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Frugal foodie alert: Michelin stars under US$100 coming to Hong Kong
Asia's best (and worst) tippers revealed
China's maritime hero theme park reopened
Eating eels: Tokyo's traditional summer tonic
Top 7 hotels for summer in Korea

Frugal foodie alert: Michelin stars under US$100 coming to Hong Kong

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:14 AM PDT

Meals by Michelin-starred chefs for under US$100 will be on offer at the 11-day Langham Food & Wine Festival 2012.

The food festival will feature eight guest chefs from around the world, as well as the Langham's own culinary masters, from September 13-23.

The guest chefs include: three-Michelin-star chef Albert Roux from London, one-Michelin-star Spanish chef Angel Pascual, New Zealand's new star Benjamin Bayly, two-Michelin-star Hibiscus owner Claude Bosi, French pastry maker Gontran Cherrier, two-Michelin-star contemporary Italian chef Igor Macchia, Philippe Mouchel from Australia and Hong Kong's homegrown chef Susur Lee returning from Canada.

The chefs will be present at the dining rooms of The Langham in Tsim Sha Tsui and Langham Place in Mong Kok. Set menus showcasing the best of each chef's talents as well as master classes for wine and rum appreciation, cooking and pastry-making are now available for booking.

The eight guest chefs will serve in Hong Kong's Langham Hotels for less than two weeks.

Asia's best (and worst) tippers revealed

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 08:59 PM PDT

by CNNGo staff

Considering an Asian adventure as a barman or waiter?

Avoid Japan, head for Thailand.

That's the message from a new survey from MasterCard Worldwide that asked around 7,000 people this year about their tipping behavior.

A massive 89 percent of Thai bar and restaurant-goers regularly tip, while a paltry 3 percent of Japanese said they do the same.

japan tipping A tenth full, or nine-tenths empty? Depends if you're in Thailand or Japan.CNNGo's Japan editor, Mark Hiratsuka, sheds a little light on why the Japanese come bottom of the tip jar: "Tipping just isn't part of the retail landscape here," he says.

China's maritime hero theme park reopened

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 03:20 PM PDT

by Raemin Zhang

Zheng He's flagship was high-tech in the 15th century, and remains pretty impressive today.

While China is sending thousands of tourists aboard luxury cruises to explore the mysterious shores of foreign lands, the country hasn't forgotten its past triumphs of marine navigation.

Treasure Boat Shipyard Site Park (南京宝船遗址公园), which stands on the site where China's great mariner Zheng He (郑和) oversaw his fleet's construction more than 600 years ago, reopened early this month in the former capital Nanjing, according to Xinhua.

Zheng He, or Cheng Ho, was a Muslim Hui Chinese sometimes called China's maritime Marco Polo. A eunuch, he led seven voyages of exploration as far away as Africa and the Middle East in the 15th century.

First opened in 2005, the Treasure Boat Shipyard Site Park commemorated the 600th anniversary of Admiral Zheng's first expedition in 1405.

Eating eels: Tokyo's traditional summer tonic

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT

by Robbie Swinnerton

It's that season again. As soon as the rains lift, the blistering summer sets in. Cue a good two months of lethargy and debilitation.

If you can't stand the heat get out of the city. If you have no choice but to stay, then take preemptive action.

Time to stoke up the energy levels: time for that traditional panacea, unagi kabayaki -- broiled eel.

Every year, there is one day in particular when eating eel is reputed to offer the biggest boost. And this year's designated day is July 27.

Technically, by the ancient Japanese calendar it's known as the Midsummer Day of the Ox; in practice, ever since the Edo period, it's come to be known as Unagi no Hi, or "Eel Day."

Top 7 hotels for summer in Korea

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT

by Max Kim

For anyone who has ever been to Korea in the summer, spending the hottest season in the peninsula might sound a bit like enduring a winter in Russia. Or the monsoon in Malaysia.

Even locals tend to hightail it out of the country during the sweltering summer months.

In these cities, however, hotels have risen to the occasion with tantalizing discounted rates and exclusively seasonal packages, parties and privileges.

These perks do more than sweeten a bitter staycation -- they're pretty damn good reasons to spend a summer in Korea.

And the mass exodus of locals? That just means more ice for our soju margaritas.