L+T #46

Asia Pacific Edition NOV/DEC 2011

THE

OF TRAVEL

Eating streets in Bangkok

Java enriched

Taipei’s sweet treats

MUMBAI’S MODERN

REMIX

Tokyo on foot

(for food!)

mouth-watering

A 2-NIGHT STAY

1,000

MELBOURNE Plus

AT NishaVille Resort & Spa

Top 10 cooking experiences around the world, from making macarons and pastry in Paris to cooking Cape Malay Cuisine in Cape Town

THB

190

HKD

50

SGD

9

USD

6

EURO 4.60 IDR

56,000

RM

70

15

RMB

L I F E S T Y L E + T R AV E L

/

ISSUE 46

/

NOV–DEC 2011

CONTENTS 19

CONCIERGE

33

THE BUZZ

From events to mark on the calendar to new products, stores and hotels, these pages offer the latest in-the-buzz tidbits all the way from Hong Kong to Australia.

34 BLOG APPETIT! Check out English food blogs in Asia that we think deserve commendation for their great stories. Some of the bloggers don’t cook, but rather review restaurants or take you on a culinary journey on the streets or to exotic locales.

40 TAIPEI’S SWEET TREATS Crave something sweet? Ever-hungry Taipei is a paradise of colourful, savoury desserts, and four parlors reveal the secrets to their original, hearty house-made flavours.

THE WELLNESS

61

62 FOOD FROM AFAR: SOUL FOOD “Nothing is soulless about food. There is always spirit added into every dish. Love and care are just like salt and pepper, the undeniably fundamental ingredients,” says food guru Nateampai Sarakosass. Check out her hearty recipes.

66 COME DINE WITH ME Explore Mumbai’s diverse mix of art cafés, chic upscale restaurants and vibrant sidewalk food stalls.

72 COME ZEN WITH ME It’s time for a new relationship with food. Zen Habits blogger Leo Babauta shows you how.

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THE JOURNEY

74

76 MOUTH-WATERING MELBOURNE Melbournians are crazy about food and love discussing the food scene. Whether you’re into high-end fine dining or hearty comfort food, you’ll definitely have your taste buds tantalised. Visit Melbourne and do little else but eat, and leave satisfied.

88 HUNGRY FOR MORE Thais are natural-born foodies and they know the real culinary stars are hidden close to the ground. Here’s a gastro-cultural guide to Bangkok’s best street cuisine.

96 EATING TOKYO Walk around Tokyo’s famous fish markets and the surrounding food markets and you will understand why every foodie loves Japanese food.

104 JAVA ENRICHED Yogyakarta’s rich Javanese traditions and culture still live subtly in its people. Here we explore different aspect of Jogja to find a richer taste of Java’s city of living heritage.

112 TOP 10 COOKING EXPERIENCES AROUND THE WORLD Discovering the food of a destination is one way into the heart of a culture, but learning to cook the cuisine of a place is the route into its soul. Whether you watch a cooking demonstration as an observer or get up to your elbows in flour in a hands-on cooking class, there are few more meaningful and fun ways to experience a place than by learning to cook its food.

119

COME SLEEP WITH ME

130

FINAL DESTINATION: PIEDMONT, ITALY

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Enjoy a home away from home at an exclusive range of hotels, from Baros Maldives and Borei Angkor to Taj Mahal Palace Tower and W Seoul.

Famous for its food, wine and fantastic scenery, Piedmont is home to a series of undiscovered gems waiting to be unearthed.

EDITOR’S NOTE

The taste of travel friend once said, “In the past, we prayed before we ate; now we take photos.”

I burst out laughing and totally agreed. I’m one of those people who love to take photos of food and post them on “food journey” albums on Facebook profiles, and this album of mine receives the most “likes” and “comments” among my travel albums.

Memories and food are often wrapped up together, and my food photo album is like a taste bud diary. When I look back at the photos of the tom yum fried rice my best friend cooked for me in Denver, the delicate “handkerchief” roti and goat brains in India, or the sweet and salty barbequed corn I had for the first time in Taipei, good memories come back. And yes, I crave taking on a new journey.

When I travel, food is a main part of the experience. It’s a culture.

It’s a challenge. It’s excitement. It’s an adventure. Food is fun, wholesome, simple, fancy, vibrant and above all, delightful. I like to feel energised and satisfied by what I eat. I like to try strange food on the streets, at local eateries or high-end restaurants wherever I go.

I love good food, and more importantly, I love to share food and the experience with others. Across centuries and places, food has always been the gathering place for family and friends. We have, in some ways, removed that very intimate element with the Internet, but the sharing of food is ingrained in our fundamental nature.

In this issue, we celebrate the foods, places, experiences and Find us on Facebook: little things that make Asia (and a bit beyond) special. From highwww.facebook.com/lifestyleandtravel end restaurants to wet markets and street stalls, each entry reflects Email: editor@lifestyleandtravel.com the delicious diversity and unique philosophy of travelling and eating.

Check out our “Blog Appetit!” column (page 34) where we introduce you to famous and useful blogs about food around Asia that we like. “Taipei’s Sweet Treats” (page 40) also takes you on a journey to try some of the “must-have” desserts in Taiwan’s capital city. In Mumbai, you don’t need to try only kebab and curry; explore the city’s modern remix of American, Italian and Thai restaurants (Eating Around the Clock, page 66).

One of my favourites this issue is the 12-page mouth-watering culinary journey to Melbourne. Our regular contributor Lara Dunston spent 10 days eating and exploring the city’s vibrant culinary culture and shares with you the list of “musteats” on your next visit to the city (page 76). Writer and photographer Terence Carter takes you on a walk around Tokyo’s famous fish markets and the surrounding food markets (page 96). Another food journalist, Korakot Suriya-arporn (page 88), stopped by historic streets in Bangkok and you will see why this City of Angels is called a food paradise. Also dive into the Indonesian street food scene (page 104) with Akkarin Satitpatanapan and try some Gudeg (jackfruit sweet stew) on your next visit to Yogyakarta.

Food has been symbolic of love and a marker of shared experience. The food itself somehow becomes food for thought, food for the soul and food for the journey. It reflects who we are, what we have been through and where we are heading.

Enjoy your journey, and yes, your meal.

Krittiya Wongtavavimarn Editor-in-Chief

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BEHIND THE SCENCES

Editor-in-Chief: Contributing Subeditor: Senior Writer: Editorial Assistant: Graphic Designer: Photographer: Production:

Krittiya Wongtavavimarn Nick Wilgus Kreangsak Suwanpantakul Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul Chirachai Phitayachamrat Rachapant Sukrattanachaikul Wasuruj Nawakarnpisut

For all editorial enquiries, write to: editor@lifestyleandtravel.com Director of Sales and Marketing: Advertising Manager: Advertising Executive: Media Consultant: Projects Coordinator: Advertising Reps (Thailand):

Amarin Kocharat Tel: +66 (0) 8 1682 3500 Angsuthon Saengmanee Tel: +66 (0) 8 1813 2355 Dawood Suaptrakool Tel: +66 (0) 8 5552 0287 Piyapan (Pooky) Philastjit Tel: +66 (0) 8 5070 0131 Tanakorn Anakvatcharakul Tel: +66 (0) 8 1995 2215 Haruthai (Joice) Pathompongpun Tel: +66 (0) 8 1832 7045 Varun (Amy) Awasanaphant Tel: +66 (0) 8 1900 5436 Vinda Kallayanamitr Tel: +66 (0) 8 1889 7482

For all sales enquiries, write to: amarin@lifestyleandtravel.com Accounting Manager: Admin & Distribution Supervisor: Cover Photographer: Location:

Aungkana Treesub Rachanee Pairoj–euaanan Rachapant Sukrattanachaikul Q.House Avenue, Nonthaburi, Thailand

lifestyle + travel, Lifestyle and Travel Media Co., Ltd. 29, Bangkok Business Center Building (BBC), 19th Fl., (Room 1901), Soi Ekamai, Sukhumvit 63 Road, Klongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Thailand; Tel: +66 (0) 2391 2290–3, 2391 4030–2; Fax: +66 (0) 2391 4033; Email: info@lifestyleandtravel.com; W: www.lifestyleandtravel.com Media Representatives: Singapore: Teddy Chuay, Blk 158A, Riverside Crescent, #04–701 Singapore 541158. Tel: +65 8410 1169, Email: vivaciouscollection@yahoo.com. Japan: Maiko Itami, 606 Rengakan, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku–ku, Tokyo 160–0016 Japan. Tel: +8190 7214 9026, Email: Maiko.Itami@fallon.com. Middle East: Christine Jabourian, Suite 2302, Al Seef Tower 1, P.O. Box 13131, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +9715 065 11921, Email: kkjab@emirates.net.ae. Australia: Rebecca Stuart, P.O. Box 102 Hazelbrook 2779 NSW Australia. Mob: +614 0848 2518, Email: becstuart@gmail.com. Vietnam: Adrian Phua/Kevin Len, Jolen Consulting, 5th floor, 23 Cua Dong Str., Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam. Tel: +844 3923 3777, Fax: +844 3923 3778, Email: adrian@jolenconsulting.com, kevin@jolenconsulting.com Colour separation by Soontorn Film Co., Ltd., Tel: +66 (0) 2216 2760 Printed by Siam Colour Print, Tel: +66 (0) 2983 6500-9 lifestyle + travel shall not, without written consent of the publishers, be given, lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade, and it shall not be lent, hired out or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated condition or with any unauthorised cover by way of trade; or affixed to or as part of any publication or advertising, literary or pictorial matter whatsoever.

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Email: info@monument–books.com

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THE TALENT

CoNTrIBUTorS Leo is a simplicity Leo blogger and author. He Babauta created Zen Habits, a Top 25 blog (according to TIME magazine) with 200,000 subscribers, and wrote the bestselling books Focus and The Power of Less. He is a former journalist of 18 years, a husband and a father of six children, and leads a simple life in San Francisco.

The assignment: Write “New Relationship with Food.”

Vegetable or meat? Vegetable.

Food is … “Fuel, and nothing else.”

Globetrotting travel writer Lara Dunston has been Dunston writing for Lifestyle+Travel since 2006, covering destinations as far-flung as Morocco, Beirut, Dubai, Oman and her birthplace Australia. Lara works with her photographer husband, with whom she has authored and updated more than 50 travel guidebooks and published hundreds of travel articles for countless publications around the world, including The Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Wanderlust and Get Lost. The couple currently call Asia their home. They blog about their adventures at grantourismotravels.com.

T h e a s s i g n m e n t : Wa n d e r a r o u n d Melbourne and do nothing but eat for 10 days.

What’s special about Melbourne’s culinary scene? “It is really distinguished by its fresh, regional produce and diversity of flavours, and that’s partly because of the multicultural nature of the city — the locals come from Italy, Greece, Lebanon, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, you name it, which is reflected in the food.”

Lara

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Terence Carter is an editorial and travel photographer and infrequent travel writer with a Carter love of photographing people, places and plates of food. While he lived in the Middle East for a dozen years, Terence literally lives out of a suitcase now, accompanied by a couple of bags of photography and lighting gear.

He occasionally returns to Dubai to empty his post box. Along with travel writer wife, Terence bounces around the planet from one assignment to another.

The assignment: Eat sashimi and yakitori, write and photograph “Eating Tokyo.”

The best dish in Tokyo? “The piece of tuna the fishmonger handed me at Tsukiji fish markets was one of the most sublime things I’ve ever eaten.”

terence

Based in Bangkok, akkarin Akkarin is a linguist-cumsatitpataphotographer who spends napan most of his time when he is outside meeting rooms and seminars exploring the great outdoors.

He has done work for Alliance Francaise Bangkok and the Ministry of Culture, Thailand, and his work has been featured in local exhibitions and magazines. Music, food and hiking are his passions.

The assignment: Write and photograph “Java Enriched.”

Tips on eating street food in Yogyakarta: “If you don’t know what you are eating, you don’t want to know what you are eating.”

Korakot has had a passion for food all his life.

After graduating in journalism, he took a leap of suriyafaith and joined a culinary school — he interned arporn at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok for one year. He is also a founder and a blogger about food and travel at TourDeFoodBlog, www.tourdefoodblog.com. He enjoys combining flavours and seeking out new recipes in the kitchen, but when he is on the road, he is an adventurous gourmand who loves to learn about gastronomic culture.

The assignment: Search alleys for the best street food in Bangkok.

The best thing about street food? “Same dishes can be made hundreds of different ways and I feel excited to get to taste and spot the differences.

Also, you don’t have to get fussy suiting up and minding (much) table manners. With a T-shirt, shorts and rickety shoes, I’m an instant bottomless pit!”

Korakot

DATEBOOK

NOV – 26 DEC

Today

22 – 24 NOV

Lotte World Christmas Festival Seoul, South Korea Turn back time to celebrate the Christmas Festival this year at Lotte World. The vivid lights and big Christmas trees are decorated around the theme park. “Happy Christmas Parade” and a fireworks show are highlights not to be missed. www.lotteworld.com

Berliner Philharmoniker Live Tokyo, Japan It’s a great opportunity for Asian fans to feast their ears during a worldclass orchestra live performance of the Berliner Philharmoniker at Tokyo Suntory Hall. The event’s magnet is Gustav Mahler’s renowned Symphony No. 9, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. www.berliner-philharmoniker.de

25 Nov – 1 Jan Hong Kong WinterFest Hong Kong Selected by CNN as one of the top 10 places to go on Christmas, Hong Kong has decorated festive lightings around the city and Victoria Harbour. Hong Kong WinterFest is also the best period for shopaholics looking for discounts and food enthusiasts wanting to try special menus from famous restaurants around the island. www.discoverhongkong.com

DEC – 21 2 Dec

The Australian Ballet presents Romeo and Juliet, World Premier Sydney, Australia William Shakespeare’s love-tragedy epic, Romeo and Juliet, is brought back to life by The Australian Ballet. This time it is directed and choreographed by Graeme Murphy, who had big success in remaking Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Traverse this tragic saga at the grand Opera Theatre. www.australiaballet.com.au

10 DEC – 2 Jan The 46th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo Victoria Park, Hong Kong This is one of the largest outdoor expos in Hong Kong, featuring famous brands and quality products from Hong Kong and overseas. Great fun for shopaholics! www.hkbpe.com.hk

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–11 9 Dec

21st Meredith Music Festival Meredith, Australia It’s time for a weekend at the Meredith Farm. Camp out in your caravan for a three-day music festival and enjoy the diversity of many favourite bands from around the world. The Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre is a natural phenomenon, the stage nestled inside a grove of giant ghost gum trees, and within its spacious site, a natural amphitheatre is perfectly formed for audiences to see and hear music playing everywhere. It’s magical! If you are a slightly insane festivalgoer, you can participate in “The Meridith Gift” — a nude running race — and many more deranged activities.

2011.mmf.com.au

14 DEC – 14 Mar The Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2011 Chiang Mai, Thailand To celebrate His Majesty the King’s 84th birthday anniversary, Thailand’s grandest floral exhibition has come back to impress Thai and foreign visitors alike on this special occasion.

Strolling through the botanic garden, visitors will be enchanted by the multi-coloured flora and enjoy traditional Thai performances throughout the event. www.royalflora2011.com

CONCIERGE

WHAT’S HOT / SPECIAL DEALS / TRAVELLER’S 101 / BOOKshelf

LV’s glittering gem

The Louis Vuitton Island Maison at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands is now open. It’s one of two stand-alone glass and steel crystal pavilions designed by architect Moshe Safdie as part of his overall design for the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. The inside of the pavilion has been designed

by Peter Marino, featuring nautical inspired interiors and inviting the visitors to become explorers while discovering its multiple facets. It pays homage to the traveller and to the spirit of the sea.

Visitors can access the Island in three different ways: via an outdoor bridge; by boat, disembarking at a jetty; and from the mall via a tunnel and ascending “travelator” which leads them to the centre of the pavilion. On the left side of the tunnel, for the first time in Singapore, a cultural space will feature exhibitions. On the right, a selection of historic Louis Vuitton luggage linked to the nautical world and transatlantic travels of the early 20th century are displayed. www.louisvuitton.com

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CONCIERGE WHAT’S HOT

nEW DInIng VenUes in MaCaU

Banyan Tree Macau is ready to offer a luxury lifestyle to visitors along with its two signature restaurants, “Belon” and “Saffron,” after its grand opening in September. Belon is designed to evoke an aquatic environment and offers an exceptional dining experience with a bar wrapped in the form of scallop tails, jellyfish and spiraling shells, while Saffron serves the best contemporary Thai delicacies in town. www.banyantree.com

ASIA’S fIRST LAunCH TRaVel eBOOK

No more carrying big travel guide books! Asia Books, the leading distributor of foreign books in Thailand, and Lonely Planet recently released the first eBook Card and application of Lonely Planet in Asia. Due to the fast moving digital world, Asia Books also serves its readers with a variety of eBooks and eMagazines, which can be downloaded from the website.

For additional information, contact 70 branches of Asia Books in Thailand or eBooks Hotline on +66 (0) 2715 9000 ext. 8101 or visit www.asiabooks.com.

sT. Regis shenZhen DEBuT On nEW YEAR’S EVE

Rising high above the prestigious financial district in one of China’s most burgeoning cities, The St. Regis Shenzhen will open 31 December 2011. A refined landmark with spectacular views set in the business centre, the 297-room luxury hotel offers residential-style sanctuary in a discerning and contemporary setting, with lavish appointments and magnificent city views. Also experience its Butler Service available any time, day or night, and enjoy five restaurants and lounges. www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis

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CONCIERGE WHAT’S HOT

WilD BLuEBELL

Jo Malone has launched the “Wild Bluebell” collection that you will love. Creator of the perfume is Christine Nagel, who presented a new version of bluebell, composed of various notes, including green fresh notes, flowers (lily of the valley, rose hip) and spicy chord of cloves. Bluebell is a wild forest flower and its scent provides a moist echo of summer forest. www.jomalone.com

ADDITIOnAL fLIgHTS TO BangKOK

Air Astana, the flag carrier of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is increasing its flight frequency to Bangkok to four services per week, effective from today through 20 March 2012. It will move to five services weekly from 18 December to 27 January during the peak tourist season. www.airastana.com

shORe sTeaK’s gRAnD OPEnIng

Hong Kong’s distinguished bar and restaurant Shore celebrated a successful first year at its place in L Place building with the launch of a unique, premium steakhouse concept “Shore Steak” on its upper floor. The restaurant uses the finest selection of free-range beef from Tasmania, Australia, Scotland and the United States to deliver an exceptional experience for steak connoisseurs. With its in-house dry-ageing facility, beef is exceptionally tender and melts in your mouth. www.shore.com.hk

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CONCIERGE WHAT’S HOT

WICKED in Singapore

Broadway’s biggest blockbuster WICKED is coming to Singapore from 7 December 2011 to 29 January 2012. This award-winning musical will feature the Australian Cast, brought in by Base Entertainment, who also brought The Lion King into the island last season.

WICKED tells the untold story of the Witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood.

The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. It tells the story of how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Entertainment/Shows

“Thaipas” in Chiang Mai

Silapa Thai Lounge and Bar, the luxury restaurant in Shangri-la in Chiang Mai, is offering new Thaistyle food “Thaipas,” Thai food in tapas style, for its guests. “Thaipas” is created to serve as ideal snacks accompanied with drinks or a full dinner. Guests are also allowed to see the chef cook through the glassenclosed kitchen, or enjoy exotic cocktails and live music at the restaurant’s bar. www.shangri-la.com

ACCOR’s hotel debut in Ao Nang

In October, ACCOR launched Mercure Krabi Deevana in Ao Nang, a resort town in Krabi, Thailand. The brand-new hotel features 213 stylish rooms and suites with a private balcony in contemporary design. It hosts a distinguished restaurant and bars, three outdoor swimming pools, a spa and meetings facilities.

The location is a few minutes’ drive from beautiful islands and beaches, as well as seafood restaurants, a local market and vibrant nightlife. www.mercurekrabideevana.com

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CONCIERGE

SPECI A L DEALS 2 NIGHTS IN THE CITY/AT THE BEACH Guests have a choice: two nights at one of Bangkok’s most luxurious suites at Lebua for USD 995 or on the beach of the Andaman Sea at Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Krabi, for USD 885, or four nights in both places for USD 1,880. At Lebua, the package includes staying in a Tower Club Riverview Suite with complimentary upgrade to a two-bedroom Tower Club Suite (subject to availability), daily buffet breakfast at Café Mozu, innovative threecourse chef ’s menu at the Mez, romantic sunset champagne for two at the world renowned Sky Bar with breathtaking views of Bangkok, and private round-trip limousine airport transfers. At the hidden retreat Phulay Bay, stay two nights in the luxury Resort Pavilion with an upgrade to Ocean Pavilion at booking, daily boat trip to Hong Island and a picnic on the island, 50-minute spa treatment, breakfast at Jampoon Restaurant, and round-trip Krabi airport transfers. This offer is valid until 31 March 2012 with the exception of the period from 23 December 2011 to 8 January 2012. For more information, visit www.lebua.com.

SENSIBLE SAMUI Rated as one of the best island resorts by many international travel magazines, the Six Senses Koh Samui is set around a gently sloping headland on the northern tip of Samui Island and offers uninterrupted, breathtaking panoramic views of the Gulf of Siam and outlying islands.

This non-flexible special offer is bookable from 10 days in advance to get a further discount off the normal Best Available Rate. Starting at THB 11,745, it is valid for Pool Villa and Ocean Front Pool Villa rooms with a minimum three-night stay. The package includes breakfast, welcome amenities, free Wi-Fi Internet access, welcome drink and scented towel upon arrival and free use of the resort facilities, such as steam and sauna, fitness centre and non-motorised water sports equipment.

Explore Koh Samui and its beautiful crystal clear water and white fine sand amidst the swaying coconut trees today until 21 December 2011.

For more information, visit www.sixsenses.com/SixSensesSamui.

NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION Those who want to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Melbourne’s most cosmopolitan precincts may start the evening with dinner for two at Park Hyatt Melbourne’s Radii Restaurant & Bar and savour a special seven-course dinner paired with premium wines and live music. After the sumptuous meal, relax in your room for the countdown to New Year’s Day. Starting at AUD 575, enjoy overnight accommodation with buffet breakfast, valet parking, late check-out and the city’s festivities right on your doorstep.

