March 2009

TRAVEL+LEISURE SOUTHEAST ASIA

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Singapore • Hong Kong • Thailand • Indonesia • Malaysia • Vietnam • Macau • Philippines • Burma • Cambodia • Brunei • Laos

SPECIAL

FOOD & DRINK

BEIJING’S BEST BURGERS, SINGAPORE STALLS, VEGGIE FOOD IN ASIA AND MORE

Penang Journey through a cultural cuisine GOING GREEN GUIDE TO ORGANIC FARM STAYS

MARCH 2009

Hong Kong 5 secret kitchens you must visit now

France Live like a local in village bistros WHISKY 101 LEARNING HOW TO MAKE A SINGLE MALT

Manila Magic Urban meets chic in classic style

MARC H 2 009

travelandleisuresea.com

Plus: Fly long-haul for less

SINGAPORE SG$6.90 ● HONG KONG HK$39 THAILAND THB160 ● INDONESIA IDR45,000 MALAYSIA MYR15 ● VIETNAM VND80,000 MACAU MOP40 ● PHILIPPINES PHP220 BURMA MMK32 ● CAMBODIA KHR20,000 BRUNEI BND6.90 ● LAOS LAK48,000

Privilege knows no boundaries.

Carried by the Global Elite, the world over.

By invitation only.

For expression of interest call Singapore: + (65) 6295 6293 Hong Kong: + (852) 2277 2233 Thailand: + (66) 2273 5445

MORE THAN JUST A CARD™

EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR AMERICAN EXPRESS® PLATINUM CARD MEMBERS VISITING HONG KONG Take advantage of your status with these ultimate travel experiences Introducing two partners with exclusive offers: Cathay Pacific and The InterContinental Hong Kong

CATHAY PACIFIC

INTERCONTINENTAL HONG KONG

Enjoy great deals when traveling from Bangkok or Singapore to Hong Kong

Stay four nights and pay for three* at InterContinental Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific Airways, winner of “Best Business Class” by TTG Travel awards, is the only airline with the most frequency from Singapore and Bangkok to Hong Kong. For a limited period only, Cathay Pacific Airways is offering exclusive deals on business class travel to Hong Kong, for American Express Platinum Card members in Singapore and Thailand.

For card members departing out of Bangkok, you will enjoy an exclusive business class fare on Cathay Pacific as much as 50% off from published fare!

For card members departing out of Singapore, your companion travels for free when you purchase a special business class fare!

Don’t miss this golden opportunity to enjoy the Cathay experience!

The InterContinenal Hong Kong has always been prized for its spectacular views of Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong skyline, as well as quality of service and innate style. And with SPOON by Alain Ducasse, Nobu InterContinental Hong Kong and the feng shui-designed I-Spa, it is also Hong Kong’s most desirable hotel.

Now, the InterContinental is proud to provide an exclusive offer for American Express Platinum Card members. The hotel is offering an exclusive stay for four nights for the price of three* for American Express Platinum Card members.

Terms and Conditions: Bookings and payment must be made with the American Express Platinum Charge Card. Flights can only be booked through American Express Membership Travel Services. Taxes and fuel charges are excluded. Fares subject to availability. Mixed class is not permitted. Singapore offer: Fare is based on two people traveling together for the entire journey. Fares are valid for sales and ticketing between January 1, 2009, and May 31, 2009, and for travel between January 1, 2009, and June 30, 2009. Outbound journey must commence on or before June 30, 2009. Thailand offer: Fares are valid for sale and travel between January 4, 2009 and April 30, 2009. Blackout periods apply between April 4-6, 2009, and April 9-15, 2009. Outbound journey must commence on/before April 30, 2009.

*Applicable to Contemporary Superior Plazaview and Contemporary Deluxe Plazaview rooms only

Inclusions: Daily Breakfast for up to two people • Club InterContinental access for up to two people • Complimentary formal afternoon tea service for up to two people per room, once during your stay • Room upgrade subject to availability upon check-in • Late checkout until 4pm (subject to availability)

Terms and Conditions: Bookings/payment must be made with the American Express Platinum Charge Card. Package can only be booked through American Express Membership Travel Services. Hotel cancellation policy applies. Subject to availability and blackout periods. The offer cannot be used with any other promotional offers. Valid for stay from Feb 1, 2009, to April 13, 2009, inclusive. Extra person charge (3+ years old) for Club Intercontinental access is HK$450 + 10% per night. Other conditions may apply.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS EXCLUSIVE OFFER OR TO MAKE A BOOKING, CALL THE PLATINUM CARD® SERVICE: SINGAPORE: +(65) 6392 1177 HONG KONG: +(852) 2277 2233 THAILAND: +(66) 2 273 5599

(Destinations)03.09 London 46

France 112 Shanghai 67 Penang 100 Egypt 124 Sikkim 134

World Weather This Month -40oF -20oF -40oC

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40oF 0 oC

5oC

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65oF

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75oF 20oC

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SOUTHEAST ASIA Bangkok 30, 48 Hong Kong 30, 31, 32, 33, 36, 89 Kuala Lumpur 44, 72 Indonesia 72, 84, 89 Laos 33, 72 Macau 89 Malaysia 40, 89 Manila 56

Penang 100 Phnom Penh 38 Singapore 30, 42, 89 Taipei 77 Thailand 33, 72 Vietnam 33, 50, 72

Shanghai 67 Sikkim 134 Tokyo 64

THE AMERICAS New York 64 U.S. 40

THE PACIFIC Sydney 142

ASIA China 33, 89

AFRICA Egypt 124

EUROPE France 112 Italy 55 London 46 Scotland 80

Currency Converter Singapore Hong Kong Thailand Indonesia Malaysia Vietnam Macau Philippines Burma Cambodia Brunei Laos US ($1)

(SGD)

(HKD)

(BT)

(RP)

(RM)

(VND)

(MOP)

(P)

(MMK)

(KHR)

(BND)

(LAK)

1.51

7.75

34.9

11,645

3.61

17,486

7.99

47.3

6.37

4,102

1.51

8,419

Source: www.xe.com (exchange rates at press time).

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(Contents)03.09 >112 Preparing for lunch in the south of France.

100 Eat the Breeze In Penang, every dish has a history and every meal adds to the memorable lore. By ROBYN ECKHARDT. Photographed by PABLO ANDREOLOTTI. GUIDE AND MAP 110 112 Village Fare Want to dine like a local in southern 8

France? Look no further than the village bistros. By CHRISTOPHER PETKANAS. Photographed by FRÉDÉRIC LAGRANGE. GUIDE AND MAP 122 124 Up the Nile The markets of Aswan, grand archaeological sites of Luxor and ancient landscapes await GINA ALHADEFF on her river cruise in Egypt. Photographed by MARTIN MORRELL. GUIDE AND MAP 133

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134 Dragon Season Returning to Sikkim, author KIRAN DESAI reflects on the spirituality of the Himalayas.

Illustrated by CHRISTIAN PELTENBURG-BRECHNEFF. GUIDE AND MAP 141 Special ● Lands of Plenty > 89 Discover the latest food fads, hot lunch deals, best hawker stands and much, much more about eating and drinking in Asia.

FRÉDÉRIC LAGRANGE

99-134 Features

(Contents)03.09

SOUTHEAST ASIA SPECIAL

FOOD & DRINK

BEIJING’S BEST BURGERS, SINGAPORE STALLS, VEGGIE FOOD IN ASIA AND MORE

Penang Journey through a cultural cuisine GOING GREEN GUIDE TO ORGANIC FARM STAYS

MARCH 2009

Hong Kong 5 secret kitchens you must visit now

France Live like a local in village bistros WHISKY 101 LEARNING HOW TO MAKE A SINGLE MALT

Manila Magic Urban meets chic in classic style

Departments 12 16 18 20 22 25 142

travelandleisuresea.com

Plus: Fly long-haul for less

SINGAPORE SG$6.90 ● HONG KONG HK$39 THAILAND THB160 ● INDONESIA IDR45,000 MALAYSIA MYR15 ● VIETNAM VND80,000 MACAU MOP40 ● PHILIPPINES PHP220 BURMA MMK32 ● CAMBODIA KHR20,000 BRUNEI BND6.90 ● LAOS LAK48,000

Cover

Editor’s Note Contributors Letters Best Deals Ask T+L Strategies My Favorite Place

Outside Manila Cathedral, Philippines. Photographed by Nat Prakobsantisuk. Styled by Araya Indra. Hair and make-up: Chechel Joson/CLKD. Model: Kelly/CLKD. Silk bustier by Jojie Lloren. Skirt

by Chanel. Bag by Amina Aranaz.

Necklace by Bea Valdes.

> 46 > 64

> 67

48 Classics Bangkok’s bowlful of memories.

BY JENNIFER CHEN 50 The Basics Saigon’s best banh mi. BY NANA CHEN

29-50 Insider 30 Newsflash New restaurants, Siem Reap nightlife and Asia’s top cooking schools.

36 Eat Hong Kong’s top private kitchens.

BY LAURA MILLER 38 Neighborhood A Phnom Penh street gets funky. BY SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP 40 Cool Jobs Drinking on the job. BY JENNIFER CHEN 42 Chefs Rising stars in Singapore’s kitchens.

BY EVELYN CHEN 44 Street Eats The hawker heart of Kuala Lumpur.

BY ROBYN ECKHARDT 46 Trends Going retro in London. BY SUSAN WELSH and ALISON TYLER 10

55 Icon Stay warm with Italy’s cashmere classic. BY MARIA SHOLLENBARGER 56 Fashion Manila’s design maestros.

64 What’s In Your Bag? Keeping it light with J.Crew’s creative director. BY CLARK MITCHELL

> 56

67-84 T+L Journal 67 Dining Eating out is serious business in China’s vibrant financial capital.

BY JENNIFER CHEN 72 Drink Coffee in the region dates back to well before your corner franchise, writes ANTHONY MECIR. 77 Reflections When visiting Taipei, JEN LINLIU now finds that food provides a connection to her family’s past.

80 Obsessions A weekend of learning how to make single malt in Scotland.

BY ALEXANDRA MARSHALL 84 Going Green A farm near Jakarta aims to help youth, save the earth and provide a respite from the modern world.

BY ROBYN ECKHARDT

C L O C K W I S E F R O M FA R L E F T : M A L ú A LVA R E Z ; D AV I E S + S T A R R ( 2 ) ; D A R R E N S O H ; N A T P R A K O B S A N T I S U K

55-64 Stylish Traveler

(Editor’s Note) 03.09

H

ERE AT Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, we have an

important internal debate starting at around 11:45 A.M. every day, and that is what to have for lunch. Seems like a simple question, but the biggest issue we have is one of choice. The street on which our office is located is a smorgasbord of smells, colors, sounds, street-side vendors and tempting hole-in-the-wall eateries that do delicious noodles, duck, som tam, curry, pad thai, and Chinese and Korean food.

Also within a stone’s throw, we can eat excellent Italian and French fare, fish and chips, pizzas or burgers, and extremely tasty sandwiches (bacon and avocado being my favorite). Food has become so internationalized that people—at least in cities— are spoiled for choice, and that’s a trend we see everywhere. But here in Asia, arguably the center of the food world at the moment, it’s not just a matter of making one choice from hundreds of others; the very fabric of society is woven around the enjoyment of food and drink. So it seemed a natural decision to devote an entire issue to the subject.

The backbone of this special content is our nine-page Asian food special (“Lands of Plenty,” page 89), which I found fascinating to read as I reviewed the issue before press time. As well as the authentic dining experiences we’ve unearthed across the region, I love the guide to vegetarian food in Asia (I’m a lapsed veggie myself) as well as the survival guide to street food. Elsewhere in the magazine, “Whisky 101” (page 80) piqued my interest thanks to my Scottish heritage and my love of Islay single malt, and I was intrigued to read about the vibrant dining scene in Shanghai (“Shanghai’s Endless Feast,” page 67). All of this is whetting my appetite, so I’m looking forward to a lovely home-cooked Thai meal when I finish work, although I I still can’t beat my mom’s cooking.—MATT LEPPARD TRAVEL + L EISURE EDITORS, WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE THE INDUSTRY’S MOST RELIABLE SOURCES. WHILE ON ASSIGNMENT, THEY TRAVEL INCOGNITO WHENEVER POSSIBLE AND DO NOT TAKE PRESS TRIPS OR ACCEPT FREE TRAVEL OF ANY KIND.

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C H E N P O VA N O N T

have to say—and this is a cliché, of course—that even after nearly a decade in Asia,

Slug:Location (T+L Journal)

2009 World’s Best Awards VOTE NOW AT www.travelandleisure.com/intl/ For your favorite hotels, spas, airlines, cruise lines, travel companies and the destinations you love—in the only truly GLOBAL travel survey that matters!

Dear Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia readers, We trust you. We trust your judgment. That’s why we want you to rate your global travel experiences for us, in the 2009 Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards. These awards are recognized as travel’s highest honor, so it’s time to give back to those hotels, spas, airlines, cruise lines, travel companies and destinations you loved in 2008. And this year is a very special year, with readers of all eight global editions of Travel + Leisure now able to participate in the awards.

So visit www.travelandleisure.com/intl/ and tell us exactly what you think. The full global results will be published in our August edition.

Matt Leppard Editor-in-Chief Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia

PHOTO CREDIT TK

HOW TO ENTER: Log onto www.travelandleisure.com/intl/ and fill in a few simple details, then vote! No purchase is necessary. Closing date: March 20, 2009.

T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITOR-AT-LARGE ART DIRECTOR FEATURES EDITORS

Matt Leppard

SENIOR DESIGNER DESIGNER EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Ellie Brannan

Paul Ehrlich Fah Sakharet Jennifer Chen Chris Kucway Wannapha Nawayon Wasinee Chantakorn

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS / PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Wong, Joe Yogerst, Adam Skolnick, Robyn Eckhardt, Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, Lara Day, Cedric Arnold, Steve McCurry, Peter Steinhauer, Nat Prakobsantisuk, Graham Uden, Darren Soh

CHAIRMAN PRESIDENT PUBLISHING DIRECTOR

PUBLISHER VICE PRESIDENT / ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGERS CONSULTANT, HONG KONG/MACAU CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION GROUP CIRCULATION MANAGER

J.S. Uberoi Egasith Chotpakditrakul Rasina Uberoi-Bajaj

Robert Fernhout Lucas W. Krump Michael K. Hirsch Kin Kamarulzaman Shea Stanley Gaurav Kumar Kanda Thanakornwongskul Supalak Krewsasaen Porames Chinwongs

AMERICAN EXPRESS PUBLISHING CORPORATION PRESIDENT/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC INSIGHTS, MARKETING & SALES EXECUTIVE EDITOR, INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE, INTERNATIONAL

Ed Kelly Mark V. Stanich Paul B. Francis Nancy Novogrod Jean-Paul Kyrillos Cara S. David Mark Orwoll Thomas D. Storms Aneesa T. Waheed

TRAVEL+LEISURE SOUTHEAST ASIA VOL. 3, ISSUE 3 Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia is published monthly by Media Transasia Limited, Room 1205-06, 12/F, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2851-6963; Fax: +852 2851-1933; under license from American Express Publishing Corporation, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Produced and distributed by Media Transasia Thailand Ltd., 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II, 75/8 Soi Sukhumvit 19, Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoeynue, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Tel: +66 2 204-2370.

Printed by Comform Co., Ltd. (+66 2 368-2942–7). Color separation by Classic Scan Co., Ltd. (+66 2 291-7575).

This edition is published by permission of AMERICAN EXPRESS PUBLISHING CORPORATION 1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, United States of America.

Reproduction in whole or in part without the consent of the copyright owner is prohibited. © Media Transasia Thailand Ltd. in respect of the published edition.

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(Contributors) 03.09 hristian PeltenburgBrechneff To illustrate this month’s feature on Sikkim (“Dragon Season,” page 134), the artist traveled in the northern Indian state under the guidance of Princess Hope Leezum Namgyal, daughter of the former queen Hope Cooke. “The royal family helped me plan my trip, so I had access to the landmarks that are usually off-limits.” His drawings, along with journal entries, appear in his book Homage: Encounters with the East (Glitterati Incorporated).

C

Gina Alhadeff While always like Chinese food,” the Egyptian-born writer was spending four days admits Lin-Liu, who cruising from Aswan to reflects on eating in Luxor in a small ship Taiwan this month (“Up the Nile,” page 124), (“Taipei on the Menu,” she had plenty of time to page 77). “In fact, contemplate the identity growing up in southern of her native land: “The California, I remember country has changed a disliking L.A.’s great deal since I was a Chinatown. The drive child, yet the sensibility of was long, the restaurants the people has stayed the noisy and we always had same. Egyptians are still to go to a smelly Chinese supermarket afterwards.” fundamentally quizzical and serene.” Alhadeff also Lin-Liu has overcome all of this and then some: she writes for Vogue and Architectural Digest. now lives in Beijing.

Jen Lin-Liu “I didn’t

A B O V E , F R O M T O P : I L L U S T R A T E D B Y C H R I S T I A N P E L T E N B U R G - B R E C H N E F F ; C O U R T E S Y O F C H R I S T I A N P E L T E N B U R G - B R E C H N E F F. B E L O W, F R O M FA R L E F T : C O U R T E S Y O F R O B Y N E C K H A R D T ; L U C Y C AV E N D E R ; B R I G I T T E L A C O M B E

Robyn Eckhardt

Eckhardt initially fell in love with Asian food in Sichuan province. It’s an affection that emerges in several stories this month, particularly in Penang (“Eat the Breeze,” page 100) and at a learning farm outside Jakarta (“Planting Seeds,” page 76). “Penang boasts the country’s best eats.

Combined with its lively street culture and friendly locals, the assignment was pure a purely hedonistic pleasure,” she says.

Christian PeltenburgBrechneff.

Above: An illustration of Sikkim.

(Letters)03.09 LETTER OF THE MONTH Fresh Eyes on India

The upbeat tone of your India story [“The New Delhi,” January 2009] was refreshing. In parts a great city and in others a mess, I’m the first to admit that I have a soft spot for the Indian capital, much like your writer who says he first went there for three days and ended up staying three weeks. Every time I go to Delhi, I end up seeing something I never could have imagined along the lines of the “jungle,” or central ridge in the middle of this city of 17 million people that is mentioned in the story. As always, it’s chance encounters with residents that stay in the mind. It always amazes me when people put down a destination they’ve never been to. I hope more visit the Indian capital and now, for obvious reasons, its cross-country rival Mumbai also.

—TED

WAC I K , JA K A RTA

A Model Cover Your December cover definitely caught my attention amid a rack of magazines—normally including your own—that seems to be little more than a collection of cover models that have little to do with the real world or with the contents of that issue. So kudos on your anniversary cover full of teasers of what’s inside, which I noticed was also your biggest issue yet. Just give us a bit more cover variety in the coming months.— A A RO N KO , H O N G KO N G China Explained I recently discovered Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, and it’s now my favorite magazine. I am really impressed at how your team is able to capture the intricacies and diversity of Asia. I personally loved “China Made Easy” in the January 2009 issue because I have always wanted to visit this intimidating country; the tips in the piece will definitely help me plan for a memorable and meaningful vacation.

With T+L as my guide, should I ever get lost, I would know how to find my way home.— C H E RY L G A RC I A , M A N I L A Pattaya Re-imagined Surely that’s not actually Pattaya in your latest issue [“A New Look for Pattaya,” January 2009]? The new Dusit or D2 getaway looks nothing like most other resorts in any of my

✉

previous impressions of Pattaya. What gives?— S T U B E N T L E Y , BA N G KO K Pattaya is a complex destination, certainly, but one that’s evolving fast. Keep your eyes on T+L SEA for more!

EDITOR’S REPLY

Etiquette Essays I enjoy reading T+L Southeast Asia each month, particularly the nitty gritty of travel around this part of the world.

That’s why I would like to suggest that you cover in detail how travelers should visit religious sites. There seems to be a general lack of knowledge on this topic.— C E C I L G A M A R R A , M A L AY S I A Flying Perks Frequent-flier updates are always timely, so your story on the subject [“Frequent-flier Secrets,” January 2009] was a good read. Instead of dwelling on the negatives to do with travel, I find that being an elite member in one or two programs is the best solution for easing headaches. For my troubles, I get to skip long airport lines at check-in, have lounge access and even, occasionally, am upgraded. One thing your story didn’t mention was the effect frequent-flier programs have on how you travel. I now book trips more carefully, flying at times when I know the business-class section might not be full and I’m more likely to get an upgrade.— R I TA A N G E L E S , M A N I L A

E-MAIL T+L SEND YOUR LETTERS TO EDITOR @ TRAVELANDLEISURESEA.COM AND LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON RECENT STORIES OR NEW PLACES TO VISIT. LETTERS CHOSEN MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY AND SPACE. THE LETTER OF THE MONTH RECEIVES A FREE ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO TRAVEL + LEISURE ( SOUTHEAST ASIA ONLY).

READER OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN LETTERS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF TRAVEL + LEISURE SOUTHEAST ASIA, MEDIA TRANSASIA LTD., OR AMERICAN EXPRESS PUBLISHING.

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(Best Deals) 03.09

The lobby at the Banyan Tree Ringha.

Celebrate the arrival of spring and take a quick break. Here, seven fabulous getaways in Asia ■ CHINA Shangri-la Winter Explorer package at the Banyan Tree Ringha (86-888/533-1111; banyantree.com) in Yunnan. What’s Included Daily breakfast; a village tour or ski program for two; and RMB300 in spa credit. Cost From RMB1,480, through March 31, two-night minimum stay. Savings Up to 70 percent.

Spa package at the dusitD2 chiang mai (662/636-3333; dusit.com). What’s Included Three-night stay in a deluxe room; two Swedish massages; daily breakfast; welcome drink and gift; round-trip airport transfer; and late check-out at 3:00 P.M. Cost Bt11,470, through July 31, booking code “3 Nights Spa Package.” Savings Up to 42 percent.

Chi Spa Experience package at the ShangriLa Hotel Chengdu (86-28/8888-9999; shangrila.com). What’s Included One-night stay in an executive river view room; daily breakfast; one Himalayan Healing Stone Massage; and free Internet. Cost RMB1,888, through March 31.

Savings 30 percent.

Good Morning Bangkok package at The Metropolitan (66-2/625-3333; metropolitan. como.bz). What’s Included Daily breakfast; daily fruit plate; 15 minutes free Internet access in the business center; and complimentary yoga/stretch class. Cost From US$145 a night, through December 31.

Savings Up to 40 percent.

■ THAILAND Weekday special rate at the dusitD2 baraquda pattaya (66-2/636-3333; dusit.com).

What’s Included Accommodation in a club deluxe room; breakfast with free-flowing wine; use of the club lounge; complimentary local calls and Internet; 20 percent discount on laundry and at the spa; and a 30-minute foot massage. Cost Bt7,000 per night, through October 31. Savings 23 percent.

20

■ VIETNAM Relaxation Spa Package at the Caravelle Hotel (84-8/3823-04999; caravellehotel.com) in Ho Chi Minh City. What’s Included Two nights in a deluxe room; daily breakfast; a 60minute body massage; and a 30-minute manicure/pedicure, facial or shave.

Cost US$498, through March 31. Savings 20 percent. ✚

M A RC H 2 0 0 9| T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M

INDONESIA Special promotion at The Ubud Village Resort & Spa (62-361/978-444; theubudvillage.com).

What’s Included Daily breakfast; daily afternoon tea; welcome fruit basket and chocolates; complimentary Internet; free village tour; and late check-out (based on availability). Cost From US$180, through March 31. Savings Up to 49 percent.

A pool villa at The Ubud Village Resort & Spa, in Bali.

F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F B A N YA N T R E E R I N G H A ; C O U R T E S Y O F T H E U B U D V I L L A G E R E S O R T & S P A

DEAL OF THE MONTH

I’M PLANNING A DIVING TRIP TO THE PHILIPPINES. DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR REMOTE DIVE SITES? —SHAMEEN VUDDIN, KUALA LUMPUR

A:

As is so often the case, the further off the beaten track, the better. With the idea of remote sites in mind, both Samal Island off southern Mindanao and the trio of reef systems due east of Palawan, are excellent choices. Samal is an easy day trip from Davao and offers two Japanese wrecks from World War II to explore. Tubbataha, Jessie Beazley and Basterra are more natural and, in actual fact, offer some the best reef diving in the world. Mantas and whale sharks are also abundant along this series of reefs. November to May is the best season, with this month being the peak time for dive trips to the underwater life–rich archipelago.

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03.09 Given the economic climate, where will the travel deals be this year?

—CYNTHIA MAK, SINGAPORE

This might very well be the year to ask for a discount even when you don’t expect one. All predictions are that short-haul trips will be the norm this year, so search for deals close to home.

It’s easy to see that Thailand is offering a plethora of deals across the country.

Other countries you may have not thought of visiting are worth a look too.

Put the Philippines in that category.

Tourism stalwarts like Malaysia and the more popular islands in Indonesia might test your bartering skills more but are still worth a visit. More remote parts of Indonesia are still pricey, particularly when it comes to airfares. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos remain popular.

That said, each is offering discounts aplenty if you’re willing to shop around.

What should I do if I have my passport, wallet or mobile phone stolen while traveling?

—STEFANIE OCAMPO, MANILA

A big headache no matter how you slice it, but the first thing you need to do is cancel your credit cards and your mobile phone card. Next, contact the local police to report the theft and get written documentation for insurance purposes.

Thirdly, contact your country’s nearest embassy or consulate to report your missing passport. And keep duplicates of your passport, credit card and mobile phone details—one set to leave at home and one to bring along with you on your trip. Before you go, note down the contacts for your embassy and credit card company (not necessarily the issuing bank), and mobile phone details.

It’s also worth checking out how easily your bank can provide a cash advance.

E-MAIL T+L SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO EDITOR @ TRAVELANDLEISURESEA.COM. QUESTIONS CHOSEN FOR PUBLICATION MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY AND SPACE .

I L L U S T R AT E D BY WA S I N E E C H A N TA KO R N

Q:

(Ask T+L)

(Strategies) 03.09

Low-cost Long-haul More of Asia’s budget carriers now offer long-distance routes to Europe and Australia, as well as regional flights. LUC CITRINOT looks into the latest trend in flying FERNANDES, THE FOUNDER and CEO of AirAsia, is not a man of understatement. Late last year, when the company announced the launch of flights between Kuala Lumpur and London by AirAsia X, the group’s long-haul subsidiary, he proclaimed, “I have a dream.” He then spoke about his desire to emulate the late Sir Freddie Laker, a British aviation pioneer who introduced cheap air travel between the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1970’s. “I always dreamed to be able to offer affordable flights to London, being fascinated

by Freddie Laker,” he said. “What we faced in the past— such as SARS, opposition from monopoly airlines or fuel price hikes—were worth the pain as we finally succeeded in making this dream come true: flying to Europe, and especially to London,” he added.

For all the bally-hoo, AirAsia X’s flights to London’s

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Stansted Airport—which start this month—do mark an important development for the region’s budget carriers. It also underscores how low-cost airlines have reshaped flying in Asia. Today, more than a dozen discount airlines operate around the region—compared with three carriers in 2002— with more legacy airlines, such as Korean Air, planning to get in on the game.

