Barbra Austin

Q-Tea

April 1st, 2011 § 18

Q-Tea, an itty-bitty Chinese table in the ninth, has been on my list since the stellar reviews started rolling in early this year, but I only got around to trying it last weekend.

It’s a closet of a space, decorated in polka dots (q cute!) and colors my eleven year-old self would have very much liked to have had in her bedroom. The prices are low (10-13€ for mains), and the husband and wife team who preside over this little lavender domain are utterly kind. In other words, the place has its charms. Unfortunately, the food is not one of them.

The Long Haul

March 27th, 2011 § 12

I’ve written about airplane food before, though it’s generally something I avoid (the food, not the writing or airplanes). On long flights (there’s nothing to eat on short routes anymore), especially from New York to Europe, I figured that my time was spent better sleeping than eating, a preemptive strike against the inevitable jet lag.

Also, airplane food is disgusting.

I have become skilled at sleeping in an economy class seat. At some point I learned that my pillow does more good behind my back than my head. Noise reduction headphones changed everything, of course, and every time I put them on I send a silent thank you (and apology for my less-than-exemplary breakup behavior) to the old boyfriend who gave them to me for Christmas a few years ago. I find that the window seat sometimes allows me to lean against the wall and avoid the old bob ‘n’ jerk of the head. I always nab an extra blanket if I see one in the overhead bin on the way to my seat. A couple of Tylenol PM, eye mask in position, and out I go.

Monkey Business

March 23rd, 2011 § 2

The only way to arrive at Bako National Park is by boat.

Our captain pulled his skiff around, the outboard buzzing anemically. The four of us stepped on and were off, passing a colorful village on one side and a mesh of mangroves on the other. The strait widened to an expanse of tides and currents, the ongoing negotiations between the Sarawak river and the South China Sea.

Hong Kong: Tim Ho Wan

March 10th, 2011 § 6

I was worried that Tim Ho Wan wouldn’t be as good as I remembered, that we would have nothing to show for the commute to Mongkok but two hours of waiting and a completed Sunday crossword. But then the pork buns arrived.

Hong Kong: Ball Kee

March 3rd, 2011 § 3

Showing up to a lunch date 3o minutes late and short of cash is probably not the best way to make a good first impression.

Kuching: Top Spot

February 28th, 2011 § 1

We went to Top Spot for dinner on our first night in Kuching, and returned on our last night because we liked it so much. Perched on the roof of a parking garage, Top Spot is a collection of competing seafood stands facing a sea of tables, a sort of massive food court. It was hard to know which one to choose; they all look more or less the same. In these situations I think it’s best to follow the crowd, and the crowd was at stall number 25, Bukit Mata.

Kuching: Laksa

February 26th, 2011 § 1

I found myself in Kuching somewhat unexpectedly, which I realize sounds strange. How does one find oneself unexpectedly in a place that requires plane rides to reach? I’m still not entirely sure, but there I was, arrived with my Hong Kong friend via Singapore, where we picked up two others, old friends of his.