July 2018 by Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia

SOUTHEAST ASIA

JULY 2018

Macau

ALL YOU CAN EAT SPICING UP KERALA SERIOUS BUSINESS: JAPANESE NOODLES SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD IN BALI

SINGAPORE S$7.90 / HONG KONG HK$43 THAILAND THB175 / INDONESIA IDR50,000 MALAYSIA MYR18 / VIETNAM VND85,000 MACAU MOP44 / PHILIPPINES PHP240 BURMA MMK35 / CAMBODIA KHR22,000 BRUNEI BND7.90 / LAOS LAK52,000

THE ULTIMATE ASIAN STREET FOOD GUIDE

Entranced By Taipa Village Wander this historic nook of Macao to find Portuguese colonial vibes in charming alleyways 0 1 J U LY 2 0 1 8 /

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Antonio Restaurant We’re so glad we managed to get reservations at this institution and got to meet chef Antonio himself who performed the ritual of opening a bottle of champagne with his sabre. We were serenaded with live music all night as we tucked into authentic Portuguese cuisine— part of our spread included fresh octopus salad, bacalhau, garlic clams and homemade stuffed Portuguese sausages. Woody, intimate interiors and an extensive Portuguese wine list whisked us off to Portugal for the few hours we were here.

So excited to report that we spent another lovely weekend in Macao! This time, meandering through the alleyways of Taipa Village, posing against the Instagram-perfect backdrops of what could be Wes Anderson film sets, all pastel-colored walls and old European lampposts. Taipa Village is home to low-rise shophouses of local diners called cha chaan tengs, gourmet restaurants, and some converted into hip lifestyle concept stores. We popped into centuries-old temples, marveling at the beautiful shadows of spiral incenses and the prayers and wishes written on tiny pieces of paper attached to them. As we strolled under the shade of large old banyan trees, occasionally passing a sleepy granny having a siesta on her rattan recliner chair at home, we were also thrilled to stumble upon a piece of Macao history: the now defunct old firecracker factory Fabrica de Panchoes Iec Long—one of the primary sources of trade for Macao in the 1950s. For a moment, we almost forgot we were in Macao til we followed our noses to the confectioneries of fresh almond cookies from Koi Kei Bakery and buttery filo pastry egg tarts from San Hou Lei—famous for their bird’s nest egg tarts. Other varieties include coconut- and milk-custard tarts, but our favorite was the Portuguese “Po” tarts with the perfect caramelized top. What we loved most here was the beautiful, eclectic mix of old and new, traditional and a little trendy. The urban layout of little squares reminded us of Europe and the Portuguese influence. We thoroughly enjoyed eating our way through Taipa Village, soaking in equal measure the Portuguese legacy and the local Chinese way of life through food and drink, and visually feasting on the mélange of culture and architecture. Art Deco details on shophouses and back lanes lined with repetitive motifs of brise soleil bricks or new colorful decorative motifs of traditional Portuguese tiles. With this cross-cultural culinary microcosm, it is easy to see why Macao was last year designated a UNECSO Creative City of Gastronomy.

Goa Nights This is one of the latest hot spots, and a place where you will drink in history over stories of cocktails based on Vasco da Gama’s voyages. Nine specialty cocktails provided a map of the tales and adventures of Gama’s voyage from Portugal to India, infused with ingredients picked up along the trade route that traveled across oceans. Goa was a former Portuguese colony and we loved how the food menu reflects the influences, from the “Recheado shrimps” to Chorizo Naan. Yum!

Portugalia As we dug deeper into history through cuisine, we tried out Portugalia, whose history is rooted in a beer house founded in the 20th century. We enjoyed a delicious steak done Portuguese style— topped with a sunny-side up egg—a comforting serving of seafood rice, and Codfish Espiritualan: an oven baked dish of shredded codfish in a creamy sauce. It was lovely to see and indulge in the Portuguese culinary legacy that remains strong in Macao. We envisage summer evenings best spent on the rooftop over a tipple or two watching the sunset over Taipa Village.