Until now, though, few of the no-frills carriers exhibited any enthusiasm for tackling routes to other continents.

Longer flights eat into quick turnaround times, a crucial part to low-cost carriers’ financial success. With long-haul flights—those that last more than six hours—there has been even less enthusiasm from budget carriers. Regulations on night flights and rest periods for crew members also lengthen turnaround times. In addition, passengers on long flights generally want free meals and more legroom. » T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A

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strategies | airlines

HOW TO FLY BETTER WITH LOW-COST AIRLINES 1 Shop around. With certain Southeast Asia destinations, passengers enjoy more choice than ever. Sign up for newsletters to get the latest word on specials.

2 Book early. The earlier you the book, the lower the fare.

With special promotions, check to see when they start and log in just after midnight to secure the fare.

3 Delays are still a big problem with budget carriers. If you need to book a connecting flight, give yourself at least three hours between arrival and departure.

4 Check the fees. Fuel surcharges, luggage fees, priority boarding and other hidden costs might make that ticket more expensive than you planned for.

5 Log on to save time. Most low-cost airlines provide a number of services on their websites, including check-in and ordering meals.—L.C.

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In December 2005, Tiger Airways was the first budget carrier to offer flights to Australia, with its Singapore to Darwin route—a flight that clocks a less-thanonerous four hours (it later scrapped that route in favor of Singapore–Perth). Since then, Jetstar, the low-fare subsidiary of Australia’s national carrier Qantas, has taken the lead in offering flights between Australia and Southeast Asia.

With AirAsia blazing the trail, more budget carriers are looking into flying longhaul. Fernandes is convinced that AirAsia’s formula for success can be transferred to the long-haul model. He’s repeatedly argued that, with more passengers than traditional airlines, AirAsia X would be able to keep costs down. AirAsia X has big ambitions in Europe as well as the Middle East, planning several routes to Germany, Dubai and Bahrain by 2010. Cebu Pacific is hoping to fly to the Middle East and the United States.

The specter of Oasis Hong Kong, a lowcost, long-haul airline that went bankrupt after only a year of operation, doesn’t haunt Fernandes. “They had a weak technical structure and no name outside Hong Kong.

To succeed in the long-haul business, you need a worldwide known brand and a supporting network of connections,” he said at a press conference in London last December. That and a little luck. Here’s a quick look at the Southeast Asian budget carriers that offer long-distance routes.

AIRASIA X (airasia.com) • Routes Kuala Lumpur–Hangzhou (five times a week); Kuala Lumpur–Gold Coast (four times a week); Kuala Lumpur– Melbourne (daily); Kuala Lumpur–Perth (daily); Kuala Lumpur–London (five times a week).

• Aircraft Airbus A330 and A340 (on its London route).

• Extras Need extra legroom? Consider the Premium XL seats, which are similar to business-class seats with a seat pitch (legroom) of 38 inches; they cost from 35 to 50 percent more. Passengers can reserve their seats when they book (for a fee of RM25) or pay RM25 for express boarding.

• Costs and fees Booking service fee RM10;

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check-in luggage from RM20; excess luggage from RM20; food and beverage from RM3; and a “comfort kit” (earplugs, eyes mask, pillow and blanket) from RM25.

JETSTAR AIRWAYS (jetstar.com) • Routes Bali–Darwin (daily); Bali– Melbourne (twice a week); Bali–Perth (three times a week); Bali–Sydney (four times a week); Bangkok–Melbourne (three times a week); Phuket–Sydney (three times a week); Singapore–Darwin (daily); Singapore–Perth (daily); Saigon–Darwin (five times a week); Jakarta–Perth (three times a week).

• Aircraft A330 with 303 seats or A320 with 177 seats (all one class).

• Extras On its Airbus A330’s, Jetstar has 38 seats in its StarClass cabin. The seats boast a 38-inch pitch, and a ticket includes beverages, meals, video-on-demand, an amenity kit, access to Qantas Club lounge in Australia, priority seating and a 30-kilogram baggage allowance. All passengers can pick their seats for no extra cost when they book their ticket.

• Costs and fees For economy class passengers, video-on demand, headsets and blankets must be purchased; snacks and drinks also have to paid for, with prices starting at A$3.

TIGER AIRWAYS (tigerairways.com) • Routes Singapore–Perth (daily).

• Aircraft Airbus A320 with 180 seats.

• Extras Passengers booking from Thailand, Malaysia or Vietnam can book through-fares to Perth, instead of booking separate tickets.

• Costs and fees A S$5 booking fee; checked-in luggage is priced from S$15; and seat reservations are available for S$25. Food and drinks start at S$3.

VIVA MACAU (flyvivamacau.com) • Routes Macau–Sydney (four times weekly).

• Aircraft Boeing 767-200ER or 767-300, with 245 seats in a two-class configuration.

• Extras Premium class features 24 seats with extra leg room; premium-class passengers also get meals, drinks and a 30kilogram baggage allowance.

• Costs and fees Excess baggage charged A$20 per kilogram. ✚

The Club. Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa’s promise of a new luxury that is inspiring, modern and appealing.

Find out what else we know at sunwayhotels.com

Classic fare.

Bangkok’s vanishing culinary legacy <(page 48)

Quick bites.

Where to get the tastiest sandwiches in Saigon <(page 50)

Tell no one.

The best private kitchens in Hong Kong (page 36) >

+

• Stir-fry with the masters • Phnom Penh’s chicest shopping street • Old-time eats in Kuala Lumpur

(Insider) Photo credit by tktktk

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T : M A L ú A LVA R E Z ; W A S I N E E C H A N T A K O R N ; N A N A C H E N ; C O U R T E S Y O F C O U L E U R S D ’A S I E ; C O U R T E S Y O F M A G N O L I A

Retro revival.

Vintage style is all the rage in London <(page 46)

Where to GoWhat to EatWhere to StayWhat to Buy

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insider

| newsflash

Khmer Cool

AFTER DARK

Siem Reap is burnishing its reputation as one Southeast Asia’s hippest small towns with the opening of Nest Angkor (Sivatha Blvd.; 855-63/966-381; nestangkor.com).

Co-owner Joseph Polito, the man behind style icons like Hotel de la Paix and Nest Bangkok, designed the café–restaurant to feel like the patio of a chic private home, with intimate, candlelit daybeds tucked away in a lush tropical garden. Under a canvas-tented roof, guests can choose from an expansive cocktail menu that claims to be one of the region’s best, while sampling dishes that blend Mediterranean and Asian flavors and listening to DJ-spun ambient tunes.—N AO M I L I N D T

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T+L picks some of the region’s most notable openings. By JENNIFER CHEN

BAMBOO CHIC BANGKOK Located on the 4th floor of Le Méridien Bangkok, this jazzy, lounge-style restaurant is a standout among the city’s many pan-Asian eateries.

Chef Kunihiko Hamada serves up Japanese and Chinese food with a modern twist; must-try dishes include the blanched oysters marinated in ponzu sauce; black cod roasted with Chinese five-spice, wrapped in grilled spring onions; and the rock lobster–mango–avocado roll. Diners can order half-portions — the perfect solution for trying a variety of dishes. 4th floor, Le Méridien Bangkok, 40/5 Surawong Rd.; 662/232-8888; dinner for two Bt2,000.

CÉPAGE HONG KONG The first foray outside of Singapore by Les Amis, this swish eatery is helmed by Thomas Mayr, the former head chef of the group’s flagship restaurant. The menu reflects Mayr’s longheld fascination with all things Japanese; ingredients such as Kagoshima beef, kobu and Japanese organic eggs make appearances. Well-executed dishes such as char-grilled prime rib and braised beef cheeks show off his French-trained finesse.

Skip the sweets and head straight for the plate of French farm cheeses. 23 Wing Fung St., Wanchai; 852/2861-3130; dinner for two HK$1,200.

BLT STEAK HONG KONG New York— based chef Laurent Tourondel brings his winning take on the American steakhouse to Asia at this cozy, brick-lined bistro. In a city already awash in red meat, Tourondel deploys Gallic flair on top-quality, well-aged U.S. and Australian beef. The menu does offer fowl and fish, including some Cantonese-inflected dishes. Take it from us: stick to the meat and all-American sides such as creamed spinach and mashed potatoes laced with jalapeños, and save room for the lemon meringue pie. Shop G62, ground floor, Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui; 852/2730-3508; dinner for two HK$1,400.

RED SKY BANGKOK This urbane wine bar is perched on the 55th floor of the Centara Grand at CentralWorld. The wood-clad patio is the place to be, with a jaw-dropping, nearly 180-degree panorama of downtown Bangkok (and glass barriers to shield diners from strong winds). Service is prompt and gracious. We recommend the beef carpaccio to start, followed by the Bresse pigeon — which was meltingly tender — and the bread and butter pudding with whisky ice cream for dessert. But bear in mind that you’re definitely paying for the spectacular views here. 55th floor, Centara Grand at CentralWorld; 66-2/100-1234; dinner for two Bt5,400.

PRIVÉ SINGAPORE This streamlined 88seat spot actually opened in 2007, but it’s got a new menu courtesy of recently appointed executive chef, Wayne Nish of New York’s late, great March. Nish might have been an early proponent of fusion, but his latest outing is a return to European restraint: roasted quail with foie gras and spinach; rack of lamb with walnuts and white coco beans.

There’s also an impressive cheese selection, including the prized époisses. Book well in advance: with this much star power, reservations are hard to come by. 2 Keppel Bay Vista, Marina at Keppel Bay; 65/6776-0777; dinner for two S$136.

BO.LAN BANGKOK Thai cuisine in a fancy setting usually means listless dishes watered down to suit Western palates. Not so at this stylish, intimate new eatery opened by a young Australian—Thai couple who met while working at David Thompson’s Nahm in London. On the menu are items seldom seen in most sit-down Thai restaurants in Bangkok: a surprisingly nutty coconut soup with dried fish; a curry made with grilled beef and a local bitter green; a salad with smoked rainbow trout. Eating here will change your perceptions of Thai food. 42 Soi Pichai Ronnarong, Sukhumvit Soi 26; 66-2/260-2962; dinner for two Bt2,000.

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C LO C KW I S E F RO M TO P R I G H T: CO U RT E SY O F N E ST A N G KO R ; CO U RT E SY O F C É PAG E ; CO U RT E SY O F R E D S KY; C O U R T E S Y O F B O . L A N ; C O U R T E S Y O F P R I V É ; C O U R T E S Y O F B LT S T E A K ; C O U R T E S Y O F B A M B O O C H I C

E AT

FIVE QUESTIONS

Chan Yan Tak CHAN YAN TAK, the executive chef at the Four Seasons Hong Kong’s Lung Keen Hing, is the world’s first and only Chinese chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. He shares his hometown favorites with T+L. ● EAT “I prefer to eat at home—I cook myself, so the food is better than in most restaurants. I always make something simple: Chinese soup, steamed fish or pork, maybe sautéed beef with vegetables. When I go out I like to go to a dai pai dong, where I can eat noodles and have a drink with friends. Mui Kee on Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui and Tung Po Dai Pai Dong on Java Road, North Point are good places to have supper after work.” ● SEE “Before I go home, I stop by the wet market near my flat. Sometimes guests ask to visit one near the hotel. I show them how to look for freshness, quality and color, and how the produce changes from season to season. You can see everything there—it’s very different from a supermarket.” Central Market, Graham and Peel streets, Central. ● DO “To relax, I watch movies at home or at the cinema—my favorite film is The Godfather.

I listen to music too. Sometimes my colleagues ask me to go to karaoke. I always sing the oldies, like ‘Unchained Melody,’ ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’ Those are the best songs, and they’re good for learning English!”

California Red Green Box Karaoke, 2nd floor, Elizabeth House, Percival St., Causeway Bay; 852/2893-3103.—L A R A DAY

L AW R E N C E Y U ; CO U RT ESY O F FO U R S E AS O N S H O N G KO N G ( 2 )

CHEF

BOOKS

Writing Asia HONG KONG SETS ASIDE ITS love of mammon momentarily for loftier pursuits this month with the 9th Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival rolling into town (festival.org.hk; March 8–18). Bookworms will be able to mingle with the likes of Margaret Atwood and Nam Le, the author of the critically acclaimed collection of short stories, The Boat. T+L Southeast Asia caught up with Le recently to get his take on travel and writing: ● What’s the relationship between writing and traveling for you? “I guess it’s not a stretch to say that

the reasons why I travel and why I write/read are similar: to see other things, other places, situations and people, through other eyes. If the ultimate good in fiction lies, as I believe, in its ability to transport readers, I hope the hopscotch itinerary of the stories in my book constitutes part—though not the only part—of the journey.”

neither a very strong nor a very obvious correspondence between my travel experiences and my fiction’s material. I tend to quarantine the two from each other. That said, traveling does continually recalibrate my awareness of the world—and my relationship to it—in a way that feeds directly into my fiction: it deconditions me—my expectations and assumptions of people and places—and keeps me in that crucial, charged discomfort zone. It forces me to really bear down on things.” ● You were born in Vietnam, raised in Australia and then went to school in the U.S. — did your background prepare you for a peripatetic life? “To be honest, I’m

not sure. I do have an element of wanderlust in my temperament, but who knows where that comes from?

Someone else with a similar background might easily cite it as grounds to stay put in one place for good!” ● What’s your relationship to Vietnam? “My relationship with Vietnam is complex. I was born there.

I’ve been back three times. Vietnamese is my first language. I feel a deep connection with my family heritage and, yes, I’d like to explore it further. Maybe Australia is home and maybe Vietnam is my homeland.

But I’m still coming to terms, both on and off the page, with what that might mean.”— J . C .

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C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P R I G H T : C O U R T E S Y O F M A N H O N G K O N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L L I T E R A R Y F E S T I VA L

● When you travel, are you consciously taking notes for future stories? “It seems counter-intuitive but there’s

newsflash |

Chocolate City

insider

SWEETS

Two new shops in Hong Kong devoted to all things cacao. By C A R M E N

TING

■ VERO Homegrown artisan chocolatier VERO has finally opened its muchanticipated boutique–chocolate lounge–wine bar. Hidden in Fenwick Pier on the Wanchai waterfront, the 334-square-meter minimalist space is easy to miss, but worth the detour. Chocoholics can watch their treats being made in the spacious show kitchen, and then browse the humidity-controlled glass showroom that houses VERO’s creations, all made from premium chocolate from Venezuela.

Looking for instant gratification? Order the satisfyingly thick hot chocolate.

Serious addicts can sign up for chocolate-making classes. 1st floor, Fenwick Pier, 1 Lung King St., Wanchai; 852/2559-5882; verochocolates.com.

■ DEBAUVE & GALLAIS Chocolate connoisseurs rejoice. One of the oldest and finest chocolatiers in France, this prestigious bonbon maker has set up a Hong Kong outpost. Founded by Louis XVI’s pharmacist, Debauve & Gallais has supplied European monarchs with bittersweet treats for more than 200 years.

The shop stocks 60 different types of handmade chocolates, from dark chocolate truffles to petit, gem-like macaroons. Shop 309–310, Lee Gardens, 33 Hysan Ave., Causeway Bay; 852/2580-8767; debauveandgallais.com.

A chocolate warrior at VERO.

French chocolatier Debauve & Gallais.

T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F V E R O ( 2 ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F D E B A U V E & G A L L A I S . B O T T O M F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F M A R T H A S H E R P A’ S C O O K I N G S C H O O L ; C O U R T E SY O F T H A I C O O K E R Y S C H O O L ; E WA N B E L L ; C O U R T E SY O F R E D B R I D E R E S TA U R A N T & C O O K I N G S C H O O L ; J O -A N N E M C A R T H U R

A COOK’S TOUR BACK TO SCHOOL

Don an apron, grab a wok and learn from the masters. Here, a taste of the region’s best cooking schools, where students are taught authentic Asian favorites.—J.C. WHAT YOU LEARN

COST

WHERE

MARTHA SHERPA’S COOKING SCHOOL HONG KONG In a no-frills kitchen located in Mongkok, respected cookery teacher Martha Sherpa provides hands-on instruction in Chinese and Thai cookery, including lessons on dim sum, vegetarian food, Chinese barbecue and wok skills. This is not a school for spectators: students are expected to chop, cook and clean from start to finish. But the pay-off is huge; Sherpa is a one-on-one kind of instructor, and tailors classes to meet her students’ needs.

From HK$900 per person

Flat B, 1st floor, Lee Kwan Building, 40-46 Argyle Street, Mongkok; 852/2381-0132; cookery.com.hk

THAI COOKERY SCHOOL CHIANG MAI Local chef Sompon Nabnian practically started culinary tourism in Thailand when he founded his school in 1993. Nearly 16 years on, the Thai Cookery School still ranks among the best — Sompon is a mine of information, and he and his instructors speak excellent English. On offer are basic courses and master classes aimed at professionals and accomplished home cooks. Opt for the classes taught in the large sala next to Sompon’s suburban home.

From Bt990 per person

47/2 Moon Muang Rd.; 66-53/206388 or 66-53/ 206-315; thaicookeryschool. com

YANGSHUO COOKING SCHOOL YANGSHUO Run by an Australian expat, this school in a converted farmhouse boasts an idyllic location by the Li River. One- and two-day courses on the fundamentals of Chinese cooking are offered, and dishes include some of the region’s specialties. More advanced cooks can arrange private classes.

From RMB120 per person

Chaolong, Yangshuo, Guangxi; 86/137-8843-7286; yangshuocooking school.com

RED BRIDGE RESTAURANT & COOKING SCHOOL HOI AN Classes include visits to local markets and farms, and a scenic boat cruise down the Hoi An River. In a riverside open-air pavilion, students learn to make classic Vietnamese dishes such as beef pho and grilled chicken and banana flower salad; morning classes include a lesson on rice paper– making. Bring your bathing suit — there’s a lovely, 20-meter pool that’s part of the school and adjoining restaurant’s 1-hectare complex.

From US$23 per person

Book at Hai Scout Café; 98 Nguyen Thai Hoc St.; 84510/933-222; visithoian.com

TAMARIND CAFÉ LUANG PRABANG Laotian dishes might rely on lemongrass, galangal, nam pla, tamarind and other familiar Southeast Asian ingredients, but their flavors are utterly distinct from the better-known cuisine of neighboring Thailand. Find out more at this laid-back café-cum-school by the Nam Khan River. Authenticity is prized here — so be prepared for encounters with indigenous ingredients such as bamboo grubs and water buffalo bile.

US$25 per person

Ban Wat Nong; 856-20/777-0484; tamarindlaos.com

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Hong Kong’s Culinary Secrets. Five outstanding HONG KONG

private kitchens where you can tuck into some of the territory’s tastiest, home-cooked meals. By LAURA MILLER

N A CITY WHERE BRASH, boastful display is the norm, some of Hong Kong’s best eating experiences aren’t advertised or even signposted. Private kitchens are Hong Kong’s version of speakeasies; but instead of booze, their raison d’être is food. Originally started in the late 1990’s as a way to get around Hong Kong’s restrictive health regulations and high rents, these unlicensed venues have earned a following among the city’s chowhounds, dishing up everything from Shanghainese to Creole to haute cuisine. Book several days in advance, bring a bottle, and go with an open mind: the bill of fare usually depends on the chef ’s whims and market offerings. Here, our top five private kitchens.

I

LE BLANC • The Place This eatery’s simple name belies its eccentric clutter and bohemian ambience. Velvet drapes

hanging from the ceiling separate the tables and create an air of intimacy.

The décor is that of a batty maiden aunt’s apartment; an out-of-tune piano shares space with gnomes and other bric-a-brac. The old-fashioned furnishings set the perfect stage for Le Blanc’s fine French fare. After whetting your palate with bread and pâté, the five- to seven-course meal proceeds in classic French bourgeoisie order: entrée, poisson (fish), potage (soup), sorbet, plat principal (the main with side dishes), and finally dessert and cheese. The best surprise comes at the end with the bill: the minimum charge here is HK$290 per person.

• The Food Delectable French, from pan-seared foie gras to decadent platters of cheeses imported from France, with escargot de Bourgogne and confit de canard in between.

Sixth floor, 83 Wanchai Rd., Wanchai; 852/3428-5824; no corkage fee; open Monday–Sunday nights.

GITONE • The Place Gallery and pottery studio by day and Shanghainese dining room by night, Gitone is a rising star in offthe-beaten track Sai Wan Ho. Started in a Wanchai apartment 10 years ago, it relocated to an elegant and roomy ground-floor space opposite a leafy playground in April 2008. Gitone is the brainchild of renowned local artist Terence Lee. His chunky yet elegant ceramic cups, bowls and figurines are scattered throughout the gallery, and strikingly simple portraits adorn the stark white walls. But it’s his Shanghaiborn parents who provide the inspiration for the menu. As dusk falls, round tables replace pottery wheels and the two extensive, nine-course menus (one vegetarian) are carefully prepared.

If you’re lucky, Lee’s parents will make an appearance.

• The Food Eight cold appetizers— including pickled cucumbers and drunken chicken—set the scene, but

F RO M L E F T: CO U RT ESY O F M AG N O L I A ; CO U RT ESY O F G I TO N E

Hong Kong’s Secret Spots French touches on Creole cooking at Magnolia; enjoying a meal at Gitone.

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Home Cooking From left: Vivian Herijanto of Corner Kitchen; the pound cake at Magnolia.

F RO M R I G H T: CO U RT ESY O F CO R N E R K I TC H E N ; CO U T ESY O F M AG N O L I A

the seven main courses steal the show.

Among the standouts are the stir-fried crab served with glutinous rice cakes and green beans, sweet-and-sour deep-fried garoupa with pinenuts and the sublime braised pig’s knuckle in sweet soy sauce that juxtaposes crisp skin with meltingly tender meat. Shop 27–28, Ground Floor, Lei King Wan, 45 Tai Hong St., Sai Wan Ho; 852/2527-3448; HK$380 per person; corkage fee HK$50 per bottle; open Monday–Saturday nights.

DA PING HUO • The Place Imagine dining in a gallery where an artist acts as your waiter and his wife plays the role of the chef. Dinner becomes performance art at this industrial-chic Sichuanese restaurant run by Wang Hai and his wife Wong Siu King (who also provides after-dinner entertainment, serenading diners with Chinese opera arias in her apron and Crocs). The couple offers two seatings: one at 6:30 P.M. and the second at 9:15 P.M. With local foodies thronging the tables for Wong’s perfect rendition of Sichuanese dishes, reservations are hard to come by.

• The Food Sichuanese food revolves around the pairing of fiery red chilies and tingly Sichuan pepper to produce mala, a scorching, numbing sensation. Wong dishes up favorites

such as mapo dofu, Chengdu pork dumplings and spicy noodles with soy beans. Ground floor, 49 Hollywood Rd., Central; 852/2559-1317; HK$280 per person; corkage fee HK$150 per bottle; open Monday–Saturday nights.

MAGNOLIA • The Place In a two-story shophouse tucked inside a side street in Sheung Wan, Lori Granito pays tribute to her native New Orleans. A cozy sitting room faces an open kitchen downstairs; this is where the evening starts, over platters generously laden with tasty canapés. After watching Granito’s staff expertly whip up Creole classics, diners are then invited into one of the three private rooms upstairs, where Granito herself gives a description of the night’s menu. Seating is communal; the gregarious chef–owner confesses that she’s fond of “forcing people to make friends”—not a difficult task in these convivial surroundings.

• The Food Authentic New Orleans’ favorites from Granito’s family annals.

Think hearty seafood gumbo (based on her mother’s recipe), jambalaya studded with succulent shrimp, crawfish pie, fork-tender Cajun barbecue ribs and freshly baked cornbread. T+L Tip Save room for the luscious pecan pie. Ground floor, Shop 5,

17 Po Yan St., Sheung Wan; 852/25309880; HK$450 per person, no corkage fee; open Thursday–Saturday nights.

CORNER KITCHEN • The Place An airy kitchen-cumdining room, Corner Kitchen seats just eight. In fact, the only difference between dining here and supping at a friend’s is that owner Vivian Herijanto hands everyone an apron. A meal at Corner Kitchen doubles as a cooking class. Herijanto once worked as a chef at some of New York’s top restaurants including Jean-George Vongerichten’s Spice Market; while she remains passionate about food, she soured on the restaurant industry’s cutthroat nature. She’s also a food stylist with impeccable taste—sitting down at the exquisitely decorated teak table is an aesthetic as well as gustatory pleasure.

• The Food “A kitchen without boundaries” is how Herijanto describes her eatery. The menu traverses the globe, from Bali to New England.

Learn to make ikan betongol (Indonesian tuna salad), coq au vin or Catham Bay cod stew—the choice of recipes is varied, but they’re all delicious.

Ground floor; 20 Po Hing Fong, Sheung Wan; 852/2803-2822; HK$1,000 per person; no corkage fee; open Monday–Friday for lunch and dinner, and Saturday for lunch. ✚

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| neighborhood

Phnom Penh Modern. Filled with funky boutiques and classy eateries, stylish Street 240 and its environs are at the epicenter of the Cambodian capital’s makeover. By SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP SHOP

From bedspreads to place mats, 2 Couleurs D’Asie (No. 33 Street 240; 855-23/221-075) offers a tempting selection of Cambodian silk home furnishings. Look out for the candle holders and small boxes in which rose petals or seeds are set in transparent plastics.

SHOP

Floor-to-ceiling boxes of colorful beads line one wall of 1 Water Lily Creation (No. 37 Street 240; 855/12812-469), the boutique-cum-atelier of long-time Phnom Penh resident Christine Gauthier. Using old beads and buttons found at flea markets, the native of France designs nature-inspired necklaces, brooches, earrings and rings; prices start at around US$50 for a necklace. If you’re hankering for something one-of-a-kind, she can make a customized creation.

uk

tO the Le

Located at the back of the first floor of an old house with beautiful original tile floorings, 3 Spa Bliss (No. 29 Street 240; 855-23/215-754) is one of the best spas in town. After your treatment, browse the downstairs boutique, which stocks dresses and Asian-inspired designs made out of whispery, colorful Indian cottons; home furnishings; and lovely silk purses and bags.

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Drop by for lunch at 6 The Shop (No. 39 Street 240; 855-23/986964; lunch for two US$14), which offers an appetizing selection of soups, salads and panini in a bright and airy ambience. Take a seat in the small courtyard in the back and make sure to pair your meal with one of their inventive blended juices. It also has wonderfully sinful pastries, but you might want to head a few doors down to 7 Chocolate (No. 35 Street 240; 85523/998-638), where handmade truffles are produced on-site.

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Started by German documentary filmmaker and art lover Nicolas Mesterharm, 5 Meta House (No. 6 Street 264; 855-23/224-140) is Phnom Penh’s foremost contemporary art gallery.

Besides regular exhibitions by local artists, screenings of art-house movies are also held in this petite space.

Manager Lydia Parusol is a mine of information about the local art scene.

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EAT

Like other former French colonies, Cambodia is rife with fine Gallic fare. To sample some of Phnom Penh’s best cuisine, head over to 4 The Wine Restaurant (No. 219 Street 19; 855-23/223-527; set lunch US$11; dinner for two US$50), which is famed for its foie gras menu and extensive wine list, courtesy of its Toulouse-born chef and co-owner, who hails from Toulouse. Though quiet at lunchtime, this stylishly spare restaurant is abuzz at night, with diners tucking in some of the house specialties like duck liver pôelé, coq au vin and beef Rossini.

