I often get asked if it’s really hard for an Italian to have to eat gluten-free (GF), and in China too.  No pasta? No dumplings?  What *do* you eat??  Luckily, China has always been a fairly GF-friendly country.  With the rare exception of restaurants specializing in wheat-based noodles or dumplings, there are always plenty of rice-based dishes to choose from, as well as rice noodles (and other GF starch noodles like mung bean or sweet potato noodles…).   » Read more »

  This past June, Guy and I were fortunate enough to be invited by Shangri-la Hotel to their new hotel in Lhasa as a part of their Advisory Board meeting (Guy is on the board).  I hadn’t been to Lhasa in almost ten years and the last time we were there, the Lhasa Hotel was the best on offer.  Since then, both the Shangri-la and St. Regis hotels have opened,  » Read more »

Managing its image with the outside world for the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics was a masterful stroke for China. I know the man who was in charge of PR for the Olympics, and when I put it to him that China would be well advised to continue to project that image on an ongoing basis, he cautioned that the government would never allow it. What is one to make of such a country? How can one operate in it?  » Read more »

Attention travelers, leave the canned food and misconceptions at home… it’s time to eat your way through China. Minced chicken with pine nuts inside a sesame bun. Pizza with broccoli, buffalo mozzarella and red chili powder. Vegetarian duck, stuffed with soy braised shitake mushrooms and veggies. Cream of green tea with a crunchy center of Jivara chocolate served on a hazelnut biscuit. Is this a menu from San Francisco’s restaurant scene?  » Read more »

Three Michelin Star Chef Alain Passard   Rather than slaving over a Thanksgiving feast this year, wouldn’t you prefer to have sumptuous dinners with not one, but two separate Michelin 3 star chefs…in China?  Imperial Tours is offering a 6-night private culinary adventure through Shanghai and Hangzhou Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2014 in conjunction with the Park Hyatt Shanghai's annual "Masters of Food and Wine"  » Read more »