are over.

5. Use your iPhone, iPad, laptop and free wi-fi. Load up your gadget with apps such as Trip It, Evernote, iTranslate, dictionaries, metro maps, city maps, etc. Technology can really assist if used correctly. And it's much lighter! But turn off your global roaming to avoid RIDICULOUS bills.

6. Don't go overboard with planning your itinerary to the minute. Have an idea of the things you want to do and the areas that appeal, but don't kill spontaneity with schedule. That said, you do need to create spontaneity by making sure you're exploring the right parts of the city, i.e. specific streets, neighbourhoods, restaurants, bars. Make a list and each morning (or the evening before) figure out what fits your mood. But if an area, street, gallery or museum is disappointing or not tickling your fancy, ditch it, jump in a cab or hop on the train and pick a new area. Make restaurant bookings in advance (email a few weeks ahead if it's a popular spot) or ask your hotel in the morning to book for you for the night. Or simply follow your nose and chance it.

7. Be true to your interests. If you're not into history or art galleries or science museums, don't visit them. Likewise, if you don't like shopping or dining out (we can never be friends by the way!) stick to what you do enjoy. Just because you're in a new city doesn't mean you have to change your personality.

8. Don't forget the details. Travel insurance, a spare credit card, enough local currency to get you a taxi to your hotel, etc.  Personally, I prefer to use a credit card at restaurants and shops (hooked to the day's exchange rate) as it saves me from changing too much cash. That said, not everywhere accepts credit cards so do have local currency on you.
9. Have a plan for your first night. It's easy to arrive late to a city and decide to "stay in". It's a mistake. If you land at 5pm, make a dinner booking at a restaurant for 9pm. It will give you a purpose and a plan. So get to your hotel, check-in, unpack, have a shower and get out to a nearby bar for a pre-dinner drink by 8:30. It can be a local dive or a fancy five-star affair. Just make sure that it has an authentic excitement factor, i.e. a killer view of Hong Kong harbour, a busy and theatrical izakaya in Tokyo, a view of The Bund in Shanghai. It's a great way to start a holiday.

10. Get your bearings. Often the best way to quickly get acquainted with a new city is to take an open-top bus tour. I find this a time-effective and cost-effective way of discovering the scale of a city. Sit on the bus for the whole ride with your map in hand and get an overall feeling for the city and its neighbourhood. Choose the areas that most appeal and explore them in more detail on your time.

11. Travel light. I usually only travel with a carry-on suitcase and an oversized handbag. Scarves and earrings are your friends. Shoes and full-size toiletries are your enemies. One trick is to put your toiletries in your handbag. Most airlines allow you a "laptop bag" and do not define or weigh "handbags/purses", so use this to your advantage. I use a Longchamp large tote as it looks smart and is very practical both on the flight and as a day bag. It fits snugly at my feet on the plane and can fit a laptop, my wallet, iPod, camera, noise-cancelling headphones plus my toiletry and cosmetics. I separate the liquids into a clear bag (travel-size deoderant, moisturiser, hair conditioner, perfume, foundation) so I can easily throw them through the x-ray. If I do get an overly officious check-in assistant who weighs my handbag, I just check-in my roll-on case and carry my tote. Buy magazines and books after you check-in so they don't get weighed.

12. Invest in quality luggage: mine's an expandable Samsonite that rolls on four wheels, so I can roll it in front of me or behind with one hand. And if I do shop on a trip, I can expand it and check it in on the return flight. If you know you're going to shop for heavy or bulky items, take a bigger suitcase, but don't overpack to begin with. Likewise, if you have bulky winter gear and need more space, take a bigger suitcase, but don't fill the space just because it's there. Also buy a good toiletry bag with compartments and a hook (to hang in the bathroom) and some two-sided packing cells which are particularly handy for keeping clothes and underwear together. Separate clean from dirty as you travel.

13. Learn some key phrases. At the very least, learn to say hello, please and thank-you in the local language. It shows that you have made an effort.

14. Splash Out. Be organised, but be creative and open-minded. Travel is about enjoying new experiences. Splash out in some areas but batten down the hatches in others. It's no use spending a lot of money on airfares and hotels but then scrimping on activities. Just think: it will cost you a LOT more money to return and eat at that restaurant, drink that cocktail or go to that observation deck because you're being thrifty. Be generous with yourself.

15. Create memories. Photos are great, but create more memories. Buy a fragrance at duty-free on departure, then use it during your trip. Once you're back home, every time you smell that fragrance you'll be reminded of your happy memories of that trip. The same with music: listen to a new album while in transit. And don't buy a lot of souvenirs; buy something small, simple and practical. For example, we bought a globe and cushion covers in Tokyo, some tea cups in New York, a wine stop in Taipei and drink coasters in Seoul. We bought some ceramic bowls in Vietnam from the hotel gift shop. They were the same bowls we ate our breakfast from each day. Now every morning as I eat my cereal, I'm reminded of my honeymoon.

The unhappiest bride EVER

I was just watching the CNN live coverage of the Monaco royal wedding. Man, I've never seen a more unhappy bride in my life. That chick did NOT want to be there. She was in some serious pain looking at her "beloved". I hope the pain is worth it.

But besides that, I can't believe we now have a Princess Charlene. Isn't that like calling someone Princess Sharon or Countess Luann?!

Who could forget this Charlene?

One Friday, two weddings

First up: Kate Moss married her rocker boyfriend Jamie Hince in a village wedding yesterday. I like that she's posed publicly for photos and not sold an exclusive deal to a mag.Her John Galliano dress is lovely and she's stayed true to her bohemian leanings. But I wished she'd brushed her hair. The less said about his powder blue double-breasted skinny pant suit the better...