The owners also plan to open the city’s first gourmet delicatessen, offering black sausage and rillettes.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P : C O U R T E S Y O F C O U L E U R S D ’A S I E ; C O U R T E S Y O F S P A B L I S S ; © J A M E S C A M P / I S T O C K P H O T O . C O M ; A R J A Y S T E V E N S / M E T A H O U S E ; C O U R T E S Y O F T H E S H O P ; C O U R T E S Y O F W A T E R L I LY C R E A T I O N

PAMPER

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insider

| cool jobs

Bottoms’ Up Clockwise from above: Scott Kerkmans, Four Points’ chief beer officer; in Beijing; and a pint of lager.

U.S.A

Scott Kerkmans, Chief Beer Officer. It might sound like a OW’S THIS FOR A JOB description: “The successful candidate will have a passion for beer, a basic understanding of brewing and an interest in further educating themselves about this glorious libation.” An April Fool’s Day joke? A fantasy of Homer Simpson’s?

Actually, neither. The line was part of a real-life ad for the newly created post of chief beer officer that Four Points by Sheraton placed in The Wall Street Journal in 2007. Nearly 8,000 people from more than 30 countries applied.

After an interview process that included a beer quiz, a written application, a video and finally, a vote by the public, Four Points announced that Scott Kerkmans, a self-taught brewer, had won the coveted title.

Craft beer—the term used for distinctive, flavorful brews made with traditional methods as opposed to, say,

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Budweiser—entered into Kerkmans’ life when his brother presented him with a home-brewing kit for his 21st birthday. Within a few months, Kerkmans was making beers far superior to the swill that’s available at supermarkets. But the drink that changed his life was Fat Tire Amber Ale, a Belgian-style brew made by a cult Colorado brewery. “[It] led me to believe that I really did want to work in this industry and that I do always want good beer at my fingertips,” he enthuses. Kerkmans proceeded to work as a brewer, beer writer and a sales rep for a beer distributor. In his spare time, he also became certified as a beer judge. A friend then alerted him to the Wall Street Journal ad. “Once I heard about the job, I quickly abandoned the thought of all other jobs in the industry,” says the Arizona native.

“This is the dream job.”

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Besides drinking beer, Kerkmans’ current title entails running Four Points’ Best Brews program out of Denver, which offers 16 fine beverages—usually four on tap and a dozen bottled beers—at the chain’s 130-odd properties worldwide. That means schooling bartenders on beer, helping to select featured beers, working with chefs in developing beer– food pairings and beer-infused recipes, and hosting happy hours for aficionados and amateurs alike. He’s also constantly combing the world for good brews. But above all, Kerkmans’ duty is to proselytize about beer— especially in places where it’s regarded as either déclassé or something to be drunk ice-cold and quickly. “What’s more comforting after a hard day of work than a nice beer?” he asks. Four Points by Sheraton has locations in China and in Kuching, Malaysia. ✚

C LO C KW I S E F RO M TO P L E F T: CO U RT ESY O F S COT T K E R K M A N S ( 2 ) ; © B J O R N H E L L E R / I STO C K P H OTO.CO M

joke, but this American is serious about his suds. By JENNIFER CHEN

insider | chefs

Kitchen Talent Clockwise from left: Sebastian Ng, Ember’s chef; a table laid out for dinner at Ember; the banana tart at Ember.

Singapore’s Culinary All-stars.

Four young chefs are taking the city’s dining scene by storm. By EVELYN CHEN JUSMAN SO SAGE Anointed Rising Chef of the Year at a gourmet food festival in Singapore last year, 31-year-old Jusman So started his career at the Hilton Singapore.

Impatient to helm his own kitchen, he opened Sage in 2005 and since then, has earned accolades for his renditions of hearty yet refined French fare.

Don’t come here expecting an Eastmeets-West approach: “I do not eat fusion food, so I will not cook fusion,” So says bluntly.

PERFECT MEAL Pan-seared duck foie gras on pear and walnut chutney, Muscat poached fig with spiced port wine glaze; charcoal-grilled Kurobuta 42

pork loin with red cherry chutney on slow cooked terrine of pork cheek topped with yellow corn polenta and lavender-scented honey glaze; and warm chocolate soufflé with Amaretto ice cream and vanilla bean custard.

7 Mohamed Sultan Rd.; 65/6333-8726; dinner for two S$230.

SEBASTIAN NG EMBER Six years ago, Sebastian Ng was made an offer that he could not refuse: his own restaurant in cheap chic Hotel 1929 on the outer edges of Chinatown.

Both the hotel and restaurant went on to spur a revival in the historic shophouse–lined area—once a seedy

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red-light district. Over the years, Ng has expanded his gastronomic empire to include Ember Bangkok and the recently opened Braise on Sentosa Island. The talented Ng, 34, however, keeps his feet firmly rooted in Ember’s kitchen, where he continues to wow diners with his subtle, Japaneseinflected cuisine. His crispy tofu with foie gras–mirin reduction and cold angel hair pasta with konbu (kelp) and abalone are alone worth a trip. “I like the pure, clean flavors of Japanese ingredients,” Ng says.

PERFECT MEAL Cold angel hair pasta with konbu and abalone; pan-seared Chilean sea bass with mushroom and smoked bacon ragout, truffle-yuzu butter sauce; and warm banana tart with homemade lavender ice cream.

Hotel 1929; 50 Keong Saik Rd.; 65/63471928; dinner for two S$200.

CO U RT ESY O F E M B E R ( 3 )

SINGAPORE

C LO C KW I S E F RO M TO P L E F T: CO U RT ESY O F SAG E ( 3 ) ; CO U RT ESY O F W I L D RO C K E T ( 2 ) ; CO U RT ESY O F F I F T Y T H R E E

Hometown Heroes Clockwise from left: Willin Low of Wild Rocket; Wild Rocket’s signature laksa pesto pasta; Michael Han from FiftyThree; scallops at Sage; chef Jusman So at Sage; Sage’s dining room.

WILLIN LOW WILD ROCKET Three years ago, 37-year-old Low gave up a lucrative career in law to start a restaurant at a charming hostel perched atop serene Mount Emily Hill. To match the offbeat locale, Low began pairing local condiments such as laksa paste, chai po (dried salted turnip) and dried shrimp with European staples such as pesto and pasta. The result? An utterly unique yet distinctly Singaporean cuisine. “I want my guests to experience the flavours at Wild Rocket—nostalgic and comforting, yet different,” says Low. Though he’s now got three restaurants under his belt and more plans brewing, Low can still be found in Wild Rocket’s kitchen, concocting new dishes or tweaking old ones.

“These days, I like to use kaffir lime leaf in place of lemon,” says Low of his

popular laksa pesto pasta. “Add this to a seafood dish and it will sing.”

PERFECT MEAL Seared tuna rocket salad with light ginger dressing; laksa pesto linguine with tiger prawns and quail eggs; roast Chilean sea bass with chai poh confit on light congee; and dark lava chocolate gateau with flambé bananas. Hangout @ Mount Emily; 10A Upper Wilkie Rd.; 65/63399448; dinner for two S$150.

MICHAEL HAN FIFTYTHREE A heady meal at Heston Blumenthal’s legendary Fat Duck in 1999 convinced Michael Han, then studying law at Bristol University, that his true calling was in the kitchen. Though he completed his degree (and even earned a master’s in law), Han apprenticed himself at some of Europe’s most innovative restaurants, including

Mugaritz just outside San Sebastián, Noma in Copenhagen and his original source of inspiration, The Fat Duck.

At his first solo venture, which opened in January, the 31-year-old Han brings a green conscience to his daring food.

“Whenever possible, I want to reduce our carbon footprint,” says Han. Initiatives like sourcing oysters from a Singapore farm, installing an energyefficient induction system in the kitchen and using olive pits in place of charcoal as a source of sustainable fuel underscore his point. Han also plans to convert a plot of land adjoining the restaurant into a vegetable garden.

PERFECT MEAL Potatoes and nasturtiums, coffee and Parmesan; Iberian pig, cauliflower and malt; textures of pear, coriander and yoghurt. 53 Armenian St.; 65/63345535; dinner for two S$350.

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insider | street

eats

Imbi Market. Inside Kuala Lumpur’s heart stands this testament to its hawker traditions. By ROBYN ECKHARDT

No-Frills Eating Clockwise from left: A family tucks into breakfast at Imbi Market in Kuala Lumpur; preparing the dough for fried crullers; a cheap and cheerful meal.

MALAYSIA

UST A STONE’S THROW FROM THE GLITTERING Bukit Bintang shopping drag, Imbi Market is a throwback to Kuala Lumpur’s colorful past and home to some of the city’s best old-style street fare. Half of the covered, openair structure is devoted to a traditional wet market—one of the last in the rapidly re-developing city center. Gourmands, however, should head immediately over to the other side, where dozens of vendors—many of whom migrated from Jalan Imbi 25 years ago to make way for a mall—serve spectacular versions of Malaysian hawker dishes.

Grazing is the best strategy at Imbi (whose official, seldomused name is Pasar Bukit Bintang) and arriving with an empty stomach is a must. Allow at least an hour to browse through the stalls, many of which don’t bear any names.

With so many delicious specialties on offer, picking the best is almost impossible, but these stalls are a good place to start.

Keng Swee Café’s kopi peng (RM2.25)—thick, black as night, and served over ice in an oversized glass mug—packs a caffeinated punch guaranteed to clear the cobwebs.

Nearby, an elderly vendor and his wife cut thick wheat noodles to order for pan meen (RM4.50). Specify “dry” and you’ll get a tangle of noodles tossed in dark soy sauce, topped with fried minced pork and crispy ikan bilis, and accompanied by a saucer of sour and fiery sambal.

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If fresh spring rolls appeal, then join the queue at Sisters Popiah, where the staff roll lettuce leaves, sautéed jicama, bean curd strips and chili sauce into thin, soft, wheat-flour wrappers for their Malaysian-style popiah (RM2.50). In the middle of the market, a Wellie-wearing husband and his wife team dish up toothsome wonton mee (RM4.50) and, on weekends, serve Ipoh dry chicken curry (RM5.50)—lush with coconut milk, sparkling with lemongrass and lime leaf, and possessing a subtle, creeping heat—over wonton noodles. Look for their hand-written sign, which simply says: IPOH DRY CHICKEN CURRY. There’s an exceptional nasi lemak (from RM3.50) at a tiny shop hidden behind clothing vendors at the food court’s rear.

Boasting rice heavily scented with, but not soggy from, coconut milk, it’s served with a choice of curries, including a beef rendang that rivals any Malay grandmother’s.

Still have room for dessert? Dueling stalls near Imbi’s entrance tempt sweet tooths with their impressive display of kuih, or traditional, home-style sweets (from RM0.80).

Ketayap (pandan-colored pancakes rolled around coconut and palm sugar) and angkoo (sunset-hued glutinous rice cakes filled with sweet yellow bean paste) are good bets. Jln. Melati behind Medan Imbi. The food court is in full swing by 7 A.M. and closes down by half past noon. ✚ Photographed by PABLO ANDREOLOTTI

insider | trends

U.K.

Hope and Greenwood, in Covent Garden, stocks handmade chocolates and classic candies.

London Goes Retro. In these back-to-basics times, vintage style is the rage across town, from old-school candy shops to the speakeasy scene. By SUSAN WELSH and ALISON TYLER 46

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Photographed by MALĂ&#x161; ALVAREZ

■ THE CANDY CROWD The shelves at Hope and Greenwood, in Covent Garden (1 Russell St.; 44-20/7240-3314; hopeandgreenwood. co.uk), are filled with crystal dishes of handmade confections and glass jars brimming with British sweets, from humbugs to giant gobstoppers. A 1950’s feel reigns, thanks to the decorative antique tins (for sale), a soundtrack of jaunty jazz and packets of sweets labeled RATIONS. Cocomaya (35 Connaught St.; 4420/7706-2770; cocomaya.co.uk), near Hyde Park, sells handmade chocolates in whimsical forms, such as medallions made from casts of antique coins.

■ THE CHIP SHOP The resurrected Geales, in Notting Hill (2 Farmer St.; 44-20/7727-7528; dinner for two £45), which first opened in 1939, draws families and fashionable types alike for upmarket beer-battered fish and chips. An original wooden specials board listing dishes of yore, such as mushy peas and shandy, pays tribute to the previous incarnation.

The Old Is New Clockwise from above: Geales, in Notting Hill; sweetshop Hope and Greenwood; Geales’s take on fish and chips; sidewalk seating at Geales; dressing the part at Bourne & Hollingsworth; oldfashioned indulgences at Hope and Greenwood.

■ THE SWING SET At Bourne & Hollingsworth (28 Rathbone Place; 44-20/7636-

8228; cocktails for two £14), a louche basement bar in Fitzrovia, a stylishly retro crowd downs gin fizzes and channels the spirit of prewar Bright Young Things. The DJ’s get the crowd swinging to big-band hits. Light-footed Londoners are also stepping into the Rivoli Ballroom (350 Brockley Rd.; 44-20/8692-5130; londonrivoliballroom.co.uk) for the swing and rock ’n’ roll nights—and to lounge amid the original scarlet 1957 interior, all velvet draperies, flocked wallpaper, chandeliers and oversize Chinese lanterns.

■ TEATIME Unashamedly basic Treacle (110–112 Columbia Rd.; 44-20/7729-5657; treacleworld.com) is keeping the British teahouse alive. Open only on Sundays (as well as Saturdays during the high season), the shop sells tea and ginger beer, and a selection of fairy cakes, Victoria sponges and other treats.

Vintage tea caddies, teapots and china are for sale. For more glamour, head to the Waldorf Hilton (Aldwych; 44-20/7759-4083; hilton.co.uk), which has re-introduced its afternoon Tango Tea in the sumptuous Palm Court; guests can relive 1920’s elegance and take to the floor, accompanied by a five-piece band. ✚ 47

insider | classics

Bowlful of Memories. This remnant of vanishing THAILAND

Bangkok serves up fine Thai-Chinese fare and nostalgia.

By JENNIFER CHEN. Photographed by WASINEE CHANTAKORN USINESSES OFTEN DON’T have a long shelf life along Bangkok’s frenetic Sukhumvit Road. Restaurants morph into tailoring shops overnight; food stalls spring up in parking lots, and then vanish within weeks. A few years ago, an entire strip of bars disappeared one night, only to re-emerge months later as a park. But on the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 15, one presence has remained constant for nearly a century—Yong Lee. It’s a minor miracle that this no-frills ThaiChinese eatery has survived; countless mom-and-pop operations on Sukhumvit have fallen victim to the city’s mall-building frenzy. Not that owner Opas Watcharintrawut hasn’t had offers. “A lot of people have approached me, but I want to save the land for my kids,” says the sparely built 73-year-old.

Born in Hainan, Opas moved to Thailand when he was five. Back then, the restaurant was surrounded by paddy fields and water buffaloes; the soi across the street was a canal. One thing that hasn’t changed over the decades is Yong Lee’s extensive, tattered menu, listing everything from Thai standards such as tom yam gung to seafood specialties like blood cockles in a spicy-sweet sauce. The thing to order, however, is the roast duck: served over rice or, as we prefer, chopped and fanned over a generous bowl of egg noodles, complete with blanched greens and scallions (ba mee ped yang in Thai). It’s a substantial meal, but if you’re really famished, add wontons—juicy little packets of pork and shrimp— to the mix. Just make sure to get there early, especially on weekdays when office workers pack the tiny, 11-table space during lunchtime and the eatery runs out of duck well before its 8:30 P.M. closing time.

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Yong Lee, a taste of old Bangkok. Left: Owner Opas Watcharintrawut. Above: A bowl of ba mee ped yang.

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insider | the

basics NE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT sandwiches, banh mi is Vietnam’s original fusion dish. The French supplied the baguettes, richly savory pâté and cold cuts, while the Vietnamese added shredded dried pork, pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, spring onions, cucumber, and depending on the establishment, chili—all topped by a drizzle of soy sauce or fish sauce. In Saigon, banh mi is an institution; virtually every street corner downtown has a sandwich vendor. Here’s our pick of the city’s best banh mi: Most banh mi joints are simple stalls that provide takeaway sandwiches.

But some enterprising restaurateurs are bringing banh mi indoors, providing tony surroundings and air-conditioning. Bright, modern and airy, Bamizon (9 Nguyen Van Chiem, District 1; 848/3824-8091; sandwiches from VND22,000) offers a banh mi filled with coarsely textured pâté and slices of tender roasted pork belly. • Another upmarket favorite is Black Cat (13 Phan Van Dat St., District 1; 84-8/3829-2055; sandwiches from VND93,800). The Californian chef–proprietor,

O Saigon’s Tastiest Sandwiches.

Five eateries that take the city’s most popular portable meal, banh mi, to new heights. Story and photographs by NANA CHEN VIETNAM

A waitress at Black Cat in Saigon. Above: The banh mi sandwich assembly line.

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Geoffrey Deetz, is fanatical about making everything for his innovative takes on banh mi from scratch, from the baguettes to the cognac-laced pâté to the sausages.

Two standouts are the banh mi with lamb meatballs with pâté (VND79,000) dressed in a Malay curry sauce and the Saigon (VND79,000), which combines pork with pâté and lime mayonnaise. • If you’re hankering for something spicier, check out the popular Anh Phan Bakery (164 Cong Quynh, District 1; 84-8/3909-0934; sandwiches from VND11,000), a pared-down storefront. Choose from a wide assortment of fillings—chicken sausage, shredded dried chicken, barbecued pork and pork sausages.

• Near the New World Hotel is smart takeaway Ta - Banh Mi Thit (259 Le Thanh Ton, District 1; 84-8/3822-9703; sandwiches from VND13,000). Order the Special No. 4 (VND18,000)—an assortment of cold cuts with toothsome pork belly that’s got an addictively crunchy barbecued skin. • Nhu Lan Bakery (66–68 Ham Nghi, District 1; 848/3829-2970; sandwiches from VND15,000) is a 24-hour establishment that produces jumbo-sized banh mi. We loved the kebabinspired banh mi (VND15,000), stuffed with steak off the spit paired with cucumber, chili, lettuce and mayonnaise.

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FASHION

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StylishTraveler A

SENSE OF STYLE

lies at the heart of all things Italian.

Consider this simple shawl: a 1.5-by-1.5meter swath of woven silkcashmere that has for decades been a staple of the collections of Loro Piana, maker of the finest cashmere on the planet.

Block-printed in ton-sur-ton patterns or in monochromatic shades ranging from fior di latte cream to bright raspberry to basic black, it’s both whisperlight and deliciously warm, adding a dash of whimsy and a dose of practicality to your travel wardrobe. Which is why, for everyone from the frequent flier to the jetsetter, a Loro Piana shawl is the perfect companion—as appropriate (and fabulous) draped over your shoulders at a palazzo wedding in Rome as it is keeping you cozy on a long-haul flight.

(Loro Piana has stores at various locations in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and China; loropiana.com.)

—M A R I A S H O L L E N B A RG E R

SOFT TOUCH

Whenever you’re headed somewhere wintery, make sure to wrap yourself up in a classic Loro Piana cashmere scarf from Italy. Photographed by NIGEL COX T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A

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Cotton jumpsuit, Eairth; cotton jacket with pearl trim, Chanel; velvet sandals, Gaupo; bamboo necklace, Bea Valdes.

fashion | stylish traveler

M MANILA MASTERS Take a fresh look at the Philippine capital. Here, T+L mixes and matches some of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brightest fashion talents with heavy-hitters of the international scene. Photographed by NAT PRAKOBSANTISUK. Styled by ARAYA INDRA

Pleated chiffon dress with beading, Kate Torralba; cotton coat, Louis Vuitton; velvet sandals, Gaupo; snakeskin print bag, Prada; gold-and-crystal necklace, Bea Valdes; sunglasses, stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own.

Opposite: Chiffon top with feather trim, Charina Sarte; silk trousers, Chanel; shoes, Fendi; ostrich leather clutch, Amina Aranaz; wood cuff and black enamel ring, Wynn Wynn Ong.

Printed jersey top, Barba; printed silk skirt, Prada; twotone sandals, Gaupo; satin bag with sea-snake trim and straw suitcase, Amina Aranaz.

Opposite: Printed chiffon dress, Charina Sarte; wool cardigan, Prada; two-tone sandals, Gaupo; bamboo clutch, Amina Aranaz; gold necklace with Swarovski crystals, Wynn Wynn Ong; belt, stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own.

Slug:Location (Stylish Traveler)

Cotton dress with linen trim and scarf, Eairth; cotton coat, Celine; shoulder bag, Amina Aranaz; zebra print shoes, Sapato Manila.

Opposite: Silk tulle blouse and belt, Celine; tulle skirt with cotton appliqué, Barba; silver-and-green crystal necklace, Bea Valdes; bamboo shoulder bag (on table), Amina Aranaz; crocodile-belly cuff, Wynn Wynn Ong.

PHOTO CREDIT TK

Hair and make-up: Chechel Joson@CLKD. Model: Kelly@CLKD. Photographer’s assistant: Sangarun Champawan.

STOCKISTS Amina Aranaz 2nd floor, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati Barba 2nd floor, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati Bea Valdes beavaldes.com Celine celine.com Chanel chanel.com Charina Sarte charinasarte.com Eairth 63/92850-63697 Gaupo gauposhoecouture.com Jojie Lloren (cover) Unit A-17, 2680 F. B. Harrison St., Pasay Kate Torralba 2nd floor, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati Louis Vuitton louisvuitton.com Prada prada.com Sapato Manila sapatomanila.com Wynn Wynn Ong nagajewelry.com MO NT H 2007| T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E . C O M

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| what’s in your bag?

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U.S.A. 3 Jenna Lyons in her office in New York City.

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PACKING 101 Beachcomber and J.Crew creative

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director JENNA LYONS keeps it light

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J.CREW IN TOKYO 3F Aqua City Odaiba, 1-7-1 Daiba, Minato-ku 81-3/3599-5150

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18-YEAR J.CREW VETERAN, there’s no place like Turks and Caicos to unwind with her toddler son, Beckett, and husband, artist Vincent Mazeau. It comes as no surprise that Lyons packs a lot of J.Crew—she designs with her lifestyle in mind. Here, her vacation bag must-haves. 1 “The jersey Lomellina bikini uses a thick rubber strip rather than elastic in its waistband, so you can avoid the dreaded ‘muffin top’ effect.” 2 “Our garment bag comes in bright colors and makes me happy when I’m on the road.” 3 & 10 “The sherbet colors of these jacquard pants and gauzy cover-up are part of my new J.Crew collection, which was inspired by the pale-hued houses in Turks and Caicos.”

4 “I’m drawn to things that are timeless, like these Marni sunglasses.” 5 “We created this raffia hat to collapse for easy packing.” 6 “Nothing sets off a light tan better than pink Bobbi Brown lip gloss.” 7 “I slather California Baby sunscreen all over myself and Beckett—it never washes off.” 8 “It’s meant for under your eyes, but I put Kiehl’s eye cream on my entire face, especially during a long flight.” 9 “Metallic-gold J.Crew sandals are a great summer neutral.” 11 “I never have time to read, except on the beach—right now, the book I’m carrying is In an Instant by Lee and Bob Woodruff.” 12 “My everyday watch: a Rolex gold-band Oyster bracelet.”—C L A R K M I T C H E L L OR THIS

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T+L Journal DRINK 72 REFLECTIONS 77 OBSESSIONS 80 GOING GREEN 84

CHINA

Shanghai’s

Endless Feast Eating out is serious business in mainland China’s vibrant financial capital.

By JENNIFER CHEN. Photographed by DARREN SOH

Villa du Lac. Inset: Le Platane staff greet guests.

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A private room at Jean-Georges. Right: Chocolatiers at work at Laris. Opposite, clockwise from left: Le Platane’s menu board; vino at Jean-Georges; Le Platane’s chef–owner Justin Quek; an Art Deco flourish at the Whampoa Club; seafood and truffles at Le Grange.

OMEWHERE BETWEEN THE OVEN-BAKED black cod with spring onions and the braised pork served with two mini mantou, it hits me that clichés do have a ring of truth around them. In this instance, I realize that it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

This epiphany comes towards the end of an eight-course meal at the Whampoa Club, a lavish Chinese restaurant in Shanghai’s Three on the Bund complex. It isn’t a negative reflection of the food in front of me, which I happily carry on eating. But this is my final dinner in a weeklong trip punctuated by round-the-clock dining, and my insides are begging for penance. By the time dessert—yogurt-andstrawberry ice cream with dragon fruit—comes around, I manage to down only a few spoonfuls, and then slump in my seat. But judging from the feasting patrons in the gilded dining room, I’m probably alone in feeling any remorse over gluttony. So after dinner, I troop downstairs to Jean-Georges and squeeze in two more desserts, including a show-stopping pain perdu with a scoop of nutty brown-butter ice cream and a praline sauce.

Excess, after all, is Shanghai’s ruling ethos. At least that was the case during my visit last October, before China’s economy began showing symptoms of the global economic

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malaise. Shanghai before Mao ran on a surfeit of sex, drugs and other shady business. And while it’s no longer Asia’s most notorious fleshpot, its present-day incarnation still owes much to outsized appetites and ambition. Why stop at a few distinctive skyscrapers when you can litter the entire skyline with architectural icons? Why settle for second place after Hong Kong when it comes to wheeling and dealing? Simply walking down Nanjing Road—Shanghai’s glitzy shopping drag—is enough to induce the kind of glazed-eye stupor brought on by overindulgence.

Shanghai believes, without a trace of irony, that greed is good, and that voraciousness naturally manifests itself in the dining scene. More than 31,000 eateries are listed in Shanghai alone on dianping.com, a popular restaurant review website. You can run through the whole litany of dining experiences in this town: from a humble dumpling shop to a swanky, marble-clad temple of haute cuisine, and everything in between. Yet even with marquee names like Jean-Georges Vongerichten and the Pourcel twins blazing the trail, Shanghai’s fine dining scene is one that is still evolving as locals get the hang of ordering a claret with dinner and ending a meal with a plate of runny cheeses.

Michelin Guides, after all, did go to rival Hong Kong first.

With that in mind, I choose to dine at the city’s classiest establishments, starting with an eatery opened by one of the early pioneers of serious-minded, European cuisine here.

Following stints in Toulouse, Los Angeles, Miami and Kiev, Jérôme Lagarde arrived in Shanghai to head the kitchen at the Pourcel brothers’ Sens & Bund. After four years of running the 180-seat restaurant, he decided to strike out on his own, and with the backing of a few fellow Frenchmen, opened La Grange last summer. Unlike the showy Sens & Bund, Lagarde’s new home, which seats only 40 people, exudes intimacy and unpretentiousness, from its rough-hewn wooden sign to its comfortable leather banquettes. Lagarde’s chicly turned-out wife, Audrey, runs the front of the house during the day, accentuating the eatery’s family-run feel.

The simplicity of the décor, however, is deceptive.

