September 2011

SOUTHEAST ASIA

SUPERIOR SNAPS

trip-friendly 13 cameras rated

SEPTEMBER 2011

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD Indonesia, Australia, Laos, Thailand, China and more!

HOW NOW, MACAU?

FOOD GURU REVEALS INSPIRING INDIAN CLASSICS

Eat, sleep, play: 24 must-do ideas

Kelantan OUR GUIDE TO MALAYSIA’S MELTING POT

ASIA’S BEST KEP SECRET Tra ve l a n d L e i s u re A s i a . c o m

SINGAPORE SG$7.90 ● HONG KONG HK$43 THAILAND THB175 ● INDONESIA IDR50,000 MALAYSIA MYR17 ● VIETNAM VND85,000 MACAU MOP44 ● PHILIPPINES PHP240 BURMA MMK35 ● CAMBODIA KHR22,000 BRUNEI BND7.90 ● LAOS LAK52,000

Luxe vs affordable on a Cambodian isle

contents

september 2011 volume 05 : issue 09

features 102 Bet On It Macau is aiming to be more than the world’s casino capital. The focus is on fine dining, shopping and one-of-a-kind nightlife. by christopher kucway. photographed by david hartung. guide and map 111

122 Frontier Fusion Bordering on Thailand, in a distinct part of Malaysia and with more than a pinch of Chinese influence, Kelantan beguiles with its blend of memorable cuisine. by robyn eckhardt. photographed by david hagerman guide and map 131

6 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

112

Crayfish with melon at Tokara Restaurant in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

dook

112 South Africa, by the roots In the Cape Winelands, a handful of inns and restaurants are shaping a farm-to-table movement by digging into the past. douglas rogers checks in to three new estates that are redefining this celebrated wine destination. photographed by dook guide and map 121

contents

september 2011 volume 05 : issue 09

T+L SOUTHEAST ASIA FOOD ISSUE / VIENTIANE / SHANGHAI / TAIPEI / THAILAND / AUSTRALIA / MACAU / PHOTO TIPS

SOUTHEAST ASIA

SUPERIOR SNAPS

trip-friendly 13 cameras rated

SEPTEMBER 2011

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD Indonesia, Australia, Laos, Thailand, China and more!

HOW NOW, MACAU?

FOOD GURU REVEALS INSPIRING INDIAN CLASSICS

Eat, sleep, play: 24 must-do ideas

Kelantan OUR GUIDE TO

MALAYSIA’S MELTING POT

S EPT EMB ER 2 011

ASIA’S BEST KEP SECRET Tra ve l a n d L e i s u re A s i a . c o m

SINGAPORE SG$7.90 ● HONG KONG HK$43 THAILAND THB175 ● INDONESIA IDR50,000 MALAYSIA MYR17 ● VIETNAM VND85,000 MACAU MOP44 ● PHILIPPINES PHP240 BURMA MMK35 ● CAMBODIA KHR22,000 BRUNEI BND7.90 ● LAOS LAK52,000

09 Sept 11 COVER FINAL.indd 1

Luxe vs affordable on a Cambodian isle 11/08/2011 10:35

On the cover

Photographed by Brent Madison. Model: Sina Kirmse. Stylist: Albert Schippers.

Poolside dining at the Baba Pool Club, Sri Panwa Hotel, Phuket, Thailand.

46

31 Welcome to a new era in travel photography, with cameras that embrace innovative technology combining the features of professional models with the portability of point-and-shoots.

T+L takes a closer look. Plus the best cameras for every type of traveler, how to edit and share your digital videos, our favorite photo-album services and more. by tom samiljan

newsflash

38 Three Hanoi foodie hot spots,

Bangkok in your pocket,

Singapore on the map and more.

56

insider

46 Eating Itinerary A three-

day guide to tasting Indonesia—

and you don’t need to leave

Jakarta. by steve mollman

52 8 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

52 Guru A modern Indian chef

reveals the flavors of home.

by lara day 56 High and Low In Cambodia,

stay in a Modernist villa or a laid back bungalow. by jennifer chen

f r o m t o p : c h r i s k e r r i g a n ; c o u r t e s y o f v i l l a r o m o n e a ; c o u r t e s y o f h a r i n aya k

strategies

contents

september 2011 volume 05 : issue 09

84 95

66 Restaurants In Melbourne, whole-beast dining is all the rage.

by benjamin law 68 Anatomy of a meal The

makings of a delicious Nyonya

feast. by robyn eckhardt 70 Expert A Hong Konger shares

one of Kowloon’s charming old districts. by christopher dewolf

72 inns Discover Italy's best chic

and affordable villas and ateliers.

by valerie waterhouse

stylish traveler 75 fashion New England style.

styled by mimi lombardo 78 Shop this block Boho chic Los Angeles. by kate betts 10 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

curious lessons learned from browsing foreign grocery stores. by peter jon lindberg

75

87 Essay People extol the virtues of packing light, but after years of trying, peter jon lindberg is ready to throw in the towel.

92 Obsessions Television cooking shows taught bruno maddox how to cook. And that was the beginning of the end.

95 Food What happens when you let a celebrity chef lead you through his favorite food region?

Late-night tapas stops, 20-course lunches, even a fender bender. bruce schoenfeld holds on for dear life in Asturias.

departments 12 In this issue 14 Editor’s note 18 Contributors 20 Mail 22 Best Deals 24 Ask T+L

28 Smart Traveler 132 Last Look

c l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : a d a m f r i e d b e r g ; j av i e r s a l a s ; t e r u o n i s h i

journals

58 Asian Scene Sleepy Vientiane

is witnessing a culinary rebirth.

81 Reflections Once he decided by emma-kate symons

to open a restaurant, jarrett 61 books Eating tips from four wrisley soon realized his journey

Asian food bloggers. by liang xinyi to a career switch began long ago.

64 Eat Two must-try dishes for your 84 Shopping “Honey, you forgot

next Taipei trip. by jennifer chen the milking jelly!”—and other

in this issue

Asturias, Spain 95

Los Angeles 78

Macau 102 Kelantan 122 Jakarta 46 Cape Winelands 112

trip ideas

DESTINATIONS Shanghai 40 South India 52 Taipei 64 Yokohama 44

Australia, New Zealand and The Pacific Melbourne 66 Europe Amsterdam 40 Asturias, Spain 95 Africa Cape Winelands 112

City

40, 42, 70, 102

Culture

44

Drink

40, 42, 112

Fashion

75

Food

28, 38, 46, 52, 58, 61, 64, 66, 68, 81, 84, 92, 95, 122

Hotels + Resorts

40, 56

Photography

31, 132

Shopping

78

Travel Tips

22, 87

The Americas Chicago 42 Los Angeles 78 New England 75

Featured Destination

Kelantan

With a cuisine influenced by Chinese, Thai and local dishes, it’s often forgotten that Kelantan is a center of Malay culture, so don’t miss out on the handicrafts—notably batik and silverware—when you visit. Kite flying (wau bulan), bird-singing competitions and top spinning (gasing) are some of the more offbeat pastimes. (For more on food in Kelantan, see page 122).

12 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

d av i d h a g e r m a n ( 3 )

travel tip

Southeast Asia Bali 44 Bangkok 40, 44, 61 Hanoi 38 Hong Kong 70 Jakarta 46 Kelantan 122 Kep, Cambodia 56 Macau 102 Manila 40 Nha Trang 40 Penang 61, 68 Phnom Penh 40 Saigon 132 Singapore 40, 42, 44, 61 Thailand 81 Vientiane 58

Asia Gwangju, South Korea 44 Japan 61

© 2011 Hilton Worldwide

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A dramatic setting with extraordinary views of the Gulf of Thailand, staying with us means you can relax and rejuvenate in the most luxurious way – your way.

Conrad Koh Samui – now open.

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editor’s note where to find me )) matt@mediatransasia.com )) matt leppard on Facebook

PICKS OF THE MONTH A few final ideas...

Indonesia Grand Hyatt Jakarta Great location, stunning city views. 28–30 Jln. Mohammad Husni Thamrin; jakarta. grand.hyatt.com.

song title from the musical Oliver, and continues with a list of questionably desirable foodstuffs: hot sausage and mustard, cold jelly and custard, pease pudding and saveloys, that sort of thing. Well, we don’t cover such Victorian fare in this annual food and drink special, but what we do cover is: a fascinating look into decent (there are some!) in-flight dining options (“Smart Traveler,” page 28); a culinary journey around Indonesia that you can do in Jakarta (“Tasting Indonesia,” page 46); a look at a dining renaissance in Laos (“Gourmet Vientiane,” page 58); and we even deconstruct a Chinese–Malay Nyonya meal (“Peranakan Punch,” page 68). Meanwhile, “Eating What We Watch” (page 92) looks at two of my life’s passions—food and TV—and how they’ve become interwoven over the years.

I’d also urge any aspiring restaurant owner to digest Jarrett Wrisley’s account of a foreigner opening a Thai restaurant in Bangkok. As for me, re-reading his account of northern

Thai sausages (another of my passions in life) is making my poor tummy rumble… In food-unrelated stories, we also delve into one of my personal hobbies: photography, or rather how to do it properly (fortunately, I have my own talented camerawoman on my vacation trips). The best way to start?

Well, it’s how we start the article (Strategies, page 31), with which camera suits you and your needs. And finally—yes, absolutely and completely finally—I’m sad to say that you’ll see a new editor’s photo and a new editor’s name from next month onward (not sad to see a different photo, of course—I’m not that vain). But, it’s time for me to move on to new challenges and a new life after 46 stellar issues of T+L SEA, and to say farewell to all my fans. Don’t be sad, though, readers—keep up with me on Facebook as I’m here in Southeast Asia for the rest of my days, it seems: it’s just too cold everywhere else.—m at t l e p pa r d

Singapore The Fullerton Hotel Efficient room service when it was needed the most.

1 Fullerton Sq.; fullertonhotel.com. china Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai You simply have to stay in the English Suite. 20 Nanjing Rd. E.; fairmont.com.

Two to watch...

Keep a close eye on the Anantara Uluwatu in Bali website, and drool until you visit. Opens Q4. bali-uluwatu. anantara.com.

When there, try out the Urbanesia Bali app, the guide to the best of the island. For Android only now, with more releases to come. apps.urbanesia.com/ Urbalinesia.apk.

travel + leisure 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.

14 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

tom ho ops

Fo o d, g l o r i o u s f o o d ! A n d f o r t h o s e n o t fa m i l i a r w i t h m e l o d i e s f r o m t h e g o l d e n d ays o f D i c k e n s i a n m u s i c a l s, t h i s i s a

malaysia Shangri-La Rasa Sayang, Penang Our first shooting location and always dear to my heart.

Batu Feringgi Beach; shangri-la.com.

editor-in-chief art director deputy editor features editor senior DEsigner DEsigner ASSISTANT editor/Illustrator Assistant Editor

Matt Leppard James Nvathorn Unkong Christopher Kucway Lara Day Wannapha Nawayon Sirirat Prajakthip Wasinee Chantakorn Liang Xinyi

Regular contributors / photographers Cedric Arnold, Jennifer Chen, Robyn Eckhardt, Tom Hoops, Philipp Engelhorn, David Hagerman, Lauryn Ishak, Naomi Lindt, Jen Lin-Liu, Nat Prakobsantisuk, Aaron Joel Santos, Adam Skolnick, Darren Soh, Daven Wu

chairman president publishing director

publishER director singapore/associate publisher DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER business development managers CONSULTANT, HONG KONG/MACAU CONSULTANT, Australia/New Zealand chief financial officer production manager production group circulation MANAGER circulation assistant

J.S. Uberoi Egasith Chotpakditrakul Rasina Uberoi-Bajaj

Robert Fernhout Lucas W. Krump Pichayanee Kitsanayothin Michael K. Hirsch Joey Kukielka Shea Stanley Stuart Singleton Gaurav Kumar Kanda Thanakornwongskul Supalak Krewsasaen Porames Sirivejabandhu Yupadee Saebea

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, Travel + Leisure U.S. Executive Editor, International Publishing Director, International

Ed Kelly Mark V. Stanich Paul B. Francis Nancy Novogrod Jean-Paul Kyrillos Mark Orwoll Thomas D. Storms

travel+leisure southeast asia Vol. 5, Issue 9 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). While the editors do their utmost to verify information published, they do not accept responsibility for its absolute accuracy.

This edition is published by permission of AMERICAN EXPRESS PUBLISHING CORPORATION 1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036 United States of America Tel. +1 212 382 5600 Online: www.amexpub.com Reproduction in whole or in part without the consent of the copyright owner is prohibited.

subscriptions Subscription enquiries: www.travelandleisuresea.com/subscribe ADVERTISING Advertising enquiries: e-mail advertising@mediatransasia.com

dook photographer

bruce schoenfeld writer

Assignment “South Africa, by the Roots” (page 112).

What’s the story behind your portrait?

The dot is a bindi applied by the holy man in the Indian village I was visiting.

The secret to great food photography An empty stomach.

Photo you regret not taking in the Cape winelands One of myself!

Travel-photography tip It’s not the quality but the memory that matters.

Dream assignment for T+L Shooting Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic’s first trip to space.

Career news I’ve started a website to sell prints of my fine art photography, dookskinandbone.com.

Assignment “The King of Spain.” Your trip through Asturias was go-go-go. Where would you have wanted to spend more time? Everywhere. Chef José Andrés, with whom I was traveling, is such a fanatic he couldn’t bear to think I’d miss out on anything. What did you learn about Andrés?

Everyone knows that he’s tireless, full of ideas and enthusiasm....What outsiders may not realize is that in Spain, he’s a heroic figure.

Anything you regret eating on your trip?

Nothing. I do wish I hadn’t eaten so much so early in my meals though—some of the courses that followed were even better. Earliest food memory Cherry Popsicles at the swim club.

javier salas photographer Assignment “The King of Spain” (page 95).

Surprising thing about Asturias The proximity between mountain and sea.

Best dish there Fabada (beans with chorizo). I was born and raised in Spain, so I know. Favorite photographer Richard Avedon. Dream trip Driving through unknown villages in Europe—without any direction...

TOP , F ROM LE F T : COURTES Y O F DOO K ; COURTES Y O F J AVIER SALAS ; W EST END P H OTO G RAP H Y, INC .

BOTTOM , F ROM LE F T : DOO K ; J AVIER SALAS ( 2 )

contributors

mail Letter of the month Taking the Plunge

Living in Asia for the past 15 years, diving is one of those things I’ve told myself I would always learn how to do.

So coming across your diving stories (Strategies, July 2011) reminded me yet again that I still haven’t, dare I say, jumped in the deep end. But it did encourage me to book a trip to Malaysia in a few months’ time where I’ll finally check this off my list. While it’s not the grey reef sharks of Pohnpei, it is a start, so thanks for that.

—nancy wright, singapore

Good Directions

Great idea to write about tour guides (“Walk This Way,” July 2011). Too often overlooked, professional guides and their walking tours are a great way to see any place for the first time.

Can I suggest taking the idea one step further? Hop on a bus tour of a major city the first day you’re there, it’s a perfect start to see what you’re most interested in and want to explore further in the following days.

—ben wong, hong kong Good talk, better walk

After reading your story about tour guides, I stopped to think of some of the walking tours I’ve done in Europe.

Paris and Prague both spring to mind.

In London once, I spent a pleasant evening tooling around Soho on what could best be described as an historical pub crawl. The tales I heard were snippets of the past that I would have missed entirely had I not been on the tour. And, best of all, we ended up

in a lively pub, pint in hand after an evening well spent.

—tony cho, singapore Local Islands

As much as I enjoyed your “25 Secret Island Escapes” (July 2011), I think you should repeat the article and focus entirely on Asia rather than the whole world. There are enough islands around the region to keep most of us going for a lifetime. Think of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand alone, and you’ll get the idea. As great as Langkawi and Phuket are, some of my more memorable vacations have been to getaways I’d rarely heard of before visiting. Of course, luxe accommodation and top-flight restaurants aren’t always available, but many of these secret corners more than make up for it with secluded beaches and the one thing I search most for in a break from my routine: peace and quiet.

—cecil walker, jakarta

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.

bestdeals AFFORDABLE ASIAN TRIPS

Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa, Vietnam.

HIGHLAND retreat

VIETNAM Summer Promotion at Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa (84-20/3871522; victoriahotels-asia.com). What’s Included A one-night stay in a Superior

room; round-trip Superior cabin tickets on the Victoria Express Train between Hanoi and Lao Cai; breakfast; and one Vietnamese set lunch or dinner excluding beverages. Cost From US$210 per person, double, through September 30. Savings 30 percent.

ISLAND ESCAPES

MALAYSIA Passionate Delight package at The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa (60-4/960-8888; westin.com/ langkawi). What’s Included A stay in a

Deluxe Garden View room; daily breakfast; round-trip airport transfers; a romantic bath set-up; sparkling wine; and 4 p.m. late checkout (if available).

Cost From RM750 per night, two-night minimum, double, through December 20. Savings 60 percent.

Akyra Resort & Spa, Thailand.

THAILAND Loving Life Experience package at Akyra chura samui (66-2/5148112; theakyra.com). What’s Included

A five-night stay in a one-bedroom suite; round-trip airport transfers; daily breakfast; a four-course dinner; one 60-minute massage at Spa IV; and Wi-Fi Internet. Cost Bt28,500 (Bt5,700 per night), double, through September 30. Savings 30 percent.

FOR THE GIRLS

SINGAPORE Girls Nite Out package at Hotel Fort Canning Singapore (65/65596770; hfcsingapore.com). What’s Included A stay in a Deluxe room; daily breakfast; one Girls Nite Out pack; Nespresso and TWG teas in-room and at the Lobby Lounge; 10 percent off massages at THANN Sanctuary; evening cocktails from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily; and shuttle service to the CBD and Orchard Road. Cost From S$330 per night, double, through December 31. Savings 35 percent.

deal of the month PHILIPPINES Celebrate 35 Years package at The Peninsula Manila (63-2/887-2888; The Peninsulai peninsula.com/manila). What’s Manila, Philippines.

Included A one-night stay at a regular rate with a second night at P3,500; daily breakfast; a P2,000 hotel dining and shopping credit; and Wi-Fi. Cost From P13,000 per night, double, through November 15. Savings Up to 50 percent.

c l o c kw i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : c o u r t e s y o f H o t e l F o r t C a n n i n g ; c o u r t e s y o f V i c t o r i a S a p a R e s o r t & S p a ; c o u r t e s y o f Aky r a c h u r a s a m u i ; c o u r t e s y o f Th e P e n i n s u l a M a n i l a

Hotel Fort Canning, Singapore.

travelandleisure.com month 2010 00

askt+l Break down your hotel discounts.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Pulau Ubin is close to Singapore.

Know of any good cruises on the Great Barrier Reef?

Australia’s natural gem is well worth a visit if you’re an underwater enthusiast, just remember to check out a company’s environmental credentials. Coral Princess Cruises (61-7/4040-9999; coralprincess. com.au) offers three-night journeys between Cairns and Townsville (from A$1,546 per person twin share); four-night trips from Cairns to Lizard Island (A$1,946); and seven-night cruises that cover all three destinations (A$2,968). Included with each are glass-bottom boat, snorkeling or diving excursions. The Coral Princess ships accommodate between 46 and 50 passengers.

Q: Are hotel packages with add-ons really a deal?

—Marcus Wendt, Singapore a: Youʼll need to do a bit of legwork,

though your first question should be if the perks are something you’ll use.

Then find out how much you can get the room for on its own. Do this by checking the hotel’s website or via search engines (agoda.com or zuji.com spring to mind). Also check costs for the extras in the original package. In our Best Deals section (page 22), we list a savings for each package to give you an idea of the overall value.

Q: Are there any easily reached islands near Singapore?

—Mary Ling, Taipei a: There are several, some actually

part of Singapore. Only 15 minutes

from the city-state by ferry is Pulau Ubin, a 10-square-kilometer island where renting a bicycle is the best way to get around. The slow pace of village life is why most visit. Depart from the Changi Point Ferry Terminal (51 Lorong Bekukong; S$2.50 one-way).

Other options are Kusu—home to a Chinese temple—and St. John’s Island, where the beaches are quiet, a far cry from Orchard Road. Singapore Island Cruises (islandcruise.com.sg; 31 Marine Coastal Dr.; S$15 round trip) ferries passengers to both islands. Finally, with passport in hand, Bintan and Batam, in Indonesia, are close by. what’s your travel question?

» E-mail us at

editor@travelandleisuresea.com

» Post queries at

Facebook.com/TravelandLeisureAsia

» Follow us on Twitter at

@TravLeisureAsia (Questions may be edited for clarity and space.)

c l o c kw i s e F ROM t o p LE F T : © I p p e i t o / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m ; © K a p h o t o / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m ; © F i f t y m m 9 9 / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m

—Henri Flores, Jakarta

smarttraveler

the ins and outs of modern travel

Mile-High Dining

Chicken or beef? While in-flight meals are often reviled, eating onboard doesn’t have to be unappetizing, writes JENNIFER CHEN First- and business-class passengers: you can stop reading, unless you cannot resist a bit of Schadenfreude. For the legions of us who have to endure the many humiliations of coach, nothing drives home the fact that the rich really are different from you and me more than the inflight meal. Cheese plates, vintage champagne and freshly made omelets for them. Wilted iceberg lettuce, overcooked pasta and stringy meat cloaked in gluey gravy for us.

To be fair, it is tricky to produce something palatable on a plane. Your only equipment is a convection oven and a dull knife. Getting water at the right temperature for tea and coffee is a challenge. Research has also shown that the white noise from a plane’s engines—coupled with pressurized air—reduces the sensitivity of our taste buds. To compensate, airline caterers jack up the sodium and fat content of their meals. Whatever

28 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

nutritional value left is then destroyed by long storage: most of the vitamins in salads and fruit are leached out by the time they are served.

Still, not all economy meals are equal, as a recent flight to the United States on Delta underscored. Salad served with mayonnaise, a roll the color, consistency and flavor of Styrofoam, sugarsnap peas puckered with salt—the memory still haunts me. American airlines have led the way in charging for in-flight meals on domestic routes, and frankly, passengers aren’t losing out on much.

They would if Asia's premier airlines, which consistently serve the best food onboard according to Airlinesmeals.net, followed the example of their American counterparts. Here, even the palates in cattle class are treated with respect. While Singapore Airlines has recruited chefs such as Suzanne Goin, Alfred Portale and Georges Blanc to concoct entrées for first- and business-class Illustrated by Wasinee Chantakorn

passengers, their economy meals are also tasty and they're served with real cutlery. And Cathay Pacific has teamed up with the Miramar restaurant group to introduce special Chinese dishes to all class categories.

Short of investing in a pair of noise-canceling headphones, you can take the following steps to avoid indigestion on your next flight:

A DIFFERENT KIND OF LUXURY

1 When flying an Asian airline, always order the Asian meal Is it because they’re

better at what they know? Or that rice is harder to get wrong than mashed potatoes and pasta?

I’m not sure, but this rule has served me well for the past decade, even on airlines that don’t match Singapore and Cathay in quality.

2 Order a special meaL If you are looking for something more nutritionally balanced, contact your airline about their special meals. Cathay, for instance, has 19 different special meals, ranging from halal, kosher and Jain meals to ones created for those with lactose or wheat intolerance.

3 Buy food at the airport Sandwiches and salads tend to be easier to transport, though Asian standards such as baozi also stand up to the journey. Many cafés now offer fresh fruit as healthy snacks, though be sure to eat these before you disembark, especially in countries with strict food importation laws like Australia and the U.S. (A Japanese fast-food joint in Narita sells edamame to go—perfect for midflight munchies.) One thing to be mindful of: while tastier, food bought in airport restaurants can be as calorific as in-flight meals. A chicken sandwich recently spotted in the Wolfgang Puck Express Café at the MinneapolisSt. Paul airport contained a whopping 720 calories.

4 Pack your own If you’re flying long-haul, this is the best option. Just avoid anything overly fragrant, lest you raise your neighbors’ ire. Some suggestions: A crusty baguette with a selection of charcuterie, including a hunk of a hardy cheese such as parmigiano reggiano; a pasta salad with semi-roasted tomatoes, olives and goat cheese; or cold sesame noodles with julienned cucumber. ✚

Winding through the jungle-covered hills, breathtaking rainforests and delightful villages of South-East Asia, the Eastern & Oriental Express is a luxury train experience unlike any other in the world.

Lavishly appointed cabins, with impeccable detailing, have been designed to meet the highly individual tastes of the most discerning traveller; while refined touches, such as personal 24-hour steward service and dramatic open-air observation deck, all add to the feeling of glamour and style. Your romantic adventure continues with fine dining in our restaurant car, before you retire to the legendary piano bar to share enchanting tales of trishaw riding in Penang and cruising the Kwai Yai River – all unique memories to last a lifetime.

Experience the golden age of travel aboard one of our Classic Journeys. Our opulent 2 and 3 night excursions between Singapore and Bangkok offer unforgettable adventures that will sustain a lifetime’s conversation For more information or to make a booking please contact our reservations centre directly on +65 6395 0678, or email us at oereservations.singapore@orient-express.com quoting code ‘TL’.

Singapore – Malaysia – Thailand – Laos orient-express.com/e&o

Get the guide for more ideas and recommendations on air travel in southeast asia, go to travelandleisureasia.com

‘Like’ us on Facebook and stay up to date www.facebook.com/easternorientalexpress

Strategies rap

h

F r o m T o p : C o u r t e s y o f S o n y ; C o u r t e s y o f O ly m p u s ; C o u r t e s y o f S a m s u n g ; C o u r t e s y o f P a n a s o n i c

101

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g o t

y

o

travel smarter

Sony’s 230-gram Alpha NEX-C3 camera. sony-asia.com.

Welcome to A new era In travel photography. camera makers are embracing an innovative technology that combines the features of professional models with the portability of point-and-shoots.

T+L takes a closer look. Plus the best cameras for every type of traveler, how to edit and share your digital videoS, our favorite photo-album services and more. By Tom samiljan

I

f you haven’t changed your camera in a couple of years, now’s the time for an upgrade. Until recently, the clunky, ­professional-grade digital SLR was the best way for travelers to capture high-quality photos in a variety of hard-to-shoot situations, from an evening tango performance in Buenos ­Aires to a close-up of lions on the hunt in the Masai Mara. Fortunately, the DSLR is no longer the only option for top-notch photos. In 2008, Panasonic and Olympus pioneered a new format, called ­Micro Four Thirds, that allowed for slimmer cameras by removing the »

THE NEW CLASS The Olympus PEN E-PL2, which uploads photos directly to your smart phone. asia.­olympus-imaging.com.

The Samsung NX100, with a touch screen. samsung.com.

Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-G3, compatible with 11 lenses. panasonic.net.

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 31

strategies photography 101 bulky internal prism that gives the SLR its what-you-see-is-what-you-get viewfinder. The result is a fresh breed of interchangeable-lens cameras that have all the versatility, image quality and performance of DSLR’s at about two-thirds the size and weight—and, often, the price. Other bonuses: plenty of manual controls for serious shutterbugs, fast performance and convenient shoot buttons for HD video. Now, a number of camera makers are fine-tuning the mirrorless technology in their own models.

point and click Choose the right camera for your next vacation, whether it’s aN AfricaN SAFARI or a philippine diving trip

best pocket camcorder Kodak Playfull

Small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, yet capable of shooting up to 10 hours of image-stabilized HD video, the Playfull captures high-quality footage while offering maximum portability. kodak.com.

● Panasonic’s new Lumix DMC-G3

(pictured with others on the previous page) offers the most dedicated lenses (11 are available, including one for 3-D) and fun options such as an LCD touch screen that swivels and flips around, allowing for easy-to-shoot self-portraits.

best power point-and-shoot Olympus XZ-1 Part of a growing category of pro-level point-and-shoots, Olympus’s stylish model has lightning-fast performance for both stills and video, plus wide-angle capability. asia.olympus-imaging.com.

● Olympus recently introduced the

the bunch, the camera has a built-in flash, as well as handy attachable accessories such as the PENPal, which lets you send images via Bluetooth to your smart phone and then upload them to ­Facebook.

● The sexy Samsung NX100, with its

narrow and rounded brushed-metal body, has a sizable (7.6 cm) touch screen, as well as compatibility with third-party accessories, including external flashes and microphones.

There’s no built-in image stabilization, however, so novice shooters should look for lenses with that feature.

● With an extra-large sensor for

a camera of its size, Sony’s new mirrorless model, the Alpha NEX-C3, delivers ­crystal-clear images both at night and in bright daylight.

Plus, at only 250 grams and just over 2.5 cm wide, it’s the most portable of the group. ✚

sharing

best rugged Pentax Optio

WG-1 Whether you bang it, drop it, submerge it, or bury it in the snow, this fun 14-mp compact can handle all travel situations. The GPS version will geo-tag your pictures. pentaximaging.com.

best pocket-size

best splurge Nikon D5100 A

souped-up, 16.2-mp DSLR, it’ll take HD video of everything from extreme sports to evening scenes, and has a convenient swiveling LCD screen and viewfinder. The on-screen guide is great for beginners. nikon.com.

best instant Fujifilm Instax

Mini 50S Perfect for gatherings, Fuji’s Polaroid-inspired camera snaps and prints out instant, wallet-size pictures in crisp, vivid colors. fujifilm.com.

Canon PowerShot SX230 HS Ideal for nights on the town, this compact outperforms more expensive models in low-light situations, thanks to a big sensor and image-stabilization technology. Built-in GPS embeds photos with location information. canon.com.

