Book Review: Tokyo on Foot by Florent Chavouet

This unique presentation of one foreigner’s exploration of the world’s largest city over six months was never intended to be a guidebook: no star ratings for luxe hotels or interviews with celebrity chefs here - and wasn’t supposed to be a social commentary: don’t look here for studies on gender roles or the Occupy Movement. But a guidebook (of sorts) is what this simple artist’s sketchbook has become; one filled with the (usually humorous) views and comments about everyday life and ordinary buildings around the various districts of central Tokyo.

Florent’s district maps may be easier to use than the ones in the Frommer’s guidebook - and clearly show the most important places for family travelers, like good supermarkets and convenience stores and coffee shops; the photogenic spots and nice parks and walking-path shortcuts. 

Tokyo is not called a beautiful city (except perhaps at night, from a high building, when you can soak in the lights) - but Florent’s colored-pencil sketches give individual personality to even the most ordinary row house or storefront. And his cartoon drawings of shopkeepers, commuters, students, and local police - while, well, simple cartoons, still move past stereotypes and cliches to reveal humanity and show you details you might not ordinarily notice from the tour bus or running through the airport. (Mr. Chavouet’s blog - in French - continues his studies.)

When our family travels we like to use public transport and walk around, eat simply and try to experience parts of everyday life in the cities we visit. The flowers poking up in an alleyway are no less beautiful than the ones in the Imperial gardens, after all. This book brings back nostalgia we have for our time in Japan - and gives us ideas for our next trip.

Whether you’ve been to Tokyo already or are looking for ideas for a future stopover trip, this book lovingly shows the real side of the city, and is great entertainment.




For more media, product, and service reviews about traveling through and learning about Asian culture, please visit http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Reviews.html

Our Tokyo article links:

• Narita Airport Guide: http://www.weninchina.com/Airports/Tokyo_NRT.html
• Tokyo Stopover: http://www.weninchina.com/Travel/Tokyo_Stopover.html

Media review: Teach Me Chinese... and More Chinese

Teach Me Tapes is a Minnesota company that for many years has created and distributed workbooks and music for teaching many world languages, including Japanese, Russian, Korean, Hebrew, as well as Spanish and the other workhorse European tongues. In addition, they also produce materials for teaching English as a second language. I had dinner with the owner and manager several years ago at an education-industry convention, where I learned much about the disconnect between social interest in a language-learning product and the actual sales results; plus the investment needed to put a professional product together. (However, I purchased this title at list price this year from my local Lakeshore Learning store.)

This book compiles the company’s two original titles (Teach Me Chinese - A Musical Journey Through the Day, and Teach Me More Chinese - A Musical Journey Through the Year) and includes an hour-long CD with 41 tracks.

The songs include a fair number of classic English-language nursery rhymes such as The Wheels on the Bus, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. These songs are used for the company’s other language workbooks, too, but of course the songs and translations are unique to each book. So while this does mean the songs are not intended to teach about Chinese culture, it does mean that the content cover a great many common words including:

• family members
• animals
• parts of the body
• daily routines
• clothing
• colors

The songs are primarily sung in Mandarin, without English translation, although a few extended tracks are performed in English. [This is in contrast with the Sara Jordan materials reviewed previously in which every song is half-English-half-Mandarin.] The instrumentation is simple; the music stays in the background so the listener can clearly hear the Mandarin words. Extra care has been taken to accurately present Mandarin tones, too.

My daughter - currently a kindergartner at a Mandarin immersion school - quickly recognized several of these songs the first time I played her the CD. (I’ll take that as an endorsement!)

The accompanying workbook/coloring book has all the song lyrics in Pinyin, with English translations further back; the images and text, however, are all hand-drawn - literally handwritten Chinese characters, Pinyin, and English words. Some characters and words are crammed into the frame of the picture - readability is not consistent. This seems to be a missed opportunity when this twin-title book was compiled. On the other hand, the drawings are of Chinese kids and families (in Western settings and with Western friends) - it would have been easy for a publisher to recycle ethnic-ambiguous artwork from a book for some other language, so these illustrations are a well-thought and appreciated effort.

The primarily-Chinese songs and all-Chinese activity pages make this compilation attractive for immersion settings. The presentation is simple and easy to follow for non-native speakers, though, so it should be considered for home use, too. For preschoolers to second-graders, you’ll get a great deal of play out of the CD, and the activity pages could be kept as good reference materials. The price also makes this a solid value compared to the individual books.