Lagarde, a proud native of France’s Pays Basque, runs a tight ship: the maître d’ and servers go about their tasks with quiet efficiency, even as the tables filled up—a rarity in China. The wine list numbers 600 bottles, and the food also hints at grander ambitions. Duck carpaccio arrives at my table with a miniature galette aux pommes, a dab of tart raspberry sauce, and shavings of black truffle and grana padano. That’s followed by dense, chewy gnocchi with

grilled lobster and morels, dressed with a sauce fortified with lobster-infused olive oil. The best discovery, though, lies with the cheese course—a generous wedge of nutty Ossau-Iraty cheese from Lagarde’s home region and a spoonful of thick black cherry jam.

Given the level of execution here, it comes as a surprise when Lagarde declares that the quality of dining has actually slid in his time in Shanghai. “There’s no Ducasse or Gagnaire who’s coming here,” he points out, mentioning two celebrated chefs who both have outposts in Hong Kong.

“If you eat at a Western restaurant here in Shanghai, you can close your eyes and not know where the food is coming from. It’s the same food everywhere.”

Justin Quek, the chef–proprietor of the lakeside Le Platane, sees things differently. “These things take time.

Singapore and Hong Kong—10 years ago, who would spend so much on Western food? China takes time,” he tells me with a rat-a-tat delivery that betrays his Singaporean roots.

Quek, who established his reputation for exquisite French fare at Singapore’s Les Amis and La Petite Cuisine in Taipei, also takes heart in the homegrown talent—his staff consists of chefs who’ve loyally followed him from Taipei and local youths—and the increasing ease with which he can source » T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A

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A tasty beginning at La Grange. Right: Taking in the view of the Chinese metropolis from Jade on 36. Opposite, from left to right: Alfresco dining at The Fountain in Xintiandi; Eric Johnson, the chef at Jean-Georges; ready for dinner at Jean-Georges.

produce and other ingredients in China. While Lagarde imports up to 90 percent of his ingredients, Quek regales me with loving descriptions of the white asparagus from Jilin, the garlic in Hainan, and Yunnan’s famous cured ham and “heavenly mushrooms”—morels, chantarelles, black truffles.

“Don’t tell me you can’t find any good products in this country,” he scolds.

Those local ingredients are very much in evidence the night I dine at Le Platane. Quek, who opened Le Platane in March 2007, now has two other eateries: the casual bar– bistro Fountain and Villa du Lac, an upscale Chinese restaurant. The jewel in his crown, however, remains Quek’s first restaurant, which occupies a shikumen house in Xintiandi. Across the street stands the building where, in 1921, members of China’s Communist Party met in secret.

They would have undoubtedly disapproved of the decadent, bourgeois sensibilities that went into decorating Le Platane: hand-painted pale-green silk wallpaper; armoires inlaid with mother-of-pearl; crystal chandeliers; large gilt mirrors.

Our meal, too, would rankle Mao and his austere compatriots: a satisfyingly earthy mushroom cappuccino (made with those heavenly Yunnanese fungi); kingfish carpaccio with shavings of Yunnanese black truffles and 70

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micro greens; truffle-infused foie gras xiaolongbao; a tangle of house-made tagliatelle with crab meat; and succulent roasted suckling pig with a crisp layer of crackling skin that’s paired—because over-the-top isn’t a derogatory term in Shanghai—a slice of Wagyu beef. To round off our meal, we’re presented with a delicate circle of pastry topped with caramelized apples.

ASIAN FLOURISHES, Quek’s cooking is still recognizably classical French, and at both Le Platane and La Grange, you’d have no trouble identifying the food in front of you. That’s not the case at Jade on 36, Shanghai’s only restaurant devoted to molecular gastronomy. From the moment you enter the 36th-floor space, you’re confronted with the unexpected: in the foyer, diners have to step around an abstract 4.3-meter sculpture of intersecting rods that’s meant to be a traditional rice bowl, radically deconstructed (even after a few glasses of wine, I still didn’t quite see it). A sci-fi–esque white ramp leads to an avant-garde dining room designed by Adam Tihany of Per Se and Le Cirque fame, who stridently upends traditional Chinese motifs.

The food is equally startling. Though chef Paul Pairet left

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VEN WITH THE

WHERE TO EAT Jade on 36 36th floor, Pudong Shangri-La, 33 Fucheng Lu; 8621/6882-8888; tasting menus from RMB450.

Jean-Georges 4th floor, Three on the Bund, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu; 86-21/6321-7733; dinner for two RMB1,700.

Jishi Go with a crowd. 41 Tianping Lu; 86-21/6282-9260; dinner for two RMB400.

Laris The seafood bar at this sleek, marbled spot is worth the splurge. 6th floor, Three on the

the restaurant last fall, his wildly inventive cuisine is still featured in the various four-to-eight-course tasting menus. As you’d expect from a culinary high-wire act, some of the dishes fall flat. I wasn’t won over by the ponderous hunk of teriyaki-glazed beef attached to a Flintstone-sized rib. But more than a few do work, and spectacularly so: a wonderfully briny, lemongrass-and-mustard-spiked sardine mousse served in a tin with thin, toasted slices of walnut bread; a “cigarette” consisting of foie gras wrapped in crystallized strawberries; and a slice of toasted buttery brioche topped with black truffles and beurre meunière—a treat that merits future visits.

Pairet’s pyrotechnics really hit their mark with delicious desserts. Take the lemon tart, which appears as an intact, untouched lemon. Cut into it, and out oozes a lippuckeringly citrus-laden cream. The secret? Three days of soaking in a vanilla-scented syrup to soften the skin, after which the lemon is leached of its contents and the cream is gently piped in.

It’s an unforgettable meal—playful, engaging and genuinely surprising—and by the time I down the afterdessert shot of dulce de leche and green-apple foam, I feel bedazzled. But this is not food that you can eat every day, or

Bund; 86-21/6321-9922; dinner for two RMB900.

Le Grange 794 Julu Lu; 8621/6248-2185; dinner for two RMB1,200.

Le Platane 373 Huangpi Nan Lu; 86-21/5383-2998; dinner for two RMB1,000.

Whampoa Club 5th floor, Three on the Bund; 86-21/6321- 3737; dinner for two RMB1,000.

Villa du Lac 383 Huangpi Nan Lu; 86-21/6387-6387; dinner for two RMB1,100.

even once a month. I can, however, eat Chinese food every day for weeks on end. This isn’t simply a matter of upbringing; Chinese cuisine is incredibly varied and complex, a fact that overwhelms even the likes of Jereme Leung, the Hong Kong–born chef who founded the Whampoa Club.

“Before I came here, I thought I knew Chinese food, but then I came here and I realized I didn’t know it at all,” says Leung, who recently left the Whampoa Club.

Before my trip, I thought I knew what Shanghainese food was, and thinking it too rich, too oily and too sweet, I’d turn my nose up at it, preferring instead the spicy heat of Sichuanese, the heartiness of Dongbei and the clean, clear flavors of Cantonese. But a solitary meal at Jishi—a twostory sliver of a restaurant—demolishes those prejudices. In fact, Jishi—the original, mind you, not the yuppified branch in Xintiandi—is one of the city’s finest restaurants, despite its bare-bones décor.

Armed with a list of recommendations, I reel off the dishes I’m eager to sample: xiefen fenpi (crab with vermicelli); tangcu paigu (sweet-and-sour spare ribs); jiang luobo (pickled radish); and luohao huotui (greens with Yunnanese ham). The waiter cuts me off before I can order more, bluntly saying, “I think you have enough.” And he’s right.

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Coffee Makers The popular drink’s hold on Southeast Asia dates back much longer than the appearance of your favorite corner franchise, writes ANTHONY MECIR. Photographed by BRENT T. MADISON of southern Laos, American entrepreneur Lee Thorn melts into a dreamlike bliss as, relating his story of sorrow and success, he pauses to pick up his cup and take a sip.

“I’m telling you, it’s the best coffee in the world. I know I’m prejudiced, but I’m totally convinced. It’s unique, it’s different, it’s new,’’ says Thorn, a once-troubled Vietnam War veteran who has pioneered coffee’s revival in Laos following decades of conflict and isolation.

For the world’s average coffee drinker, Laos and Southeast Asia in general don’t immediately spring to mind when thinking of the drink. Images of vast Brazilian plantations, historic Viennese coffee houses and American mass marketers of the brew are more likely to pop up.

But here are the bare facts: Vietnam has emerged as the world’s second largest coffee exporter after Brazil, while Indonesia occupies the number four spot following Colombia. Coffee culture, once relegated to open-air markets and Chinese shophouses, has spread across the region in varied guises, with Southeast Asian consumption rocketing along at 20–30 percent growth a year—and it’s not all imported. Premium Arabica coffee from the highlands of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and even Cambodia’s remote Ratanakiri Province fetches top prices on international markets and, in blind tastings, often beats the competition.

Take Thailand. Instant coffee with powdered milk used to be the dreaded staple at all but the top-class hotels not so long ago, especially in provincial areas. Now, an upcountry journey, let’s say from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, can easily become a caffeine lover’s delight. Even many gasoline stations offer fine coffee at charming kiosks complete with espresso machines or at one of the proliferating locally owned chains like Café Amazon. Along country roads, it won’t be long before you spot a sign for kafae sot, literally “fresh coffee,” but meaning that good quality stuff as opposed to the instant variety that’s usually served at little mom-and-pop stands.

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In Southeast Asia’s highlands, the finest beans emanate from the VILLAGES of some of the most disadvantaged people

In Chiang Mai, Thailand’s northern hub of culture and tourism, awaits world-class taste from the nearby mountains, savored in artsy hangouts, alfresco cafés or the awardwinning Wawee Coffee chain started by young local Kraisit Foosuwan, where for every cup you drink, one baht goes to support hill-tribe children.

Coffee in Southeast Asia is often linked to some genuinely good works. In the region’s highlands, the finest beans emanate from the villages of some of the most disadvantaged people. This is no gimmick to make corporations look like good guys.

Plagued for three decades by nightmares and guilt, Thorn went back to make personal reparations—and find peace— by seeding a number of aid projects in Laos in areas once heavily bombed by U.S. warplanes. Along the way he hit upon forming a co-operative among dirt-poor farmers in the Bolaven Plateau where French colonials in the 1920’s had established a thriving coffee industry under well nigh perfect conditions for Arabica: cool temperatures and rich volcanic soil above 1,300 meters.

Enter Thorn, providing villagers with some of the old French Arabica rootstock along with loans at low interest rates, technical expertise and export markets. Today, the cooperative’s Fair Trade–certified beans, sold in the country as Lao Mountain Coffee, commands some of the highest prices on world markets and rave reviews.

Also highly rated are brands coming out of the Thai mountains—Hilltribe Gourmet, Doi Chaang, Duang Dee Hill Tribe Coffee, Doi Tung and Lanna Coffee—which have been developing since the late 1960’s when Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej initiated efforts to replace fields of poppies with substitute crops. Coffee proved among the best and most lucrative. One of the project leaders was American missionary and agriculture expert Richard Mann, whose son Michael is now behind a co-operative of 250 families in 25 villages growing coffee, much of it produced organically under forest canopies and sold under the Lanna Coffee brand. From the hills, it makes its way to Chiang Mai where you can drink it at the co-operative’s own welcoming Lanna Café and feel doubly good since profits go to fight human trafficking and other local woes. You can now ask the baristas at Starbucks for the muan jai, or “wholehearted happiness’’ brand, and it will be Michael’s co-operative coffee. developments are relatively recent, coffee’s history in Southeast Asia stretches back more than three centuries. The Dutch introduced the drink to Java in the 1690’s, from where it spread to other regions of the far-flung Indonesian archipelago. In 1740, a Franciscan monk brought the first coffee bush into the Philippines, which remains one of the few countries to grow all four commercially viable »

W Coffee Culture Clockwise from above: An Akha woman picks ripening coffee in Thailand; a farmer dries coffee beans; washing coffee berries.

HILE MANY OF THESE

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Early risers would gather at market stalls in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia for their PICK-ME-UPS

varieties—Arabica, Liberica, Excesa and Robusta (normally planted at lower altitudes and often processed into instant coffee). The British started plantations in Malaysia in the late 18th century, while their French colonial counterparts began growing superb coffee about a century later in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Long before the age of Starbucks, early risers would gather in the kopitiam, the traditional breakfast and coffeeshops of Malaysia and Singapore, at market stalls in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and simple Chinese eateries in Thailand for their morning pick-me-ups. The beverage varies across the region but is essentially made by passing hot water through a cloth filter—kafae thung, or “bag coffee” as Thais call it—and usually adding sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Iced versions were and continue to be popular.

Side by side with such traditions, contemporary coffee culture got its start in the 1990’s, boosted by the advent of the internationals—“the Starbucks effect,” as some call it.

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Best Beans Left: Selecting seedlings. Below: Inspecting roasted coffee. Opposite, clockwise from bottom: Sorting berries; cooling coffee before it’s bagged; a group of pickers.

The now ubiquitous American chain opened its first shop in Singapore in 1996, using the island republic as its “strategic gateway into Southeast Asia.” It arrived in Thailand two years later and in Indonesia by 2002; in Singapore and Bangkok, it’s now difficult to find a shopping mall that doesn’t have a Starbucks. But local competitors, both chains and chic, stand-alone cafés, were quick off the mark and often outpaced the outsiders in ambience and quality of their gourmet offerings. Some even expanded abroad: Thailand’s Black Canyon cafés are now found in seven other countries.

Home-grown cafés have also mushroomed in Singapore.

Among the first and still the best, Coffee Club, was firmly rooted in Singapore’s history. It’s owned by Hiang Kie, which was founded in 1936 and is one of the biggest coffee traders in a nation that hosts one of the largest coffee exchanges in the world. Having expanded to more than 20 branches, it serves the whole gamut that modern Southeast Asian coffee lovers have come to expect, from its top-selling, calorific iced mocha vanilla (macchiato topped with vanilla

ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup) to the oldfashioned, Chinese-Malay-style kopi baba.

Indeed, Southeast Asians are now increasingly drinking their own brews, rather than relying purely on imports. But one local variety you are unlikely to taste happens to be the world’s most expensive—commanding prices that run as high as US$1,320 a kilogram—and arguably the best. It’s kopi luwak, found mostly in Indonesia but whisked away to lucrative markets in the United States and Japan. In polite language it’s described as being made from coffee berries eaten and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet, the end result reportedly being complex and heavenly flavors.

Thorn, among others, would argue about which brew owns the title of best in Southeast Asia. “Its bouquet is rich, round, sweet and slightly spicy,” he says of Lao Mountain Coffee in vocabulary worthy of any ecstatic oenophile. “Its flavor is balanced, soft and mellow and treats each area of the tongue with an exciting flavor. Never harsh or acidic, its mellow, neutral finish delights the tongue.”

GUIDE TO ASIAN COFFEE WHERE TO DRINK BANGKOK Doi Tung Coffee Embedded in a popular market, it serves its own brands from a royal development project. Suan Lum Night Bazaar, Rama 4 Rd.; drinks from Bt59.

CHIANG MAI Lanna Café Superb coffee straight from hill tribes found in the nearby mountains of northern Thailand. 81 Huay Kaew Rd.; drinks from Bt30.

HANOI Au Lac Café Sip it in the quiet courtyard of a French villa in the heart of Hanoi. 57 Pho Ly Thai To St.; drinks from VND25,000.

HO CHI MINH CITY Givral Café and Restaurant Hangout of spies and journalists during the Vietnam War. 169 Dong Khoi St.; drinks from VND52,000.

JAKARTA Bakoel Koffie A 130-year-old institution. 25 Jln. Cikini Raya; drinks from Rp23,000.

KUALA LUMPUR Yut Kee This Chinese kopitiam has been around since 1928 and thankfully has fought off change. Its Hainanese food is also highly rated. 35 Jln. Dang Wangi; drinks from RM1.25.

VIENTIANE Talat Sao It’s a no-frills affair at the city’s morning market, but plenty of buzz and bustle as you sample Lao coffee in market stalls the way the Lao drink it. Lan Xang Ave.; drinks from LAK8,400.

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Kuala Lumpur’s

Spanish Week

Meet Madrid’s famous chef, Paco Roncero, and enjoy traditional Spanish culture, all in Malaysia’s magical city

R

esidents and visitors alike will soon get the chance to indulge their tastes for all things Spanish with two events coming in March and April 2009. First off, between March 31, 2009, and April 1, 2009, a flamenco show performed by Maria del Mar Moreno will be held at the Petronas Twin Towers Auditorium.

In María del Mar’s show “Jerez Puro, Esencia,” María del Mar defines the dancer’s purity. The malagueña of Mellizo, sung by Manuel Malena accompanied on the guitar by Domingo Rubichi, is followed by Antonio Malena’s tonás to prologue María del Mar’s dance of siguiriyas, in which she exhibits the characteristic intensity of the style. Dancer Juan Ogalla interprets soleá por bulería with a long heelwork section.

Meanwhile, at the Hotel Hilton Kuala Lumpur, from April 2, 2009, to April 9, 2009, chef Paco Roncero and his team will host classes, live demonstrations, wine tasting and more. Starting in 1990 at Zalacain—a threeMichelin-star restaurant—Paco joined the Ritz hotel, also in Spain’s capital. After several years of training, he joined the Casino de Madrid Banquet Department, where he was appointed head chef in 1996, and went on to win awards in the Young Chefs’ Championship and a third one in the Spanish Championship.

FLAMENCO SHOW: JEREZ PUROCOMPAÑÍA MARIA DEL MAR MORENO WHEN: March 31, 2009–April 1, 2009 WHERE: Petronas Twin Towers Auditorium HOW TO BOOK: For tickets, please call the DFP Box Office on 60-3/2051-7007 or email: dfp_boxoffice@petronas.com.my This flamenco show is a co-presentation between Turismo Madrid and Dewan Filarmonik Petronas, with the kind sponsorship of Cámara de Madrid and Roca Johnsson Suisse. It is also a special collaboration between Vinos de Madrid and the Spanish Embassy.

SPANISH GOURMET WEEK WHEN: April 2, 2009–April 9, 2009 WHERE: Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

HOW TO BOOK: 60-3/2264-2592 With the sponsorship of the Spanish Tourist Office and Turismo Madrid and a special collaboration with the Spanish Embassy.

SPONSORS:

reflections | t+l journal

Taipei on the Menu Visits to the Taiwanese capital were a chore as a child, but JEN LIN-LIU now finds that the city’s food provides a link to her family’s past. Illustrated by WASINEE CHANTAKORN

TAIWAN

I TRAVELED TO TAIPEI in December to attend a belated wedding banquet my father was throwing for us and to pay respects to my grandfather, who had died 100 days earlier. But even with familial responsibilities hanging over my head, what I thought about most en route to Taipei was a street-side stall serving up hot bowls of doufu hua, a sweet, sometimes-gingery soup with soft tofu.

There are few places in the world where the people are as obsessed with food as in Taiwan.

Rarely will you see so many little stands crammed together serving an endless variety of snacks, ranging from giant, flattened discs of fried chicken steak eaten out of a paper pouch to huge towers of shaved ice flavored with red beans or mangoes or strawberries. And then there are the varied restaurants, serving everything from Thai to vaunted French, though hardly anyone bothers with fancy places because the street-side stands are so good. »

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We feasted on tissue-thin millet crepes stuffed with stir-fried vegetables, crushed peanuts and DRIED PORK

My parents grew up in Taiwan and migrated to America in the 1970’s, where I was born. As a child, I traveled to Taiwan several times, and each time I felt uncomfortable and disconnected. The streets were too chaotic, and the restaurants too noisy. As I got older and my Chinese got rustier, I found it more difficult to communicate with my relatives. But since moving to Beijing eight years ago, I’ve traveled to Taipei often and have felt more a part of it each time, as I grow more accustomed to Chinese ways of life and Taipei transforms into a modern city.

On my latest trip to Taipei, I was accompanied by my husband Craig and his parents who also live in Beijing. We were able to squeeze in a good meal on the streets before our wedding banquet the next day.

After helping my in-laws check into a hotel not far from where my grandmother lived, the four of us piled into a taxi for the nearby New World Soy Milk, a well-known roadside restaurant.

The neighborhood of Yong He is famous for its soymilk shops. Separated from downtown Taipei by a river, Yong He, with its packed alleys and six-story tall buildings, is supposedly one of the most densely 78

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populated areas in the world, according to my father.

Since it was late in the afternoon, only a few tables were occupied at the open-air restaurant that looked onto a street congested with BMW’s, trucks and taxis.

The hot soy broth came lightly sweetened and was paired with you tiao, long, deep-fried crullers whose name literally means “oily stick.” We dipped our you tiao into the soy milk and the balance of something so crisp, savory and deep-fried going with something as wholesome and healthy as soy milk made it a very enticing combination.

Other accompaniments came, including pan-fried pork pot stickers, folded to leave the filling partially exposed and fried in batches so they stuck together; fan tuan, a roll of firmly packed rice wrapped around another you tiao and dried pork; and pan-fried shredded radish cakes with a mouth-watering sauce made from soy, sugar and garlic.

As the four of us happily munched down the carbohydrate-heavy meal, Craig and his parents pondered how the Taiwanese remain so rail thin. It’s a comment I, too, get from others who ask me, “How can you possibly be a food writer at your size?”

My secret, one Taiwanese know well: I hide it in my gut. If a child were to draw a sketch of me, a good depiction would consist of long lines, representing my legs and arms, protruding from a big circle, for my well-fed body.

HE NEXT DAY, I SQUEEZED into a deep purple qipao, a tight-fitting traditional Chinese dress that did nothing to hide my gut. Our wedding banquet was held at a multi-story restaurant called Hai Ba Wang, where the price of the dishes increased with every floor. In a private room on the eighth floor, Craig and I greeted 60 of my relatives, some of whom I had never met and most of whom were entirely unfamiliar to Craig. We bowed deeply as they presented us with red packets.

As the procession of dishes began, I was able to quickly surmise that the food was more varied and elaborate than what Craig and I served at our wedding reception in San Diego a couple months before. In place of our simple surf ‘n’ turf, our Chinese wedding banquet consisted of plate after plate of fresh seafood, from yellowtail sashimi to whole lobster to steamed crab with sticky rice. The only snafu occurred when the shark’s fin soup came out: my grandmother couldn’t understand why Craig’s parents, Caucasian and from Massachusetts, refused to eat such a treasured delicacy.

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Across the room, my father, who had moved back to Taipei several years ago, was animatedly speaking to one table about the battles that he and I had over the years. Ironically, he said, he had come to respect me because of our disagreements. He lingered far longer than Craig and I had when we’d made the rounds. Making multiple toasts at each table, his face was happy and as red as the wine.

After changing out of the qipao and into jeans that evening, I craved street food. But my parents were treating Craig’s parents to a meal, and my father insisted on taking them somewhere more proper. After touring a Buddhist temple, we headed to the original Din Tai Fung, the famous dumpling restaurant.

Along with dumplings in a bamboo steamer came a laminated instruction card. When biting down on the dumplings, diners could scald themselves on the soup nestled inside. The card told eaters to drain the soup from the dumpling onto a porcelain spoon and savor it first before eating the meat and the wrapper.

What the card did not say was that the delectable soup was made from pulverized pork skin, a secret I’d learned when interning in a restaurant in Shanghai, where soup dumplings had originated, more or less.

The next day, my father’s family held a memorial service for my paternal grandfather, who had died a few months before at the age of 89. The informal service was held in the home my grandparents had shared for 30 years. Now, with my grandfather gone, my grandmother lived by herself, insisting on cooking, cleaning and doing her own laundry.

Months before, I had flown to Taipei for my grandfather’s cremation, and I had been surprised at how large a role food had played during the ceremony. A pig’s head, a whole chicken, plates of fruit and cups of water had decorated the altar.

When the monk said prayers over his body, he had dropped cooked bits of rice into the coffin lined with fake American dollars that my grandfather would take with him into the afterlife.

Now, several months later, food was again center stage. My grandmother and aunts busied themselves in the kitchen, assembling 12 little pink baskets containing items like stir-fried green beans, dried tofu and shredded radishes—all dishes my grandfather had enjoyed. Larger offerings, like deep-fried flounder and barbecued pork, were placed in front of an altar that had been set up in the dining room.

Twenty relatives, including Craig and I, prostrated in front of the altar, and my father and his siblings took turns reading letters they had written to their father,

sobbing—with the exception of my stoic father, the oldest of five children—and then burning the personal notes in a tin receptacle that had been set out on the balcony.

Having concluded our nuptial celebrations and my grandfather’s memorial, Craig and I were free to roam the vibrant markets of Taipei. Even as the city modernizes, linked together with an extensive subway system, trendy Japanese-style cafés and the Taipei 101 tower, Taiwanese continue to shop and eat on the streets, as we witnessed at the Linjiang Road Market late one morning.

Old ladies in sweats and stylish young women in high-heeled boots pushed their way through the market, perusing the fresh vegetables and meats. A shirtless man chanting prices in a rhyme stood over huge baskets of yams and garlic. On first glance, the market didn’t feel that different from mainland China: the streets were dirty and strewn with pieces of trash while shoppers nudged and bumped their way through the narrow aisles created by the vendors.

But upon examining the street food, we knew we were somewhere entirely different. We feasted on tissue-thin millet crepes stuffed with stir-fried vegetables, crushed peanuts and dried pork; soft glutinous rice mochis filled with chocolate mousse that, sprinkled with flour, resembled delicate little snowballs; and finally, I found a roadside shop that sold my beloved doufu hua, the sweet tofu soup. On letting the tofu rest on my tongue for a moment, I realized that I was finally home.

GUIDE TO EATING IN TAIPEI World Soymilk King 284 Yonghe Rd., Sec. 2; 886-2/8927-0000; dinner for two from NT$167.

Hai Ba Wang 59 Zhongshan North Rd., Sec. 3; 886-2/2596-3141; dinner for two from NT$1,670.

Din Tai Fung 218 Zhongxiao East Rd., Sec. 4, Lane 216; 886-2/2721-7890; dinner for two from NT$1,000.

Linjiang Food Market corner of Linjiang and Tonghua roads; dinner for two from NT$167.

Kao Chi 150 Fuxing South Rd., Sec. 1: 886-2/2751-9393; kao-chi.com; lunch for two from NT$800.

Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wong Chinese breakfast: hot soy milk and shaobing you tiao. 102 Fuxing South Rd., Sec. 2; 886-2/2736-7560; NT$150.

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SCOTTISH HERITAGE, I’ve never been wild about tartan.

Braveheart bored me to tears, I haven’t exactly yearned for haggis, and it only takes a few bars from a bagpipe to set me reeling—toward some Excedrin. But after my father died a few years ago and I spent some quality time with his dear elder brother, I began to feel the old country’s pull at last. A passionate amateur genealogist, my uncle had painstakingly assembled a loose-leaf binder full of information about my ancestors, including Robert Marshall, who, like so many other poor Scots, sailed to Prince Edward Island in the late 18th century. Robert was a weaver and a teetotaling Presbyterian deacon.

Had he known that I, his descendant, would trek to Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland’s southwest—the native land, according to my uncle, of all Marshalls— not to find God or plaid but to learn how to make whisky, he certainly would have sent some fire and brimstone my way.

Whisky (no “e” in the Scottish version) is the country’s most widely appreciated tradition, but it’s not exactly self-evident why someone would visit the southwest of

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ESPITE MY

Whisky 101 The Scottish Lowlands, distilled into a weekend of learning how to make single malt.

