Whenever my Beijing aunties (aka. my mom’s best friends) invite us out to eat, we know it’s going to be to somewhere special. They’re always in the know as to what’s trending, have GREAT taste in food, and are super generous. ;) (See the very pricey and very fancy Da Dong Roast Duck last year.) This time, we went to a restaurant called Ju Qi (局气). But this isn’t just any Chinese restaurant, this is an old Beijing restaurant. As my auntie…
A country lunch (Beijing pear picking, part 2)
After a morning working up a sweat picking pears, we followed our hosts to a little country restaurant for a hearty meal. Nowadays, it’s pretty popular for Beijingers to make the trek out here to get a taste of true country cooking. Country restaurants are plain and humble. They’re often just one small room in a shabby building crammed with some tables. Nothing fancy. But they evoke the feeling of stepping into a farmer’s house and being treated to a home cooked…
Pear picking in the Beijing countryside
Autumn is the best time to visit Beijing. The sun is warm, the breeze is cool, and it’s prime fruit season! One of the best things to do in Beijing is to get out of it. Come the weekend, city dwellers like to leave the noise and dust of the city behind and instead, head for the countryside for some fresh air, scenery, and good ol’-fashioned country cooking. (I’m going to give a warning in advance for the extremely photo-heavy…
The truth about being a freelance writer: my thoughts and tips
I’ve been working as a freelance writer for 5 months now. I still feel pretty new to this whole thing, but I have gotten some interest in hearing about my experience. So I thought I’d write a (long, long) post with all my opinions and any tips I have to share. Hopefully, if you’re wondering whether to break out and try your hand at full-time freelancing, this will help you a bit. I’m not trying to persuade or dissuade anyone…
Day Trip from Taipei: Keelung Mountain hike in Jiufen
When I went back to Taipei for a short visit in the beginning of June, I met up with my local friend, Wanyi, and Jamie for a day trip to Jiufen. The first time I went to Jiufen was with Jamie back in December of last year. And because I’m such a laggy blogger, I never even wrote about it (but check out Jamie’s posts and pictures). Since nothing on my blog is in order anymore, I’m going to talk…
Caturday! – Purradise Cat Cafe (Kuala Lumpur, TTDI)
Since I still seem to have trouble keeping to a blogging schedule, I thought I’d ease into it with pictures. Because who doesn’t like to see pics of cute CATS?! And because, it’s Caturday! :) Also, I really want to start blogging about Kuala Lumpur (my temporary home) and talk about small adventures I get up to when I’m not being a hermit working in my room. So we’ll start with cats! One thing I really miss with this whole…
More gross, strange, and yummy things to eat in Taipei
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll have seen that I recently took a visa run to Taipei. I’m sure it’s no surprise that one of the reasons I picked Taipei is because I missed the food too much! I spent a glorious week stuffing my face with all my favorite foods, returning to my favorite vendors again and again. It wasn’t until after my trip that I realized that I didn’t exactly make the best use of…
On freelancing, blogging, and loss of creativity
In the morning, as soon as I open my eyes, I grab for my phone to look at my notifications. During the night, emails have come into my inbox informing me of my tasks for the day. I go through each one and quickly form some sort of schedule of which tasks I’m going to tackle first and how long I should spend on each one. Once I feel ready to get out of bed, I sit at my desk,…
How Kuala Lumpur was nothing like I ever envisioned: an introduction
Hi there. Remember me? :) I know it’s been a while. The short + simple answer is that I’ve been busy and focusing my time on freelancing work. The more complicated answer is that I’ve been uninspired to write and that because I’m spending most days working now, I feel like that there’s just not too much to write about anymore. Which is unfair because I really do love Kuala Lumpur a lot, so there should be no excuse for not sharing…
A parting of ways
There are times in blogging when I wish I didn’t share so much of my personal life. It’s certainly easier to only offer travel tips or restaurant reviews or city guides. But long-time readers will know that while I do write plenty of those on Slightly Astray, those are never my best pieces, and that instead it is the fact that I let you into my life that keeps you coming back. From the very start, all I wanted to do…
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