For more media, product, and service reviews about traveling through and learning about Asian culture, please visit http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Reviews.html

Book Review - Exploring Hong Kong by Steven K. Bailey

This travel guide recently appeared at my local Barnes & Noble and immediately set itself apart from the traditional books on its shelf. After leafing through a few pages I recognized Mr. Bailey’s approach to travel writing had much the same spirit as what we are trying to do here at weninchina.com.

The book is oriented by geography much like other travel books (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories, etc.), runs a similar page length (just over 180 pp) and price ($14.95). However, it is different from the usual Fodor’s or Lonely Planet guides in two important ways: first, it does not go into any depth on which restaurants / clubs / hotels are in the must-see-and-be-seen-at category; no HK Disney reviews; and no interviews with local tastemakers. (After all, despite its recent 2009 copyright, these things change in a blink in HK.) Second, the author uses very specific activities - such as riding the Travelator from Central up to the Mid-Levels, hiking down from Victoria Peak, or crossing Lamma Island by foot - as a framework to tell longer stories of the history and people of Hong Kong.

And instead of trying to cover every neighborhood, Steven goes into depth on a narrow set of places that a first- or second-time visitor may be more likely to explore. His chapter on Victoria Peak, for instance, runs 22 pages. Steven also dedicates multiple pages to specific enthusiast activities that I’ve never seen in traditional guides - airplane spotting, train watching, military history, law enforcement, and several more. (I learned about a pair of excellent airliner-watching spots that I’ll have to try next time!)

Another unique and handy section is dedicated to activities especially appropriate for hot and rainy days, that kids and parents can all enjoy.

There is a thoughtful emphasis throughout the book on how to get around Hong Kong quickly but inexpensively - often including walking directions from MTR stations or ferry terminals (as that’s how the locals really move about).

Photography in the book is by Steven’s wife, Jill Witt, and is of high quality, although I’d have liked to see much more to accompany and illustrate the conversational text. There is some repetition in the book’s “how to get there” sidebars as well, although not noticeable if you aren’t reading the book straight through. Maps of local neighborhoods give the basics but could be a bit more fleshed-out (although if you’re also using a conventional guidebook or one of the many free maps you can get in HK, that is perhaps not a big issue.)

Overall, the book strikes the tone of a friend who lives in HK and wants to take you to the things people don’t see when in an organized tour group - often just a block off the ‘beaten path’ or around the corner of a building. My family’s experience holds this to be true, too - we found Victoria Peak to be a much more relaxed and friendly place once we walked to the back-side of its shopping center so our daughter could ride on the playground equipment and we could watch the Pacific Ocean - or in walking along the footpath on the side of the mountain almost to ourselves. Along with the expected and still-exciting activities like riding the Star Ferry and watching the evening laser light show on the harbor, Steven shows us the quieter and less-stereotyped vision of Hong Kong that is no less fascinating.

If you’re planning to spend three or more days in Hong Kong, even if you have been there before, this book is highly recommended reading, especially for families.

For other reviews of media, products, and services around travel in Asia and understanding Asian culture, visit http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Reviews.html

Our Hong Kong-related articles can be found at:

http://www.weninchina.com/Travel/Hong_Kong_Stopover.html

http://www.weninchina.com/Airports/Hong_Kong.html

Another awesome slice-of-life video

Tremendously creative timelapse video of the streets (and ferryboats) of Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon). Very well-edited. We've wanted to check out Vietnam for some time now - although after this I know we'll stick to taxis and public transport when getting around...

Video: Night Taxi Timelapse in Hong Kong

Posted tonight on YouTube by Agence-France-Presse (AFP); nicely done. I really miss Hong Kong...

weninchina.com now on Google+

Our Google+ page is now up and running.

Stop by and +1 us into one of your Circles, I guess is what we're supposed to say. For now, I just want to learn what G+ can do, figure out how to integrate it with all the other media pieces like our Facebook Page, YouTube channel, and Twitter feed.

There are some new media reviews coming soon, an article about Chinese "Lucky Numbers", and the seasonal update on Transpacific flight options. Stay tuned, and drop us a note with any suggestions, feedback, or just to say "Ni hao."

Still more Milk Coffee reviews!

While I continue to advocate for your local dairy to follow the lead of their Asian comrades and start putting half-gallons of rich milk coffee on supermarket and convenience store shelves across America, in the meantime I’ll keep presenting the various single-serve options you may come across.

The Milk Coffee Review Criteria are:

1. Creaminess. On the one side are the super-dense drinks like Vietnamese Café Su’a made with condensed milk, almost toffee-like in thickness. On the other side is watered-down coffee. An ideal milk coffee texture should resemble 2% milk – not too fatty but not too watery. Our scale is 0 = water; 10 = thick condensed milk.