ALEXANDRA MARSHALL barrels in

Scottish Blend Clockwise from left: Rolling hills in the southwest of the country; whisky casks await; the Bladnoch Distillery; owner Raymond Armstrong inspects the single malt.

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: JUDY BEAN / DREAMSTIME.COM; CO U RT ESY O F B L A D N O C H D I ST I L L E RY ( 3 )

SCOTLAND

Scotland for it. Although the country has four recognized whisky regions—the Highlands, Islay, Campbelltown and the Lowlands—Highland distilleries get all the glory, not to mention most of the market share. (There are only four Lowland distilleries, compared to dozens in the north.) But the dry, delicate, very lightly peated Lowland single malts, which are subtler than their knock-you-out up-country cousins, should not be overlooked, and no one is better disposed to prove it than Raymond Armstrong, the voluble owner of Bladnoch Distillery, Scotland’s southernmost producer. Located on the river Bladnoch, right next to Wigtown in the southern Machars (near the old Marshall stomping grounds of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and nowdefunct Maxwelltown), Bladnoch was established in 1817 to produce single malt for drinking, blending and exporting to

the English, who preferred the lighter taste of Lowland scotch. After a century of independent production, Bladnoch was bought and sold by company after company, until 1994, when Armstrong, a Belfast native of southern Scottish descent, snatched it up as a vacation property. At first prohibited from production, he was allowed to refire the still in 1998 and brought on master distiller John McDougall, late of the Laphroaig, Springbank and Balvenie distilleries, to help him develop his grassy, citrusy signature style. Last year, the distillery put down only 40,000 bottles; Armstrong hopes to double this yield soon.

Thanks to distillery tours, tasting events and the twiceyearly Whisky School, which is unique in its intensity and hands-on teaching style, Bladnoch now draws about 25,000 visitors a year to an area that otherwise attracts mainly »

C L O C K W I S E F R O M FA R R I G H T : C O U R T E S Y O F W H Y T E A N D M A C K AY ( 2 ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F B R U I C H L A D D I C H

The dry, delicate, very lightly peated Lowland single malts, which are subtler than their knockyou-out up-country cousins, should not be overlooked

Lively Isles Clockwise from below: Traffic on the Isle of Jura; the sleepy island; taking a break at the Bruichladdich Academy on Islay.

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There is downtime, so the gents and I could warm up our PEPPERY mutton pies on the still

Still Life From top: A view of Bruichladdich Distillery; the distillery’s Mark Reynier; the remote Isle of Jura; at work in the Jura distillery.

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Robert Burns devotees bent on retracing the Bard of Scotland’s every pit stop. But the velvety green, gently undulating hills and meadows of Dumfries and Galloway, dotted with sheep and divided by fences of rough-hewn slate, are some of the most achingly beautiful countryside I have ever seen. The pastoral calm is balanced by a craggy coastline and dark forests of ancient, knotted trees. There are no roadside billboards or modern real estate developments, and flame-topped pheasants dart across the deserted roads more often than pedestrians.

As a result, locals can spot enrollees in Armstrong’s Whisky School—a jolly weekend of mashing, brewing, distilling, discussing and, finally, tasting single malt scotch— rather easily. When I was pulled over for erratic driving after our second session, Galloway’s finest instantly recognized my complimentary lab coat and allowed me to talk my way out of a DUI with an entirely true tale of having spent the day absorbing stillhouse fumes. The 12 other students, all men and most middle-aged, had trekked to Bladnoch from as far away as Canada and Denmark. Some were spirits retailers; all shared an advanced-geek level of knowledge about “the water of life” (the meaning of uisce beata, or whisky, in Gaelic) that put mine to shame. They hadn’t paid US$1,000 apiece just to drink, after all. “Here we learn the small details,” Erik Hansen, a fiftysomething carpenter from Denmark, said.

“When we clean equipment and why; to what degree we heat the water for mashing; what to do with the steam from the stills. The people who come here are another kind of people.”

And then there was me. Day One began at 8 A.M., when the boiler was turned on, but I got lost on the distractingly scenic 11-kilometer drive from my stately manor inn in Newton Stewart, Kirroughtree House (on whose grand staircase, legend has it, Burns used to recite poetry). By the time I stumbled in, the group was already touring the washback tuns, enormous pine barrels full of sugary barley extract and water just pumped from a steel mixing tank called a mash tun. There Armstrong began the impromptu discussions that would fill the weekend: how to tell if the mash tun is draining properly into the washback (watch the texture of the foam); how to ensure consistency in the still after you’ve pumped in the two-day-fermented beer (distill slowly); how to make sure the cows don’t get drunk off the fermenting mash pumped back out as their feed (carefully squeeze it out so as to extract the sugar water). Whatever Bladnoch’s stillman, an affable bear of a man named John Herries, would have to do in a normal weekend—check

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levels, open valves—we would do, too. Every student would become part owner of a keg set to age eight years, and on Day Three, the last day, we would fill and rack our shared barrel—and stock up on hooch from the gift shop.

Despite the generally brisk pace at Whisky School, there is downtime. And so the gents and I could warm up our peppery mutton pies on the still; loll among the daffodils on the riverbank; shuffle around reading the snatches of Burns’s poetry that Armstrong had posted on the grounds; sample the clear, fiery, 150-proof new-make spirit (unaged whisky) that is like grappa made from freshly mowed grass; and then, perchance, pop on the stillhouse’s novelty tam-o’-shanter (called a See You Jimmy hat), climb into an empty 10,000gallon still, and clang around. I am only the third woman to have participated in that time-honored Bladnoch ritual. It’s a little like spelunking through a metal cave, perfumed by eau de hangover.

Though my fellow students seemed most focused on their wash still journals, it was the tasting, on Night Two, that I was looking forward to. For what good is all the discussion of peated malt versus unpeated malt, of aging in bourbon versus sherry casks, if we couldn’t then sample the difference? And so, as McDougall led us through about 10 different bottles, we discovered that a young bourbon-casked malt was reminiscent of musty sneakers, and an immature heavily peated experiment gave off a whiff of kippers. By the time dinner was done—yes, they served haggis—the piper was called in, the See You Jimmy hat was passed around, and suddenly Armstrong ordered me up to the front of the room to recite “The Brownie of Blednoch” into a

microphone. A 62-line poem written in 1825 in Scottish dialect by William Nicholson (a.k.a. the Bard of Galloway), it’s about a touchy troll seeking handyman work from Bladnoch’s long-ago villagers. “Rob’s lingle brak as he men’t the flail/At the sight o’ Aiken-drum,” I croaked. If old Robert Marshall could have heard me, that night’s many drams would have been the least of his troubles. My classmates, however, seemed to love it.

On my last few days in the area, at my uncle’s behest, I puttered around Galloway looking for Marshalliana.

Ancestral tourism is big in Scotland, as the ladies working at the tiny Stewartry Museum in Kirkcudbright confirmed: they get about 40 people a day—mostly MacLellans, formerly the bigwigs of the area. (There was one Canadian MacLellan monopolizing the 18th-century census records I was hoping to scour, but, not looking to restart the clan wars, I waited my turn.) I came up empty everywhere I looked, and decided I was willing to leave the minutiae of the birth and death records to my uncle. This generation of Marshalls is motivated by more sybaritic passions, I concluded as I hopped up the Burns trail to Ballantrae, one constabulary north in southern Ayrshire, for a night at Glenapp Castle, a regal hotel set in wildly majestic gardens, filled with Colefax and Fowler prints, polished French antiques, and more truffle honey and artisanal cheese than even I could manage. My travels through Galloway had made me immensely proud of my origins, but the time had come to start a few new traditions of my own.

Alexandra Marshall is a T+L (U.S.) contributing editor.

GUIDE TO SCOTTISH WHISKY Stewart, Wigtownshire; 44-16/7140-2141; kirroughtreehouse. co.uk; doubles from £90, including breakfast and dinner.

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GETTING THERE Wigtown, close to the Bladnoch Distillery, is a two-hour drive from Glasgow.

WHERE TO STAY Glenapp Castle Ballantrae, Ayrshire; 44-14/6583-1212; glenappcastle.com; doubles from £375, including breakfast and a six-course dinner.

Kirroughtree House Newton

WHAT TO DO Bladnoch Distillery Whisky School Twoand-a-half days of tastings and hands-on instruction in singlemalt production. 44-19/88402605; bladnoch.co.uk; £400 per person, including three lunches and one dinner.

WHISKY SCHOOLS The Jura Fellowship Four-day course on one of Scotland’s most remote islands (Jura is a two-hour ferry ride from the mainland town of

Kennacraig). Students are housed at the distillery’s Jura Lodge, which opened last year and features eclectic interiors — vintage fridges, gazelle antlers, Bakelite phones — by Parisian interior designer Bambi Sloan.

The course includes three dinners with tastings and the option of having the distillery age a cask of single malt you help bring to the barrel stage.

44-149/682-0385; isleofjura.com; £1,000 per person.

Springbank Whisky School This is a week-long program at a still-operating 1828 distillery in Campbelltown, a historic whisky town (it was home to more than 30 distilleries in its 19th-century heyday) on the Mull of Kintyre.

Unlike most producers in this part of the country, Springbank

malts all of its own barley, and it also does all of its bottling on-site. Students are put up at nearby Feorlin Guest House, a six-room bungalow owned by a local couple. 44-158/655-2009; springbankdistillers.com; £875 per person.

Bruichladdich Academy Threeday course at a seaside distillery on the Isle of Islay that also includes evening trips to the pub, live folk-music performances, and informal talks on local history.

Face time with the operators in charge of each step of the whisky-making process is a main thrust of the program. Basic accommodations are provided (for four nights) at the recently refurbished Distillery House. 44149/685-0221; bruichladdich.com; £850 per person.

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INDONESIA

Organic produce from the farm.

Clockwise from left: One of the managers lends a hand; toiling out in the fields; harvest time.

Planting Seeds A farm near Jakarta aims to help local youth, save the earth and provide a sanctuary from the modern world, writes ROBYN ECKHARDT. Photographed by DAVID HAGERMAN 84

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Field Work Left: A class outdoors. Right: To start with.

T’S HALF PAST SIX in the morning and I’m high in the hills above Cianjur, a small agricultural town about two hours—in good traffic—south of Jakarta. I spent the previous night in a rustic bungalow on the grounds of the Maleber Tea Plantation, and after a cold-water mandi, I’m glad for the rising sun that’s burning off the last fingers of cool nighttime mist. As I pick my way down the rocky path that fronts the bungalow’s veranda, I greet women sporting flat-brimmed bamboo hats and men wreathed in clouds of clovescented cigarette smoke, plantation workers on their way to a day’s labor in the terraces. From the village of tile-roofed cottages nestled on the slope below rises a chorus of chicken squawks and the mechanical purr of a motorbike.

A stay at Maleber promises breathtaking sunsets, plenty of crisp air and solitude, as well as the opportunity to hike the plantation’s tea trails, tour its late 19th-century tea processing facility and pursue side trips to nearby Gede Pangrango National Park. But there’s more to Maleber than tea and pretty views. The plantation recently became home to The Learning Farm, a nonprofit that aims to change the lives of vulnerable youth by teaching them how to farm organically. I’ve come to learn how the organization combines its twin goals of saving the Earth and rescuing at-risk kids.

After a warming breakfast of bubur (creamy rice porridge topped with chicken, vegetables and fiery green chili sambal) purchased from a vendor just outside the plantation’s gates, I make my way to the double-storied villa that serves as The Learning Farm’s office, dormitory and canteen. Its current

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“batch,” or class, consists of 24 Javanese men ranging from 15 to 25 years old, a mix of newbies and graduates who’ve returned for more training.

In the middle of the villa’s manicured lawn, students stand in a tight circle around Miftah Zam Akhid, a cheerful moon-faced man who joined the farm six months earlier. Each morning, Miftah briefs them on the day’s tasks. This morning he passes out packets of seeds to a few before instructing others to drop to the ground for pushups—a punishment for breaching rules the previous day. A raucous sing-a-long ends with a chorus— “Organic? Organic! Organic? Organic! Poison …

No Way!”—accompanied by hand clapping, and then the students scramble for shovels, pitchforks and hoes, and head to their classroom: a 5,000square-meter plot of land adjacent to the house, set amid a patchwork of other small farms.

E’RE NOT JUST GIVING the students technical skills,” Jiway Tung, the project’s manager tells me later that morning. “We’re trying to change attitudes, and that’s a far harder thing.”

Tung came to Indonesia from Brooklyn in 1992 to teach English and study silat, an Indonesian martial art; stayed to earn a master’s degree in history; and then, with his Indonesian wife, took up organic farming in the Javanese village of Tugu, an experience that introduced him to the predicament of Indonesia’s under-educated rural youth. “There were so many kids who hadn’t even finished elementary school, and they were just at loose ends,” he recalls, shaking his head. He set up a weekend program to teach them English, computer skills

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| going green Farm Fresh Left: Feeding the earth. Right: A taste of the nonprofit’s produce.

Some pure street kids so took to the program, they had to be forced out of the fields in the EVENING and handicrafts, » “anything to occupy them and maybe help them earn a living.”

Inspired by his experience in Tugu, while studying in the United States he came up with the idea for a non-profit that would promote organic farming and provide nonformal education for vulnerable youth. When he approached American NGO World Education for financing, they signed on. With additional funds from other donors, he returned to Indonesia and launched The Learning Farm at the end of 2005. Although World Education still funds Tung’s position, the farm is now supported by a variety of private sector sponsors.

It is currently training its fifth group of students, who undergo a series of interviews to ascertain their suitability for the program. “It’s more of an art than a science,” assistant project manager Ngalim, who’s been with the farm since its inception, says of the interview process. “Motivation and commitment for the long term is what we’re looking for.”

During the four-month course, the students receive instruction in entrepreneurship and life skills, as well as organic-farming techniques. Highly motivated graduates can return for an additional two to eight months to add management and marketing skills, and every graduate who takes up 86

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farming receives regular visits from staff geared at helping them maintain their momentum.

HESE ARE YOUTH WHO people said would never take to this kind of work,” Ngalim says with a grin. “We see them not just taking to it, but succeeding.” I’ve just spent the morning in the fields, where students hoe up clods of heavy black soil, loosen it with pitchforks, and mix in goat manure and homemade compost. The farm is in the final stages of its relocation to Maleber from its original home in the nearby hill town of Puncak but the work remains the same. Miftah offers advice as needed, but for the most part the kids learn by doing, working with a modicum of chitchat—until, that is, mid-morning break, when pitchforks and hoes became air guitars as on-the-job restraint gives way to youthful energy.

Most of the students, according to Tung, “arrive lacking discipline and a regular routine,” needing to adjust to the farm’s rigorous 5:30 A.M. to 10:30 P.M. schedule. Yet the graduation rate has risen to 70 percent. And there are real success stories. Miftah shares his favorite, about the “pure street kids, tattooed ankle to shoulder” from Yogjakarta who, after initial difficulties, so took to the program that they had to be forced out of the fields in the evenings. “Getting them to look inside themselves and change was very difficult,” Ngalim says, “but once they understood what organics was about they began to love the plants.” The alumni now run a farm that supplies produce to organic restaurants in Yogja and serves as a teaching tool for students from a nearby agricultural university.

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HE NEXT DAY, I RISE before dawn and follow a guide up into the tea terraces to a wooden watchtower. My hopes of a spectacular sunset are dashed as clouds envelop the forested peaks, but the tranquility and invigorating air compensates.

I then visit The Learning Farm’s old home in Puncak where I find Eka, an animated former teen magazine editor who joined the farm because “we are really doing some good here,” supervising students as they ready produce for customers. The farm delivers 30 kinds of vegetables and herbs directly to customers in Jakarta and Bogor three times a week. Sales not only raise money but also allow students to learn firsthand about marketing and customer relations.

As I snack on just-picked carrots, the students pull the last of the season’s bounty—vivid crimson and green spinach, perky green onions, tiny cherry tomatoes and extravagantly full heads of leaf lettuce. After weighing and divvying the produce, they gingerly pack it into sacks labeled with customer names and place it in a cooler. Deliveries will go out first thing in the morning.

Back at the farm I speak with a few students. All evince a strong intellectual engagement with their vocation, and I’m struck by how passionately they advocate not only organics as a way of farming, but farming as a way of life. “To tell the truth, when I arrived here I wasn’t that interested,” says Andri, a quick-to-smile former warehouse worker from West Java who has returned to supervise the farm’s nursery and acquire additional technical skills.

“Most people think that farming is just hard work, but what you learn here is that there’s a real science involved. And it’s fun.”

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Twenty-year-old Tibi, who grew up helping his parents grow rice conventionally, admits to adjustment problems. “We’re disciplined from the moment we wake up at 5:30 A.M. That’s tough.” But in just a few weeks he’ll graduate, and he’s determined to convert his entire village to organics.

“Now I know how to farm healthily. I want to start my own farm and run it organically, compost to harvest, and teach others how to do the same.”

Project manager Tung hopes that villagers who farm adjacent fields will see that organic techniques combined with direct market access—selling to consumers and supermarkets rather than to middlemen—can earn them a better living, and perhaps save Java’s precious farmland from falling into the hands of developers.

“We’ve come in low profi le, and we’re not going to chase neighboring farmers,” he hastens to add.

“But already they’re beginning to ask the students why they farm the way we do.” ✚ A viewing platform at the Maleber Tea Estate.

GUIDE TO ORGANIC FARM STAYS GETTING THERE Maleber is accessible from Jakarta by Silver Bird Taxi Service. 62-21/798-1234 or 6221/794-1234; Rp700,000 one way.

WHEN TO GO The Cianjur hills see more rain than much of Java. Try to avoid the rainy season, from mid-November through March, when downpours can last all day.

WHERE TO STAY Maleber Tea Plantation Simple but clean and comfortable bungalows, and single, double or triple rooms. The rooms are better than bungalows, with numbers 1–4 being the best. Ciherang, Pacet, Cianjur; 62263/523-331; doubles from Rp70,000.

Novus Puncak Resort & Spa The resort has 20 tile-floored, Javanese-themed rooms, some with balconies, and a spa and swimming pool. 180 Jln. Sindalanglaya Raya, Cipanas-Puncak; 62-21/532-3672; novuspuncak.com; doubles from Rp550,000.

WHERE TO EAT Maleber Tea Plantation The plantation can arrange meals to be served in its dining room with advance notice, though note that larger groups get priority. 62-21/798-1234.

WHAT TO DO The Learning Farm Tour the farm and, if you wish, work alongside students in the fields.

A donation of Rp100,000 per person is suggested. thelearningfarm@gmail.com.

Walks and Tea Factory Tour Arrange at the Maleber reception. 62-263/523-331; Rp2,500 per person.

Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park This 15,000-hectare park has trails leading to waterfalls, lakes, tropical mountain forests and volcanic landscapes. Apply for a permit (bring a copy of your passport) at the Park Office. Guides are not required, but if you want to trek extensively, you’ll want to hire one. Jln. Raya Cibodas, Cipanas, Cianjur; 62-263/512-776; gedepangrango.org.

Cibodas Botanic Garden This beautiful 80hectare tropical research station, which was originally planted in 1860, sits at the Cibodas entrance to Gede Pangrango.

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INDULGE YOURSELF

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BEIJING’S BEST BURGERS, SINGAPORE STALLS, VEGGIE FOOD IN ASIA AND MORE

Penang Journey through a cultural cuisine GOING GREEN GUIDE TO ORGANIC FARM STAYS

MARCH 2009

Hong Kong 5 secret kitchens you must visit now

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S I M O N F U R L O N G . S E S A M E E N C R U S T E D T U N A AT T H E K E M I R I R E S TA U R A N T I N U B U D

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T+L SOUTHEAST ASIA DISHES OUT THE BEST IN ASIAN FOOD, GIVING YOU INSIDER SECRETS ON THE REGION’S LATEST CULINARY TRENDS, GREAT LUNCH DEALS, MOUTHWATERING STREET EATS AND MUCH MORE R E P O R T E D A N D W R I T T E N B Y R O B Y N E C K H A R D T, J E N L I N - L I U , DAV E N W U A N D J E N N I F E R C H E N

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CAPRICE

JEAN-GEORGES

MAISON BOULUD

RISTORANTE SADLER

Asia’s Best Lunch Bargains. Feeling the pinch lately? These fine

MACAU Robouchon à Galera (3rd floor, Hotel Lisboa, 2–4 Avenida de Lisboa; 853/2888-3888; hotelisboa.com) might have received three stars in the new Michelin guide—the first and only restaurant in Macau to do so—but that doesn’t mean that you have to break the bank to dine here. This formal French restaurant with an Asian flair, run by Joël Robouchon, provides three-, four- and five-course lunches priced between MOP368 to MOP588, a huge savings over the MOP2,100 degustation menu at dinner. The set-lunch offerings include dishes like “Japanese egg yolk in herb ravioli, watercress and sea urchin in its own juice” and “braised Wagyu beef cheek, pepper aromatic and Dauphine-style creamed potatoes.”

HONG KONG Robouchon’s Hong Kong venture, the more casual L’Atelier Robouchon (4th floor, The Landmark, 1 Exchange Sq., Central; 852/2166-9000; joel-robuchon.com), offers a HK$398, three-course lunch special, which is enjoyed at a counter with barstools that overlooks the open kitchen. • The two-Michelin-starred Caprice in the Four Seasons hotel (8 Finance St., Central; 852/3196-8888; 90

fourseasons.com) offers fantastic views of Victoria Harbour, contemporary French cuisine, and a HK$380, twocourse weekday lunch special. On weekends, the restaurant sweetens the deal by throwing in a glass of wine.

The menu has plenty of ingredients rarely seen in Asia, including roasted guinea fowl and venison.

Riccardo La Perna. The 32-year-old chef, who hails from Sicily and worked previously at Milan’s Armani Café and Park Hyatt, scatters whimsical touches like grape “caviar” on his appetizers, and recent samplings from the lunch special include main entrées like cuttlefish canneloni and braised beef cheek with smoked pumpkin gnocchi.

BEIJING Maison Boulud (23 Qianmen Dong Dajie; 86-10/6559-9200; legationquarter.com), which opened last May, offers an extravagant threecourse lunch at just RMB165 with mouthwatering items like steak tartare with poached quail eggs and briochecrusted snapper that have defined Daniel Boulud’s refined-yet-rustic French cuisine. Maison Boulud is the chef’s first venture in Asia and is led by executive chef Brian Reimer, who worked under Boulud at his flagship restaurant Daniel in New York for three years before moving to Asia. • Just next door is Ristorante Sadler (23 Qianmen Dong Dajie, Beijing; 8610/6559-1399; legationquarter.com), which offers a similarly competitive RMB160, three-course lunch special with contemporary Italian cuisine brought to you by executive chef

SHANGHAI A fantastic lunch and weekend set brunch is on the menu at the sexy, riverfront dining room at Jean-Georges Shanghai (Three on the Bund, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu; 8621/6321-7733; threeonthebund.com). For RMB228, diners get a three-course lunch with Jean Georges signature items like foie gras brûlée with sour cherries and candied pistachio, and newer dishes like slow-baked salmon with roasted pumpkin seeds. If that’s not cheap enough, perhaps the lunchtime bento box, at RMB188— comprised of a sampling of any four dishes on the prix-fixe lunch menu— will do the trick. Or dip into the very popular weekend brunch (RMB188), which includes four small portions of smoked salmon, eggs Benedict, pancakes and French toast, plus pastries, juice, and coffee or tea.

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F RO M L E F T: CO U RT ESY O F CA P R I C E ; DA R R E N S O H ; CO U RT ESY O F M A I S O N BO U LU D ; CO U RT ESY O F Z E I TG E I ST P RO J ECTS

restaurants offer top food at rock-bottom prices. By JEN LIN-LIU

Singapore’s Hawker Icons. In a city that’s overrun with joints that

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are hip-today, gone-tomorrow, DAVEN WU hunts down the true stalwarts The Dish

Who Makes the Best?

Where

Popiah

Seventy years ago, Ng Ann Ke’s grandfather set up a little hawker stall in Malacca Street selling popiah rolls — wafer-thin wheat flour crepes wrapped around braised julienned turnips, bean sprouts, garlic, a dash of chili, sweet hoisin sauce and, unusually, a handful of crisply fried fish skin. Four generations on, Ng and his son still make the crepes by hand. Patience is required as Ng folds up each popiah à la minute in a crowded, noisy suburban hawker center; but with every crunchy bite, it’s clear the wait was worth it.

Old Long House Popiah #01-03, Block 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7

Hokkien Mee

Hokkien mee is a fragrant mix of yellow-hued egg noodles stir-fried in a pork stock with prawns, garlic, squid and crunchy cubes of lard. Food-mad locals generally agree that Nam Seng is one of the best interpreters of the dish, though no one dares engage the dour elderly owner in any conversation beyond a timid order. Wearing goggles as he cooks (because of an eye condition caused by nearly four decades of standing over hot flames), he eschews the traditional addition of sambal. “My noodles are already so good, why do you need it?” he says.

Nam Seng Hokkien Mee #01-32 Old Airport Road Food Centre, Block 51 Old Airport Rd.

Kaya Toast

You won’t find a more authentic Singaporean breakfast experience then this: in a small nondescript coffee shop by a busy road under twirling ceiling fans, the clientele sits around circular marble-top tables happily cracking soft-boiled eggs into a shallow saucer. The only accompaniments are a sprinkling of white ground pepper, a splash of soy sauce over the perfectly cooked eggs and a side plate stacked with pillow-soft toasted white buns slathered with jade-green kaya (a thick jam made fresh each morning with eggs, pandan leaves and coconut milk).

Chin Mee Chin #01-32 Old Airport Road Food Centre, Block 51 Old Airport Rd.

Hainanese Pork Chop

Ignore the namesake dish, the star attraction here is Loo Kia Chee’s Hainanese pork chops. In 1946, Loo’s father began dishing out his perfectly crumbed, tender cutlets marinated with five-spice powder and draped with curry sauce to hungry wharf workers. Over the decades, the clientele has changed but the recipes — including the tender cabbage braised in soy sauce — have remained consistently good. Today, the curry gravy of Nyonya spices and chilli paste is still gently cooked for two days; its wafting fragrance hits the nose long before the dish arrives at the table.

Loo’s Hainanese Chicken Rice #01-88, 57 Eng Hoon St.

Prawn Fritters

It says something about how good these prawn fritters are that loyal customers start lining up before Quek Lin Seng and his wife arrive around noon to their dimly lit stall.

Each fritter is made fresh so the wait is considerable. Quek sandwiches fat grey prawns and bean sprouts between dollops of floury batter streaked with shallots and eggs. After a few minutes in hot oil, the fritters emerge golden and crunchy, and then served with garlicky chilli sauce, five-spice spring rolls, cubes of omelet, fatty cuts of sausages, fish cakes, fried tofu and, for a balanced meal, cucumber discs.

Five Spice Prawn Fritter 56A Zion Rd.

