Shanghai

Irvine Wants Communist $$$ for the Great Park?

The controversy surrounding Irvine's new "Sister City" relationship with Communist officials in Shanghai and the bizarre snub of democratic Taiwan began with numerous "irregularies," including breaches of protocol, "odd" outside influences and possible "deliberate deception," according to a June ... More >>

Friday's Headlines & Surprises: Excessive Force?

Shoot 15 times, ask softball questions later: The parents of Ashley MacDonald, the 18-year-old Huntington Beach girl killed by two police officers, filed an excessive force lawsuit yesterday in U.S. District Court, according to Christine Hanley at the Times. According to their suit, Kenneth MacDona ... More >>

Saturday's Headlines & Surprises: Are There Snapple Bottles in Jail?

Sheriff's Lawyer Pal Going to the Slammer: Somehow defense attorney Joe Cavallo—indicted Sheriff Michael S. Carona’s longtime drinking buddy—was able to operate a bail bonds scheme inside Carona’s jail. Hmmm. Wonder how that happened. Any ideas Mikey? Anyhow, yesterday Cavallo (pictured) be ... More >>

I Cover the Waterfront

Love and mermaids in Suzhou River

Dick's Picks

Five spots to chow down at after visiting the Nixon Library

Dog Day Cafe

Stephen Lemons Lies Down with Dogs and Gets Pleased

This Week in Roughage

Stephen Lemons Lies Down with Dogs and Gets Pleased

Twisted Sister City

Irvine shanghais Taiwan

Disneyland Suits Offered Buyouts

Things are tough all over--even the Happiest Place on Earth.Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is offering buyouts to 600 executives in its theme parks in Anaheim and Florida and the Walt Disney Co. in Burbank, reports the Business Journal's Orlando and Los Angeles outlets.More than half of the buyouts a ... More >>

[Special Screenings] Local Showings of 'Big Wednesday,' 'Back to School,' More

Things are tough all over--even the Happiest Place on Earth.Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is offering buyouts to 600 executives in its theme parks in Anaheim and Florida and the Walt Disney Co. in Burbank, reports the Business Journal's Orlando and Los Angeles outlets.More than half of the buyouts a ... More >>

A Chicken-Foot Fetish at Fullerton’s California Asian Bistro

Things are tough all over--even the Happiest Place on Earth.Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is offering buyouts to 600 executives in its theme parks in Anaheim and Florida and the Walt Disney Co. in Burbank, reports the Business Journal's Orlando and Los Angeles outlets.More than half of the buyouts a ... More >>

Special Screenings

Movie of the Week: Caddyshack

Special Screenings

Movie of the Week: Superstar in a Housedress

Ten for the Money

There are more than 182 features at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Here are 10 weve seen

A Great Mystery

Many of the artisans are anonymous, but the influence of "Treasures From Shanghai" is undeniable

Cock & Bull

Eating bull penis at Pho Nguyen Hue

New Review

The Painted Veil

Blade of Flying Sparks

Visually stunning (as always), Zhangs latest is better seen and not heard

Diary of a Mad County

June 21 - June 27

Cruise in Control

The Syracuse kid saves the world in style

This Hole-in-the-Wall Life

369 SHANGHAI:

1, 2, 3 Eat

New Film Reviews

Bluffmaster, Wolf Creek, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Fun With Dick and Jane, Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Ringer, Rumor Has It, The White Countess

This Week in Picking Restaurants by Pointing Blindly at My Computer Screen

Bluffmaster, Wolf Creek, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Fun With Dick and Jane, Mrs. Henderson Presents, The Ringer, Rumor Has It, The White Countess

This Week in When Will China Crush Us?

Chi' Chinese Acrobats

Eight Days

Chi' Chinese Acrobats

Genetically Modified Desire

In Michael Winterbottoms Code 46, science decides who you love

Whos Your Daddy?

Its Rebecca Schoenkopf!

Some Ziing New

Our salacious savant seeks vintage erotica and miso-seared ahi in historic Fullerton

Eat That Turo-Turo, White Boy!

Grilled pig cheeks and La Palma lumpias at Ellens Pinoy Grille

Ethnic Fare

Foreign films survive Newport festival shake-up

Tuesday's Headlines & Surprises

Top U.S. Secrets to Crooks, Idiots and Dopers: The Hill newspaper in Washington, D.C., reports this morning that the Pentagon, the guys running the Iraq War, now want Congress to allow national security clearances for government employees who are “ex-convicts, drug addicts and mentally incompeten ... More >>

Google Dolls

The other day, while getting the website that mirrors your favorite OC alt.-weekly pub ready for ya'all, Clockworken noticed something interesting upon opening Gustavo Arellano's popular column !Ask a Mexican! (Special Cesar Chavez Edition). Along the top of the virtual page was a Google advertiseme ... More >>

Deep End Dining's Eddie Lin's First Book Out In Stores Today

Photo Courtesy of Eddie Lin​You may have seen, heard, or read Eddie Lin before. That was him you saw chomping pig's ear and nibbling crickets with the jolly-Buddha-meets-cueball Travel Channel host Andrew Zimmern on the Los Angeles episode of Bizarre Foods. That was him you heard regaling NPR li ... More >>