Arts & Culture Local Life From the old man sunning his dried shrimp on the ground to the locals running their little cafés, Taipa is bustling with activity. Locals go about their daily lives unfazed as we tourists wander around taking selfies. We checked out locally roasted coffee beans at Quarter Square, and met their adorable mascot, Copper, a French bulldog. Then, it was across the square to Fong Da Coffee for aromatic brews with beans roasted Taiwanese style. We sampled every snack on busy Cunha Street and popped into the wet market by the corner watching people pick out the freshest seafood and vibrant vegetables.

Kwong Heng Long Oyster The history of the space in which they live is not lost on the locals. In this former fishing village, it made perfect sense that the decades-old dried shrimp-paste shop Kwong Heng Long Oyster sauce store was sunning thousands of tiny shrimps on the wide-open spaces to prepare for preservation and bottling. The shop produces more than 20,000 bottles of the balichão shrimp sauce a year and it is a flavor used in many traditional Macanese dishes. We took the advice of a local and bought a bottle to take home and make the delicious dish of shrimp paste– coated fried chicken wings.

Taipa Village Art Space, which has rotating exhibits, was showing a lovely series of ink paintings by Lio Man Cheong, spotlighting the Macao firecrackers industry, which was a main revenue source in the 1950s. The Museum of Taipa and Coloane History has relics and artefacts from the voyages of the Portuguese since the 14th century. There’s also a row of cute green colonial houses that makes up the Taipa Houses Museum. They were restored as an events venue for visitors to wander and imagine the colorful yesteryear.

The Spiritual Side Pui Kei Café We loved the adventure of starting the day with a hearty Chinese breakfast over a hot cup of traditional sock-brewed milk tea at Pui Kei, a local diner in Taipa Village. Best known for their egg and flour cupcakes filled with raisins or walnuts, they also whip up egg noodles cooked a perfect al dente tossed in a magic savory sauce topped with a perfectly seasoned and deep-fried Chinese version of pork schnitzel.

The pastel yellow Our Lady of Carmo Catholic Church sits at the top of the hill overlooking Taipa Village. Completed in 1885, it was the only Catholic Church in Taipa at that time and seems like a popular backdrop for wedding photo shoots with an air of European influence. On the other side of Taipa Village, we lit a spiral incense at Pak Tai Temple, which has been around for over 160 years. Translating to “Northern Emperor,” this is where villagers and fishermen would make offerings for protection against floods and fire, as well as safe journeys for the seafaring folks whose livelihood depended on sailing the oceans.

MACAO GOVERNMENT TOURISM OFFICE Address: Alameda Dr. Carlos d’Assumpção, n.os 335-341, Edifício “Hot Line”, 12º andar, Macao www.macaotourism.gov.mo | mgto@macaotourism.gov.mo | Tel: +853 2831 5566 | Fax: +853 2851 0104 | Tourism Hotline: +853 2833 3000

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July

ON THE COVER Tossed noodles with barbecued Iberico pork at Jade Dragon, Macau. Photographed by Leigh Griffiths.

features 62

Kingdom of Spice Steering clear of the wrath of over-jealous locavores, Duncan Forgan eats his way through Kerala. Photographed by Aaron Joel Santos.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner Macau has four centuries of culinary fusion up its sleeve, and the world is noticing. By Eloise Basuki. Photographed by Leigh Griffiths. 96 74

c l o c k w i s e F R O M t o p LE F T: s i m o n b a j a d a ; L e i g h Gr i ff i t h s ; a a r o n j o e l s a n t o s ; a l e x fa r n u m

86 62

Bohemian Rhapsody California’s Mendocino County is best known for its beguiling coastline. Jody Rosen meets the free spirits giving shape to this flourishing culinary region. Photographed by Alex Farnum.

A Taste of Heaven Swiss winemakers have been perfecting their craft for centuries. Ray Isle discovers this great, unsung wine destination. Photographed by Simon Bajada.

t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m / j u ly 2 0 1 8

In Every Issue

T+L Digital 8 Contributors 10 The Conversation 12 Editor’s Note 14 Deals 58 Wish You Were Here 106

contents

seafood restaurants aim to help the ocean; a culinary cruise with David Thompson; books for foodies; and more.

25 Snacks to Pack This sampling

of traditional Asian treats and newfangled flavors proves that the best souvenirs are edible.