2. Flavor. This is a more-complicated judgment, subject to individuals’ taste – as all the different drink options at Starbucks will attest. There seems to be a four-way balance in the drinks I’ve tried: water – chocolate – milk – espresso. A good milk coffee doesn’t have to shy away from cocoa notes but can’t ignore the coffee beans (otherwise it’s just chocolate milk.) Our scale looks at M = Milk; C = Chocolate; E = Espresso. 0 on the scale is weak; 10 is overpowering.

3. Price per serving. Milk coffee is supposed to be an everyday beverage, not a premium treat.

4. Caffeine punch. 0 for no effect; 10 for jarring.

The products in today’s review are:

Mr. Brown Cappuccino Iced Coffee, from King Car Foods of Taipei, Taiwan

Taiwan and Japan have a deep relationship of trade, tourism, and food culture, so it’s not surprising that manufacturers there also caught on to the milk coffee trend. What is perhaps surprising is that it took until 1982 for production to begin; however, the brand began to be exported in 1986 and now reaches to 50 countries. The King Car firm, per their German website, (can’t find one for America...) is involved in “drinks, food, biotechnology, aquaculture, horticulture and chemical production.” Just like Ma and Pa back on the farm.

The brand and character design are a riff on Suntory’s “Boss” coffee

You do see this brand in Japan so the quality control is respectable. Again, like the UCC drink reviewed last time, the can is steel; it’s meant to stand up to containership travel. 

1. Creaminess - 4: Not unpleasant by any means but not necessarily better than average.
2. Flavor - If you’ve ever had an older specialty coffee brand like Butter-Nut, this is the taste that comes through. There is a nutty, caramelly, almost burnt undertone going on - but I’m not getting the espresso note as much. E = 5; C = 1; M = 3
3. Price - at $0.99 per 240 ml can, it’s one of the more-affordable options. (How do they afford the cost of the can?)
4. Punch - 3: I literally took a nap about an hour after drinking this can.

Recommendation: it’s a product you’ll have a reasonable chance of finding at your Asian grocer, and it’s ‘good enough’ if there are no other convenient choices. But I wouldn’t stock up on the stuff.

                                        

Frappuccino - Coffee flavor, from Starbucks of Seattle, Washington

This is the one milk coffee product most Americans will be familiar with; it is available everywhere - groceries, convenience stores, mass markets. They package it in recyclable glass containers that resemble old-fashioned milk bottles; the small size comes 4 to a carton; the larger size is sold individually.

1. Creaminess - 6: it’s a well-blended drink from first to last sip with good body and without any chalkiness. It’s not particularly rich-tasting, but by no means is it watery.
2. Flavor - You can certainly taste the milk in this drink, unlike many of the other products reviewed here, but it’s a coffee-based formula first. If you like Starbucks’ house blend, this is what it’s based on; that flavor comes through strongly. A little hint of chocolate delivered by the sugar (but they make other flavors if that’s what you really want.) E = 7; C = 2; M = 6
3. Price - The 12.5 ounce bottle as shown above runs $2.39 (Target) to $2.69 - $2.99 at convenience stores.
4. Punch - 5: right down the middle, nothing too extreme but adequate for a morning pick-me-up. They make an energy drink based on this with extra caffeine and vitamins, but I won’t be reviewing that on this site.

Recommendation: You’ve already had it, so you know if you like it or not. The packaging is way too excessive and the distribution chain is way too complicated - so the retail price per serving is far too high. If the UCC Kona Blend milk coffee can be imported and sold for $1.99 per can, you know you’re getting overcharged with this.

                                        

DyDo Milk Coffee, imported from Osaka, Japan

This is a brand I came across at a Seven-11 in Hong Kong in November 2010; have not been able to find it in the States or Vancouver. The company specializes in bottled beverages - coffee, tea, water, and nutriceuticals.

1. Creaminess - 5: like the Frappuccino, very well-blended and no grittiness, although a lighter texture and a bit more watery. More like a milk tea, if you’ve ever had one of those.
2. Flavor - The milk flavor was present but not strong; the coffee flavor was nice but not nearly enough of it in the drink. E = 5; C = 1; M = 4
3. Price - came to about $1.25 US - about average for the premium single-serve milk coffee brands available in Hong Kong.
4. Punch - 4: This was a pleasant morning accompaniment to a hotel-room breakfast of toast and fruit but not meant to be a keep-you-awake drink. Mornings start slowly in Asia, anyway.

Recommendation: if you’re in Japan or Hong Kong you’ll want to compare this to other brands; it was the easiest-to-obtain in Hong Kong; good quality at a reasonable price. DyDo has a Shanghai division so you may be able to get something similar in the PRC. If it ever becomes available in North America, put it on your “do-try” list.