Reserve before the year-end and stay from 31 December 2011 until 1 January 2012.

For more information and reservations, go to www.melbourne.park.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels.

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ROMANTIC RETREAT

LUXURIOUS TREAT

Enjoy the stunning views of Victoria Harbour and the beautiful skyline along with an awardwinning spa and spoil your loved one with an array of sumptuous restaurants, making it a perfect romantic retreat in the heart of Hong Kong. Priced from HKD 6,800 per night, the Romantic Retreat package offers breakfast in Clipper Lounge, Cafe Causette or in your room, a bottle of Rosé Champagne, a box of signature Chocolate Lips, “Taste of The Mandarin Spa” for two people (45 minutes), Lucky Eight Photography Guide suggesting the top eight romantic places in Hong Kong for photographs and late check-out until 2 p.m. This package is valid until 31 December 2012. Check out www.mandarinoriental.com/ hongkong for additional information.

Spoil yourself at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, one of Asia’s most sophisticated destinations for leisure, entertainment and business, and enjoy the Luxe Package’s luxurious treat offering the ultimate fine dining, wine and shopping. The package includes a choice of stay at Marina Bay Sands Club Room or Orchid Suite, complimentary bottle of Piper Hiedseck Champagne (usually priced at SGD 98++), an evening for two at the delicious gourmet Chocolate Bar on the Sands SkyPark, free airport shuttle on arrival, unlimited access to the Sands SkyPark and free access to the observation deck throughout your stay. Available from SGD 842 per night, this package is available from now until the end of the year. See www.marinabaysands.com for more information.

CONCIERGE TRAVELLER’S 101

Eating out around the world – a simple guide Text by Richard Herriot

O

ne of the great things about travelling abroad and experiencing different places and cultures is having the chance to enjoy delicious local food in an authentic local restaurant. But as we so often find with places to visit these days, once a hidden gem is discovered, it can soon be overrun by visitors, and its character and sense of authenticity can disappear. However, all is not lost, as we announce our guide to finding the best (and unspoilt) dining spots in town.

Use websites and smartphone applications Over the past few years, various websites and smartphone applications have become reliable sources of information for finding good restaurants. More up to date than a written guide and less hassle than stopping and asking passers-by, these can be a great source of information even when out and about. Sites such as Urbanspoon, Tripadvisor and Yelp.com are all easily accessible yet fast and intuitive, and excellent for firsthand information about most eating venues.

Go where you can see the food If you can see a restaurant where food is prepared in front of the customer, it’s usually a good sign that the food served there will be cooked properly and taste great. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal that was cooked and served in front of me. It shows a sense of pride in what the chef is doing, not to mention a rather exciting visual display, and even if you can’t speak the language, all you have to do is point to order!

Beware the touts Steer well clear of restaurants who employ “Doorstep PR,” touts who can be found hanging around close to the entrance using fake untrustworthy smiles and witty comments in order to lure people in.

Good restaurants don’t need to press-gang people into visiting their establishments, as visitors who enjoy their meals will often come back again and again.

Go exploring Don’t be afraid to take a trip off the beaten track and down a quiet side alley or into an area which isn’t signposted all that well, because you may just stumble upon something other tourists won’t be able to find. Decent restaurants don’t need a prime location or a big advertising board to attract customers.

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Avoid venues close to tourist landmarks There are often plenty of places to choose from near a local landmark, but these establishments are renowned for serving poor quality, bland international cuisine at sky-high prices and any sense of authenticity rarely lasts long. So perhaps separate your eating and sightseeing expeditions where possible.

Don’t always trust the guidebook With the plethora of local guidebooks available these days, it has become depressingly common that a restaurant that had once received good reviews and publicity can quickly become overcrowded and can lose its identity. Doesn’t always mean it has become a bad venue, but if you want to properly immerse yourself in the local culture, you may be better off trying somewhere else. Word of mouth is infinitely preferable to the words on a page after all.

Plan ahead If you find a restaurant that happens to be fully booked, but has smiling diners obviously enjoying their food, a fresh, seasonal menu and a pleasant, apologetic but not overly obsequious maître d’, book for tomorrow. Crowds aren’t always a guarantor of quality but a combination of the above should ensure you won’t go wrong by waiting another night.

Or…forget the restaurants and explore the local markets Some of the best places to buy fresh and cooked local foods are in outdoor public markets. Here, crowds of vendors can usually be found offering a fantastic variety of freshly prepared and locally produced breads, sweets and meats at rock-bottom prices. Choose the vendor with the longest queue. It should prove worth the wait as the food he offers is clearly the most popular.

CONCIERGE

Baked in America – David Muniz and David Lesniak America truly rules the world when it comes to baking. From delicious chocolate brownies and tasty muffins to chunky chocolate chip cookies, the gems of American baking are universally loved across the globe. Baked in America is a 220-page all-in-one cookery bible dedicated to this fine yet complex art. From their London bakery, Outsider Tart, Americans David Muniz and David Lesniak have initiated a culinary revival of traditional home-made American baking recipes alongside some fantastic new inventions of their own creation. Their book contains an eclectic mix of over 120 individual recipes, from classic favourites such as the blueberry muffin and the cinnamon loaf, to new dishes such as the Snickers brownie and white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes, as well as tips on how to make the perfect whoopie pie.

The photography helps to whet the appetite of the reader just as much as the cakes themselves, and the stories accompanying each and every dish on display also show what a huge amount of effort and love goes into each and every treat covered in the book. There is also a fascinating explanation of all the ingredients used in American baking, detailing their origins and uses, which, whether you happen to be a beginner or an experienced baker, should prove invaluable in terms of gaining a feel for what you are making. Combined with easy-to-read tips on using the correct utensils, this book is great for those of us who are just starting out and perfect for the whole family to use. This book is an excellent and comprehensive guide to wholesome American baking and, as the holiday season approaches, merits a prime place on any would-be baker’s kitchen shelf.

Hervhe! A Surprising French Chef in Thailand – Philippe Taurinya “French cuisine is his religion, Thailand is his temple, here is his bible.” So reads the introduction on the inside cover of Hervhe! A Surprising French Chef in Thailand, the culinary biography of chef Herve Frerard, an experienced French chef and owner of the exclusive Le Beaulieu restaurants in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. A resident in Bangkok for over a decade, Frerard first honed his skills in his own country, graduating from several cooking institutes in France. Through his long-standing experience in cooking, his Michelin star restaurants in France and his various restaurants found in hotels throughout Vietnam and Thailand, he has developed a fine reputation as one of the most skilful chefs in Thailand. Here for the first time is his life story, his ideas and his philosophies on cooking in a single volume.

Many might expect this book to have lots of Chef Herve’s own recipes for his favourite dishes, judging by the range of outstanding colour photographs of some of his own creations on show in the book. In fact, this book is all about where the ingredients for all his specialities come from, how they inspired him, and how they interacted with memories from the dim and distant past and his own childhood, as well as new experiences he gained in terms of Thai and French fusion cooking. To be a great chef, it is often said that you should be inspired by your ingredients in order to know how best to prepare them. This is certainly the case with Chef Herve and what comes through this book is the real heart and soul of a true professional who lives for his art. Together with insight into Chef Herve’s work with and promotion of the Thai Royal Project, readers are immersed fully into the mind of a man who has fused together the shadows of his past with the cultural realities of his present in his own culinary creations, making this story very hard to put down.

Available at Asia Books.

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BOOKSHELF Text by Richard Herriot

Barrafina: A Spanish Cookbook – Sam and Eddie Hart and Nieves Barragan Mohacho When Sam and Eddie Hart opened Barrafina, their no-reservations tapas bar and restaurant in London’s Soho district, they were to some degree stepping into the unknown. However, over time, the venue became a huge success and this stylish venue is now packed with customers every night, and is renowned for serving the best Spanish food in London. To celebrate the phenomenal success of their venture, the Harts pooled their ideas with their resident head chef, Nieves Barragan Mohacho, to create their own exclusive recipe book, Barrafina: A Spanish Cookbook, in which they share their secrets and recipes. The food itself is relatively simple, as befits a tapas style, but it is at the same time fresh, lively and uniquely Spanish, and something that can easily be prepared at home.

From food you can eat by hand, such as salty cod fritters and delicias, to grilled shellfish, desserts, rice dishes and paellas, the full breadth and range of Spanish cooking is covered in this impressive 250-page hardback volume, complete with high-quality colour photographs that make you almost want to eat the food off the page.

For those seeking to create their own brand of Spanish cooking, everything you could possibly need is outlined in this book. With over 120 recipes, Nieves, Sam and Eddie will assist you every step of the way and explain the mechanics behind the creation of a wide variety of simple and complex dishes, making this a very user friendly cooking manual. Barrafina truly does bring the delicious flavours of Spain into your own kitchen. This is a fabulous cookbook for all occasions and is, in turn, a truly great read as well.

The island’s BEST Shopping Centre

THE

BUZZ 34 BLOG APPETIT!

Check out English food blogs in Asia that we think deserve commendation for their great stories. Some of the bloggers don’t cook, but rather review restaurants or take you on a culinary journey on the streets or to exotic locales.

40 TAIPEI’S SWEET TREATS Crave something sweet? Ever-hungry Taipei is a paradise of colourful, savoury desserts, and four parlors reveal the secrets to their original, hearty house-made flavours.

THE BUZZ

LOG APPETIT!

Text by Kreangsak Suwanpantakul

B

logging has been all the rage for a while now. And food blogging is no exception.

The movie Julie & Julia, which portrays a young girl attempting to cook all the recipes of Meryl Streep’s character Julia Child and writing about it on her blog, not only shoots the popularity of food blogs through the roof, but it has also created a subculture of food blogging. There are many types of food blogs.

The majority are home cooks posting recipes they create along with photos, or they try to emulate someone else’s recipes in cookbooks. Some of the bloggers don’t cook but review restaurants or take you on a culinary journey on the street or in some exotic locale. These bloggers present their sites with their own signatures much like directors depicting their unique styles in films. We have selected English food blogs in Asia that we think deserve commendations for their great stories, beautiful photos that will melt your heart and, of course, for food so mouth-watering you will drool down your chin.

chika,

a japanese BlOgger With a magic tOuch (WWW.SHEWHOEATS.BLOGSPOT.COM)

She eats. She cooks. She shoots postcard-quality photos and, most importantly, she blogs about it all. Chika started blogging in Japanese when she was living in Hawaii in 2003 and switched to English content about a year later as she moved back to Japan.

Though she blogs occasionally, her site packs almost 500 postings to date. A variety blogger, Chika tells stories through her own cooking, her visits to restaurants, markets and orchards, as well as her trips abroad.

All of her stories are simple and can be just about anything from apricots in season to hanging out in the afternoon with succulent watermelon and a bottle of champagne. Chika is also a talented photographer whose magic vision through the lens captures the moment and turns her pastime into a piece of art. A fan says, “Your photos stole my heart,” and we agree. Here are some of our favourite posts on her blog:

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Breakfast at Tsukiji Not quite the same as breakfast at Tiffany’s but breakfast at Tsukiji fish market, the world’s biggest fish and seafood market in Tokyo, has long been on Chika’s “bucket list.” Because the market starts very early, Chika thinks breakfast at Tsukiji after clubbing all night long would be perfect. Although her first trip there doesn’t go according to how she has imagined it, she and her visiting friend sample food near and inside the market while checking out gazillions of fresh catches from the sea.

Orchards in the morning clouds A foggy morning at the apple orchard has never been prettier. The photos in this album look beautiful yet haunting, almost like the Red Riding Hood’s dim set with red apples personifying little red riding hood running in her red gown.

Capturing July moments Chika takes us through a series of wonderful journeys in July this year. She goes for a morning walk through the foggy woods and prepares several foods such as bachelor’s jam, banana-zucchini bread and cold soba from online recipes. Her visit to the nearby lavender fields and a trip to local markets in London also add a nice touch to her July moments blog.

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ansel and yaigal, seriOus eaters Of istanBul (WWW.ISTANBULEATS.COM)

Over a hundred reviews on foods plus more on wines and recipes over two and a half years, Ansel M u l l i n s a n d Yi g a l Schleifer have founded a fountain of food reviews in Istanbul ranging from street eateries to fine dining experiences. These guys are curious and serious when it comes to eating out in Istanbul. When the food at their favourite lunch restaurant tastes different, they probe to the bottom of what happens in order to reclaim their rights to ask for their old culinary delicacy back. Here is the proof:

hayvOre: lOst and fOund The duo eaters are sad when owners of their favourite Black Sea lunch spot Si Sore, which means “where are you?” in the Laz language, split up and the food isn’t as good any more. They find out not only why the food isn’t the same, but also the location of the new restaurant where the other owner has moved with the entire kitchen staff. As if it was a slap on his old partner’s face. The new restaurant is named “Hayvore,” which means “I am here.”

riana,

an indOnesian Bake Queen WhO eats dessert as appetiser (WWW.PENNYLANEKITCHEN.BLOGSOME.COM)

Best Bites Of 2010: One WOrd – Çiya!

Voted one of the best restaurants on Istanbul Eats 2010, Çiya restaurant is so good that the New York Times recommended this place as a foodie destination. Çiya’s big menu comprises a myriad of dishes from southeastern Turkish and Kurdish cuisine, giving an opportunity to travellers who have limited vacation time to try different regional tastes without any travel at all.

ZuBeyir: the meat is On Kebab is probably one of the most common Arabic dishes and you can find thousands of them in Istanbul. But to find the right restaurant and make it a proper kebab meal can be difficult. Most kebab places are a quick bite joint. Some fancy restaurants also serve kebab, but tuxedoed waiters are a bit too much for meat on a stick. Zubeyir stands in the middle to serve good food without taking themselves too seriously. The place is presented like a sushi bar where grill-side seats are provided for diners to watch the chef in action.

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Riana Ambarsari has a sense of humour. Her blog reads like an ADD girl on crack or perhaps it is just the sugar. Not only does Riana bake and blog, she is also a professional food photographer. The world of pastry has led her to meet three other bloggers living overseas online. The four girls recently published a book called Food Photography Made Easy among other books Riana has previously printed.

Her interest lies in desserts, be it her own baking or going out on the street and cafés. Let’s follow the journey of this larger-than-life blogger:

Female Coffee – One Perfect Mornin’ at Bangi Kopitiam.

In her own words, cappuccino is too light, espresso is too strong, latte is too runny, and caramel is too artificial. Hence, Riana is more of a tea person. But when she sees “Female coffee” in Malaysia, she has to try it. The strength of this coffee is perfect but the best part is that it’s infused with spices. She recognises some of the spices such as cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, yet there is something else she cannot be sure of. It is mysterious, just like a woman, she says, and that mysteriously perfect blend of coffee dedicated to all women in the world simply gives Riana one perfect morning.

Wedang Ronde On the road to promote her books in Yogyakarta, Riana spends an afternoon bicycling around to try street foods, especially a must-eat Javanese dessert: Wedang Ronde.

Wedang Ronde is glutinous rice balls stuffed with sweet peanut paste and served in hot and sweet ginger tea typically sold in a pushcart. The recipe of this dessert is also available.

Baklava!

Riana loves Baklava, a Middle Eastern pastry filled with nuts and soaked in honey, and after the first baking attempt that gives her a sugar high all night, she perfects it on the second try. It is so perfect that her professional photographer self fails to snap a shot because she wolfs it down so fast. Her own adapted recipe is shared on her blog.

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Bryse and vinh,

eXplOrers Of camBOdian eating scene (WWW.NYAMPENH.WORDPRESS.COM) Local food is great, but there is a whole lot more to the Cambodian food scene than just local delicacies. Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, American and Italian food — and the list goes on. From street side to high-end market, Bryse and Vinh roam every nook and cranny of Phnom Penh and other parts of Cambodia if chance permits to carry out their mission: to let the rest of the world know about Cambodia’s culinary landscape. At the end of their reviews, they rate the level of nyamies (“nym” means eat in Khmer) in five points. The pair has become quite well known in Cambodia and was interviewed by Le Petit Journal and participated as a guest judge at a cooking competition. Some of their reviews include:

mama’s neW yOrk deli Vinh finds Mama’s New York Deli by chance walking around her neighbourhood. Mama’s is a nofrills restaurant that serves New York-style deli foods such as submarine sandwiches, salads, burgers and the like. Corned beef on rye, meatball sub on baguette and the patty melt are recommended. All meals come with garden salad, french fries and home-made pickles. The portion is big just like in New York City and beverages are as cheap as 50 cents.

chinese pull nOOdle restaurant The restaurant really lives up to its name. Its noodles are home-made and hand pulled right in front of the restaurant. The decoration is simple but, when it comes to the flavour, there is nothing simple about it. Bryse and Vinh order spicy pork noodles, hoisin based sauce on noodles with water chestnut, chilli and union, which costs USD 2, fried dumplings and fried cake with unions. While the dumplings cost the same and have a generous portion of pork filling, the fried cake is only USD 1 and tastes better if you dip it in soy sauce.

a trip tO malis The food at Malis restaurant is what you would call nouveau Khmer cuisine.

Prepared by Chef Luu Meng, some of the local dishes have been given a makeover to appear as exceptional as they taste. Bryse has been there a few times and has never been disappointed. Indeed, Malis maintains its high standards and is a preferred fine dining restaurant for culinary connoisseurs. Malis has also represented Cambodian cuisine on the international level; the team catered for the UNESCO meeting in Italy and renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay of TV show Hell’s Kitchen requested to watch Chef Meng in action in his kitchen during his visit.

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THE BUZZ

TAIPEI’S

SWEET TREATS Text by Lifestyle+Travel team I Photos by Yow-Long Lee

Crave something sweet? Ever-hungry Taipei is a paradise of colourful, savoury desserts, and four parlors reveal the secrets to their original, hearty house-made flavours.

T

here’s so much to try and taste in Taipei, from strolling in one of the night markets and nibbling on fried chicken cutlets, stinky tofu and Taiwanese sausages, to dining in upscale eateries or popular chain restaurants like Din Tai Fung. Some say you can’t leave Taiwan without trying the oyster omelet and beef noodle soup. I say you can’t leave without trying the desserts.

Taiwanese desserts kick your sweet tooth into high gear. For the Taiwanese, every meal must be paired with a dessert or a drink, such

as bubble tea, grass jelly, shaved ice or a milk shake. Taiwan’s desserts reflect how locals see the world. You will find they have adapted common flavours to the local market, where people are health- and weight-conscious, and love not-too-sweet but melt-in-your-mouth treats.

There are many great dessert shops along the city’s streets, at night markets, or in shopping malls. While many travellers often miss out on the city’s many other dessert options, you will need to follow the Taiwanese to the places that are really good and are invariably popular. Here are four of the best, all available in the city.

GIGANIC HONEY TOAST @ R9 Don’t even think of eating a honey mountain toast alone — you will never finish it. But if you do, it is worth every calorie.

Originating in Japan, honey toasts have been on the scene in Taiwan for nearly two years and have been localised; they are less sweet compared to those in Japan or Thailand. Its beautiful appearance and abundant fillings always wow. Only a few places in Taiwan serve this giant toasted breadbox, and at R9, it’s a hot seller.

Be warned: there’s a jolly side selection in rainbow shades that will make it tough to choose just one. There are about 10 varieties of sweet honey toasts layered with classic honey, chocolate banana, strawberry, caramel, blueberry or tropical fruit, drizzled with chocolate sauce and cream, and topped with a dollop of ice cream and a chocolate biscuit stick.

A highlight of R9 is the honey toast with delicate macarons, specially created by the two-Michelin-starred chef. The toast is an interesting interplay of five textures — crunchy chocolate biscuit base, smooth vanilla mousse, fresh fruits, premium chocolates, Movenpick ice cream and colourful macarons combined to create an unforgettable taste sensation. The fillings in macarons are not too sweet, and the texture is like that of meringue — crisp and fluffy at the same time.

Chris Tsai, owner of R9, turned the nearly 70-year-old building into a two-storey sleek, modern café, and created foods, drinks and desserts that use the “best” brands from around the world, such as Giffard Syrups, Caffe Trombetta, TWG, Brodies, Hediard and Pickwick.

“People just love them,” says Chris.

While cutting the freshly made honey toast topped with a mountain of fresh strawberries. He adds that he can sell at least 300 cubes of honey toasts. “We make it this big so people can share and have enough on their plate.”

The loaf is cut into a cube. The bread is then sliced and slathered with a sugary paste before being put back inside. Then pour honey on it and dip a piece of toast in ice cream and scoop up a piece of strawberry and voila!

R9 Café No.13, Ln. 41, Chifeng St., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan T: +886 (02) 2559 3159 W: www.r9cafe.com.tw

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SHAVED ICE TREATS @ ICE MONSTER Ice Monsters are everywhere; some are real, some are fake. But, which is the original?

The one on the small corner at Yong Kang Street, of course. Its creator and owner, Frank Lo, first started the original Ice Monster in Taipei in 1994 and has expanded the shops to many countries, such as Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. According to the owner, Ice Monster in Thailand and the Philippines is not the same as Taiwan’s Ice Monster.

What makes Ice Monster so popular is its Mango Ice — fresh, sweet mangoes topped with mango ice cream, milk, syrup and pulp, laid over thin ice shavings. Unlike other types of shaved ice, the Taiwanese version is thin, velvety soft and melts in the mouth. There are various combinations of deserts filled with strawberry and kiwi fruits to choose from, and friendly serving staff dress in pale blue tees get your orders in a jiffy. The best sellers here are Fresh Mango Jelly Ice, Jumbo Strawberry Ice and Fresh Mango Milk Sorbet.

The décor of Taipei’s Ice Monster is very simple, with plastic chairs decked out in a shophouse on the corner. Yet local Taiwanese and tourists seek it out so they can quickly take a seat and sample some mango goodness — especially perfect on Taiwan’s typically hot and humid summer days.

The menu offers high quality snow-ice desserts, all created passionately by the owner.

“We use only fresh and natural ingredients in all of our products. No preservatives and additives are used. And that makes it popular,” says the founder of Ice Monster and CEO of FnB Gourmet Group.

