rather reader love
“I just spent a week in New York with my husband and son and thought you should know that because of your guide EVERY meal was fantastic. We only chose restaurants from your book and am convinced we never would have found them otherwise. You made our trip perfect...not one bad meal!”Lynne H.
Park City, Utah
September 2011
rather asia
By Bernie Baskin, February 24, 2012, View Comments
Hong Kong, you’ve got some serious nerve. Acting so dark and mysterious and megatropolis'ish – with your spindly cloud-hugging skyscrapers and speed-walking well-heeled charcoal suits and iPads. I know what you really are though.
By Bernie Baskin, February 14, 2012, View Comments
When I was eleven my parents built a small wood and wire enclosure behind our house on an empty strip of land we call the cut. Shortly thereafter my mom bought two pygmy goats, cut off their balls and loaded them in the enclosure. My mom recalls thinking that my brother, sister and I needed to see farm animals and have another pet (she’s a vet, she can’t help it). She fed them too much and before long they were huge. I only remember that they were noisy, they butted me with their tiny horns when I got too close and that they pooped small black pellets everywhere.
By Bernie Baskin, February 13, 2012, View Comments
When I was a kid, Sunday afternoons were meant for running around in the woods, cycling at bone crushing speeds down dangerously steep hills, home run derby with tennis balls and makeshift bats, and all the other mayhem that little boys in Arkansas get up to. But somewhere along the way, Sunday afternoons turned into laundry folding, hardware store runs and the weeks forgotten errands. I guess that’s how life goes, but every now and then it’s healthy to get some fresh air and go for a long Sunday afternoon hike. My favorite in Singapore is the Southern Ridges Trail, so a few days ago we saddled up on the motorcycle and drove to the trailhead.
By Bernie Baskin, February 2, 2012, View Comments
Lord I was hungry yesterday afternoon. Not the tinkling hunger that's possible to push aside and ignore ... I'm talking about down on your knees, southern-baptist-gospel-praying-for-forgiveness-amen hungry. Thankfully the rest of the crew here in Singapore were also feeling the hunger pains! So at the end of the day we made our way out to the best hawker center in Singapore - Old Airport Road Hawker Center - and dug into hearty bowls of noodles.
By Bernie Baskin, January 19, 2012, View Comments
Unsurprisingly, in the course of researching and writing these little square books, I’ve come across some bizarre (and absolutely wonderful) things. The latest greatest winner of the What-did-you-say-is-in-that Award has to be hot Coke with lemon and ginger served at Wah Fung Roast Meat (112-114 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong).
By Bernie Baskin, January 15, 2012, View Comments
It was drizzling and 60 degrees when Kaie and I arrived in Hong Kong on our first scouting trip for the upcoming Hong Kong city guide. Grey overcast skies followed us into the city from the airport…past hulking steely cranes bent low over tens of thousands of still freight containers, stacked ten…fifteen…twenty deep, poised on the edge of a choppy bay. We laughed and Kaie told me of her ‘transportation dinners’ with friends back in Portland. Funny how traveling brings out the storyteller in us all.
By Bernie Baskin, January 5, 2012, View Comments
I had a strangely inspiring afternoon yesterday. After having explored the restaurants, shops, alleys and markets of Singapore’s Little India from early in the morning, the afternoon heat had pretty much wiped me out by 4:30. And that’s when I saw it. Towards the outskirts of Little India, on Sarangoon Road, between two fairly nondescript buildings…a small one-way lane with a simple wooden sign bearing three Chinese characters that translate as Dragon Mountain Temple.
By Kaie Wellman, January 4, 2012, View Comments
Kaie's heading to Singapore and is already planning on what she'll be eating during her stay.
By Bernie Baskin, January 1, 2012, View Comments
To some outsiders, Singapore may appear to be a megatropolis mall-filled city-state. But insiders know that there are still rustic farms and off-the-beaten-path yesteryear hamlets with dusty roads aplenty…if you know where to look. In the spirit of dusty roads, day trips, new years and fresh seafood, some friends and I decided to venture to the northern outskirts of Singapore, off the mainland, to the tiny island of Pulau Ubin (“granite island” in Malay).
By Bernie Baskin, December 22, 2011, View Comments
A few days ago, while in the city of Georgetown (in Penang), I took a stroll to find the last traditional Chinese signboard carver in Malaysia. This is kind of a big deal since signboards have been a staple of the Chinese business since the Song Dynasty. And since I’m the kind of guy who’s into history and all things handmade, I couldn’t resist this little adventure.