As we discovered in this month’s "Is O.C. Worth It?" issue, the percentage of high-end malls in Orange County is almost four times the national average. So is it any wonder that South Coast Plaza is the first shopping center in the country to accept the China UnionPay (CUP) card, the only bank card in the People’s Republic of China? Visitors from the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan use it to purchase SCP gift certificates at any of the four concierges, which are accepted by all the stores and restaurants, the Westin South Coast Plaza, and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. A growing number of SCP boutiques are also accepting the card. Read More

The Trade
The prerequisites for a romance novel are a central love story and a happy ending. It’s a hot-selling formula for the genre’s predominately female readers, who are estimated to have helped ring up more than $1.3 billion in U.S. sales last year, according to the Business of Consumer Book Publishing. Read More

Apiquant Thai salad can be crowned with a mound of seared steak, green papaya, or barbecued shrimp. All are delicious. But branch out and go for larb, a simple salad of minced meat and roasted ground rice combined with fresh herbs, a scattering of vegetables, and the Thai trinity of fish sauce, lime juice, and chilies. This dish, which crept across the border from Laos, is one by which you can measure any northern Thai restaurant. Read More

Neighborhoods guide to Seal Beach: printable, pinnable, clippable, save-able! Read More