The new two-storey Ice Monster store is soon to open in the same area where the present store is located, but customers will be able to try a variety of traditional and modern desserts, from Taiwanese-style ice cream mochis and tang yuan (mochi ball dessert) to 50 more new flavours of shaved ice such as Jasmine and Lemon Tea Ice, Oolong Ice and Yogurt Ice. Ice Monster No. 15, Yong Kang Street, Taipei, Taiwan T: +886 (02) 2321 3367 W: www.icemonster.com.tw

FLUFFY WAFFLES @ MELANGE CAFÉ

Melange Café No. 23, Ln. 16, Sec. 2, Zhongshan N. Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City 104, Taiwan W: www.melangecafe.com.tw

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For amazing waffles — perhaps the best in Taipei, visit Melange Café. You have to be patient because there’s a long line.

This European-style café is tucked away in a quiet street off the fairly busy shopping Zhongshan North area in Taipei, which enjoys a favourable reputation because of its urban chic setting and afternoon tea fare: coffee and tea drinks, sandwiches and epic waffles.

Melange Café satisfies all-day breakfast hankerings with a line of specialty waffles doused in myriad sweet or savoury accoutrements.

The café keeps its ingredients simple, but the desserts are subtly delicious. Soft and creamy Butter Crepe is served warm with light whipped cream, fresh strawberries, butter sauce and chocolate sauce.

The strawberry waffles are crispy on the outside, fluffy yet substantially chewy on the inside, served fresh and hot with custard, strawberry ice cream, topped off with fresh chunks of sweet and juicy strawberries, and a light and delectable strawberry sauce.

The waffles and the crepe go very well with the variety of specially blended coffees, especially Iced Coffee Melange with Jelly and Iced Dutch Water Drip Coffee with iced coffee cubes, of which only 60 cups per day are served.

Quench-thirsting Iced Summer Fruit Tea, fresh apple slices, kumquat and passion fruit, is also a must-try.

BUBBLE (BOBA) TEA @ CHUN SHUI TANG The sound of ice cubes clinking in a stainless steel cocktail shaker is music to the ears. Visitors to Taiwan will find something refreshing — pearl bubble milk tea, one of Taiwan’s best-known specialty drinks.

Though bubble tea can be found all over the world, at Chun Shui Tang, claimed as the world’s originator of bubble milk tea, the bubble tea is extraordinary. It has the smoothness of freshly brewed milk tea and the chewiness of the bubbles that none of the local stores can quite replicate.

The beverage originated in the mid-1980s when store manager Liu Hsiu-hui added milk and tapioca balls to the tea drinks. Although the drink was not popular at first, the tea has become well-known worldwide. The sweetened milk tea with frothy foam “bubbles” on the top and the little black tapioca “pearls” at the bottom has been embraced by customers.

Chun Shui Tang doesn’t sell just tea; it sells Taiwanese spirit and culture.

The store has positioned itself as a “cultured” teahouse, designed in a style

that mixes traditional lyricism with contemporary elements. It’s decorated with seasonal flowers and famous paintings. It brings to life the teahouse depicted in literary works like the Mengliang Lu of the Song Dynasty.

The teahouse uses only the highest quality Taiwanese-produced milk. While many bubble tea shops use dried tapiocas, Chun Shui Tang uses the fresh ones every day and tapioca balls are discarded if cooked more than three hours.

Their bubble teas are usually shaken. A refractometre, which measures sweetness in drinks and food, is used to assess the sweetness of each drink to match the customer’s specifications.

Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House 2nd Floor, No.1 Qingcheng St., Songshan Dist., Taipei City 105 W: chunshuitang.com.tw

COME FLY WITH ME

GARUDA INDONESIA

EXECUTIVE CLASS TRANSFORMATION While airlines across the region are scaling back their business class products, Garuda Indonesia is actually investing heavily in service enhancements to capture the premium passenger market. In July 2009, the company announced the Quantum Leap expansion, which involved an image revamp including changing the airline’s livery, staff uniform, logo and upgrading the number of aircraft from 62 to 116.

THE COMPANY Named after Hindu and Buddhist mythology’s mystical giant bird, Garuda Indonesia is the national carrier of Indonesia, founded in 1949. It is a full-service network carrier and serves 28 domestic and 18 international destinations. The airline’s main hubs in Indonesia are located in Jakarta and Denpasar. In July 2009, the airline unveiled a new aircraft fleet, new in-flight products, new service concept and a fresh corporate identity to mark the start of its transformation into one of Asia’s most successful and profitable airlines. Garuda Indonesia received its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification in May 2008, recognising that the airline is fully compliant with global bestpractice standards for flight operations, aircraft maintenance and safety management systems.

COMFORT Currently passengers can choose between two classes of comfort: Executive Class and Economy Class. With the first delivery of the Boeing 777-300ER in February 2012, Garuda will also introduce First Class. The new Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft features Garuda Indonesia’s new signature interior, with individual touch-screen LCD TVs with Video on Demand (VOD) entertainment systems offering

25 feature films and 25 audio tracks. Executive Class passengers will also enjoy table service during meal times as they savour authentic Indonesian cuisine such as the mini Nasi Tumpeng.

SERVICE The Executive Class experience starts even before passengers board the aircraft. Each passenger will be met by a personal concierge who helps handle check-in, immigration and baggage clearances while you wait in the lounge where full-service amenities such as business centre with Wi-Fi-enabled PCs and a self-service bistro are provided.

Passengers will then be escorted to the boarding gate when the flight is ready to depart. For travellers heading to Jakarta, there will be dedicated immigration counters for Executive Class passengers to fast-track their immigration clearances at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.

The same service is also available for passengers departing from Jakarta and in cities such as Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

RECOGNITION Garuda Indonesia has undergone a remarkable transformation across its safety, product and front-line service standards in its bid to become one of Asia’s most successful airlines. As a result, the airline was recently upgraded to a four-star rating by Skytrax Research in recognition of the significant improvements in its product and services quality. In October 2010, Garuda Indonesia was ranked as best service in Southeast Asia by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation survey, which was based on ground service, in-flight service, food, comfort and value.

Garuda Indonesia Bangkok Office T: +66 (0) 2285 6470 W: www.garuda-indonesia.com

A Going

the extra mile

Yo u n g e x e c u t i v e Kijja Laowsuwan blends international standards with a touch of Thai hospitality.

t first glance, Kijja Laowsuwan, dressed in a sleek dark grey suit and tie, looks like a tough, serious businessman. But when you talk to this General Manager of Bliston Property Management (BPM) about how he runs his business, you might be surprised to learn that this 32-year-old is nothing like what he seems.

That’s especially true when it comes to managing his employees: he gives them freedom to make their own decisions and go the extra mile without having to ask for permission.

“Put yourselves in the customers’ shoes and ask yourselves what you would want if you were in their place,” he tells his employees, “and do whatever it takes to make our guests feel at home. Even the tiniest detail can make a big impact on the customer’s satisfaction.”

For example, when his customers need to leave for the airport before breakfast is served, the kitchen staff volunteer to come in early to prepare breakfast for them. If guests leave dirty dishes in the sink, the staff will also clean them even though this is not required by the company. The attention to detail and personal treatment, he says, make a very good impression.

“We don’t want to give the impression that our staff waits on you just for tip money or that they’re trying to take advantage of the guests,” he adds.

Serviced residences and hotels in general offer different services. No hotel, especially among the big chains, will start breakfast earlier just for a few people who have to get up a little earlier than usual. While hotels might have a variety of restaurants, a gym and spa to their advantage, Kijja says serviced residences can match them, offering the same services, albeit slightly less in number. For instance, Bliston Suwan Park View in Soi Tonson, one of the properties managed by BPM, offers a spa, fitness centre, business centre, restaurant and everything else a proper hotel must have, such as 24-hour front desk, CCTV surveillance, daily maid service, etc. In some aspects, serviced residences can give their residents more for less.

“It’s a win-win situation for our guests. We offer more space and the customers pay less at serviced residences,” says Kijja, adding that BPM’s first priority when it comes to property management is spaciousness. Guests must have plenty of space in their room and feel like it is their home away from home. Jacob Turner, an American banking executive who has stayed in both hotels and serviced apartments, agrees with Kijja. “If I were travelling with family, the larger space of a serviced apartment and a kitchen for the kids to grab snacks would make more sense. Serviced apartments are usually more accommodating if you have pets, too,” says Turner.

Serviced apartments, in general, are more spacious than hotel rooms. Viva Garden offers 111 rooms with different choices of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. The sizes vary from 45 to 121 square metres. Tenants of more than one month, which is considered long term by BPM, usually prefer serviced apartments to hotels.

“You need a kitchen if you’re going to stay more than a month and only serviced apartments have kitchens,” says Jasper Andal, a Singapore-based Filipino expat who has lived in many places in Asia.

BPM offers both short-term and long-term services to their customers,

but long-term tenants are actually their main target group.

Apart from space, location is another strategic factor BPM has taken into consideration. While Bliston Suwan Park View is located in the city centre of Phloenchit, Viva Garden is situated right next to the Bang Chak skytrain station. It is far enough to get away from inner city chaos, yet easy enough to get to the city by the skytrain. It is also near an expressway, which facilitates guests who need to travel outside of Bangkok for work and return to the city afterwards. A majority of BPM’s customers are expats working in Bangkok and greater Bangkok. According to Kijja, these expats would rather live in the city even though they work outside. “They need to have a life after already spending all day in remote sites,” says Kijja.

An avid sportsman, Kijja believes great facilities are also of the utmost importance to serviced residences. He grew up playing all kinds of sports, such as football, badminton, golf, swimming, etc.

Not only does Viva Garden provide a swimming pool amidst the lush gardens, it also has a restaurant, meeting room, business centre, fitness centre, children’s playroom and a long corridor that serves as a gallery in the lobby area.

“We are a local brand with international knowledge and can offer the best of both worlds,” says Kijja, referring to BPM as a Thai company and his previous experience working for an international property management prior to his current position.

Unlike most kids, Kijja grew up loving numbers — mathematics was one of his favourite subjects. Before coming to work at BPM, he worked in finance at an international property management company following his educational background in economics from Chulalongkorn University and a master’s in the same discipline from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, USA. He says economics is about business planning and digits, and with this background knowledge he convinced board members of his business plan and the returns promised. After a few years of honing the experience in finance, he moved on to the front office to craft another skill set, getting himself ready to take on the residence manager position. The experience acquired from the international chain is blended with Thai hospitality and has been put into good use at Viva Garden, where most of the publicity they get is word of mouth from customers impressed with the experience. And that’s about the best kind of publicity one could hope for.

B AKE A Style

Fetish Pumps from Louis Vuitton (USD 1,100), Gimme a Clue Link Bracelet from Louis Vuitton (USD 1,090), Gimme a Clue Link Necklace from Louis Vuitton (USD 2,140), Large Inclusion Bracelet from Louis Vuitton (USD 460), Small Inclusion Bracelet from Louis Vuitton (USD 370), Handbag from Coach (USD 498), Large Wristlet from Coach (USD 118), Fold Card Holder from Coach (USD 88), Pumps from Jimmy Choo (USD 950)

Stylist: Jeerawan Duangnam Photographer: Rachapant Sukrattanachaikul Coordinator: Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

Home Elegant@

Dress from KAI, belt from SUNSHAI and long boots from CHANEL

Top AND LONG SKIRT FROM SENADA

Dress from CHANEL

Dress and pumps from SUNSHAI

DRESS FROM KAI AND BELT FROM SUNSHAI

DRESS FROM KAI

Photographer: Rachapant Sukrattanachaikul Photographer Assistant: Chatchakorn Siritawisit Model: Kassy Brain Stylist: Kontee Pamaranont Make-up Artist: Soravudh Chatrakul Na Ayudhaya Hair Stylist: Khanawut Ruangrot Fashion Coordinator: Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul Special thanks to: Q.House Avenue (Rachapruek-Rama 5) 99 Moo 7, Nakorn-In Road, Bang Khu Wiang, Bang Kruai, Nonthaburi 11130 Thailand T: +66 (0) 2449 6111 W: www.qh.co.th

STOCKLISTS CHANEL M Floor, The Emporium, Bangkok +66 (0) 2664 8621

SENADA 3rd Floor, Siam Center, Bangkok +66 (0) 2252 2757

KAI 2nd Floor, Central Chidlom, Bangkok +66 (0) 2251 0728

SUNSHAI M Floor, Siam Paragon, Bangkok +66 (0) 2610 8312

THE

WEllness 62

FOOD FROM AFAR: Soul food

“Nothing is soulless about food. There is always spirit added into every dish. Love and care are just like salt and pepper, the undeniably fundamental ingredients,” says food guru Nateampai Sarakosass. Check out her hearty recipes.

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COME DINE WITH ME

72

COME ZEN WITH ME

Explore Mumbai’s diverse mix of art cafés, chic upscale restaurants and vibrant sidewalk food stalls.

It’s time for a new relationship with food.

Zen Habits blogger Leo Babauta shows you how.

THE WELLNESS FOOD FROM AFAR

Soul Food Text by Nateampai Sarakosass I Photos by Rachapant Sukrattanachaikul

Nothing is soulless about food. There is always spirit added into every dish.

Love and care are just like salt and pepper, the undeniably fundamental ingredients.

S

oul food is rooted way back somewhere in time, during the slavery time between the 16th to 18th centuries. During that time, slaves were shipped to southern America to build the colonials, plantations and the cotton houses. The soul food ingredients are based on what the slaves could find at hand, what was left and abundant in the fields and rivers, such as okra, corn, turnip, beets, rice, the buttermilk leftover from butter churning, catfish, pig feet, oxtails, ham hocks, pork fat raccoons, turtles or even crocodiles. The foods are mostly stewed and fried, which are considered health risks in modern times. Many soul food ingredients have been altered, such as the lard, the rendered pork fat, which is now substituted by vegetable shortening. Fish and shellfish now can substitute some recipes that used to call for crocodile meat. The soul food meal consists of buttermilk biscuits, fried chicken, hush puppies, gumbo, baked beans with ham hocks, collard greens and many more.

The term soul food comes from the way slaves gathered to have their meals to nourish body and soul.

While they were enjoying the food, which they made on their own after their long hard days in the field, they shared their stories, the happy stories, the story about their roots, families and souls. That’s something missing in this day and age, sharing and exchanging the good and the bad stories among our big family. Once in a while you may want to have your friends and family gather, sit down, have dinner, and share stories of the past. I hope these soul food recipes offer an alternative menu and meet the needs of both body and soul.

Fried Chicken 1 Whole chicken 2 cups Buttermilk 3 tbs Salt 3 tbs Paprika 2 ts Cayenne pepper 4 ts Garlic powder 4-6 cups All-purpose flour, for coating Oil for deep-frying •• Cut the chicken into eight pieces, place the chicken

in a big bowl, then rub in all the spices and salt.

•• Pour the buttermilk over the chicken. Cover and

refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

•• Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a big pot to high heat,

then lower to medium high.

•• Take the chicken out of the fridge, one piece at a time.

Place the soaked chicken into the flour (do not dry the wet chicken), coat the chicken with the flour thoroughly, then place the coated chicken into the fryer right away.

•• Fry the chicken two to three pieces at a time, depending on the size of the fryer; do not crowd the fryer. Fry the chicken for eight to 10 minutes or until brown, then rest the chicken on the rack.

Buttermilk Biscuit 2 cups 1 tbs 1/2 ts 3/4 ts 5 tbs 1 cup •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

All-purpose flour Baking powder Baking soda Salt Lard or shortening Buttermilk or low-fat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, mix and sift the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Add the lard or shortening to the flour.

Use a finger to rub the shortening into the flour to the size of small peas.

Add buttermilk, tossing with a fork, until dough holds together.

Flour the table then place the dough on it. Knead for a few minutes or until smooth.

Round the dough, then roll out the dough to form a 3/4-inch-thick disc.

Using a round cutter to cut out the biscuits.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet. Bake about 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

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Shrimp, Sausage & Okra Gumbo 5 tbs 5 tbs 3 tbs 100 g 1 1 cup 1 cup 1/4 ts

Butter Bread flour Olive oil Fresh sausage, fried and sliced Bell pepper, chopped Celery, sliced Onion, cubed Thyme

•• On medium heat, melt butter in a pan, then add

the flour, keep stirring until the flour turns dark brown.

•• In a pot, on high heat, add the oil then the onion, celery, bell pepper, thyme and bay leaves for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

2 Bay leaves 3 cups Sliced tomato 2 cups Shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 1/2 cups Fish stock or water 3 cups Sliced okra 1 tbs Cayenne pepper (or more to your liking) 1 tbs Worcester sauce Salt and pepper Chopped parsley or basil chiffonade to garnish •• Add the tomato, stir-fry for few minutes, then add the stock and the brown flour.

Keep stirring until almost boiling, then add the rest of the ingredients.

•• Keep stirring until it is boiling, then simmer for a few minutes. Taste and season

with salt, pepper or cayenne pepper.

•• Serve with rice or bread, garnish with chopped parsley or basil chiffonade.

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THE WELLNESS COME DINE WITH ME

ATING AROUND THE CLOCK Eating out is serious business in India’s vibrant financial hub. Krittiya Wongtavavimarn tries some of Mumbai’s best around-the-clock gourmet experiences the city has to offer in one day.

T

he Mumbai food scene is exciting. It is culturally rich. It is democratic. It is fun. The Mumbaikars love their food and tourists in Mumbai will find the city to be a gourmet’s paradise dotted with several restaurants offering exquisite traditional, international and fusion cuisines. It is where top-notch restaurants share the walls with local food stalls and adrenaline-pumping nightclubs. The city satisfies every palette, any time of the day, on any budget.

breAKFAst For those who are bored of the traditional breakfasts such as Upma (made from whole or refined ground wheat and rice of varied grain size, vermicelli, Durum wheat semolina or pearl sago) and Poha (a spiced flattened rice), and want something different, Kala Ghoda Café (www.kgcafe.in) offers a variety of breakfast options. This sleek, art gallery/café is situated in Kala Ghoda, Mumbai’s historic art district. Formerly a 20th-century barn, the café is lit by two skylights, held together by original brick walls, and has a small second floor fitted above the counter. The high ceilings mean the room is filled with sunlight in the day; the contemporary decor is well thought out; and the space features a cosy mezzanine.

Breakfast is served from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a selection of eggs, muesli with fresh yogurt, freshly baked muffin, waffles, fruit salads and juices. Sandwiches, salads and desserts are served throughout the day. Organic Italian blend coffees, teas and infusions are offered with a selection of homemade breads made by organic wholegrain flour. Enjoy your beverage and bread while viewing the gallery displays.

What’s special about this place is that if you cycle over on Sundays and park your bike in one of the two locking devices in front, you receive a free coffee.

Lunch The newly opened restaurant Neel’ at Tote on the Turf is deGustibus Hospitality’s first Indian restaurant. Founders Rahul and Malini Akerkar also own Indigo, Indigo Deli and Indigo Café. The closest translation of Indigo in Hindi is Neel, hence the name. The high-end restaurant serves “Nawabi Muslim cuisine,” a mix of Hyderabadi, Awadhi, Lucknowi and Kashmisi specialities.

Neel’s kitchen is run by Mukhtar Qureshi, a veteran Indian chef who has worked for deGustibus Hospitality’s catering service Movable Feast and numerous other celebrated establishments for many years. The menu comprises kebabs (30 non-vegetarian and 20 vegetarian), and several slow cook meals such as Taar Korma (a Rampuri speciality of dum cooked lamb tempered with spices), Haleem and Nalli Nihari. Grilled selections include Sofiyani Paneer Tikka (made with Saunf), Adrak Ke Panje (New Zealand lamb chops in spicy ginger marinade) and Sarsonwali Ghobi. Vegetarian dishes have also been customised to excite the palette. Must-try foods include Chilgoze Ka Shorba (a thick soup made of pine nuts), Jaituni Kumbh Tikka (stuffed grilled mushrooms served with green olive chutney) and Gucchi Ki Biryani (rice cooked with morel mushrooms).

Indigo does Modern Indo-European cuisine at its best in this chic converted bungalow in the heart of Colaba. The rooftop dining space is pure bliss in the summer.

Downtown’s Indigo Deli (T: +91 (0) 22 6655 1010; www.foodindigo. com) serves a host of comfort dishes. It is an upscale, stylish restaurant and wine bar with the high ceiling, stone floors, wooden furnishings and a refined ambience illuminated by warm dim lights. Distinguishing features include the wine wall, the meats and cheese selection display and the dessert counter.

Executive Chef Jaydeep Mukherjee manages the restaurant’s six outlets and keeps patrons coming back by presenting daily specials and a la carte. Try the Risotto of Roasted Corn, Spinach and Chivre, Deli BBQ Pork Ribs with Buttered Cornbread and the famous Thin Crust Pizza. If there’s any room left, don’t forget to order the Mocha Choc Cake. Pick up the home-made breads, jams and marmalade for later.

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Dinner If you crave flavourful Thai food, head to Koh by Ian Kittichai at InterContinental Marine Drive (T: +91 (0) 22 3987 9999). The restaurant is a beautifully designed space that serves high quality signature Thai dishes created by renowned Thai Chef, Ian Chalermkittichai (aka Ian Kittichai), who recently opened his first restaurant in Mumbai, after the eponymous Kittichai in New York, Restaurant Murmuri in Barcelona and Bangkok’s first gastro bar — Hyde and Seek.

At the restaurant, both the décor and the food reflect traditional and contemporary Thai style. The tastefully and carefully created interior design and décor by Satomi Hatanaka and Quentin Dante of Studio Q add a lot to the unique Koh experience. A former chief designer for avant-garde Japanese interiors firm — Glamorous-Hatanaka is a passionate creator of spaces that, as she puts it, “vibrate one’s emotion and soul.” And this restaurant in Mumbai is one such example of the passionate emotion that she has created in the rich interiors of Koh. Divided into two spaces — the glamorous bar that serves signature cocktails and the main dining area, which is blend of rich dark woods on the floor and tables that create a delightful contrast to the painstakingly hand crafted champagne gold leafed curved ceiling panels. The signature murals on the huge glass panels are done by the celebrated maverick Thai artist Patcharapon “Alex” Tangruen, commissioned specially for this task.

One entertaining feature is that iPads are used to surf the menu. Can’t miss dishes include the Crispy Rock Shrimp Koh Style (served with Thai eggplant and soy-tamarind dressing), Pak-Choi Wrapped in Asian Mushrooms (steamed with red-pepper coconut glaze), Hot Stone Garlic Rice and Thai Guava Crumble for dessert. Kittichai’s signature Thai cuisine is cooked using traditional methods blended with contemporary international styling; however, it remains true to the flavours and ingredients that are unique to Thai cuisine and culture.