When it comes to online photo-sharing, Flickr is great if you want to connect with a large community, while Picasa has easy integration with Android and Gmail. Photobucket can post to Twitter right from its smart-phone app. SmugMug, meanwhile, gives you unlimited storage of all your photos at full resolution.

And they all make it easy to post to that favorite sharing site: Facebook.

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C l o c k w i s e f r o m T o p L e f t : C o u r t e s y o f K o d a k ; C o u r t e s y o f O ly m p u s ; C o u r t e s y o f F u j i f i l m ; C o u r t e s y o f C a n o n ; C o u r t e s y o f P e n ta x . c e n t e r : C o u r t e s y o f N i k o n

PEN E-PL2. The most user-friendly of

strategies photography 101

test-drive: photo-album makers So you’ve taken some great snaps. how to edit your memories into a keepsake book? New programs can do the legwork for you. Alex Arnold puts the top album publishers through their paces

editing

For a range of effects, extra storage and organizational tools, it’s still worth investing in dedicated software; we like Adobe Photoshop Elements. Mac users can count on user-friendly iPhoto (included on your computer), while Apple’s new iCloud service can automatically store up to 1,000 photos online. Meanwhile, free online programs such as Picasa and Pixlr can handle simple editing tasks. To add cool, retro-style lens effects to existing photos, try the CameraBag app.

step-by-step digital video

want to make a travel video your friends will actually want to watch? here are the basics

Step 1

Step 3

Step 2

Step 4

Before you even leave the house, decide on simple story lines for your videos (say, food in Italy or wildlife in Australia). It’ll leave you with less footage to pore over later and turn out compelling movies.

Variety is the spice of a vacation video.

Get establishing shots to show viewers where you are, as well as plenty of close-ups. Shoot a single subject from multiple angles. And keep your recording time short—15 seconds tops.

Longer scenes tend to be boring and can be time-consuming to edit.

34 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

Don’t zoom: it can cause nausea. The same goes for shaky footage. The good news is that many camcorders now have anti-shake technology. But to be sure, position your camcorder on a ledge or lean against a wall to keep a steady hand.

Edit your movie while the memories are fresh. Thanks to built-in editing modes on most camcorders—not to mention mobile versions of programs (iMovie for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad; VidTrim and Clesh for Android)—it’s easy to make short films ready for YouTube and Facebook in as little as five minutes.

The waterproof Tos hiba Camileo BW10 can shoot HD movies, even und erwater. asia.toshiba.com.

F r o m To p : T e r u O n i s h i ( 2 ) ; Co u rt e sy o f To s h i b a A m e r i c a

Alex’s Blurb album from his recent British Virgin Islands trip.

The clear winner, Blurb (from US$10.95; blurb.com), offers the best-­looking books, with different paper types and covers to choose from, as well as several layout options. One drawback: there isn’t much freedom to adjust the page layouts. Apple’s iPhoto (from US$9.99; apple.com) has the fastest interface of all the services, allowing you to seamlessly edit your pictures while placing them in a well-designed format. However, it’s only available for Mac users and has fewer layout options than other companies. The design elements of Mixbook (from US$6.99; mixbook.com) are more basic and the program is slower, but the service has maximum flexibility if you’re hoping to adjust text and photo placement. Shutterfly (from US$10.39; shutterfly.com) is the least impressive of the services. Though it lets you completely customize your book, the themes on offer are less creative and photos tend to get cropped in the editing process.

strategies photography 101

how to shoot like a pro Whitney Lawson, t+L’s photo editor in new york, evaluates five snapshots from readers and explains why they work

2

1

4

5 3

1

This shot of Prague is set apart by its aerial perspective, which makes the people and buildings look almost like toys. Most European cities have churches or clock towers that you can climb for a couple of euros—it’s the easiest way to capture the streets below from a unique vantage point.

Photo by Choong Weethiam, Penang, Malaysia

2

The shooter used a center spot filter to focus on the middle of a London stairwell. The result is dreamlike and intriguing. To create a similar effect digitally, upload your photo onto tiltshiftmaker.com, a website that will simulate the technique.

Photo by Harry Dillon, Chicago

36 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

3

A storm over the Gulf of Mexico in Sanibel, Florida, provided the wonderfully dramatic light in the image here.

The small silhouetted figure­adds mystery to the scene. For night shots, use high speed settings (1600 or 3200 ISO), which are more sensitive to light and register more detail.

Photo by Jim Mandeville, Hobe Sound, Florida

4

The Grand Canyon is a familiar icon, but the light dusting of snow at the top of the canyon adds an otherworldly quality. Try shooting during the off-season to capture a classic view in an unexpected way.

Photo by Lenny Konieczski, Elgin, Illinois

5

I love this glimpse of a girl in Israel lost in thought. You wonder where she’s going—or where she’s coming from.

When capturing local flavor, candid photos like this can be a welcome change from posed portraits.

Photo by Jessica Granger, Los Angeles

asia on camera for more advice on travel photography in asia and beyond, visit TravelandLeisureasia.com

newsflash your global guide to what’s happening right now...

northern flair Clockwise from top: Mango curry with brown rice at the Hanoi Social Club; chef Shahar Lubin, of Hanoi newcomer Southgate; clams with Hoegaarden beer and candied orange zest, at the restaurant; the Hanoi Social Club; a Bar Betta martini, garnished with fresh grapes.

Restaurants

hANOI HITS

T+L picks three new hot spots for eating—and drinking—in Vietnam’s capital Southgate Hanoi’s newest downtown restaurant darling is a near-perfect blend of casual atmosphere and inventive, elegant cuisine. Owners Jason Tobin and Luu Tung maintain one of the best cocktail menus in the capital—try the spicy guava margarita— while Israeli-American chef Shahar Lubin rolls out stellar dishes like clams steamed with Hoegaarden and candied orange zest.

For dessert, order the decadent chocolatetruffle tart with tahini anglaise. T+L Tip Mingle at the long, stainlesssteel bar at street

38 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

level, or head upstairs for a more intimate setting. 28 Tong Duy Tan; 84-4/3398-1979; southgatehanoi. com; dinner for two VND900,000.

The Hanoi Social Club Tucked away in the Old Quarter, this petite, shabby-chic café has swiftly made a name for its hip, laid-back vibe and vegetarianfriendly menu. The place also does a mean cappuccino, and offers magazines, newspapers, board games and card decks—just in case the conversation runs dry. The menu is both Mediterranean and Pan-

Asian: roti wrap with couscous, mushrooms and coriander dip; mango curry with brown rice and cashews.

T+L Tip Cool down with a lime-mint slushie amid young, fashionable Hanoians already in the know. 6 Hoi Vu; 844/3938-2117; lunch for two VND400,000.

Bar Betta Imagine your eccentric packrat aunt filling her house with old records, gramophones, TV sets and other 60’s nostalgia, scattering paisley-printed chairs and wooden tables in all the rooms, then inviting you and your

friends over for drinks and food. That pretty much sums up Bar Betta—minus the aunt.

The kitsch is a crossover between American and French, and the food follows suit (bacon-eggand-cheeseburgers; croque mesdames). But the space truly shines as a social drinking spot, with evening rooftop access and cozy indoor sitting areas. T+L Tip Just try to stump Tuong, the charismatic bartender, on cocktails both on and off the menu. 34C Cao Ba Quat; 84-4/3734-9134; lunch or dinner for two VND450,000.

—aaron joel santos

Photographed by Aaron Joel Santos

newsflash hotels

SHANGHAI Renovated by French architecture firm Jouin Manku, complete with retro-futuristic curves, the seven-room Swatch Art Peace Hotel (23 E. Nanjing Rd.; 86-21/2329-8500; swatchart-peace-hotel.com; doubles from RMB4,470) will open in October in a 1908 building on the Bund.

The Swatch Group will display its latest watch models at on-site boutiques, while a six-month residency program will host artists to live, work and exhibit on the premises. AMSTERDAM New this month, and a short stroll from the Rijksmuseum,

Inside a boutique at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel, in Shanghai.

Inset: The hotel’s exterior.

the Conservatorium Hotel

(27 Van Baerlestraat; 31-20/670-1811; conservatoriumhotel. com; doubles from €350) has 129 minimalist, light-filled guest rooms, designed by Milanese architect Piero Lissoni, in an 1897 Renaissance Revival building.

Many suites are laid out as duplexes, and a vast lobby flanks the structure’s original skylit courtyard.—raul barreneche

drink

HIGH ON HOPS At long last, Asia’s craft beers are coming into their own. Below, four must-tries  SINGAPORE THE BREW The citrusy character and smoky, bacon-like aroma make flavorful amber ale Archipelago Hickory Smoked IPA a rarity in Asia.

THE PLACE Archipelago Brewery, Singapore’s first commercial beer maker, supplies the bright and busy Boulevard Craftbeer (9 Raffles Blvd. #01-23, Millenia Walk; 65/6883-2033; boulevardcraftbeer.com; beer for two S$28) with the five beers on tap.  MANILA THE BREW Felix Hagad’s cloudy, slightly sweet Bogsbrew Primo, brewed in Bacolod with local muscovado sugar and wild bee honey.

THE PLACE The homey Bob’s Restaurant (OPL Bldg., ground level, De la Rosa St., Legaspi Village, Makati; 63-2/310-2627; beer for two P120) serves up sizzling pork sisig—a Filipino specialty perfect paired with the Primo.

40 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

 NHA TRANG THE BREW Passion Beer, a tropical twist on Belgian-style witbier that includes a splash of passion-fruit extract. THE PLACE Brewmaster Sean Symons’ inviting, beachside Louisiane Brewhouse (Lot 29, Tran Phu; 84-58/352-1948; louisianebrewhouse. com.vn; beer for two VND160,000), which serves beers made using Australian malts, New Zealand hops and purified local water.  PHNOM PENH THE BREW Kingdom Draught, a smooth, delicate, exceedingly drinkable lager released last month.

THE PLACE The second-floor taproom of the almost-year-old Kingdom Breweries (1748 National Rd. 5; 855-23/430-1802; kingdombreweries. com; beer for two US$4), with sweeping views of the Tonle Sap River.—b e n k e e n e

guide

BANGKOK shuffle How to navigate Bangkok’s dizzyingly diverse food landscape? Try a stack of playing cards. Presented as a 52-card deck, Famulous Eateries is an insider’s guide to the Thai capital’s best food spots, from hidden local markets (Talaat Nang Lerng) to hip cafés (Pla Dib). Each double-sided card features a description of the place and what to order (recto), plus a handy map with an address in Thai for your cabbie (verso). Of course, the deck is arranged in random order, so you still rely on the luck of the draw. crankylittlemonster.com; Bt345.— l a r a day

h o t e l s : COURTES Y O F S W ATC H ART PEACE H OTEL ( 2 ) . g u i d e : c o u r t e s y o f f a m u l o u s e a t e r i e s . d r i n k , c l o c kw i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : COURTES Y O F b o u l e v a r d c r a f t b e e r ; COURTES Y O F l o u i s i a n e b r e wh o u s e ; COURTES Y O F k i n g d o m b r e w e r i e s ; COURTES Y O F b o g s b r e w p r i m o

STAYING IN STYLE

Subject?

Background?

With The HS SYSTEM, You Don’t Have To Choose!

Count on great photos even when the light is low. The HS SYSTEM delivers sharp, precise detail in shadow and high-contrast areas – with both subject and background ideally exposed. Colors are naturally vivid, and noise is virtually eliminated. Now you don’t have to be afraid of the dark.

SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIA REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS CANON SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. 1 HarbourFront Avenue #04-01 Keppel Bay Tower Singapore 098632 Tel: 65-6799 8888 Fax: 65-6799 8882

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newsflash on the map

SINGAPORE’S NEW SWING

Over the past year, the low-key residential district of Tiong Bahru has taken on a stylish new persona as a crop of edgy tenants—galleries, boutiques, coffee shops—move in. b y l i a n g x i n y i

1 40 HANDS In a snug, neutral-toned coffee shop, Australian ownercum-barista Harry Grover brews aromatic flat whites and ristretti using fair-trade beans and a Synesso Cyncra espresso machine. Snacks include the Ang Mo Classic, a cheese-topped sausageand-gherkin sandwich. 78 Yong Siak St.; 65/62258545; 40handscoffee.com; coffee for two S$12.

Bahru Sketches,” a collection of ink, pen and watercolor paintings of the neighborhood by local names. 78 Guan Chuan St. #01-41; 65/62208723; whitecanvasgallery.com.

The Orange Thimble 3

White Canvas 2 Gallery 1 40 Hands

Booksactually 6 Strangelets 5

6 BOOKSACTUALLY This newly relocated indie gem stocks an impressive range of books, from classic novels to cult magazines.

Owners Kenny Leck and Karen Wai have strewn the bright

Nana & Bird 4

store with literary bric-a-brac—handstitched notebooks; Ladybird postcards— while two resident cats roam between the bookshelves.

9 Yong Siak St.; 65/6222-9195; booksactually.com.

design

the art of coffee 42 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

5 STRANGELETS Four architects and one design addict are behind this sleek, whitewashed design store. Recent product highlights: paper by Tokyo brand Postalco and ceramic tableware

by Paris’s Astier de Villatte. 7 Yong Siak St.; 65/6222-1456; strangelets.sg.

3 THE ORANGE THIMBLE Founded by White Canvas’s Ng, this former shop house is now a cozy café serving up both coffee and art photography.

Order an ice-cold frappe and admire framed prints showing Tiong Bahru’s pre-war architecture. Block 56 Eng Hoon St. #01-68; theorangethimble.com; coffee for two S$12.

4 NANA & BIRD Store founders Tan Chiew Ling and Georgina Koh once displayed their pick of pretty apparel, accessories and knick-knacks in a monthly fashion pop-up shop. This month they launch a permanent boutique: look out for Made by Hand, the duo’s own jewelry line. Block 79, Chay Yan St. #01-02; 65/91170430; nanaandbird.com.

It’s fitting that the artist behind Chicago’s iconic beanshaped sculpture has now created an espresso cup. But not just any cup. Available as part of a limited-edition collection by Italian coffee brand Illy (illy.com; US$90 a pair), Anish Kapoor’s white porcelain demitasse has a slick, platinum interior. The saucer can be placed on top to produce a mini sculpture. One masterpiece with my espresso, please!—sar ah khan

o n t h e m a p , c l o c kw i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : COURTES Y O F 4 0 h a n d s ; l i a n g x i n y i ; c o l i n c h o w ( 2 ) ; COURTES Y O F n a n a & b i r d ( 2 ) ; COURTES Y O F s t r a n g e l e t s ( 2 ) ; r e d i s c o v e r s g ( 2 ) . d e s i g n : c o u r t e s y o f M a s s i m o G a r d o n e

2 WHITE CANVAS GALLERY Art lover Maria Ng’s industrialchic gallery space shows emerging Southeast Asian artists such as Vietnam’s Tung Yue Nang. On permanent view: “Tiong

newsflash

ARTBEAT

ART The fourth edition of Japan’s Yokohama Triennale (through November 6; yokohamatriennale.jp) is entitled “Our Magic Hour,” and brings a sense of illumination and renewal to a country emerging from disaster.

Regional icons such as Yoko Ono and Apichatpong Weerasethakul will be featured alongside the Asian premiere of Christian Marclay’s 24-hour epic The Clock, all exploring the question: How much of the world can we know?

DESIGN Expect the unexpected at the Gwangju Design Biennale (September 2–October 23; gb.or.kr) in South Korea, which challenges the assumption that “design” is just about sleek, expensive chairs. Curated by Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei and Korean architect Seung H-Sang, the exhibition and extensive public programs will feature sections devoted to the “UnNamed” designers who shape our world, and also “Urban Follies,” playful interventions in the city space.

LITERATURE Bali may be better known for beaches than books, but all that changes during the Ubud Writers Festival (October 5–9; ubudwritersfestival. com). In its sixth year, the festival will feature global authors from Bali to Brooklyn and back again (one hot ticket: DominicanAmerican Pulitzer winner Junot Diaz), all sharing their craft in readings and workshops.

FILM Conceived by Singaporean creative think-tank Anonymous, A Design Film Festival (designfilm festival.com) is dedicated to design on the screen, and will launch its second edition at Beijing Design Week (September 28–October 3; bjdw.org/ en), followed by stops in Singapore (November 3–26) and Helsinki in 2012.

Look out for Press / Pause / Play, a documentary about the future of creativity in the digital age.

THEATER Teaming up for the first time since the Oscar-winning film American Beauty, Sam Mendes directs Kevin Spacey as the title role in Richard III at Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre (November 17–26; www.srt.com.sg; tickets from S$60). Commissioned as part of the Bridge Project, it promises to be a rare chance to see two masters of the modern Western stage in Asia.

DANCE The 13th Annual International Festival of Dance and Music (September 9–October 16; bangkokfestivals.com; tickets from Bt700) will bring flamenco, ballet, opera and contemporary dance to Bangkok this autumn; highlights include Taiwan’s acclaimed U-Theatre performing their “Meeting with Bodhisattva” (September 26) and the soulful Katia Guerreiro singing Portugese fado (October 13).

—samantha culp

curtain raisers Clockwise from top left: Andrés Jaque at the Gwangju Design Biennale; Kevin Spacey as Richard lll; Taiwan’s U-Theatre; work by Tobias Rehberger at the Yokohama Triennale.

c l o c kw i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : c o u r t e s y o f G w a n gj u D e s i g n B i e n n a l e ; a l a s t a i r m u i r ; c o u r t e s y o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l F e s t i v a l o f D a n c e a n d M u s i c ; c o u r t e s y o f n e u g e r r i e m s c h n e i d e r , B e r l i n , W o l fg a n g G ü n z e l

autumn CULTURE WATCH

insider

destinations trends restaurants + more

TASTING INDONESIA. From fiery Manadonese

sambal to slow-cooked mie aceh, T+L offers a three-day guide to eating your way around the archipelago—all in Jakarta. By Steve Mollman

F

ew travelers will experience even a fraction of Indonesia’s vastness and diversity. Even those with months to plan and explore it can still feel overwhelmed by the task.

Foodies, however, need not despair.

Nearly all the cuisines from across the archipelago can also be enjoyed in Jakarta. Want a lunch of South Sulawesi’s grilled seafood followed by a dinner showcasing North Sumatra’s Indian and Middle Eastern influences?

No problem. Below, our three-day guide to sampling the country’s best flavors in the capital. Selamat makan!

DAY ONE 10 A.M. NORTH SULAWESI flavor odyssey From top: Mie

aceh, from North Sumatra, is the star attraction at Dapoe Aceh Melayu; Kafe Betawi serves up Jakarta’s indigenous cuisine; at Manadonese restaurant Beautika.

46 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

Start your journey—and your day—with a spicy jolt at buzzing Manadonese joint Beautika (Jln. Hang Lekir No. 1; 62-21/ 722-6683; beautika.net; breakfast for two Rp180,000), where the food at the metal buffet counter is freshest in the morning. Point to what you want and it’s delivered to your wooden table. This fare, from North Sulawesi, packs chilies into nearly every dish, including savory cakalang saos (smoked skipjack tuna smeared with a searing red sambal) and ayam ternate (dark red chicken with plenty of burn and a hint of palm sugar). The colorful side dish sayur acar only looks innocent: lurking amid the carrots, cucumbers, shallots and bengkuang fruit—all pickled in a vinegar yellowed with ground turmeric—are, you guessed it, fiery chilies. » Photographed by Chris Kerrigan

insider food Itinerary

archipelago on a plate Clockwise

from left: Padang fare at Garuda, on Jalan Hayum Wuruk, in Jakarta; R.M. Taliwang Bersaudara’s spicy beef sate; pisang caramel at Le Seminyak; the restaurant’s fresh cocktails.

1 P.M. PAPUA

To sample the food of Papua, the largest and most exotic province in Indonesia, head to Yougwa (Jln. Boulevard Raya Blok WA 2 No. 31; 62-21/453-0419; lunch for two Rp150,000), where the star is the papeda—a vaguely fruity, glue-like blob of sago palm starch that substitutes for rice. The staff will transfer it into your soup—try the kuah asam ikan malas, a spicy-sour fish soup—by expertly twisting if off from long wooden utensils made for the purpose. Though it’s a staple in Papua, it will feel anything but ordinary in your mouth.

T+L Tip It takes 40-plus minutes to reach Yougwa from central Jakarta; closer, albeit less atmospheric, is the restaurant’s food-court branch at the Pasaraya Grande mall (lower ground level, Wata Kitchen No. 6880, Jln. Sultan Iskandarsyah 2, Blok M; 62-21/726-0170).

7 P.M. NORTH SUMATRA

In a clean space with crisp white tablecloths, Dapoe Aceh Melayu (Plasa Sentral, Floor P1, Jln. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 47; 62-21/5785-1207; dinner for two

Rp140,000) showcases flavors from North Sumatra’s Aceh region. Roti, martabak and curries highlight the cuisine’s Indian and Middle Eastern influences. Be sure to try the mie aceh, where thick yellow noodles join tomatoes, bean sprouts and shrimp, squid, or beef in a slow-cooked sauce comprised of cashew nuts, onion, garlic and meat stock. Quench your thirst with the refreshing es timun kerok, or lime juice with shredded cucumber.

Then dip into the rujak aceh kuala langsa, a chilled dessert where onion and chili complement kwini, a mango variety common in North Sumatra.

good: head for breakfast at its 24-hour Jalan Hayum Wuruk branch (Jln. Hayum, No. 100ABF; 62-21/626-2944; breakfast for two Rp160,000) and mingle with a colorful mix of happy families, strung-out clubbers and head-scarved waitresses. The signature dish is rendang, with beef or chicken (or even large jengkol beans) simmered in coconut milk and spices. Also order dendeng, thin strips of dried beef fried with ground chilies. Wash it down with a piquant martabe, a blend of passionfruit and tamarillo juice.

1 P.M. SOUTH SULAWESI

Don’t be alarmed by the smoke wafting across the parking lot of R.M. Sulawesi (Jln. Panglima Polim IX No. 19; 62-21/7265054; lunch for two Rp130,000). That’s from the fish cooking on the outdoor grill beside the entrance. The food here comes from South Sulawesi, and seafood is a big part of it. Try the oddly refreshing telur ikan terbang, chewy bunches of flying fish roe, in a vinegar sauce with chilies and onions.

The sop konro bakar is a hearty beef-rib soup served with a side of giant barbecued ribs. Buras, or coconutsweetened rice cakes in banana leaves, are ideal for dipping into the soup (they’re not on the menu, so ask). The dessert es pisang ijo features slices of tart banana wrapped in sweet green coconut custard, next to a syrupy »

DAY TWO 9 A.M. WEST SUMATRA

Padang fare is so ubiquitous in Jakarta that you might assume it’s the city’s indigenous cuisine. But no, Padang stems from the Minangkabau culture of West Sumatra. Quality varies greatly among Padang joints, but the set-up is usually the same: dishes are spread across the table, and you pay for what you eat. The Garuda chain is reliably travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 49

insider food Itinerary that uses many parts of the cow (including the skin and liver) and is made creamy with coconut milk. Move onto asinan sayur, a salad of veggies— cabbage; bean sprouts; carrots—tofu and peanuts that swim in a spicy-sour peanut sauce. It’s served with a large basket-like cracker that’s almost too pretty to break apart—except that it’s perfect for dipping into the sauce.

1 P.M. LOMBOK

coconut gel.

Cool off with a glass of es angin mamiri, a crushed-ice drink with durian, brown sugar, coconut and peanuts.

7 P.M. WEST JAVA

While the heart of Sundanese culture is just two hours away, in the blessedly cool city of Bandung, serving its cuisine in the capital is Ikan Bakar Cianjur (39 Jln. Batu Tulis Raya, Pecenongan; 62-21/ 350-7788; dinner for two Rp140,000), a popular restaurant tucked behind bamboo and palm trees. The Sundanese are masters at basting and grilling, and this place excels at both grilled nila fish, silky-moist inside and lightly crispy outside, and an addictively sweet barbecue chicken. Also order the karedok, a Sundanese salad of mixed veggies in a peanut dressing. The restaurant attracts hordes of regulars and is necessarily expansive, with high ceilings and big tables for groups.

The spicy flavors of Lombok are on offer at R.M. Taliwang Bersaudara (Jln. Panglima Polim IV No. 125; 62-21/ 725-2863; lunch for two Rp110,000), a family-run restaurant in a charming converted house with stone flooring and Lombok-oriented paintings and handicrafts. For a tasty starter, try the sate pusut, minced spicy beef infused with young coconut and pressed onto a wooden stick. The plecing kangkung is an artistically layered dish with, from bottom to top, water spinach, bean

sprouts, a tomato sambal with shrimp paste, and fried peanuts. Shrimp paste features heavily in this cuisine, also appearing in the sambal alongside the ayam bakar taliwang, a spicy roast chicken dish.

8 P.M. BALI

Lovers of chic Seminyak will feel at home in Le Seminyak (Pacific Place, fifth floor, No. 38; 62-21/5140-0610; breakfast for two Rp190,000), a large L-shaped space that gives traditional Balinese design elements a stylish modern feel: think earth tones, suar wood tables and Balinese-style gazebos.

On the menu are superb sate and duck dishes, as you’d expect, but also try the ayam suwir pelalah, shredded chicken in a tangy, spicy chili-and-lime vinaigrette.

Pair it with kacang panjang mekalas, long beans sautéed in coconut milk. For dessert, don’t miss the pisang caramel, or warm caramelized bananas with vanilla ice cream, ideal with Balinese coffee. ✚

ALL-IN-ONE

DAY THREE 10 A.M. JAKARTA

It would be easy to leave Jakarta unaware of its indigenous cuisine, which is served mostly in homes.

The natives of Jakarta are the Betawi people, and to sample their rich, meaty fare go to Kafe Betawi (Jln. H. R. Rasuna Said Kav. 62, first floor; 62-21/ 5290-0830; kafebetawi.com; dinner for two Rp130,000) in Setiabudi One Plaza, a niche collection of restaurants and cafés. Start off with soto Betawi, a soup 50 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

indonesian spice From

top: Asinan sayur at Kafe Betawi; chic Le Seminyak; Papuan fish soup at Yougwa.

In Jakarta but only have time for one restaurant? Try the upscale Palalada (Grand Indonesia, third floor, Jln. M. H. Thamrin No. 1; 62-21/2358-0870; lunch for two Rp180,000), part of Alun Alun, a store showcasing Indonesian culture.

On a single lunchset plate, cuisines as different as Manadonese, Balinese and central Javanese sit side by side in harmony. Expect Bali-style sate, Betawi-style asinan sayur and Padangstyle beef rendang, along with other dishes mentioned in this story.

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insider guru

modern indian chef Hari Nayak shares his favorite dishes from his homeland. By Lara Day

southern spice

Clockwise from below: My Indian Kitchen, a new book by chef Hari Nayak; Hari Nayak; Indian spices; modern Indian bistro Orissa, in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

H

ari Nayak is a chef, author and restaurateur. But most of all, perhaps, he is an adventurer. “I have never stopped exploring the many facets of my own native cooking—be it traditional, regional or contemporary,” says the New York–based Indian food expert, renowned for his fresh takes on the flavors of his homeland. “I keep returning to India, traveling extensively and eating my way around its diverse regions, all in the name of research.”

Since leaving his coastal hometown of Udupi, in southwestern India, the Culinary Institute of America–trained Nayak has pioneered Indian cuisine globally. In 2007 he co-authored Modern Indian Cooking, a landmark tome that Daniel Boulud described as lending “a new dimension to food.” And, since 2009, he has shone as executive chef of contemporary Indian bistro Orissa, in New York, with dishes like fresh tomato soup spiked with fennel, cumin and chili, and the Orissa bison burger, paired with green-chili chutney and crispy okra. Most recently, his new book, My Indian Kitchen, reveals the secrets of his family’s style of Indian cooking as well as recipes from around the country. Read on to find out Nayak’s favorite dishes from south India. ✚ Nayak will cook at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok (fourseasons.com/bangkok) during the 12th Annual World Gourmet Festival, September 5 to 11.

52 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

c l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : © E l e n a M o i s e e va / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m ; c o u r t e s y o f h a r i n ay a k ( 3 )

ADVENTUREs in flavor.

NAYAK’S SOUTH INDIAN must-eats MASALA DOSA | Bangalore, Karnataka “This fermented crepe, a pancake made with rice and black lentils, is a staple in south India,” says Nayak. “It’s filled with mustard and turmeric potatoes, and is often served with a bowl of sambar [lentil and vegetable stew] and coconut chutney.” where to try it Nayak favors Kamat Lokaruchi Restaurant (Unity Bldg., #7, J.C. Rd.; 91-80/2223-5487; breakfast for two Rp200). “It’s a crowded place, especially on weekends. The experience is best during breakfast hours.”

KERALA KOKUM FISH CURRY | Kochi, Kerala “The Kerala-style curry’s sour flavor from kokum fruit and coconut milk,” Nayak explains. “Eat it with appam, a fermented soft bread made of rice batter and cooked on a stone griddle.” where to try it “The Grand Hotel Restaurant [M.G. Rd., Ernakulam; 91-484/238-2061; dinner for two Rp650] is a must-visit. Faultless food in a huge dining hall, filled to the brim with a loyal Indian clientele, make this 20-minute trip from Fort Kochi worth it. Book ahead.”

more from nayak

c l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : c o u r t e s y o f h a r i n a ya k ( 3 ) ; C o u r t e s y o f B h o o s h a n i y e r / Flickr.com; Courtesy of chef Vinod/Flickr.com; Courtesy of joegoaukfishcurryrice / Flicker.com; Courtesy of Bhooshaniyer / Flickr.com

For a Q&A with Hari Nayak, visit travelandleisureasia.com.

