I'd play Windward :)
I'd play Windward :)
I don't!
I moved to Fuxian Lake nearby .. close enough to pop up for a weekend now and then, but far enough that many of the old charms of Kunming are still available (mountains in the distance at every street corner, no traffic, great nature nearby, the joy of shopping at overflowing vegetable markets).
So... when's the next earthquake, Mike? :)
There used to be an Israeli-run kebab place around Kundu. Later another Israeli woman did some similar food in one of the bars there. But that was years ago ... all gone now. The cheapest way to get your fix would be to fly to Bangkok on Air Asia and rock up to Soi Arab (Soi 3) on Sukhumvit Rd. around Nana station. Best place there as recommended by Arab locals and well tested by myself is www.soidb.com/bangkok/restaurant/al-yemen-restaurant.html
Tommann is right, everyone else is nuts. It's bloody everywhere. Just ask for 'rubing' in a market and they'll show you which stall has it.
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@nailer is being unfairly dismissed: they are certainly fallible. At one point they were well managed and the only game in town, and their outdoor bar had an interesting social vibe. Recently, none of these is the case (was given a bad bill to the tune of ~300% - no managers present and a subsequent complaint resulted in a less than ideal outcome, many more places are now open, and the outdoor bar is closed). Unless you are specifically seeking faux-Americana (often far better examples elsewhere) or two degrees removed faux-Mexicana, there's little reason to go there. How come French Cafe can serve a great sandwich for 24元 but Sals requires 50元 for a pretend-exoticized nibble? Certainly the business will continue, but the hey-dey is clearly gone. Romaniticizing the past aint gonna help. E-waste recycling by shipping (non carbon neutral) junk across the country? Puh-lease. Garbage processing people here recycle anyway! I applaud the ethical stance of one of the managers, but the place has frankly lost its mojo.
Hands down the best draft craft beer in Kunming. On top of that, very reasonable prices for food and other drinks (especially wine).
Called the number provided on a Friday at 2:15PM while a 10% discount was advertised "on Friday and Saturday" (listed in GoKunming specials).
A Chinese person answered the 'English' phone number in Mandarin then explained in broken English that you need to order 3 hours in advance. (Subtext: As their business is so slow)
Grumble. False advertising. Waste of time. Seems 100% Chinese run. Probably bad pizza.
The listing here is wrong! Teresa's are not defunct, they are just back to being one store instead of two stores on Wenlinjie now! They are still in business, still answer on this phone number, and are still delivering! Points for consistency, it's been years! As of right now, it's 68元 for the more toppings vegetarian at the largest size. They will do thin or thick crust. Yes, it's not to everyone's taste, but I always used to find adding dried chilli powder and some extra salt brought it up to tasty. Might go for a dash of Sichuan pepper oil to spice it up this time around. (You know you've been in China too long when...)
I also had a bad experience here recently.
Honestly, I wish them the best of luck, but I do think the staff are poorly managed and the owners have the wrong attitude and a clear lack of experience in service-oriented business. While the pizza is OK, everything else I have tried (including overnight stay) can be had cheaper and better elsewhere, and the pizza at Roccos is better in my opinion. The service has always fluctuated between acceptable to don't care.
Since they don't have their situation resolved yet, and it has been a few years, I have made the decision not to go there anymore or send anyone else. It's just not worth the hassle, given the crappy location (masked as private or lost). Better pizza with more quiet and privacy on Roccos' terraces.
Kunming's etymological vapor trail
发布者Note that 柘 can refer specifically to the Chinese mulberry (on which silkworms are grown) or may refer more generally to thistle or thorny shrubs. As the document is written for the Emperor/imperial bureaucracy, the choice of character could be an purposeful implication, ie. 'its a thorny horrid place', or 'we will gain mulberry fields and silk through conquering their territory'.
Note also that the Chinese author of the text specifically accuses Nanzhao of stealing silkmaking technology from the Chinese through capturing large numbers of women and children in a recent invasion of Sichuan, and asserts that all of Nanzhao is now capable of silk production.
Kunming's etymological vapor trail
发布者@Peter99
Your theory sounds good however my observations differ - in the 9th century Nanzhao-era / Tang Dynasty text about Yunnan I am translating 柘 is used instead of 拓 or 陀 for Tuodong.
The degree of character-shifting observed over time would suggest that the 'real' origin of the sound Tuodong is an earlier, endemic, non-Chinese language. Given the time and historical linguistic makeup of Yunnan to which modern groups and other evidence attest, this was probably related either to a language spoken by the Yelang Kingdom (eg. Miao/Hmongic) or an Yi language.
As I have already found very directly attested Yi words transliterated to Chinese in the same book in the context of Nanzhao's army, weapons and customs, I would suggest this may be the origin.
Unfortunately Yi is a very fragmented language family so it is difficult to infer meaning to ancient phonemes.
en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Manshu
Book Review: Travels through Dali with a leg of ham
发布者I wonder if there's some kind of historical study about the cured hams ... clearly Xuanwei took the cake as the 'famous place' in modern times, but how far back did that extend? I suspect not all that far. What of the cured hams of Pu'er, Dali, etc.? Is this all stemming from a single tradition (as is likely) or are there distinct approaches? Curing can occur through salt or smoke, what range of techniques are used across Yunnan? Are these limited to or aligned with particular geographies or meats? 'Ganba' beef, for example, tends to be smoked water buffalo meat.
Flare-up in Myanmar violence sends refugees over Chinese border
发布者It seems to be an alternative(/old?) name for the Ruili River (瑞丽江).
Flare-up in Myanmar violence sends refugees over Chinese border
发布者Patrick I believe you must have been referring to the 龙川江 (Longchuan River) which is evidenced online and means 'River of Dragon-Valley' or some such.