38 In the Family Next-generation

chefs in Singapore are whipping up modern spins on their ancestral food.

with some of our favorite craft beers from around the region.

41 A Dream Ticket The sparkling

seas of Okinawa are calling for an intriguing summer sojourn that cruises off the beaten path.

42 Frame by Frame A new exhibit

explains how Singapore’s National Gallery chooses artwork for its shows.

30 Grazing Tainan Southern Taiwan holds a lesser-visited foodie gem.

32 Life Lessons A new wellness

retreat in the hills of Nusa Dua helps you break from the race that is modern living.

Upgrade 49 Street Eats Southeast Asia is acclaimed for having the finest street food on the planet. A new tour in Java teaches us about the beguiling tastes of Indonesia. Plus: A primer on some of the must-try open-air meals elsewhere in the region.

44 Drink Your Way Home Asian-

of America’s most overlooked destinations offers hospitality and the arts on the mighty Mississippi River.

40 Something’s Brewing Kick back

26 City of Noodles In Morioka,

Japan, noodles, noodles and more noodles are the order of the day.

45 The New Spirit of St. Louis One

j u ly 2 0 1 8 / t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

inspired adult beverages are hitting prime time, elevating nonalcoholic drinks along the way.

fr o m l e f t: C h r i s t o p h e r K u c way; S u pa c h at V e c h a m a l e e n o n t; C o u r t e s y o f t h e n at i o n a l g a l l e r y, s i n g a p o r e ; c o u r t e s y o f R e s o r t s W o r l d S e n t o s a

19 Reasons to Travel Now Bali’s

t+l digital

Lookout

Behind the Scenes at Shanghai’s Bold Heritage Hotel Amanyangyun’s radical fusion of contemporary luxury and historic heritage is nothing short of a modern miracle.

Bangkok’s Essential Creative Hubs From a retired airplane to century-old warehouses, these multipurpose spaces in Bangkok are turning heads for all the right reasons.

These Aussie Hotels Prove That Bigger Isn’t Always Better Travelers Down Under are ditching the super-sized digs for more intimate boutique lodgings in secluded places.

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fr o m l e f t: a l e j a n d r o s c o t t; c e d r i c a r n o l d ; c o u r t e s y o f b u b b l e t e n t a u s t r a l i a

this month on tr avel andleisureasia.com

Where to eat and drink in Sydney’s hippest suburb; our ultimate list of reasons to travel now; where to eat local in Hong Kong; how to indulge your adventurous inner child in Manila; the latest travel deals and much more.

contributors

Chris Schalkx

Ashley Niedringhaus

“Six Dishes: Tainan” Page 30 — “Taiwanese food is influenced by Japan, the West and China (mainly Fujian). Compared to many other Chinese cuisines, Taiwanese use fewer spices, and a more diverse range of produce, meat and seafood. With fresh oysters, milkfish and eel, Tainan’s cuisine is the most seafood-centric on the island. It’s also sweeter, owing to the local sugar industry. Tainan’s signature goopy soups and jellified substances might take time getting used to, so start safe with danzai mian, a small bowl of chewy noodles in light pork broth, with minced pork and a boiled prawn. Chih Kan Peddler’s Noodles is famous for it.” Instagram: @chrsschlkx.

“Upgrade: Street Eats” Page 49 — “Governments may try to clean up street vendors, and Michelin foodie fame may skyrocket wait times for top carts, but local shops with generations-old recipes will always be the heart of Southeast Asia. The fare in my adopted home of Thailand is spicy, cheap and available 24-7. In Bangkok, find the moo ping pushcart on Soi Convent in Silom. The grilled pork snack is ubiquitous, but no one does it better than Hea Owen, who has a killer spicy dip that will haunt your dreams. My food-travel tip: Learn how to say ‘very delicious’ in the local language to endear yourself to the locals.” Instagram: @awriternamedashley.