PORK SORPOTEL WITH SANNA | Goa, Konkan “Sorpotel, a spicy and sour pork stew, is a dish of Portuguese origin common in the coastal Konkan region, primarily Goa and Mangalore. It’s often accompanied by sanna—spongy, white, slightly sweet steamed rice cakes.” where to try it “I discovered Durigo Bar & Restaurant [Luta Ferrao Rd., Grande Vanelim, Colva Beach; 91-832/278-8364; lunch for two Rp1,250] almost by accident on one of my frequent trips to Goa—a bus conductor taking me from the beach to my hotel recommended it. The pork sorpotel was a blessing to this tired foodie’s soul. The place is run by a family, and the honesty shows in the food.”

MALABAR MUTTON BIRIYANI | Mangalore, Karnataka “Fragrant steamed rice combine with bone mutton and flavors of saffron, mint, green chilies and whole spices in this dish.” where to try it “Mangalore isn’t far from my hometown, and whenever I’m home, I always go for one meal of the sumptuous Moghulstyle Malabar biriyani served at Royal Darbar [Bendorewell–Kankanady Rd.; 91-824/243-7588; dinner for two Rp400],” says Nayak. “The meat is cooked to perfection—it falls off the bone—the rice is fragrant and soft, and the spices complement the sweetness of the saffron and the rosewater.”

IDLI VADA SAMBAR | Madurai, Tamil Nadu “Idli are steamed white fluffy fermented rice and black lentil cakes, while vada are savory doughnuts made with lentils and spices. They go with sambar and chutney.” where to try it “I’m huge fan of street-food, and in Madurai I always make a stop at the Murugan Idli Shop stall [Madurai Railway Junction, 4th and 5th platform; muruganidlishop.com; 91-452/2342551; lunch for two Rp100] in the train station.

The fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth idli come with a choice of four chutneys—it’s sometimes difficult to choose which is best!”

KUNDAPUR CHICKEN GHEE ROAST | Bangalore, Karnataka “Ghee roast is one of the most popular delicacies of Mangalore, popularized by a community in Kundapur, a small town in coastal Karnataka. Today every Mangalorean restaurant serves ghee roast, a spicy red chicken dish made with red-chili paste, garlic and ghee.” where to try it Kanua (6/2 Kaikondrahalli, Sarjapur Rd.; 91-80/6537-4471; dinner for two Rp2,000), an authentic Mangalorean restaurant. Nayak suggests going in the evening for the best atmosphere and for the “delightful conversation with owner Rajesh Pai.”

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 53

insider high and low

CAMBODIA’S SEASIDE HIDEAWAYS.

A restored Modernist villa is redefining luxury in the resort town of Kep, while a new bungalow property sticks to the laid-back formula. By Jennifer Chen

Us$37 per night

us$200 Villa Romonea • Location A striking Modernist villa designed by Khmer

Raingsey Bunglows • Location A six-bungalow property that opened last year

architect Lu Ban Hap along the main road to Kep, three hours south of Phnom Penh. The town’s main beach is a 10-minute tuk-tuk ride away. • First Impressions The lounge beckons with a row of windows and a kidney-beanshaped atrium, but best of all is the wide deck with black wicker loungers. • Rooms Only six rooms, from the petite first-floor rooms to the expansive, sea-facing rooms on the second floor. All are sparsely decorated—a bed; a red Egg chair—but comfy. Each has a ceiling fan, a good alternative to air-conditioning. • Pedigree Built in 1968, the villa was originally owned by a Khmer family. British businessman Mark Carpenter bought the property in 2007; it reopened in 2010 after a careful restoration. • Drawbacks There’s no restaurant or chef, so while breakfast is generous, guests have to either go out or order take-away from nearby. DON’T MISS A Khmer-style massage in the sala facing the sea (US$10) and sundowners on the deck.

• Value Factor It’s more like staying in a friend’s weekend estate, complete with an 18-meter saltwater pool, six-hole driving range and tennis court. There’s Wi-Fi for those who can’t unplug. Prey Thom, Kep Thmei; 855/12-879-486; villaromonea.com; doubles from US$200, including breakfast.

at the foot of Kep National Park. The crab market is about a 10-minute walk. • First Impressions A rung up the ladder from the town’s basic backpacker lodgings, with a pleasant restaurant and pool, and for rainy days, a billiards table. • Rooms At 56 square meters, the timber bungalows are roomy enough for a couple, but not ideal for families.

(Guests should be well acquainted: there’s no door dividing the bedroom from the bathroom.) Each bungalow has a private balcony. • Pedigree Owned by a French expatriate, the property is run by manager Kim Teav, who spent three decades in France before returning to his homeland.

• Drawbacks The staff is made up entirely of inexperienced Cambodian women, so patience is key. Breakfast isn’t included, and your best options are a short hike away.

DON’T MISS The second floor of the open-air restaurant affords 360-degree views of the sea and mountains.

• Value Factor Well-maintained accommodations in a central location at an affordable price. Kep Mountain Rd.; 855/11-558-197; bungalows from US$37. ✚

56 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

From left: courtesy of Villa Romonea; courtesy of Raingsey Bungalow

per night

insider asian scene

GOURMET VIENTIANE. Perched on the Mekong,

the sleepy capital of laos is waking up thanks to an unexpected culinary renaissance. By Emma-Kate Symons

Grilled duck with vegetable tartare at Le Silapa. Top: Outside Makphet.

F

ine dining in Laos is typically associated with Luang Prabang, the former seat of royal power. But Vientiane, often overlooked, is a culinary connoisseur’s treat. The modern-day capital still brims with relics of its past colonial life, and gastronomes can sample some of the best French food and produce in the region. What’s more, it offers a host of upscale Lao cuisine, all at astonishingly reasonable prices, along with some of Southeast Asia’s best selections of international wine. Just don’t mention the word fusion.

58 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

BISTRO 22

When it comes to succulent classic French bistro fare, Bistro 22 (formerly Chez Philippe, Samsenthai Rd., Ban Khaonyot; 856-21/214-129; dinner for two US$45) will satisfy even the most demanding of diners. Sample the crispyskinned duck breast or steak frites and finish with a classic dessert such as crème brûlée or chocolate fondant in the cozy five-table interior (there are some outdoor tables, set back from the road). Be sure to have an apéritif—try the Kir Royal—followed by a light Beaujolais or Côtes du Rhône with your meal.

Photographed by Tracie Williams

AMPHONE

Where to try upmarket Lao cuisine in Vientiane? Ask any local, and the first name you’ll hear is Amphone (34/1 Setthathirath Rd; 856-21/212-489; dinner for two US$30). There’s a good reason: this is the place to explore the refinement, simplicity and freshness of Lao cooking. Bite into spicy Lao sausage with sticky rice, taste some of the best mint and coriander– infused duck larb in the country, or inhale the fragrance and taste of Mekong river fish marinated with citronella and grilled over charcoal. Evenings are especially pleasant on the spacious wooden terrace, or sit down by the well-stocked bar, which specializes in New World wines.

LA SIGNATURE

LE SILAPA

Canadian Frédéric Dionne-Vachon pioneered upscale modern French fare in the Lao capital, opening up Le Silapa (17/1 Sihom Rd.; 856-21/ 219-689; dinner for two US$65) more than a decade ago in a charming colonial period house with an Art Deco bar area downstairs.

With chef Anthony Dewald at the helm, the Vientiane institution still serves up delicately presented delectables to a devoted clientele of locals and regular visitors. Look out for the seared tuna with shitake mushrooms, or grilled duck on a bed of vegetables tartare, with grilled anchovies and pesto.

MAKPHET

Innovative, fresh reinterpretations of Lao classics are what make Makphet (Setthathirath Rd., behind Wat Ongteu; 856-21/260-587; dinner US$28 for two) stand out. Here, former street kids trained by nonprofit Friends International serve up gastronomic modern Lao cuisine in a relaxed environment: try the ubiquitous larb (great with pumpkin and pork) or pungent fish curry (a red tofu version is available for vegetarians). Stop by for the bustling happy hour between 5:30 to 7 p.m.: order a spicy »

franco-lao gastronomy

Clockwise from top: Dining at La Signature; Bistro 22 pairs fine wine with food; cocktail hour at Makphet; inside La Silapa; fresh flavors at the restaurant.

t o p : c o u r t e s y o f l a s i g n at u r e

Putting the haute into French cuisine in Vientiane is La Signature (Quai Fa Ngum, Ban Vat Chan; 856-21/213-514; dinner for two US$125), on the terrace at Ansara, the city’s newest, most charming boutique hotel. This is destination dining for special occasions: start with the seared foie gras on peach compote with lavender, followed by the squid stuffed with coquilles Saint Jacques and salmon, olives, anchovy paste and aubergine gratin. Another favorite among regulars is the imported New Zealand roast lamb, with stewed onions and polenta garlic confit. Be tempted by the

desserts, infused with tropical flavors—think mango-and-orange mousse with a wafer of cashew nuts and vanilla marshmallow.

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 59

insider asian scene Modern French fare at Bistro 22, left. Below: Amphone serves gourmet Lao cuisine.

shake or a signature cocktail like the frozen hibiscus-and-lime daiquiri, accompanied by piquant eggplant dip and sticky rice. Also pick up a copy of the From Honeybees to Pepperwood, a new book of Makphet’s recipes.

L’ADRESSE DE TINAY

Vientiane foodies rejoiced when L’Adresse de Tinay (Setthathirath Rd., behind Wat Ongteu; 856-20/5691-3434) relocated from its lackluster space in the New Lao Paris Hotel. Now on the same street as Makphet, the restaurant’s updated ambiance—exposed-brick walls; a whimsical red chandelier—finally lives up to the cuisine of French-born Laotian chef Tinay, who worked in France for 16 years before returning to his homeland. The fare here is contemporary French, with a bias toward the country’s southern offerings: don’t miss the spring rolls made with organic chèvre sourced from nearby Vang Vieng, or the savory duck cassoulet with Toulouse sausage. ✚

SPOTLIGHT: VIENTIANE’S BEST BARS

Vientiane’s drinking scene is growing up. Here, four spots to linger with a cocktail

Jazzy Brick For pure, understated sophistication, this dimly lit cocktail bar on Vientiane’s main drag takes first prize.

The extensive drinks list changes weekly, but it’s hard to go past timehonored staples such as Dirty Martinis and stiff Negronis. Perch at the ground-floor bar and enjoy the (piped) ambient jazz, or venture upstairs to relax on 1950’s retro furniture pieces that evoke the Beat Poets’ Greenwich Village. Xieng Nguen Village, Setthathirath Rd.; 856-21/771-1138; drinks for two US$10.

Loft Lounge Bar Vientiane meets Paris, New York and London at this expansive yet intimate red-themed lounge. Soirees feature live jazz or modern Lao musicians and DJ’s pumping out local grooves and beats.

Explore the dazzling wine list filled with top French bottles of 2006 Crozes Hermitage “les 3 lys” or Grand Cru drops of Chateau Margaux.

26/02 Koumboulom Rd.; 856-21/242-991; drinks for two US$9.

60 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

I-Beam Vientiane’s first “tapas concept bar” is a welcome casual addition to the Le Silapa empire. Located on the main high street, with large windows affording views of the passing parade, it has an airy feel, superb savory hors d’oeuvres such as giant olives and quails eggs, and even chocolate-laden “dessert tapas.”

Setthathirath Rd. opposite Ongtue temple; 856-21/ 254-528; drinks for two US$8.

The Spirit House Despite the construction of a flood-protecting embankment along the Mekong, this relaxing riverside drinking hole still has plenty of charm. The wine list includes Chilean and Australian Sauvignon Blancs and Merlots.

Traditional and updated cocktails are a highlight: try the East & Tonic, dry gin infused with Japanese green tea and Lao honey.

09/093 Fa Ngum Rd., Sikhottabong district; 856-21/243-795; drinks for two US$8.

insider books

THE REAL DEAL.

Already celebrities online, star food bloggers are on the rise in the more conventional world of book publishing.

Here, four blog-to-book Asian food insiders give the lowdown on how to eat well in their home cities. By LIANG XINYI

TAY’S SINGAPORE FOOD TIPS

Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien mee.

SINGAPORE

Dr. Leslie Tay

Wah Kee prawn noodles.

ESSENTIAL SINGLISH “Shiok means ‘to really hit the spot’—like oishi in Japanese or aroi in Thai. Although Singaporeans use this word to describe many things, when it comes to describing great food, shiok is the word.”

WORTH THE CALORIES “Wah Kee Prawn Noodles [Block 41A Cambridge Road Hawker Center #0115; noodles for two S$10] is a cut above the usual prawn noodles in Singapore.

The sauce is slightly sweet, not overly spicy and strangely addictive—I couldn’t stop eating.”

SEASIDE DINING “Located right by the sea with constant breezes blowing, East Coast Park Lagoon Food Village [1220 East Coast Parkway; dinner for two S$20] is convenient and open until late at night—great for makan [eating] sessions with friends after I knock off from my clinic. I love the Hokkien mee and the satay.”

exuberant and insatiable, a blogger turned author highlights the lion city’s hawker culture

N Clockwise from top left: Nicholas Leong; d r . L e s l i e T ay ( 3 ) ; c o u r t e s y o f E p i g r a m ; d r . L e s l i e T a y

ever waste your

calories on yucky food,” advises Singaporean family physician Dr. Leslie Tay, who despite his health-conscious outlook admits he sometimes succumbs to “a plate of glistening Hokkien mee, just like any other mortal.” The affable Tay started his blog, ieatishootipost. sg, in 2006 to chronicle his dining escapades in his hometown. Since then, his passion for delicious street fare and top-notch photography skills have led to a loyal following of readers, friendships with likeminded foodies, and— unexpectedly—a book deal. “I was initially reluctant when the publisher approached me to write a book,”

Tay says, “but I wanted to celebrate Singapore’s hawker heritage.”

From the hundreds of stalls visited over half a decade of food blogging, Tay whittles down 36 of his favorites in The End of Char Kway Teow and Other Hawker Mysteries (Epigram Books). Each dish, from bak chor mee (minced-pork noodles) to chwee kueh (steamed rice cakes) to roti prata (South Indian–style pancakes), is illustrated with Tay’s tantalizing shots and comes with a list of his must-try stalls. The book’s 416 pages also pack in plenty of personal food anecdotes, while uncovering hawker food mysteries: for example, does “tarik-ing” tea

make it better? Tay’s answer, after meticulous personal experiments, is no. In addition to being a philanthropist—book proceeds go toward a Sabah children’s charity—the multitalented Tay is adding another digital feather to his cap this month: a free iPhone app featuring Singapore’s best hawker stalls.

Kwong Woh Hing soy sauce.

The soup has a unique taste, just like a lobster bisque.

The Hokkien mee at Geylang Lor 29 Fried Hokkien Mee [369 East Coast Rd.; Hokkien mee for two S$10] is very shiok. I can confidently bring friends there without worrying about them being disappointed.

Eng Seng Restaurant black-pepper crabs [247 Joo Chiat Place; dinner for two S$60] are unlike the ones served elsewhere.

Black-pepper crabs at Eng Seng Restaurant.

BRING IT BACK “Kwong Woh Hing soy sauce [5 Defu Lane 9; 65/62889497; kwh.com.sg; bottles from S$4.80] comes in beautiful packaging. It’s made without additives and preservatives and fermented for a whole year under the hot Singapore sun, unlike four to six months for other soy sauces—probably the best discovery I’ve made in my five years of blogging.”

»

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 61

insider books penang

a chinese-malaysian reveals the island-state’s best flavors

W

Bee Yinn Low began blogging on RasaMalaysia.com in 2006, it was simply a way for the California– based professional recipe developer to keep in touch with her family in Penang. Her innate feel for Asian cooking—particularly Chinese, Malaysian and Nyonya dishes—and eye for food photography and styling quickly garnered the attention of online foodies. Five years and some 400 recipes later, Low has distilled her lifelong passion into her first cookbook, Easy Chinese Recipes hen

A bento creation

by Makiko Itoh.

Ice-cold cendol, from Penang Road Teochew Chendul.

(Tuttle)—a labor of love undertaken while pregnant. “It was really challenging as I had to do everything from scratch, from cooking to styling to photos,” Low says, “although I couldn’t shoot pictures at certain angles, say, bent down or up on a chair.” Geared toward U.S. readers with American-Chinese favorites—chow mein; beef with broccoli— Low’s 144-page cookbook also features her nostalgic tales of growing up in a Malaysian-Chinese household, as well as memories of Asia, her culinary inspiration.

W

riting about

Japanese food is a source of comfort for Makiko Itoh, a Tokyo native whose peripatetic lifestyle began in childhood. She now divides her Traditional Japanese time between sweets at Tokyo Hiyoko.

Japan, Switzerland and France, and blogs on the Japanese-foodcentric JustHungry. com, as well as JustBento.com, created a nomadic bento lover in 2007 because she felt “the bento concept constructs playful needed more focus for meals outside the box a non-Japanese audience.” The latter now boasts more than 460,000 readers globally and has led to The Just Bento Cookbook (Kodansha Int’l), published this year. Describing bentos as “putting pictures in a small frame,” Itoh offers 150 recipes over 127 pages, with a mix of Japanese and foreigninspired menus (think deconstructed salade

TOKYO

Makiko Itoh

62 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

Asam laksa, a tamarind-based fish soup, at Ayer Itam.

LOW’S PENANG FOOD TIPS COMFORT FOODS “I can eat Chinese pasembor [a local salad covered in a spicy sauce] at Padang Brown [corner of Jln. Perak and Jln. Anson; pasembor for two RM6] every day—it’s so refreshing and delicious.

The Hokkien mee at Classic Kopitiam [126 Jln. Perak; noodles for two RM10] is worth queuing up for.”

LOCAL MARKETS “Jelutong morning wet market [Jln. Penaga and Jln. Ipoh] and Batu Lanchang evening wet market [Lorong Batu Lanchang] offer

niçoise and mezze bentos). The greatest satisfaction for this web developer turned fulltime food writer?

“Seeing my words inspire people, even if it’s just to try a new recipe,” she says.

ITOH’S TOKYO FOOD TIPS TOKYO TAKEAWAY “Yoshinobu Shibata [1-13-10 Kaminarimon, Taito-ku; 81-3/62316477; magewappa. com; boxes from ¥5,000], a tiny store in a picturesque corner of Asakusa, sells beautiful bent-cedarwood boxes made by the Yoshinobu Shibata workshop in Odate, Akita Prefecture.”

IN THE BOX “Try bentos everywhere. You can get cheap and filling ones from konbini, pretty good ones in

fresh seafood and tasty hawker food.”

PENANG CLASSICS “Eat a bowl of the famed Ayer Itam asam laksa [Pasar Rd.; laksa for two RM5] before climbing up Kek Lok Si Temple. For dessert, try the ice-cold cendol at Penang Road Teochew Chendul [21 Lebuh Keng Kwee; 60-4/2618002; chendul.com; dessert for two RM5].”

SAVORY SOUVENIR “Homegrown company A1 [action-one.com] has a killer instant paste for salted fish-bones curry.

I just love it.”

department-store food halls, bentos on the Shinkansen and on regional train lines, and gorgeous, high-end bentos from famous traditional restaurants.”

TOP SUSHI “I like Koraku [2-24-1 Kamimeguro, Meguroku; 81-3/3719-0054; sushi for two ¥5,000], a tiny mom-and-pop sushi restaurant, where the idiosyncratic owners are known to turn away first-timers and foreigners. Another favorite is the flagship store of Tsukiji Sushisay chain [4-13-9 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku; 81-3/35417720; tsukijisushisei. co.jp; lunch for two ¥2,500], which is right in the Tsukiji market.”

MADE IN JAPAN “A box of Tokyo Hiyoko [Narita International Airport; hiyoko.co.jp; from ¥3,150], little chickshaped cakes with bean filling, makes a great edible souvenir.”

T o p, f r o m l e f t : c o u r t e s y o f b e e y i n n l o w : c o u r t e s y o f T u t t l e P u b l i s h i n g ; C o u r t e s y o f P e n a n g R o a d T e o c h e w Ch e n d u l ; C o u r t e s y o f R u s s e l L o h / e a t l a h . b l o g s p o t . c o m B ot to m , c lo c kw i s e f r o m to p l e f t: M a k i ko I to h ; co u r t e sy o f To kyo H i yo ko ; M a k i ko D o i ; M a x Wys s

Bee Yinn Low

Hoy tod, or oyster omelet, at Nai Mong, a stall in Bangkok’s Chinatown.

Restaurant Sanguan Sri serves Thai home cooking.

Ready-to-eat at Jay Fai.

NUALKHAIR’S BANGKOK FOOD TIPS BANGKOK

Chawadee Nualkhair the thai capital’s famed street food gets a fresh showing

F C l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : M a r i j k e Wh i t c r a f t ; w a s i n e e c h a n t a k o r n ; l i a n g x i n y i ; w a s i n e e c h a n t a k o r n ( 3 ) c o u r t e s y o f w o r d p l ay

oodie rubberneck”

is a syndrome that afflicts Chawadee Naulkhair, a Bangkokbased chowhound who confesses to always checking out other people’s plates and yearning for the same thing. The Chiang Rai– born, U.S.–raised freelance journalist, who has been documenting her dining forays in the Thai capital on her blog bangkokglutton.com with best friend Karen Blumberg since last year, has zeroed in on her favorites in Bangkok’s Top 50 Street Food Stalls (Wordplay). The colorful, compact guidebook showcases Naulkhair’s top picks in Bangkok’s Banglamphu, Chinatown, Hua Lampong, Silom and Sukhumvit districts, alongside illustrated maps and handy Thai phrases for dining out.

Naulkhair conducted the bulk of her book research while she was

pregnant with her second child. “My son came out at about the same time as the book, so in a way I feel like the two are twins,” she says. And despite being a champion of the capital’s street food, Naulkhair doesn’t forget her northern Thai roots. “For the best stuff, go to Nan,” she says. “Bangkok restaurants call themselves “Nan-style” when they want to attract northern Thai food fans. After Nan, it’s Lampang and Chiang Rai on the tastiness meter.”

TOP THREE FOOD STALLS “At Bamee Kai Lung Chuay [entrance of Soi 19, Sukhumvit 63 (Ekamai); noodles for two Bt80], nicknamed ‘Bamee Slow,’ it takes up to half an hour for the vendors to get to you. They serve delicious egg noodles topped with barbecued red pork, blanched greens, a beautiful boiled egg with a sticky yolk and super-flavorful broth.

Nai Mong [539 Soi Prapachai; omelets for two Bt130] is my absolute favorite hoy tod [oyster omelet] vendor in Chinatown.

You can choose nim [soft] or grob [crispy] omelets topped with oysters or mussels—I like mine extra-crispy.

Jay Fai [327 Mahachai

Rd.; dinner for two Bt600], in my opinion, is Bangkok’s best street-food stall. The prices reflect this—up to 800 baht for a crab omelet and noodles in seafood gravy for 250 baht! But then you take a bite, and you stop complaining.”

ADVENTUROUS EAT “Samong Moo Thai Tham or “Thai-made Pig’s Brain” [28/1 Phraeng Phuton Rd.; soup for two Bt140]. It’s supposed to give you lots of energy, which is why it is usually eaten for breakfast. The poached brain is mixed in with pork innards and fish skin in a clear, pepperspiked broth—the part that really makes this dish.”

DOWN-HOME FAVORITES “One restaurant that I don’t think gets as much press as it deserves is Ruea Thong [351/2 Soi 17, Sukhumvit 55 (Thonglor); lunch or dinner for two Bt450], which serves good, honest Thai home cooking.

Sanguan Sri [59/1 Wireless Rd.; lunch for two Bt330] offers straightforward, nofrills, down-to-earth food.” ✚

A platter at Sanguan Sri.

Jay Fai’s top-flight street fare is worth the trek.

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 63

insider eat taiwan bites

Clockwise from far left: Lan Jia Gua Bao, in Gongguan night market; Bi Deng Liang You Bing specializes in cong you bing, or scallion pancakes; cong you bing; roadside snack gua bao is good for takeaway.

STREET SMARTS IN TAIPEI.

There’s more to snacking in the Taiwan capital than oyster omelets and stinky tofu. here, two must-eat dishes. by jENNIFER CHEN

T

aipei’s oyster omelets, stinky tofu and ji pai—a chicken schnitzel on steroids—have entered the pantheon of Asia’s great street foods. But for those who find ji pai gimmicky, prefer their oysters on the half-shell, and feel that there are foods that should smell like sweaty socks and those that shouldn’t, there are other roadside snacks to please the palate. Below, two dishes not to miss.

n Gua Bao Every great cuisine has its version of meat wrapped in carbohydrates. In Taiwan, it’s the gua bao—slow-braised pork belly and pickled mustard greens stuffed inside a pliant steamed bun and topped with chopped cilantro and finely ground peanuts. (The name translates as “cut bun”; in Taiwanese, they’re more evocatively called ho ka ti, or “tiger bites pig.”) Traditionally eaten at the end of the year, they make a handy, fast meal. At the celebrated Lan Jia Gua Bao in the Gongguan night market (No. 3, Alley 8, Lane 316, Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 3; 886-2/23682060; buns for two NT$90), you can choose fat, lean, mixed, mixed with extra fat or mixed with extra lean. Our tip? Err on the side of indulgence and splurge on full-on fat.

64 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

MORE STREET EATS English-language information on Taipei’s food scene is rare.

A Hungry Girl’s Guide to Taipei (hungryintaipei. blogspot.com) reviews everything from food courts to French restaurants in the city. If you do read Chinese, check out nightmarket.funp. tw for information on Taiwan’s night markets.

n Cong You Bing Outside of Taiwan and China, cong you bing, or scallion pancakes, are usually hockey puck–hard disks of greasy fried dough. True cong you bing should be lightly seared and crispy outside, while inside are many light and greaseless layers. And it’s never, ever dunked in sauce—at least not among purists. In Taipei, there are several versions of cong you bing. Zua bing, a more pliable cousin, are fried with egg for breakfast or used as tortilla-like wrappings. But most scallion pancakes fall under the two basic categories, the chewier Chinese version, often sold by weight, and its lighter Taiwanese cousin, which you buy by the slice. Bi Deng Liang You Bing (No. 3 Keqiang Rd., near Zhongshan N. Rd., Sec. 6; 886-2/8866-1626; pancakes for two NT$80)— which means “more pancakes than the light”— in the posh Tianmu neighborhood produces a definitive version of the latter. The famed Qin Jia Bing Dian (No. 12, Lane 6, Siwei Rd.; 886-2/2705-7255; pancakes for two NT$70) uses cold-water dough to make Shandong-style pancakes, fried on a well-seasoned circular griddle. Bag some of the dense jiucai hezi, or Chinese chive pastries shaped like empanadas. ✚ Photographed by Alberto Buzzola

insider Restaurants

FROM SNOUT TO TAIL. cerebral, confronting and—delicious?

in stylish melbourne, Whole-beast eating is all the rage, and it’s never tasted so good, writes Benjamin Law

hot trotters

Clockwise from top: Josie Bones; a salad of crumbed pig’s ears at the restaurant; Montague Park Food Store butchers its own meat; Josie Bones' doorway beckons.

66 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

n JOSIE BONES

Chris Badenoch, a former top-level contestant in Australia’s Masterchef television series, is known as the chef who shocked prime-time audiences by serving a bisected, roasted pig’s face on national TV. When entering his hip, cave-like restaurant space, Josie Bones, expect to be similarly confronted: to enter, you must pull on the restaurant’s doorknob—a cast-iron pig’s trotter—while a giant, Caravaggio-like

clockwise from top: courtesy of Josie Bones (2); c o u r t e s y o f M o n ta g u e pa r k f o o d s t o r e ; c o u r t e s y o f J o s i e B o n e s

I

n 1994, London chef Fergus Henderson introduced the idea of whole-beast dining at St. John restaurant, where the entire animal— offal and all—was served to promote underrated cuts and ensure minimal waste.

Whether you call it “whole beast” or “nose-totail,” today it’s a growing trend in thoughtful carnivorism, with free-range, organic animals bred in the best possible conditions, and finally cooked with flavorful recipes. The movement has gained traction in Australia, and no city has embraced the whole-beast ethos more enthusiastically than chic, daring Melbourne.

Below, three touchstone restaurants where you can try it for yourself.

print of a raw, skinned rabbit looms overhead.

Start off with the crackling of the day, where animal skin (usually pig or chicken) is slowroasted to a fizzy, salted crisp and served for A$4 a portion. Then tuck into British favorites—blood pudding, Scotch eggs—or more adventurous cuts like crumbed pig’s ears and duck hearts. Don’t order wine. Instead, ask the knowledgeable wait staff to help you choose which of the 250 local and international craft beers will pair best with your selections.