For more product and media reviews about Chinese and East Asian culture, food, and travel - and resources to help you and your children learn more, visit www.weninchina.com/reviews.

New Hong Kong video! With Hello Kitty!

Epic levels of cuteness abound.

Come see our other videos at the weninchina YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/weninchina and our Hong Kong "stopover guide" at http://www.weninchina.com/Travel/Hong_Kong_Stopover.html

Book Review: Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost

I originally read this book when it was released in hardcover back in 2008, but seeing the softcover version on a display last weekend at Barnes & Noble triggered me to go back and revisit it. I remember liking the book the first time through; how would it hold up?

Troost - who’s been published in the Atlantic Monthly and the Washington Post - doesn’t want to be called a “travel writer”, as his other books about exotic locales were written after living for extended periods among regular citizens in places like Vanuatu and Eastern Europe. While ‘ethnography’ might be a more-appropriate word for his other two books, here this books’ entire premise is Maarten traveling from place to place in China over several months, having wacky adventures, and writing a small essay about it. That’s a travelogue, and because he visited a different city each week he just doesn’t achieve the depth of cultural understanding found in his other works.

I’m not knocking the approach; if a publishing company wanted to make me an offer like that I’d jump immediately. (I even have an itinerary sketched out, and essay outlines for all the other parts of weninchina.com.) But then again I’m not trying to write a humor book or a picture of a people in transition.

Now, having read through the book again, I’ll still say it’s a fast-paced, fun, light read. There are 24 chapters, but the tone Troost uses is dry and conversational and one could finish the whole book in less than a week of evenings after the kids have gone to bed.

Looking over the notes I took, however, gives me the idea to make a Chinese Travel Channel Special Bingo - Troost hits all the obligatory observations and statements you’ve seen in every documentary and guidebook. Here are my entries for Chapters 2 and 3:

• Crazy driving / astonishing traffic
• Children peeing in inappropriate places in public areas
• Food made of animal bits we don’t eat in the West anymore
• The Cultural Revolution was really evil
• Blowing Noses
• Crossing the street is dangerous
• Chairman Mao
• Crazy ads on TV
• Luxury goods on ostentatious display
• June 4 is a mystery for Generation Y
• Smog in Beijing / dust storms

He circles all the way around the country, out through Shaanxi and Sichuan onto Tibet, then down through Yunnan to Guangzhou, up through the Yangtze Delta and finally into the northeast, ending with a boat ride along the Yalu River at the North Korean border, wishing to go back to the States.

I have to compare this book now to Kosher Chinese reviewed in an earlier entry. Both books are alternatingly funny and poignant, both are light reading, but Lost could have been Kosher if Troost had stayed put in one place for a couple months instead of taking the Grand Tour and hanging out with other Westerners. Take for instance how each author covers the gap between Han and non-Han ethnicities: Lost shows the absurd ‘surface’ of Han tourists in Yunnan having fun looking at Westerners interact with Bai people, whereas Kosher follows several young hill-tribe girls in Guiyang over two years, gets to know them and shows how the cards are stacked against them even though they keep trying. Both stories are true, but the latter one really helps you learn about what’s actually going on.

A book of just ‘surface’ observations can be fun, but too much at one place starts to feel like snarking, even though the author has only good intentions. Lost on Planet China is ultimately a highlight reel; a spice to add to your reading meal - entertaining in controlled doses, and with a balanced diet of other China media - but not a standalone dish.

For additional media and product reviews about China, its culture, and traveling around Asia, visit http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Reviews.html

Book review: Chinese Folk Tales, Volume 1; adapted by Zhao Jie

Our daughter is now attending a Mandarin immersion school here in the Twin Cities, and each Friday is a library day. For this past week’s reading she chose this compilation of 8 short stories, printed in both Chinese characters and English. Published in 2005 in Beijing by Dolphin Press, this softbound book features full-color traditional illustrations on every page (which is why our sweet kindergartner chose it.)

These are legitimate and old folktales, although we aren’t told from when, what part of the country, or what religious/political order. They aren’t arranged with any particular theme or arc; each story is self-contained, and there’s no discussion by the translator or publisher to help non-native readers understand the context and “moral” of any story. Having read *some* Chinese history I can identify a few characters, but these stories just raise questions and leave me with nowhere to go to learn more.