Post-nightclub It starts with the chef making a thin, flat circle of flour. He kneads and twirls a large, paper-thin disc of dough in the air and drops it on the hot dome-shaped metal pan. Then he flips it and takes it out just when it starts to have patches of brown and turns beautifully soft, chewy and delicate Rumali Roti, or “handkerchief roti.”

It goes best, locals say, with Mutton Kheema Fry (minced lamb), Paneer Masala or some goat brains for the brave souls. You tear a small piece of the roti and dip it in the curry. You use the flake to scoop out pieces of meat or veggies, and then you fold it into your mouth. Yum! But what’s special about Bademiya on Tulloch Road (T: +91 (0) 22 2284 8038, +91 (0) 99 6711 4179) — an open-air roll-and-kebab shack behind The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai — is not just about the food, but the experience. It is the only roadside eatery that is fully packed every evening until 2 a.m. Patrons consist mainly of hungry partygoers looking for a bite after a night of clubbing. One of the greatest joys of this place is waiting for empty tables and chairs lined up on both sides of the road; watching waiters running about taking orders; and watching people lining up all night for spicy, fresh grilled treats.

Bademiya has been in operation for 70 years. Following in his father’s footsteps, Mr. Mohd Ghaus continues to serve the same great quality authentic Indian food. Special recommended dishes include Butter Chicken and Mutton Kheema Fry.

Another late-night casual eatery is Ayub’s (T: +91 (0) 98 2119 9147), located in Fort, Mumbai, since 1983. Super-quick waiters can rattle off the entire menu by heart, but they usually end up speeding back to customers with Ayub’s legendary chicken rolls (everyone seems to want them). Wide selections of dishes are available for meat lovers, vegetarians and eggeterians.

Because the diner is a bit tricky to find, it is not too crowded compared to Bademiya, but yes, it certainly gives you a stomach full of great Egg Bhurji, Aloo Chat and Kabab Roll.

THE WELLNESS COME ZEN WITH ME

It’s

Time for a New Relationship with Food Text by Leo Babauta

H

ave you ever stopped to consider what relationship you have with food?

We don’t often stop to think that we even a relationship with food, but we do — and it’s pretty intimate.

Think about this: if you’re like me, you spend as much or more time with food than you do with many of the loved ones in your life — several hours a day or more.

And consider this: technically, food is just fuel for living. That’s all — nothing else.

And yet … it has become so much more to most of us: •• We use food for pleasure.

•• We use it for comfort.

•• We turn to food when we’re sad, depressed, hurt.

•• We use food to socialise.

•• We use it as a reward.

•• We do it when we’re bored.

•• Food can also be a chore.

•• We use food as gifts.

•• We turn to food when we’re lonely.

•• Food can be associated with sex.

•• Food is equated to health.

•• Sometimes, food becomes an obsession.

•• It definitely can be an addiction.

•• Food can make us hate ourselves.

•• Food is the centre of many billion-dollar industries.

In fact, the huge food-related industries are at the centre of much of our relationship with food: restaurants, fast-food chains, convenience foods, agribusinesses, distributors, grocery chains, snack foods, bakeries, coffee shops, dessert chains, health food, diet foods, supplements, bodybuilding food and much else. They spend billions upon billions every year trying to get us to eat more and more food — their food in particular — and the horrifying thing is that all this advertising really, really works.

We have been convinced that the answer to almost any problem is food. You truly love someone? Buy them chocolates, or take them to a restaurant, or bake them cookies. Want to lose weight? Eat diet food. Want to get fit? Take our supplements, eat our meat, drink our milk. Want to be healthy? Eat our healthy products. Want to reward yourself? There are too many options to name here. Having a bad day? We’ve got the food for you. Don’t have time? Our food will save time. Want to save money? Buy super size and “save.”

Food is the answer to everything, apparently And yet, we forget that food is just fuel. We need to eat a certain amount to live and maintain our weight. If we eat more than that, we will store some of that fuel as fat (or build muscle if we’re exercising).

And how do we lose weight? By eating, apparently — eat diet food, drink diet shakes, eat Zone bars, eat vegetarian products, eat meat and other protein sources, eat low-fat products, eat our cereal, drink our diet soda.

But what if we… just ate less?

Despite what the food industries have convinced us, we don’t need to eat as much as we do to survive. Sure, maybe eating that much is fun, and pleasurable, and will stave off boredom, and is fun to do with friends and family, and so on. But we don’t need to eat that much.

Actually, we need to eat less.

The problem isn’t that it’s so difficult to eat less. The problem is that we have a complicated relationship with food that started when we were toddlers and has become more and more complicated through

the years, through endless amounts of advertising, of eating when we’re sad and lonely and happy and bored and at parties and going out and on dates and watching TV and dieting and so on.

Our complicated relationship with food makes it hard to cut back on how much we eat.

So let’s start building a new relationship with food: •• Start recognising exactly why we eat — is it just for sustenance or is

our hunger often triggered by other things (boredom, socialising, pleasure, etc.)?

•• Start realising the effects that advertising and the food industries have on how we think about food and how we eat.

•• Stop eating when we’re bored, out of habit, as a reward, for pleasure, for comfort, etc.

•• Only eat what and how much we need.

•• Find other ways to entertain ourselves, comfort ourselves, find pleasure, etc.

•• Find other ways to socialise than eating large amounts of food.

•• Stop obsessing so much about food.

•• End our addiction with certain foods — sugar, for example, or starches.

We can still eat them, but we don’t need to eat them as much.

Think about it: how much simpler would life be if you could end this complicated relationship with food?

Some changes that might happen: •• You’d •• You’d •• You’d •• You’d •• You’d

spend less time thinking about food. spend less time preparing food. spend less money on food. eat less. get healthier.

Fasting I have to give credit to Brad Pilon and his excellent ebook, Eat Stop Eat, for inspiring this post. Brad shook up a few of my notions about eating, my assumptions about standard beliefs in the health industry, and about why we are conditioned to eat so much.

While I haven’t yet decided to try Brad’s super simple method for losing fat — fast one to two days a week and eat normally on other days, plus strength training — I definitely recommend his book as a way to challenge the ideas you might have read in magazines or fitness blogs.

But what’s most interesting is how he recommends 24-hour fasts as a way to transform your relationship with food. By fasting, you learn to give up your need to eat for reasons other than fuel. You learn that hunger is often conditioned by other things, and you end that conditioning. You learn that hunger is okay, and after awhile the fasts don’t bother you at all. At least, that’s what Brad claims, and it sounds reasonable to me. I might try fasting for this reason alone.

Now, some of you will object to fasting on the usual grounds — it’s unhealthy, your body goes into starvation mode, it’ll slow down your metabolism, your body will start using muscle as fuel, your blood-sugar levels will drop too low, you won’t have energy. Those are the same reasons I objected. And I won’t try to refute these ideas — Brad’s book does a much better job. (Note: the links to his website aren’t affiliate links and I don’t make any money if you buy his book. Nor do I endorse his program, as I haven’t tried it. I do endorse the book for informational purposes.)

Anyway, you don’t need to fast to transform your relationship with food. It’s one way, and I thought it was an interesting idea.

In the end, let’s teach ourselves some simple things: food is just fuel. Most of us need to eat less. Food isn’t love or entertainment or anything else like that. It’s just fuel.

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THE

Journey

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MOUTH-WATERING MELBOURNE

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HUNGRY FOR MORE

Melbournians are crazy about food and love discussing the food scene. Whether you’re into high-end fine dining or hearty comfort food, you’ll definitely have your taste buds tantalised. Visit Melbourne and do little else but eat, and leave satisfied.

Thais are natural-born foodies and they know the real culinary stars are hidden close to the ground. Here’s a gastro-cultural guide to Bangkok’s best street cuisine.

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EATING TOKYO

Walk around Tokyo’s famous fish markets and the surrounding food markets and you will understand why every foodie loves Japanese food.

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JAVA ENRICHED

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TOP 10 COOKING EXPERIENCES AROUND THE WORLD

Yogyakarta’s rich Javanese traditions and culture still live subtly in its people. Here we explore different aspect of Jogja to find a richer taste of Java’s city of living heritage.

Discovering the food of a destination is one way into the heart of a culture, but learning to cook the cuisine of a place is the route into its soul. Whether you watch a cooking demonstration as an observer or get up to your elbows in flour in a hands-on cooking class, there are few more meaningful and fun ways to experience a place than by learning to cook its food.

Mouth-watering

MELBOURNE, A FOODIE

DIARY OF

Text by Lara Dunston I Photos by Terence Carter

Opening spread: An artfully presented main course from Vue de Monde of crispy skinned flathead with quail eggs, swedes and tarragon smeared across the plate like a daub of paint.

II

Foodies are different to ordinary travellers. When they travel their days aren’t organised around sightseeing or shopping, they’re planned around meals. Most travellers will schedule a museum in the morning, a gallery in the afternoon, and find somewhere to have lunch in between. The food-focused traveller books a restaurant for lunch, a restaurant for dinner, and squeezes in a sight if they have time. f a food tourist visits the Eiffel Tower in Paris, they’re not going for the architecture or views; they’re going to dine at Alain Ducasse’s Michelin one-starred restaurant Jules Verne. Foodies plan trips to the world’s great gastronomic capitals — cities like Paris, London and New York — and book restaurants before hotels. Months in advance. They don’t make a few reservations — they make bookings everyday for lunch and dinner for a week. Or two.

Time for a confession: I’m one of them. A foodie traveller. I’ve eaten in dozens of restaurants in London, but never visited Big Ben. On my last trip to Paris, I didn’t even see the Eiffel Tower. So as a foodie, I was excited about returning to my birthplace of Australia after years away. I’d heard Melbourne had become a foodie paradise, with an abundance of world-class restaurants. So I set myself a task: to find out whether a food tourist could visit Melbourne in the same way they might visit Paris, London or New York. Do little else but eat, and leave satisfied. I decide to devote 10 days to the project.

Day 1

Australians love their pubs and in Melbourne gastro-pubs have been given a new lease on life by local chef Paul Wilson, credited with giving a few of them a dash of style and, more importantly, great food. We check into one — the restored 120-year-old Middle Park Hotel, a few kilometres south of the city, which has two floors of stylish contemporary

rooms — then hightail it to another, the Newmarket Hotel in nearby St Kilda. It’s not long after noon and the airy space is quickly filling with families and friends arriving for lunch. The food is what Chef Wilson calls “Cal-Mex,” yet some of the dishes are closer to contemporary Mexican than anything we’ve had since we were in Mexico City.

The highlights are soft tacos with pork carnitas and melt-in-your-mouth lamb ribs barbacoa with pomegranate mole, avocado and tahini. It’s a telling introduction to Melbourne’s increasingly eclectic dining scene.

It’s a short stroll through the leafy streets, lined with handsome terrace houses with wrought iron balconies, to another of Wilson’s pubs, the Art Deco-era Albert Park Hotel, where we head for dinner.

Another fashionable spot and even more stylish than the Newmarket, the pub is humming with locals when we arrive. The menu is wideranging with a focus on seafood but we decide to try some dishes from the Asian street food menu: Vietnamese chilli salted squid with five spice and citrus dipping sauce; tuna sashimi and crab salad with green mango, holy basil and crispy fish; Crystal Bay prawns with spicy papaya salad, peanuts and sweet pork; and Balmain Bug* dumplings with lime leaves and laksa sauce. The atmosphere is casual and relaxed, the service knowledgeable and friendly, and the food delicious and approachable. “Pub grub” never tasted so good.

Day 2

We contemplate a traditional counter meal for lunch at the big light-filled front bar at Middle Park Hotel, with its wall-to-wall sports memorabilia. It’s not even noon, yet groups of friends are settled in with beers to watch the football. The short menu includes retro classics like Scotch eggs, Stroganoff, Cassoulet and escalope of veal, but we decide instead to dine in the old-fashioned dining room, with its monogrammed carpet, wood panelling, black leather banquettes vand deer antler chandelier. By the time we order, the kitchen has run out of the Sunday Roast Special. This week it’s roast suckling pig served with vegetables. We drool as we watch the Chinese-Australian family at the next table tucking into theirs. We order luscious Coffin

Bay and Pacific oysters; a “posh prawn cocktail” with Lea & Perrin’s and a cucumber and watermelon salad; seared tuna with sweet corn and asparagus salad and jalapeno dressing; and a juicy Porterhouse steak with Brussels sprouts and bacon, which make me fall in love with a vegetable I’ve never liked before. “Everything is absolutely perfect,” the woman at the next table gushes to the waitress. And it is.

Dessert is afternoon tea at the Hotel Windsor, a Melbourne tradition since the grand old dame started serving it in 1883. Glasses of Louis Perdrier champagne are followed by freshly baked scones with jam and cream, mini beef pies, leek quiches, bacon muffins and classic finger sandwiches, delivered to our table on a three-tiered silver stand. Pots of the Windsor’s blend of tea perk us up, as does a saunter around our neighbourhood for the next two nights, the eastern end of Melbourne’s city centre, home to Parliament House, which we can see from our room.

It’s a short hike up the hill to Gertrude St, Fitzroy and Cutler & Co. Designed by owner-chef Andrew McConnell’s architect wife, Pascale Gomes-McNabb, the décor is European brasserie meets Australian industrial-chic. Tables are bare, the only signs of “fine dining” being the white linen napkins, good glassware and prices on the menu. Our

Opposite page (from left): A flavoursome dish from Albert Park Hotel of tuna sashimi, salmon row, lotus root, pink watermelon, green mango and Thai herbs; the buzzy bar adjoining the restaurant at Albert Park Hotel. This page (from left): Soft tacos with pork carnitas, pickled pineapple and hot adobe sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds, from Newmarket Hotel; White Rabbit, one of the many local beers on tap in the public bar at Middle Park Hotel.

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eight-course degustation begins with an unusual assortment of nibbles: Batemans Bay Claire de Lune oysters, olives, pumpkin seeds, fine toast crisps with foie gras whip, prune puree, and crisp trout skin and caviar.

What follows is a visual feast, an array of delightful dishes, artfully strewn with miniscule flowers and miniature greens. It is “nature to plate” cuisine in the true sense of the term, the ingredients on the pretty plates looking like they’d just been picked from the garden. However, despite the restaurant’s enviable reputation, only a dish of duck cooked two ways, smoked and fried, with crumbed morcilla, golden raisins and yellow beetroot, really sticks in our food memories over the next few days.

Day 3

In the moody, dimly lit, crimson-hued dining space at Chef Neil Perry’s Spice Temple, a small lunch banquet of sublime dishes transports us to China, starting with a Szechuan street food classic, Bang Bang Chicken. While the presentation is contemporary — succulent pieces of cold poached chicken, stuffed with Szechuan pepper, tidily lined in a row — the spicy flavours are authentic and traditional, the chicken swimming in a deliciously complex, crunchy pool of chilli oil, scallions and crushed peanuts, sprinkled with sesame seeds. It’s amazing. As is the Three Shot Chicken, which the waitress finishes off theatrically on a small gas burner brought to our table. To the chicken simmering in the clay pot, she adds shots of Xingtao beer, soy and chilli oil. It knocks our socks off. As does our final dish from Hunan, Chairman Mao Pork — pork belly slow-braised in Shao Xing wine, star anise, ginger and cinnamon. While non-Asian Australians generally play it safe with spice, Perry is a champion of fiery Chinese food.

That evening we head to Melbourne’s most modish eatery, Chin Chin. Despite the no-bookings policy, we don’t have to wait for a table.

Weekends see long lines of punters outside. If we did, however, we quickly discover it would be worth the wait. This is modern Asian food, based upon seasonal Australian produce and authentic Asian flavours,

especially Thai. Chefs Andrew Gimber and Ben Cooper both worked with David Thompson of Bangkok’s Nahm. The highlights are a jungle curry with Moreton Bay Bugs* and a Massaman curry of coconut braised Hopkins River beef brisket with pink fur potatoes and crispy shallots.

They’re fiery, fragrant and rich, more reminiscent of our best eating in Thailand than the anodyne Thai food often served up in Australia.

Chin Chin is casual, buzzy and fun too, with its pop culture décor (posters plastered on a wall; video-game graphics on the bar tiles), retro soundtrack, and friendly staff whose personalities are allowed to shine.

Day 4

We move to a spacious loft-room with spectacular city views at the chic Crown Metropol for two days of dining we’ve planned at four eateries overlooking Melbourne’s famously coffee-coloured Yarra River.

Southbank, as this riverside foodie heaven is known, is home to a handful of superb restaurants, several with some of Australia’s most celebrated chefs at the helm.

Sleek, shiny and light, The Atlantic is a colossal restaurant, cleverly split into smaller and more intimate dining spaces, with a subtle seafaring theme — boat rope lights, net-like curtains, crab-pot lampshades — specialising, naturally, in seasonal Australian seafood.

The menu details where the seafood has been caught — rock flathead from the Mornington Peninsula, live crayfish from Stanley, yellow fin tuna from Mooloolaba. Passionate about fresh produce and driven by an ocean-to-plate philosophy, Chef Donovan Cooke is also a master of slow cooking. A dish of paprika-marinated octopus cooked sous vide has a sashimi-like quality. Artfully presented on the plate with Ligurian olives, caper berries, Ortiz anchovies, and bright smears of red pepper coulis and rocket pesto, it’s packed full of Mediterranean flavour. The panseared scallops with blood orange done three ways, on a bed of green and white asparagus, is just as stunningly presented, the bold colours leaping from the black slate slab it’s served on. A citrus-marinated piece

of King Salmon, slow-cooked in olive oil, is served with a ragout of spring vegetables, confit lemon, a blood orange chip and a light lemongrass foam. The flavours of every dish are as exuberant as they look.

Designed by Rome-based Australian architect Carl Pickering, Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons is audacious — a cool, contemporary take on the Italian trattoria. The restaurant is divided into discrete dining areas, decorated with hand-made Sicilian terrazzo tiles, which in two spaces where the tiles cover the floor, walls and ceiling, look like movie sets. You might expect from such theatrical surroundings that the food would be full of artifice, all surface over substance. Yet this is simple, traditional, regional Italian cuisine (Tuscan minestrone, Venetian polenta etc), made from Australian produce. We start with a mixed plate of salumi that we’ve been salivating over since we spied the glass salumi cabinet, dramatically illuminated by a spotlight, with a red Berkel slicer beside it. The salumi — Culatello, Ossocollo, Enzo Salami, Cacciatore and Mortadella — is made from Black Berkshire free-range pigs, by a family of smallgoods-makers, according to owner-chef Robert Marchetti’s recipes. We follow up with “Mezze Rigatoni” with house-made pork sausages, sage, tomato, garlic and chilli, and “Risotto Nero,” black squid-ink rice with calamari, chilli, parsley, lemon and garlic. There are no artfully decorated plates here — it’s all about the produce and flavour, and it’s fabulous.

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): The elegant old exterior of the Middle Park Hotel in the genteel village of Middle Park, minutes from Melbourne’s city centre; omelette of Coffin Bay oysters with chili and garlic at Chin Chin restaurant; the stylish light-filled room at hip Thai-Asian eatery, Chin Chin. This page (from left): The glamorous cocktail bar, The Waiting Room, is the spot to head for aperitifs before dining at one of the many superb restaurants at The Crown complex; Chef Neil Perry’s rich, complex and flavoursome Bang Bang Chicken, one of the standout dishes of 10 days of eating in Melbourne.

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Day 5

We have a similar experience at Bistro Guillaume, where we see a pattern emerging. In a space so Parisian it could be in Paris with its polished wooden floors, mirrors and blackboard menus, Chef Guillaume Brahimi has returned to his roots with this casually-elegant French bistro. Noted for his fine dining restaurant Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House, Brahimi, who splits his time between the two restaurants, is cooking the day we dine. His focus, he tells us, is on “good produce, served simply.” And wherever possible, seasonal Victorian produce from a supplier who deals directly with the farmers.

“Simple is good,” he says. “It’s not easy to do.”

The menu is short — eight appetisers, eight mains, a few salads, a handful each of side dishes and desserts, and daily specials. We share a charcuterie plate with the most heavenly velvety pâté, tasty rillettes and delicious terrine. The steak tartare, made from finely diced Gippsland beef fillet is the most perfectly seasoned steak tartare we’ve ever sampled. “You have to try the chicken” is not something you expect to hear from one of Australia’s best chefs, but he’s right. The roasted Barossa Valley chicken with chicken jus and creamy Paris mash is moist and moreish. The chef boasts that they serve around 400 portions of it a week. We’re not surprised.

Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne is what Australia’s most famous chef, Neil Perry, calls a “modern steakhouse” and “a grand dining experience.” Chef Perry, who also has restaurants in Sydney and Perth, is in Melbourne to cook at Spice Temple, where we’d eaten two days earlier. “The flavour of the produce is the most important thing,” he tells us. “We’re driven by fresh produce — especially Australian produce — from great aged meat to fresh line-caught fish.” We sample that aged meat in what must be the most dramatic dining space in Melbourne. It’s a splendid-looking restaurant with a dark sexy wine bar, handsome dining area furnished with plenty of wood, leather and warm colours (tangerine, chocolate), and a huge open kitchen that is a hive of activity. We start with a crudo of Hiramasa kingfish, ocean

trout, yellow fin tuna and rock flathead, with horseradish, coriander and lemon-infused olive oil that is as good as any sashimi we tasted at Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market. We have ricotta tortellini, burned butter, pine nuts, raisins and king prawns that takes us back to our time in Northern Italy. The highlight of the meal, however, is naturally the steak — an intensely-flavoured rib-eye, dry aged for 49 days, from Cape Grim in Tasmania. There’s a subtle smokiness to the meat, which our waiter tells us is from Blue Mountains iron bark that is sprinkled over the coals. Somehow, I make room for dessert — an old-fashioned passionfruit pavlova, the kind my nanna used to make. This is food that inspires a recollection of as many memories as it makes.

Day 6

Our arrival for lunch at the restaurant of iconic French-Australian chef Jacques Reymond coincides with the arrival of a delivery of marron, a black crustacean unique to Western Australia, which we’re invited into the kitchen to see. We don’t get to try the marron (it’s on the evening degustation menu), but we do get to taste seven other exquisite dishes in an elegant dining room of what is one of Melbourne’s finest restaurants.

It feels like a Michelin-starred European restaurant, yet the chef makes it clear he’s not cooking French food. “This is contemporary Australian

This page (from left): One of Australia’s most famous chefs, Neil Perry, the man behind outstanding restaurants such as Spice Temple and Rockpool Bar & Grill; one of the striking tiled dining spaces at modern Italian trattoria Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons.