T+L Tip For a restaurant with a heavy focus on meat, the salads are surprisingly inventive—try the ginger-beer jellies tossed with shredded apples and fennel. 98 Smith St., Collingwood; 61-3/9417-1878; josiebones.wordpress.com; dinner for two A$80.

n LA LUNA BISTRO

clockwise from top: courtesy of La Luna Bistro (3); courtesy of Josie Bones

Adrian Richardson’s iconic, upscale La Luna Bistro may be synonymous with whole-beast dining, but Richardson—a regular on the celebrity-chef circuit and an enthusiastic carnivore (his cookbook is titled, simply, Meat)—says part of what drives him to cook with offal and unusual cuts is a belief that we should eat fewer animals. La Luna’s décor is simple and classic downstairs, while the upstairs dining rooms offer privacy and walls lined with animal skin. The changing menu ranges from the comfortingly familiar—slowbraised lamb shoulder; twice-cooked duck—to the playfully provocative: on special occasions, Richardson will host offal evenings, where brave diners feast on everything from bull’s testicles to sautéed pig’s uterus. Of course, the faint-hearted can always go back to the steaks, butchered on site and dry-aged for eight weeks. T+L Tip Passers-by, take note: La Luna cures and smokes its own salami, prosciutto and smoked salmon, whose odor wafts out into the streets wonderfully. 320 Rathdowne St., Carlton North; 61-3/9349-4888; lalunabistro.com.au; dinner for two A$200, or six-course set menu with wine pairing A$120 per person.

in—often a lamb or pig; sometimes a goat— which arrives in the restaurant slaughtered, gutted and skinned. The body is then carved meticulously in Montague’s kitchen, making maximum use of available cuts; co-owners Katherine de Niese and Andrew Lockyear adopted whole-beast butchery after witnessing the amounts of food wasted in commercial restaurants. Riffs on a goat might include goatmeat curry with lentil dhal, braised goat with dill, white wine and soft polenta, or shredded goat ragu with house-made tagiatene pasta.

T+L Tip Locals swear by breakfast staples like the braised sausages—lovingly made on-site with pork belly, garlic, sage, nutmeg, cinnamon and fennel—served with beans and two poached eggs. 406 Park St., South Melbourne; 613/9682- 9680; breakfast or lunch A$20 per person; closed for dinner. ✚ prime cuts

Clockwise from top: La Luna Bistro; chef Adrian Richardson, of La Luna; inside the restaurant; the duck-liver parfait at Josie Bones.

n MONTAGUE PARK FOOD STORE

Every few days, an entirely new menu goes up the windows of cozy South Melbourne corner café Montague Park Food Store, drawn in permanent marker on giant sheets of butcher’s paper. It all depends on the animal brought travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 67

insider anatomy of a meal Nasi ulam (literally, “herbed rice”) is a lively salad of Malay origin that includes finely chopped turmeric, ginger, lemongrass and bunga kantan (the flower bud of the torch ginger plant). Needle-thin slivers of herbs and leaves like daun kesom, wild lime, cashew, mango and a flowering vine called kentut give the dish freshness.

Dry-fried grated coconut (kerisek) adds sweetness, flaked salted fish gives umami, and sambal belacan delivers a chili punch.

Peranakan Punch. At the

Overheated palates cool down with bites of acar awak, a cool mixed-fruit and -vegetable side dish of pineapple, carrots, cucumber and cabbage folded into a sweet-and-sour dressing enriched with belacan, ground candlenuts and peanuts, and sesame seeds.

Coconut milk and a rempah (spice paste) made of garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chilies is the base for an uncharacteristically rich and mild pork and bamboo shoot curry. Nyonya cooks often add a piece of salted fish for extra oomph, and slice the bamboo shoots thick so they remain a bit crunchy.

68 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

crossroads between China and Southeast Asia, Nyonya cuisine offers mouthwatering flavors, from fresh and fiery to tangy and sweet. by robyn Eckhardt

C

enturies ago, Fujianese traders landed on what is now the island of Penang and married local women, giving birth to a cuisine that fuses Chinese and Southeast Asian ingredients and techniques to delicious effect. Nyonya (also known as Peranakan or Straits Chinese) food is named after the term for female descendants of those marriages (men are called “Baba”). Cooked up and down the Straits of Malacca in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, the cuisine finds its lightest, spiciest and most sour expression in Penang thanks to culinary influences from nearby Thailand. Here, we dig into a typical Nyonya meal on the island. ✚

Fiery, fishy sambal belacan is a chili sauce eaten with rice, stir-fried with vegetables and even spread on bread for fried-egg and cucumber sandwiches. It’s made of belacan (dried shrimp paste)— still produced on Penang—that is pounded in a mortar with fresh red chilies. Salt and sometimes sugar are added to taste.

Photographed by David Hagerman

อ

A lighter, fluffier version of Thailand’s hor mok, otak is a mousse-like egg and coconut-milk custard draped over slices of boned fish. Steamed in a banana leaf lined with slightly bitter daun kadok or wild pepper leaves, it’s redolent of galangal and lemongrass and is eaten warm or at room temperature.

WHERE TO EAT NONYA CUISINE IN PENANG Just outside Pulau Tikus Market (Jln. Cantonment at Jln. Pasar, Pulau Tikus; 7 a.m.–11 a.m.; meal for two RM37), a vendor sells stupendous takeaway Nyonya specialties from a mobile cart.

For Nyonya in a more refined setting, there’s Nyonya Breeze (Abu Siti Lane; 60-19/443-7104; meal for two RM60) and Perut Rumah (17 Jln. Kelawei; 604/227-9917; meal for two RM78).

For asam (the Malay for “sour”), tamarind is soaked with warm water and kneaded to loosen the pulp from its seeds, then pushed through a strainer. The liquid is diluted with water, sweetened to taste, and then mixed with a single salted plum, for a refreshing drink that cools chili-burned tongues. Drink it iced or hot.

Every Nyonya meal includes at least one or two pickles, such as those made from slices of fresh nutmeg fruit and vinegar—said to be a cure for stomach upset—and acar huan cheo, whole green chili stuffed with shredded green papaya that’s been rubbed with sugar and salt and lightly sun-dried. The chilies are steamed and then doused with turmeric-tinted oil, sugar and vinegar. The same pickling solution is used for acar keat lah, or pickled whole calamansi, a small green-skinned, orange-fleshed citrus fruit that is a cross between a lime and a Mandarin orange.

Perhaps the most beautiful dish in the Penang Nyonya repertoire, acar hu is whole fish or fillets deep-fried and submerged in turmeric-tinted oil mixed with white vinegar and ginger, garlic and whole red and green chilies. Left to marinate for at least a day, the fish takes on a golden hue and a wonderful sweet-and-sour chili heat.

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 69

insider expert

street life Clockwise from left: Reclamation Street Market; the retro Mido Café; at Cheung Shing Fans, fans are made of sandalwood; Gwo Laan, a fruit market, opens after dark.

heart of kowloon. a walk around shanghai street with

photographer simon go gives a glimpse into disappearing hong kong. story and photographs by christopher DeWolf

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70 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

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obody knows old Hong Kong like Simon Go. Seven years ago, the 44-year-old photojournalist quit his job at a prestigious newspaper to launch Hulu Culture (huluhk.org), an organization dedicated to reviving the city’s traditions. Since then, he has spent years documenting a disappearing generation of family-owned shops that sell handcrafted items like sandalwood fans and bamboo steam baskets.

Every day, Go heads to work in one of Hong Kong’s most historic neighborhoods: Shanghai Street, an old-fashioned bulwark against the chain stores and shopping malls that have invaded other parts of Hong Kong. “Shanghai Street is the most extraordinary place,” he says.

“People used to think it was a slum, that only low-class people and ethnic minorities live here.... It actually reflects the real Hong Kong

style. You can find old Chinese opera houses, taste Hong Kong food, see the old style of architecture. It’s real. It’s alive.”

OLD BUT KICKING

The first stop for anyone visiting Shanghai Street should be Mido Café (63 Temple St.; 852/2384-6402), a 61-year-old cha chaan teng that serves Hong Kong-style tea, coffee, pastries and dishes. “This is like my office—if I’m meeting with someone, I’ll always meet them here,” says the talkative Go, who has a kind face and an avuncular demeanor. Not only is the menu a relic of the 1950’s—ChineseWestern hybrids like baked spareribs rice and rich, crispy pineapple buns—but so is the décor: mismatched mosaic tiles (bought cheaply as surplus from local factories), wooden booths, green-framed windows and a big red, white and green neon sign.

Go’s favorite place to sit is in the booths on the second floor, where he peers out of the windows at the buzzing streets below.

“Anywhere else in Hong Kong, if you sit for more than an hour, the waiters will look at you and think, ‘Why is he still here?’” says Go. “Not here. The clock runs more slowly here.”

GRASSROOTS CULTURE

Not far from Mido are other emblems of Hong Kong’s working-class life. Late every night, the century-old buildings of the Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market, known locally as the Gwo Laan (corner Reclamation St. and Waterloo Rd.), explode into action as tattooed, shirtless workers and hard-nosed retail buyers haggle over dragonfruit, mangoes and watermelons imported from across Asia. Across the street, the finishing touches are being put on the longderelict Yaumati Theatre (corner Reclamation St. and Waterloo Rd.), which first opened as a cinema in the late 1920’s and is being renovated into a Cantonese opera house set to open later this year.

But it’s the old shops of Shanghai Street that really embody the area’s character. “The street and the shops are the framework for the community,” says Go. First developed in the 1870’s, Shanghai Street was once Kowloon’s main drag, famous for its gold shops and craftsmen. The harbor and its large community

of boat people were just a few blocks away. In recent decades, however, land reclamation left Shanghai Street landlocked, and the center of action moved elsewhere. “But even if people moved away, they come back to visit, and the old network still survives,” says Go. That’s especially true at some of his preferred haunts, most of which have been run by the same family for several generations.

Take Fung Moon Kee (203 Shanghai St.; 852/2384-9553), which sells an unlikely mixture of tailored Chinese wedding costumes and Singaporean medicinal oils, or Cheung Shing Fans (185 Shanghai St. 852/2771-6363), which makes beautiful hand-carved fans and incense sticks from fragrant Australian sandalwood.

“This is the best-smelling incense in Hong Kong,” says Go as he buys a package from Cheung Shing. “Every morning, I use these to pray to my ancestors, and I think they appreciate it.”

Cheung Shing Fans.

Singaporean medicinal oils at Fung Moon Kee.

TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY

What Go loves most about Shanghai Street, above all, is the sense of community, the sense that people have made a real investment in their surroundings— something increasingly rare in fastchanging Hong Kong. Leaving Mido Café, he heads to One-Eyed Man’s Cooling Tea (151 Temple St.; no phone), where he chats with the owner. “The first owner had one eye larger than the other, so people called him One-Eyed Man, which is how this shop got its name,” Go explains. He picks up a bowl of sweet tea and takes a sip. “If you drink this, it cools down your internal heat,” he says, referring to the philosphy behind traditional Chinese medicine.

Nearby, in the Reclamation Street Market (between Kansu St. and Nanking St. ), Go gazes approvingly at a stall selling gold-and-red coconuts painted with the Chinese character for “double happiness,” a popular good-luck charm for weddings. Every couple of meters, someone stops him to say hello. “This is what makes this place special,” he says after chatting with a hawker cutting open a ripe pomelo.

“People are so hardworking here, even though they don’t earn much. If you respect them and get to know them, you’ll walk down the street and everyone will want to say hello.” ✚

Yaumati Theatre.

Fung Moon Kee tailors Chinese wedding garb.

One-Eyed Man’s Cooling Tea.

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 71

insider inns

Italy on a small scale.

From an ancient stone villa in the hills of Piedmont to a former artist’s atelier in downtown Florence, T+L uncovers the country’s best chic—and affordable—inns. By Valerie Waterhouse

LE MARCHE Casa San Ruffino, in Montegiorgio, Le Marche, Italy.

Right: One of the inn’s naturaltoned suites. austria

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lombardy Asti Cherasco Monforte d’Alba Piozzo

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■ CASA SAN RUFFINO When British transplants Ray and ri

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Claire ­Gorman got fed up working in banking, they moved to Le Marche and opened the honey-hued Casa San Ruffino.

With the views of lush farmland and the blue-tinted Sibillini Mountains from each of the four airy suites, it’s easy to understand why. A few highlights: vintage terra-cotta floors, exposed wooden beams and (unusual for an Italian B&B) a fully stocked and fairly priced mini-bar. 13 Contrada Montese, Montegiorgio; 39-0734/962-753; casasanruffino.com; doubles from €131, including breakfast.

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Sicily

■ RELAIS CATTEDRALE Globe-trotting owner Laura Elsa Valente has transformed her family’s 18th-century palazzo in the medieval town of Asti into a fashionable country retreat.

C h a r l i e P i n d e r / C o u r t e s y o f Ca s a Sa n R u f f i n o

switzerland

■ NOVECAMERE RESORT An unassuming cream-stone house with blue shutters in Le Marche’s Conero ­Park, Novecamere Resort is not for those seeking high-tech amenities. Eco-conscious and organic are the aesthetic here.

The nine guest rooms are stylishly spare with natural oak floors, white Conero-stone walls and handmade linens. For breakfast, owner Isabella Fabiani serves salumi, cherries, plums, peaches and grapes straight from her farm, and she’ll whip up fluffy goat-cheese omelets on demand. There’s not much to do at Novecamere except relax, which is precisely the point. 5 Via Cave, ­Sirolo; 39-071/933-2127; novecamere.it; doubles from €182, including breakfast.

The seven rooms—four of which have restored ceiling frescoes, discovered during the ­renovation—are appointed with Turkish silk floral carpets and Moroccan wrought-iron lamps sourced from Valente’s travels. In summer, locals join guests in the Renaissance-style garden to drink Asti ­Spumante, the region’s sparkling white wine, and hear live acoustic music. 7 Via Cattedrale, Asti; 39-0141/092-099; ­relaiscattedrale.it; doubles from €118, including breakfast.

■ AL CARDINAL MAZZARINO The Portofino of

F r o m T o p : C o u r t e s y o f Ca s a Ba l a d i n ; C o u r t e s y o f Ma s s e r i a C i m i n o ; Foto st u d i o J ü r g e n E h e i m /Co u rt e sy o f Tow n h o u s e St r e e t

­ iedmont—that’s what Italians call the hilltop village of P Cherasco, where well-heeled families including those linked to the Agnellis, of Fiat fame, spend their holidays. Guests may not live like the Italian aristocracy at Al Cardinal Mazzarino, but they’ll find calm in abundance: the 19thcentury former convent has only three modest but elegant suites with botanical prints on the walls and striped silk Bellora bedspreads. Linger over a breakfast of house-made almond cake and croissants in the rose-filled courtyard. 48 Via San Pietro, Cherasco; 39-0172/488-364; cardinalmazzarino. com; doubles from €161, including breakfast.

■ LE CASE DELLA SARACCA One of the four ancient houses that make up Le Case della Saracca was previously home to a quirky farmer named Camiot who kept a donkey on his third-floor balcony. Today, his former residence has been turned into an edgy B&B and osteria. A stone candlelit passageway leads to a mazelike interior, where glass walkways connect six rustic-chic rooms (washbasins carved from tree trunks; exposed wood-beamed ceilings; flagstone floors). After a day of exploring the nearby vineyards and truffle farms, head to the inn’s restaurant for such regional specialties as risotto with artichokes and bacon, and ­local goat cheese au gratin. 3-5 Via Cavour, Monteforte d’Alba; 390173/789-222; saracca.com; doubles from €133.

■ CASA BALADIN If you’re a beer aficionado, you may

have heard of Teo Musso, the maverick behind the Italian craft-beer movement, whose Casa Baladin is across the road from Le Baladin pub, in the village of Piozzo. The five rooms have themes related to travel destinations, from China, with an antique, black-and-redlacquer bed and vintage floral fabrics, to Africa, with walls covered in ­traditional tribal paintings. Book a tasting at Musso’s pub to sample his artisan-made ales, including our favorite, the Isaac, flavored with coriander and orange peel. 34 Piazza 5 Luglio, Piozzo; 39-0173/795-239; casabaladin.it; doubles from €123, including breakfast.

MILAN ■ TOWN HOUSE STREET Milan has long been known as a staid and business-minded city, but a design renaissance is helping to transform its image. Take Town House Street, an innovative B&B in the Citta Studi district, a 10-minute walk from downtown. Created by architect Simone Michele, the four ground-floor suites are housed in converted shops, each with its own entrance that opens up onto café-filled Via Goldoni. Eye-popping colors (red, orange, yellow, green) and giant black-and-white paintings of Milanese scenes punctuate the modern interiors. 33 Via Goldoni; 39-02/​70156; ­townhousestreet.it; doubles from €253.

■ IL RESENTIN Italian pop star Eros Ramazzotti is trying his hand at hospitality. In the artsy Brera zone, his Il Resentin draws a crowd looking for an intimate alternative to the city’s top hotels. The four ­understated rooms are set above a bustling restaurant and bar (also owned by Ramazzotti) with plush white bedding and gray-and-taupestriped walls. But it’s the small details that make this place stand out: fresh flowers everywhere, Linea Comfort Zone »

Small but Familiar

The salone of the stone-walled Casa Baladin, in Piedmont, above. Right: Dusk in the garden at Masseria Cimino.

Below: The Green Suite at Milan’s modern Town House Street.

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insider inns bath products and free bicycles for exploring the city. 24 Via Mercato; 39-02/ 875-923; resentin. it; doubles from €293, including breakfast.

VENICE ■ Villa Lina Hidden behind the Nason &

FLORENCE ■ CASA SCHLATTER Once the atelier of 19th-century

Swiss painter Adolfo ­Schlatter, this three-suite retreat is like an antiques-filled museum dedicated to the artist. It’s no wonder, given that the owner, Alessandra, is ­Schlatter’s great-­g randaughter. She’ll greet you at the door and take you on a tour of his master­pieces, including some dramatic oil paintings of ­Florence. The inn’s greatest asset is that it’s walking distance of downtown ­Florence but far enough to have space for a garden. 14 Viale dei Mille; 39-347/​118-0215; casaschlatter-florence.com; doubles from €87.

■ LE TRE STANZE Just steps from the ­Duomo, the bohemian-chic Le Tre Stanze is a favorite haunt of artists, writers and musicians.

Decadent glamour is the theme, from the worn tile floors and handmade wooden beds to the

Italian Idyll

White roses at Le Marche’s Novecamere Resort, above.

Right: A whitewashed suite at Masseria Cimino, in Brindisi. Top: The living room of Florence’s Casa Schlatter.

74 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

­ bjéts d’art. Book the Mansarda Room with its own ­terrace o overlooking the city’s centuries-old palazzi. 43 Via dell’ Oriuolo; 39-329/​212-8756; letrestanze.it; doubles from €121.

■ RELAIS VILLA ANTEA A dog named Marta welcomes you

to Relais Villa Antea, an ocher-colored villa owned by sisters Diletta and Serena Lenzi. Inside, a ­Renaissance-style staircase framed by three archways gives way to six suites with Empire-style armoires and plush armchairs ­covered in vintage fabrics. The Lenzis treat guests like ­family and are more than happy to offer the inside scoop on the city’s best restaurants and boutiques. 46 Via ­Puccinotti; 39-055/484-106; villaantea.com; doubles from €110, including breakfast.

ROME ■ Villa Urbani Music is the raison d’être at this early

1900’s mansion on the avenue that leads from the hip Trastevere neighborhood to Gianicolo Hill. Two Italian set designers are the brains behind the contemporary ­interiors, which are filled with Art Deco ­furnishings and black-andwhite ­photographs of international musicians. In the high-­ ceilinged dining room, classical and jazz melodies can be heard around the clock, and, if you’re lucky, owner Laura ­Urbani will invite you to a private concert in the villa’s patio garden. 2 Via Trenta Aprile; 39-333/481-7313; villaurbani.it; doubles from €102, including breakfast.

PUGLIA ■ Masseria Cimino If you’re searching for a romantic

getaway in the Pugliese countryside, look no further than Masseria Cimino, an 18th-century farmhouse surrounded by centuries-old olive groves. White-stone sconces illuminate the 15 whitewashed rooms, some with stone fireplaces and private balconies that look out onto the crystal-blue Adriatic.

Bring an appetite: the restaurant will have you feasting on authentic Puglian specialties and renowned Primitivo wines.

Contrada Masciola, ­Brindisi; 39-080/482-7886; masseriacimino. com; doubles from €349, ­including breakfast and dinner. ✚

f r o m t o p : C o u r t e s y o f Ca s a S c h l a t t e r ; C o u r t e s y o f N o v e c a m e r e R e s o r t ; C o u r t e s y o f Ma s s e r i a C i m i n o

Moretti glass factory on the island of Murano is this secluded pink-washed manse.

Surrounded by oleander and lemon trees, the contemporary inn was decorated by owner Evi ­Nason, wife of local glassware designer Carlo Nason. Vintage Murano lamps and vases can be found in all the suites, along with fourposter beds and orange leather couches— perfect for perusing the hotel’s expansive art-book ­collection. What we love most? The view from the veranda across the lagoon to central Venice, just a short vaporetto ride away. 12 Calle dietro gli Orti, ­Murano; 39-041/527-5358; villalinavenezia.com; doubles from €152, including breakfast.

stylish traveler

[st ]

a dapper look Cotton polo shirt, by lacoste. Lightweight corduroy blazer, gant

by Michael Bastian.

Linen shirt and cotton pants, façonnable.

Seersucker belt, ernest alexander.

Leather-and-suede saddle shoes with Nike Air technology, coLe haan. Gingham bow tie, ernest alexander. Canvas tote with calfskin details, ralph lauren.

P r o p S t y l i s t : Â Sh a r o n R y a n f o r H a l l e y R e s o u r c e s

shopping

new england style

these sporty pieces will have you ready for a weekend getaway.

Styled by Mimi Lombardo

Photographed by Teru Onishi

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 75

SPECIAL PROMOTION

wows Macau Luxe resort offers an elegant stay in the heart of the city’s historic district

B B

ringing a touch of Las Vegas glamour to the East is Wynn Macau, a sleek Forbes Five Star integrated resort conceived by Steve Wynn of the legendary Wynn Las Vegas. Perched on the glitzy Macau peninsula, just a short walk from centuries-old heritage sites, the eyecatching architecture, plush interiors, luxurious guest rooms and a sterling roster of on-site attractions at Wynn Macau are impressive.

Accommodation at the 1,009-room Wynn Macau is an opulent affair; each guest room boasts Wynn signature beds and pillows clad in fine Egyptian cotton linens; deep soaking tubs; high-tech touches like automatic bedside drapery and lighting control; and ceiling-tofloor windows that open to sweeping views of Nam Van Lake or the city skyline.

The original Wynn Tower, which opened in 2006, features 595 rooms and suites elegantly appointed in a warm, cozy palette of browns and beiges; while Encore Tower, the 414-suite boutique hotel debuted in April 2010, is equally sophisticated with expansive room interiors beautifully decorated in hues of reds and golds.

Gourmands should dine at Wynn Macau’s four signature restaurants, each helmed by worldrenowned chefs. The Michelin-star il Teatro restaurant delivers authentic Italian flavors by way of Chef Anthony Alaimo; the dramatically decorated Michelin-star Wing Lei tempts palates with innovative Cantonese dishes designed by Chef Peter Chan; Golden Flower specialises in an exclusive Chinese cuisine known as “Tan,” meticulously prepared by Chef Liu Guo Zhu and the Japanese Okada highlights the culinary finesse of Chef Hirofumi Imamura.

There are myriad casual dining options at Wynn Macau, which serves hand-pulled noodles at 99 Noodles; international fare at Café Esplanada; traditional Beijing duck at Red 8 and Macanese cuisine at Café Encore. The swanky lounges, Cinnebar and Bar Cristal, stock a wide selection of wine, champagne and liquor along with chic, artful décor.

Unwind at The Spa at Wynn, which specializes in over 30 rejuvenating therapies, from traditional, deep palm Macanese massages to deluxe caviar facials.

Seeking more privacy? We recommend The Spa at Encore, an intimate oasis where guests are guided to their own private suite featuring a steam room, sauna,

hydrotherapy bath and shower. The Spa’s signature treatment is a soothing, synchronised four-hand massage.

A destination unto itself, Wynn Macau offers many diversions. Enjoy a dip in the outdoor pool framed by landscaped gardens, check out the ethereal-looking creatures at the Moon Jellyfish Aquarium, or be dazzled by the 800,000-gallon water fountain extravaganza at the Performance Lake. And, for something even more thrilling, be sure to watch two spectacular shows – the Tree of Prosperity and the Dragon of Fortune – featuring sparkling movements of kinetic sculptures, video, lights and music.

If you wish to purchase a special gift for a loved one, or treat yourself to a little reminder of your visit, the Wynn Esplanade is home to an exclusive collection of world-renowned luxury boutiques in elegantly designed retail space.

Modern yet sophisticated, spectacular yet charming; a stay at Wynn Macau is an experience you will always remember.

Our advice? Check in now.

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[st] shop this block

california cool on abbot kinneyi boulevard in Venice, Thei boho-chic enclave of L.A.,i one-of-A KInd shops andi restaurants worth thei wait give new meaning toi the idea of going local.i Kate betts takes a strolli

Neighborhood views

Clockwise from top left: A waiter at Gjelina restaurant, on Abbot Kinney; fragrances at Strange Invisible Perfumes; handbag designer Kendall Conrad in her shop; Aviator Nation’s vintageinspired wares; locals outside Aviator Nation; pizza at Gjelina.

78 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

When residents of Venice say they are AWOL, they’re not talking about their military whereabouts. In their case AWOL stands for Always West of Lincoln, meaning Lincoln Boulevard, the street that divides this bohemian neighborhood from the rest of Los Angeles’s urban sprawl. In the past few years another thoroughfare, Abbot Kinney ­Boulevard—one of L.A.’s only “walking” streets—has become a ­destination for shoppers in search of unique fashion and home décor finds. Early adopters, including dress designer Pamela Barish and botanical perfumer Alexandra Balahoutis of Strange ­Invisible Perfumes, chose the location because of the strong sense of community. These days you can find Jack Spade (­enjoy a game of Ping-Pong in the front yard) and ­a nother New York City import, Steven Alan, along with vintage-inspired shops such as Aviator Nation, Bazar and Bountiful.

What you won’t find are mass-market brands.

Thanks to Venice Unchained, a local community group, chain stores have been discouraged from Photographed by Jessica Sample

jewel tones

Clockwise from top left: Window dressings at Steven Alan Annex; Liseanne Frankfurt pieces; walking the block near Abbot’s Habit; totes at Jack Spade; Detox Market’s tea selection.

hanging their shingles here. Several years ago a branch of the popular yogurt shop ­Pinkberry opened but quickly lost most of its business after the arrival of N’iceCream, a family-owned gelato shop next door.

When fine jeweler Liseanne Frankfurt set up shop in 2007, pioneers such as Hal’s restaurant and the Brig, a neighborhood bar, were drawing regulars, but the rest of the stretch between Venice Boulevard and Main Street was a shopper’s wasteland. “People thought I was insane to open here,” Frankfurt says. “But my jewelry is very under the radar, and so I wanted to be in a part of town that was under the radar.” A few weeks later A+R home design arrived across the street, followed by, more recently, Mona Moore, which stocks Martin Margiela pumps and Ann Demeulemeester mesh jewelry. Handbag designer Kendall Conrad, a former Venice resident, chose to launch her namesake boutique here a year ago because Abbot Kinney is one of the few Los Angeles streets where shoppers can park easily and walk.

Historically, Venice has always been a destination, dating to the turn of the last century when Abbot Kinney, a ­Renaissance man from Morristown, New Jersey, who was fascinated by the social and cultural heritage of Venice, Italy, purchased a vast tract of marshland south of Santa Monica to build what he called the “Venice of America.” The result was the Pleasure Pier, with an auditorium, a miniature railroad, a lagoon and several canal waterways. The crowds soon followed and Ocean Front Walk promenade was officially on the map. The neighborhood’s bohemian roots can be traced to the Beats of the 1950’s and the hippies of the 1960’s. The rollerskating scene took over—along with drug dealers and gangs—in the 1970’s. But by the 1990’s Venice was fast becoming a haven for artists and Hollywood heavy hitters such as Julia Roberts. Abbot Kinney Boulevard, originally called West ­Washington, was renamed in 1992, and palm trees were planted to improve the streetscape— and property values. » travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 79

[st] shop this block

on the scene

Left: Shopping at Heist. Below: Balenciaga sandals at Mona Moore.

These days Abbot Kinney is also attracting chefs such as Gjelina’s Travis Lett, who serves up lamb-sausage pizza or roasted artichokes with burrata until late into the evening. At the newer Tasting Kitchen, Casey Lane offers such fare as house-cured meats and local organic vegetables.

There’s also plenty of casual cuisine: Abbot’s Habit, an early pioneer, has great sandwiches, and on the first Friday of every month food trucks— Kogi BBQ’s Korean tacos are a ­favorite—converge on the street. Local art galleries keep their doors open after hours, too.

Most Abbot Kinney residents agree that the street’s newfound popularity has strengthened the community. “I’ve been here long enough that I’ve met couples walking their dogs past the store, then made engagement and wedding rings for them,” Frankfurt says. “And now I’ll see them pushing a stroller around the neighborhood.

I love that.” ✚

Alhambra Court

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s Blv d.

Palm

4

Milwood Av e.

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K i n n e y

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Navarre Court

A bbot

California Ave .

2

Andalusia Ave.

Santa Clara Ave.

8 14

Electric Ave.

Cadiz Court

10

Aragon Court

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7 11 3

San Juan Ave.

Westminster Ave.

Kate Betts is the author of Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style.