Aaron Joel Santos

Duncan Forgan

“Kingdom of Spice” Page 62 — “Traveling to India always feels like warping into some psychedelic dystopian future where everything is strange, beautiful, frightening and new. Who wouldn’t want to take that trip? According to Keralans, they like to drink to excess because they are so much smarter than other Indians. So I guess that sets them apart? I never quite figured out the logic there. We didn’t have a single bad meal, and the duck curry served with palm wine-fermented appam [bowl-shaped pancakes like hoppers] that we had at our small homestay in Alleppey was singular and incredibly memorable.” Instagram: @aaronjoelsantos.

“Kingdom of Spice” Page 62 — “Curry culture is strong in Scotland so I was weaned onto biryanis and bhajis from a tender age. I’m a sucker for molee, a turmeric and curry leaf–flavored dish with thick coconut milk. The best version I’ve had was at the Fort House Hotel in Fort Kochi. Head to Thaff Restaurant in Alleppey for a classic bottomless Kerala veg thali—a meal that might never end for US$3. Kerala has a reputation as a ‘softlanding’ for visiting India and you can see why. Whether you are drinking toddy with locals in a rural field or chilling at a backwaters restaurant, the Keralans seem generally contented with life.” Instagram: dunc1978.

P h o to gr a p h er

W r i t er

fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f c h r i s s c h a l k x ; c o u r t e s y o f a s h l e y n i e d r i n g h a u s ; c o u r t e s y o f a a r o n j o e l s a n t o s ; c o u r t e s y o f d u n c a n f o r g a n

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W r i t er a nd P h o to gr a p h er

the conversation

exotic & idyllic retreat ...where life is a private celebration

How do you pinpoint a country’s favorite flavor? In Singapore, surveys by Unilever Food Solutions claim salted egg is the national flavor of the citystate, stating a growth of 553 percent in online conversations in the last year and more than 230 different salted egg dishes posted on social media. So what about the rest of the region? We’ve taken a guess at a few of Southeast Asia’s top tastes.

SALTED EGG POTATO Singapore CHIPS Salted Egg

Thailand Durian Last year the Thai tourism ministry pitched the beloved odorous fruit to be the country’s exclusive KitKat flavor.

Though a retro ingredient, it’s only in the past few years that salted egg has taken off. Unilever say it’s now one of the top five most talked about Singaporean dishes.*

EGG SALTED EGG SALTED POTATO POTATO CHIPS CHIPS

Taiwan Stinky Tofu Love it or hate it, the cult of fermented bean curd in Taiwan is real, smelled everywhere from tiny street stalls to top restaurants.

SALTED EGG POTATO CHIPS

Vietnam Fish Sauce Not just a hit of umami for local dishes, the condiment is also said to add distinct flavor to the country’s famous roasted coffee beans.

Japan Matcha Green tea has swept Asia, but the flavor is at its finest at home in Japan, with desserts, liquors and the formal tea ceremony making use of the powder.

*Information gathered from Unilever Food Solutions’ Salted Egg Shiok! portal.

#TLASIA

This month, readers share their tastiest travel snaps.

Breakfast in Rajasthan at the The Oberoi Udaivilas. By @williamhoki.

A floating feast at The Udaya’s sunlit pool, in Ubud. By @melissackoh.

Cheju black pork sizzles on the Korean barbecue. By @garyhor.

A pretty coffee and cake break in Taiwan. By @askafrench.

Sanur I Ubud I Nusa Dua I Jimbaran

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t the time, it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. I had asked our features editor, Eloise Basuki, to go to Macau and eat everything in sight. A food-eating competition winner—see tacos, female, Australia or chicken wings, Canada—she gladly tackled the assignment, venturing from casino glitz to backstreet bakeries and everywhere in between searching out the perfect meal. No doubt, her culinary report on the casino town, “Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner” (page 74), will leave you salivating for a long weekend on the South China Sea. A month or two earlier, she ventured to Japan’s Iwate prefecture for a story on noodles and inadvertently, so she claims, was roped into slurping 67 bowls of soba in a single, out-of-competition sitting (“City of Noodles,” page 26). Nowhere near the record of 570 bowls, the lean-as-a-twig Eloise is quick to point out, but impressive all the same. As in other years, putting together our annual Food Issue proved to be both joyful and stressful. Living in Asia, there’s no shortage of story ideas, the biggest challenge being to winnow the menu down to a manageable size without—and this is a big ask—neglecting any region or cuisine. This year, we’ve got a special section on street food (“Street Eats,” page 49) that takes in everywhere from Surabaya to Chiang Mai to Saigon, while “Grazing Tainan” (“page 30) is a primer on the night markets that are synonymous with Taiwan. Further afield is a journey in search of fish molee (“Kingdom of Spice,” page 62) to top anything found in, well, the writer’s currysavvy home of Scotland. Just in case you think this month will result in nothing but packing on girth, I signed up for a three-day wellness retreat in Bali, where one of the main ingredients was healthy food that is also delicious (“Life Lessons,” page 32). Good thing, too, as I’m well past the days where I might enter eating competitions.