Opposite page (clockwise from top): The open kitchen at the grand Rockpool Bar & Grill; another of Australia’s highly regarded chefs, Guillaume Brahimi, at Bistro Guillaume; pan seared scallops, green and white asparagus, white asparagus puree, and blood orange at The Atlantic.

cuisine,” he says, as we chat before our meal. “We use 100 per cent fresh Australian produce. What we’re creating here is Australian.” From the house-made bread and butter churned on the premises each day — easily the best of both we had in Melbourne — to each of the seven courses we savoured, this is highly creative, meticulously prepared cuisine that’s uniquely Australian. There is French technique, but it’s Australian flavours with a distinct nod to Australia’s place in Asia. For instance, the delicious saddle of kangaroo with a light dressing of soy and ginger, with tofu and sweet chilli jam, that we sampled simply wouldn’t work anywhere else in the world. Here it makes perfect sense.

Day 7

We make our base for the next few days the contemporary, minimalist Jasper Hotel, for its handy location to the Royal Exhibition Building, a short stroll away, where we plan to visit the Taste of Melbourne food festival, and its proximity to Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Markets, right on the corner, where we sign up for a Foodie’s Dream Tour.

It’s on our tour of the sprawling market, Australia’s oldest, established in 1869, and the largest in the southern hemisphere, that we fully appreciate why all the chefs and waiters we’re talking to are so passionate about Australian produce. Our guide Helen introduces us to the butchers, fishmongers and fruit and vegetable sellers who are as serious about their produce as the chefs buying it. Most are specialists, such as Max Thompson, an expert on offal; Sardes who focuses on meat, especially lamb; and Tomato City, a stall selling tomatoes from all over Australia. Many deal directly with farmers and fishermen, and know exactly where their produce came from. The same can be said of the traders in a charming part of the market, the Art Deco-era Dairy Hall that’s more like a “Deli Hall,” where the shops still bear the same marble and limestone, old wooden window frames with nickel coating, and signage they had when it was built in the 1930s. Helen takes us to the Chicken Pantry, specialising in game, rabbit, kangaroo, buffalo and boar; The Dainty, who are butter and cheese specialists, making

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their own butter and buffalo mozzarella; and Diane’s Delights, where Diane sells dozens of fresh dips she makes herself. Along the way we try Diane’s dips, cheeses, chocolate and even halva. After the tour, we buy two-dozen Coffin Bay oysters from the Seafood and Oyster Spot and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Sword’s Wines, which serves as our lunch. We clink glasses and toast Australia’s wonderful produce.

In the dark, sexy bar at Circa, The Prince, St Kilda, where we dine later that evening, we eat more oysters — the best oysters we’ve ever eaten. “They’re from Jedd Routledge at Coffin Bay,” restaurant manager Jeff tells us as he shows us to our table in the intimate, dimly lit dining space. More of that same enthusiasm for fresh Aussie produce is evident here — in conversations with staff, as well as on the plate — where we’ll have yet another meal to remember. Warm miso-glazed eel, dancing wasabi, pickled kohlrabi, avocado, apple and prawn crackers. Rabbit tortellini, morels, broad beans, green peas, Jerusalem artichoke puree and thyme sauce. John Dory fish, mussels, clams and spiga pasta with sea urchin butter. Suckling pig, salsify, ham beignet and spring garlic. It’s sophisticated, thoughtful cooking, but completely unpretentious on the plate.

Day 8

We do a Small Footprint Tour of South Melbourne Market, established in 1886, with Jan, a local resident and former food stylist.

She introduces us to Georgina at shop #50 who specialises in Australian

This page (from left): A display of smoked meats at the mouthwatering Queen Victoria Markets; one of the historic shop signs at Queen Victoria Markets, Australia’s oldest market and the largest in the southern hemisphere. Opposite page (from left): one of Melbourne’s typical laneways, lined with tiny cafes and boutiques, busy with shoppers and workers; the glamorous bar and dining space at TAXI restaurant.

root vegetables and has the largest range of local potatoes in Melbourne, around 22 different types of “spuds.” At Fruits on Coventry we meet fruit and vegetable specialist Rhonda Wong, who is passionate about heirloom vegetables like Purple Haze Dutch carrots. We visit Breads Etcetera, where Matt, a chef, works all night to produce an array of delicious organic breads made from South Australian flour; Kirkpatricks Butcher, which sells aged meat from Echuca, where he fattens his own lambs; Kalaparee Olive Shop, where the owners produce their organic oil products from an olive grove near Bendigo; Jim’s Fresh Fish, where Jim, who has had his shop for 35 years, is filleting specialising; and Emerald Deli, where Maria, a cheese specialist in the business for 30 years, stocks over 200 cheeses, one third of which are Australian.

There’s an abundance of Victorian producers at Taste of Melbourne festival too, and crowds of locals eagerly gathered around stalls to taste samples. They’re also lining up to try dishes from some of Melbourne’s best restaurants, eateries they might not normally get the chance to dine at. We take advantage of the opportunity too. We try the wagyu beef burger from Chef Cheong Liew’s The Botanical, Barramundi carpaccio with peas, mint and wasabi sorbet from Maurice Esposito’s St Peter’s, a grilled pork and fennel slider with mustard mayo from Anthony Musarra’s The Stokehouse. At a Sensology cocktail-making class with mixologists from Longrain we learn how to make authentic Cuban mojitos and daiquiris. We learn about Yarra Valley wines and the difference wine glasses make to tasting wines, as we try out the Australian-made Plumm wine glasses with wine critic Matt Skinner.

With no booking for the evening we decide to try something casual so head to hotspot Izakaya Den. In a striking, long, black basement space, where a bar runs the length of the room, we select a few small

dishes from the short menu, a kingfish sashimi, spicy tuna tataki with garlic soy, and Kurobuta pork “Char Siew,” and order shochu, shiso, lime and tonics from the menu — in Japanese and English. The buzz of the room is better than the food, but both are more than satisfying.

Day 9

We move to the swanky Grand Hyatt Hotel for our last two nights, where our lavish corner room has sweeping views over the city and the Southbank riverfront and restaurants where we’d dined a few days earlier.

Dinner that evening is at Taxi Dining Room at Federation Square.

With its soaring ceilings, banquette seating and disco ball lighting, Taxi is dazzling, while the vistas of Flinders Railway Station and the trams trundling along St. Kilda Road from the floor to ceiling windows are stunning. As are the six dishes in our degustation menu, from the snapper sashimi with pear, ginger and pomegranates to a desert of Campari-soaked citrus fruit with guava ice cream and basil foam. It’s another playfully elegant example of contemporary Australian cuisine.

We float back to the hotel on a high from the food, the excellent wine parings, the warm service and the wonderful ambiance.

Day 10

Up in the clouds on the 55th floor of the Rialto at Chef Shannon Bennett’s Vue de Monde restaurant, considered one of Melbourne’s best, we’re sitting on leather chairs covered in kangaroo skins at a black leather table boasting a rock collection (concealing salt and pepper among other things) and cutlery resting on twigs. We’re starting a one-hour

three-course lunch at a restaurant famed for its hours-long degustation menus punctuated by delicious surprises — in hindsight, a mistake.

The dishes are some of the most delightful-looking we’ve had, artfully presented with the pretty miniature spring flowers that are in culinary fashion. But unfortunately the visual feast doesn’t translate to exciting eating and two of the dishes are forgettable. The hard, black surfaces of the dining space (which must look glamorous after dark) don’t endear us to the restaurant. Nor does the aloof service by waiters, who act like landscape gardeners, constantly re-arranging the rocks on the table and taking little interest in whether we’re actually enjoying the food.

It would have been a regrettable meal with which to conclude our trip, which is why later that day we spontaneously decide to enjoy our last supper at The European. The narrow, cosy dining space is more old world than new, feeling all at once British, Parisian and Milanese. It couldn’t be more different to Vue de Monde. We’d strolled by many times during our stay and it was always busy, breakfast, lunch or dinner. We start off with a glass of wine at the adjoining buzzy City Wine Shop where wine buyer Campbell, who oversees some 800 different wines, selects two interesting Australian Rieslings for us to try.

When our table is ready in the crowded room next door we stuff ourselves with hearty comfort food: delicious, hot sage-wrapped anchovies, a Beef Wellington with petit pois and foie gras, and beef short ribs with soft herb polenta and grilled artichokes. This is food that tips a hat to tradition and leaves a smile on your face. It says a lot

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about Melbourne’s dining scene that a noisy little dining space dishing up old-fashioned food can be as popular as a modish restaurant serving contemporary Australian cuisine.

So is Melbourne a destination for foodies? While we had a couple of meals that didn’t meet our expectations, we had more consistently better eating experiences than we’ve ever had in Paris, London or New York. Melbourne won’t win any beauty contests as a city, but beautiful things are being created in its restaurant kitchens. Melbournians are crazy about food and love discussing the food scene. We’ve never been asked “where have you eaten?” so many times in our lives. And whether you’re into high-end fine dining or hearty comfort food you’ll definitely have your taste buds tantalised. You may not always leave a restaurant satisfied, but you’ll leave it inspired, or, at the very least, with emotions stirred. That passion for food is what makes Melbourne a great dining city. *Balmain Bugs and Moreton Bay Bugs are Australian crustaceans, not crunchy Isaan insects!

This page: The stark, minimalist dining space at Vue de Monde at The Rialto (top); a row of artfully presented dishes from some of Melbourne’s finest restaurants: Jacques Reymond (left), Circa The Prince (centre) and Cutler & Co. (right). Opposite page (from left): The Melbourne Supper Club, the atmospheric bar above The European restaurant; Melbourne’s skyline at night, from the writer’s room at the Crown Metropol hotel.

FACTS

MELBOURNE

Getting there and getting around By air Thai Airways (www.thaiairways.com) flies direct twice daily between Bangkok and Melbourne Airport (www.melbourneairport.com.au).

Tiger Airways (www.tigerairways.com) offers low-cost flights from Bangkok, Phuket and an array of Asian cities via Singapore and Perth to Melbourne; within Australia Tiger offers frequent flights between Melbourne and other cities.

By bus From Melbourne Airport, the SkyBus (www.skybus.com.au) travels direct every 10 minutes to Southern Cross Station in the city centre.

Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle is a free bus stopping at key city sights.

By tram Melbourne’s free City Circle tram does a loop of the centre, travelling along Harbour Esplanade, Latrobe, Spring and Flinders Streets throughout the day. For other trams, buy tickets in advance at shops displaying “Metcard” or “myki” signs.

Where to stay The chic Crown Metropol (www.crownmetropol.com.au) makes an excellent base for foodies set on working their way through the superb Southbank restaurants, such as Spice Temple and Rockpool Bar & Grill. The Grand Hyatt (www.melbourne.grand.hyatt.com) is in a great location for exploring Melbourne’s laneways and lining up for popular spots such as Chin Chin and Izakaya Den. Historic Hotel Windsor (www.thehotelwindsor.com.au) offers a unique heritage stay and you won’t have far to go following afternoon tea. The stylish rooms at Middle Park Hotel (www.middleparkhotel.com.au) offer a quintessentially Australian experience and are a good base for trying Melbourne’s gastro-pubs. The Jasper Hotel (www.jasperhotel.com.au) is seconds from Queen Victoria Market and a short walk to the Royal Exhibition Grounds if you’re here for a food festival.

Where to eat • Middle Park Hotel: www.middleparkhotel.com.au • Newmarket Hotel: www.newmarketstkilda.com.au • Albert Park Hotel: www.thealbertpark.com.au • Cutler & Co: www.cutlerandco.com.au

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Chin Chin: chinchinrestaurant.com.au Spice Temple: www.spicetemplemelbourne.com Bistro Guillaume: www.bistroguillaume.com.au Rockpool Bar & Grill: www.rockpool.com/melbourne The Atlantic: www.theatlantic.com.au Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons: www.idrb.com Jacques Reymond: www.jacquesreymond.com.au Circa, The Prince: www.circa.com.au Izakaya Den: www.izakayaden.com.au Cumulus Inc.: www.cumulusinc.com.au Taxi Dining Room: www.transporthotel.com.au Vue de Monde: www.vuedemonde.com.au The European: www.theeuropean.com.au

Essentials • If you’re not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, you need a Tourist Visa, Electronic Travel Authority or eVisitor before you travel. To determine which visa see www.immi.gov.au/visawizard or contact an Australian embassy.

• Australia’s currency is the dollar. ATMs are everywhere and major credit cards widely accepted. Tipping is not customary and at your discretion.

• Melbourne’s weather is variable — warm to hot in summer (DecFeb), mild to cold in autumn (Mar-May), cold and wet in winter (Jun-Aug), and cool in spring (Sept-Nov). It’s so variable locals joke there can be four seasons in one day — wear layered clothes so you’re prepared for all of them!

• Foodies should do a tour of Queen Victoria Market (www.qvm.com.au), South Melbourne Market (www.southmelbournemarket.com.au) and/ or Prahran Market (www.prahranmarket.com.au) and consider timing your holiday to coincide with a food festival like Taste of Melbourne (www.tasteofmelbourne.com.au), Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au) or another food event (www.visitvictoria.com/Events/Food-and-wine).

Useful website City of Melbourne (official site): www.melbourne.vic.gov.au Melbourne & State of Victoria (official site): www.visitvictoria.com

HUNGRY FOR MORE: A gastro-cultural guide to

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Bangk k’s B cuisine est street

Text by Korakot Suriya-arporn I Photos by Rachapant Sukrattanachaikul

Opening spread: Locals chomp curry on rice by the road.

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ale, muddy water splashes over the pier as it rocks back and forth to the dizzy rhythm of the Chao Phraya River.

The ferry slowly draws closer to the destination filled with Bangkok dwellers. An engine from a vehicle bangs. The Sathon Pier sits neatly beneath the Somdet Phra Chao Tak Sin Bridge, giving sanctuary from the blazing midday sun. Hungerstricken people look for a place to fill their stomachs. Street food is more or less a reliable option, and as far as Thais being natural-born foodies to begin with, they know the real culinary stars are hidden close to the ground.

Street food. Bangkok couldn’t live without it. The city’s walkways are as busy as the traffic itself. Still, it is part of the appeal that attracts many visitors. From som tam and gai yang to pad thai and falafel, they find patrons in thousands of street eaters a day. You will never find New Yorkers or Londoners embracing street cuisine with such vitality and fascination the way Bangkokians have.

Street cuisine has been given the honourable recognition it deserves by travellers. Unless you pack yourself a well-spoken local with a keen tongue for good food, however, you might find yourself missing much of what street food has to offer. In that case, explore the gastronomic journey of a lifetime. And yes, come hungry.

ROAD OF INFLUENCES Bang Rak Market is one of the busiest food zones in town. Like other food zones, it is jam-packed with pedestrians who stop by momentarily, but purposefully, to buy quick grub along the road.

In fact, it was the multi-cultural commercial hot spot for hundreds of years. Sampans and cargo boats once flocked the docks, and a large number of Cantonese merchants who came to flourish in Siam

bargained their goods here. That is why there is a strong hint of Cantonese subculture in this trading community.

Later during King Rama IV’s reign, Charoen Krung Road was constructed. It was one of the first roads in Siam to employ Western techniques. The road stretches over 8.5 kilomitres in range, covering Bang Rak area and, in one part, paralleling Yaowarat Road of Chinatown.

Besides old Chinese shophouses, Bang Rak is famous for its Cantonese-style specialty: roasted duck. While recipes vary with each establishment, the duck is usually rubbed with a mixture of spices and charcoal-grilled very slowly to render the fat. This results in crispy bronzed skin and perfectly cooked moist meat. The special gravy made of roast drippings, five-spice powder and coriander roots give a sweet, peppery taste to the duck. One of the oldest roast duck shops is located in Charoen Wieng Road. Among its many roasts, order ngaap keup pau for a change.

Duck feet, duck liver and char siu (roast pork) are wrapped with duck intestine, marinated in a sauce overnight, and roasted until the meat is cooked and the glaze caramelises. A cart on the same road sells zhi ma wu (black sesame soup) and hong dao zuk (red bean congee), which make a good, hot, thick fix for those in sudden need of sugar.

Further down the road sits a congee (or joke, in Thai) shop in front of an old cinema that sells food almost all day. The smoky flavour in the rice and its chewy minced pork balls are unique compared to others. Braised pork knuckles on rice, khao ka moo, is Bang Rak’s best-known dish and one of the best can be found down this alley. The succulent pork with rich brown herb and soy sauce broth is pure divinity, while crispy pickled greens and crumbly hard-boiled egg on the side make the dish simply wholesome.

Indians are dominant in the area too, as evident in the next stop: the open-air Muslim restaurant. It used to serve Muslims only, but

has now opened its arms to all. Don’t miss the famous saffron-yellow biryani, whose recipe has been passed down for three generations.

Their curry is thin, not too spicy, but decidedly aromatic. Best eaten with egg, the curry moistens the otherwise dry yolk and gives a balanced touch of sweetness from onions and zing from peppers.

HIDDEN GOLD “Hop on in,” a tuk-tuk driver says, nodding. It seems as if a Bangkok gourmet tour wouldn’t be complete without riding on one of these signature motor rickshaws. The grey-haired man starts his engine and the tuk-tuk shoots straight down further on Charoen Krung Road. Wat Traimit is the destination.

Also known as the Temple of the Golden Buddha, it houses the world’s largest solid-gold Buddha image. Formerly disguised under plaster to avoid looting during the Ayutthaya period, it wasn’t discovered until 1955. The decrepit plastered image was dropped accidentally, revealing the true form inside. It is now secured inside a newlyconstructed, three-storey chapel-cum-museum adorned with marble.

Local merit-makers know there is more to this temple than its golden Buddha. Khao gaeng, literally “rice and curry,” is an omnipresent popular street food. A small eatery here cooks more than 20 different kinds of mouth-watering curries and stir-fries that are served on top of steamed rice.

Just across the street is Soi Sukon 1 and tucked inside are many shops that have been selling delicious treats for decades. Hoy tord (crusty fried mussels with eggs) is matched with tangy Sriracha chili sauce, which enhances the rich egg flavour. Khao moo daeng (barbecued pork with rice) is another street cuisine staple. The one sold here is big in portion. Barbecued pork is sliced along with crispy pork belly, Chinese sausage and a faultless medium-boiled egg. The sweet red sauce is distinctively thickened with peanut and sesame seeds. On the adjacent block, pork satay marinated and basted with coconut milk is sweet and tender. True foodies would praise their liver

satay for its exceptional soft-to-the-bite texture.

Thirsty? Sip a century-old medicine. There is an herbal drink shop that has been in operation since 1901 on Song Sawat Road. Their bestseller nam kom is a bitter concoction of over 20 types of herbs, believed to help fix the yin-yang harmony. That is indeed needed for this feasting spree. And after that, have a cup of the sweet icy lod chong — translucent green noodles with rich coconut milk and pieces of mellow jackfruit. So much for the yin-yang balance!

FAITH AND GRUB Continue to walk down Charoen Krung Road and you’ll see Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, known as Wat Leng Nei Yi. It is probably the most visited Mahayana Buddhist temple in Bangkok. Inside the temple are golden statues of motifs and deities that locals pray to for blessing and comfort. Believers cluster around its courtyard as the smell of incense hovers.

The spiritual haze lingers even outside the temple itself. Street-front stores in the area are full of Chinese paraphernalia — lanterns, dolls, figures or fans — that involuntarily act as store decorations with their golden-red colour schemes. Many of these stores sell paper offerings and fake money that locals burn, believing that the deceased can make good use of in the afterlife.

After a session of heavy praying and near asphyxiation from joss Opposite page (clockwise from top left): Rice served with roasted duck, a Cantonese-style specialty of Bang Rak; the lady owner of the renowned Muslim Restaurant; Bangkok street food finds patrons in all walks of life; beef satay, drenched in coconut milk goodness. This page (from left): An herbal shop that has been operating for over a hundred years; besides the bitter nam kom, chrysanthemum drink and the ten-herb concoction called jab lieng are also on offer here. Bottoms up!

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stick smoke, find solace in ga lor ji. The crispy pan-fried patty made of glutinous rice flour is cut into pieces and tossed with granulated white sugar and toasted sesame seeds. The texture is chewy, akin to Japanese mochi or Korean tteok, but nothing beats the sugar and sesame that coat the cake.

Chinese people connect food with tidings. The famous snack ew guay, thought to bring prosperity and family unity, is a deep-fried sweet potato dough filled with stuffing. Ew guay sold near the Wat Leng Nei Yi comes in a vague circular shape and in many tasty varieties — like cabbage and dried shrimp, coconut or beans — but the one with sweet taro paste takes the prize.

ENTER THE DRAGON A stroll into Leng Buay Ia Market is like walking down the rabbit hole into a culinary Wonderland — a Chinese one, perhaps. Dodging the massive bag of dried fish maw that is hung above and veering out of the way of a vegetable cart that shares the same narrow pathway with market traders, you know this defines hectic. Endless lines of stores with a plethora of goods — fresh or dried, imported or domestic, hot or cold — surround you amongst hundreds of people. Gingko nut is sold alongside fresh mullets, while just a few metres away are dried abalone and Sichuan pickle zha cai. For chefs, it is a heaven with the rarest ingredients in Chinese cuisine. For other people, it is entirely a feast for the eyes.

On another end of the market is the majestic Yaowarat Road, the true Chinatown. As the winding road represents the dragon, you are smack right in the middle of its body, the busiest part, so to speak.

Overwhelming with traffic and honking horns and giant placards of goldsmith shops, Yaowarat Road is one big chaotic street with adjoining systems of inter-connecting alleys, one of which is Leng

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Buay Ia Market.

But the true gastronomic journey on Yaowarat doesn’t begin until sundown, when gold shops close and food carts occupy their territories. To kick-start and spice up the night, find guay jap nam sai. The Teochew-style flat rice sheets are served in a clear soup with pig offal and crispy pork belly. Be warned, though, as the soup can be very peppery. The rice sheet is silky smooth and the crispy pork belly is, well, still crispy even after a drenching in the sweatinducing soup. Eating a bowl of this is a local way to enjoy the night and reduce body heat.