19

Address Book SHOP

A+R Store #1121-1; 1-310/392-9128.

1

Aviator Nation #1224; 1-310/396-9100.

2

Bazar #1108C; 1-310/314-2101.

3

4 Bountiful #1335; 1-310/450-3620.

5 Detox Market #1524; 1-310/909-7277.

A funky take on organic beauty products and fragrances—everything from freshly made Odacité skin creams to all-natural Honoré des Prés perfumes.

6 Firefly #1409; 1-310/450-6288.

Great gifts such as ­Mistral hand creams and straw fedoras from San Diego Hat. Two doors down, Kid Firefly has darling baby clothes.

7 Heist #1100; 1-310/450-6531.

A well-edited selection of Isabel Marant Etoile jackets, Pedro Garcia sandals and NSF shirts.

Jack Spade #1132; 1-310/396-3781.

8

Kendall Conrad #1121; 1-310/399-

9

80 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

1333. Leather goods, including her Manolin clutch in colors ranging from tangerine to fuchsia.

LFrank #1116; 1-310/398-6334.

Delicate puzzle rings and dangling earrings made with freshwater pearls, semiprecious stones and sculpted 18-karat gold.

10

11 Mona Moore #1112; 1-310/452-4070.

Pamela Barish #1327½; 1-310/314-4490.

12

13 Steven Alan Annex #1601; 1-310/452-3413.

Strange Invisible Perfumes #1138; 1-310/314-1505.

14

Tortoise Shop #1342½; 1-310/396-7335.

Unique Japanese housewares, including Shigeki Funishiro polyester baskets and Ryota Aoki ceramics.

15

17 Gjelina #1429; 1-310/4501429; dinner for two US$80.

18 N’iceCream #1410; 1-310/396-7161; gelato for two US$9.

Tasting Kitchen #1633; 1-310/3926644; dinner for two US$100.

19

EAT

Abbot’s Habit #1401; 1-310/399-1171; lunch for two US$22.

16

Shopping tips for info on boutiques, markets and more, visit TRAVELANDLEISUREasia.COM.

i l l u s t r at i o n b y wa s i n e e c h a n ta k o r n ; p h o t o g r a p h e d b y j a r r e t t w r i s l e y

journal

travel topics in depth, vivid visuals and more

Recipe for a Restaurant

Once he decided to open a restaurant, Jarrett Wrisley soon realized his journey to a career switch began long ago—and has more ingredients than he first thought

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 81

journal reflections

B

ecause I’m not a chef, and because I was born in Pennsylvania, and because I opened a Thai restaurant in Bangkok, people keep asking me the same question.

It goes something like, “Why the hell would you do something like that?”

The answer is like a fingerprint.

Always different, my reasons coil around a pattern of reinforcing logic. A love of cooking. The fascinating market culture of Thailand. A palpable void in the restaurant scene that needed filling. Writing wasn’t paying the bills. But the words aren’t just for the audience, because each time I answer that question I address my own insecurities.

While putting pen to paper, though, I decided that the answer should begin in an alley in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, 10 years ago, on a gloomy afternoon. In 2002, I moved to that city to teach English and to explore the mountains of Tibet, which rise to the west.

Chengdu was confounding at first: I didn’t understand the local language, or the layout, but I did understand the food.

The soapy PERFUME of Sichuan peppercorns wafted from hot-pot shops I can still remember the smoke-stained façades of tiny street restaurants in the alley, and how a permanent mist coated the street with a greasy sheen. I stepped out of my apartment and went for a walk. It was cold; boxy skyscrapers and shivering palm trees seemed muted by a dull prism of air pollution. But everywhere I looked, there was food.

Rabbits rubbed in chili and salt were strung high to slowly smoke over a grill where skewers of pork and chicken spattered their fat. The soapy perfume of Sichuan peppercorns wafted from hot-pot shops, as old couples poked their chopsticks in crimson oil, searching for lost slivers of meat. Cabbage and pink radish pickles fermented on the street in bright blue plastic buckets, and homemade sausages were strung from the metal window cages that kept out thieves.

I would pause to breathe in the scent of roasting chestnuts and warm myself beside the roaster, or try an alien snack like the braised cheeks of a rabbit. That market began behind my flat and wound its way through one of the city’s last traditional neighborhoods, ending at the trash-strewn banks of the Fu River. In my monochrome Chengdu winter, it was a flash of life and color. And so I slowly began to understand Sichuan through its food.

82 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

The city’s food culture was so powerful it forced me to experiment. For six months in Chengdu, with a single gas ring that hissed and spit green flames, a well-seasoned wok and an inherited rice cooker, I tried to make order from the chaotic culinary landscape outside. I could never quite recreate the deeply smoky stir-fries served from the glowing woks that sat above fierce coal fires in the alley. But I tried.

A year later I sat behind a metal desk in a drafty colonial mansion in Shanghai. I’d taken a job writing restaurant reviews for an English-language magazine. It was something I was astonishingly unqualified to do. But I ate, read and wrote about Asian food ravenously, relishing my luck. Over the previous year food had become something of an obsession—and then I had happened upon a job where I got paid to write about it.

And I found myself exploring narrow passageways that terminated at the banks of a different river, and teemed with more strange and occasionally not-so-wonderful things to eat (those alleys, near the Bund, are gone now, too).

I learned about regional Chinese food in Shanghai’s mushrooming dining scene, as thousands of cooks headed east with cleavers and dreams of a busy restaurant.

I had favorites, like a Hunan restaurant where a walk through a slippery kitchen led to a secret dining room and smoky, sour stir-fries. I ate at a Xinjiang restaurant where chunks of mutton melted in your mouth and swaggering waiters either pulled you up to dance or tried to sell you hashish in the bathroom.

Eventually, the job began to lose its appeal. As a forest of new restaurants sprung up in Shanghai, I returned to only a few. And, as my love for restaurant writing faded, my anxiety grew as I penned negative reviews. I needed to travel again, to wander through markets and reignite my curiosity about food.

Many months later, from a simple kitchen overlooking the alabaster rooftops of Udaipur, I learned how to make paneer with my wife. We could see the Raja’s palace from the countertop where separated curd and whey were strained into soft cheese, as calls to prayer warbled up to us from far-off mosques. The meal we ate later, after an afternoon cooking in remorseless heat in a tiny kitchen, was unremarkable. The experience was not, though, and for the next three years I traveled in Asia, learning how to cook. In the meantime, we relocated to Bangkok—Thai food beguiled me in a way that Chinese didn’t. Much like Chengdu, I immersed myself in the city’s markets. I couldn’t quite understand Thai, but I felt at home surrounded by piles of beautiful produce.

And then one night, on a midnight flight from Seoul back to Bangkok, I decided to open a restaurant. I had been sent to Korea to write a market report for a corporation that opened restaurants. Word rates were falling and food

magazines were folding. I hadn’t seen much of my wife, and I had an ache to stay in one place. And so, on that plane ride, the idea for my own Thai restaurant and bar, Soul Food Mahanakorn, was born.

In the following months I traveled extensively around Thailand, cooking northern, northeastern and southern Thai food. I learned how to make sausages, how to ferment pork and fish, and pound unfamiliar curry pastes, and even met the farmers and visited the fields where my restaurant’s rice would come from. And each moment spent on those last few months on the road felt precious, because I knew that the easy inspiration of eating on the road would soon be gone.

The end of that road for me came in Sichon, in the southern Thai province of Nakhorn Si Thammarat.

It was my last trip in search of all things culinary before construction began on a shop house I had signed a lease on in Bangkok, just two weeks before. I’d been working for a few days in a friend’s restaurant in the southern Thai town, de-stemming chilies and carving carrots in the busy kitchen of a restaurant called Koton.

At night, I tossed and turned in bed, full of fear and excitement about what the next months might bring. Menus spun around in my head, as I tried to organize all that I had learned over the years into a concise vision of what people might want to eat in Asia.

Unable to sleep, I opened the door of the unfamiliar house where I was staying, and looked out at a shrine dedicated to the Chinese man who had traveled from Hainan to southern Thailand 60 years ago and opened a restaurant there. Incandescent candles glowed yellow, marigolds hung from brass bowls of incense ash. The shrine filled me with quiet comfort.

Sixty years ago Koton opened a small shop in a strange place, too. Slowly, his Chinese cooking evolved into something different—as the ingredients and techniques of southern Thailand took hold.

Finally I fell asleep. The following day I returned to Bangkok, and started to write my first recipe.✚ Soul Food Mahanakorn is located at 56/10, Soi 55, Sukhumvit Rd. (Thonglor), Bangkok; 66-2/714-7708; soulfoodmahanakorn.com.

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journal shopping

From left: Horsemeat baby food from Italy; ­Indian chili powder; marmite-­flavored Kenyan relish; whole-grain sticks from the U.K.

From left: British Walkers crisps; ­tempura-​flavored ­instant noodles, Japan; Malaysian cream crackers; ­Japanese seaweed condiment.

From left: Disco–themed Argentinean rice; Dijon mustard from France; Japanese snow-pea crisps; India’s popular cola brand.

“Honey, you forgot the milking jelly!”—and other curious lessons learned from browsing foreign grocery stores. by peter jon lindberg 84 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

W

James Worrell

market values

herever I travel, I’m pretty much consumed with eating. If I’m not eating, I’m probably looking for food. And when I’m not looking for food, you’ll likely find me looking at food, perusing the shelves of a local supermarket. Sightseeing? There’s no finer. Plus, you get to eat the sights. The Monoprix is my Louvre, Tesco my British Museum.

If one of the perks of travel is the chance to observe foreigners in their natural habitats—unguarded and wholly themselves—there are few better vantages than the corner grocery. No one postures in a supermarket; no one pretends to be someone else. (I once followed David Bowie around a Whole Foods in Manhattan. This was both more and less interesting than you’d think.) Under those too-bright fluorescents, we are all equalized and exposed, our appetites and eccentricities laid bare for the world to see. You can learn a lot about

Adam Friedberg

any modern-day culture simply by watching it shop for groceries. It’s like sneaking into a nation’s house and rifling through the fridge.

At home the supermarket is the most mundane environment you know. Transfer that environment to an unfamiliar setting and our differences come into relief. At first it all seems boringly normal: the same motionactivated doors, whining toddlers and treacly Muzak you’d find at your neighborhood Stop & Shop. But look closer and you begin to notice: something’s off. Milk in bags. Unrefrigerated eggs. Blatantly racist cartoon

Grocery stores offer a window not just onto the culture and cuisine at hand but onto that culture’s taste for other cuisines. Who’d have guessed that the Swiss have a jones for Mexican food? That Australians are mad for Malaysian?

That Japan is obsessed with French pastry? It’s also curious-making to see which of our own foods have made the leap overseas. In Europe, high-end food shops stock “gourmet” imports from the U.S., which typically means Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Old El Paso taco sauce and B&M Baked Beans. Do any Americans still eat B&M Baked Beans? Europeans think we do.

characters used to sell rice. Cucumber Pepsi. Hamburger chewing gum. Myrrh-flavored toothpaste. (Alas, no frankincense deodorant.) Globalization may or may not be flattening the world’s tastes, but all manner of regional quirks are still on display at foreign supermarkets. A walk down the aisle reveals the extraordinary range, and geographic particularity, of human cravings—for ­cephalopod-flavored potato chips (right there with you, Japan!), black-currant-flavored anything (good on you, Britain!) or even rank-smelling durian fruit (you’re on your own, Southeast Asia!).

Browsing in supermarkets is also a fine way to hone foreign-language skills. The shelves are basically one long menu-reader, complete with handy illustrations.

Let’s see…mulethi must be Hindi for “licorice,” berenjena is obviously Spanish for “eggplant,” and cavallo seems to be Italian for “horsemeat.” (Wait—horsemeat? That’s sick, Italy. Sick!)

ome travelers go to supermarkets just to laugh at the inadvertently funny labels—your ­Bimbobrand bread (Mexico), your Barf laundry detergent (Iran), your Jussipussi dinner rolls (Finland). Yet the packaging can also be seriously beautiful. In Denmark even the dish soap looks elegant; a tin of Spanish tuna could take your breath away. The best foreign groceries double as surveys of graphic design. I have a Neo-­Constructivist can of borscht, purchased at a Perekrestok in Moscow, displayed on my living room mantel. But I’m weird like that. My collection of international novelty foods may soon outnumber the actual foods-for-eating in my pantry. I suppose in a really bad blizzard I could finally bust open the decade-old Laotian fish paste, though I’ll hold out as long as I can. That tube is really something.

When it comes to food packaging, few countries can compete with Japan, whose supermarkets are a wonderland of vibrant logos, kooky names and cute (if occasionally »

Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese supermarket in Edgewater, New Jersey.

S

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 85

journal shopping creepy) mascots. Everything is packaged like sugar-charged breakfast cereal, even the bonito flakes; you’d think only children shopped for groceries there. Yet I know plenty of adults who queue up at ­Tokyo conbini stores to buy each seasonal Kit Kat bar on the day of its release: chestnut in autumn, candied potato in winter, cherry blossom in spring and 200-odd other ­f lavors throughout the year.

O

f course there’s only so much cheese-​and-​fish sausage you can leer at without becoming ­utterly ravenous, which is ­another benefit of ­foreign grocery stores: they are the visual aperitif, the mental amuse-bouche that presages your next meal. Nothing fires an appetite like a stroll through the supermarket, especially if it’s really, really huge. The rule at home is never to shop for groceries hungry, but abroad I’d never do otherwise.

Miniature-burgershaped cookies from Japan.

of “lung tonic” and a bunch of other potions and elixirs you never knew existed. (And I’m sure the FDA would like to keep it that way.) Buying medical products abroad is risky, though, since the packaging is usually so inscrutable you have no clue what you’re buying—could be antacid, could be oven cleaner. Maybe both. Traveling in Borneo years ago I came down with a nasty chest cold; at a Kuching supermarket the pharmacist sold me a bottle of cough syrup that I swear was 60 percent deet.

Upside: I was cured in 40 minutes.

r

egional peculiarities aside, our planet is undeniably shrinking, and foreign treats are increasingly available in our hometown markets or, more so, online. Whether we’ve really gained from this is unclear, but it’s true that something—a certain thrill—has been diminished.

Back in my Anglophilic youth I visited London once a year, and

By the end of a trip half my suitcase is filled with groceries.

Indeed, some of my all-time favorite foods and ingredients were found—by sheer luck—in far-flung supermarkets: Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce, from Belize; Laxmi-brand dal from India; ­Capilano honey from Australia; Amora mustard from France; ­Yancanelo olive oil from Argentina. Drizzling that oil on a ripe tomato takes me out of my Brooklyn kitchen and straight back to Buenos Aires.

If U.S. Customs would let me, I’d fill a whole other suitcase with yogurt. The entire world appreciates yogurt more than we do; it is the soccer of food. Seriously—walk into any overseas market, go to the (never-less-than-vast) yogurt section, and buy the first brand you see. I guarantee it will blow your mind. And it comes in a little glass jar or a dainty ceramic pot! That you get to keep! For the frustrated ­A merican yogurt lover, this all seems patently unfair.

It’s not just about food, either. The pharmacy section is always a treasure trove of horse-tranquilizer-size malaria tablets, jars of “milking jelly” (for cows, not humans), vials 86 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

my first stop was always at the local Tesco where I’d buy sackfuls of the things I couldn’t yet find back home: ­Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles, Walkers pickled-onion potato crisps, Ribena black-currant juice, Flake bars, Crunchie bars, Lion bars, ­Batchelors Mushy Peas (I ate them straight from the can), and, most coveted of all, McVitie’s Dark ­Chocolate Hobnobs (“the nobbly oaty biscuit”!). The latter became a real problem for me for a while, as I would beg and pester any U.K.-bound acquaintance to please please PLEASE pick me up a dozen packets of Hobnobs here’s a £50 note and an extra suitcase please PLEASE don’t forget I love them so.

Friends learned to stop telling me their travel plans.

Years later, when imported Hobnobs suddenly materialized at a yuppie grocery near my Brooklyn ­apartment—​selling for three times the U.K. price—I briefly worried that I might go broke and corpulent from eating cookies 24/7. Turns out the novelty wore off quick. A Hobnob in any other country, I discovered, was simply not as sweet. ✚

James Worrell

Back in my ANGLOPHILIC youth I visited London once a year, and my first stop was always at Tesco where I’d buy sackfuls of the things I couldn’t find at home

journal essay

Traveling Heavy

© Ka m i l Ma c n i a k / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m

People extol the virtues of packing light, but after years of trying, Peter Jon Lindberg is ready to throw in the towel (and five pairs of shoes, three hats, two cameras, binoculars, a TRAVEL STEAMER…)

I

am a terrible packer. Fact: Not once in my traveling life—whether for a two-week tour of Asia or a three-night trip to the countryside—have I ever packed just a carry-on. “Just a carry-on”? You must be insane. I can hardly keep my hand luggage to regulation size, let alone my checked bags. (And yes: it is almost always “checked bags,” plural.)

Fact: I have a problem. I’m speaking to you as someone who goes away for a living, who knows his way around the corridors of Chek Lap Kok airport, the back roads of Bahia, the subways of Moscow—yet who, after umpteen years and a minor fortune in excess-baggage fees, still can’t get his luggage below the airlines’ weight limit, not even for a weekend in South Beach, where no one wears clothes.

I’d like to say I was different in youth, carefree and light on my feet. But I was a terrible backpacker, too, just pathetic at the job. For a Eurail trip in college I basically stuffed my

entire dorm room into three—count ’em: three—giant Eagle Creek duffel bags. None of the bags had wheels; for all my failures I was determined to stick to the spirit of backpacking, which seemed to be about Suspending One’s Belongings From One’s Person. And so with yards of strapping and considerable effort I secured all three bags to my body, front, rear and side, until I resembled a lopsided bomb-squad technician, or a human battering ram. The simple act of entering a train compartment was like giving birth to myself. For eight weeks I endured the smirks of proper backpackers—not least the Aussies, those smug walkabouting bastards, roaming the earth for 18 months with just a three-quart knapsack on their lean shirtless backs.

I’ve known, ever since, the ignominy of the overpacker.

The cruel judgment of the gate agent. The cabbie’s furrowed brow. The bellman’s weary sigh. The concerned glances of other, more streamlined travelers, whose profile of you is » travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 87

journal essay clear: Can’t keep it together. Lacks self-control. For a suitcase is never just a suitcase. It is an earthly manifestation of your full-to-bursting emotional baggage, a ballistic nylon-coated box of shame.

88 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

f r o m t o p : © Ba l l u n / i s t o c k p h o t o . c o m ; © G r a f f i z o n e / i s t o c k p h o t o . c o m ; © k y o s h i n o / i s t o c k p h o t o . c o m ; © DOC o n n e l l / i s t o c k p h o t o . c o m ; © n k b i m a g e s / i s t o c k p h o t o . c o m ; © A n d e r s a s t p h o t o / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m ; © R u s l a n Da s h i n s k y / i s t o c k p h o t o . c o m ; © K e v 3 0 3 / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m ; © C l o k i / D r e a m s t i m e . c o m

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inder people have tried to help me. They’ve suggested I lay out everything I plan to take one week before my trip, then gradually put two-thirds of it back. (Actual result: each day I remember three more things I left out, until by day seven I’ve added a whole other bag.) They’ve gifted me with organizer cubes, compression bags and other purportedly ingenious “packing solutions.” (Actual result: yet more detritus for my already overwhelmed closet.) And, in delicate moments, they have ventured that perhaps, possibly, just thinking out loud here, a psychotherapist might have insight into my problem.

“I think there’s a deeper issue at play,” said mine when I asked. “Imagine you’re one of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, filling their sarcophagi with all their worldly possessions— except you’re dragging your sarcophagus through the airport.

And why? Because, just like the pharaohs, you fear death!”

Well…duh. But I also fear being caught in Tegucigalpa without the charger for my electric toothbrush.

As far as I can determine, there’s no official psychiatric explanation for overpacking, unless it’s just the mobile version of Compulsive Hoarding Syndrome. For me the simplest diagnosis is that, as much as I love traveling, I loathe leaving home. Unlike the hard-core globe-trotters of legend— Paul Theroux; Attila the Hun—I’m equally content in my cozy apartment, surrounded by my things, which to me are not “possessions” so much as “possibilities.” Having options makes me happy. Keeping those options open to me when I travel makes me happier still. What is travel if not a joyful surfeit of possibilities?

Apparently I am not alone. With airfares soaring and vacation days at a premium, travelers are now squeezing several experiences into a single trip. According to Fred Dust, of the trend-spotting consultancy Ideo, “People increasingly combine work with a quick change to leisure”—following up, say, a business conference with a family biking trip or a weekend at a dude ranch. “When you’re packing for multiple purposes and multiple destinations,” Dust says, “it’s almost impossible to travel light.”

I guess that’s my excuse for bringing an entire wardrobe department’s worth of clothing on each trip, from swim trunks to yoga pants to poncho to cummerbund: as a travel reporter I typically shift places and purposes every other day.

A single city might have scores of disparate milieus, each requiring a different ensemble. In London you could go from thrift-shopping in Shoreditch (plaid hipster shirt; skinny jeans) to a ramble on Hampstead Heath (Gore-Tex boots; Patagonia), from a Michelin-starred restaurant in

Knightsbridge (Paul Smith suit and tie) to an underground dance club in Bermondsey (DayGlo tracksuit; baby rattle).

How could anyone accomplish all that with just a carry-on?

Yes, overpacking is primarily about vanity. But it’s also about the pragmatism of blending in, with the hope that you might disappear into a place. Backpackers and business travelers have it easy: the former can wear the same batik pants for months; a businessman could pack one suit for a 10-city trip, merely rotating his shirt and tie. But for today’s global nomad, different contexts mandate different personas and more costume changes than you’d find in your average Beyoncé show.

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f course, clothing is only half the story. I also bring a hefty stack of guidebooks, maps and phrase books; a dozen magazines; a notebook and sketch pad; a box of pens and pencils; a mini watercolor set (I know, I know); a travel steamer; three varieties of sunscreen; an oversize Dopp kit; and a gallon Ziploc full of pills (Chinese herbs, temazepam, vitamins, Clarinex, melatonin, Advil, fish oil, Xanax—I could go on but

A

ll that said, I do envy my unencumbered fellow travelers, answering only to the whims of wanderlust. I see them sailing through airports, sashaying into hotel lobbies, hopping off trains like so many nimble bunny rabbits, and I think, That would be nice. I can’t answer to the whims of wanderlust, because I’m beholden to My Stuff, forever looking for a place to put it down. If only I could alight from the Eurostar at Gare du Nord, jump on the Métro and breeze over to Le Comptoir in time for lunch, tucking my modest overnight bag discreetly under my chair. But no. For the overpacker, every relocation must be plotted like the invasion of Normandy; you need load-bearing vehicles, patience, a clear plan of attack. So I’m left schlepping three outsize bags to the taxi stand, paying €23 to ride a kilometer in traffic to my hotel, checking the bags at the bell desk, sprinting to the nearest Métro and finally arriving at Le Comptoir only to be told, “Désolée, monsieur, lunch service is over.” At which point this whole “keeping my options open” concept has completely backfired.

So I’m making myself a deal. This weekend my wife and I are going to Montreal—a quick little jaunt, four days and

While I regret having to HOIST half my body weight in luggage up the stairs every time I come home from a trip, I have never regretted any single item I packed. (Okay, except for the four-kilogram voltage converter)

let’s not). Then there’s the mandatory tech: dashboardmounting GPS unit; two cameras (SLR for landscapes and Canon S90 for snapshots), including lenses, filters and tripod; noise-canceling headphones; digital voice recorder and lapelclip mic for interviews; key-chain USB drive; MacBook; iPhone; iPad; iPod Nano for the gym; spare Motorola mobile phone (for foreign SIM cards); high-powered binoculars; plus all the attendant chargers, batteries and battery packs, USB cables, mini-USB cables, Y-splitters and foreign outlet adapters.

On paper, my packing list looks like overkill. But while I regret having to hoist half my body weight in luggage up the stairs of my brownstone every time I come home from a trip, I have never regretted any single item I packed. (Okay, except for the four-kilogram voltage converter I once carted around for my electric razor.) I can, however, recount plenty of occasions where I’ve regretted not bringing something—like, say, a pair of wellies for a spring wedding in Ireland, or a bottle opener for a camping trip in Sonoma or those noisecanceling headphones for an overnight Mexican bus ride.

three nights—and for the first time in my adult life I’m packing just a carry-on.

Yeah, you heard me.

I’m leaving my binoculars, travel steamer and snorkeling set behind, and will try to make do—maybe even have fun— with just my iPhone, a few essential toiletries and exactly four outfits’ worth of clothes. I’ve resolved to follow the lead of my colleague Adam Sachs, whose travel motto is Underpack, overdress. I’ll wear my suit coat on the plane, and I’m taking only the shoes on my feet. (For guys, bringing a second pair of loafers is like packing two extra canoes.) I’ve squeezed my liquids into 100ml containers. I even dug through the back of my closet to find one of those Flight 001 compression bags for my shirts—turns out they really are quite ingenious. It all adds up to seven kilos of overhead-bin-suitable hand luggage.

I know this because I’ve already packed and weighed it.

I’m ready, willing and quite possibly able. But if anyone can tell me where I can buy a good watercolor set in Montreal, I’m all ears. ✚ travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 89

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journal obsessions

Eating What We Watch

kitchen stars Clockwise from top left: Gordon Ramsay in the heat of the moment; Chef McDang in Thailand; Britain’s Nigella Lawson; a playful Jamie Oliver.

92 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

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know exactly where I was when I first realized how big food-ontelevision was going to get. It was 1997, the weekend just after Thanksgiving, and I was out in the suburbs staying with the parents of my then girlfriend when, at one point, I found myself trapped alone in the den with her strange uncle. We’d never really gotten along, me and the uncle. He was a gruff, nononsense type who ran some sort of crew in, I think, either the construction or waste-management sectors, whereas I…well, I had no crew, and I traffic almost exclusively in nonsense, and I can barely manage my own waste, to be frank about it, let alone whole cities’ worth of other people’s. We were different types of guy, is the bottom line here, and my only desperate plan, as I sank faux-casually onto the faux-leather beside him, was to ask him again to explain hockey’s straightforward “icing” rule to me, for that was the only conversation he and I had ever managed.

c l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t : © R e v e i l l e P r o d / t h e K o b a l C o l l e c t i o n : C o u r t e s y o f c h e f M c Da n g : © L i s a Ma r e e W i l l i a m s G e t t y I m a g e s /A FP : © A BC - TV/ T h e K o b a l C o l l e c t i o n / H o l ly Fa r r e l l

Television cooking shows taught Bruno Maddox how to cook. And that was the beginning of the end

He wasn’t watching hockey, though, for once.

He was watching The Essence of Emeril.

“I like this guy,” grunted the uncle after a bit.

“When he adds, uh, salt or…or spicing to the food, well, he, uh…he says, ‘Bam.’” I felt myself relaxing, like a sheet of gelatin sliding silently beneath the surface of a bowl of warm water. “Not always,” I said. “Sometimes he says that he’s ‘kicking it up a notch.’”

We were friends after that, the uncle and me.

He went on to master Emeril’s shrimp étouffée, making his own shrimp stock and everything. I was happy for him, but hardly surprised, for by that point it was clear that a proper revolution was under way in American cooking, with television leading the charge, and the unlikeliest of people were étouff-ing shrimp all across this great land.

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nd I was a part of it. Back then, I was under contract to write a difficult postmodern novel, and, as I suspect would also have been James Joyce and Samuel Beckett’s regimen had the Food Network been around back in their day, I would generally rise in time for the midday showing of Molto Mario, take careful notes in the notebook that is the constant companion of every proper writer, then pound the streets of Manhattan all afternoon looking for cardoons and guanciale, so as to have a steaming platter of Italian regional pasta on the table by the time my girlfriend came home from her actual job. My food wasn’t perfect; there were usually rubber bands in it, for one thing, and/or shreds of grated plastic wrap. At the first hint of any more than medium serious trouble with a dish—spilled detergent, the protein still being alive, etc.—my first instinct was to pump mascarpone at the problem, much as firemen use that flame-retardant foam. But I was getting there.

Had you asked me back then, as I was tweezering shards of glass from my polenta, where I saw my cooking in 15 years’ time, I’d have told you that I saw it getting much, much better, just so long as the Food Network remained on the air.

The Food Network has indeed remained on the air. Its content, like a baker’s “starter,” has expanded, spilled over and been duplicated across our airwaves. Alton Brown, Sandra Lee, Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, Ina Garten and more— each occupying his or her own particular culinary niche, and, along with the Top Chef, Martha Stewart and America’s Test Kitchen franchises, among many others, representing the sprawling apotheosis of the celebrity TV-chef phenomenon.

Other parts of the world, you find out quickly when you travel, have their own kitchen messiahs— Sanjeev Kapoor in India, for example, and Nigella Lawson in Britain. The rise of the celebrity chef transcends language and geography.

The result, for me personally, has been a long series of small leaps forward in my technical cooking ability. I can chop an onion now in less than 10 minutes. If a recipe calls for two tablespoons of oil, I no longer need to measure it out, but can fling it straight from the bottle, just like Mario, in great, confident, swooping spirals, like a cowboy lassoing a docile steer. I know from hours of Jamie Oliver that salt and herbs and julienned basil must always be sprinkled from a height, and from Gordon Ramsay that the mocking belittlement of one’s subordinate chefs—be they a spouse, an elderly parent, or a tiny, terrified, weeping child—is a vital lubricant in the engine of any well-run kitchen.