MSG MINUTE Naturally occurring glutamate — which we experience as umami — has long played a role in Asian cuisine. But it wasn’t until the early 20th century that a Japanese scientist managed to isolate, synthesize and introduce it to the world as MSG

{ { There are more than 400 different varieties of kiwifruit in China

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od fospecıal Dish Deconstruction: Curry Laksa. Ever wonder what exactly goes into a bowl of laksa? ROBYN ECKHARDT breaks down this Asian classic ne of the most adored dishes on the Malaysian peninsula, curry laksa—a coconut and chili-based noodle soup—is eaten around the clock. Its origins are murky, but the prevailing theory states the word “laksa” is derived from the Persian for noodle—laksha, which literally means slippery. One thing is clear, at some point in history, a cook decided to mix the noodles in a broth flavored with curry leaves and curry paste and a hawker center classic was born. Not all laksas are the same: there’s also assam laksa (sometimes called Penang laksa) and a host of regional variants on the theme. Curry laksa is perhaps the most widely found in Singapore and Malaysia. But be careful about where you order; connoisseurs recommend finding a specialist hawker who’s been plying laksa for years.

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Served on the side are sambal belacan, a condiment with a kick made from pungent shrimp paste pounded with fresh chilies and kalamansi. The tartness of the citrus lightens the unctuous broth, lifting the heavenly bowlful to new heights.

Recipes vary from cook to cook, but at its most basic the soup begins as a fish-based broth (some cooks throw in a bit of pork) that’s then flavored with a paste made from pounded dried chilies, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, coriander and cumin.

Fresh curry leaves add depth. A superior soup is spicy but not scorching and luxuriously coconut-y, but not heavy enough to induce a stupor.

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Prawns (blanched quickly to retain a bit of bite) and unappetizingly named but marvelously briny blood cockles (added raw, to be gently cooked by submerging in the hot soup) add a taste of the sea. Some vendors also add squid and/or cuttlefish and fish balls or cake. Fowl is added in the form of poached and shredded chicken breast. Soft, porous taufu pok (deep-fried bean curd) and thin rectangles of pork skin (in non-halal versions) act as sponges, soaking up the delicious gravy.

The origins of chopsticks aren’t clear, but they were widely in use in China by the Shang dynasty (1766 B.C.–1122 B.C.). Mainland Chinese use up to 45 billion disposable chopsticks a year

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Though in theory most any noodle — from thread-thin beehoon to wide kuay teow — can go into curry laksa, most aficionados stick to chewy yellow mee.

Contrasting with the tender noodles are crunchy bean sprouts. Fastidious curry laksa makers also add snake beans and wedges of eggplant. Once the bowl is assembled it’s topped with a flurry of golden fried shallots, caramelized to lend a sweet note to the spicy

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There’s no need to pluck durians; when they’re ripe, they fall from the tree, usually at night

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Asia’s Newest Food Fads. What people in Beijing and Bali are eating now. By JEN LIN-LIU

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Beijing Just a year ago, it was hard to find a burger in Beijing that wasn’t a Big Mac. Now a slew of joints has opened serving gourmet versions of the American classic including Let’s Burger (Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Bei Lu; 86-10/5208-6036), located in the Sanlitun bar district. The Hong Kong–owned restaurant’s over-the-top creations include its signature Let’s Burger, topped with duck liver, tiger prawns, avocado and mozzarella. A station of dipping sauces, ranging from blue cheese to wasabi mayonnaise, complement the herbed french fries.

• Twenty-Five Degrees (7 Gongti Xi Lu; 86-10/6552-3600; hotel-g.com), sister to the popular L.A. restaurant, is located in the glam boutique Hotel G, just west of Worker’s Stadium. With a bar, DJspun hip-hop tunes and its proximity to many nightclubs, this eatery lures stylish late-night revelers. Burgers come with your choice of dozens of fillings, including arugula, shiitake mushrooms and avocado. Avoid the watery milkshakes, but do order a side of truffle-oil french fries.

• New York celebrity chef Daniel Boulud brings his famous DB Burger to the capital’s Maison Boulud (23 Qianmen Dong Dajie; 86-10/6559-9200; legationquarter.com). In a classy dining room that once housed the American Embassy, you can enjoy the best burger in Beijing—a juicy sirloin

burger stuffed with foie gras and chopped short rib meat, served with extra crisp pommes frites.

Bali If meat isn’t your thing, head to Ubud, where a nascent raw food scene is starting to bloom. The COMO Shambhala resort’s Glow (Begawan Giri; 62-361/978-888; cse.como.bz) features Australian chef Chris Miller’s healthy, uncooked dishes, including a delicious pumpkin and macadamia nut pizza with a base made of dehydrated nuts and seeds and sundried tomato sauce. • In central Ubud, the popular vegetarian restaurant and coffee bar Kafe in January opened the nearby Little K (Jln. Pengosekan; 62361/971-236), serving a full raw menu with items like zucchini and cashew lasagna and tacos filled with spicy marinated carrot pulp. T+L Tip A new Ubud-based blog called Raw Food Bali (rawfoodbali.com) keeps readers updated on raw food on the island.

Street Food Smarts. Tempted

by Asia’s road-side banquet but worried about stomach bugs?

Follow these timetested rules and you should be in the clear Hot and fresh usually means safe. Street food that’s made to order not only tastes better, it’s also had less time to attract flies and germs. Heat also kills nasty bacteria, such as E. coli.

Follow the crowds. A popular vendor is one that serves tasty—and safe—treats. Successful street stalls also go through their ingredients quicker, which means less spoilage.

When it comes to ordering, take a look at what others are getting.

Cleanliness is next to holiness.

Good cooks observe proper hygiene, and you’ll notice that some street vendors are constantly washing up, wiping down tables and shooing flies. In Thailand, most vendors wear a cap or have their hair tied back. Really conscientious stalls have someone other than the cook to handle the money (those grimy bills host germs as well). Just to be safe, you can always wipe your plate and utensils or give them a quick rinse with hot tea or bottled water.

Watch the water. If you’re unsure about the water, be careful with anything washed in it and eaten raw.

In Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, ingredients washed in tap water are generally OK. Use discretion in Laos, Cambodia, Burma and the more remote areas of Vietnam, Indonesia, China and the Philippines.—JENNIFER CHEN

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od fospecıal Reading Tea Leaves. Asia’s original caffeinated beverage is making a comeback. But do you know your oolong from your lapsang souchong?

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personally visited. With a deal to distribute its goods through Dean & Deluca in New York, TWG Tea plans to expand across Asia. Bouqdib isn’t daunted by the idea of bringing tea to China, where the drink originated: “As tastes develop with time, with each new generation, so should these traditions,” he says. For now, you can sample their exquisite teas at the company’s flagship salon in Singapore (#01-22 Republic Plaza, 9 Raffles Pl.; 65/67331837), along with deliciously dainty pastries.—J.C. We asked Bouqdib to pick his all-time favorites...

Tea Manjhee Valley SFTGFOP1, black tea Place of Origin Himachal Pradesh, India Qualities Grown at altitudes of up to 1,500 meters, it’s harvested between March and October; when brewed it has a “delicate, floral taste,” says Bouqdib. Infusion Time 3 minutes Water Temperature 95º C

Tea Maloom FTGFOP1, black tea Place of Origin Nepal Qualities “A great rarity,” Bouqdib says of this tea, which results in a sweet, berry-flavored brew. Infusion Time 3 minutes Water Temperature 95º C

Tea Oolong Prestige Tea, blue tea Place of Origin Vietnam Qualities Bouqdib praises this tea for its “intensely grassy” aroma and jade-colored leaves, which produce a sweet, delicate brew with a slight toasty aftertaste. Infusion Time 4–5 minutes Water Temperature 95º C

Tea Pu-er 1998 Place of Origin Yunnan, China Qualities A fermented tea that recently suffered a speculation-driven bubble, Yunnan’s famed pu-er produces an intense, earthy liquor. “Full and empowering,” says Bouqdib. Infusion Time 5 minutes Water Temperature 95º C

Tea Gyokuro Samurai, green tea Place of Origin Japan Qualities “This tea is a work of art, hand-picked once a year,” notes Bouqdib. Grown from a sweet, small-leaf variety, this tea has a slight (but pleasant) vegetal aroma. Infusion Time 2–3 minutes Water Temperature 50º C

Tea GFBOP1 Marinyn, black tea Place of Origin Kenya Qualities This African specialty produces a “full-bodied, flavorful tea.” Infusion Time 2–3 minutes Water Temperature 95º C

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STILL LIFES: CHANOK THAMMARAKKIT

WG Tea wants to re-acquaint Asians with the drink of their forefathers. It’s an ambition that’s less foolhardy than it seems. Offering more than 600 different varieties of whole-leaf teas, blends and tisanes, including some that fetch thousands of dollars per kilogram, the Singapore-based purveyor of fine teas possesses great pedigree: one of the co-founders, Taha Bouqdib, worked with Mariage Frères, the legendary Parisian tea merchants, for 15 years. TWG Tea’s wholeleaf, hand-picked teas are sourced from small garden estates in Asia and Africa, all of which Bouqdib has

Tea Trivia All types of tea are from the same plant, called Camellia sinensis, which can live up to a hundred years. As with wine, the terroir influences the quality, taste and aroma of a tea.

The color of a tea doesn’t actually refer to the hue of its leaves; rather, it’s a way of classifying different teas according to how long they’ve been oxidized — from unoxidized white teas to aged pu-er.

Tea that has been steeped a long time actually has less caffeine than a brew in which the leaves have been sitting in water for a few minutes. That’s because all the caffeine in the leaves is released in three minutes. The longer tea leaves are in water, the more tannin is released and the less potent the caffeine becomes.

All types of tea are

How to Make a Proper Cuppa. Our step-by-step guide to brewing loose-leaf tea

I L L U S T R AT E D BY WA S I N E E C H A N TA KO R N

1 Don’t boil water! While boiling water is imperative to tea bags, it harms loose-leaf tea, affecting the aroma and flavor. Instead, the water should reach a simmer of around 95 degrees Celsius; for white and green teas, the temperature should be even lower—around 70 degrees Celsius.

Always fill your kettle with cold water.

4 Pour the simmering water onto the tea until all the leaves are submerged, and cover. Steep the tea for the required time and then promptly remove the strainer. If you steep a tea for too long, it becomes bitter.

2 Warm your teapot and strainer by rinsing them with hot water. When hot water hits something cold, it immediately starts to cool down—not ideal conditions for tea.

5 Give the tea a stir to evenly distribute the tannins and then pour.

“Teas from great gardens should not be drunk too hot,” says Taha Bouqdib of TWG Tea. “Let them stand a few moments after steeping, so that the palate can better appreciate the most subtle of fragrances.”

3 Put the tea in the strainer, a teaspoon per cup, and then into the warmed teapot. Let it sit for a bit (the steam helps to develop the aroma).

6 Good-quality teas can be infused up to five times; just add more hot water and remember to let it steep for less time with each infusion.—J.C.

High-quality tea uses only the bud and top two leaves — the youngest and freshest — on a branch while most teas use the bud and the top three or four leaves. White teas use the young, downy buds, and in the case of White Peony, the first, tender leaves. In China, white teas are highly prized, and were once reserved only for the emperors and nobility.

Tea has catechins, a type of antioxidant that reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Tea is also a source of fluoride, which helps prevent tooth decay.

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od fospecıal Vegetarians’ Guide to Eating in Asia. T+L picks some of the best bets for meatless dishes and veggie restaurants in the region eing a vegetarian in East Asia can be challenging. Buddhism might have deep roots here and vegetables regularly feature in many Asian meals, but make no mistake, Asians love their meat and seafood. Fish sauce sneaks into many Thai and Vietnamese dishes; in Indonesia, vegetarians are often served chicken in lieu of meat (ayam is ayam, not daging). Only China has developed a wide-ranging vegetarian cuisine that’s on par with what India has to offer. Still, it’s pretty tough-going for vegetarians outside of China’s major coastal cities.

Don’t despair. Vegetarians now enjoy a wider choice of eateries. It’s still a far cry from Berkeley, California, though, so we’ve cobbled together a list of easy-to-find meatless dishes from around the region and other tips for our vegetarian readers.—J.C.

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Dish

What’s in it?

Warning

Where

Gado-gado

Recipes for this Indonesian salad vary, but the basic ingredients are the same: cooked vegetables (cabbage, string beans, young jack fruit, bitter melon, water spinach and bean sprouts in any combination), raw vegetables (carrots and/or cucumbers), boiled potatoes, fried tofu or tempeh and boiled eggs, topped with a peanut sauce (sambal kacang).

Gado-gado is usually accompanied with prawn crackers.

A lot of restaurants serve limp, soggy gado-gado. For an excellent version, try The Peacock Café (The Sultan Hotel, Jln. Gatot Subroto, Jakarta; 6221/570-3600; sultanjakarta.com).

Gaeng som cha-om khai

This orange-hued lip-puckeringly sour curry — made with ginger or galangal, tamarind, green vegetables, curry paste, palm sugar and fish sauce — features chunks of acacia-leaf omelet swimming in it.

Fish sauce is used in this dish, and the curry paste usually contains shrimp paste.

Vegetarian-specialists Khun Churn (120/2 Nimmanhaemin Road, Soi 7, Chiang Mai; 66-53/224-124) also dish up meatless versions of Thai classics such as khao soy and laab (made with mushrooms).

Som tam

From Thailand’s northeast, this street-stall classic has a few regional permutations. In Bangkok, som tam thai is the most widely found. It’s sweeter than other variations, and it usually has green papaya, tomatoes, garlic, carrots, bird’s eye chilies, string beans, tamarind juice, lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, roasted peanuts and dried shrimp.

You can ask the vendor not to put in the dried shrimp (gung heng), but most street stalls won’t have a ready substitute for fish sauce.

Street vendors produce the best som tam, but if you want to sit inside, join the queues at Som Tam Nua in Bangkok (392/14 Siam Square Soi 5; 66-2/251-4880).

Su cai jiao

Many dumpling joints in Taiwan serve a vegetarian version. Recipes vary, but they usually consist of a filling made with dried mushrooms, tofu, rice vermicelli and chopped greens stuffed inside a flour wrapper.

This dish is safe for vegetarians, though you might not be able to resist ordering another!

The vegetarian dumplings at Taipei’s venerable Din Tai Fung (194 Xinyi Rd., Section 2 near Yongkang St.; 8862/2321-8928; dintaifung.com.tw) are as scrumptious and substantial as the meatier ones.

Goi cuon chay

Vietnamese soft spring rolls with rice vermicelli, pickled carrot and daikon, fried tofu, lettuce, bean sprouts, mint and cilantro. Chinese chives and peanuts are sometimes included.

Another all-clear for veggies, though be sure to specifically ask for these; there are meaty versions.

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A vegetarian oasis, Com Chay Nang Tam (79A Tran Hung Dao, Hanoi; 84-4/942-4140) dishes up innovative, meatless takes on Vietnamese food.

F R O M T O P : © F R I E D E L G R AT N T / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; © L E A F / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; W A N N A P H A N A W AY O N ; © T H O R J O R G E N U D VA N G / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; © P I N K C A N D Y / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M ; © S U T P R AT TA N / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M

Asian Vegetarian Classics

Watashi wa bejetarian desu

“

“

I’m A Vegetarian Ngóh sihk jaai

Dichan (female)/ pom (male) gin jae

Wo chi su

K’nyom nyam m’hoab boo-ah

Saya tidak makan daging

JAPANESE

MANDARIN

CANTONESE

BAHASA

Ch’aeshik juwi imnida

Tôi an cha

THAI

VIETNAMESE

KHMER

KOREAN

Q+A. ROBYN ECKHARDT talks to husband-and-wife cookbook-writing team Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford, authors of Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China

CO U RT ESY O F N AO M I D U G U I D A N D J E F F R EY A L FO R D

O Would you rather be at home

or on the road?

Alford: I like what we’re doing now— being somewhere else but living somewhere else.

Duguid: On the road, out and about. I don’t like knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow, and I like the engagement that happens when I travel and the freedom from the dayto-day responsibilities of home.

O Airplane food or no?

Duguid: Plane food. There’s no point starting a trip believing you can control your environment, and that should begin at the airport.

O What are the first few things you do when you arrive somewhere new?

Duguid: I learn the basic words of social navigation and appreciation— “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Excuse me,” “How beautiful!”, “How delicious!”—

from people at my guesthouse. Then I wander, without my map at first, just to see what I come across.

O Tell us about a particularly memorable meal.

Alford: In 1977, I was living in India.

Every evening I ate at a place that was also an orphanage. I remember eating banana leaf rice and the new kids who’d never seen a blond foreigner would just stare and stare.

Duguid: We eat with our heads and our hearts. In a Tibetan village in 1985, we were sleeping on a roof and just starving. There were boiled potatoes and coarse salt, nothing else. That meal I remember because we were in need and those potatoes were so good.

O Where does one go in Asia to eat fabulously?

Alford: Thailand. India’s way up there, but Thailand’s easier. The food’s more abundant, more diverse. I especially

like the afternoon markets where you can buy prepared foods.

Duguid: Anywhere in Southeast Asia, including Guizhou and Yunnan.

[Elsewhere] Georgia is a place with an unbelievably complex, wonderful cuisine. And Ethiopia is the perfect place for vegans—there are 200 fasting days a year, on which no animal products are eaten.

O And where’s a good place to sample the local spirits?

Alford: Thailand, for lao khao, rice liquor made on farms. In Taiwan there are incredible liquors like jiapi, a medicinal liquor, about 60 proof, that’s sort of a brandy but not.

Duguid: There are wonderful Chinese liquors in Mae Salong, northern Thailand. My advice: take a friend so you have someone to sample with and bring some fruit juices so you can try them as cocktails as well as straight.

T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A

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ASWAN, EGYPT. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARTIN MORRELL

Every dish has its day in PENANG LIVE and dine like a local in France Cruising along the NILE in luxury SIKKIM: land of beauty and mystery 99

In Penang, every delicious dish comes with its own bit of have at the historic Malaysian getaway will only add to the

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Eat the

history and, as Robyn Eckhardt writes, every meal you memorable lore. Photographed by Pablo Andreolotti

A portrait of one of Cheong Fatt Tzeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wives in his Georgetown mansion. Far left: Eating at an old Georgetown cafĂŠ is a great introduction to the island. Left: Minced meat cakes, typical Nyonya Baba fare.

breeze

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O

N A BALMY SATURDAY afternoon I’m at a table in Kota Selera, a food court next to Penang’s 18th-century Fort Cornwallis, listening to rain thrum on the corrugated metal roof. The sudden shower that cut short my stroll along the ramparts has become a monsoonal downpour, so I settle in to wait it out with a plate of mee goreng.

In Penang every dish tells a story. My fried noodles start with Indian Muslims from Tamil Nadu who sailed to the island to trade in areca nut—or pinang, from which the island gets its name—centuries before British Captain Francis Light persuaded the Sultan of Kedah to grant it to the British East India Company in 1786. It continues with the Indian Muslim laborers, merchants, traders and money-lenders who settled there afterwards. These foreigners—called “Mamak,” for the term many Tamil Muslims use to address their seniors, “mama”— left their mark on the local cuisine, in the form of dishes cooked in a potent paste of dried red chilies.

My mee goreng is cooked by Shahul Hameed, a solid, serious Tamil Muslim who’s rented a spot at Kota Selera for more than 30 years. He follows a recipe inherited from his father, who began selling mee goreng from a stall at Penang’s old port in 1942, when the Japanese occupied the island. As I dig into the noodles, a carrot-hued tangle crowned with sotong mamak, or squid simmered in a fiery blood-red sauce made from roasted and ground dried chilies, I ponder the dish’s lengthy story. History resides everywhere in Penang, from street signs to smart prewar shophouses and ornately embellished colonial mansions.

Often, it’s on the plate in front of you.

I MADE MY FIRST VISIT TO PENANG FIVE YEARS AGO, lured by tales of exquisite Nyonya fare and a street-food scene to rival any other in Southeast Asia. I don’t think I saw much of the island outside of its hawker stalls, coffee shops and restaurants on that visit, for all I remember is an endless banquet of famous local specialties: asam laksa and laksa lemak, char koay teow, » 102

A group of Malay schoolgirls on the Georgetown promenade. Clockwise from right: Passing the day behind one of Penang’s characteristic awnings; preparing nasi lemak, a rice in coconut cream offering, with care at a local market; a typical street corner in Georgetown’s historic center.

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pasembur, rojak, lorbak and prawn noodles. I’ve since returned as often as I can, making a point each time to interrupt my morning-to-midnight grazing for proper sightseeing. In the last five years, Penang has experienced rising tourist numbers and a recent growth spurt that’s earned it unofficial status as Malaysia’s second city. Yet it has managed to retain its allure, in the form of a unique combination of unspoiled beaches, vast tracts of green space and a relatively intact heritage.

The island’s crown jewel is Georgetown, built by the British after they declared Penang part of India near the end of the 18th century. It was later incorporated, along with Singapore and Malacca, to form the British Straits Settlements.

To walk the city’s orderly grid is to trace its history as a trading center that attracted settlers from all over the world.

Streets, in addition to being named after the former British empire—King and Queen streets in Little India—and early leading landowners and local administrators—Francis Light named Georgetown’s first thoroughfare, which runs alongside Fort Cornwallis, after himself—remember the varied ethnic groups that contributed to its architectural eclecticism, multi-layered culture and unique culinary landscape.

Acheen Street was home to spice traders from Aceh and Cintra Street, named after a Portuguese port, became the

base for Eurasians. The builders and craftsmen who arrived on Penang from Kerala as convict laborers and are credited with some of its loveliest architectural flourishes settled on Kampong Malabar, while Penang’s early Chinese traders set up shop on China Street.

Georgetown’s collection of prewar buildings, the largest in Southeast Asia, includes southern Chinese-style temples and arcaded shophouses and opulent mansions built by Nanyang Chinese—the indigo boutique hotel Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is the best example—Peranakan Jawi and Baba Nyonya, the latter two descendents of unions between Indian Muslim and Chinese traders and local women. But that’s not to say that the city—which, together with Malacca, was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status last year—is merely a theme park monument to prewar architecture. Among its backpacker cafés, “antique” shops and travel agencies there still exist second- and third-generation hawkers, old-style restaurants, artisan food makers and small-scale craftsmen plying their trades as they have for decades.

In places like Restoran Aik Hoe, life proceeds at much the same leisurely pace it did when the doors opened in 1952.

Shortly after dawn, the old Cantonese teashop is crowded with patrons—retirees with grandchildren mostly, and »

There still exist third-generation hawkers, old104 184

Opera Oriental Cuisine offers a fusion menu as eclectic as its interiors.

Opposite: Chefs at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel.

style restaurants and artisan food makers 105

the odd backpacker who’s wandered over from Chulia Street —sitting around marble-topped tables sipping tea, gossiping and nibbling on dim sum selected from gigantic bamboo steamer trays. I’ve spent hours in Aik Hoe’s friendly embrace, hunkered over plates of toothsome bean-curd skin wrapped around minced pork and bowls of creamy congee drizzled with garlic oil and topped with ginger strips. A table at the front of the restaurant is an excellent spot from which to observe the action on Carnavon Road. Basket-toting housewives stride purposefully to Campbell Street Market, a lovely brick corner building with cast-iron columns, modeled after London’s Covent Garden, uniformed schoolchildren ride pedicabs adorned with gaudy plastic flowers and grannies hassle the kitty-corner pork seller cleaving ribs from half a carcass. The crowd thins only around 9:30 A.M., when Lucy’s Perm Parlour across the street opens for business.

ON THIS TRIP, I STAY AT 110 ARMENIAN STREET, a beautifully refurbished prewar shophouse in an area of Georgetown settled by Armenian traders from India. The Sarkies brothers, former owners of Penang’s Eastern & Oriental Hotel and Raffles in Singapore, were the community’s most famous members. Armenian Street is gradually gentrifying: other shophouses have been spruced up and turned into galleries and a German-owned café, and rumors abound that a row of four more will soon be converted to a boutique hotel. Yet the quiet, narrow lane feels anything but twee. A right turn from the double wooden-door entry of my temporary abode takes me to what was the Penang base of Sun Yat-sen, engineer of the Chinese nationalist revolution, and to a grand mansion that once belonged to Syed Mohamed Atlas, an arms smuggler who supplied the Acehnese resistance to Dutch rule in the late 19th century and is now the site of the Islamic Museum. In the opposite direction, two corner kopitiam serve strong, sock-brewed coffee and host hawkers dishing up wonton mee and curry laksa. In between, shophouses in various states of repair are occupied by long-resident families going about their daily business.

Georgetown owes much of its lively street culture to the Chinese temples and clan houses that dot its lanes. Armenian Street boasts five ancestral temples belonging to the island’s most prosperous Hokkien clans, from China’s Fujian province. One night I walk back from a spectacular dinner at Goh Huat Seng, a half century old Teochew restaurant on Lebuh Kimberley that specializes in lor ark (duck braised with Chinese five-spice) and steamboat cooked the old-fashioned way in charcoal-fired copper braziers, and turn the corner to find a full-blown Chinese opera in progress. Extravagantly made-up performers clothed in poster paint–bright costumes

Georgetown owes its lively street culture to the 106

A DVD shop with a difference in Georgetownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Little India.

Chinese temples and clan houses on its lanes 107

A staff member at the calming Jing-Si Books and CafĂŠ in Georgetown.

Opposite: The refined Eastern & Oriental Hotel.

On this shady beach, the visitor must make do 108

stride across a small stage erected across the street from Yap Kongsi, an ancestral hall and adjoining temple belonging to the Hokkien Yap clan. Worshippers carrying offerings stream in and crowded banquet tables spill out into the courtyard.

Each year, clan members pool funds to stage the performance, which lasts five days, in celebration of the temple’s patron deity’s birthday. That night and the next I fall asleep to the clash of symbols entwined with the sinuous, highpitched intonations of the opera singers.

TWENTY MINUTES NORTH OF GEORGETOWN, street culture gives way to beach culture. Penang’s sand-and-surf scene centers around Batu Feringghi, an approximately 2-kilometer stretch of coarse honey-hued sand anchored at its eastern end by the upscale Shangri-La Rasa Sayang resort. If the pace is slow on Georgetown’s Carnavon Road, here it has to be described as absolutely sluggish. On Batu Feringghi you can rent a speedboat, a Jet Ski or an ATV, though on the morning of my visit most beachgoers opt for a lengthy lie-down punctuated by occasional forays into the placid ocean. A bit of history resides here too, in the form of the Lone Pine Hotel, a battened-wood colonial relic whose wide lawn harkens back to the days of croquet and a proper beachside afternoon tea.

For most travelers a journey to Penang’s “other side” ends here, but I’m intent on seeing some of the island’s west. The stretch of road from Feringghi to Balik Pulau, an agricultural town settled in the late 1700’s by Chinese and Malays from southern Thailand, cuts inland at the Malay fishing village of Teluk Bahang and its deserted sweep of sand. It then winds up and over hills dotted with fruit plantations—April through June is the best time to sample Penang’s fabulously creamy durian in situ—before dropping to a valley thickly planted with coconut trees. I arrive in Balik Pulau too late for its large Sunday pasar tani (farmer’s market) but just in time for lunch, which I split between two laksa stalls facing off across the main street. Though the mildly spicy, lushly coconut Siamese laksa dished up by the first vendor is notable for its pungent galangal and lemongrass, I leave a piece of my heart with the second-generation asam laksa cook who bestows upon me a bowl chili-hot, tamarind-sour broth packed with fish and topped with shreds of pineapple, cucumber and mint. I wash both versions down with an oddly refreshing Penang specialty: fresh nutmeg juice tartened with sour plums.