@CKucway chrisk@mediatransasia.com

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From my travels In Singapore, great food is always close at hand. In town for ILTM Asia, an annual gathering of the luxury travel industry’s movers and shakers, I was fortunate to indulge in a bowl of lobster congee (bottom photo) at the revamped Summer Pavilion in the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore (ritzcarlton.com)— for breakfast! Two days later, come dinner, it was modern Cantonese on the menu at Cassia, the beyondcomfortable restaurant at Capella Singapore (capellahotels.com), where duck with sliced mango left a divine impression on the tongue.

fr o m l e f t: Irfa n S a m a r t d e e ; c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way ( 3 )

editor’s note

editor-in-chief art director Deput y editor Features editor senior DEsigner

Christopher Kucway Wannapha Nawayon Jeninne Lee-St. John Eloise Basuki Chotika Sopitarchasak

Regul ar contributors / photogr aphers Cedric Arnold, Kit Yeng Chan, Marco Ferrarese, Duncan Forgan, Lauryn Ishak, Mark Lean, Grace Ma, Morgan Ommer, Aaron Joel Santos, Stephanie Zubiri chairman president publishing director publishER digital media manager TRAFFIC MANAGER / deputy DIGITAL media manager sales director busines s de velopment manager chief financial officer production manager circul ation as sistant

J.S. Uberoi Egasith Chotpakditrakul Rasina Uberoi-Bajaj Robert Fernhout Pichayanee Kitsanayothin Varin Kongmeng Joey Kukielka Leigha Proctor Gaurav Kumar Kanda Thanakornwongskul Yupadee Saebea

TR AVEL+LEISURE (USA) Editor-in-Chief Senior Vice President, News, Luxury, st yle

Nathan Lump Meredith Long

meredith partnerships, LICENSING & syndication (syndication@meredith.com) Busines s affairs director director, licensing oper ations editorial director e xecutive director, content management

Tom Rowland Richard Schexnider Jack Livings Paul Ordonez

meredith Chairman and ceo president and coo chief content officer editorial director, lifest yle group e xecutive vice presidents

Steve Lacy Tom Harty Alan Murray Nathan Lump Leslie Dukker Doty, Brad Elders, Lauren Ezrol Klein

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Return to Paradise EVEN BEFORE YOU DEPART AYANA RESORT AND SPA, BALI & RIMBA JIMBARAN BALI BY AYANA, YOU’LL BE PLANNING YOUR NEXT TRIP