Despite all I’ve gained, something has been lost as well, something big and hard to describe.

I feel its absence most keenly in the kitchen, where nothing is as brightly lit as I remember it, »

If a recipe calls for two tablespoons of oil, I no longer need to measure it out, but can fling it straight from the bottle, just like Mario, in great, confident, swooping spirals, like a cowboy lassoing a docile steer

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 93

nor as colorful, and where the level of drudgery required in food preparation feels like it has quadrupled or quintupled since the early 1990’s.

When I reach out for an ingredient—some salt, perhaps, a stick of celery, nothing fancy—my fingers these days find only packaging: a can that needs opening, some cellophane that must be torn.

To surmount these obstacles, what’s more, is to

What’s Cooking globally? international Food tv shows Australia

Surfing the Menu “Surf-mad” chefs hit the beach—and the kitchen. france

Un Dîner Presque Parfait A dinner party ­showdown.

India

Khana Khazana Sanjeev Kapoor’s “food treasure” is the longest-running cooking show in Asia. japan

Dotch A one-dish chef cook-off.

United Kingdom

Ready Steady Cook Twenty minutes, two chefs, and a surprise bag of ingredients.

Spain

Karlos Arguiñano en Tu Cocina The Basque chef showcases amateur ­singing along with the recipes.

Thailand

McDang Show Host M. L. Sirichalerm Svasti is a member of the Thai royal family.

94 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

find one’s workspace, all of a sudden, quite literally strewn with garbage, and while I know in my logical mind that this must always have been the case, nobody else seems to have to deal with it, not on television, anyway.

I’ve no one to talk to either, anymore, when I’m cooking. Oh, there are people there sometimes; a friend, a lover, a family member, and we might exchange some pleasantries, some idle chatter.

But the things I want to say to them, I know that I mustn’t. What I want to say, obviously, as I’m tossing handfuls of newly popped spring peas into a pan of rendered pancetta, is that they can probably find these peas at their local farmers’ market or, if they don’t live near a farmers’ market, that frozen peas will do just as well. Because that’s what you do say, when you’re doing that, but I can’t, because usually they were with me at the farmers’ market when I bought the peas in question, and so I bite my tongue.

And then there are restaurants. The arrival of one’s entrée, I recall, was once a happy thing, and a cause for celebration. I suppose it still is, but it comes now with a side salad of anxiety and dissatisfaction at having missed all the action of its preparation. The dish may be delicious, but that’s scant consolation for having been deprived the sight of the chef sprinting through his nearest Whole Foods trying desperately to sniff the freshness of scallops through shrink-wrap. I was sheltered, cruelly, from the heart-pounding crisis in the kitchen, when the duck soufflé had to be cajoled back from the brink of collapse with only a snail fork and a soda siphon…. I missed the whole show, is how it feels, apart from, yes, the finishedplate-of-food part, and now I’m expected to leave before the judging.

They say you shouldn’t run from your problems, that you should turn and try to face them, and in principle I agree, but I have tried to run from this one, except there’s nowhere left in the world to run to. Australia? They’ve got MasterChef now, not to mention Surfing the Menu. France? They’ve got their own Top Chef, if you can believe it. No, there’s nothing for it but to try and numb that sense of loss, and an anesthetic, for better or worse, is close at hand. And so you sink into the upholstery, lower your eyelids to half-mast, your breathing to shallow, and let a professional sauté your cares away, in a brightly lit fake kitchen, on a fake, perpetual afternoon. ✚

f r o m t o p : © G e o r g e B u r n s / G e t t y I m a g e s /A FP ; C o u r t e s y o f c h e f V i n o d / F l i c k r . c o m ; C o u r t e s y o f Ca r o l Ba s s i / F l i c k r . c o m ; C o u r t e s y o f Ka r l o s A r g u i ñ a n o e n t u C o c i n a

journal obsessions

journal food

THE king of spain

p o rt r a i t p h oto g r a p h e d by Da r ko Z ag a r

What happens when you let José Andrés,i indefatigable chef, lead you throughi asturias? Late-night tapas stops, 20-coursei lunches, even a fender bender. by brucei schoenfeld. photographed by javier salasi

I Chef José Andrés taking a coffee break.

’m hungry,” José Andrés says. It’s nearly midnight and we’re driving to our hotel in Oviedo, the capital of the northern Spanish province of Asturias. But Andrés, a chef and restaurateur whose M.O. is inspired improvisation, wants to stop in his birthplace of Mieres for a late-night snack. I’m not arguing. During the week we’ve already spent together in Spain, I’ve learned that any meal he proposes will be an extraordinary one.

This one begins less promisingly than most. The sky is spitting rain, restaurants are closed and we have to park on the sidewalk.

But when we arrive at the only open bar we see, Andrés immediately gets slapped on the back by people he’s never met. » travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 95

journal food

A salad of clams and beans at La Huertona, in the seaside town of Ribadesella, Spain.

Above: The Meliá Hotel de la Reconquista, in Oviedo. Opposite from left: A street scene in Oviedo; a table at Casa Gerardo, in Prendes, with views of the Asturian countryside.

Spaniards know Andrés from his role as host of a cooking show that ran on government television from 2005 to 2007, during which he filleted fish and prepared tortilla española with a joyous exuberance that made him a national celebrity.

In America, he’s the champion of all things Spanish, the man who pulled the cuisine out of its gazpacho-and-paella doldrums. (An acolyte of Ferran Adrià, Andrés taught a lecture series on science and cooking at Harvard with the legendary chef last fall.) His first restaurant, Washington, D.C.’s Jaleo, opened in 1993. Today he has 10 more, in D.C., Las Vegas and Beverly Hills: Spanish, but also Greek, Mexican, Chinese, Nuevo Latino and avant-garde. Beginning in 2008, Andrés produced and hosted 26 episodes of Made in Spain, a travel and culinary series for PBS. In July, in conjunction with a National Archives exhibit, he opened America Eats Tavern, which will temporarily fill the three floors of D.C.’s Café Atlántico with his take on cheesesteak, oysters Rockefeller and other iconic dishes.

Despite this formidable culinary empire, Andrés is anything but a buttoned-up CEO. His appetite for life in general—and food in particular—is prodigious; he’ll roam far and wide for something delicious to put in his mouth, or to watch his favorite football club, FC Barcelona, play an important match. He’d rather roast a pig over an open flame for assembled friends than do almost anything else. And his manner with intimates, acquaintances and even strangers is warm and genuine.

The people of Asturias, a tranquil region on the Bay of Biscay two hours west of Bilbao, have embraced their local son like a conquering hero. So I’m not surprised that, though the kitchen at this bar has closed, food starts arriving at our table within minutes—not bar snacks, but authentic local dishes. There’s eel with eggs, boiled sea urchin halved to reveal the unctuous orange roe inside, sliced meats and cheeses—all served with glasses of purposefully tepid cider poured using the traditional Asturian technique, which resembles trying to milk a cow while changing a lightbulb.

For two hours, Andrés eats and drinks, signs dozens of autographs, and at one point sprints outside into the rain to intercept the police cruiser that has stopped beside his car.

(Once they see it’s Andrés, of course, the Guardia Civil give him a handshake rather than a ticket.) As we race through Asturias at warp speed, similar scenes play out again and again, with one thing in common: food. With Andrés, it’s nearly always about food.

E

arly the next morning, I leave my hotel in Oviedo for a walk and encounter head-turning public art on nearly every corner, including a likeness of Woody Allen, who showcased Oviedo in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Someday I hope to linger in this serene and attractive city, but Andrés is rushing to nearby La

96 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

Foz de Morcín to appear in a festival celebrating afuega’l pitu, a soft, aromatic cow’s-milk cheese. When we arrive, two TV crews materialize and follow him from table to table as he tastes his way through the bounty of the event, chronicling each bite for the cameras. Andrés receives an award, which roughly translates into “The Greatest Cheese Man of Asturias,” and improvises a speech. Before we leave, he sees

‘Nobody is eating a fabada like this anywhere because there is no other fabada LIKE THIS,ʼ says Andrés

an old acquaintance. “I’d love to meet the mayor and congratulate him,” Andrés says. “Oh, José, you are too funny,” the man replies. It turns out that he is the mayor.

That noontime nosh is followed by a proper lunch, if proper can describe 20 courses spread over four hours. Casa Gerardo sits on the main road of Prendes, 32 kilometers north of Oviedo. The father-son team of Pedro and Marcos Morán has earned the restaurant a Michelin star for taking vanguardista cooking and making it warmer and more accessible. Red mullet with potato emulsion, sea urchin with tahini, and razor clams in almond butter sound like dishes for culinary intellectuals, but they taste like recipes passed down for generations. The climax is an ethereal version of fabada, Asturias’s best-known dish, a normally dense stew of beans simmered with sausage and slabs of pork fat. “Nobody is eating a fabada like this anywhere else because there is no other fabada like this,” pronounces Andrés, holding up a spoonful of beans. As both Asturian and an Adrià disciple, he’s uniquely qualified to know.

Not far away is Gijón, a jewel of a port where we walk the seawall under puffy clouds and above the shimmering »

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 97

journal food

Cattle on the road to Cangas de Onís, in Asturias.

bay. We stop for a coffee, then continue to hug the coast until we reach the cobblestoned fishing village of Tazones.

Up a street is an hórreo, a centuries-old stone granary.

Hórreos in Asturias tend to be square, as opposed to the long, rectangular ones of Galicia, Andrés explains with the precision of an archaeologist.

Though we finished lunch only three hours before, we’re in Tazones to eat. Bar Rompeolas is a ramshackle fish house with wooden beams and cloth-covered tables. The owner produces basketball-size crabs that Andrés holds up to inspect more closely. A woman in a gray coat shows up carrying a plastic bag laden with twitching lobsters. Friends of Andrés’s arrive, filling out a large table. And for the next few hours, food appears with the regularity of Bay of Biscay tidal currents: fried calamari, a bubbling cauldron full of clams, glorious egg-battered monkfish that has the delicate crunch of fine tempura, and those crabs and lobsters, cooked to perfection.

98 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

One of the guests runs the Centro Niemeyer in Avilés, near Prendes. He tells me about the organization’s dramatic new facility, which opened in ­December 2010, perhaps the final creative act by the 103-yearold Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. “It will change the area,” he says. I’m skeptical until he ticks off an impressive list of advisers and collaborators: Brad Pitt; Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka; writer Paulo Coelho; Stephen Hawking—and Andrés, who apparently has promised to be a guest chef at the center’s restaurant. I wonder why I haven’t heard of this before. “This is Asturias,” the man says with a shrug. “News doesn’t travel.”

It’s after midnight again, and we’re two hours from our next hotel. While he drives east under a full moon, Andrés has a series of animated phone conversations. I’m amazed by his limitless energy, one reason he was able to arrive in the United States as an adult and in short order succeed as a chef, impresario and television personality, while simultaneously making an even bigger name for himself in Spain. Finally, for the first time all day, he falls quiet. I look over to make sure that he isn’t nodding off at the wheel and find him steering the car with his forearms, answering e-mails.

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nland Asturias consists of a chain of ancient towns nestled in the Cantabrian Mountains. Late one morning, we pass through Covadonga and see the church where Andrés’s parents were married. Then we head up into the Picos de Europa national park. Even in winter, the day can be warm, almost balmy. But as we drive into the mist, the temperature dips toward freezing, dropping a degree a minute. Andrés lowers the window all the way.

“I’m in Asturias,” he explains. “I have to smell the air.” We’re bound for crystalline lakes, an unexpected bit of Switzerland

Iʼve never seen Andrés HAPPIER than when heʼs alone with a plate of pata negra ham in a Spanish bar

the Centro Niemeyer. I head to bed, but ­Andrés will go out drinking cider until three, and then, racing to get to the airport in the morning, he’ll slam the rental car against a post in a parking garage, waving down a taxi to make our flight to Madrid. For the moment, though, he’s placid. He stands by the rocks and tracks the tide, letting the spirit of Asturias calm his soul. “Every place has its own rhythm,” he says quietly. “I’d recognize those waves if I heard them anywhere in the world.” ✚

Avilés Prendes Aeropuerto de Asturias

Gijón

Tazones

of B isca

Ribadesella N-634

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in Iberia, but Andrés’s rented Opel wavers on a frosted slope.

We step out and contemplate the utter stillness as I dissuade him from trekking the final stretch over the ice.

We head back down and visit the famous Virgin of Covadonga, a shrine in a curiously mesmerizing chapel cut into a cave above a waterfall. Then we’re supposed to steer toward the coast and lunch. But as we’re approaching the turnoff, ­Andrés can’t help himself. “If you love food and you’re in Asturias,” he says, “you must visit Cabrales and taste the cheese.”

Soon we’re in the village of Arenas de Cabrales, at a bar that feels like every other Spanish bar. The television is blasting, patrons are carelessly dropping paper napkins on the floor. But the wood is polished to a gleam, there’s frosted glass in the windows, and instead of a football match or a soap opera, a cooking show is on. The best Cabrales cheeses, Andrés tells me, are blended from equal parts cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk, then aged six months in one of the caves that dot the Asturian landscape. A ración arrives, crumbly and veined with blue. It’s a revelation, fruity and nutty, faintly spicy and completely irresistible.

As a chef, Andrés’s greatness is rooted in his painstaking technique, which allows him to harness and direct his soaring creativity. But as an eater he’s all about the intense flavor of particular ingredients, especially when they conjure up emotional attachments. I’ve never seen him happier than when he’s alone with a plate of pata negra ham in a Spanish bar; the shambolic smile that curves across his face reminds me of a five-year-old. Here in Arenas, his trancelike expression as he devours the Cabrales comes close.

After an exhilarating drive down from the hills, we hit Llanes, a town of tidy clapboard houses bisected by a canal.

It reminds me of coastal Yorkshire with a touch of Copenhagen. Turned around, Andrés keeps stopping to ask directions. He’s recognized each time, even by the pensioner with a cane and a loden overcoat who looks glum until Andrés lowers his window. “Hey, it’s the chef,” the man says, and grins hugely. When we pass an abandoned monastery on a marsh, Andrés remarks that his dream is to retrofit it as a hotel/restaurant. I’d scoff at that from anyone else, but Andrés opens restaurants the way some people open bank accounts. It’s just the kind of ambitious and unexpected swerve his career might take.

The traditionally Asturian lunch that follows at La Huertona, a wood-paneled restaurant with a view of the Picos, is spectacular: a classic fabada, baby eels sizzling in garlic, and half a dozen other dishes that whiz past in a blur.

Over three days in Asturias, we haven’t had an hour without eating, drinking or traveling at top speed. Every place has been compellingly beautiful, somewhere I’d return to.

After lunch Andrés drives to a nearby seawall, stops the car and steps out. That night, we’ll end up in Avilés and tour

Madrid

S PA I N 0

16 km

Guide to Asturias WHEN TO GO Asturias is lovely from March through November.

GETTING THERE From Southeast Asia, you can fly to Asturias via Madrid on Cathay Pacific or Thai Airways or through Barcelona on Singapore Airlines. There are frequent connecting flights from either city to Asturias.

STAY

GREAT VALUE La Cepada Outfitted like a hotel three times the price, with quirky design, full-service facilities and a panoramic view of the mountains. Avda. Contranquil, Cangas de Onís; 34-98/5849445; hotellacepada.com; doubles from €54.

GREAT VALUE Meliá Hotel de la Reconquista The former hospital feels charmingly old-fashioned, with its grand hallways and liveried staff.

But amenities are contem-

porary and service is first-rate. 16 Gil de Jaz, Oviedo; 34-98/524-1100; hoteldela​reconquista.com; doubles from €133.

EAT Bar Restaurante Rompeolas San Roque, Tazones; 34-98/ 589-7013; dinner for two €50.

Cafetería Santelmo Raciones of Cabrales cheese served all day. Crta. General, Arenas de Cabrales; 34-98/584-6505; cheese plate for two €6.

Casa Gerardo Km 8, Crta.

AS-19, Prendes; 34-98/5887797; lunch or dinner for two €90.

Restaurante La Huertona Crta. de la Piconera, Ribadesella; 34-98/5860553; lunch or dinner for two €68.

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Bet On It

Macau—in parts entirely tacky, elsewhere evoking a laidback Iberian charm—is aiming to be more than just the world’s casino capital, with an eye on fine dining, shopping and one-of-a-kind nightlife.

By Christopher Kucway Photographed by David Hartung

The city’s skyline from outside One Central Macau. Opposite: Greeters at The Galaxy Resort.

T

here’s a Playboy bunny outside my hotel room and she’s keeping me awake at night. But it’s not what it sounds like. Curtains wide open for all of Macau to see, I stare out toward the Sands Macau Hotel in the early hours like some halfcrazed insomniac. A neon Playboy logo flashes across 10 floors of the hotel in the dark. In a city best seen at night, it’s pretty effective advertising for Macau’s Playboy Club, located on the top floor of the Sands. And, if nothing else, today that once-risqué bunny is all about branding. Asia accounts for a full 40 percent of the bunny’s global licensing revenue, there’s a three-story Playboy shop in Taipei and a US$50 million deal inked in China that could see more than 2,000 Playboybranded outlets open across the mainland in the next few years. All this despite the fact that Playboy the magazine is banned in China. Proof, if it was ever needed, that Macau, while in China, is not China.

No, this former Portuguese colony is a whole other roll of the dice. Along with Playboy clubs in Las Vegas, Cancún and

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London, Macau now falls into a category that Playboy defines as globally hip. “With Playboy being so new in Asia, we need to offer it to a wide market,” the club’s manager, Jimmy Valentine, explained to me earlier that evening. Natty in his crisp navy blue suit, downing another coffee, he’s more pinstripes than silk pajamas. And just to be perfectly clear, the young Brit also tells me that, yes, that’s his real name. You could be forgiven for thinking otherwise in the swank club where cigars and martinis (think 1971) mix with lurid silk cushions and video screens (think 2011) that endlessly loop the history of Playboy clubs, a tale that dates back to 1960 but had been dormant for the past 25 years. Forget that there’s more a feel of franchise—the nightclubs generate more income than the magazine these days—than an exclusive club, and enjoy yourself.

“You can get away from the casino table and experience a fun, sexy club,” Valentine told me. In Macau, 21 bunnies from all over the world, work on six-month contracts and, with 50 applicants a day, there’s no shortage of new talent. Each of them moves on once their contract expires—an MBA, a modeling gig, a place in law school, you name it.

Now that Macau leads the pack when it comes to the world’s gambling destinations—gross gaming revenues in the first half of this year topped US$15.5 billion, up almost half from a year earlier and on course to triple Nevada’s annual

The Yi Pavilion at the Crown Hotel. From opposite left: At the Playboy Club; gondoliers at The Venetian Macau entertain guests as they cruise the resort’s Grand Canal; a plate laden with garlic clams at A Lorcha.

take—it’s out to reinvent itself or at least put a new spin on an old port. Forget originals: this city of superlatives is based on tributes, impersonators and copies; an all-you-can-eat, -gamble and -shop mentality where, if you promise it, they (read the Chinese middle class) will come.

f you spent a weekend at The Venetian and didn’t leave its confines, would it count as a visit to Macau? Not so long ago, we visited cities with the help of a map. In Macau these days, you need one simply to navigate a single resort. Glance at an overview of the city’s “blank spots” and that will include The Venetian, City of Dreams and The Galaxy, all part of the larger-than-life and still-expanding Cotai Strip.

Change comes quickly here: you reclaim land, level everything, throw up a monstrosity of a building designed on that largely forgotten era of architecture, 1960’s wedding cake, and start dealing. On its own, there are 3,000 suites at The Venetian, a resort where guests are serviced by 10,000 staff. Your luggage travels an average of 450 meters along conveyor belts before it arrives at your room. You, fortunately, can take one of the lifts. Outside its west lobby are buses of every shape and description battling for space, depositing hordes—there really is no other word for it—of mainland Chinese tour groups eager to start their gambling, eating,

I

shopping tour. Pity the concierge who handles an infinite staccato of requests in Mandarin, English and Cantonese from a never-ending queue.

Why go to Italy when a motorized gondola awaits on one of three canals—I’m told The Venetian in Las Vegas only has two—the gondolier ready to pont you along the Grand Canal to St. Mark’s Square under perennially sunny skies? Steps away, once you’re bored with the Italian serenades and the classical façades (at this point I stop to catch my breath, feeling a need to put air quotes around half of what I see), there’s the added bonus of more than 330 shops. Every luxury brand I’ve ever heard of, and many I haven’t, is on offer and, at first, I don’t understand the attraction. But the allure is easier to digest once I factor into the equation that luxury brands are taxed up to 30 percent in China. In Beijing, terms such as “luxury,” “supreme” and “high class” have been banned from billboards—the fines for such descriptions veer up to US$4,500—the thinking being that they promote hedonism and spiritual emptiness.

Empty, The Venetian is not. It aims to fill any desire.

When I ask one of its managers what’s missing, she has to think long and hard before triumphantly announcing, “A cinema!” Odd in a city of make-believe, the one omission is a modern movie theater. Hollywood, it seems, hasn’t come up with anything to top this just yet. » travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 105

the chinese women, greeters,

Inside the Banyan Tree Spa. Clockwise from above: An entertainer performs at St. Mark’s Square at The Venetian; bright lights, big casino; sculptures near the Sai Van Bridge on Taipa.

average about two meters tall

The one-of-a-kind Lisboa. From right: The Moet & Chandon Bar located in the Shoppes at Four Seasons; the wave pool at the Galaxy Resort; Chinese tourists on a smoking break near the Ruins of St. Paul’s.

outside the new lisboa after Or has it? Later, disembarking from a taxi at the landing strip of newly paved and painted lanes that fronts Galaxy Macau, the latest hyper-resort wedding cake, I come across an unworldly sight, and I’m not speaking of the twin towering wings that are capped off at the ends with squared golden domes. On ground level, it’s mutant young Chinese women in cheong sam, the greeters, each averaging about two meters tall, who cause a triple take. All gleaming white teeth and make-up, one proudly tells me she’s the tallest women in her hometown Dalian. Her perma-smile easily distracts from my chance to “witness the birth of eternal love and wealth,” a fountain show that takes place every 30 minutes in the lobby.

The presentation promises “a great surge of energy” from a three-meter tall jewel, the Fortune Diamond, which “bathes all who witness it in a radiant aura of eternal wealth and good fortune.” Well, okay.

Anchoring the Galaxy Macau is a 450-gaming table casino, with the requisite fast-food outlets and a 2,000-room hotel of the same name on one side, a series of watch shops— where timepieces cost more than a mid-size car—and the Banyan Tree and Okura hotels on the other. And guess what?

Eventually, there will be a movie theater, too. Maybe it’s the casinos or all the retail promises just outside them, but for all the gloss, neon and bumper-sticker logic, talk about Macau often sounds like a spreadsheet.

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But it’s really the Banyan Tree I’ve come to visit. The hotel promises something I need to see to believe. It’s home to 227 suites with private pools inside the rooms. They turn out to be little more than small lap pools with built-in daybeds at either end, but still, top marks for novelty. Guests who manage to rouse themselves out of bed, past the private pool and out of their suite, and requiring something a bit more realistic need only head downstairs to a 4,000-square-meter outdoor wave pool with its own white-sand beach (317 metric tons of it, in case you were wondering) as well as a more conventional pool that is encircled by eight private cabanas.

There’s also a 3,400-square-meter spa with 21 treatment rooms at the Banyan Tree, though hard-core spa addicts with that why-leave-your-room mentality might prefer to book one of the 11 spa suites, guest rooms that are set up to double as personal spas.

That evening, at Ristorante Il Teatro, the Michelinstarred Italian outlet at Wynn Macau, I get a taste of Las Vegas, and not just because of the Gershwin and Sinatra in the air or the fire-and-water show that fronts the resort.

Herb-encrusted lamb rack, 12-ounce New York strip loin and an admirable wine list all add to that Vegas vibe. Over a seasonal green salad with vine-ripe tomatoes, spinach– ricotta ravioli with grilled Italian sausage and a good glass of Pinot Noir, fire and water explode into the night sky just out

dark, iʼm part of a neon shower the window. Once Performance Lake, as it’s called, settles down, Macau’s neon skyline draws me like a moth.

Standing outside the New Lisboa after dark, I’m automatically part of a neon shower, the star of my own show.

So, of course, is the guy next to me. At street level, I feel like I’m inside a pinball machine. Casinos light up the Macau night, and likely blind a passing airline pilot or two. Yet, the one place where Macau is subdued is on its casino floors— and there are 34 of them—each of which blends into the other in my mind. At any time of day, the baccarat tables are crowded. Take your pick of any casino, the scene will be the same. A Chinese punter peels back the edge of two cards he’s been dealt as if they’ll emit a dose of radioactivity. Realizing he won’t win, he tosses the newly dog-eared cards face up toward the baccarat dealer. He switches to a seat across the table. He loses again. At least the bottled water is free. Macau may be Vegas on steroids but there’s also a measure of MSG in the mix. There’s even talk of pumping in the scents of jasmine tea and cooked rice to make Macau’s gamblers feel at home (before you laugh, some Vegas casinos use vanilla).

“With the right combination of scents and music, it is possible to influence people to stay longer, buy more or consume more,” says Sudkir Kalé, a marketing professor at Australia’s Bond University. Kalé, who is also a casino consultant, says that preferred scents are dictated by childhood memories of

smell. Sure enough, die-hard gamblers don’t stray far from a winning streak, preferring a nearby noodle outlet to topflight restaurant. Macau, not so incidentally, has eight other restaurants warranting a nod from Michelin aside from Wynn’s Italian offering, the contemporary French Robuchon a Galera at the Lisboa garnering three stars.

O

f course, like any good gambler, Macau has an extra card up its sleeve: its Portuguese past. These days, that history is at its best when you’re talking about food. So I save my last night for an old favorite when it comes to Portuguese food, A Lorcha. And I’m immediately reminded of the city’s Iberian mentality when I call for a last-minute reservation. “Are you sure you want to book a table?” sighs the voice on the other end of the phone. No hard sell here. I can only get a space for one hour at the early seating, and the voice is half-pleading that this isn’t a meal you want to rush. He’s right, of course, but I can’t pass up the opportunity, either. That’s how I find myself idling on the street outside the restaurant before it opens, planning my attack: a salty Portuguese take on chorizo and Galinha a Africana, or grilled chicken smothered in a spicy gravy. Unlike much of the city, the meal is just as I remember it from years gone by. Aside from the short time » travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 109

to eat, the only negative is that I’m eating alone: more people would have meant ordering clams in white wine sauce and maybe some Bacalhau.

Macau’s past is at its best in restaurants like A Lorcha—or, provided you have half a day or more to while away with a large group, Fernando’s on Hac Sa Beach—but also blooms in the city’s preserved architecture. While the lanes around Senado Square and the odd, nonsensical twists and cobbled turns on nearby side streets are no longer populated with old Chinese ladies selling fruit and vegetables on makeshift stands, the buildings themselves are well preserved. But a building only comes alive through use, so I’m heartened to see that events like the International Music Festival still take place at the Dom Pedro V Theatre and St. Dominic’s Church.

Yes, you know you’re surrounded by Chinese tour groups when someone pushes the door close button on a lift before you actually get off or the number of cigarette brands at a casino bar is longer than the drinks list, but there still exists another side to this city. Lingering over a meal, one you’d be hard pressed to find outside of Portugal, glasses topped up with Douro, or finding yourself lost in the city on an old stone staircase where the street signs are in Cantonese and, maybe, just maybe, Portuguese. For all the change, maybe Macau has come full circle. As Valentine, new to Macau, put it to me earlier when speaking of the Playboy Club, “It’s a part of the West in Asia.” That night, when I left the Sands, I headed out into neon-lit Macau where a sign captured the promise, not just of the hotel but of Macau itself. “It all happens here.” ✚

Guide to macau Stay Banyan Tree Macau Galaxy Macau, Avda. Flor de Lotus, Cotai; 853/8883-8833; banyantree.com; doubles from MOP2,188.

Four Seasons Macau Home to Zi Yat Heen, a two-star Michelin restaurant serving creative Cantonese cuisine. Estrada da Baia N. Senhora da Esperanca; 853/2881-8888; fourseasons.com/ macau; doubles from HK$1,888.

GREAT VALUE Grand Lapa, Macau Starts renovation work on its 416 guest rooms this month, which will occur in stages to minimize any inconvenience to guests.

956–1110 Avda. da Amizade; 853/2856-7888; mandarinoriental. com; doubles from MOP1,088.

GREAT VALUE Hotel Okura

Macau Designed with a modern Japanese flair, the new 488-room property is a calm break from the city. Galaxy Macau, Cotai; 853/8883-3636; okura.com; doubles from MOP1,500.

Mandarin Oriental, Macau Popular with the design set, guest rooms here offer sweeping views of the South China Sea and Taipa.

Avda. Dr. Sun Yat-sen; 853/88058888; mandarinoriental.com; doubles from MOP1,988.

Sofitel Macau Rua do Visconde Paco de Arcos; 853/8861-0016; sofitel.com; doubles from HK$1,498.

Sands Macau Hotel Close to the ferry pier, with 289 Modernist suites. Largo de Monte Carlo 203; 853/2888-3388; sands.com.mo; doubles from HK$1,498.