The second issue is with the quality of the translation; this was clearly done in Beijing, in an academic setting, quickly, by someone (or a team of someones) who hadn’t spoken English conversationally with Westerners. The vocabulary swings from college-level to preschool-level without warning, phrases are awkwardly stuck together, and dialogue sounds like it came from the 1960’s. Characters are not clearly identified, and titles are not explained. Word choices are often dull: several stories refer to “devils” when we would use more-precise words to describe monsters, like demon, phantom, or satyr. Another story tries to explain how the Jade Emperor severely and negligently fouled setting up how the rain would fall, causing extreme flooding, but the words used literally make it sound as if he made a .03% accounting mistake.

The third issue with several stories is the almost random inclusion of implied or outright violence - political retribution, attempted assassination, and choking death. And let’s not forget the story of Yan Song, who basically prostituted his daughter to the Emperor’s court in order to gain political power (although that word isn’t used, the meaning is still there.) While I know Chinese society has adapted differently and is used to a different level of behavior - and that we can’t judge the past through today’s morals - the book is clearly intended for a Western audience.

Parents will need to pre-read each story before telling it with children - to use age-appropriate words, think up explanations and questions to get their child’s response, and to decide how they’ll phrase what goes on in certain scenes to still convey the main idea without getting dragged into explanations they don’t necessarily want to have at that time / age.

Was the book interesting? Yes, I learned more about a few New Year’s traditions, and heard a story about one of Taoism’s Eight Immortals that I found quite funny. But is this a book I’d recommend? No; for a casual read with kids, or to try to learn more about Chinese stories and customs, there’s just too much work for not enough insight.

For more reviews of media and products to help you learn more about Asian culture, click on http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Reviews.html

Book Review: Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows

Deborah Fallows is the wife of Atlantic Magazine columnist James Fallows, and this pair, most notably for our readers, lived in China (Shanghai and Beijing) for three years. They traveled to many places in the country and interviewed many leaders, expatriates, and regular Chinese citizens, while also keeping house, shopping for groceries, and doing everything else normal people do.

Deborah’s PhD is in linguistics, so she was naturally inclined to pay attention to not just what people were saying, but how they were saying it. As she struggled to learn Mandarin (not enough preparation time in the States before moving to China; had to dive into the deep end of the pool when she got there) her observational skills were sharpened even more just to function in society at a basic level.

As she eventually got her head around the language she noticed how the language itself was affecting how people interacted with each other. By immersing herself in a different society, learn Mandarin, and talk with all kinds of people, she was able to test the question, “do our thoughts drive our words, or do our words drive how we think?”

After about a year of living in China, she started drafting essays to explain what she’d learned, using a particular word or phrase to illustrate a broader concept about Chinese society. This book is a compilation of those essays, 14 chapters in all, plus a question-and-answer section and pronunciation guide at the end.

Don’t mistake this for an instructional textbook; it’s much more a meditation on how everyday people get along in China, and how a Western stranger can start to make sense of all their different voices. Having said that, the book is an excellent complement to any language-learning you may want to do. She has chapters that explain tones, pronouns, and homonyms more clearly than almost any other source I’ve read, and the guide at the back of the book helps you clearly say nearly 200 common words and expressions. And the information and references are extremely current (hardcover was published in 2010; the paperback edition which just came out has updated web links for further reading.)

Each chapter is a quick read of 10-12 pages, and her writing style is relaxed and conversational. Spending time with this book is like having a cup of coffee with a good friend who’s just returned from Asia with a bag of little gifts just for you.

For other media and product reviews about Chinese culture and travel, visit http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Reviews.html

Milk Contamination Update - September 2011

Articles in the September 2011 editions of China Today and NewsChina magazines (neither available on their English-language websites) both address recent food safety scandals.

So far in 2011, per these sources and other news outlets, Chinese consumers have put up with contaminated pork, dyed steamed buns (made with cardboard), recycled bread, recycled cooking oil, contaminated duck, poisoned bean sprouts, noodles, and peppers, seen watermelons explode in their fields due to applications of artificial growth hormones, and pork cuts that glow in the dark.

And as we’ve linked on the weninchina.com Formula Concerns page, tampering with China’s milk supply continued well after the 2008 tragedies became common knowledge.

The China Today article lists various regional and local law-enforcement initiatives put forth to encourage the public to report tampering and punish producers who violate the law, inferring that food safety standards in the People’s Republic are similar or better than international and US regulations.

In contrast, the NewsChina article cites a domestic expert saying Chinese dairy products “some of the worst in the world” and the majority of milk available “is no better than ordinary water.”

This article reports the regulations on bacterial density in raw milk were changed in 2010 to allow up to 2 million microorganisms per milliliter – 20 times more than the American standard, and 70 times higher than the Danish regulation. The minimum requirements for protein content were also relaxed and are now well below international standards.