Beyond its laksa and Sunday market, Balik Pulau features some fine old shophouses, Chinese and Indian temples, and an elderly silversmith who crafts charming miniatures of »

with powdery sand, sky-blue water and solitude 109

everyday objects like woks and abacuses. It also boasts proximity to Pantai Pasir Panjang. On this tiny strip of shady beach you’ll find no hotels, cafés or bars, and no lounge chairs or water sports equipment for rent. Instead, the visitor must make do with powdery white sand, an uninterrupted view over sky-blue water to the horizon, and utter solitude, interrupted only by the occasional put-put of a long-tail fishing boat engine.

ONCE PENANGITES WENT TO GURNEY DRIVE, Georgetown’s former north beach front, to makan angin, or “eat the breeze,” while strolling beneath its coconut trees and casuarinas. Now they—and any visitor remotely interested in food—head there to eat. I like to save Gurney for my last evening on the island, because if I’ve missed out on one or another local specialty, there’s a good chance I’ll find it there. I’ll start at the hawker center at its northern tip with a plate of char koay teow

fried up by Ah Meng, who’s been manning his wok since the 1950’s, perhaps, or a serving of mee java, a Malay–Chinese dish of yellow noodles cooked in a thick tomatoey sauce and topped with prawns and curried squid.

On this last visit I opt for rojak, a weirdly wonderful mélange of fruit, cucumbers and bean curd mixed with a sweet and savory shrimp paste–based sauce and sprinkled with peanuts.

Then I walk the promenade to Song River, one of a number of sea-facing colonial bungalows along Gurney Drive that have been turned into food centers. Five years ago I savored my first taste of Penang street food at Song River: ikan bakar, a meaty wedge of stingray sporting a charred glaze of honeysweetened bean paste studded with softened garlic shards and chopped chilies. I still remember it. Tonight’s version, cooked by a hawker who’s been toiling away at Song River for more than a decade, is as wonderful as ever. In Penang the past continues, perfectly.

GUIDE TO PENANG

110 Armenian Street Beautifully refurbished, eclectically decorated two-story shophouse in the center of Georgetown. 110 Armenian St.; 60-4/955-1688; info@bontonresort.com.my; rooms from RM1,500 inclusive.

WHEN TO GO High season runs December through Chinese New Year and during school holidays in August.

May to August is the dry season.

GETTING THERE AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, Silk Air and Thai Airways all offer flights to Penang.

G Hotel Rooms, suites and apartments feature minimalist furniture. 168A Persiaran Gurney; 60-4/238-000; ghotel.com.my; doubles from RM300.

GETTING AROUND Taxis charge a fixed flat rate. A ride from Georgetown to Gurney Drive, for example, costs RM12, and island tours, RM30 an hour.

Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort Rooms feature dark timber floors and luxe bed linens.

Jln. Batu Feringghi; 60-4/8811966; shangri-la.com; doubles from RM600.

WHERE TO STAY Eastern & Oriental Hotel Every suite includes a comfortable living area; some offer sweeping sea views. 10 Lebuh Farquhar; 60-4/222-2000; e-o-hotel.com; doubles from RM485.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion Thirty-eight rooms arranged around a central courtyard in a lovingly restored mansion. 14 Lebuh Leith; 60-4/262-5289;

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1926 Heritage Hotel This former British officers’ quarters offers simple but comfortable rooms in 24 restored link houses.

227 Jln. Burma; 60-4/228-1926; 1926heritagehotel.com; doubles from RM140.

Lone Pine Hotel Fifty rooms in what was Batu Feringghi’s first hotel. Jln. Batu Feringghi; 604/881-1511; lonepinehotel.com; doubles from RM260.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK Beach Blanket Babylon Drinks, light snacks and ice cream.

Lebuh Farquhar, Georgetown; 604/261-0289; drinks for two RM50.

Restoran Aik Hoe Old-style teahouse serving excellent dim sum, congee and noodles. 6 Carnavon Rd., Georgetown; dim sum for two RM16.

Nyonya Secrets Authentic home-style Nyonya fare. 32 Jln. Servis; 60-4/227-5289; dinner for two RM50.

Hameed Mee Sotong A good choice for noodle dishes. Kota Selera Food Court, Padang Kota Lama; noon to 8 P.M.; RM3.50.

Colonial Restoran Hainanese specialties in a nostalgic setting. 35 Armenian St., Georgetown; 60-4/261-4489; lunch for two RM40.

Goh Huat Seng One of Penang’s oldest and best Teochew restaurants. 59A Lebuh Kimberley, Georgetown; 604/261-5811; dinner for two RM45.

Rainforest Bakery Quality pastries and breads from a London-trained baker. 300 Chulia St., Georgetown; 60-4/261-4641; pastries and breads from RM1.50.

Kheng Pin Coffeeshop Hawker dishes are served at this 65year-old coffeeshop. 80–82 Jln. Penang, Georgetown; 60-4/2637711; lunch for two RM15.

David Brown’s Restaurant & Tea Terraces Colonial favorites served in a nostalgic setting on Penang Hill. Upper station, Penang Hill; 60-4/828-8337; lunch for two RM75.

Opera Oriental Cuisine & Lifestyle Gallery Offering a fusion take on Asian dishes. 3-E Penang Rd.; 60-4/263-2893 dinner for two RM85.

Shing Kheang Aun An eatery specializing in Hainan and Penang dishes. 2 Lorong Chulia, Georgetown; 60-4/261-4786; dinner for two RM50.

Gurney Drive Hawker Center A nighttime selection of Penang specialties. Persiaran Gurney; 4 P.M.–4 A.M.; dishes from RM2.50.

Song River Café It’s hard to go wrong at this food court set in a converted bungalow. 65 Persiaran Gurney; 60/124-899219; dishes from RM2.50.

Kim Laksa Lam Kong Coffeeshop, 67 Main Rd., Balik Pulau; 11 A.M.–5 P.M. (closed Wednesdays); Siamese laksa RM2.50, nutmeg juice RM3.50.

Bocadillo Café Open-air café serving fresh juices, breakfast and sandwiches beachside. Jln. Bayusenja, Batu Feringghi; breakfast for two RM50.

The G Spot Live jazz in a sleek, contemporary setting. G Hotel, 168A Persiaran Gurney; 604/238-000; drinks for two RM60.

Jing-Si Books and Café A calming stop for literature and a cup of tea. 31 Beach Rd.; 604/917-4567; drinks for two RM10.

M A P BY WA S I N E E C H A N TA KO R N

cheongfatttzemansion.com; doubles from RM250.

In Penang, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go far without stopping for a memorable meal.

Village fare Want to live—and dine—like a local in southern France? Look no further than the village bistros scattered throughout the region’s countryside. Christopher Petkanas uncovers five small-town cafés that offer an unforgettable taste of authentic French culture.

Photographed by Frédéric Lagrange

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Preparing for lunch at Les Deux Nines.

Bistro Life From top: Signage with panache; peaches stuffed with almonds at Café de la Lavande in the tiny village of Lardiers; the café’s exterior. Opposite: Chef Emmanuelle Burollet at the bar of the Provençal café.

T

he village bistro that may or may not also function as a café, grocery store and bread drop-off is one of rural France’s coziest, most sustaining traditions.

Since it is often the only spot to congregate and buy a newspaper in a village, as well as the place’s only business, the bistro acts as switchboard, nerve center and lifeline. But when it goes the village goes too: the countryside is crowded with the tombstones of isolated communities whose populaces have bolted to the cities, looking for life. Yet save the bistro and you give villagers a reason to stay. You save the village.

Travelers who hate being led by the nose are crazy about these institutions. Even if they can’t understand the gossip they overhear or the mutterings of the town drunk, they love the atmosphere of a social hub where non-villagers are received alongside the widowed pensioner nursing a pastis and the nonagenarian in carpet slippers shopping for a baguette. Rotary Clubs favor these places for their annual dinners, just as new parents book them for christenings. In the corner, often, is a bunch of guys behind a wall of smoke, playing cards and arguing about de Gaulle. On the other hand, it’s not as if everyone is born 7 meters from the front door. A couple of months ago, I ran into the director Adrian Lyne at Café de la Lavande, in Haute-Provence, dining on a magnificently fatty sauté of veal with salsify.

Is there anyone who doesn’t like to eat well and for not a lot of money? Who doesn’t want to help mend the holes in the economic fabric of a Provençal backwater? For some scholarly French pulse-taking I used to go to the basement level of the Paris department store BHV, the farmers’ market in Velleron in the Vaucluse, a certain droguerie in Roanne. These bistros are better.

They and their host villages are a threatened species. But maybe not for long. Bistrot de Pays, a grassroots initiative, creates new multiservice bistros and supports existing ones, grouping them into regional networks. Choose a network and the work of planning an itinerary for a »

A looking-glass view of Le Bistrot de Pierrerue.

Opposite from top: Emmanuelle Burolletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cherry clafouti; the road out of town; local parking.

great back-roads trip is done for you. Most of the association’s 210 members are in the south, in the Midi-Pyrénées and Provence, but circuits are planned for the entire country.

To qualify, the locality must have a population of less than 2,000 (“off the map,” it obviously can’t have a tourist office), and the bistro must be the village’s sole business, or at least just one of a few (the others can be butcher’s shops or boulangeries but not bistros). Owners sign an annually renewable contract, agreeing to attend training classes and regular meetings at which experts deliver talks on olive oil, say, or how to cook wild field greens. According to the Bistrot de Pays charter, they also pledge to play ambassador by furnishing guides and brochures and being knowledgeable enough about points of interest in their area to answer tourists’ questions.

Members are asked to sell postcards, newspapers and regional food products; hold periodic events like concerts and boules tournaments to bring villagers together; and use ingredients and serve dishes identified with the locale. If at lunch you eat a goat cheese made nearby and want to visit the producer, your waiter should know if this is possible and, if it is, how to arrange it. In the absence of a full or set menu at specific hours, a casse-croûte, or snack, of local foodstuffs like charcuterie is available throughout the day.

Ideally, the bistro should be open year-round and operate as a place where fresh bread is dropped off daily and sold. Beyond bringing the community a notch closer to self-sufficiency, the symbolism is powerful: a village that can offer its people bread controls its destiny. If the bistro has no grocery component, the deal is that residents can buy or borrow staples like flour and butter from the kitchen. This feature is particularly geared to elderly inhabitants who may be village-bound or have no way of getting to a supermarket.

For their dedication to the cause and an annual fee of US$150, Bistrot de Pays owners are consigned a rack for printed materials and a sign with the association’s logo, a rural landscape customized for each region: a perched village for the Drôme, a castle for the Ariège, a musketeer for the Gers. Early members still use the glass-fronted cabinets they were given to present items for sale. While the charter is not always as rigorously enforced as it might be, bistros have been stripped of their cabinets and kicked out for noncompliance. Missing from the charter but a not-unknown feature of the genre is a sometimes charming, always authentic cruddiness. The French seediness enshrined in La Mini Auberge, also in Haute-Provence, is as holy as any Romanesque church in the neighborhood and as such not to be missed.

Across the Durance River, the mayor of St.-Jurs believed so strongly in a bistro/café/grocery/bread drop-off that he built one, Les Deux Nines, with municipal funds. Before construction began on the village’s lone business, he knew that Eloïse Donnini, one of 150 residents, would run it. The grocery is adorable, a playtime vision of an épicerie. It stocks Orangina, boar pâté, lemons, chestnut purée, eggs, jars of pieds et paquets (lamb’s feet-and-tripe bundles), rice and horse-milk soap. The dining room is filled with bouquets of dried phlomis, collections of antique soup tureens and battered straw hats, and tables laid with faded checked cloths and mismatched vintage plates. A cabinet displays the range of Henri Bardoui Provençal aperitifs and digestifs, honey, honey cookies, and honey-and–pine-sap boiled candies. Views are of the »

Country Class Clockwise from above: Chef EloĂŻse Donnini; the village of St.-Jurs; a meal of smoked ham, oliveand-red pepper cake and feuilletĂŠ aux anchois; a lavender field near St.-Jurs.

The ruins of a 12th-century fortified castle crown the village of Reilhanette, and a church from the same era has three Baroque altars

Valensole Plateau, the world’s largest living carpet of lavender. Thousands of hectares of the plant bump right up against the horizon.

Home cooking is so abused as a come-on by restaurants in France you go expecting the worst and are served it. But the set menu at Les Deux Nines interprets the term as it was understood before corruption. Typically there are four appetizers: tapenade with tuna, an acceptable complication of the classic; endive-and-walnut salad; cured ham, tasting of hazelnuts and looking like folds of burnished leather; and a crusty carrot confection, neither cake nor custard, spiced with cumin. A main course of beef daube, flavored with bitter-orange peel and flanked by slabs of polenta, is as gelatinous as Donnini likes it, which is very, a happy sign that she couldn’t care less about wooing tourists. The menu includes a cheese course and two desserts, a flan and a walnut tart.

Forty-eight kilometers from St.-Jurs, an allée of chestnut trees leads to Le Bistrot de Pierrerue, in Pierrerue, whose 500 inhabitants last year celebrated five births and six marriages and mourned five deaths. Old-timers remember going to the bistro as children to screen movies. The unlikely people behind Pierrerue’s only storefront are Maryvonne and Mark Marinelli, Americans in their forties who formerly owned a corporate catering company in North Carolina. He’s in the kitchen, she’s out front in the dining room, running what is really the village’s common living room, hung with what the French call souvenirs de concierge. The reference is to the alleged mauvais goût of these postcards mounted on slices of wood and shellacked, popular 1950’s keepsakes now collected for their kitsch value.

The Marinellis’ worries about being accepted ended when a local agency that promotes small businesses gave them an interest-free loan—“And they knew we were American!”

Mark says. Aside from his very limited French and Maryvonne’s accent, there’s nothing that betrays the bistro

as being run by foreigners. This is true not just of the atmosphere but the food: silky quenelles of chicken-liver mousse; a lush duckling à la provençale (zucchini, tomatoes, green olives); tarte Tatin. The only grumblings have come from an employee of the town dump who would like the couple to open at 7:45 A.M. rather than 8:00 A.M. so he could have a coffee before going to work. The bistro doesn’t offer newspapers or bread because a truck passes through the village with them every morning. A second truck selling groceries comes by on Wednesdays, triggering a fashion show of housecoats and support stockings.

You could have a long lunch in Pierrerue and, driving lazily but with a hidden sense of purpose, cover the 64 kilometers between it and L’Oustau de la Font in the medieval village of Reilhanette, in the Drôme, in time for dinner. As a white-tablecloth restaurant (well, the cloths are actually beige), L’Oustau breaks the Bistrot de Pays mold, playing against type with napkin rings; flat, square plates squirted with jus and reductions; an exhaustive wine list with an entire page of red magnums (including a 1995 Châteauneuf du Pape from Château Beauchêne for US$220); polished service; edgy vegetable sorbets; fish with vanilla! The plates are a little impractical, but how can you not admire a commune of 131 souls that obliges fashion?

Stuck to a rocky hill face, Reilhanette is lavender and épeautre (wheat berry) country, wide-open, a little stark, humbling.

The ruins of a 12th-century fortified castle crown the village, and a church from the same epoch has three Baroque altars and a reliquary with a morsel of Saint Eutrope’s radius. The other reason for visiting is L’Oustau, which occupies an ancient stone house beside the old public laundry basin there where the village drops quickly away and the fields, knitted into a valley with a mountainous backdrop, take over.

Obviously the odds were not in favor of a demi-gastro version of a Bistrot de Pays here, but chef Ludovic Monier » 119

Dining alfresco at Les Deux Nines. Opposite from top: Chanterelle mushrooms, a favored ingredient; the Lardiers countryside; CafĂŠ de la Lavandeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s menu board.

and Jean-Michel Valéry, his front-of-house associate, were determined not to serve ham sandwiches and steak frites even if it meant their kids went shoeless for a while. Both in their thirties and unafraid of a 14hour day, they bet that, beyond vacationers, a serious restaurant would find an audience with people who live in the area if the portions were generous, or rather extravagant.

They weren’t wrong. The mayor and town council order thick slices of a sucré-salé terrine that dares and succeeds. Alternating layers of foie gras and spice bread, it’s set off by a little dice of pineapple dusted with Sichuan pepper. A first-course beggar’s purse—a crackling sheet of Moroccan brik loaded with leeks, pearl barley and three disks of fresh goat cheese—is cut with a coulis of black Nyons olives loosened with olive oil. Monier overreaches a bit, but it’s in nobody’s interest to discourage a chef in a challenging location who’s raising the bar and is so keen to please. His lovely hand-painted water pitchers and organic sourdough bread are from a potter and a baker with a wood-burning oven down the road. You can’t argue with that.

L’Auberge—also in the Drôme, in St.-Pantaléon-les-Vignes—calls itself a restaurant gastronomique, and while it is not most people’s idea of one, like L’Oustau it earns your indulgence. The food is good, so who cares? Fifty-eight kilometers northwest of Reilhanette, St.-Pantaléon is a modest Côtes du Rhône wine village that looks across vineyards and apricot and cherry orchards to the foothills of the Préalpes. At one point in its 146 years, L’Auberge also incorporated guest rooms, a grocery, a café and a gas station. It’s a café–bistro only now, but still the village’s beating heart, anchored beside a washhouse and a thread of river under a canopy of wide-waisted plane trees. Permanently parked outside the entrance as a prop, next to a pyramid of wine casks, is a beautiful old Renault Juvaquatre, the ultimate French paysan getabout.

The tiny post office across the street keeps the kind of manically precise and maddening hours that govern provincial life in France (it’s open from 8:45 A.M. to 11:15 A.M.) and is the only place besides the bistro in St.-Pantaléon where its 320 citizens can enjoy a cash transaction, buying their stamps at the window and a baguette or croissant at an improvised table on their way out.

Magali Charousset and Brice Lambeaux met at hotel school in France in the 1990’s, became a couple and took over from her parents at L’Auberge five years ago, setting up housekeeping on the second floor. She cooks, he does everything else: watering a customer’s bulldog, running upstairs to fetch his hoodie for a Dutch lady who didn’t pack for the mistral, pouring into pretty etched glasses the on-the-house sangria-like aperitif of red wine from the village cooperative, apple juiceand crème de cassis. Charousset and Lambeaux are so fresh-faced and approach their jobs with so much optimism they’re like a pair of bistrotiers in a children’s book. Or maybe the creators of Ratatouille should make a movie about them.

Charousset is a young fogy, mounding vol-au-vents with crayfish, splashing trout with walnut vinegar, using only beef cheeks in her daube, sweetening a succulent quail with prunes and raisins and flaming it with cognac, roasting peaches with red wine. She also has ideas of her own, some a little weird for such an old-fashioned girl. Soupe au pistou—Provençal vegetable soup—comes not with the traditional sauce of basil, garlic and olive oil, but with a teeny bouquet of the »

herb in a glass of water, a can of oil posed directly on the table and chopped red onion(!?). Charousset is a chef whose concept of great winter food is pot-au-feu, poule au pot and tête de veau. You just have to assume she’ll come around to serving soupe au pistou the right way.

The gold standard of Bistrots de Pays in the Midi is Emmanuelle Burollet’s camera-ready Café de la Lavande, lost in the countryside in Lardiers, population 120, 100 kilometers from St.-Pantaléon. AOC Haute-Provence olive oil from Burollet’s own trees is drawn and sold from a stainless-steel canister inside the front door. Bare wood and tiletop tables are freighted with old silver and lyrical still-lifes of lychees, squash and clementines on ceramic platters. Armfuls of flowering almond branches screen soccer trophies behind the bar.

The hors d’oeuvres variées are amazing, and not because you’re drunk on charm. Artichokes are prepared à la grecque (braised with lemon, olive oil and coriander seeds), cornichons are fanned atop house-made duck pâté, and a gratin of puréed salt cod hides a fleecy interior. The daube is yet more unctuous than Donnini’s. This may be out in the sticks, but Burollet is no bumpkin. For dessert, prunes join apples not in a cake but a terrine.

Lardiers’s only other business is a pottery. Burollet would like a few more to shore up the place. She says she can use the help, but she is saving it by herself.

Christopher Petkanas is a T+L (U.S.) special correspondent.

GUIDE TO SOUTHERN FRANCE’S BISTROTS DE PAYS L’Auberge Place du Village, St.Pantaléon-les-Vignes; 33-4/75-27-9827; lunch for two US$95.

LOCAL INN: Une Autre Maison Pl. de la République, Nyons; 33-4/75-26-43-09; uneautre maison.com; doubles from US$130.

GREAT VALUE

Le Bistrot de Pierrerue Rue de la Ferraille, Pierrerue; 33-4/92-75-33-00; lunch for two US$54.

WHEN TO GO The region is at its best from late spring to early fall.

GETTING THERE From Paris, take the TGV (tgv.com) to Avignon, from where you can rent a car there. Plot your route and find more information on Bistrots de Pays at bistrotdepays.com.

WHERE TO EAT AND STAY Café de la Lavande Place de la Fontaine, Lardiers; 33-4/92-73-31-52; lunch for two US$74.

LOCAL INN: Le Jas de Boeuf Lieudit Parrot, Cruis; 33-6/50-97-96-37; colourdimensions. com; doubles from US$182.

GREAT VALUE

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Local Inn: Le Couvent des Minimes Hôtel & Spa Mane en Provence; 334/92-74-77-77; couventdesminimeshotelspa.com; doubles from US$429.

Les Deux Nines Place Bellevue, St.-Jurs; 33-4/92-74-30-73; lunch for two US$70.

LOCAL INN: Château d’Esparron Esparron-deVerdon; 33-4/92-77-12-05; esparron. com; doubles from US$184, which includes breakfast.

GREAT VALUE

L’Oustau de la Font Le Village, Reilhanette; 33-4/75-28-83-77; lunch for two US$100.

LOCAL INN: Richarnau Aurel; 33-4/90-64-03-62; richarnau-provence.com; doubles from US$92, including breakfast.

GREAT VALUE

CafĂŠ de la Lavande announces its status as a Bistrot de Pays. Opposite: Outside Le Bistrot de Pierrerue; the bistroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eggplant terrine with red peppers, tapenade and a goat cheese; a doorway in the 500-person village of Pierrerue in Haute-Provence.

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Views of the Nile from the steamship, Sudan, traveling from Aswan to Luxor, Egypt.

the thriving markets of aswan. the grand archaelogical sites of luxor. the lush, ancient landscapes. gini Alhadeff returns to egypt for a luxuriously unhurried riverboat cruise on the nile. photographed by martin Morrell

I

TEMPLE OF PHILAE, the actor playing the Nile Ri spoke with a British accent, and what a booming voice he had. I detected a River note of erotic no ero innuendo, too: “When I embraced your walls, your columns faltered,” the Nile told the goddess Isis. Still, they did not seem well suited for their ter they went declaiming around Philae, lighting up the pillars, then the parts as the pa façade, then a hall. The great French archaeologist Jean-François Champollion faç came in now and then sounding like Hercule Poirot. cam I was content to admire the view from my balcony at the Cataract Hotel in con Aswan the next morning, and relieved that the Nile was sticking to gurgling noises. There is nothing wrong with seeing a ruin from a distance, I mused, sizing up the Aga Khan mausoleum, golden-dust–colored amid the arid dunes of southern Egypt. A turbaned old gentleman engraved on an intricately inlaid artwork right above my bed appeared to be pondering what he would sell me that afternoon in the souk. The French doors to my wood-enclosed balcony creaked suggestively as the wind pushed them open. At other luxury hotels, immense staffs » NT THE SON E ET LUMIÈRE SHOW AT THE

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On Water Clockwise from above left: The Sudan’s staff; Ahmed, one of the steamship’s three captains; leaving Aswan at daybreak; wicker chairs and breakfast tables on deck. Opposite: Asmraf, one of the waiters on the Sudan, wearing a tarboosh.

The Sudan, docked in Aswan.

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This yacht, whose engine is more than 100 years old, had belonged to King Fouad. My cabin had curved windows gazing out on the Nile

of engineers make sure creaking is eliminated. But here, in deference perhaps to Agatha Christie, it’s permitted.

Christie wrote parts of Death on the Nile at this hotel, then continued aboard the steamship Sudan, which I was to board the next afternoon to cruise the Nile for four days, from Aswan to Luxor.

The brocaded walls of my historic room in the hotel’s old wing were littered with representations of ladies on pink satin settees in wonderful sitting rooms enclosed by those ubiquitous accessories of Moorish architecture and pleasure in general, wooden moucharaby lattice screens. Arches opened onto lush gardens. I could have done with a little settee myself a few hours later at the souk in Aswan, while looking at scarves and capes and djellabas, my head swimming from the variety to which my relentlessly kind merchant subjected me. This is, of course, what is meant to happen. One is not there, as in a mall, merely to get what one needs. One is there to engage in a personal relation with a fellow human being. And once you engage in it, you cannot go off thinking the one next door is better. In a souk, destiny draws you to the merchant who has the slightly lesser shawl, or the slightly more expensive one. No matter: Destiny draws you there and there you stay, settee or not, and usually, especially if you don’t find exactly what you require, you will emerge with several things you definitely did not need, and a vague sense of fatigue and disappointment and duty done that a cup of tea will set to rights. That is how a souk works. The next day you return to look for the scarf or tablecloth you didn’t see the first time around, but which the drawn-out shopping spree of the day before has washed your eyes to appreciate.

In the Moorish dining room of the Cataract, called 1902 for the year it was inaugurated, a waif in a white dress with a zigzag hem and bare legs sang “Strangers in the Night” to a backing track coming out of a karaoke machine, whose knobs she fiddled with between songs. Studying the menu, I didn’t know whether to have the fish just so I could have rice in a little pyramid with its top sliced off, or the lamb just so I could have the okra. Some childhood twinge made me yearn for a plate of rice and okra like my grandmother’s cooks so regularly produced in our house in Alexandria, where I was born.

The menu listed a dish dedicated to Lord Mountbatten, tender veal cubes for Princess Diana and a fish named after Princess Feryal.

Ahmed, the guide who came to escort me to the boat the next day, said I was the first person he’d ever met who didn’t

think the light show at Philae the most thrilling thing ever. It made me feel jaded. But I had started traveling through Egypt while still in my mother’s belly, and my father had driven through the night on the road from Cairo to greet my arrival in Alexandria, so I felt I had some excuse.

We drove all the way down the corniche, past dozens of boats: the Nile Beauty, Nile Romance, Nile Odyssey, Nile Legend, Nile Ruby, and a number of King Tuts—I, II and III. Finally, we stopped at what seemed like the end of the more crowded docks before the biggest boat of them all, a vast hull with darkened windows. It became clear that we had to go through its belly—through a grandiose lobby with flowery silk damask on the walls and a few windows of glittery gold and diamond jewelry—to reach the Sudan. We passed through another boat, this one more modest. Beyond it, quietly pretty in the most moving way, was the Sudan. It was the perfect ship, the ship I’d dreamed of, on two tiers with 23 cabins and five suites, overlooking wide generous decks equipped with tables and wicker chairs from which to admire the slow-moving scenery. On the top deck, one could recline on comfortable chaise longues. This yacht, whose engine is more than 100 years old, had belonged to King Fouad, and in my cabin, which had large curved windows gazing out on the Nile, a faded wedding portrait of King Farouk (who succeeded his father in the 1930’s) and his bride hung over the bed.