The Venetian Macau Estrada da Baia de N. Senhora da Esperanca; 853/2882-8888; venetianmacao. com; doubles from HK$1,748.

Wynn Macau Rua Cidade de Sintra; 853/2888-9966; wynnmacau.com; doubles from HK$2,588.

Eat and Drink A Lorcha 289 Rua Almirante Sergio; 853/2831-3195; dinner for two MOP600.

Aurora The Michelin-starred restaurant serves up southern Italian cuisine, overseen by Michele Dell’Aquila. Altira Macau, 10th floor, Avda. de Kwong Tung, Taipa; 853/2886-8868; dinner for two MOP2,000.

Belon Oyster Bar & Grill Galaxy Macau, Avda. Flor de Lotus, Cotai; 853/8883-8833; banyantree.com.

Club CUBIC Macau’s largest club, home to theme nights and guest DJ’s. Level 2, City of Dreams; 853/6638-4999.

Fernando’s An institution when it comes to Portuguese food at a relaxed pace. Hac Sa Beach, Coloane; 853/2888-2264; dinner for two MOP700.

Tung Yee Heen The revamped Chinese restaurant opens in October. Grand Lapa; 853/28567888; dinner for two MOP400.

Ristorante Il Teatro Wynn Hotel; 853/8986-3663; wynnmacau. com; dinner for two MOP1,300.

Vida Rica Restaurant Mandarin Oriental; 853/8805-8918; dinner for two MOP1,000.

See and Do Banyan Tree Spa The welldesigned spa is a sanctuary on its own. Banyan Tree Hotel; 853/ 8883-8833.

Grand Lapa Spa Set in a garden outside the hotel, treatments use natural products and therapies.

Grand Lapa; 853/8793-4824.

NAAM Thai Restaurant Thai food in an airy garden setting. Grand Lapa; 853/8793-4818; dinner for two MOP400.

Pavilions Supermarket Good selection of Portuguese wine in the basement, with olive oils and other foodstuffs on the main floor. Avenida da Praia Grande 429; 853/2833-3633.

Playboy Club Sands Macau Hotel; 853/2888-3388; playboymacao. com; drinks for two MOP300.

Macau International Fireworks Display September 10, 12, 17, 24 and October 1.

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International Music Festival Itzhak Perlman, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Juilliard String Quartet are among this year’s line up performing in several World Heritage Sites, including Dom Pedro V Theatre, Mount Fortress and St. Dominic’s Church. October 7–November 5. icm.gov.mo/fimm.

Macau Grand Prix Macau’s most popular event takes place November 17–20 this year, but book your tickets (starting at MOP900 on race days) well in advance. macau.grandprix.gov.mo.

Macau Food Festival A mix of Asian and European delicacies on offer around the city. November 11–27. 853/2857-5765.

T+L Tip Take advantage of the free and efficient network of shuttle buses run by the casinos to get around town.

At Ponte 16 in Macau.

south africa, By the roots

In the Cape Winelands, a handful of inns and restaurants are shaping the region's farm-to-table movement by digging deeper into the country's past. douglas rogers checks in to three new estates that are redefining this celebrated wine destination. Photographed by dook

Biking through the garden at Babylonstoren, in Franschhoek, South Africa.

Consider, if you will, the vegetable garden.

Every Afrikaner farm worth its salt has one—a testament to the white African tribe’s almost mythic love for the land—and there’s no reason why Babylonstoren, a handsome, 1692-built Cape Dutch homestead turned luxury hotel and working guest farm in the Franschhoek Valley of the Cape Winelands, should be any different.

But this garden is on an altogether grander scale.

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A FARM OF ONE’S OWN From below: Detail of the

sign at the entrance to Babel; looking onto the estate’s garden from one of the cottages.

Opposite, clockwise from top left: White stucco landhuisies at Babylonstoren; a pair of resident donkeys; porcelain cups from the restaurant, Babel; an artichoke patch; a beet-and-goatcheese tart from Babel; inside cottage No. 6.

I’m sitting in the sleek kitchen of my suite, a modern glass cube attached to a traditional thatched-roof, 18th-century landhuisie (cottage), and I’m gazing out on three hectares of organic wonder: scented beds of thyme, rosemary and wild garlic; a berry block with Cape gooseberries and mulberries; a pergola walk dripping with table grapes; an orchard of naartjies, nectarines and grapefruit watered by a restored sluice system; even an apiary for honey.

And vegetables, too—butternut and beets; rocket and radishes; peppers of impossibly bright hue. If it all looks meticulously landscaped, it is—by French designer Patrice Taravella, creator of the medieval monastery gardens at Prieuré Notre-Dame d’Orsan, in the Loire Valley. In the distance, clouds tumble over craggy peaks and vineyards stretch to emerald foothills, but it’s the garden that has me enchanted.

Best of all, it’s mine. In the ultimate farm-totable fantasy, as a guest I get to walk its mazy paths, pick whatever herbs, fruits and vegetables I fancy— there are some 300 edible varieties—and prepare them in my designer kitchen. And if I don’t fancy cooking? Well, I can just amble down the tractorcut road outside my door to the farm’s restaurant, Babel. A milk-white, cement-floor room, it has a

daily menu written on a tiled wall dominated by a giant ink print of a bull’s head—a pricey piece bought in Milan by Babylonstoren’s co-owner and designer Karen Roos. Why a bull? Well, this space used to be the cattle kraal, of course.

Twenty years ago, Franschhoek—Afrikaans for “French corner,” named for Huguenot refugees granted land here in the 1680’s—was a beautiful, though somnolent, farming backwater. In the mid 1990’s, as South Africa emerged from the isolation of apartheid, trendsetting pioneers arrived to open inns, wineries and restaurants. A decade later the valley had been transformed into an African Provence (in a Switzerland-like setting), a hub for great food and wine and stylish living. Its top properties, Le Quartier Français and La Residence, and restaurants such as Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar, became destinations in their own right. In the past year, though, a slate of glamorous hotels and restaurants, with Babylonstoren at the forefront, have been upping the ante, embracing a confident new South African style that reflects the region’s past as much as the future.

Only a few years ago, the idea that a chic South African hotel could be a celebration of Afrikaner » travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 115

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Crayfish with melon, citrus and gooseberry emulsion at Tokara Restaurant, in Stellenbosch.

Opposite: The garden area outside Pierneef Ă La Motte, in Franschhoek. travelandleisureasia.com | august 2011 131

THE RURAL LIFE Clockwise from top left: A private deck in one of the suites at Delaire Graff; Delaire Graff’s pool; landscapes by Jacob H. Pierneef at La Motte Museum; a view of Delaire Graff; chef Reuben Riffel at his namesake restaurant in Franschhoek.

Center: Mustard-glazed ostrich fillet with tomato smoor, polenta and butternut crème from Reuben’s.

style and culture—let alone farm living—would have been unthinkable. But a generation since the end of apartheid, liberated from the guilt of the past, a wave of creative Afrikaners are forging a fresh identity. Afrikaans musicians are all over South Africa’s airwaves and beyond, and Afrikaans authors far outsell their English counterparts. Babylonstoren is the design equivalent of this cultural resurgence.

“When apartheid was at its most stolid, it was yech to be Afrikaans,” says Roos, an iconic fiftysomething style consultant and former fashion magazine editor. “Now with moral respectability has come a certain coolness.”

Roos and her husband, Koos Bekker, a multimillionaire Afrikaner media mogul, both grew up on farms and (as busy businesspeople often do) wanted a rural retreat. They bought the 240-hectare property—one of the oldest and best-preserved Cape Dutch–style estates—in 2007 and opened it to guests last December. “One endearing trait about Afrikaners is a genuine love of the land,” Roos says.

“Culturally, the idea of heaven for us has always been a piece of land of our own, even if it means having to scratch to make a living.”

What Roos has done at Babylonstoren is to merge its authentic, no-frills earthiness with contemporary design to create a sort of “haute Afrikaner” style. Take the check-in area opposite the restaurant. No farmer would require his guests to “sign in,” so the reception is modeled instead on a traditional farm store. There are computers here, but they sit on weathered tables hidden behind artfully placed mounds of fresh-picked beets and lettuce; there are shelves with mud boots and sun hats for sale, but these boots have designer labels and the hats are stylish fedoras. This playful embracing and defying of tradition continues outside. You won’t find a shimmering blue swimming pool on the property—what farm has that?—so guests cool off in the farm’s reservoir. But this reservoir, as rendered by Roos, has water cascading over the edge, infinity-style, and is lined with chic lounge chairs. Nothing has been left to chance.

Beside the gabled manor house, accommodations are in 14 stand-alone landhuisies—all missionarywhite stucco, set under the shade of pepper trees.

The interiors, with their white sofas and rugs, clawfoot tubs and four-poster beds, manage to combine the austerity of a traditional Boer farmstead with the cool minimalism of Philippe Starck. Even here, authenticity rules: each cottage has a library of 50 books handpicked by Bekker, most in Afrikaans.

The garden, though, remains the centerpiece of the property. Roos gave Taravella license to recreate the geometry of the original Company’s Garden established at the Cape by the Dutch in 1652 to supply fresh produce to their ships sailing between Europe and the Spice Route—the reason for the first Dutch landing at the Cape. To the formal rectangular layout of the garden with its 14 distinct blocks Taravella added some personal flourishes: that avenue of dripping grapevines, pollination plants for the apiary, a lotus pond and a series of pyramid-shaped towers draped in roses. If the history of the Afrikaner people can be traced back to the planting of a single garden, this is a glorious contemporary tribute.

You won’t find a shimmering blue swimming pool at Babylonstoren —what farm has that?—so guests cool off in the farm’s reservoir. But this has water cascading over the edge, infinity-style, and is lined with lounge chairs. Nothing has been left to chance Less than 16 kilometers from Babylonstoren, another tribute to Afrikaner heritage has risen, this one at La Motte, a 170-hectare wine estate owned by opera singer Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg. The sister of Johann Rupert, billionaire CEO of Swissbased luxury goods company Richemont (owner of Cartier, Piaget, Chloé and other brands), RupertKoegelenberg is effectively Afrikaner royalty. (In 2005, Johann famously withdrew advertising of his brands from Wallpaper magazine after it ran an article describing Afrikaans as one of the ugliest languages in the world.) The family owns three wine estates in the valley, one in partnership with the Rothschilds, but La Motte has the most interesting aesthetic, especially since RupertKoegelenberg unveiled a new museum and restaurant on it in 2010.

Set in rolling foothills near Franschhoek village, the estate’s approach is memorable for its fourmeter-tall bronze sculpture of a woman bearing an overflowing glass of wine; rising out of the vines, against a sheer mountain backdrop, it’s a dramatic » travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 119

The Franschhoek Valley.

Erasmus spent months sifting through settler’s diaries, cookbooks, letters and manuscripts, finding original recipes and ingredients that had been lost over time. The result is a menu that’s a culinary archive of a people sight. The museum and restaurant, surrounded by lawns and giant oaks, are both dedicated to South African master painter Jacob H. Pierneef, who was of Dutch and Afrikaner descent. Revered in his 1930’s heyday, Pierneef’s monumental South African landscapes—formal, flat, drained of color— had faded from fashion over the years. But in keeping with the current Afrikaner vogue, his work is poised to make a comeback. With fine timing, Rupert-Koegelenberg purchased 42 of Pierneef’s paintings for display in a glass-walled museum that faces the lawn.

Pierneef is also the inspiration for the estate’s new restaurant, Pierneef à La Motte, a sprawling space in muted green and cream tones that recall his dramatic landscapes. The menus and highbacked chairs are all embossed with portraits of Pierneef and his daughter. Hanging from barn-like 120 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

ceiling beams are giant chandeliers made from replicas of porcelain dating from the Dutch East India Company era. The vintage plates, cups and saucers chime like church bells when a breeze blows through.

In a state-of-the-art open-plan kitchen at the entrance, chef Chris Erasmus executes modern twists on traditional Boerekos—Boer food that dates back 350 years. Indeed, just as Taravella was inspired by the Company’s Garden, Erasmus spent months sifting through settlers’ diaries, cookbooks, letters and manuscripts, finding original recipes and ingredients that had been lost over time. The result is extraordinary: a menu that’s a culinary archive of a people. A saffron fish curry recalls the food of the Malay slaves shipped to the Cape; a Huguenot fish pie was a favorite of those 17thcentury refugees; and meaty dishes such as pomegranate-glazed pork belly and braised veal knuckle reflect the Dutch, German and Flemish roots of Afrikaner food. “You can’t eat history, but you can be inspired by it,” Erasmus says.

At around the same time Babylonstoren and La Motte were opening, another property was unveiled in the area: Delaire Graff Lodges & Spa, a 22-hectare estate located on the crest of Helshoogte Pass, a soaring mountain traverse that links Franschhoek with the more commercial wine and farming region of Stellenbosch.

At first glance, the estate seems like a cosmopolitan mash-up. Billionaire British diamond jeweler and art collector Laurence Graff bought the estate in 2003 and spent six years building Delaire, hiring celebrated London designer David Collins (of Blue Bar at the Berkeley Hotel fame) to do the interiors. There are 10 lodge suites on the western flank of the property, each with an infinity plunge pool and a timber deck overlooking the Winelands.

Stunning though they are, there’s nothing particularly South African about the suites’ aesthetic. Indeed, the estate’s Indochine restaurant indicates a certain Eastern sensibility at work.

But at its heart, the property is as grounded in the Winelands as those earthy Afrikaner properties in the valley below. The main restaurant-winery, at the end of the long, oak-shaded drive, has giant wooden doors that swing open onto a soaring reception area backed by the glass walls of a winery holding two floors of stainless-steel vats and oak barrels. Underfoot is a smooth, dimpled floor made of peach pips and red resin—a contemporary take on the peach-pip, cow-dung and oxblood floors

once used in Cape Afrikaner homes. The restaurant is a mirrored space with orange banquettes that to me recalls a New York City supper club, except that the walls here are lined with paintings by South African artists, among them a stunning William Kentridge portrait that is as imposing as that bull back at Babylonstoren.

The menu combines modern with traditional as well: a quail with zucchini and sun-dried olives has been roasted, old Cape style, in a wood-fired oven, and a grilled squid and prawn entrée is paired with a ragoût of white beans and bokkom—dried, salted sardines, which are a delicacy in the area. When I ask where my quail comes from, I’m directed to a nearby farm in the valley, while the oysters and mussels were harvested from Cape waters. As for the vegetables, they are very local: from Delaire Graff’s own garden. These days, it’s not just selfrespecting Afrikaner farms that need vegetable patches. It seems any new property in the Winelands requires one. ✚

Wellington

Paarl

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Cape Town

Franschhoek Helshoogte Pass

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At l a n t i c O ce a n

Botswana Namibia

Pretoria

Bloemfontein South Africa Cape Town

Indian Ocean

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15 km

Guide to the Cape Winelands Stay Babylonstoren Babylonstoren Farm, Klapmuts/Simondium Rd., Franschhoek; 27-21/863-3852; babylonstoren.com; doubles from ZAR4,125; lunch for two ZAR520.

Delaire Graff Lodges & Spa Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch; 27-21/885-8160; delaire.co.za; doubles from ZAR9,175; dinner for two at Delaire Graff Restaurant ZAR650.

Le Quartier Français Chic country inn beloved for its 21 individually designed rooms and its restaurant, the Tasting Room.

16 Huguenot Rd., Franschhoek; 27-21/876-2151; lqf.co.za; doubles

from ZAR3,025, including breakfast.

Plumwood Inn Guesthouse Relaxed rooms in a central location. 11 Cabriere St., Franschhoek; 27-21/876-3883; plumwoodinn.com; doubles from ZAR569.

Eat Fairview Wine & Cheese Beloved farm with a restaurant, winery, tasting room and cheese shop.

Suid-Agter-Paarl Rd., Paarl; 27-21/863-2450; fairview.co.za; lunch for two ZAR277.

Pierneef à La Motte La Motte Wine Estate, R45,

Franschhoekweg, Franschhoek; 27-21/876-8800; lunch for two ZAR375.

Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar Spicy interpretations of the Cape Malay food chef Reuben Riffel grew up with. 19 Huguenot Rd., Franschhoek; 27-21/876-3772; dinner for two ZAR520.

Stellenbosch Fresh Goods Market Produce and baked goods (try the melktert, or milk tart), as well as locally made wines. Oude Libertas, Annandale Rd., Stellenbosch; Saturdays, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

Tasting Room Le Quartier Français, 16 Huguenot Rd., Franschhoek; 27-21/876-2151; dinner for two ZAR1,290.

Tokara Restaurant Chef Richard Carstens pairs excellent dishes with wines from Tokara’s own vineyards. Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch; 27-21/885-2550; dinner for two ZAR510. taste Dombeya Enological rising star Rianie Strydom marries classic techniques and a philanthropic spirit. Annandale Rd., Stellenbosch; 27-21/8813895; dombeyawines.com.

Ernie Els Wines Notable big reds with views to match, courtesy of South Africa’s preeminent golf star. Annandale Rd., Stellenbosch; 27-21/8813588; ernieelswines.com.

Haut Espoir The full-bodied red blends of winemaker Nikey Van Zyl are as dramatic as the geography around his estate.

Excelsior Rd., Franschhoek; 2721/876-4000; hautespoir.com.

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Try its curious Cabernet, The Mint, which borrows notes from nearby eucalyptus trees. Helshoogte Pass, R310, Stellenbosch; 27-21/885-1924; thelema.co.za.

Villiera Wines Pioneer of the local Cap Classique tradition of sparkling wine. Stellenbosch; 27-21/865-2002; villiera.com.

Waterford Wine Estate Known for its Shiraz, Cabernet and sweet whites. Blaauwklippen Rd., Stellenbosch; 27-21/880-0496; waterfordestate.za.

Welbedacht Wine Estate–Schalk Burger & Sons Pinotages and velvety red blends on an estate near Franschhoek. Oakdene Rd., Wellington; 27-21/873-1877; schalkburgerandsons.co.za.

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Frontier Fusion Bordering on Thailand, in a distinct part of Malaysia and with more than a pinch of Chinese influence, Kelantan beguiles with its own memorable cuisine. By Robyn Eckhardt P hotographed b y D avid H agerman

Opposite page: A street vendor dishes up nasi ayam, Malay-style chicken rice, in Kota Bharu; nasi kerabu with fish crackers, fried fish and salted egg.

mixed menus From top: The Kelantanese specialty laksam; a noodle vendor at the market in Pasir Mas. Opposite from top: Placing an order at Kota Bharu’s night market; an old Chinese eatery; at Pasar Siti Kadijah, a morning market, petai (stink beans) in hand.

aiting on dinner in Wakaf Baru, a scruffy town 20 minutes outside Kota Bharu, Kelantan, I sip grassy sugar-cane juice and watch bullets of rain bounce off a Singapore-bound train.

When the last car passes, families begin popping out of vehicles parked on the other side of the tracks, making their way across to Restoran Kampung Kulim. Its dining area, a corrugated metal–shaded patch of concrete furnished with plastic tables and chairs, comes with a view of a Thai Buddhist temple, one of hundreds in this northeastern peninsular Malaysian state where 95 percent of the population is Malay and Muslim.

The family behind Kampung Kulim is Hokkien Siam—descendants of immigrants from China’s Fujian province and Thailand. They speak a mix of Malay, Fujianese and Thai, a linguistic fusion that also plays out on the plate in dishes incorporating coconut milk and chilies, bitter melon and taucu (a fermented bean paste), curry paste and budu, a wincingly odiferous fermented-fish condiment beloved in southern Thailand and along the northeast coast of Malaysia.

Looking to kill time until our food arrives, I wander out back to the restaurant’s open kitchen.

There I find two shirtless septuagenarians working over a coconut husk-filled trench, making ingenious use of upturned cracker tins to infuse whole chickens with extra char. I’ll eat that smoky siew gai (grilled chicken) with a dipping sauce of bean paste mixed with lime juice, vinegar, garlic and chili.

There’s also hong bak, a salty-sweet stew of pork belly with star anise and heaps of palm sugar, and mustard leaves simply fried with sliced pork.

“Kelantanese,” says my friend and dining companion, native Kota Bharan Addie Chang Farn 124 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

Yong, when I ask after the origin of dang hoon heh, a sparingly spiced red coconut curry with whole prawns and vermicelli. The dish delights and confounds me. Made without lemongrass or lime leaves, absent shrimp paste or budu or any other form of fermented fish, and missing the wild chili burn that characterizes most southern Thai curries, it resembles no curry I’ve eaten anywhere in the region. Culinary dislocation is common in Kelantan, a place with a cuisine utterly its own.

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ormally, whenever Malaysiabound travelers ponder foodie pitstops, they tend to light on Kuala Lumpur’s night markets, Penang’s vibrant hawker-food scene or Malacca’s Nyonya eateries. Rarely does Kota Bharu spring to mind. In part, the sleepy capital of Kelantan state suffers its proximity to the azure waters and white sands of the Perhentian Islands. Few holidaymakers en route to or from Paradise linger long enough to investigate its edible offerings.

But food-mad Malaysians know better. “I have friends in Kuala Lumpur who fly here two or three times a year just to eat,” says Addie who, in addition to working as a hotel manager writes about local and regional food for two Malaysian newspapers.

The draw? A cuisine as noteworthy as any on Southeast Asia’s rich menu, featuring dishes that can’t be found—or aren’t prepared nearly as well— elsewhere in Malaysia. In Kelantan, Malaysia’s famous laksa becomes laksam, thick and chewy riceflour sheets sliced into coils and doused with a sweet slurry of fish and coconut milk. Kelantanese eat rice with curries, but also tint it violet with the blossoms of a vining plant and then mix it with slivered fresh herbs, dry-fried coconut, budu and fiery sambal for a textural tour de force called nasi kerabu. Sweets sellers offer any number of gardenvariety kuih (sweets) made with coconut milk and palm sugar, but locals especially love their akok: wrinkled, eggy pancakes that recall fine French custard and are baked under metal plates heated with coconut husk embers.

Kelantanese cuisine is just one marker of a uniquely robust local culture. Separated from the western half of the Malaysian peninsula by a vast mountain range, bordered by Thailand to the north and the South China Sea to the east, the state has for centuries been a petri dish in which local and foreign ways and flavors met and merged. Indians » travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 129

Savory and sweet

Clockwise from left: Song birds compete in Kota Bharu; always time for a snack; the catch of the day at Desa Sabak, a fishing village; a selection of kuih (sweets) from a street stall.

the kelantanese taste for sugar is legendary; savory dishes often have a pronounced sweetness and many that don’t are anointed with sugar at the table

mad about food Clockwise from top

left: Some nasi Sumatra specialties at Kota Bharu’s Hover Restoran; a sign of something delicious; teh tarik and soft-boiled eggs at Kedai Kopi Din Tokyo; the central hall at Kota Bharu’s Siti Kadijah Market; grilling bread over charcoal in a coffee shop; a custom ride.

lived there so long ago that Hinduism informs traditional Kelantanese arts like wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) and mak yong (singing). Hokkien traders first sunk anchor off Kelantan’s coast in the 16th century; soon after, the area became a center of sea and land trade. In the early 1700’s, after a brief period as a vassal to the Malaccan sultanate, Kelantan was subsumed by the southern Siamese kingdom of Pattani, initiating an intensive north– south cultural ebb and flow that continues to this day. Kelantanese speak their own dialect, which is incomprehensible to most other Malaysians, and pepper Malay speech with Hokkien words. Many speak Thai as well. Away from home they tend to stick together, bound by a fierce pride in their home state—and in their cooks. “We think of ourselves as Kelantanese first. And we believe that the best food on the planet is from Kelantan,” says Addie.

After less than 12 hours in Kota Bharu, I was inclined to agree. On my first evening in town I happened upon an after-work crowd gently jostling in front of a kuih stall. The Kelantanese taste for sugar is legendary; savory dishes often have a pronounced sweetness and many that don’t, such as the thin curry and dhal eaten with Indian-style roti, are anointed with a spoonful or two of sugar at the table. Here before me was the Kelantanese sweet tooth on display, in the form of a dazzling selection of kuih: Thai-style golden egg threads and drops, tiny banana leaf pyramids peeking purple and white glutinous rice dumplings, coconut cream–topped pandan rice cakes, wobbly palm-sugar custard pucks in pools of syrup, chewy banana and raisin bars, delicate jellies shot through with strands of grated coconut. I purchased a selection, determined to taste only, and ended up devouring the lot.

Luck was with me again a few hours later, when a sudden downpour pushed me into Kedai Kopi Din Tokyo. Best described as an indoor kuda (Malay for “horse,” and the Kelantanese term for old-style coffee stalls with U-shaped counters and long wooden benches that must be “mounted” like a steed), this sweet local joint is named for its proprietor, taqiyah-capped Pak Din. Calling out to arriving strangers and regulars alike—“Come in my friend, come in.”—he maintains a steady banter from his position in front of a stainless steel pan sink at the base of the “U”, where he pulls tea, stirs quail eggs into hot ginger infusion and filters the city’s best coffee through a muslin sock hanging from a wire ring. Swinging my legs over a bench and settling into a spot at the counter, I order what 128 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

everyone else is having: sup ekor, oxtail soup boasting silky shreds of meat, a tendon-draped bone or two and a heady dose of cinnamon, star anise and nutmeg. With each slurp I marvel at the soup’s almost medicinal meatiness. By the time I reach the bottom of the bowl I’m only mildly surprised to find that the intensely distilled broth has stained it beef brown.

round Kelantan, though noodles make the occasional appearance, it’s rice that rules the table. Kota Bharu sprawls along one bank of the sluggish, teh tarik–colored Kelantan River, just one of many waterways that slice through fertile valleys. For centuries those valleys produced enough rice to feed Kelantan and beyond, but in recent years housing developments, small industry and general urban sprawl have devoured the state’s paddies; nowadays most rice is imported from Thailand. Still, consumption of the grain remains a religion here, Kelantanese among its most ardent devotees. Rice is worshiped at breakfast, lunch and dinner and every snack in between, eaten steamed, boiled and grilled, ground into flour and made into laksam, and pressed into cakes, used as a blank palette for savory-sauced dishes and as a building block for sweet ones.

“We are rice people,” Pak Zawi tells me as we stroll the aisles of Pasar Kubang Basu, a petite covered market on the western edge of downtown Kota Bharu. Pak Zawi, an energetic Kelantanese retiree, has driven from his home in the old market town of Pasir Mas to school me in the art of the Kelantanese morning meal. While Pasar Kubang Basu is neither Kota Bharu’s biggest nor its most bustling—that title goes to Pasar Siti Kadijah, whose atrium-like octagonal central hall is a favorite haunt of photographers—it is easily the city’s most charming and friendly. Situated just a few blocks from the former royal palace (now a museum) and frequented by its staff, Pasar Kubang Basu “was known for having the best fruits, the best vegetables, the best cooked foods, the best everything,” Pak Zawi says.

I count six stalls—not including the drinks counter, where you can sit down and sample your purchases with a cup of coffee or an iced teh tarik— doing a brisk business in all things nasi (the Malay word for “rice”): nasi kerabu, or the blue rice “salad;” nasi dagang, a specialty of Kelantan’s southern

A

‘we are rice people,’ pak zawi tells me as we stroll the aisles of pasar kubang basu, a petite covered market on the edge of kota bharu neighbor Terengganu that features unpolished red rice cooked with coconut milk and topped with fish or chicken curry; nasi berlauk (“with gravy”); nasi bakar (peanut- and sugar-filled glutinous rice logs wrapped in banana leaf and grilled); nasi tumpat (banana leaf-wrapped cones of rice topped with fish curry and a smidgen of fiery-fresh chili sauce); and plain old steamed white rice to top with any number of vegetable, meat or fish dishes.

We stop in front of a sweet-faced elderly woman named Ka (“Sister”) Hanum, who has been selling breakfast at Pasar Kubang Basu for some 30 years. I watch as she prepares a breakfast to go in a square of waxed brown paper folded into a cone, forking in nasi kapit (squares of pressed rice) and adding a dry “sambal” of fish, fresh coconut and palm sugar, then crowning it all with chicken satay and peanut sauce.

I choose nasi kacang (“bean rice”), tawny glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk and palm sugar topped with black-eyed peas and a small hillock of grated coconut, to which Ka Hanum has added just enough salt to balance the rice’s sweetness.

Several hours later I’m awaiting more rice at a table beneath a gigantic tree at Wat Phikulthong Varavam in Tumpat, a Thai-heavy town dotted with Buddhist temples and a 20-minute drive from Kota Bharu. The ambience is pure Thailand—scraggly dogs nosing beneath tables for scraps, quiet conversation punctuated with “kha” and “khrap,” the hollow pok-pok of wooden pestle hitting ceramic mortar drifting over from a som tam stall.

Addie orders khao jam in Mandarin and Wee, a young Thai-Malaysian who studied at Chinese school, spoons jade green rice into bowls, then adds kerisik (grated coconut dry-caramelized in a wok), »

time to eat From top: Out for a spin

around the fishing village of Desa Sabak; locals love their sweets; prepping grilled chicken at Restoran Kampung Kulim; crowds flock to Kopitiam Kita for its selection of packaged breakfasts.