IT’S ALWAYS SHEER JOY returning to AYANA Resort and Spa, Bali, The Villas at AYANA, and RIMBA Jimbaran Bali by AYANA. As soon as I pull in through the gates of the property and my car turns down the winding, forested private road, a sense of tranquility washes over me and I feel like I’ve come home. This 90-hectare fully integrated resort feels like my personal kingdom. Whatever type holiday I’m in the mood for can be had. AYANA, the original grande dame, offers classic luxury, with its beautifully landscaped grounds holding hidden gems: the Japanese green tea and dessert pavilion Tsujiri here, a pair of kids’ waterslides over there... When I want a bit of a party, I love checking in to RIMBA, with its contemporary eco vibe and its views for days over jungle and stretching out to sea. And when I want to be pampered with the ultimate indulgence—privacy—I book my favorite mini-manse at The Villas, where my rosepetal bath on arrival is the softest way to sink into a vacation, and any further requests are met with a graceful smile by my awesome personal butler. There’s always something new to enjoy. The past year has seen the addition of a luxe shopping arcade (where I indulged my obsession with resortwear, but you can also pick up beautiful local lace and cool John Hardy jewels) a rolicking Mexican brunch at the rooftop pool-party that is UNIQUE, and—super exciting!— the property’s second funicular, this one descending to the bay beach and the brand-new Kubu Beach Club, a wonderfully tucked-away tropical lounge where you can kick back to the soundtrack of chill tunes and crashing waves. Perfect lunch: snapper ceviche, popcorn shrimp and chicken satay sticks, of course. Speaking of new, I’m counting the days until the September opening of AYANA Komodo Resort, Waecicu Beach. On a ruggedly pristine island just an hour’s flight from Bali, it’s going to be the only five-star in Flores. I can’t wait to visit Komodo National Park and spy on the dragons. And my berth on their brand-new über-luxe phinisi, AYANA Lako di’a is already booked—oh, think of the amazing diving! But this trip is all about Bali, where it is delightfully obvious that the owners are dedicated to growing this gorgeous sprawling plot gracefully—and responsibly. With 12 fantastic pools, 19 restaurants and bars, two spas, and places aplenty to stroll, sip and sun, you never feel crowded. You can get lost in your own sense of place every place. While I’m daydreaming about my upcoming massage at Spa on the Rocks, my appointment in the Aquatonic Therapy Pool, my exclusive-access breakfast tomorrow at Rock Bar, my favorite dim sum at Ah Yat Abalone, and an afternoon zoning out on the edge of Ocean Beach Pool, the resort’s lovely pair of white horses trots by, reminding me that this is a fairytale kingdom come to life.

To find out more visit ayana.com or email info@ayanaresort.com or info@rimbajimbaran.com

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REASONS TRAVEL NOW j u ly 2 0 1 8

T+L’s monthly selection of trip-worthy places, experiences and events.

no.

Bali’s seafood restaurants are pledging allegiance to the ocean.

c o u rt esy o f f i s h b o n e lo ca l

There’s no longer plenty of fish in the sea according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which warns that Asia’s commercial fish stocks will run out by 2048 save a massive reduction in indiscriminate dragnet fishing. “The world as a collective has woken up to the fact that we can’t just pillage and plunder the ocean anymore,” says Australian hospitality veteran Isabella Rowell. In May, Rowell partnered with fellow Antipodean Benjamin Cross to open Fishbone Local, one of a slew of new and existing eateries in the Balinese surfing center of Canggu with a commitment to sustainable linecaught or farmed seafood. Here, some of the island’s most ocean-friendly plates. — Ian Lloyd Neubauer

Fishbone Local A former executive chef of Bali’s iconic Ku De Ta day club, Cross draws on his previous employer’s knack for precise preparation and fresh-offthe-boat seafood, but without the premium price model. Starters like the tuna tostada and sesame prawn toast are only US$3 while mains like pan-seared barramundi and snapper sell for around US$7 a plate. Fishbone Local’s partnership with Denpasarbased social enterprise company Bali Sustainable Seafood mitigates much of the impact on local fish stocks by only using environmentally conscious catching methods while also bolstering the incomes of independent fishermen. fishbonelocal.com.

The Slow An upscale plantation-style restaurant, bar and boutique hotel on Canggu’s main drag, The Slow is an immersive experience that champions Balinese culture. Consulting chef Shannon Moran chooses only the freshest in—oysters are from neighboring Lombok and the fish is brought in fresh each morning by local fishermen, whose catch varies with the seasons and tides. But according to Moran, sustainability demands more than just buying seafood from the good guys. “Our famous teasmoked mahi-mahi dip is made from all the trimmings from our portioned fish,” he says. “If you throw out the heads and tails, how can you call yourself sustainable?” theslow.id.

Moana Fish Eatery Long before sustainability became a buzzword, respect for moana—the ocean—was deeply ingrained into Tahitian custom and culture. “In Tahiti, people do not catch more fish than what their families can eat, and if anyone catches too much they must share it with the rest of the village,” says Danni Tara Leverd, the Tahitian owner of Canggu’s Moana Fish Eatery. Using line-caught fish purchased directly from local fishermen or caught by Leverd himself, Moana dishes up Polynesian staples like pan-fried mackerel with a coconut and tomato sauce; red-snapper chowder; and poisson cru, a traditional raw tuna salad cured in lime juice and coconut milk. fb.com/moana.fish.eatery.