NewsChina claims in the article these changes were in the interest of the two largest dairy companies, Mengniu and Yili (who together control over half the Chinese market), to allow them to use lower-quality, lower-priced raw milk supplies which can be processed at high temperatures, as opposed to traditional pasteurization. The high-temperature method allows the milk product to be shelf-stable for up to 3 months so it can be distributed nationally, but it also requires adding protein and thickening agents. (The melamine added to raw milk in the 2008 scandals was to make the milk appear to pass the protein-standard tests.)

The article notes disagreement among Chinese dairy-industry experts – milk processors cite the low quality of raw milk coming from independent farmers as the reason for needing lower standards, but others say the low prices being paid by the processors are keeping farmers from improving farm conditions and equipment that would create better-quality supply. NewsChina notes Mengniu and Yili have greater spending on advertising and distribution than on efforts to improve their supply chain quality.

Until this market imbalance significantly changes – as it did in Western countries over the 20^th Century – to include dairy price supports, farmer-led co-operative production organizations, and independent and rigorous public health authorities, the presence of stiff laws will not prevent further scandals. The China Today article acknowledges this, quoting Xu Hu, deputy director of Public Order Administration of the Ministry of Public Security: “…the cost of lawbreaking is perceived as low, and the law will not really protect consumers and potential victims.”

For families traveling to China for adoption, it is still recommended to heed the 2008 milk powder / infant formula warnings, and bring formula from home or international brands picked up in Hong Kong. For adults and older children just visiting, don’t avoid milk products (like ice cream) outright, but as with any food, pay attention to your senses – if something seems not right, eat something else.

More Milk Coffee Reviews!

With tonight's milk coffee reviews, we try the original canned coffee - UCC, from Kobe, Japan; a brand we know nothing about - Mocca, from Suzhou, China; and another big brand from Japan, Sangaria, from Osaka.

The UCC and Sangaria products defined what canned milk coffee should taste like back in the early 1970s as they built distribution and became strong brands. The Mocca-brand product, however, is what we'll call shanzai coffee - in fact, I can't really determine just what they were trying to make it taste like.

For the full review, click to http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Entries/2011/9/12_Milk_Coffee_Quest%2C_Part_2.html, and to see our other product and media reviews, go to http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Reviews.html

Do you have your mooncakes yet?

The Mid-Autumn Festival takes place Monday, September 12 here in North America. Check out the fun selection of different fillings, brands, and packaging at your local Asian supermarket!

Our decorative metal box here has a drawing of Chang'e, the Goddess of the Moon. Our background info about the Mid-Autumn Festival, explaining why Chang'e is so important, is at http://www.weninchina.com/People/Mid_Autumn_Festival.html.

Meanwhile, back in China, Beijing authorities have imposed a Mooncake Tax for when employers give their staff or clients any of these tasty pastries - that the recipient has to pay! They're calling it "unearned income"...

Family-friendly airport guide: Copenhagen

Our second new airport guide released this week is for Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport (CPH). This sleek yet very comfortable facility will be seeing an increase in flights to China; Shanghai service will begin in the spring of 2012, and Beijing is already served daily.

CPH is very easy-to-use for traveling families. Retail and food options have plenty of child-appropriate choices, restrooms are convenient, and there are several play areas for burning off energy. (There are also several great places for relaxing-time, too.) Long-range and short-haul flights are only minutes apart and transfer procedures are efficient and quick.

Whether you're a Scandinavian family heading to Asia, or a North American family visiting Europe, this guide will familiarize you with the layout of CPH, its food and shopping, and security.

Our Copenhagen guide is at: http://www.weninchina.com/Airports/Copenhagen.html

Family-friendly airport guide: Seoul - Incheon

Our third airport guide released this week is for Incheon Airport, near Seoul, South Korea (ICN).

There may not be another large airport quite so purpose-designed to make the connecting experience for families as smooth as at ICN. Play areas and nurseries are generously-sized and located throughout the facility. An astonishing number of food choices will satisfy any picky eater. There are TV lounges to zone out and Korean-culture activity centers for hands-on creative fun.

Flight transfers are simple, with a simple security check and close-by gates. Stopovers in Korea are also easy in either direction, as visas are not needed for kids with an onward flight. And Seoul has nonstop service to more places in China than any other foreign airport.

Our Incheon guide can be found at: http://www.weninchina.com/Airports/Seoul_ICN.html

Family-friendly airport guide: Amsterdam

We are posting three brand-newairport guides at weninchina.com this week; the first is for Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport (AMS).  This airport has more nonstop and direct service to Chinese cities than any other facility in Europe, and has consistently earned high quality rankings.

Even if you're just traveling into Holland - or through to another European country - this guide will walk you through the different sections of the airport, explain the different security procedures, and point out where to eat, play, and relax.

