Having gone to school in New Orleans, hearing the the words “Louisiana seafood” is something like Mecca, a unicorn, and a sexy man all rolled into one. In Shenzhen? That’s beyond the stuff of fantasy–that’s mythic. Of course, it had to be a let down, right? Wrong. Founder David Po skips brutally technical Louisiana dishes like gumbo and jambalaya, and sticks to no-brainers like crab and the signature dish, seafood in a bag. If you’ve ever had New Orleans boiled crawfish (suck the heads, baby), you know you just chuck in some Zatarains Crawfish Boil spices, corn, potatoes, and the freshest seafood into a big pot of boiling water and voila! If your seafood is good, it’s going to be one of the best dishes of your life. I don’t even like seafood that much and I powered through some shrimp and mussels like a wildebeest. The only thing that was weird was the addition of snails…maybe the Chinese customers are a fan. The other amazing dish they have is beer can chicken. I’m not sure if they actually use a beer can, but the idea is that you stand the chicken up while it roasts, and the beer keeps [...]

Simply Thai in Luohu is a little restaurant that’s simply delicious. It’s not so much a destination restaurant as much as a place you have lunch twice a week if you work in the area. It certainly doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel when it come to Thai food, but keeps it simple with fresh ingredients and light and easy flavors. My two favorites were the green curry, which leaned more towards coconut than curry in the base, but in a good way, not a canned coconut milk way. The eggplant was outrageously good. I eat a ton of Chinese eggplant, which is either super light and steamed, or fried aggressively with tons of garlic and spice. This dish really revolved around the minced beef, giving the eggplant a smokey flavor that was awesome. The prices aren’t super cheap, but the cost seemed reasonable considering the nice ambiance and solid ingredients. I think this is going to become my “dinner once a week” restaurant. Name in Chinese: 小曼谷 Phone: 075522955056 Address: 罗湖区南湖路置地广场逸轩裙楼A25铺(近罗湖医院) / at the intersection of Nanhu Lu and Chunfeng Lu Like this:Like Loading...

Maker Faire is a crazy and cool event that’s held around the world, including Shenzhen this weekend. Started by Make Magazine: We call it the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth. Maker Faire is part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new! As a celebration of the Maker Movement, it’s a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. Faire gathers together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, food artisans, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. Makers come to show their creations and share their learnings. Attendees flock to Maker Faire to glimpse the future and find the inspiration to become Makers themselves. The Shenzhen show this weekend is looking like a great time, with people coming from all over the world to celebrate technology and maker culture. A huge thanks to Vista-SK Medical, which has a booth at the faire (and are giving away cool free stuff!) for sending us photos! The grey pin is Maker Faire, a five minute walk from Keyuan Metro Like this:Like Loading...

Imagine my surprise at seeing a sign for a museum in Shekou the other day! Not half as surprised as the staff–I think I was their very first foreigner. The museum is located on the fourth floor, but you need to speak to Rebecca on the third floor to arrange a visit. It is better to go with a Chinese friend unless your Mandarin is decent, because there is no English here. Nanshui Village was settled by Hakka people. There are really a few treasures here, like old film of fisherman in the bay by Coastal Rose Garden 2, and village women in their 60s and above talking about their lives. Of course, the original village was ‘converted‘ into an urban village, so it’s fantastic that there’s a record of the old ways and the people who lived there. Like this:Like Loading...

The silk workers of the Pearl River Delta were financially independent, they resisted marriage, they were masters of themselves. But in a patriarchal society they were often villified