BINGE EATING INTO THE NIGHT Real gourmands know that the essence of Chinatown cuisine lies in the small street named Plaeng Nam Road. The small alley attaching Yaowarat and Charoen Krung is home to many decades-old delicacies. Having trouble locating it? Find a stall that sells mamuang nampla waan, or mango with sweet fish sauce dip. It comes with green mangoes sliced into pieces and dipped in a thick sauce made of fish sauce (nam pla), jaggery, shallot, chilies and dried shrimp.

Nibble on mangoes as an appetiser and move on into Plaeng Nam Road to find a kanom jeeb pushcart in front of a temple called Wat

This page (from left): Steamed buns, or sala pao, sold on street; toasted buns with many toppings, from peanut butter and marmalade to chili paste and sweetened milk. Opposite page (clockwise from top left): A Chinese opera performer is dressed up for the stage; quaint old door front in an alley of Chinatown; an ornate painting in a Chinese shrine; fortune paper for siem see, a popular fortune-telling practice among Chinese people.

smooth and gives excellent texture to the palate. The ginger soup is, however, very strong and spicy. This is also the soup for another specialty: tao huay or tau fu fah in Chinese, where dumplings are substituted with soft tofu pudding and sometimes with mini-sized deepfried dough called pa tong go.

Toast is not just for breakfast, Thais would argue. There is a toast stall just across Soi Texas with a familiarly long line of people queuing up in front. Their toast comes with many toppings like peanut butter, marmalade, chili paste and sweetened milk. You can also choose how you like your bread: crispy, or soft and chewy, while their toasted buns are uniquely crispy on the outside and very soft within. Popular among the youngsters, the toast is best accompanied with iced coffee or Thai-style milk tea.

Food culture in Thailand is defined and enlivened by the pulse of the street. Some are age-old businesses passed down for generations, while some are newcomers trying to break tradition with new, exciting food. But there is a sole reason that keeps street cuisine alive — Thai people appreciate food for what it really is. For that, ferries across the Chao Phraya River keep running and stomachs are always filled.

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): The one-and-only famous toast stall in Chinatown; people are choosing fresh seafood on display in Soi Texas; a street food vendor brings the kitchen heat tableside; live crabs stacked on top of one another, waiting to be cooked to order. This page: A common sight on Mangkon Road, where it is possible to enjoy eating even without a table.

Mongkhon Samakhom. It is a Teochew version of shu mai. Unlike its Cantonese counterpart using shrimp and pork, it is made of minced pork, chopped yam, dried shrimp, shiitake and egg. It is wrapped in a wonton sheet and steamed. Black vinegar and crispy garlic are then added for a final touch. It is rustic and feels close to home-cooking, with an aftertaste of sesame oil and white pepper.

A few steps away and you will see a khao tom ped (rice porridge with duck) shop. Duck breasts are diced and braised until very tender, served with rice in a clear soup simmered with duck bones. You can alternatively add other unusual toppings like blood pudding or duck offal. Praram long song or satay pueng is an Indian-Chinese dish that can be found here. Marinated pork, shrimp or pork liver is cooked in a thin peanut sauce with blanched morning glory. The taste is very similar to that of grilled satay, but milder. Chili paste is sometimes added to give more piquancy.

There are also khao tom shops on the alley end near Charoen Krung Road. More than 30 side dishes can be selected along rice porridge.

They are open around the clock.

The neighbouring alley, Soi Texas, or Phadung Dao Road, is the place for seafood lovers. Many air-conditioned restaurants offer the freshest seafood here, but you won’t be getting bona fide street food unless you dine at one of two street-side seafood stalls. Marked by the colour code green and red, they are both located at the intersection of Soi Texas and Yaowarat Road. The competition between these two stalls is fierce and they entice customers with increasingly high quality food, taste and appearance.

SWEET ENDING Sugary desserts on the cart dot Yaowarat Road. Chinese food enthusiasts can enjoy bua loy nam king or tang yuan — black sesame paste wrapped with white glutinous rice dough, floating in hot ginger syrup. The sesame is mild and thick, while the dumpling is velvety

BANGKOK

FACTS

Getting there and getting around By air Suvarnabhumi International Airport is the main airport in Bangkok with arriving flights from numerous major cities around the world.

The airport is located about 30 kilometres east of downtown, so it is advised to take a taxi, an Airport Express Bus, or the Airport Rail Link that terminates at Phaya Thai. From there, it is easy to connect through BTS Skytrain or a taxi.

By train The city’s main railway station is Hua Lamphong Station, with most locomotive routes departing here. The station is within walking distance to Chinatown. Once you are in downtown, Charoen Krung Road and Chinatown can be reached very easily through Bangkok’s system of BTS Skytrain and MRT Subway. Bang Rak is near the BTS Saphan Taksin Station, while Chinatown is adjacent to MRT Hua Lamphong Station.

By boat Bang Rak is connected with a central pier on Chao Phraya River called Sathorn Pier. There is a ferry across to Thonburi here, and also the Chao Phraya Express Boat that runs along the river all the way to the suburban Nonthaburi.

Essentials Getting on a street food tour, even at the popular stalls, can bring about medical problems. Make sure you pack a bottle of clean water and avoid consuming ice, if possible. Be cautious, but at the same time, be experimental and open to a different culture. Prepare yourself to eat a lot and it is most advised to begin your tour very hungry.

There is an arranged tour similar to the food route in this feature.

Bangkok Food Tours (T: +66 (0) 8 9126 3657; bangkokfoodtours. com) operates two different types of tours: day-time historic food tour in Bang Rak and night-time tour in Chinatown.

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Text and photos by Terence Carter

Opening spread: One of the elegant offal dishes from stand-up izakaya bar, Nippon Saisei Sakaba, or Japan Reborn bar, in Tokyo’s Shinjuku.

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he first things that catch the eye are the summer oysters.

Colossal, plump, they disappear fast from the seafood display at the izakaya, a Japanese tavern that also serves food. We quickly order several. Then several more. Then sashimi, skilfully sliced in front of us, glistening in the bright lights of the bar. And delicious tempura, with a light batter deftly coating amazingly crisp, fresh vegetables and sweet prawns.

It’s our first night in Tokyo and after checking into the cosy apartment that will be our home for the next two weeks, my wife and I stumble upon the izakaya just up the road while looking for a noodle bar. The buzz at the izakaya is too irresistible to ignore. The seats are plastic milk crates topped with cushions, the diners are all locals (most on after-work eating and drinking marathons), and the affable staff have the day’s specials handwritten on paper signs stapled to their T-shirts. Welcome to the quirks of Tokyo dining.

But we haven’t come to Tokyo to dine, we’ve come to eat. While the Michelin guide anointed more three-star restaurants here than in Paris, you can easily spend USD 160 per person without drinks at most of the Michelin places, meaning you’re dining alongside businessmen out to impress clients with the size of their expense accounts, and affluent tourists looking for culinary perfection. As much as we enjoy fine dining, we want to go deeper.

The next morning, foolishly thinking we’d beaten our jetlag, we grab a Lonely Planet Tokyo guidebook off the bookshelf at the apartment and head out for noodles. Many years earlier, when my wife and I were young backpackers, Tokyo was the first destination we ever visited on our freshly-issued passports. We lucked out and ate some sublime noodles in a laneway in Shinjuku — ordering by pointing to the dishes on the menu. Flash-forward almost 20 years later and we want to see if we can find noodles just like the ones we fondly remember.

An hour later, no thanks to the guidebook, but thanks to a friendly local businessman, we find the “famous” ramen bar the guidebook

recommends. The name is correct, although the description applies to a place around the corner. It’s the only eatery on the block that doesn’t have a slow-moving line of locals out front, but we’re too tired to queue so we take the risk anyway.

There is a reason for the lack of lines outside. The noodle soup is bland. For something that is the house special and meant to be famous, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the menu. Still, the few workers there are slurping away, leading us to presume we left our taste buds on the plane.

After lunch we spot a few eateries that look interesting, including the one the guidebook mis-describes as our ramen place, a couple of bars, and a few small restaurants that look like they could be fun places to eat in the evening. We don’t open the guidebook again.

The next night we return to check out one of them, an atmospheric stand-up izakaya called Nippon Saisei Sakaba, or Japan Reborn Bar. It’s decorated in the nostalgic mid-20th century style that’s popular in Tokyo again, with plenty of wood, vintage posters and retro touches.

With a warm welcome from the waiter who speaks little English, we find a space at the front bar and he finds us a menu with some English translation. We initially think this is a good thing — until we read what’s actually on the menu: Tongue, Heart, Liver, Gullet, Trachea, Spleen, Large Intestine, Rectum, Stomach, Temple, Breast and Uterus. Up a price bracket are Small Intestine, Neck, Spine, This page (from left): Japanese office workers outside the retro-inspired izakaya Nippon Saisei Sakaba, or Japan Reborn bar, in Shinjuku; a delicate dish of raw heart sprinkled with sesame seeds on the bar of izakaya Nippon Saisei Sakaba. Opposite page (clockwise from top): The menu board at popular izakaya Nippon Saisei Sakaba; the proud chef at Nippon Saisei Sakaba; Japanese workers perusing the menu; tasty yakitori skewers; a dish of salt if the chef’s seasoning isn’t sufficient at Nippon Saisei Sakaba.

Shoulder and Becon, which we’re hoping is “bacon” misspelt.

By observing what’s smoking on the wooden skewers the cooks are turning over on the charcoal grill, checking the plates being sent out to the hungry/tipsy diners, and with a little help from a rockabilly guy eating next to us who speaks some broken English, we decide what to eat.

On the advice of our fellow diner, we order tapas-size plates of small intestines, large intestines, tongue and shoulder, along with big cold beers. Each time a dish is delivered, the chefs eagerly await our reaction. They have nothing to worry about, as it’s all enjoyable — crispy, smoky, succulent and incredibly tasty. We see the raw meats coming straight from an immaculately clean set of refrigerated stainless steel drawers beneath the charcoal grill, so we also know we have nothing to worry about.

As soon as a plate of skewers arrives we’re looking at the menu again. “Courageous, courageous…” the waiter mutters in English with a cheeky smile as he scribbles down our next order: raw liver, grilled vegetables (safe, but fantastic) and raw heart. We work our way though a series of dishes before pulling up short of Raw Brains.

The raw heart has pushed us far enough and we haven’t had so much to drink that raw brains sound like a tasty treat.

We love that this place celebrates the tradition of using all the consumable parts of an animal. It couldn’t be further from a USD 100 a kilo Wagyu or a USD 160 sushi menu, but this is one of the unexpected delights of Tokyo, that this is just as tasty and memorable as a USD 10 piece of sashimi.

times than she can count. “It’s amazing that just yesterday this fish was swimming in the ocean,” says the fishmonger. And that’s how it tasted, pure and fresh, like the cleanest of sea waters.

After visiting the market proper, Etsuko leads us across the road for a wander around the outer market. “For me, this is just as interesting, if not more interesting in some ways, as visiting the fish market, and definitely more interesting than the tuna auction!”

Etsuko says as she leads us on a tour of this foodie paradise, where scores of shops sell everything from handmade knives to kitchen supplies, and each shop seems to specialise in a particular product or type of produce.

We ask Etsuko where we can take her for lunch and she leads us out of the markets to a simple teishoku (set menu) place. It’s a sultry day, it’s not yet noon, and the outside seats, even those in the scorching sunshine, are taken, along with the stools inside. We claim a table in the shade as soon as one is free, and while we’re downing icy cold beers, long lines begin to form out front.

Each day there are different specials — today it’s sea urchin (which my wife and Etsuko opt for) and a local fish (which I choose) — and each set menu comes with vegetables, sauces, pickles, miso and rice for the equivalent of USD 9, along with some of the cheapest beers we’ll buy in Tokyo. There are no English menus, staff don’t speak English, and while we are here the tourists are eating what Etsuko calls “very average sushi” back at the markets. So I ask her, where should we eat sushi? “You can pay anything from ¥5000

Everyone has places they frequent regularly in Tokyo, he tells us, but the great thing about the city is that the next night you might find a place you’ve never eaten before.

This being Tokyo and us being foodies, we can’t help but visit Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Fish Markets. The Tsukiji (pronounced su-kijee) are considered a must-do. We are not really interested in seeing the tuna auction, which we hear has become a bit of a circus —so much so that they closed the action to tourists for a time. Tokyo food and sake expert, Etsuko Nakamura, who is also a guide, agrees when we contact her to do a private tour of the market. Etsuko suggests a much more sensible time to visit the markets than 3:30 a.m. Meeting at 9 a.m., we find the markets pretty much free of tourists, most of whom are probably doing what they’ve been told: lining up outside one of the couple of sushi joints that are mentioned in every guidebook.

The markets are astounding, a real testament to Japan’s collective love of seafood. Even at what is the tail end of the working day for Tokyo’s seven major wholesalers, and the 700-odd businesses that buy from them to sell to the city’s restaurants and retailers, the energy of the place is palpable. Most of the produce has been sold already and workers are busy breaking down fish to send off to the restaurants.

Etsuko, noting the great vibe, puts it down to strong sales that morning. We’d heard that the workers aren’t particularly friendly to foreign visitors, seeing them as a hindrance, getting in their way and occasionally injuring themselves. However, one fishmonger, who has a whole tuna on his bench, enthusiastically calls us over to take a closer look at the fish. The tuna — a “small one” at 70 kilos — has already been sold to a couple of sushi places and they are starting to portion the fish when we arrive.

We watch the fishmonger expertly quarter the tuna, and then, with a smile, he unexpectedly passes me a plastic take-away tray, pours some soy sauce in it, and with his huge knife cuts a few slithers off the tuna and puts them in the tray. It is, without doubt, one of my most sublime eating experiences ever. “Wow! That’s never happened before,” says Etsuko, who has been to the markets more

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(USD 65) to ¥30,000 (USD 390) for sushi in a top place, but locals would never pay that much unless it was a very special occasion or a business meal,” she says. “All the sushi is fresh and good in Tokyo.

Just go to the places locals go.”

Taking her advice, the next day we decide to try a local sushi restaurant that we notice is popular with workers for lunch and locals for dinner. At Itamae Sushi, famous for its huge bids for tuna at Tsukiji Fish Markets, the tuna is transcendent. As we leave at the end of lunch service the kitchen staff are filleting whole fish for dinner service.

There are so many places to eat within easy walking distance of our apartment that we could easily spend a month having lunch and dinner in our neighbourhood and not walk through the same restaurant door twice. The next day, a local noodle shop and ramen specialist called Kohmen, packed with slurping diners, catches our eye. The basil gyoza and succulent pork appetisers are brilliant and the ramen soups — ladled out of enormous pots — are rich, hearty and complex.

Equally brilliant and a lot of fun are the simple yakitori bars lining several atmospheric alleyways beside Shinjuku railway line. Known as Omoide Yokocho, or Memory Lane, this series of ramshackle eateries defies Tokyo’s reputation as a high-tech, high-rise city.

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): Fishmongers take it easy after the fish auction is finished and the busiest part of their morning’s work is over; fine quality Japanese chef’s knives such as these are sold at Tsukiji Fish Market’s outer market; a fishmonger portions a whole tuna that he sold that morning. It will more than likely end up as sushi in a couple of hours; beautiful brightcoloured octopus for sale at Tsukiji Fish Markets.

Tokyo does have charming, low-rise, traditional neighbourhoods such as Yanaka and Asakusa, but this tiny quarter is hidden in plain sight of the neon-lit towers of Shinjuku. A black market after World War II, these skinny lanes of rickety buildings are home to dozens of smoky yakitori bars and izakayas that are famous for their grilled skewers and wok-fried noodles cooked over open flames.

We walk the main laneway a few times to take in the atmosphere, before snagging a couple of stools at a bustling eatery from a couple of guys who stumble off into the night. Heavy metal music is blaring, the owner is sporting an Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt and, fittingly, the patrons are drunk or well on the way to it. Just like Japan Reborn Bar, there is no menu in English but the guy next to us, who looks like a hipster out of a Wong Kar Wai film, helps us order.

Yuto recommends the raw liver in sesame oil — one of the main dishes he comes for. We take it as a test of our ability to fit in, which we relish. The dish is delicious and it’s apparent that we’ve earned their respect. Yuto insists I try a shot of shochu, a white local liquor, with soda and lemon, called a chuhai. We toast kampai! to this tiny area in the heart of Tokyo that still oozes plenty of old-fashioned, post-war charm.

The rest of our stay goes by in a blur. We eat more noodles: soba, udon and ramen. We try everything from tonkatsu (deep fried, breaded pork cutlets) to slow-braised pork belly, yet we barely scratch the surface of Tokyo’s cuisine. Not once do we enter a sushi joint or a restaurant with a Michelin sticker in the window, yet we eat like royalty.

On our last night in Tokyo we have a drink with Yuto, who asks where we’ve eaten since seeing him. We admit feeling guilty for returning to Memory Lane one night to eat again. He laughs.

Everyone has places they frequent regularly in Tokyo, he tells us, but the great thing about the city is that the next night you might find a place you’ve never eaten before.

The next morning as we leave for Osaka on the train, we take the final opportunity to sample one more thing — a bento box from a shop on the station. As the train rockets to 300kph we open our lunch boxes. We smile. Everything looks so beautiful we’re initially hesitant to eat anything. It turns out to be the best meal we’ve ever eaten on a train or even on an airplane. Just another delicious quirk of eating in Tokyo.

This page (clockwise from left): Succulent yakitori from one of the famous yakitori stands on Omoide Yokocho; a typical yakitori stand on Omoide Yokocho that is popular with Tokyo’s workers who stop to dine on the way home from the office; the entrance to a typical yakitori stand; local hipster Yuto advises us on what to order at one of the yakitori stands in Shinjuku. Opposite page: Tokyo workers look for somewhere to drink and eat in the atmospheric alleyways beside Shinjuku railway line, known as Omoide Yokocho or Memory Lane.

Tokyo

Getting there and getting around By air Thai Airways (www.thaiairways.com) has 18 flights a week from Bangkok to Tokyo, while JAL (Japan Airlines; www.th.jal.com/en) has 21 flights per week between Tokyo and Bangkok, as well as flying to other major Asian destinations. Flights take between five to seven hours to Tokyo’s excellent Narita International Airport. Check visa information at embjp-th.org.

By Train/bus From Narita International Airport train terminal take the Narita Sky Access Line, Keisei Railway or the JR Line into the centre of Tokyo.

Buses and taxis leave from outside Arrivals but avoid taking taxis if you can, as they are outrageously expensive. The Airport Limousine Bus (www.limousinebus.co.jp/en) is reasonably priced, comfortable, and the service is excellent with porters taking care of your luggage. The Narita International Airport website (www.narita-airport.jp/en) has clear information about train and bus services with links to timetables.

Getting around Tokyo’s metro train systems (yes, there are several) are superb. For convenience, buy a plastic PASMO card from the ticket machines at your nearest Metro, put a couple of thousand yen on it, and simply swipe it as you go through the gates leading to the platforms (you see the balance every time) and swipe it on the way out again. You get ¥500 deposit back when you hand in the card before leaving.

FACTS Where to stay • Rental apartments are the best value accommodation in Tokyo. We booked our stylish apartment on www.homeaway.co.uk; another trusted site is www.vrbo.com. Of Tokyo’s hotels, the Park Hyatt (tokyo.park.hyatt.com) at Shinjuku, which appeared in the film Lost in Translation, is a luxurious option, while the contemporary “b” brand of Ishin Hotels (www.ishinhotels.com) are brilliant value.

Essentials • You can book a tour with Tokyo food and sake expert Etsuko Nakamura via her blog tokyofoodcast.com.

• Tokyo Tourism offers a range of guided sightseeing tours for foreign visitors (some free), from Garden Strolls with Tea Ceremony. Details on their site: www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp.

Useful websites Tokyo Tourism (official Metropolitan Government tourism site): www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp Japan National Tourism Organisation (official national site): www.jnto.go.jp

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Opening spread: Spring rolls sit next to assorted steamed coconut cakes, ready for customers.

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AVA Enriched Text and photos by Akkarin Satitpatanapan

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he pungent smell of a local clove cigarette floating in the heavy air of a tropical island marks my arrival to the streets of Java. Yogyakarta (locally known as Jogja) is among the country’s most prominent destinations.

Unlike the overcrowded Jakarta metropolitan, where gridlock and road stunts are part of daily life, Yogya (derived from “Ngayogyakarta” — roughly, “the city of peace”) is a peaceful yet very active town where taxis and microbuses are replaced by rickshaws and horse drawn carts. The very first few minutes in town make you feel like you have been thrown decades into the past.

Most of the province is still highly organic and heavily agrarian.

Fields of tobacco and jackfruit trees with a backdrop of the Borobudur on the top of the faraway hill are still common on Jogja’s boundaries.

In the centre area, buildings are still low-rise and houses are built in traditional Javanese fashion. And though motorbikes continue to increase in popularity, the bicycle is still a widely preferred mode of transportation, especially among students and young adults.

Present day Yogyakarta is not simply temple ruins and old palaces.

The old capital is where the roots of Javanese tradition, passed down through the generations, still live among the people in their simple everyday lives. The rich Javanese culture and traditions live on.

Here we explore a rather different aspect of Jogja, hoping for a richer taste of Java’s living heritage.

Of Art and Men Once Indonesia’s capital city, Jogja is regarded as the centre of Javanese art and culture, featuring everything from batik to ballet, gamelan to Gudeg, and puppet theatre to performance art. The city has strong communities of artists and craftsmen. Art schools and studios may not be visible from the main street, yet they are not far from the heart of town.

“Their hands always move. Everything they touch will become

something,” said HRH Sri Pakualam IX, vice-governor of the city. By “something,” it is not limited to the renowned batik or shadow puppets.

Along with the city, traditional craftsmanship has been revised with the arrival of “newer” materials. Dynamo coils are curled into different flower shapes, making a fashionable brooch out of unfashionable copper wire. Expensive silver is replaced by recycled aluminium cans, making Javanese silverwork more accessible for both customer and apprentice alike. To add a more exotic element, volcanic ashes left by the fiery Mount Merapi’s recent eruption are mixed and moulded into low-relief tiles and miniatures — local sculptors claim to be the only exporters of such products.

Many classic Java works of art and craft have found new life in the modern world. Batik has successfully regained its popularity just in the past decade. The highly elaborate handmade Batik has even found its way to the walls of the art gallery, much sought after by collectors of Indonesian art. The same is true for shadow puppets: the price has gone up as production has fallen down. The classic ballet has also gone through a certain transformation into a contemporary performance style, with newly written stories and choreography, such as The Legend of Mahakarya. They, too, have survived the test of time and have now evolved in the brave new world.

