The Fortune Cookie Chronicles


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  • Quirky

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    Chinese restaurants return to Baghdad

    Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

    h The security situation must be improving in Baghdad: A Chinese restaurant has opened in the Karrada neighborhood. (There had been several Chinese restaurants in Baghdad beforehand, including two in the Green Zone, but all of them they had closed down as security got worse and worse). Menu is limited, but it includes dumplings. And […]

    What about Chinese people who love Jewish food? Bagels in Beijing!

    Friday, December 28th, 2007

    A funny post on Triscribe tsktsking about the obsession about Jews who love Chinese food, and lack of attention to Chinese people who love Jewish food. The post points out, correctly, that about 1/3 of the waitstaff at born-again 2nd Avenue Deli are Chinese. (I can confirm that at least they are Asian immigrants, though […]

    Available in white in five different sizes.

    Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

    My friend, Tim Layman, sent me an e-mail with the subject line “amazon.com” and the body “Why can you buy ‘I Love Jennifer 8. Lee’ t-shirts from there?” I was like, what are you talking about? He wrote back: “went on Amazon to look up your book but I searched for “Jennifer 8 Lee” instead […]

    Sino-Judaic cuisine: pastrami eggrolls and Chinese hot dogs

    Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

    I have a City Room post today on pastrami eggrolls and Chinese hot dogs (beef frankfurter in egg roll skin), seen below, which is found in  New York City. This of course segues into the age-old quesiton of why Jews love Chinese food so much –  a relationship that has been the subject of many a […]

    I’ll take a 12-pack of those…

    Saturday, December 15th, 2007

    So I have this gumball machine at my desk, which I fill with m&ms (it makes my desk a high traffic area). After much investigation online and off, I have determined that the best rate for m&ms, both peanut and plain, is from Costco. The problem is that I live in New York City and […]

    Fortune Cookie USB Drives from Valavo can save your memories (in bed)

    Friday, December 7th, 2007

    I really feel like the photo says it all . But go to Valavo‘s site for more info (comes in grden, red, and blue)

    Maybe she really really liked their crispy shredded beef?

    Thursday, November 29th, 2007

    A British millionaireness who died and left her $20 million fortune to her favorite Chinese restaurant owners is now having her will challenged in court by her surviving relatives. Golda “Goldie” Bechal died aged 89 in January 2004, leaving the bulk of her estate to her friends Kim Sing Man and his wife Bee Lian […]

    So, when is a font racist?

    Wednesday, July 11th, 2007

    So today, I got a burst of traffic from a link from AngryAsianMan, a popular and well-regarded blog on Asian American issues. From that traffic, I got the following feedback comment on the chingchongy font that “THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES” is written in along the top of the blog, which I found intriguing. Angry Asian […]

    Do dogs add “in bed” after their fortunes too?

    Monday, June 25th, 2007

    Michael Schaffer, who is writing a book on pet culture called One National Under Dog, sent me an e-mail message with the subject line “Our books meet” and a url. I clicked and laughed when I saw it. This company, K9takeout, now sells fortune cookies for dogs. The types of fortunes they offer include “Confucius […]

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