Dishney: Tweets From the Park

Everyone survive the week? Flickr user NewYork808​Don't worry, it's almost over... which also means it's time for our weekly feature, Tweets From the Park, where we round up the funniest, best and most irreverent tweets from Disneyland. Gold star this week to all the gals who chose to wear slutty ... More >>

Wacky Snacks: Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce

Edwin Goei​Name: Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce Origin: Phillipines Found at: Bodega R Ranch, Tustin Cost: $0.79 Ingredients: Water, Cane Sugar, Bread Crumbs (Flour, Sugar and Palm Oil), Cane Vinegar, Salt, Hydrolized Plant Protein (Soy Protein), Onions, Garlic, Black Pepper, and 0.1% ... More >>

New Shanghai Circus

Cerritos Center

Chinese, Part 4

I desperately wanted to do a piece on Qinghai food in the area, given the news recently; I figured they may have relatives back home to support, but unfortunately Qinghai is not renowned for its food; not a single place could I find that sells niangpi (dough cakes) or caterpillar fungus (ranked with ... More >>

Heinz Spotted Dick

Edwin Goei​Name: Heinz Spotted Dick Origin: England Found at: Fresh & Easy, Fountain Valley Cost: $3.99 Ingredients: Wheat, Sugar, Wheat Flour, Raisins, Partially Hydrogenated Canola and Palm Oils, Nonfat Dry Milk, Partially Inverted Sugar Cane Syrup, Leaveners (Sodium Diphosphates, S ... More >>

Will Michael Steele Still Be RNC Chairman When He Keynotes Financial Forum in Irvine?

​Despite Republicans gaining 63 House seats and six Senate seats in the November elections, its National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, the USA Today says, had a worse year than President Barack Obama, MSNBC and the National Review agree Steele is a baffoon and all indications are he ... More >>

Cirque Shanghai Bai Xi

Cerritos Center

Mall Food Court Turo-Turo: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Dave Lieberman​I don't know why it never occurred to me that Filipino turo-turo ("point-point") food is a perfect fit for a mall food court. You almost never see Filipino food in malls, even though you see takes on Chinese, Japanese and Hawaiian.

Soup Dumplings in Mini-Tart Tins: Why Hasn't Anyone Else Thought of This?

​Ocean Star, in LA's new Chinatown in Monterey Park, now serves Shanghai-style soup dumplings, called 小籠包--xiao long bao. The problem with most services of soup dumplings is that they arrive four or eight to an order still in the steamer basket, and the act of transferring them to a spoon, d ... More >>

American Airlines Now Sponsoring Fortunes in Chinese Fortune Cookies

​Two nights ago, my family and I went to Shanghai Palace in Torrance to celebrate my dad's birthday. As we reached the end of the meal, the waitress handed us our obligatory fortune cookies. Exciting! As I opened up the plastic wrapper, I wondered what fate would be revealed on that two-inch white ... More >>

Shelly S. Singhal, Newport Beach Broker, Faces Second Fraud and Conspiracy Indictment in 2 Years

​A Chinese media company, a Utah entrepreneur and a Newport Beach brokerage firm owner who was indicted last year on conspiracy and securities and mail fraud charges are at the center of a new federal case alleging conspiracy, mail fraud and lying.Supplying the local hook is Shelly S. Singhal, 43, ... More >>

Ajisen Ramen Busted By Chinese Authorities For Lying About Soup

Photo by Keith May​Typically when you hear about food scandals in China, it's dire stuff, dangerous stuff that endangers lives. This one, by comparison, seems like a minor drop in the bucket; but it is making waves just the same. Ajisen Ramen, the giant ramen chain which has 588 stores in China (a ... More >>

On The Line: Wing Lam of Wahoo's Fish Taco, Part One

Photo by Meranda Carter​One-third of the founding brothers behind Orange County's quick-casual eatery simply known as Wahoo's is not just On The Line, but on the go. We accompany Wing in the carpool lane one afternoon as he reflects on his education and passion for cooking to the masses. Buckle up ... More >>

Author Lisa See

Newport Beach Library

Jollibee Sign for Anaheim Location Up!

Hope the Chris & Pitts sign it replaced is being taken care of--but it's probably in a landfill :-(​Maybe it's only me and Edwin who are totally pumped about the Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee coming to Anaheim, but whatever! We're nerds for Filipino food, which doesn't nearly get enough ma ... More >>

Five Ballsy In-N-Out Copycats

In-N-OutSee that trademark logo? Anybody? ​Trademark lawyers for Irvine-based In-N-Out are busy folks. The iconic burger chain has spawned ripoffs across the world--and that means war.  But the company is smart, and understands that where there's a clone, there's a hungry market. In response ... More >>

On the Line: Paul Zhu of The Balcony Grill & Bar, Part One

Photo by Johannes Dewald​Being the owner of a dining establishment means worrying not only about the food, but also about every other aspect associated with running a business. Marketing campaigns, scheduling of employees and purchasing supplies are just a fraction of the responsibilities Paul Zhu ... More >>