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memorable meals From top left: The

Muhammadi Mosque in Kota Bharu; dang hoon heh (vermicelli with prawns) at Restoran Kampung Kulim; crowding a street vendor selling nasi kerabu and nasi dagang; a vintage way around town.

dried ground fish, budu, ground black pepper, pounded fresh chilies and slivered leaves. “It’s less sweet than southern Thailand’s khao yam,” notes Addie, showing me how to break kerepok, east coast Malaysia’s deep-fried fish-paste crisps, over my plate. By now I figure I’ve had my fill of rice. I quickly reconsider. Every bite of Wee’s and her grandmother’s—who started the stall 15 years ago— khao jam is different. First lemongrass takes center stage, then peppery-astringent torch ginger. Next, chili and black pepper wrangle with an umami bomb of fishiness. Finally the rice, which is cooked with more than a dozen different herbs, comes through: clean green and healthy tasting.

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n my last day in town, Addie and I head out to Desa Sabak, a coastal fishing village where inthe-know Kota Bharans buy the freshest specimens right off the boat. When we arrive a few vessels are just coming in and a small crowd—a couple housewives and a pensioner, a wholesaler and his assistant, a few tourists and a curious local or two—clusters at one of the small jetties along a minor river running in from the coast. It’s only a few minutes before the first wildly painted, flagbedecked boat, arrives.

You can’t avoid fish in Kelantan. If you’re not eating it in a curry or a cracker, ground and stuffed into a grilled rice roll, fluffed and flossed and tossed into rice salad, or dipped in turmeric batter, deepfried and perched atop an order of nasi kerabu “special” it’s probably been added to your meal in the form of budu. This may explain the sadly depleted catch that’s landing in ports like Desa Sabak these days. While what’s pulled out of the waters off the Kelantanese coast—mostly red mullet,

you can’t avoid fish in Kelantan: ground and stuffed, fluffed and flossed and tossed, or in the form of budu 130 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

prawns, squid and kembung (a small oily-fleshed fish) with the occasional mackerel, garoupa or other large fish—is gorgeous enough to bring a smile to the face of a seafood lover like myself, it’s limited in variety and, according to most locals, decreasing in quantity.

But Kelantanese cooks make do, and brilliantly, as I found when the mid-afternoon sun forced me into the shade of a rustic warung steps from the jetty. My belly full from four days of rice and sweets, I sought only a plain iced tea to go. But then a fisherman sauntered in and ordered: plump ike ayoh (Kelantanese for a small fish often referred to as

“white tuna”) fillets swimming in a hibiscus orange curry, chunks of cucumber cooked in coconut milk, and solok lada, a signature Kelantanese specialty of whole green chilies stuffed with chopped fish mixed with grated coconut. I didn’t hesitate to follow suit.

Hinting at southern coastal India, the curry was all warm spices and cayenne soothed by coconut milk, the fish firm and sweet. And the solok lada was yet another inspired marriage of the sort that Kelantanese carry off so well: savory and sweet, fish and sugar. More boats floated in on the river and crowd at the jetty swelled. I lingered at the warung, spooning it all up slowly. With rice. ✚

GUIDE TO KELANTAN In Kelantan, the work week starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday. Though banks and many businesses, including selected restaurants, are closed on Friday and Saturday some restaurants and food stalls remain open.

STAY Renaissance Offers a swimming pool, fitness center and spa, as well as a café, Chinese restaurant and bar. The only downside is the hotel’s location away from the center of town. Kota Sri Mutiara, Jln. Sultan Yahya Petra; 60-9/ 746-2233; marriott.com; doubles from RM280.

Grand Riverview The hotel looks tired, but rooms are comfortable and have free Wi-Fi and alcoholfree minibars. There’s a pool overlooking the Kelantan River and the hotel is close to everything. Jln. Post Office Lama; 60-9/743-9988; grv.com.my; doubles from RM325.

DO Desa Sabak A picturesque fishing village about 30 minutes from Kota Bharu where you can watch the brightly painted boats bring in their catch in everyday except Friday, from 2.30 p.m.– 4.30 p.m. The friendly ladies running the unnamed warung a short walk from the jetty serve delicious fish curry and lada solok. Lunch for two about RM8.

Pasar Siti Kadijah The central hall at Kota Bharu’s main morning market is a photographer’s dream, best viewed from a floor above. One section of the market is entirely devoted to kuih

(sweets and snack) stalls, while the food hall on the second floor is a great place for laksam and nasi kerabu. Shops on the top floor sell textiles and handicrafts.

Jln. Bulu Kubuh, from early morning to about noon.

Kampung Laut Ferries leave irregularly from the jetty in front of Ridel Hotel for this peaceful village on the opposite bank of the Kelantan River known for serunding, a local specialty of spicy coconut milk–enriched meat or fish that’s cooked till dry and chewy. You can buy it and dodol, a sort of coconut milk caramel in the village. Jln. Pasar Lama; ferry ticket RM5.

EAT Pasar Kubu Basu It’s small but has stalls selling excellent breakfast foods and kuih. Jln. Sultanah Zainab, best before 9.30 a.m.

Restoran Kampung Kulim About 20 minutes from Kota Bharu, it is difficult to find (have your taxi driver call for directions) but worth the effort for its HokkienThai Kelantanese food. Reservations—and the grilled chicken— are a must. Wakaf Baru; 60-17/ 986-2972; dinner for two RM60.

Kopitiam Kita A popular coffee shop offering a curated selection of “packed food”—rice and noodle breakfasts wrapped in waxed brown paper—from the best home kitchens in town.

4357-A, Taman Desa Jaya, Jln. Pengkalan Chepa; 60-19/9810888; breakfast for two RM14.

Kedai Kopi Din Tokyo It serves wonderful sup ekor (oxtail soup),

and good coffee, soft-boiled eggs, rice, curries and noodles all day from early in the morning.

3945 Jln. Tok Hakim; 60-12/9590153; soup for two RM18.

The nasi Sumatra stall at the front of Hover Restoran (1963A Jln. Dato Pati; lunch for two RM30) dates back more than 30 years. The wait staff covers your table with dishes; you pay only for those you eat from (spoonfuls of sauce are free). Highlights include the sambal made with fresh chilies and cuka nira (palm sap vinegar), and keruntut, a local version of beef rendang soured with tamarind.

The delicious khao jam and khao tom (congee) served from a small stall at Wat Phikulthong Vavaram (Kampung Terbak, on the main road into Tumpat; 8 a.m.–6 p.m. daily; khao jam and congee for two RM10) more than justify the 30-minute drive from downtown Kampung Bharu. On the way back into town, look for

smoke rising from roadside coconut husk–fired grills, indicating that fresh akok (baked egg-y custard “pancakes”) are for sale.

Yati Specializes in ayam percik, Kelantanese grilled chicken doused with coconut milk– peanut sauce. The nasi kerabu is also excellent. 847 Jln. Long Yunus; 60-9/747-9867; lunch or dinner for two RM30.

The nasi dagang (unpolished red rice steamed with coconut milk and topped with chicken curry) dished up by a Chinese family from a table in front of Restoran Capital (Jln. Pasar Lama at Jln. Tengku Besar; RM4 per pack) is among Kota Bharu’s best and usually sells out by 9.30 a.m.

For a jaw-dropping selection of homemade kuih, hit up the truck parked on Jln. Tok Hakim (at Jln. Sultanah Zainab; from RM0.30 a piece) everyday except Friday and Saturday from 4.30 p.m.

travelandleisureasia.com | september 2011 131

lastlook

saigon, vietnam “I took this photo while on assignment in Cholon, Saigon’s Chinatown. I was strolling through Tue Thanh temple, which is on a busy street but is quiet and peaceful inside. I’d been there for about 20 minutes shooting details of the temple: altars, gods, worshippers, smoking coils of incense. Only as I was on my way out did I glance to my left and see this group of the temple’s caretakers sharing a meal. I shoot all kinds of food but I am most inspired when I happen upon a scene that’s about more than a single dish, one that tells a story. Here we have three men eating wordlessly, utterly focused on their bowls of rice, a dog hoping for some scraps, in a silent temple. They just happen to be sitting in a shaft of light, framed by a beautiful doorway. I imagine this scene is repeated everyday at noon. It’s absolutely ordinary but, just by accident of the setting, is visually elevated.” ✚ p h ot o g r a p h e r dav i d h ag e r m an • interviewed by christopher kucway 132 september 2011 | travelandleisureasia.com

i n s i d e r

From Times Square to Leicester Square, W’s

vacation spots in the most desirable corners of this

hip, stylish properties have illuminated many

fast-evolving continent. From buzzing Xinyi in Taipei,

a skyline, and delivered a brilliant beach

where guests can sample innovative Cantonese cuisine

backdrop to some of the most lusted-after

at the first Chinese-inspired W restaurant, to the

destinations in the world, from blissed-out

chilled-out W Retreat Koh Samui, where you’ll never

overwater retreats in the Maldives to

want to leave the postcard-perfect private beach,

secluded beach villas in Bali.

W has it all.

With numerous properties set to open in Asia over

This W Insider newsletter will steer you through

the next few years starting with Bangkok and Singapore

these top destinations and give you the inside

next summer, W is firmly focused on spreading its

scoop on what’s new and next, as interviews

inimitable wow to the iconic business capitals and

with W Insiders reveal the hidden secrets of

exotic leisure escapes of the east, positioning unique

our locations for your next trip…

why w which w

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w wonders worldwide From laid-back retreats in Bali, the Maldives and Koh Samui to slick city bolt-holes further north in Hong Kong, as well as Seoul and Taipei, W’s constellation of Asia-Pacific hotels offers a distinctive, designled proposition. And with seven new properties poised to open in key Asian locations over the next five years, there is plenty more to look forward to.

Situated in the midst of upscale Seminyak, Bali’s foremost shopping and eating spot, W Retreat & Spa Bali-Seminyak’s DNA is rooted in the mystical and visual Balinese world of Skala Niskala (‘what is seen and unseen’), which is interpreted as a conceal/reveal narrative. Guests can mingle over a frozen cocktail amid the cool surrounds of the Ice Bar, then disappear into their private retreats for some downtime, or enjoy the lush landscape before zoning out to ocean vistas. The property also houses the only 24-hour spa in Bali. This underpins W’s Whatever/ Whenever promise.

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01 W Hong Kong 02 w Retreat & Spa Maldives 03 w Retreat & Spa Maldives 04 W Koh Samui 05 W Seoul – Walkerhill 06 W Hong Kong

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Frequented by socialites and global jetsetters alike, W Retreat Koh Samui is located on the island’s laid-back north shore. With a hill separating its own peninsula of land from the rest of the Samui, the Retreat offers an exclusive ‘island within an island’ feel. Post-dinner pastry cocktails at WooBar — the sweet-toothed menu includes Pina Colada Mousse and Brandy Alexander Parfait — provide a honeyed finale to any meal, and live DJ mixes play out against a backdrop of sea views.

A favorite with A-listers craving anonymity and solace from harried schedules (Kevin Spacey recently laid his head here) W Retreat & Spa – Maldives is located on the island of Fesdu, an 11-acre private island in the North Ari atoll, with 78 lush retreats perched atop a transparent lagoon.

Slide into a cozy alcove after hitting the dance floor at Fifteen Below — the only underground nightclub in the Maldives — then once the sun comes up, explore the turquoise waters and befriend baby reef-tip sharks, turtles and mantas.

Perched cloud-like on the slopes of Mount Acha and overlooking the Han River is W Seoul-Walkerhill, the Korean capital’s urban resort community, where guests recline in egg chairs or prop up the 18-meter-long bar while perusing the drinks menu’s 40-strong vodka selection at WooBar. The property recently invited five designers to showcase media arts inspired by W, with Korean/UK art collective Kimchi and Chips and Shanghai-based Super Nature among the exhibitors.

Another sensational getaway is W Taipei, moments away from the mighty Taipei 101 and the hottest thing to hit Taipei in years. Home to the first-ever W-inspired Chinese restaurant, Yen, this Sino sensation serves up Cantonese food (think hot and sour lobster soup plus imaginative takes such as maltoseglazed goose liver mousse with sour plum jelly and rice cakes) with a sideorder of neon-clad vistas from its lofty location on the hotel’s 31st floor.

Brimming with urban energy is W Hong Kong, in the heart of the city’s cultural district. Supplying skyline views from all 393 rooms, it is also home to the first Bliss Spa in Asia, where the trademark ‘movie while you manicure’ stations and revitalizing oxygen treatment offer the perfect prelude to a night at the chic Living Room.

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A byword for cool since the first property opened in 1998 in downtown Manhattan, W Hotels have unleashed mind-blowing entertainment, design and fashion experiences via its sleek hotels round the globe since that redhot debut. Some of the biggest names in pop have chosen to perform at W’s, including blistering creative talents like the Neon Trees and Cee Lo Green, who also chose to shoot stills for his single ‘Bright Lights Bigger City’ at W New York last year. W is also the place for the after-show, with pop royalty like Beyonce, Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera all choosing to party at W once the curtain comes down.

In Asia, W is revolutionizing social scenes with don’t-miss events: W Hong Kong, for example, is taking the sting out of the steamy sub-tropical heat with the W Summer Series 2011, six themed events that kicked off this June at the loftily located Wet Bar on the 76th floor, a rooftop pool with a two-storey mosaic wall that stimulates your imaginations. Among the 400 guests mingling at this sexy Kowloon rooftop spot at the opening party were supermodel Eunis Chan, singer Hinson Chou, actress Angela Au, the current Miss China, Uny Chiu and scenesters including Thierry Mandonnaud and Ivan than US$110,000 for a non-profit organization helping children and Hsin. The series will bow out with a dramatic, splashy teenagers suffering from HIV. After a heady champagne welcome, farewell this October. guests savored a five-course degustation dinner with wine pairings W Hong Kong also hosted Australian singer/ prepared by Executive Chef Ian Lovie and Chef de Cuisine Jack songwriter sensation Lenka, and 300 music lovers Yoss, and took part in a silent auction that included jewelry, a case packed out the Living Room as part of the W of Champagne and accommodations at W Bali and W Koh Samui.

Happenings Calendar this February. The hotel A hub for all things cool in South Korea, W Seoul-Walkerhill housed a also acted as the after-party and awards design Happening this July, collaborating with local and international dinner for the Hong Kong International Film artists to showcase media arts inspired by the W brand, including Festival for the third year in a row, where pieces from local designers like the Korean Interdisciplinary Arts guests rubbed shoulders with some of the Network (KoIAN), Seoul art collective Everyware and Haeyul Noh, biggest names in Hong Kong cinema, whose playful kinetic art works rely on visitor participation. including Roger Garcia, Soo Wei W Retreat – Bali Seminyak has proved its sartorial worth this summer Shaw, Raffi Kamalian, Race by hosting two exclusive fashion shows this summer, one for Farah Khan Wong and Celine Jade. this July, which was book-ended by a Tex Saverio showcase — who Over at W Retreat Bali – dresses Lady Gaga — the following month. W also hooked up with Elle Seminyak, the resort hosted Fashion Week Bangkok last year, debuting the W VIP lounge at the its first annual Bali Bali Gala event for some full-voltage glamour and giving an exclusive peek at Dinner this July, raising more its limited-edition fashion collection for W Hotels the Store.

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01 Michaelangelo L’Acqua at the W Bali Premiere Weekend 02 W Summer Series 2011 03 W VIP Lounge, ELLE Fashion Week 04 Model at ELLE Fashion Week 05 dimitri from Paris at W Bali 06 Lenka live In Hong Kong 07 cocktails at Bali Premiere weekend

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Whether it’s pounding the treadmill to a high-octane rock track or winding down to some chill-out vibes after a big night out, the right tunes can really set the scene. Take the sweat out of selecting the soundtrack by downloading the W Hotel app, which enables you to stream custom music mixes by talented global DJ’s curated by W Hotels’ Global Music Director Michaelangelo L’Acqua. The selection includes five sonic moods to suit any occasion: Living Room, Retreat, Wet Deck, After Dark and Sweat.

W’s first iPhone app also gives the inside scoop on the hottest design, fashion and music events and exclusive W Happenings in each destination via the ‘Insider’ tab on each hotel page, and divulges special offers available to redeem during your stay.

Once ensconced in your room, use the app to order up from inroom dining menus 24/7, submit special requests, ask for items like extra towels and toiletries, and check out local weather and directions. Already planning your next W stay?

Find a sweet deal on the ‘Special Offers’ page first.

Download the app now for free at whotels.com/ music or through the apple store at whotels. com/mobileapp.

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Birth of a new w

w hits bali with style ßber-chic beaches, buzzing nightspots, hip boutiques and enigmatic temples: the easygoing island of Bali, Indonesia’s undisputed capital of cool, has it all. The epicenter of this fun-loving isle is the trendy coastal town of Seminyak, where design-led restaurant/bars such as Sarong and Sardine line up against hip spaces like Simple Konsep Store, a fashion/boutique style house that zooms in on modern Indonesian traditions, and sumptuous late-night hangouts like Ku de Ta and The Living Room.

01 FIRE 02 Fabulous One Bedroom Villa 03 WET 04 View from Spectacular Ocean Facing Retreat 05 Starfish Bloo 06 W Lounge

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With gorgeous spaces evoking the layout of Bali’s temples, the W Retreat Bali – Seminyak introduces a unique creative concept, ‘A New Scene Unseen,’ where design elements are both concealed — as in the villas hidden away in lush gardens — then revealed in playful public spaces like the W Lounge, where a neon-lit wall wraps guests up in a vivacious welcome.

Elsewhere, this chic retreat draws inspiration from Indonesia’s natural surrounds, with a swimming pool taking on the exaggerated look and curve of Indonesia’s rice terraces, and the cozy booth seating in Starfish Bloo, which smartly emulates the elongated form of the local fishermen’s lobster traps.

W’s newest retreat in Asia (it opened this March) is not only locally relevant from a design standpoint but also at its cutting edge, with dramatic lighting transforming this super-sleek space

from laid-back beach resort by day to cutting-edge nightspot once the sun sets over the Indian Ocean.

Designed by Hong Kong’s AB Concepts, one of Asia’s leading design studios, the chic new W Bali, recently scooped the Best Design trophy in the ‘Hotels Over 200 Rooms’ category at the International Hotel and Property Awards 2011, beating off red-hot competition from the world’s leading design houses, including Canada’s Yabu Pushelberg.

W Bali is not only a stylish retreat to its guests but has also invigorated the local entertainment scene by debuting a string of hot bars, clubs and restaurants, including W’s signature WooBar, a three-storey indoor-outdoor space that’s a chilled beach club by day, and hip hangout — with tunes spun

by Bali’s hottest DJs as the sleek sonic backdrop — by night.

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Looking to spend some downtime with your honey or clink glasses at your very own exclusive event? Then pull up a chair at 1 Below, a private restaurant where a personal chef and wine expert will create a customized menu in tune with your tastebuds. Another exclusive opp awaits at Cellar, where guests slip behind the velvet rope to sip their way through hand-picked vintages to wow their palate at a secret dining room.

With to-die-for views of the Indian Ocean, Starfish Bloo serves up elegant beachfront fun with big PanAsian flavors on the menu, while Fire’s chefs cook up wood-fired barbecue at its dramatic open kitchen. Finish your night with a frozen cocktail or two at Ice, then maybe a massage at AWAY Spa, Bali’s only 24hour spa, or a fat stogie at the W Lounge.

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01 “Symmetry Illusion” W Taipei, Absolut, Diesel catwalk on WET 02 W Taipei Wet Deck 03 The busy Bar at WET on level 10 04 Design Installation

With an ever-changing arts scene, ambitious architecture and Come nightfall, the action is centered around profusion of fine dining restaurants, Taipei has countless calling Xinyi District to the east of Da-an, where the cards, yet is often overshadowed in favor of mainland China or imposing, illuminated form of Taipei 101 acts as both neighboring Hong Kong by travelers seeking Sino stimulation. landmark and meeting point to all who head here Attitudes towards Taiwan are changing, however, and in to party. In this popular nightspot, you’ll find one of 2010, visitors to Isla Formosa soared to 5.5 million — the Taipei’s most famous exports, Din Tai Fung, where hungry highest annual figure on record — as tourists descended crowds line up to order steaming bamboo baskets of its on the Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, in particular to acquaint feted xiao long bao. Don’t miss, too, nearby bars and clubs themselves with Taiwan’s National Museum, the largest such as Barcode and Room 18, the latter of which recently collection of Chinese art anywhere in the world, and hosted techno gods the Chemical Brothers. hip thoroughfares such as Da-an Road, where fashionHip and happening Xinyi District is also the location of W’s forward crowds snap up local designer labels like first hotel in Taiwan. With view’s of the surrounding mountains Jamei Chen and Isabelle Wen, browse for handand taking its energy from the city the hotel has inspired its painted ceramics from Europe and America in design and programming around its Design Narrative — “Nature Gallery Su, and check out designer furniture Electrified” the only accommodation in the city to offer a and embroidered pillows at Gray Area. panoramic view of both Taipei 101 and the city’s most vibrant district.

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Zoom up to the 10th floor and submerge yourself in one of the surrounds of W’s AWAY Spa, which opened city’s hippest new hangouts, WET Deck, which made its debut this June. Decorated in calming waves of white this May with a Diesel fashion show featuring a sexy poolside with three-dimensional bubble motifs adding runway. While it’s difficult to divert your gaze from the club’s visual wow, savvy spa goers ready to detox levitating metal bubble structure, it’s the sleek, inviting pool after a night out or refuel in preparation will that acts as its club’s epicenter; position yourself on one appreciate the spa’s exclusive treatments, such of the surrounding chaises early evening, Mojito in hand, as the Ultimate Extreme Makeover, a slimming for a Technicolor Taipei sunset. W Taipei is also shaking wrap, facial and signature Rodial massage, and up Saturdays in the city with the introduction of its exclusive spa products from top skincare brands ‘Electrified Sunset’ poolside barbecues, with a Rodial and Vitaman. Gym bunnies disinclined to large open fireplace at WET Deck cooking up take a break from daily work-out routines can grilled beef and prawns and the hotel’s signature set pulses racing at the 580-square-meter fitness WOOBurgers, with shrimp avocado subs and centre, SWEAT. Feeling the burn? Forget about it salads on the side. by taking in the sweeping views over Taipei City Those looking for a break from the buzzing and Taiwan’s most important and much-loved Xinyi District should step into the soothing landmark, Taipei 101.

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w insider

W insider has hot taipei tips Few things in life are more adrenaline-charged than stepping out impressive stock of art and design books, has also into a city for the first time and letting the sights, sounds and proved popular. As for sightseeing, Longshan Temple smells of an unknown urban landscape wash over you. That and the National Palace Museum have come out on initial excitement, however, can quickly fade to frustration as top. But it’s also good to just do what locals do — stroll you find yourself taking a wrong turn down a dark, unfriendly or shop behind the alleys of Zhongxiao East Road, enter alley, sitting down to a bad dinner and ending the night in a lively Taiwanese or Japanese izakaya, or visit the hot a lackluster bar, the city’s most sought-after addresses springs on the outskirts of the city in Beitou,” says Lin. maddeningly out of reach. To make certain you don’t Pressed for her own favorite hangouts, Lin elaborates, miss those coveted gems known only to residents, W “I love to unwind in fashion boutiques/restaurants like has appointed an erudite team of Insiders at its city Undercover and Taipei UC Noodle Bar, or chill out at Hua Shan hotels: savvy locals who can’t wait to hook you up 1914, an art space set in an abandoned factory that has hosted with a destination’s most alluring hot spots. everything from MTV shows to action figure collections. For drinks, I At W Taipei, the clued-in concierge is Charlie Lin, head to laid-back lounge bars like Trio, or L’arriere-Cour, for whiskey who turns guests on to the Taiwanese capital’s and cigars.” Lin also recommends would-be Taipei visitors check hottest events, happenings and entertainment, out new hotspots like Le Salon, a French candy store which recently from slurping down beef noodles in boutique opened on bustling Yong Kang Street, and Dazzling Café for truffle fashion store Undercover to partying until the French fries and delectable honey toast with ice cream and cream. sun comes up in the Xinyi district. Must-do’s This former Taiwan Goodwill ambassador to the Shanghai World are listed in the W Taipei Insider Guide, Expo once ran VIP tours for corporate sponsors, government officials and a chic compendium that delivers an celebrities around Taipei and is on familiar terms with every cool corner of eclectic low-down of all that is cool the city. Lin feels that her previous position has readied her to expect the and interesting in the city. unexpected. “I need to always think one step ahead of guest’s needs and be So which W Insider endorsements intuitive to their emotions, needs and desires.” have hit the spot with W Taipei When not pounding the Taipei sidewalks to discover chic new hangouts, Lin guests so far? “Traditional cuisine loves connecting with guests and delivering the impossible whenever she can. at Shin Yeh and Din Tai Fung have “We’ve done things like help guests get tickets for a Faye Wong concert after it had definitely won the hearts and long sold out; it was a big ask but we managed it somehow. These guests referred to mouths of many, and the Eslite us as ‘magic’ and have kept coming back ever since,” says the well-connected Lin, the bookstore, which has an only person you need on your speed dial for top Taipei tips.

guests give back to W

What do Korean actor Kang Jihwan, Hong Kong supermodel Jocelyn Luko and Japanese footballer Hidetoshi Nakata have in common? These stars are all crazy for W. Destinations in their own right, W Hotels entice a fun-loving, funky crowd to locations from San Francisco to Seoul, bringing the world’s tastemakers together to eat, drink and party amid some of the planet’s most hip surrounds.

Guest feedback on W’s newest Asian property, the W Retreat & Spa Bali – Seminyak has ran super-hot since the property opened its doors this March.

“The staff were friendly and helpful, and Ian, the Chef, was more than willing to share his recipes!” says one.

“The place is a paradise,” says a guest on Tripadvisor. Another poster enthuses, “Each employee tried their hardest to make our stay the best it could be, and we even participated in a Hindu ceremony held at the W temple to greet the summer season and to bless the hotel opening. The staff walked us through the meaning of each event in the ceremony. It was very memorable.”

Reviews of W Taipei reflect the hotel’s trendsetter design and super-friendly service. “The W Hotel in Taipei has it all: style, fun, superb, exuberant service, fabulous food and even an unbeatable location with views to Taipei 101,” says Rodney from Melbourne.

Of Koh Samui, cigster says, “I can’t stop talking about the hotel, it was just amazing. The rooms are just heavenly and anything you require is sent to you without a delay.” In W’s other Asian retreat in the Maldives, guests rave about the location, with a New Yorker describing it as “absolute paradise … I followed a giant turtle for 20 minutes. I’ve done about 40 dives all over the world and have never seen anything like this, it was truly spectacular!” Meanwhile, W Seoul – Walkerhill is like staying in an art installation, according to JacquimNZ from Auckland, New Zealand. “Stroll into the darkened lift lit by glowing rings floating in space, play jenga in the bar while perched on egg-shaped chairs, and breakfast with the Han river ... all lit to perfection.”

As for W Hong Kong, a guest says she could have moved in for good. “The location was great — so quick to the airport by train and an excellent shopping mall on the doorstep.”

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01 KANG JIHWAN at WooBar W Seoul 02 Nakata Hidetoshi at W Taipei 03 Joyceln Luko at W hong Kong

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MALDIVES MAGIC Witness the Maldives’ exotic seascapes and mind-blowing marine life in rock star style with a trip on W’s Escape, a traditional and luxurious two-cabin boat with fabulous facilities including sexy sundeck, king-size beds, massage showers and a Bose sound system.

The W Maldives Escape Route is a four-day sailing trip around the arresting Ari atolls in a pristine corner of the Indian Ocean. Departing whenever you’re ready, the fun begins with snorkeling on the Kuda Faru reef followed by a trip to the island of Dhangethi for some local flavor and barbecue dinner on the remote island of Lonu Bui. Escape also stops off at Maamigili Faru for whale shark spotting and snorkeling hot spots Huruelhi, Mandhoo and Moofushi Kandu before sailing to W Retreat & Spa Maldives. For more information on this package, visit whotels.com/maldives

w wow +leisure On the hunt for a hot autumn/winter break that offers airport transfer, buffet breakfast for two, free internet and late checkout? W Hotels and Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia have teamed up to offer some seriously attractive deals on all six of its hotels in Asia, each of which delivers a chic and unique proposition. Craving some quiet time? Then check into one of W’s gorgeously glam, laid-back retreats, like W Bali Resort – Seminyak, W Retreat & Spa Maldives or W Retreat Koh Samui.

Ready to switch it up? Immerse yourself in the intoxicating city buzz surrounding W Taipei, W Seoul – Walkerhill and W Hong Kong.

With reduced room rates at W Taipei starting from US$344 per night, all six hotel deals include one-way airport transfer, special cocktail on arrival, breakfast for two, free high-speed WiFi and late check out ‘til 4pm (subject to availability) for a minimum two nights’ stay.

All six of these packages are valid from September 1, 2011, until February 29, 2012, and cannot be combined with any other promotional rates or special offers, with additional nights based on the prevailing best available rate.

These chic city and retreat getaways are bookable via whotelsasia.com/T+L or directly with your chosen hotel.

W Happenings Summertime is party time and W Hong Kong guests have been living it up at the W Summer Series 2011, where singer Hinson Chou and Juju Chen were among those poolside at the Wet BAr for one of the themed get-togethers. There are three more Summer Series dates left on the calendar: September 10, September 24 and October 8, where poolside barbecues and Jacuzzis at Wet both await.

Down at W Seoul — Walkerhill the hotel is letting its hair down On 26 November at its annual W WOW Party, with DJ D Cup from Australia behind the decks ‘til 4am. w Maldives is livening up the North Ari atoll with its Havana nights every Sunday and Retreat + Surrender every Wednesday, with DJ Kid Diesel mixing it up.

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