Second up: Prince Albert of Monaco and his new bride Charlene Wittstock pose after their civil ceremony. The big bash comes today, where she'll presumably wear a fancier white dress and amp it up a notch. Am not loving this blue Armani ensemble at all. The blues don't match. And what's up with that lace hem?

An appetite for Hong Kong

On our recent trip to Hong Kong we hit up a few different restaurants and eateries.

On Saturday night, I nabbed two seats at Liberty Private Works. It used to be a test kitchen for the Liberty Exchange restaurant, but now it's a stand-alone restaurant. With only 15 seats at the chef's counter with a set eight-course menu, you're in Canadian executive chef Vicky Cheng's hands. Having worked in Toronto and New York (under Daniel Boulud and Jean-George Vongerichten) before moving to Hong Kong, he knows his stuff.

This was one filling meal!  The menu is changed every month and consists of eight courses, plus two amuse bouches and a petit four. And there was no scrimping on the serving size nor the quality of ingredients - caviar, truffles, fois gras. At HK$1400 for two people, it was pretty great value. And even better, it was BYO!

With just one waiter, two sous chefs and 15 guests, the mood was intimate and very relaxed. And actually very theatrical. We watched each dish being plated. Some of the dishes took so long to plate up that I was almost sorry to eat them. I'm glad I did though. There were some pretty amazing flavours on offer.

Chef Vicky Cheng stands in front of the blackboard that gave a simplistic teaser for the ingredients in each course.

The amuse bouche. The one on the far right was my favourite: a fiery bite of pomelo, lobster and chili.

The first course was delicious. Raw tuna with radishes and caviar surrounded by dehydrated rice (a texture not unlike some fancy Rice Bubbles) which added a crunch. To the far right is a fruit I'd never encountered before, called a bayberry, which acted as a palate cleanser. It was like a blackberry mixed with a boysenberry and strawberry. Delicious.

The second course was abalone with white asparagus and leeks. Very tasty.

I loved this third course. The stick-thin model seated next to me asked for the creamy parmesan foam to be left off the plate. (WTF?!) It was rich, but man oh man. Yum. Whole egg ravioli with truffles and caviar. Heaven.

Grouper with crab, chili and lemon. I'm having trouble remembering this course but I do recall that the lemon sauce was very tart and lifted the dish considerably.

Then the rich ingredients really started coming thick and fast. Duck with a fois gras foam. I loved this.

I loved the next course too, but was fit to bursting by this stage. The presentation was very whimsical, what with a daikon pretending to be a bone (back right) and filled with slow-braised oxtail.

This dessert was a surprise package. The blackboard said "coconut, pineapple, hazelnut and rum". If I hadn't watched this plated up in front of me, I wouldn't have known what to expect. But hidden under that coconut foam was roasted pineapple with hazelnuts. It tasted exactly like a Coconut Rough, a chocolate I often ate as a kid, but Chef Chen had never heard of it. I told him to run out and buy one when he was next in Australia.

And who doesn't love a chocolate fondant with vanilla ice-cream? This was elevated a notch with caramel and smoked salt. A. Ma. Zing. Sweet and deliciously salty at the same time.

Then I rolled home and fasted for a month. Not.

FIND IT:

Liberty Private Works

3/F 12 Wellington Street, Central

Tel: +852 5186 3282

www.libertypw.com

As it was close by our hotel, we visited Classified Cheese Shop twice. It's a great spot to park for a while and sip wine, nibble on cheese or order something more substantial. And it's always packed. You can sit inside or outside (curiously, due to local regulations the staff cannot serve customers outside so you need to pop inside and pick up your wine and plated meals). I prefer sitting outside. It's a lovely spot when the sun is shining and the wine is flowing.

Ricotta and spinach ravioli with a burnt butter sauce with sage and walnuts. Come to mama.

Delicious lasagne! So cheesy.

I love the Virginia Woolf quote they have on their fabric bags: "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." Amen to that.

We only had a snack the first day. Goat's cheese and radicchio salad.

FIND IT:

Classified (Sheung Wan) 

108 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong 
T 852-2525 3454 F 852-2525 3455

www.classifiedfoodshops.com.hk

I also ate a great woodfired pizza at 208 Duecento Otto (just around the corner from Classified).

My favourite pizza: Diavola but with ricotta instead of mozzarella.

FIND IT:

208 Duecento Otto

208 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan

Tel: 2549 0208

www.208.com.hk

Saturday morning, we caught a taxi to the seaside town of Stanley for brunch/early lunch. We ate at Rocksalt which is right on the promenade next to the markets.

I'm going to try to make this salad at home. It was so tasty and healthy. Beetroot cured salmon with mixed greens and a quail egg.

FIND IT:

Rocksalt

25 Stanley Market Road

Tel: +856 2899 0818

www.chiram.com.hk

A weekend in Hong Kong with a new camera

I was recently in Hong Kong for a few days, tagging along on another business trip. With Shanghai prices higher due to luxury taxes, I took the opportunity to buy a new camera. I've had an SLR in the past and while I love the pics, I find the camera too damn heavy to take anywhere, so I always left it behind in favour of a point and shoot. 

There is sooooo much choice now when it comes to cameras (point and shoots, micro four thirds, DSLRs) and after much research and indecision, I settled on a Sony NEX-5. I initially wanted the Olympus Pen EPL-2 or the Panasonic Lumix GF2, but in the end, the Sony NEX-5 won me over with its usability and intuitive menus. By the time I charged up the battery, I only really had a day to give the kit lenses a whirl, so I'm looking forward to buying more lenses and seeing what this puppy can really do. Here's some snaps I took in our last day in Sheung Wan, Mid-Levels and Hollywood Road.

I'll do another post soon on all the yummy food we ate! With pics.