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): A cake of volcanic ash mixture is pressed into a mould by hand; the Sultan’s palace guard in his uniform and Blangkon (traditional Javanese headdress); Yogyakarta is a city of bicycles. Although they are being replaced by motorbikes these past few decades, bicycles are still used extensively both on and off the road. This page (from left): One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Cans are transformed into coins, Javanesestyle souvenirs; a local woman blows hot wax in a pipe-shaped dripper before completing another series of dots on the cloth.

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The Street Does Not Sleep A Dutch outpost during the colonial period, Malioboro, at present, is one of the busiest streets on Java Island. This historical street ranks high on Jogja’s “must-visit” list. Throughout the path that connects between Mount Merapi and the sultan’s palace, Jalan Malioboro is packed with shops, department stores, restaurants and hotels under the guise of nostalgic colonial-style buildings behind walls of stalls.

Long lines of Becak pedicabs and Andong horse carts with their vividly decorated carriages take all the parking space on both sides of the street while their drivers search for passengers. The constant flow of pedestrians and motor vehicles keeps the city’s artery healthily busy.

Though the street itself hardly sleeps, it is most awake after the sun has set. Pushcarts and street vendors pop up quickly just before the street lamps are lit. Chairs and tables are unfolded and arranged around shops as if to say, “we’re open.” Numerous motorbikes roll in slowly to their designated parking on the pavement, adding to the crowds on the already narrow walkways. And as soon as the sky has gone dark, the whole street is brightened with neon lights from the night market.

It is safe to say that there is everything for everyone at the Malioboro street market, whether you’re a resident to Yogyakarta or just paying a visit. A massive range of merchandise is available at more than affordable prices, which can be even lower if you’re good at bargaining. When you get tired, feel free to stop by one of the diners that dot the streets for authentic Javanese dishes. While you eat, a local troubadour who frequents the street might stop by and sing you a popular tune in hopes of a generous tip.

This page (from top): Food carts can be found at every corner of the street providing Javanese a quick and easy meal; a night view of Malioboro Street from the bike rack. Opposite page (clockwise from top left): A cup of hot ginger tea; a shop keeper is beaming as customers line up for his delicious steamed coconut cakes; Lesehan “sitting crossed leg” restaurant with the entertainment of the night.

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Indonesian food ranges all over the taste spectrum from sweet to very spicy for it is rich in sweet soya sauce and spices. At the same time, while the western part of the islands offer higher sugary content, more and more chilli is encountered as you move towards the eastern end. Central Java — and Yogyakarta in particular — is where sugar and spice met, got married and gave birth to the distinct taste of Javanese cuisine.

These days, Javanese cuisine offers a range of local specialties (such as world famous satay, fermented soya bean cake called Tempe and young jackfruit sweet stew known as Gudeg) and Western-influenced (guess what Bestik and beef steak have in common) to unimaginable exotica (such as cow brain in yellow curry — surely not for the faint-hearted). A variety of rice, such as the coconutty Uduk or the wok work Nasi Goreng, accompanied by an assortment of meats, tofu and other condiments, make perfect meals for any time of the day with as much variation as the number of islands in the archipelago. Interestingly enough, fried noodles are treated as side dishes or a rice accompaniment, rather than an a la carte dish. But don’t feel guilty if you want to make a meal out of Mie Goreng alone — everybody does that at least once.

A number of Chinese spin-offs have found a home in this southern island. Look for streets that say “Soto” or “Mie” — you’ll be surprised how many noodle shops you’ll find. In contrast to its stir-fried counterpart, noodle soup, with either chicken or meatballs (some of the biggest you will ever see), is considered a complete meal on its own. The spring roll is another favourite snack that stands out from other Gorengan fried snacks and usually sits in a different pushcart. Its filling is a mixture of meat and vegetables; recipes vary from area to the next. Fans of dim sum, rejoice. Ask for Pau (Pao) or Siomay (Siew Mai) and you’ll get the Indonesian rendition of the same thing you find in Hong Kong.

When it comes to beverages, things become a bit tricky. It’s sometimes hard to tell whether it’s a drink or a dessert. Take Javanese

traditional Wedang Ronde, for example. Though the name literally says it’s a drink, this sweetened ginger tea is actually served in a bowl with dumplings and is eaten with a spoon. Dawet Ayu, with its green jelly, is normally served in a tall parfait glass and treated as a summer drink. Don’t be surprised if the beverage you ordered does not come as you expected. Give it a try and you won’t be sorry.

Java is not just Borobudur and Batik. Its essence lies in a multidimensional society blended into one big community. A visit to Yogyakarta gives you a chance to dive into Java’s largest living museum while indulging yourself with local sweet treats and buying a memorable piece of art at the same time. Touch it, taste it and feel it. The city is always ready to open its arm for more visitors.

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): The most common beverage in Java: Javanese coffee; nasi tumpeng is commonly served during a ceremony or a festive season; Indonesia’s traditional stone mortar and pestle; an assortment of tofu with chili condiments is an important part of Javanese meals. This page: Inside a local Javanese kitchen.

Yogyakarta

FACTS

Getting there and getting around By air AirAsia (www.airasia.com) provides a number of daily direct flights to Yogyakarta from Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, with plans to open new routes from other major cities such as Bangkok.

By road On land, Yogyakarta mainly connects with other cities through the major railway line. The city itself also has an extensive system of city buses. Taxis are available: conventional cabs, pedicabs and even horse-drawn carts. Be sure to bargain.

Where to stay Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta Jalan Palagan, Tentara Pelajar Yogyakarta 55581 Indonesia T: +62 274 869 124, +62 274 867 000 W: www.yogyakarta.regency.hyatt.com Situated on 24 hectares, Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta features a full set of facilities from a spa to a nine-hole golf course with a scenic view of Mount Merapi. The hotel is also loved for its impressive Borobudur-inspired themed swimming pool.

Princess Manohara Resort Komlek Taman Wisata Candi, Borobudur W: www.borobudurpark.co.id Closest possible with direct access to the Borobudur archaeological park, Manohara hotel is not just a hotel, but a centre of Borobudur study, providing a large set of materials and a library. If you wish to see the sun rise from the top of a world heritage site, this is the place.

Essentials • You will be expected to tip a lot in both expected and unexpected situations (like making a U-turn on certain roads). Make sure you have some 1,000 or 2,000 rupiah notes in your pocket.

• Local money changers might give you a better exchange rate than your country (and surely better than the airport). You may want to check with your local tour operator prior to your visit.

• Given the heat of a tropical climate and an extended rainy season, a foldable umbrella can be very handy in many situations.

• Few people on the streets of Yogyakarta speak a foreign language.

A pocket dictionary is highly recommended.

• Bargain, bargain and bargain — especially if there is no price tag.

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TOP 10 COOKING EXPERIENCES AROUND THE WORLD Text by Lara Dunston and Terence Carter Photos by Terence Carter Learning the art of pastry-making is the most popular thing to do for travellers visiting Paris, according to Trip Advisor — even more popular than visiting the Eiffel Tower. Discovering the food of a destination is a way into the heart of a culture, but learning to cook the cuisine of a place is the route into its soul. Whether you watch a cooking demonstration as an observer or get up to your elbows in flour in a hands-on cooking class, there are few more meaningful and fun ways to experience a place than by learning to cook its food.

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Master Chef Experience in Mallorca, Spain At Reads, a luxurious 23-room, five-star hotel at the foot of the Tramuntana mountains on the island of Mallorca in Spain, you can play at being a Master Chef for a day. Located in the countryside, just 15 minutes from the island’s capital Palma, Reads offers a “Master Chef Experience” in the working kitchen of its renowned restaurant, Bacchus. Participants get to work a whole day with the Head Chef in the kitchen, beginning with a meeting in the kitchen where you learn how the team works and learn about the various sections of the kitchen. You then get to work in each section, all the time looked after by the chef’s team. In the afternoon, you get a chance to rejuvenate in the spa with a full body massage before returning for the evening service at 7 p.m. The fee includes a gift of a Reads embroidered chefs jacket, lunch, an evening meal and body massage. For an additional fee, you and a partner can dine at the Chef’s Table. If you don’t fancy spending a whole day in the kitchen, Reads also offers hands-on, two-hour cooking classes with the head chef. www.readshotel.com

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uang Prabang, Amantaka The exclusive Amantaka resort, located in elegant French colonial buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage listed town of Luang Prabang, Laos, offers private cooking classes for guests, taught by the hotel’s executive chef on an organic farm. Local villagers work the community-operated farm, which Amantaka supports by buying the beautiful produce for its own hotel kitchen, as well as running its cooking classes there. This is a thoroughly hands-on class with students, generally a couple, family or small group of friends, first preparing the ingredients for all the dishes — chicken soup, steamed fish, stir-fried pork with coconut and papaya salad on the day we do the cook — then cooking everything themselves under the close guidance of the chef. The class begins with a visit to the vibrant local markets early that morning to learn about the local produce and Lao cuisine, a blend of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. There’s a break for breakfast back at the hotel, before the class resumes later with a lovely drive out to the countryside, a wander around the farm, and cooking lessons in a small pavilion. When the cooking is done, participants relax under the shade of a sala overlooking a pond and rice fields, where they’re served the delicious feast they prepared.

A tip from Chef Anousit: “Only use the leaves of Kaffir limes — the fruit is too bitter and too sour — in Laos we only use it for shampoo and in the water used to make sticky rice.” www.amanresorts.com

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ooking Carioca-Style in Rio de Janeiro Bob Marley is blasting on the stereo when we arrive at the compact, down-to-earth Copacabana eatery Tasco de Lido, where the restaurant’s vivacious owner and cooking instructor Chef Simone Theisen is singing along as she preps for our class. The other students are chatting away cheerfully as they sip drinks. “The best way to understand a culture is to go into the kitchen,” Theisen tells the group as the class begins, “People are what they eat.” Today, Theisen announces, we’re going to learn about Brazil and Brazilians at the same time as we learn how to cook simple home-cooked local food. And the fun begins. We make fried manioc (like potato chips), drink coconut shots, and learn how to make a cumari pepper sauce, farofa, rice and seafood moqueca, as well as Brazil’s national cocktail, the caiparinha. “I enjoy cooking,” Simone tells us, as we all sip our second round of caipirinhas while we wait for lunch to finish cooking. “It’s a way to show off an important part of my culture.

I’m proud of being Brazilian, from a ‘mixed culture.’ In Brazil we feel ‘mixed,’ not black or white, and people only understand this when they eat our food.” A tip from Theisen: “If you cry when you chop onions, swallow some water.” www.cookinrio.com

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aking Macarons and Pastry in Paris Eric Fradeau’s Cook’n With Class is one of Paris’ most popular English-language cooking schools. Fradeau trained under chefs Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducasse and worked for the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton hotels in North America before returning to Paris and opening his school.

Fradeau offers a dozen different courses, with some including visits to the local market where the group decides what they should cook based on what’s available and fresh. The students then return to his Montmartre kitchen to cook a three-course meal, which they’ll later enjoy together. Courses are offered at all levels — from beginner to specialist — and Fradeau is flexible and happy to adapt classes to suit people’s experience, interests and how hands-on they want to get. His two most popular courses are on pastry making. Students can choose to make pastry, biscuits and ice cream or they can learn how to make Paris’ famous macarons. “Macarons are the new cup cakes!” Fradeau says. His top macaron making tip: “Work in a dry area. Humidity is our biggest enemy. Moisture causes the macarons to crack and we don’t want them to crack!” www.cooknwithclass.com

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ooking with a Countess in Venice “Is there anything we should know beforehand about the cooking course?” we ask Countess Enrica Rocca. “Yes! Cancel your dinner appointments after the class!” We meet Rocca, known as “the cooking countess,” near Venice’s Rialto Markets, where, with the three other participants, we buy a whole mullet, shrimps, prawns, clams, tuna, scallops in their shells, beautiful vegetables, including San Erasmo Island artichokes, and pork ribs and sausages. Our shopping done, we cross the Rialto Bridge where Rocca introduces us to the time-old Venetian tradition of heading to a local bacari (Venetian bar) for a post-shopping spritz and teaches us about Veneto wines at wine shop MilleVini before ambling back to her light-filled loft in the Dorsoduro. There, our small group is quickly put to work coating gamberetti (tiny shrimps) with flour and frying them in oil, slicing tuna to make sashimi-style raw fish which we drizzle with olive oil, baking scallops with freshly-sliced ginger, making spaghetti with clams, baking fish, and searing pork. We eat each dish as it’s cooked and wash it all down with wine. “I can’t give you a few recipes and expect all of a sudden you will be able to cook,” the Countess tells us. “Instead, I teach you about the ingredients, show you where and how to buy them, and how to treat the produce,” Rocca explains. “It’s a lot of food to eat and a lot of cooking, but we’re working off the calories as we go!” www.enricarocca.com

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Country Music Cooking Lesson in Austin, Texas When we arrive at Central Market’s “Cookin’ and Singin’ Class with Brandon Rhyder” in Austin, Texas, country music star Rhyder is strumming his guitar and singing a song about eating burgers. In the professional kitchen behind the singer, Chef Vance Ely is at the stove stirring greens, while other kitchen staff are busying themselves with various tasks. Participants sit in classroom-like rows, facing the kitchen, where a television monitor provides a close-up of the stovetop. A woman zigzags back and forth along rows pouring generous glasses of wine. In between singing songs, Rhyder shares cooking tips and anecdotes about his childhood, life on the road, and his love of food. As a child, he says. “We went squirrel hunting, we farmed ‘organic’ before it was invented, and we’d all cook and eat together.” When he’s on tour, Rhyder says they use the bus engine to cook. “It stays at a constant of 290 degrees. There’s space on the engine block so we throw on some ribs and by the time we get to the gig they’re ready!” The participants laugh. Songs, jokes, laughter, questions, song requests, music, cooking and plating in the background, and, of course, eating: mustard greens, yellow tomatoes and corn bread; steak, potatoes and corn; and piping hot berries with a thin, crispy biscuit and ice cream. Central Market holds these quirky cooking demonstrations, many led by local personalities who are passionate about food, several times a week. www.centralmarket.com

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ampling Traditional Mexican in San Miguel de Allende “The focus of my school is traditional Mexican food, not the cuisine of chefs!” Marilau Ricaud, owner of the Marilau Traditional Mexican Cooking School in the charming town of San Miguel de Allende, north of Mexico City, announces as she hands out aprons. Ricaud offers traditional Mexican cooking classes at several different levels, and some of the world’s best chefs have flown to Mexico to do her advanced course where they learn 30+ dishes! When we do the course, we learn to cook just three dishes, from recipes that Marilau learned from her mother and grandmothers: sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup), the pre-Hispanic dish of pollo en pipian rojo (chicken in a spicy pumpkin seed sauce) and sarapitos (plantains in tortillas with mole sauce). It’s a hands-on course in which we get to do everything from deep frying tortilla pieces to learning how to toast ancho chillies on a pan. As we turn them continually, Ricaud warns “You can tell when they’re ready by the smell — the smell is different when it’s untoasted and toasted. Mexicans always use their nose when they cook!” The only thing we don’t make is the mole sauce, which Ricaud says is made from a secret family recipe with 30 different ingredients. A cooking tip from Ricaud: “Cut chillies and open them up, and pull the vein and seeds out, but never rinse them as water reduces the flavour.” www.marilau.com

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angkok, Mandarin Oriental From the dock of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, it’s just a short boat ride across Bangkok’s bustling Chao Phraya River to the Oriental Thai Cooking School, set in a beautiful antique wooden house loaded with retro-Thai charm. As you’d expect from one of the city’s most luxurious hotels, this is a genteel cooking school with a full professional kitchen, a team of kitchen staff on hand who prepare all of the ingredients in advance and assist the cooking instructor, a former hotel chef. Classes are small, so students learn more than they would in larger groups, but instruction is mostly by demonstration, with students sharing tasks when it comes to the hands-on cooking component. Students learn about Thai spices, herbs and produce, and the menu of four dishes taught revolves daily, so check ahead to find out what’s on offer. A tip from Chef Nairan: “Always use Kaffir lime leaves in Thai cooking — I’m in love with them! They are very different to the leaves of lemons and ordinary limes. They are fragrant and zesty, and release an aromatic oil.” www.mandarinoriental.com

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ooking Cape Malay Cuisine in Cape Town In Cape Town, South Africa, you can meet locals and get an insight into how they live their lives on a Cape Malay Cooking Safari offered by fair-trade tour company Andulela. The “safari” begins with a brief visit to Bo Kaap Museum to learn about the history of the “Malays” who were sought after as slaves because of their cooking skills, followed by a stroll around the colourful neighbourhood of Bo Kaap to play guess-the-spice at Atlas Trading Spice Shop, and learn how important spice is to the cuisine. The hands-on cooking class takes place in the home of a local cook, such as Faldela Tolker, who lets visitors into her house a few times a week to learn how to make her tasty home-style food. When we do the class, we make spicy chilli bites, roti, chicken curry, tomato and onion sambal, and samosas, and then sit down to enjoy the delicious meal together at Tolker’s dining table, where she teaches us the meaning of “ubuntu,” the African concept of interconnectedness, openness and sharing. Tolker’s cooking tip for the roti: “The dough should be shiny and elastic,” she advises. “The more you kneed, the less rising time you need. www.andulela.com

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hiang Mai, Four Seasons Hotel, Thailand Like all good South East Asian cooking classes, this brilliant course offered by the Four Seasons Hotel begins with a walking tour led by a private guide around a bustling Chiang Mai food market to learn about Thai produce and ingredients, and taste some local specialties.

Back at the beautiful resort, which overlooks luxuriant fields of rice paddies, guests observe a traditional Thai spirit house blessing before proceeding to the impressive Bill Bensley-designed, Lanna-style kitchen, where an expert instructor teaches students the art of Thai cuisine. This is a 100 per cent handson cooking class, with participants making everything themselves after a demonstration by the instructor, although kitchen staff are on hand to assist those who might forget a stage or ingredient. After the class, in a restaurant-like dining pavilion, guests get to savour their creations — along with views of the resort’s lush landscaped gardens. www.fourseasons.com L+T contributing writer Lara Dunston and her photographer-writer husband Terence Carter are passionate about slow and sustainable travel, local travel and experiential travel. They chronicle their travel experiences around the world on their blog www.grantourismotravels.com.

COME SLEEP WITH ME

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IDLE PARADISE

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A TRUE CAMBODIAN DELIGHT:

An exotic luxury resort on a coral-fringed bijou island in the heart of the crystal clear waters of the Maldives, Baros Maldives offers a safe retreat to the breathtaking wonders on earth, far from the pressures of modern life.

In the historically enchanting town of Siem Reap, Borei Angkor Resort & Spa is truly a gem that appeals to visitors from all different paths and purposes with impressive personalised service and hospitality.

123 THE GLITTERING GEM Overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India, Mumbai’s iconic Taj Mahal Palace Tower is a majestic architectural edifice, making any stay here an unforgettable experience which encapsulates a slice of history, legend and romance.

124 ARTISTIC STAY

W Seoul-Walkerhill is a stunning piece of art in itself.

Spiffy and artsy, the hotel offers exciting interior and exterior designs, modernity and comfort.

COME SLEEP WITH ME

Idle paradise Text by Krittiya Wongtavavimarn

An exotic luxury resort on a coral-fringed bijou island in the heart of the crystal clear waters of the Maldives, Baros Maldives offers a safe retreat to the breathtaking wonders on earth, far from the pressures of modern life. //Setting the scene An island in the North Male Atoll, Baros Maldives offers a very warm welcome from the moment guests step out of the airport arrivals hall. Only a 25-minute panoramic speedboat ride, guests are escorted to the resort and enjoy the vibrant blue ocean and sky, white sandy shores and a cool breeze wafting through the palm trees. Guests stay in elegance in individual villas created from timber and sandstone, poised and peaceful over a translucent lagoon, or nestled discreetly among exotic blooms by the beach.

//Getting comfortable Spacious retreats set amidst lush jungle surroundings and a host of modern amenities and facilities are offered at this Maldives resort, helping to ensure that each guest has a relaxed, pleasurable holiday experience like no other. Baros Maldives has 75 exquisite villas, each with facilities including satellite television, mini-bar, CD/DVD player, iPod docking station, espresso machine, Internet access and wine chiller. Guests can choose from the Baros Residence, Deluxe Villas, Baros Villas and Baros Pool Villas, and also the two new Premium Pool Villas. The Water Villas are set on stilts with panoramic ocean views over the sea.

There is also much to do on Baros Maldives, either in the water or on land. Water sports on offer include scuba diving, snorkelling, canoeing, catamaran sailing, windsurfing, underwater sea scooter riding and even coral planting. On the island there is the fitness centre and the resort spa offering a range of holistic therapies, as well as the spectacular resort gardens and the Maldivian Lounge. //Dining options The culinary options at Baros Maldives are unparalleled. Combined with fresh fish caught by local fisherman, herbs from the nursery, and fruit and vegetables from neighbouring islands, top quality ingredients are sourced from around the world. Outdoor and on-beach and island

dining experiences for couples are also a trademark of the resort. There are so many dining options at Baros Maldives that, even if you are staying for two weeks, you need never eat the same dish twice.

//Why I’d go back This is one of the best romantic honeymoon destinations. A romantic dinner can be arranged anywhere, be it at the villa, on the beach, or on a sandbank in the middle of the ocean with private chef and waiter to watch the sunset.

Baros Maldives P.O. Box 2015, Male 20-02, Republic of Maldives T: +96 0664 2672 F: +96 0664 3497 E: info@baros.com W: www.baros.com For more information and reservations, also visit Agoda (www.agoda.com), an award-winning hotel booking website that operates in 37 languages and offers instant confirmation on more than 160,000 properties worldwide.

Agoda gives customers rewards points for every booking made, worth four to seven per cent the price of the booking.

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COME SLEEP WITH ME

Idle paradise Text by Krittiya Wongtavavimarn

An exotic luxury resort on a coral-fringed bijou island in the heart of the crystal clear waters of the Maldives, Baros Maldives offers a safe retreat to the breathtaking wonders on earth, far from the pressures of modern life. //Setting the scene An island in the North Male Atoll, Baros Maldives offers a very warm welcome from the moment guests step out of the airport arrivals hall. Only a 25-minute panoramic speedboat ride, guests are escorted to the resort and enjoy the vibrant blue ocean and sky, white sandy shores and a cool breeze wafting through the palm trees. Guests stay in elegance in individual villas created from timber and sandstone, poised and peaceful over a translucent lagoon, or nestled discreetly among exotic blooms by the beach.

