When you want a birthday cake that will truly wow them, there’s no better place to go than Buona. They’re a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for in the form of imported recipes, ingredients and absolutely no melamine. From Tortina Pere Cioccolato (68RMB) to their huge Frutta Mista (358RMB) they’ve got a wide range of torte dolci to top with candles. Don’t let the outward appearance of this place fool you. It looks like an albino McDonald’s with vague Sino-Italian accents, but what they serve here is heads and shoulders above even our beloved Big Mac. And though we started off this review with raves about their desserts, the main draw is definitely its pizza. Served on a wheaty crust with only the necessary amount of sauce (some felt it a little dry), they focus on the toppings here with nice ham, pepperoni, a variety of vegetables, and of course the cheese.
We ordered a half meter wide Buona Pizza (168RMB). We figured that since it was their signature dish it had to be good. This pizza is enormous by Chinese and European standards. In the U.S. and Canada it’s known as a, “medium.” It hit the table with a huge thump and we couldn’t figure out how the three of us were going to finish it. Luckily, we had a total pig with us and he finished four slices alone. Us mere mortals had two slices a piece...
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Review
Senkushiya
These days Zhongshan Road is undergoing some major reconstruction. Fortunately, they aren’t widening the road. They’re just making much of it a pedestrian walkway, preserving the old French Maple trees that make the road so attractive. Many of the buildings are also undergoing a facelift with that ubiquitous green netting stretched over their facades. Some of the shops have simply closed their doors, some have resorted to putting their wares on the street, and a few have carried on like nothing is happening. One shop has defied logic and opened anew. We would never have noticed this newcomer behind the green had it not been for our Japanese magazine editor friend. He said that he had been there three times in three weeks, and that we had to give it a try.
So we searched through the construction and obstructions, scanning all the numbers on the sides of the buildings until we finally found this hidden gem. The décor of this place is unlike many other Japanese places around town. As a matter of fact, it’s more like a home than anything else with the television playing on the wall. Senkushiya is from Shibuya and on their...
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Hot Spot
Hangzhou Safari Park
The Ocavanga has hit Hangzhou. The Hangzhou Safari Park is a fully-fledged zoo and safari park with quite an array of exotic animals housed in accommodation somewhat better than mine. Lions, Siberian tigers, and the odd Hippo steal the show, but "The Naughty Monkey Cage" is good for giggles too. Nit Eating Monkeys preening every conceivable part of their bodies will have you in stitches. You can take the train around the safari park, or even drive yourself, via the private car entry. At every stop there are zoo keepers with mulberry bushes to feed the camels, apples the Brown bear and live chickens for the Cheetahs to squabble over. Maybe if your cab driver didn't make the best deal you could feed him to the lions, or perhaps the crocs.
Make sure to get a park map at the gate. Private cars are allowed in...
The Taxi Read
Through the Looking Glass: China’s Foreign Journalists from Opium Wars to Mao by Paul French
High Five
How To Apply For Work Visas And Related Documentation by Olaf Griese
The convulsive history of foreign journalists in China starts with the newspapers printed in the European Factories of Canton in the 1820s and ends with the Communist revolution in 1949. It also starts with a duel between two editors over the China’s future and ends with a fistfight in Shanghai over the revolution...
A lot was written prior to the Beijing Olympics about China’s restriction of visas for foreigners doing business. With the Olympics now a thing of the past, the restrictions remained in place for 2009. China has various anniversaries to contend with, such as the 50th anniversary...
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2009 June Issue
China’s Foreign Journalists from Opium
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When you want a birthday cake that will truly wow them, there’s no better place to go than Buona. They’re a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for in the form of imported recipes, ingredients and absolutely no melamine. From Tortina Pere Cioccolato (68RMB) to their huge Frutta Mista (358RMB) they’ve got a wide range of torte dolci to top with candles. Don’t let the outward appearance of this place fool you. It looks like an albino McDonald’s with vague Sino-Italian accents, but what they serve here is heads and shoulders above even our beloved Big Mac. And though we started off this review with raves about their desserts, the main draw is definitely its pizza. Served on a wheaty crust with only the necessary amount of sauce (some felt it a little dry), 
they focus on the toppings here with nice ham, pepperoni, a variety of vegetables, and of course the cheese. 
These days Zhongshan Road is undergoing some major reconstruction. Fortunately, they aren’t widening the road. They’re just making much of it a pedestrian walkway, preserving the old French Maple trees that make the road so attractive. Many of the buildings are also undergoing a facelift with that ubiquitous green netting stretched over their facades. Some of the shops have simply closed their doors, some have resorted to putting their wares on the street, and a few have carried on like nothing is happening. One shop 
has defied logic and opened anew. We would never have noticed this newcomer behind the green had it not been for our Japanese magazine editor friend. He said that he had been there three times in three weeks, and that we had to give it a try. 
The Ocavanga has hit Hangzhou. The Hangzhou Safari Park is a fully-fledged zoo and safari park with quite an array of exotic animals housed in accommodation somewhat better than mine. Lions, Siberian tigers, and the odd Hippo steal the show, but "The Naughty Monkey Cage" is good for giggles too. Nit Eating Monkeys preening every conceivable part of their bodies will ha
ve you in stitches. You can take the train around the safari park, or even drive yourself, via the private car entry. At every stop there are zoo keepers with mulberry bushes to feed the camels, apples the Brown bear and live chickens for the Cheetahs to squabble over. Maybe if your cab driver didn't make the best deal you could feed him to the lions, or perhaps the crocs. 
The convulsive history of foreign journalists in China starts with the newspapers printed in the European Factories of Canton in the 1820s and ends with the Communist revolution in 1949. It also starts with a duel between two editors over the China’s future and ends with a fistfight in Shanghai over the revolution...
A lot was written prior to the Beijing Olympics about China’s restriction of visas for foreigners doing business. With the Olympics now a thing of the past, the restrictions remained in place for 2009. China has various anniversaries to contend with, such as the 50th anniversary...
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