The dining room was wood-paneled, and its low ceilings reminded me of Harry’s Bar in Venice, with matching low tables and chairs. The tables were set with white Flanders-cotton tablecloths, and every day different arrangements of fresh flowers, such as pink gladiolus or yellow daisies, made their appearance. The meals consisted of simple and delicious Egyptian–Continental dishes: meatballs or shawarma kebabs with rice and baked cauliflower, for instance, or baby okra in tomato sauce, and homey desserts such as mahallabiyya pudding. The waiters wore stately maroon or navy djellabas with white arabesques down the middle, a wide sash at the waist, and a red tarboosh (as the fez is called in Egypt).

We spent the night in port and left Aswan at 5:45 A.M. after some maneuvering of the boat—which I heard, waking briefly. One shore was thick with palm trees, and I awoke again later as the sun was rising from behind them. There were rocks jutting into the Nile that were partly covered by shrubs; a tin house on a flat; small wooden boats—two of them, green and blue. A man crouched in one; another » 129

Temple visits, sublime as they were, felt like an intrusion into the activity of doing nothing with a view of the Nile before one’s eyes

man “beat the water” to “wake up the fish,” as our guide Maissa, an elegant and cultivated Egyptian lady from Cairo, put it.

The opposite shore was desert-like, and there was a road on which automobiles rarely passed. Sitting close to the large wood-framed windows, which ran all around one half of my cabin, I watched the Nile and its shores and the light visiting it gently at all hours, in varying intensities. I could hear the water beneath the hull of the boat. Now and then the boat’s engine emitted a kind of reassuring roar. We passed by low barren hills on both sides.

My twin gold-caned beds glimmered in the sunlight.

At the breakfast table of the steamship Sudan, the pear jam, a fragrant, thick, reddish compote with large chunks of fruit, was homemade. For the few days that my journey on the Nile toward Luxor lasted, I was reminded constantly of my childhood home, since the ship’s kitchen seemed to be run very much like my grandmother’s: small-grained Egyptian rice was served at practically every meal, to be soaked up in some fragrant sauce with tender bits of poultry or fish.

I went up to meet the boat’s captains, in the booth above the top deck. There were three, all named Ahmed, and they worked in shifts, though they were always somewhere near the bridge, which they slept in, or by the steering wheel, which was placed before a high, wide seat on which the Ahmed currently at the helm sat cross-legged in his sand-colored djellaba.

The director of the cruise, Mr. Amir, a delightfully reserved Copt, has been in charge of the boat for seven years and seems to cherish it almost in a manner normally reserved for members of one’s family. The Sudan runs as smoothly as its well-oiled pistons, which sit in an exposed well at the entrance to the boat for all to admire. Large wheels on either side churn the waters of the Nile into white froth and heave our graceful vessel gently along its course downstream.

I got used to emerging from my room onto the wide deck and climbing the generous winding staircase to the higher deck and terrace, or to the lower one where the bar and dining room were. A bell was rung for meals, and every time we returned from one of our excursions, which usually took place in the morning to avoid the heat, we were greeted with a glass of mint or carcade tea.

Mohammed Adil, the chief engineer, showed me around the engine room when I asked to see it. There was a narrow route through the various scalding-hot moving parts of it, and not enough space to stand up straight. He walked backwards, 130

bending forward at the waist so as not to hit his head, delicately holding my hand and indicating when I was to duck as I walked forward, also bent double, so that we seemed to be dancing a minuet, though in a set from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

When I went to town to get spices at the souk, I bought saffron from Iran, pepper from Sudan, mint, cumin, curcuma. The saffron turned out to be, as my Lebanese friend in Luxor, the hotelier Zeina Aboukheir, languidly predicted, “food dye, chèrie—you simply cannot get good saffron in Egypt.” But it was sealed in a colorful little basket and sewed up with straw, so I continued to hope it might be the real thing till the end of my journey.

W

E STOPPED TO SEE the temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu on the way to Luxor, so that all the drifting and languor wouldn’t turn us into smokers of hashish like the characters in Naguib Mahfouz’s Adrift on the Nile. The visits to the temples, sublime as they were, felt like an intrusion into the perfect activity of doing nothing with a rolling view of the Nile before one’s eyes. Still, it was on the walls of Kom Ombo, which means “city of gold,” that I first noticed a style of representing the human figure turned sideways, with the belly button facing forward. There was also a depiction of a woman giving birth, a baby descending between her legs.

The forceps, already in use in Ptolemaic times and also pictured, was the symbol of birth.

Kom Ombo is the most breathtaking ruin on the Nile, with its thick round columns partially supporting the roof, but Edfu is a proper temple. Esna, a town without tourist shops because tourists don’t stop here, could only be glimpsed from our mooring. By the third day the landscape had changed entirely, with desert-like beige mountains in the distance. I never tired of lying on a deck chair upstairs and watching one shore, then the other, till it was time for dinner.

The boat reached Karnak first thing in the afternoon on the third day, then Luxor toward evening: it was all lit up, and there was an impressive allée of illuminated sphinxes leading to the main entrance of the city. I made my way to Zeina’s wonderful Hotel Al Moudira, which she opened in 2002 and which is a kind of oasis of fragrant gardens and high-domed rooms set in the midst of a still rural part of the Delta.

I went to meet François Larché, a French architect who has worked at Karnak for more than 20 years, and who runs »

On Land Clockwise from above left: Hotel Al Moudira owner Zeina Aboukheir at her Luxor property; the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sitting room; artifacts at the temple of Ramses III, in Luxor; the Red Chapel of Hatsheput, at the Open-Air Museum in Karnak.

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The Temple of Edfu, outside Luxor.

the Open-Air Museum there. I walked past a chapel flanked by two broken pink obelisks that are facsimiles put in place to hold up the structure’s fragile walls. Larché arrived about 20 minutes late, a tall, thin man with blue eyes, pale gray shorts and a wide-brimmed straw boater. The museum was blissfully tranquil, enabling one to visit the reconstructed buildings in peace. The Red Chapel of Queen Hatshepsut, with its black granite and red quartzite walls, is a modernist’s dream—a smooth solid block with a single portal on a façade that is slightly higher than the roof. Under Larché’s supervision, 315 original blocks, which until 1997 had lain side by side, were fitted, along with newly carved blocks of the requisite dimensions, to form the structure. Larché pointed to the walls of the Amenhotep chapel whose striated alabaster walls, he said, resembled “moiré silk.” The reconstructed buildings are particularly moving as a work of the imagination: any missing pieces were replaced, but unlike the original ones, bear no reliefs—proving that architecture might be reproduced quite convincingly, but not art.

Larché explained how the buildings are being reconstructed, puzzled together piece by piece as more funds become

available. “Archaeology,” he said, “is very political. Sometimes our work is interrupted for months.” All of the buildings and fragments in Karnak’s Open-Air Museum come under his supervision, except for two temples that Henri Chevrier, the first Frenchman to have participated in this particular dig, had assembled beginning in the 1920’s.

As Larché and I headed toward the exit, I asked him, “Are you used to the heat?” He said that no, one never got used to it. His hands were worn, the skin cracking and taut. On the main street we ran into a guard who greeted Larché and complained he was tired. Larché said, “All the guards at Karnak are tired.” This one had asked him for a bicycle, and Larché joked he’d get him an armchair on wheels instead.

I wasn’t tired, but as I returned to Al Moudira for coffee with Zeina and prepared to leave Luxor, it occurred to me that I had spent a good deal of time on the Nile in a daze— daydreaming, observing the rhythms of river life. The Sudan is a beautiful floating world, smaller than the smallest island.

If I close my eyes, I feel I am still on it, happily adrift.

Gini Alhadeff is a contributing editor for T+L (U.S.).

GUIDE TO CRUISING THE NILE

WHEN TO GO Most Nile cruises sail year-round; from September to May is optimal, when the weather is mild and breezy.

GETTING THERE Emirates, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines all fly to Cairo from Asia. From Cairo to Aswan or Luxor, take one of Egyptair’s frequent flights.

WHERE TO STAY ASWAN Pyramisa Isis Island Resort Set amid 11 hectares of landscaped gardens on an island, the resort has spectacular views of the Nile. Isis Island; 20-97/2317400; pyramisaegypt.com; doubles from US$132.

LUXOR Hotel Al Moudira The 16-hectare property is made up of highdomed buildings with wooden latticework, private entrances and patios. Rooms have hammam-like bathrooms and are surrounded by gardens. Hager Al Dabbeya, West Bank; 20012/392-8332; moudira.com; doubles from US$306.

CRUISING OPTIONS Abercrombie & Kent Sun Boat IV A&K has comfortable boats, with Internet access, lounge pools and private docks, which means faster, more accessible loading. From Aswan to Luxor; 1800/652-7963; abercrombiekent. com; from US$1,995 for three nights, including meals and activities, based on double occupancy.

Winter Palace This Sofitelmanaged property overlooking the Nile, near the temple of Luxor, was built in 1886 for European aristocracy. Corniche el Nil; 20-95/238-0422; sofitel. com; doubles from US$280.

Assouan An intimate boat, equipped for 16. Excursions are tailored to each passenger, but those who crave creature comforts should know the boat does not have air-conditioning or a pool. The emphasis is on the natural surroundings. From Luxor to Aswan; 33-1/4225-7716; nourelnil.com; from US$1,570 for seven nights, including meals, activities and excursions, based on double occupancy.

CAIRO Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza 1089 Corniche el Nil; 1-800/332-3442 or 20-2/27916900; fourseasons.com; doubles from US$440.

Nile Hilton Hotel 1113 Corniche el Nil; 1-800/445-8667 or 202/2578-0444; hilton.com; doubles from US$180.

Oberoi Mena House Be sure to book a room that looks out on the pyramids at Giza, which are within walking distance.

Pyramids’ Rd.; 20-2/3377-3222; oberoimenahouse.com; doubles from US$360.

La Flâneuse du Nil A seven-bedroom sailboat, fit for 14 passengers. Trips are tailored for firsttimers or Nile aficionados. From Luxor to Aswan; 33-1/4286-1600; vdm.com; from US$1,100, based on double occupancy.

Oberoi Zahra This vessel has spacious accommodations, spa suites and a pool. The boat has private docks and Wi-Fi, and an

Egyptologist has daily lectures.

From Aswan to Luxor; 1-800/5623764; oberoihotels.com; doubles from US$3,790 for seven days.

Sonesta St. George I Travcoa Escorted Journeys takes small groups of 18 on a guided trip down the Nile. Passengers stay in presidential suites. The tour also encompasses the Upper Delta’s ancient sites. From Cairo to Luxor; 1-800/992-2003; trav coa.com; from US$5,795 for 12 days, meals and activities included, based on double occupancy.

Sudan The 1885 steamship underwent a renovation last year to include revamped cabins and bathrooms in the 1900’s style.

The sundeck is the best spot to watch the changing scenery.

From Aswan to Luxor; steamship-sudan.com; from US$2,600, based on double occupancy.

Triton Explore Cairo and sail the Nile aboard this 40-passenger ship. Enjoy tours and lectures led by Lindblad Expeditions’ expert guides.

Itinerary includes Cairo, Luxor and Aswan; 1-800/397-3348; expeditions.com; from US$6,680 for 15 days, meals, activities and excursions included, based on double occupancy.

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DRAGON SEASON RETURNING TO SIKKIM IN INDIA’S FAR NORTH — THE CORE OF HER NOVEL THE INHERITANCE OF LOSS — KIRAN DESAI REFLECTS ON THE BEAUTY, VIOLENCE AND SPIRITUALITY OF A MISTY HIMALAYAN REALM, WHERE NATURE ULTIMATELY DWARFS ALL HUMAN CONCERNS. ILLUSTRATED BY CHRISTIAN PELTENBURGBRECHNEFF 135

Sunrise in Gangtok, Sikkim.

T

Tashiding Monastery is of a graceful woman mounted on a yak in a lotus blossom garden. “That is Tara,” explains a monk: a virtuous form of Buddha.

“And that?” A fierce figure resembling something out of a Japanese cartoon sits astride a snow lion, scattering thunderbolts. “He disperses ghosts, chases evil spirits.”

Another mural shows creatures in a mountain pond, a beast with an elephant trunk emerging from a conch shell, a winged lion with a bird’s beak and horns.

“These you will not find here. If you go farther north into the jungle, you will find them.”

“And these?” The monk smiles, wraps and rewraps his scarlet shawl. “You know, in the rainy season they come out of the ground and fly about.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Dragons, you know how they fly about?”

It is dragon season in Sikkim. Monsoon storms hurtle HE MURAL IN THE

against mountains with a savagery matched only by the ferocity with which the earth responds to this onslaught. Overnight, things sprout and grow. Little clusters of huts are lost in a wild exuberance of cardamom, banana and deadly nightshade.

The Tista and the Rangit rivers leap through jungle of teak and incandescent fields of paddy. Ginger is being harvested, and the freshly dug roots spice the air.

Sikkim is possessed of an almost mythical bounty. The mountainside is so steep, the vegetation seems confounded: everything grows. Cactus, orchids, orange trees, rhododendron, oak. Higher, in the alpine reaches where rumors of the yeti and Loch Ness monster–like beasts live on, the gullibility of travelers is tested by yak herders attempting to sell shriveled ginseng root as a bit of a yeti arm, or the pelt of a Himalayan bear as yeti fur. Higher still, proffering an aching beauty that alters constantly with the light, is Kanchenjunga, the thirdhighest mountain in the world, a plume of snow blown by dervish winds at its summit.

The Monastery of Tashiding was built in 1717 when a rainbow was seen connecting the site with Kanchenjunga.

THE INTERIOR IS AGLOW WITH THE 136

Dubdi Monastery in Yuksom, Sikkim.

The interior is aglow with the fluttering flames of copper lamps. Before images of the Buddha and various high lamas, there are offerings of rice and oil, water, incense, bananas.

The monks sit in two rows on either side. Old spectacled monks, tiny novices in toddler-size robes, looking like so many marigolds. Earlier, these little monks had helped me pull off the leeches—five, ten, fifteen—that I’d collected on my walk through the jungle from Kalimpong to Tashiding. They carried them out, placed them gently, respectfully on leaves, giggled madly when I suggested delivering them the death sentence with a big stone. Surely I was making a very funny joke? True to the teachings of the Buddha, the monks will kill no living creature. Not even malevolent bloodsuckers.

The sound of chanting rises; it catches the rhythm of the rain outside. Conch shells trimmed in silver and long horns encrusted with turquoise are blown, cymbals are clashed together, bells rung. The murals, in addition to the Tara and the ghost chaser, present a demon with the wheel of life clasped in its fangs and talons to indicate the knot that binds us: rooster-snake-pig as lust-anger-foolishness, each chasing,

each feeding on, each consumed by the other. Also displayed is the tantric symbol of the Kalachakra, demonic forms of male and female power in grotesque sexual union, Dracula teeth and pink tongues fiercely intertwined, multiple heads crowned by skulls, a snatch of leopard-skin skirt for modesty’s sake, tiny naked humans being crushed under their careless feet. Nearby, a Buddha sits, serene despite this arresting sight.

Lust upon these walls, and fear, peace, grace and fantasy.

Images that simultaneously inspire and terrify.

Guru Padmasambhava (Lotus Born), the tantric master who is depicted with a wrathful smile ensconced in a curling mustache, introduced this particular brand of Buddhism, “the ancient Nyingma (Red Hat) order,” into Tibet in the third century. When the reformist Gelugpas (Yellow Hats), the order of the Dalai Lama, rose in power in the 14th century, three Nyingmapa monks convened at Yuksom in Sikkim to re-establish power. They crowned the first chogyal (“Righteous Monarch”) of Sikkim, then called Denzong, or Valley of Rice.

In all, there are about 200 monasteries in Sikkim. Some »

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View of the Himalayan peak Kanchenjunga, from the Sikkimese town of Pelling.

are being renovated with poster paints and fluorescent lighting, bathroom-tile floors, jail cell–like steel crisscross doors, metal grilles in the windows. Some are as yet unspoiled; the pigments are jade, bronze and garnet. They are faded, but the demonic energy still seems potent. The floors are of teak and the prayer wheels are made of buffalo hide. Photographs of head lamas are displayed at the altars, and should you ask, “Is he still alive?” you sometimes get the answer “Yes, his reincarnation is here already.”

In the years after the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1950, Sikkim became a haven for fleeing monks. Residents describe the hillside burning scarlet as if with fire while lines of monks came streaming down the old salt and wool trade routes from Lhasa. They’re still leaving. The monasteries of Tibet are being emptied at these borders. Visit antiques shops in Darjeeling, and if they deem you a serious buyer, bundles of dirty cloth and newspaper are taken from beneath the counter, unwrapped to reveal treasures being offered for a pittance. It is so dreadfully sad to see the heritage of a nation being sold in this soiled, ignominious way, sold by the desper-

ate, bought by the unscrupulous. Silver and gold prayer books and scroll containers; prayer wheels made of bone, silver, copper, leather, wood, coral and turquoise; and jade bowls so transparent the day shines through to illuminate patterns of deep thunderclouds approaching.

Delicate border politics with China, Bhutan and Nepal account for a heavy military presence here. The North is largely off-limits to even Indian visitors, and in the rest of the state, passes are checked and rechecked, policemen making a little extra finagling bribes for permission to drive through sensitive areas. Foreign nationals must request permits to visit Sikkim. Their stays are limited to 15 days.

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ERRIBLE LANDSLIDES. The roads falter across a vast morass of boulders. Sometimes they are transformed into riverbeds. I travel from Gangtok in the east to Pemayangtse in the west, stopping at all the monasteries along the way in a hired diesel Jeep Commander, a skeletal frame attached to a rough, kicking machine, so every organ is given a tremendous shake. Monsoon clouds billow into the

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vehicle, hiding everyone from each other, oneself from oneself. Now and then, a brief moment of sun, and dozens of butterflies sail forth, yellow, iridescent blue.

On these broken roads, squatting in circles, sitting on the rocks, having a leisurely chat as if in a living room, for it is the single place at this time of year that is not squelchy and overgrown with foliage, are bands of resting villagers. A group of women in ruffled flowered nighties, which have become a daytime fashion here, admire a baby. The baby has big kohllined eyes and a large black painted spot to ward off the evil eye. They get up to let our Jeep pass, resettle, and entertain the laughing baby by pelting him with lantana flowers.

Large signs—BARRACKS, CANTEEN, OFFICERS’ MESS—mark sad concrete buildings. Groups of soldiers jog by in comically big shorts, skinny legs sticking out, looking not nearly sturdy enough for combat. But when I ask the driver if he thinks India is properly defended against the Chinese, so close across the mountains at Nathu La, the old trade pass into Tibet, he says: “Oh, we are well defended. No need for worry. With roads like these how many Chinese will make it over?”

Perhaps the bad state of the roads has also kept many monasteries remote. They feel so far from the world and its dirty problems, it is jarring then to descend to military checkpoints and see these two aspects of Sikkim side by side, to witness how this place with a fairy-tale reputation has faced the problems of the modern world, with tragic consequences.

The British began their forays into this region in the early 1800’s, starting tea plantations in the drenched and misty landscape after they lost their monopoly on the tea trade with China. Darjeeling was forcibly annexed from Sikkim by the Raj in 1861. The British took Kalimpong from Bhutan after the Anglo-Bhutanese war of 1864. They brought in Nepalis to work the tea plantations, for the area was too sparsely populated to provide sufficient labor. Soon the Lepchas, who practice Bon, a form of animism, and who believe that they are descended from sacred Kanchenjunga snow, became a minority in their own hills. The population is now 75 percent Nepali, less than 20 percent Lepcha. Later India adopted much the same attitude toward Sikkim as the British had earlier. Despite a desperate attempt to keep his kingdom’s sovereignty, the last chogyal of the only Himalayan Buddhist kingdom other than Bhutan was forced, after a plebiscite, to succumb to the vote of the Nepali majority. Sikkim was annexed by India in 1975. Wary of a similar fate, Bhutan adopted an aggressive policy against its Nepali population, attempting to keep out new immigrants. Nepalis were also hounded from the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya in bouts of terrible violence. And in yet another twist of history, shaken Indian Nepalis demanded a separate Nepali state,

Gorkhaland. For years, through the 1980’s, the mountains were engulfed by a separatist movement called Gorkha National Liberation Front. Perhaps it was an inevitable occurrence in a nation cobbled together in this fashion, with shifting populations and borders, with so many competing loyalties. Ownership will always be contested—it is just perspective, after all.

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HEN I WAS A CHILD, my family had a house in Kalimpong, across the Tista River from Darjeeling.

The hills of Sikkim were blue in the distance. Some 20 years ago now, and I still remember how the air was thick with the threat of what was to come. People here refer to what occurred as “the Agitation.” What exactly happened will always be debated. Bridges and police stations were bombed, roads destroyed, government buildings went up in flames, police brutality was sanctioned by politicians. Business came to a standstill. Tea plantations were shut down, the tourism industry vanished, schools and colleges closed. No water, no phones, no electricity, no food. In the end, the front was granted a political platform and greater autonomy, which stopped, however, short of statehood. In the air today is the stink of something not quite over.

The ghost of the Raj lingers on not merely in the politics, but in once-grand buildings. I have an aunt who still lives in Kalimpong, in an stone house that she discovered as a ruin, roof loaded with ferns, seemingly deserted, but with a blind Englishwoman, abandoned by her servants. Eventually the woman died, and the house was sold by relatives. My aunt bought it, she says, because this place offers something that life elsewhere never could. She loves it for its beauty, fierce beyond the reach of civilization. Above her home, the mountains soar in twisted, hornlike peaks and convolutions that seem to mirror the region’s history and politics.

We spend a rainy-season dusk on her veranda. Below, the army is eating dinner in the mess.

Above, in forests of bamboo, the monks are chanting their last prayer of the day. It is so peaceful now, but it is impossible not to reflect on the fact that life here is a complicated endeavor. As a doctor working in a clinic in the bazaar, my aunt has seen the darker side of life here, the worst effects of poverty and political upheaval.

I ponder, then, the particular form of tantric Buddhism that is nurtured in the Himalayan monasteries, their reflection of the complex human soul that seems related to this landscape, this history. I think of the monks housed in dark swampy rooms, living so remotely, so simply, so as to pour all they have into keeping this faith fervently burning, this form of Buddhism even more ancient than the one practiced in »

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The Himalayan Hotel in Kalimpong, West Bengal, bordering Sikkim.

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Tibet, close to Bon and the spirit worship of the Lepchas. I think of those phantasmagoric murals, the dragons that we have scoffed at, condemning ourselves to savor them only in meager ways, illustrations in a children’s book or a cartoon film. Here they are free and freeing, and something precious to the human spirit, lost elsewhere, is yet vibrant.

We sit as people do most evenings, in the wavering light of uneven voltage, grand moths with the wingspans of birds flying by. We eat mutton, stuffed momo dumplings with red-chili chutney on the side, and drink chang through bamboo straws in mugs, topping and retopping the fermented grains of millet with warm water from a big copper kettle. We wait for the evening’s usual episode of rain. When it arrives the storm blocks everything out, drowns out all meditations, ruins all conversations. The dragons the monk at Tashiding assured me were alive are writhing and gnashing. They are far too compelling to balance against any human consideration. In these hours, there is immense relief.

We sit and watch, lighting the lanterns when the electricity fails entirely.

Kiran Desai won the Man Booker Prize in 2006 for her second novel, The Inheritance of Loss. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

GUIDE TO SIKKIM needed to enter Sikkim, and can be obtained from an embassy or consulate, or a tourist office once you’re in India.

WHERE TO STAY There are no true luxury hotels in Sikkim, but these two options are clean, comfortable, and safe.

WHEN TO GO Most travelers will want to avoid the torrents of monsoon season (June to mid-September) in favor of shoulder season: orchids bloom in March and April, and from late September through October, the nights are cool and clear.

Himalayan Hotel Upper Cart Rd., Kalimpong, West Bengal; 913552/255-248; himalayanhotel. biz; doubles from US$59.

Netuk House Tibet Rd., Gangtok, Sikkim; 91-3592/202-374; doubles from US$102.

WHAT TO DO The best time to visit Sikkim’s Buddhist monasteries is in the GETTING THERE morning, when monks gather to Most of Asia’s major airlines fly to recite prayers. For customized Delhi. From Delhi, connect to guided eco-tours through Sikkim Bagdogra via Indian Airlines — including rhododendron treks, (Indian-airlines.nic.in) or Jet bird watching tours and visits to Airways (jetairways.com). From important Buddhist sites — try Bagdogra it is a 48-kilometer drive Potala Tours & Treks (91to Kalimpong and a 80-kilometer 3592/202-041; sikkimhimalayas. drive to Gangtok, Sikkim’s capital. com) or Sikkim Tours and Arrange ground transportation Travels (91-3592/202-188; sikkimahead of time through your travel tours.com), two well-regarded agent. An “inner line” permit is tour outfits based in Gangtok.

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(My Favorite Place) Chef Tetsuya Wakuda enjoying Sydney Harbour.

Celebrated chef and avid angler Tetsuya Wakuda tells JENNIFER CHEN about the joys of boating in Sydney Harbour

T’S VERY SIMPLE where my favorite place is: Sydney Harbour. I love boats, and when you go out onto the harbor and look back at the city—the high-rise buildings, the parks—it’s an entirely different perspective that you gain. You realize how beautiful Sydney is.

There are so many places to discover from the harbor—small bays, islands, beaches that you can only reach by boat. Two of my favorites are Sugarloaf Bay and Quarantine Bay. But really, being on the water anywhere in the harbor is a joy. You can see dolphins swimming, and the water is so clean that you can pretty much swim anywhere.

I have a small boat, and I would love to be able to go out onto the water every weekend, though in reality, I make it out there once a

I

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month. But it’s easy for anyone to enjoy the harbor. It’s really accessible, calm and not rough at all. I love to fish—I caught a 12-kilo kingfish right before Christmas. Because there are no more commercial fisheries and the water is so clean, a lot of fish have been coming back. It’s really easy to catch something. You might not get a big fish all the time, but you’ll definitely catch something.

There is just something about being out in the harbor, and you’re fishing and then the sun comes up that is so astonishingly beautiful.

Friends of mine who come from overseas, when they see this sight, it’s almost a shock.

They can’t believe what they’re seeing. You don’t even need to hire a boat—take a ferry at sunrise or sunset, and you’ll see the most beautiful sight. It will leave you speechless. ✚

MA RC H 2 0 0 9| T R A V E L A N D L E I S U R E S E A . C O M

TETSUYA’S FAVORITE HARBORSIDE RESTAURANTS The Pier 594 New South Head Rd., Rose Bay; 61-2/93276561; pierrestaurant. com.au; dinner for two A$195.

Catalina Lyne Park, Rose Bay; 61-2/9371-0555; catalinarosebay.com.au; dinner for two A$178.

KARL SCHWERDTFEGER

AUSTRALIA