//Getting comfortable Spacious retreats set amidst lush jungle surroundings and a host of modern amenities and facilities are offered at this Maldives resort, helping to ensure that each guest has a relaxed, pleasurable holiday experience like no other. Baros Maldives has 75 exquisite villas, each with facilities including satellite television, mini-bar, CD/DVD player, iPod docking station, espresso machine, Internet access and wine chiller. Guests can choose from the Baros Residence, Deluxe Villas, Baros Villas and Baros Pool Villas, and also the two new Premium Pool Villas. The Water Villas are set on stilts with panoramic ocean views over the sea.

There is also much to do on Baros Maldives, either in the water or on land. Water sports on offer include scuba diving, snorkelling, canoeing, catamaran sailing, windsurfing, underwater sea scooter riding and even coral planting. On the island there is the fitness centre and the resort spa offering a range of holistic therapies, as well as the spectacular resort gardens and the Maldivian Lounge. //Dining options The culinary options at Baros Maldives are unparalleled. Combined with fresh fish caught by local fisherman, herbs from the nursery, and fruit and vegetables from neighbouring islands, top quality ingredients are sourced from around the world. Outdoor and on-beach and island

dining experiences for couples are also a trademark of the resort. There are so many dining options at Baros Maldives that, even if you are staying for two weeks, you need never eat the same dish twice.

//Why I’d go back This is one of the best romantic honeymoon destinations. A romantic dinner can be arranged anywhere, be it at the villa, on the beach, or on a sandbank in the middle of the ocean with private chef and waiter to watch the sunset.

Baros Maldives P.O. Box 2015, Male 20-02, Republic of Maldives T: +96 0664 2672 F: +96 0664 3497 E: info@baros.com W: www.baros.com For more information and reservations, also visit Agoda (www.agoda.com), an award-winning hotel booking website that operates in 37 languages and offers instant confirmation on more than 160,000 properties worldwide.

Agoda gives customers rewards points for every booking made, worth four to seven per cent the price of the booking.

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COME SLEEP WITH ME //GETTING COMFORTABLE Once in the hotel, you are greeted with a welcome tea before you being escorted to one of the 188 Borei Angkor Resort & Spa rooms. There are four different room types, all decorated in classic Angkor style, lending a very warm and fussy ambience throughout.

As you enter the spacious wooden-floored room, you will notice the spick-and-span Cambodian handmade silk mattress ornaments and the exquisite wood work on bed headboards and on the wall. The private balcony offers a good view over the city, a chance to get accustomed with Siem Reap’s weather, and a great place to have some of the complimentary fruit basket. Other amenities include cable television, minibar and tea and coffee maker. Make sure you visit the award-winning Mutita Spa and have a relaxing treatment by the spa’s expert therapists.

A true Cambodian delight Text by Korakot Suriya-arporn

In the historically enchanting town of Siem Reap, Borei Angkor Resort & Spa is truly a gem that appeals to visitors from all different paths and purposes with impressive personalised service and hospitality. //SETTING THE SCENE With millions of travellers from across the globe paying a visit to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Siem Reap is nothing but a hot spot in Southeast Asia these days. Accommodations ranging from B&Bs to fivestar hotels are plenty, but only some emerge as outstanding. Borei Angkor Resort & Spa may not be the most luxurious hotel in town, but its home-like ambience will easily win anyone over. The location of the hotel is about seven kilometres from the airport, seven kilometres away from Angkor Wat, and about five minutes’ drive from Pub Street and the markets area, the epicentre of Siem Reap tourism. Set within a lush tropical garden in a most relaxing atmosphere, the resort sets the bar very high for Cambodian-run hotel facilities, and is a good choice for all kinds of visitors.

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//DINING OPTIONS At Borei Café Restaurant, decorated in modern classic style, guests can choose to sit in an alfresco terrace or at one of the neatly arranged indoor tables. Enclosed by a glass window overlooking the garden and swimming pool, the restaurant indoor is brightly lit.

International dishes, Khmer specialties, as well as the finest wines from around the world are at service here, along with cocktails, aperitifs and drinks from the nearby Tropicana Bar. The special Khmer set dinner is a very good recommendation for guests who want a taste of authentic Khmer cuisine. Amongst the best picks on the menu not to be missed is Amok Tre — Cambodian-styled fish cutlets from the Tonlé Sap mixed with coconut milk and herb paste and steamed in banana leaves. //WHY I’D GO BACK •• The staff here are incredibly friendly, professional, very well trained and will not hesitate to make you feel at home.

•• The spa service at Mutita Spa gave me a really good treatment, and there is no doubt as to why they earned the Best Luxury Destination Spa certificate from World Luxury Hotel Awards in 2011. Plus, their bael fruit tea was a really nice touch.

Borei Angkor Resort & Spa National Road 6, #0369, Banteay Chas, Slorkram, Siem Reap, Cambodia T: + 855 (0) 63 964 406 F: + 855 (0) 63 963 436 E: info@boreiangkor.com W: www.boreiangkor.com For more information and reservations, also visit Agoda (www.agoda.com), an awardwinning hotel booking website that operates in 37 languages and offers instant confirmation on more than 160,000 properties worldwide. Agoda gives customers rewards points for every booking made, worth four to seven per cent the price of the booking.

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COME SLEEP WITH ME //GETTING COMFORTABLE Once in the hotel, you are greeted with a welcome tea before you being escorted to one of the 188 Borei Angkor Resort & Spa rooms. There are four different room types, all decorated in classic Angkor style, lending a very warm and fussy ambience throughout.

As you enter the spacious wooden-floored room, you will notice the spick-and-span Cambodian handmade silk mattress ornaments and the exquisite wood work on bed headboards and on the wall. The private balcony offers a good view over the city, a chance to get accustomed with Siem Reap’s weather, and a great place to have some of the complimentary fruit basket. Other amenities include cable television, minibar and tea and coffee maker. Make sure you visit the award-winning Mutita Spa and have a relaxing treatment by the spa’s expert therapists.

A true Cambodian delight Text by Korakot Suriya-arporn

In the historically enchanting town of Siem Reap, Borei Angkor Resort & Spa is truly a gem that appeals to visitors from all different paths and purposes with impressive personalised service and hospitality. //SETTING THE SCENE With millions of travellers from across the globe paying a visit to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Siem Reap is nothing but a hot spot in Southeast Asia these days. Accommodations ranging from B&Bs to fivestar hotels are plenty, but only some emerge as outstanding. Borei Angkor Resort & Spa may not be the most luxurious hotel in town, but its home-like ambience will easily win anyone over. The location of the hotel is about seven kilometres from the airport, seven kilometres away from Angkor Wat, and about five minutes’ drive from Pub Street and the markets area, the epicentre of Siem Reap tourism. Set within a lush tropical garden in a most relaxing atmosphere, the resort sets the bar very high for Cambodian-run hotel facilities, and is a good choice for all kinds of visitors.

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//DINING OPTIONS At Borei Café Restaurant, decorated in modern classic style, guests can choose to sit in an alfresco terrace or at one of the neatly arranged indoor tables. Enclosed by a glass window overlooking the garden and swimming pool, the restaurant indoor is brightly lit.

International dishes, Khmer specialties, as well as the finest wines from around the world are at service here, along with cocktails, aperitifs and drinks from the nearby Tropicana Bar. The special Khmer set dinner is a very good recommendation for guests who want a taste of authentic Khmer cuisine. Amongst the best picks on the menu not to be missed is Amok Tre — Cambodian-styled fish cutlets from the Tonlé Sap mixed with coconut milk and herb paste and steamed in banana leaves. //WHY I’D GO BACK •• The staff here are incredibly friendly, professional, very well trained and will not hesitate to make you feel at home.

•• The spa service at Mutita Spa gave me a really good treatment, and there is no doubt as to why they earned the Best Luxury Destination Spa certificate from World Luxury Hotel Awards in 2011. Plus, their bael fruit tea was a really nice touch.

Borei Angkor Resort & Spa National Road 6, #0369, Banteay Chas, Slorkram, Siem Reap, Cambodia T: + 855 (0) 63 964 406 F: + 855 (0) 63 963 436 E: info@boreiangkor.com W: www.boreiangkor.com For more information and reservations, also visit Agoda (www.agoda.com), an awardwinning hotel booking website that operates in 37 languages and offers instant confirmation on more than 160,000 properties worldwide. Agoda gives customers rewards points for every booking made, worth four to seven per cent the price of the booking.

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COME SLEEP WITH ME

COME SLEEP WITH ME

Artistic stay Text by Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

W Seoul-Walkerhill is a stunning piece of art in itself. Spiffy and artsy, the hotel offers exciting interior and exterior designs, modernity and comfort.

The glittering gem Text by Krittiya Wongtavavimarn

Overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India, Mumbai’s iconic Taj Mahal Palace Tower is a majestic architectural edifice, making any stay here an unforgettable experience which encapsulates a slice of history, legend and romance. //Setting the scene Reopened on the country’s 63rd Independence Day last year, the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, opposite the Gateway of India, is India’s most celebrated hotel, flaunting elegant rooms, fine dining experiences and impeccable service. It has played host to everyone from the Beatles and Bill Clinton to Barack and Michelle Obama. The architecture and interior have been described as a mixture of Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles, yet its vaulted ceilings, tranquil courtyard and airy, colonial bedrooms are a marvellous introduction to traditional Indian elegance. //Getting comfortable The historic hotel offers 289 rooms, consisting of 46 grand suites, 82 Taj club rooms and 161 grand luxury rooms. Each room is lavishly designed with great works of art exuding sophistication and prestige.

The suites are all different and distinct in terms of theme and décor, each telling a story of heritage or inspired by the sea. Guests may be tempted to never leave the room.

The guests staying in the Palace wing will experience the “highly attentive and personalised Palace Butler Service.” The butler will escort guests through the hotel explaining the various facilities and rich history of the hotel. The corridors and public areas are lined with precious works; guests interested in learning more about the rare collections can request an Art and Heritage Walk. The Palace Lounge is exclusively for residents of the Palace wing serving freshly brewed coffee, tea and evening cocktails. //Dining options The hotel works with leading chefs from all cuisines, such as Japanese Chef Morimoto, who brings Wasabi by Morimoto to the global patrons of India. There is a wide array of eateries including Sea Lounge, The Zodiac Grill, Souk, Masala Kraft, Aquarius, Shamiana,

Starboard and La Patisserie, as well as the ballroom and the Banquet halls. All establishments in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel guarantee an unforgettable dining experience that will excite tastes buds.

Why I’d go back •• It’s no wonder why the Taj has been the number one choice for Maharajas, royalties, presidents, actors, musicians and entertainers since its opening in 1903. It is forever continuing to distinguish and reinvent.

The Taj Mahal Palace Apollo Bunder, Mumbai 400001 T: +91 (0) 22 6665 3366 F: +91 (0) 22 6665 0300 E: tmhbc.bom@tajhotels.com W: www.tajhotels.com

//Setting the scene Located near the thriving urban community of Walkerhill in Seoul on the slopes of Mount Acha, W Seoul-Walkerhill is an outstanding and stylishly designed residence overlooking the Han River. This hotel was designed by both international and local interior designers and architects who helped to make each and every nook and cranny of the building unique, contemporary, and arty. On-site attractions include the Jack Nicklaus driving range, casino, a Duty Free shop, and the nearby Walkerhill Show. Fifteen minutes on the hotel’s shuttle bus service takes you to the downtown area, packed with art galleries, shops and restaurants. //Getting comfortable W Seoul-Walkerhill has 252 rooms, including 29 suites, designed

by New York-based interior design firm Studio GAIA. Each room is equipped with modern-design furniture and decorated with vivid colours, such as white and red, and visitors feel like they are staying in a stylish bedroom in a luxury home rather than a hotel. Each room has a supremely comfortable bed and a full range of modern in-room facilities such as a flat screen TV, high-speed Internet, voicemail service and clock radio with CD player. With its renowned “whatever/ whenever” service, guests can simply push a button on the telephone and their requests will be quickly responded to. //Dining options Dining here is not just about the food, but a stunning lifestyle experience. Namu, a contemporary Japanese restaurant, serves a top selection of modern Japanese cuisine in its own unique style, and is also equipped with a lounge area which serves an array of sakes, single malts, champagnes and cocktails, which can be enjoyed in semi-private booths.

The WooBar is one of the trendiest bars in Seoul and is open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Many people fall in love with its cosy and sexy atmosphere and its trend-setting music. It also possesses the longest bar in Seoul offering a choice of 40 different varieties of vodka and 200 wine labels.

//Why I’d go back •• The atmosphere made me feel both relaxed and active. The on-site

staff, mostly guys, are also well selected to match the hotel’s image — neat, good-looking and stylish!

//One or two quibbles…

•• Since the hotel is on the slopes of the mountain, you can commute to downtown by the hotel’s shuttle bus or a taxi. Walking is not recommended.

W Seoul-Walkerhill 175 Achaseong-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea T: +82 2 465 2222 F: +82 2 450 4989 E: wseoul@whotels.com W: www.wseoul.com

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COME SLEEP WITH ME

COME SLEEP WITH ME

Artistic stay Text by Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

W Seoul-Walkerhill is a stunning piece of art in itself. Spiffy and artsy, the hotel offers exciting interior and exterior designs, modernity and comfort.

The glittering gem Text by Krittiya Wongtavavimarn

Overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India, Mumbai’s iconic Taj Mahal Palace Tower is a majestic architectural edifice, making any stay here an unforgettable experience which encapsulates a slice of history, legend and romance. //Setting the scene Reopened on the country’s 63rd Independence Day last year, the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, opposite the Gateway of India, is India’s most celebrated hotel, flaunting elegant rooms, fine dining experiences and impeccable service. It has played host to everyone from the Beatles and Bill Clinton to Barack and Michelle Obama. The architecture and interior have been described as a mixture of Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles, yet its vaulted ceilings, tranquil courtyard and airy, colonial bedrooms are a marvellous introduction to traditional Indian elegance. //Getting comfortable The historic hotel offers 289 rooms, consisting of 46 grand suites, 82 Taj club rooms and 161 grand luxury rooms. Each room is lavishly designed with great works of art exuding sophistication and prestige.

The suites are all different and distinct in terms of theme and décor, each telling a story of heritage or inspired by the sea. Guests may be tempted to never leave the room.

The guests staying in the Palace wing will experience the “highly attentive and personalised Palace Butler Service.” The butler will escort guests through the hotel explaining the various facilities and rich history of the hotel. The corridors and public areas are lined with precious works; guests interested in learning more about the rare collections can request an Art and Heritage Walk. The Palace Lounge is exclusively for residents of the Palace wing serving freshly brewed coffee, tea and evening cocktails. //Dining options The hotel works with leading chefs from all cuisines, such as Japanese Chef Morimoto, who brings Wasabi by Morimoto to the global patrons of India. There is a wide array of eateries including Sea Lounge, The Zodiac Grill, Souk, Masala Kraft, Aquarius, Shamiana,

Starboard and La Patisserie, as well as the ballroom and the Banquet halls. All establishments in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel guarantee an unforgettable dining experience that will excite tastes buds.

Why I’d go back •• It’s no wonder why the Taj has been the number one choice for Maharajas, royalties, presidents, actors, musicians and entertainers since its opening in 1903. It is forever continuing to distinguish and reinvent.

The Taj Mahal Palace Apollo Bunder, Mumbai 400001 T: +91 (0) 22 6665 3366 F: +91 (0) 22 6665 0300 E: tmhbc.bom@tajhotels.com W: www.tajhotels.com

//Setting the scene Located near the thriving urban community of Walkerhill in Seoul on the slopes of Mount Acha, W Seoul-Walkerhill is an outstanding and stylishly designed residence overlooking the Han River. This hotel was designed by both international and local interior designers and architects who helped to make each and every nook and cranny of the building unique, contemporary, and arty. On-site attractions include the Jack Nicklaus driving range, casino, a Duty Free shop, and the nearby Walkerhill Show. Fifteen minutes on the hotel’s shuttle bus service takes you to the downtown area, packed with art galleries, shops and restaurants. //Getting comfortable W Seoul-Walkerhill has 252 rooms, including 29 suites, designed

by New York-based interior design firm Studio GAIA. Each room is equipped with modern-design furniture and decorated with vivid colours, such as white and red, and visitors feel like they are staying in a stylish bedroom in a luxury home rather than a hotel. Each room has a supremely comfortable bed and a full range of modern in-room facilities such as a flat screen TV, high-speed Internet, voicemail service and clock radio with CD player. With its renowned “whatever/ whenever” service, guests can simply push a button on the telephone and their requests will be quickly responded to. //Dining options Dining here is not just about the food, but a stunning lifestyle experience. Namu, a contemporary Japanese restaurant, serves a top selection of modern Japanese cuisine in its own unique style, and is also equipped with a lounge area which serves an array of sakes, single malts, champagnes and cocktails, which can be enjoyed in semi-private booths.

The WooBar is one of the trendiest bars in Seoul and is open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Many people fall in love with its cosy and sexy atmosphere and its trend-setting music. It also possesses the longest bar in Seoul offering a choice of 40 different varieties of vodka and 200 wine labels.

//Why I’d go back •• The atmosphere made me feel both relaxed and active. The on-site

staff, mostly guys, are also well selected to match the hotel’s image — neat, good-looking and stylish!

//One or two quibbles…

•• Since the hotel is on the slopes of the mountain, you can commute to downtown by the hotel’s shuttle bus or a taxi. Walking is not recommended.

W Seoul-Walkerhill 175 Achaseong-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea T: +82 2 465 2222 F: +82 2 450 4989 E: wseoul@whotels.com W: www.wseoul.com

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NishaVille Resort & Spa 33 Moo 7, Baan Huay Yang, Tub Sakae, Prachuab Khiri Khan 77130 Thailand W: www.nishavilleresort.com

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FINAL DESTINATION Text by Richard Herriot

PIEDMONT, ITALY

T

ucked away in the northwestern corner of Italy, sharing borders with France and Switzerland to the north and west, and the regions of Lombardy and Liguria to the south and east, the region of Piedmont is blessed with an exotic cultural mix. Famous for its food, wine and fantastic scenery, this is a part of Italy that is home to a series of undiscovered gems waiting to be unearthed.

The northern part of the region rises up to the Alps, bordering France and Switzerland, as the name “pied monte,” meaning “at the foot of the mountains” implies. As a result of this, and as the inevitable staging post for a number of cross border conflicts and invasions over the centuries, this region stands apart from the rest of Italy. The local dialects still bear strong traces from the French that was the native language here until the turn of the 20th century, and there are many monuments still remaining from the upheavals that plagued the region from the Roman Imperial period through to the late Middle Ages and beyond. Visitors should check out the stunning fortified abbey of Sacra di San Michele, perched atop a rocky outcrop and close to the old Roman town of Susa. Further south lies the town of Saluzzo, a place that was virtually an independent state during the Renaissance period and still retains beautiful cobbled streets and a castle.

Piedmont is best known for being home to Turin, one of Europe’s oldest, most elegant and cosmopolitan cities. The city is not only famous for being home to the Fiat motor company and two worldfamous football clubs in Torino and Juventus, but is also a classic living example of European café society, characterised by pretty baroque streets and elegant coffee shops. Wine enthusiasts will adore sampling the rich local red wines and truffles, which are particularly valued by gourmands for their pungent aromas and strong flavours.

The complex blend of cultures that are presented in the Piedmont region can easily be seen within the local cuisine. Here, the food is different from the rest of Italy and has a lot in common with France, with olive oil largely avoided in favour of rich sauces and butter. Naturally being so close to Switzerland, fondue dishes also feature heavily here, and the bagna caoda, with its sauce of anchovies, garlic, butter and cream, is well worth trying. As the region is so famous for its truffles, the traditional pastas and risottos are often flavoured with shavings of this popular and exotic ingredient. The main centre of the wine and truffle country can be found to the south of the region close to Liguria, in the town of Alba, which is renowned for its delicate and unique white truffles and for the famous Barolo and Nebbiolo vineyards, which produce some of the richest red wines in Italy. Neighbouring Asti is another big wine town, made famous by contrast for its sparkling and

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refreshing varieties of white wine and for the annual Palio D’Asti horseracing festival, which dates all the way back to 1275 A.D. There is plenty to do in Piedmont apart from eating and drinking, however. The region, being located near to the Alps, possesses many wonderful ski resorts such as Sauze D’Oulx, Limone Piemonte, Prato Nevoso and Sestriere, which are famed throughout the world. The region is also home to The Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso, which is Italy’s first national park and the natural habitat of rare animals such as the ibex, golden eagle and chamois, and to a number of species of rare Alpine flowers amidst fantastic scenery that can be enjoyed throughout the year.

PIEDMONT

FACTS

Getting there and getting around By air Caselle Airport in Turin is the main airport of Piedmont. It has regular flights with main European hubs and Italian cities operated by major airlines as well as low fare companies. A wider variety of crosscontinent services also operate out of Milan’s Malpensa airport, which hosts Cathay Pacific flights to and from Hong Kong, Emirates flights to Dubai and Thai Airways also operates services to and from Bangkok.

By train Turin is well served by rail links across Italy and throughout Europe.

Direct services are available from Lyon in France and also from Switzerland. Inter-airport services between Milan and Turin are also frequent, fast and reliable.

By car Piedmont can be accessed by car from France through the Frejus Tunnel, Ventimiglia, Val D’Aosta or via the Mt Blanc tunnel. The Montgenèvre road from Briançon to Cesana Torinese in Italy is very reliable, is always open during the winter and doesn’t require a toll fee. From Switzerland, Piedmont can be reached via the Sempione, St Bernhard and St Gothard passes.

When to visit The sheer variety of things to do in Piedmont makes this a destination for all seasons. The weather is perhaps most pleasant in May and September, with the weather in most parts of the region being warm and sunny. Wintertime (December-March) can be grim in the lowlands due to the thick fog that plagues the Po Valley for weeks on end, but ski enthusiasts will revel in the fantastic skiing available in the alpine areas to the north. August is perhaps best avoided as this is holiday time in Italy and many businesses close for the entire month.