| Annabel
Jackson used sea, road and rail to explore the cultures of the
Pearl River Delta, the southern Chinese region containing the
historically rich triumvirate of ancient Guangzhou, once-British Hong
Kong, and Portuguese Macau. Flanked by
sparkling new towns alongside polluted old cities, the Pearl River
binds an area once divided by politics and now undergoing political
and economic reunification.
Annabel Jackson met with gourmets and artists,
talked with businessmen and housewives, visited scenic lakes, ugly
high-rises and sprawling markets. This book is her personal journey
through the most energetic corner of China filled with lovely
vignettes, casual encounters and, always, fine dining, by one of
Asia's leading writers on food, drink and travel.
Critics Comments
"This correspondent is probably as typical as any.
Twelve years in Hong Kong and I can count on one hand the number of
times I have visited Guangdong. So it proved a revelation and quite a
delight to come across Hong Kong, Macau and the Muddy Pearl by
Annabel Jackson.
"Jackson is better known for writing about food and
wine, and one gets the impression that it was the search for cuisine
that first drew her across the border. That was certainly the case
with Macau, where she is an acknowledged expert and consultant on the
local food. She clearly can't resist the temptation to describe
markets, but food forms only a relatively minor sub-theme of this
book. It is unusual in treating the entire Pearl River region as a
single unit worth exploring and enjoying.
"But this is not a guide book. Jackson makes no
effort to catalogue each and every sight, with lists of prices and
addresses. This is travel literature, and it is highly personal – one
might even say idiosyncratic – in its selection of what is important
or worth the visitor's time. The chapter on Guangzhou begins logically
enough with a description of an overnight ferry trip up the Pearl
River from Hong Kong – complete with distracting aromas of wok-fried
noodles emanating from the kitchen – but much of the chapter is
devoted to, of all things, the modern dancers of the Guangdong Dance
Academy.
"For anyone whose impression of Guangdong was formed
by driving along the newly completed highway from Hong Kong to
Guangzhou, zipping by an unending strip of factories and apartment
blocks, Hong Kong, Macau and the Muddy Pearl will be a
revelation. Who knew that Zhongshan still has many delightful old
Portuguese buildings and has banned the honking of car horns? Or that
Shunde is famous for its river fish (food again) and historic Chinese
garden? Did anyone realise that Foshan is one of the oldest cities in
China?
"The book is a pleasure to
read and an inspiration to learn more about a region that quite
clearly has a surprising amount to offer."
Asiaweek
"Food and travel writer Annabel Jackson has produced
a delightful account of her travels through three distinctly different
areas of southern China in her latest book aptly titled Hong Kong,
Macau and the Muddy Pearl.
"Annabel, who divides her time between Macau and
Hong Kong, where she handles public relations for the Mandarin
Oriental group, has provided an exciting insight into the everyday
lives of people living in the Delta.
"For a traveller planning
to visit the three destinations her new book is an essential
companion. As in her other books, Macau on a Plate and
Vietnam on a Plate, she offers the reader far more than a culinary
tour. The book is filled with anecdotes of her travels, the people she
met and interviewed and, of course, frank and revealing comments on
restaurants, hotels and transport."
Macau
Travel Talk
Readers Comments
Extract
Copyright © Annabel
Jackson
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