If you have several hours between flights, the world-famous observation terrace is a must-see. (I wish we'd had more time when we went through there this summer...)

Our Amsterdam guide is at: http://www.weninchina.com/Airports/Amsterdam.html

Media review: Bilingual Songs: English-Mandarin Chinese Vol. 1

Sara Jordan Publishing is a Canadian educational materials company that has produced over 60 audio and book titles for early childhood; math, language, and social studies; and bilingual instruction. Their products are distributed through educational supply stores and catalogs, as well as directly from the publisher (both in CD form and digital download.)

Sara has dozens of titles available for teaching Spanish and French; this is her first entry into the Mandarin market. I had the opportunity to talk with her in 2009 at an educational tradeshow and purchased this CD from her (at a discount; regular price $17.95) to use informally with my daughter at home so that we can maintain some constant Mandarin exposure. For the past six weeks she’s had this disc playing at bedtime (so I’ve been listening to it quite a bit as well.)

There are 12 songs on the CD, plus instrumental versions of all 12. A songbook is included which shows lyrics in English, Pinyin, and Chinese logograms. Each of the songs are half-English-half-Mandarin; alternating either paragraph by paragraph, or line by line. The lyrics were written by a native Mandarin speaker and sung by native speakers as well. (And the English lyrics and singing are done with a mid-continent American accent - not a Canadian accent.) The songs introduce lots of basic vocabulary and phrases; titles include “The Alphabet,” “Counting to 10,” “Food,” and “Family.”

The music itself is not Chinese and does not use Chinese instrumentation; rather these are Western rhythms performed with instruments often used on children’s music (xylophones, drums, guitars, piano, etc.) and arranged in various peppy, energetic styles - feeling more like music of the Caribbean at times. Sometimes the music tracks overwhelm the vocals, but when you listen to the album frequently - as young kids want to do - you’ll pick up what’s being sung after a couple times through.

What does my daughter think? I have caught her humming some of the tunes during the day, and she is occasionally using Chinese number words. She does enjoy the music and wants to keep the CD on nightly rotation.

As a learning tool, running this CD as background music isn’t going to magically teach your child basic Mandarin vocabulary. This is really meant to be used with the songbook so that you or your child’s teacher can introduce specific words and phrases and reinforce them with the music. Likewise, your child isn’t going to learn anything specific about China or Chinese culture from this album - it’s a culture-neutral product used just to introduce and reinforce vocabulary.

I do recommend this disc; compared to CDs of “Chinese Children’s Music” produced in Asia, the arrangement of vocals and instruments, supporting information, and pleasantness of the music makes it much more suitable for beginning the teaching of Mandarin. The absence of military anthems and obscure poetic forms makes it much easier for kids in Western homes and classrooms to concentrate on learning the Mandarin words.

For more reviews of media, travel products, and other fun cultural items to learn more about Asian culture, click on: http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Reviews.html

And of course, for advice and tips for families planning trips to China for adoptions or just for fun, click on http://www.weninchina.com/weninchina/Home.html

Product Review - Milk Coffee

Some of the foods and flavors you experience in Asia capture your imagination and drive you to find them again back in the West. My first “food moment” came just the second night we were in China – a bowl of beef noodle soup in our little hotel restaurant. It cost just US$1 but was the most flavorful and tender meat I’d ever eaten. Since then, other foods and places have become icons to my heart (and stomach) – congee in Hong Kong, Japadogs in Vancouver, and a beverage called “milk coffee” in Tokyo.

A coworker who’d lived in France and traveled widely in Japan called milk coffee “just café au lait,” but that doesn’t really describe its texture or taste, or the role it plays in daily life  in East and Southeast Asia.

Imagine a really smooth glass of chocolate milk, but with the rich roasted note – and caffeine kick – as a great cup of coffee. Then imagine it available in cans at every vending machine – and those machines warm the cans in the winter and chill them in the summer. Imagine it in 1-liter and 2-liter cartons at every convenience store and grocery, selling as fast as regular milk, and at a similar price. Imagine not just the dairy producers, but all the soft drink companies, beer brewers, and even tobacco companies offering competing brands. THAT’S how important milk coffee is in Asia.

In the Reviews section at weninchina.com, I'll compare three brands: Seattle's Best (from the USA), Pokka (imported from Singapore), and Freeze (imported from Thailand) - on the attributes of creaminess, flavor, price, and caffeine kick.

If you're headed for Asia, this is a taste to seek out!

http://www.weninchina.com/Reviews/Reviews/Entries/2011/8/21_Milk_Coffee_Quest.html

The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon!

