I have always preferred Beijing to Shanghai, for the city is more cultural and less stressful than my hometown.

And probably for the above two reasons, the dining options are less extensive and sophisticated, as Beijing people are much more casual and less demanding.

This time I chose to stay at the Grand Hyatt because of its convenient location. The hotel is decent, but the rooms do need some revamping. I visited the hotel’s in-house Chinese restaurant, Made in China, which purportedly serves the best duck in town, but I must say it was quite a disappointment. The duck was very oily and quite tasteless, and moreover, for such a high-end restaurant, the service was close to non-existent.

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As Venice marked both the beginning and the end of my magnificent trip, I thought I would write a few words about this magical city as an introduction to the destination. The charm of the city has already been recounted by so many able writers, that it seems daunting to follow their narration with my own. As such, I will simply share my own personal moments in the city with you.
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Hong Kong has so much to offer the resident, never mind the visitor. I’ve lived here for more than 20 years and there’s still so much to be discovered, experienced and tasted.

The Hong Kong Chamber Music Festival is a good opportunity for music lovers to get a glimpse of the kaleidoscopic range of cultural and culinary experiences available in this great city.
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A June reunion with two old friends from primary school was a great chance for shopping, eating, gossiping and giggling, a gathering made even more indulgent by staying at The Langham, an extremely comfortable hotel conveniently located on Regent Street and close to all the high street brands.

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There are so many great things about Tokyo, but I am not here to write a tourist guide, so I’ll just share some of my own “Folle Journée” highlights with you.

I stayed at the Peninsula Tokyo, which is a very convenient five minutes’ walk from the Tokyo International Forum. The spacious room has an excellent layout, probably the best that I’ve seen, with a big bathroom and walk-in closet. The concierge team was particularly helpful, in fact without their assistance I would not have been able to go to any of the concerts. Although “La Folle Journée” has an English website, all its ticketing sites were in Japanese.
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