Fujiiyama Mama

The first time I went to the Windy City, I was with my friend Cece on an overnight layover. We were jet lagged, so it was easy to stay up late and explore. There wasn't a lot of time but we still wanted to experience all we could eat, drink and see. Here's how we spent a little over 12 hours in Chicago: EAT I DON'T EVEN CARE HOW BASIC THIS MAKES ME, I had to have deep dish pizza. I'd been warned that deep dish pizza, REAL CHICAGO deep dish pizza was unlike anything I'd eaten before. This was not a lie. Real, true, deep dish is honestly more like a lasagna than a pizza if you ask me. The layers of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings seem never ending. I'm not even really sure how we had energy to continue the night after this, but somehow we did. It was a toss up between going to Pequod's and Giordino's, who won out. Our hosts had a difficult time picking one to recommend, but Giordino's was it. I couldn't tell you which pizza is better; but I can ...

There's Big Trouble in Toronto's Little China(town) and it's about dang time. Big Trouble fills a gap in Toronto's busiest Chinatown by giving it a cool bar outside of Kensington Market. There's no denying I love a good secret bar, and while Big Trouble isn't exactly a secret it's also not in the most obvious spot. When you're in Asia, it is all too common to see a bar address prefaced with 2F, 3F, 4F, etc. to indicate what floor it's on. Here in Toronto, that's a bit unusual. But Big Trouble is on a second floor, upstairs from a hot pot restaurant and that already makes me feel a little bit like I'm on vacation back in Hong Kong. Once inside, you're greeted with a casual atmosphere that is distinctly Asian flavoured; Chinese lanterns hang from the ceiling and Chinese fortunes hang from plants that make an industrial looking space feel cozy. There are murals painted inside, and plenty of old Chinese movie posters plastered to the walls. T...

photo:  https://travel.watch.impress.co.jp/img/trw/docs/1125/339/html/35_o.jpg.html Everyone knows that Japan is practically another planet. So many things are different; from the culture to the technology, the language and even food. There are SO many things that you'll see and experience in Japan that you wouldn't anywhere else in the world. Here are some that surprised me the most, and every time I visit I keep finding more! Stay tuned for a part 2, 3, etc. 1. Airport Ground Crew Bowing and Waving To Your Airplane As you start to taxi down the runway, make sure to look outside at the ground crew as you pass. Yup it’s unlike anywhere else and super friendly. 2. Smoking Indoors Is Allowed, Smoking Outside Isn’t There are smoking booths located outside so you can go in there to smoke. And every train has both smoking cars and smoking rooms, as do airports. Of course you can smoke anywhere in pretty much every bar and restaurant. But don’t even dare light up outside unless in a ...