Our 80th article has just been posted at weninchina.com - talking about the stories, foods, and celebrations around the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This holiday is very easy to blend into Western family life - grilling tasty meats, having friends and family over, sitting outside around a bonfire on an autumn evening to enjoy the full moon and twinkling stars. You may already be doing this, not realizing you're celebrating a tradition going back over 4,000 years!

The stories behind the holiday are the stuff of action movies and romantic tragedies. Read all about it at http://www.weninchina.com/People/Mid_Autumn_Festival.html

Setting up a dedicated review section on weninchina.com

With so many ways to distribute content - just alone we have the website, this blog, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a Flickr account I just started (and haven't loaded pictures into yet...) - I want to make sure good pieces like the book review from earlier this week don't get lost.

So I've set up a dedicated Reviews section at weninchina.com to start loading with product and service evaluations of travel, media, food, and anything else relating to getting around Asia with your family, or in raising multicultural kids.

I'll still be pushing content out through the other channels, too, but blogs, tweets, and wall postings don't organize as neatly as a website - and some of those services aren't available in the People's Republic.

Book Review: Kosher Chinese by Michael Levy

Mike Levy was a language-arts teacher from Philadelphia suffering from a crisis of faith post-9/11. Wanting to use his talents toward a Big Global Purpose, he found himself in the Peace Corps in 2005 assigned to rural Guizhou Province teaching English at the university in Guiyang, getting paid the same subsistence wage and living in similar apartments as the local professors, and figuring out everything on his own with no outside support, for a two-year tour.

The 29 chapters go by quickly in a conversational and often funny tone, similar to a Bill Bryson or Sarah Vowell travelogue. Outside of a few weeks' training in Chengdu, Mike doesn't get to travel outside Guizhou, but that gives us readers the chance to really settle in and view an area that will never see a Hollywood film crew or breathless Travel Channel documentary.

As Mike gets to know his fellow teachers, his students, and other local kids, we get to hear the personal stories and decisions from real-life people with real-life ambitions, problems, and responsibilities. Should a professor put substantial money into buying an apartment, and can she find a mate when she makes more than most men? Will a talented and dedicated masters-student from Guiyang, knowing she has no career future in her home province, be able to find a future in the costal cities? What will the fates be of twin sisters, bright and hopeful and thirsty to learn, but born as ethnic minorities and living with their grandmother because their parents have migrated to the coast to find work?

Guanxi and party politics, ethnic contrasts and Chinese stereotypes of Westerners are all shown matter-of-fact, but the people are never shown as villains, just everyday folks doing what they've been taught or repeating something they've heard. It's a refreshing contrast to sensationalized mass-media China reports that never take time to have an authentic conversation with citizens, or who never leave Shanghai / Beijing / Hong Kong.

For those of us with children from China, this book strikes a powerful nerve as we can easily see our daughters and sons in the situations Mike relates. Would my daughter have faced a childhood of having to collect plastic bottles for the recycling money, or working in a back-alley kitchen, sleeping on a cot because home is too far to walk and she couldn't afford bus fare?

My little girl has an unbounded future. Reading this book reminded me of how much of an honor it is to be her father, and how much I owe it to the kids left behind to make sure she has the ability to pursue any dream.

Kosher Chinese is a 2011 release, available in softcover at a retail of US$15. Well worth a read for adoptive parents, for travelers heading inland, and anyone wanting a better understanding of everyday life in modern China.

Yum, yum, Dim Sum!

We just didn't have the time to take in a real Guangzhou dim sum brunch when we were there to adopt our daughter. However, in our travels since then we've experienced a Saturday brunch in Chicago's Chinatown, and done the weekday dim sum at a great place in Hong Kong. We've also sampled the dim sum dishes at restaurants in other places in North America, too.

We have posted an article recently to share dim sum background and tips.

The single best piece of advice is to go with as many people as you can! The more your group can order, the more each person can try. Don't worry about ordering too much, as each dish is literally just a few bites. It's more fun in a big group, and you can be more fearless about taking items you don't recognize.

Take as long as you like - the food just keeps coming. Wow, I'm getting hungry just writing about it...

Dim Sum: http://www.weninchina.com/Food/Dim_Sum.html

It's a dirty job...

Whether a short 1-city excursion or several weeks of bouncing around the country, when traveling with kids it's not practical to pack a different outfit for each day. We've just posted a new article to walk you through the options you'll have in taking care of your clothes - hotel services, hand-washing, and off-site services. There's also a handy checklist to get the best results from washing items by hand in Chinese hotel rooms.

New Article - "Laundry"
Related Articles - "Packing Checklist", "Coming Home", and "Dealing with Heat & Humidity"