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/ reasons to travel now / no.

Penang in 12 Dishes Red Pork Press With Penang’s diverse mix of Indian, Malay and Hokkien Chinese cuisines, squeezing the place’s most iconic dishes into a pocket-sized book is no small task. Like previous editions in Saigon and Shanghai, the Penang guide chooses just a dozen essential dishes, detailing historical context, how-tos and a range of restaurants to try. With a handy map, a hawker guide and a beach bar directory, this is the ultimate foodie handbook to the Malaysian state. Eat this now: A popular breakfast doled out by local hawkers, hokkien mee tops egg noodles with a slowcooked pork bone and prawn soup.

Feast With Me Stephanie Zubiri Filipino travel journalist and former restaurateur Stephanie Zubiri has had plenty of good meals while living and working around the world. Now, our Manila-based contributor offers a collection of recipes inspired by her journeys, which make impressive spreads for entertaining friends and family. Each chapter focuses on both a destination and an experience—a Parisian brunch or Vietnamese dinner, for example—filled with recipes adapted for the home kitchen. Eat this now: Zubiri counts on her handy bicol express paste: “Its versatile and vibrant layers are an absolute party for the palate.”

no.

Hawker Fare James Syhabout Born in Thailand’s northeast and raised in California, chef James Syhabout has worked in some of the world’s best kitchens, including the U.K.’s The Fat Duck and El Bulli in Spain. Named after his own Oakland and San Francisco restaurants, Syhabout’s new cookbook, Hawker Fare, is inspired by the street-side markets of Thailand and Laos and includes stories about his roving career as a chef, as well as his travels throughout his parents’ homelands. Eat this now: The Lao equivalent to pad Thai, khua mee (fried noodles) is a street-food staple that’s easy to replicate in your own kitchen.

David Thompson may have left Nahm, but you can still catch him on this cruise. The acclaimed Australian chef will be on board the Aqua Mekong in August to host a four-night cruise from Saigon to Phnom Penh that celebrates local cuisine. Learn about regional ingredients with Thompson at local markets; get your hands dirty for a cooking class or kitchen tour; and quiz him on all things culinary during an exclusive Q-and-A session. aquaexpeditions.com; four-night cruise sails August 3–7, from US$3,780.

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C lo c k w i s e fr o m to p l e f t : c o u rt esy o f R e d P o r k Pr ess ( 2 ) ; C o u rt esy o f St e p h a n i e Z u b i r i ( 2 ) ; c o u rt esy o f A n t h o n y B o u r da i n B o o ks / Ec c o ; Er i c Wo l f i n g e r ; C o u rt esy o f Aq ua M e ko n g

Three books for foodies provide delicious inspiration for your next trip.

no.

Have fun with your kids… and without them.

F r o m to p : c o u rt esy o f ca m p s u n b e a r ; c o u rt esy o f sa l a sa m u i

The newest trend in family travel, “camp-cations” are all about making sure each member of the family gets something special out of the holiday. In Thailand, Camp Sun Bear and Exo Travel have teamed up to create an itinerary that brings the magic of family bonding with the independencebuilding of a little time apart. The trip begins with a few days exploring Bangkok together, then your kids split off to Camp Sun Bear and spend four nights kayaking, cycling and making new friends at an American-style sleepaway summer camp in Khao Yai. Meanwhile, you’ll be at a five-star resort nearby, relaxing by the pool, wine tasting, and exploring the region’s quaint vineyards and national parks. Call it a second honeymoon. After the camp session, you’ll join back with your kids for three nights on the powdery shores of Samui. Variety is the spice of summer. campsunbear. com; four-night camps from Bt19,000 per child, all-inclusive; 12-day itinerary for a family of four, including four nights at Camp Sun Bear for two kids and accommodation in Anantara Riverside in Bangkok, Kirimaya Golf & Spa Resort in Khao Yai, and Sala Samui Choengmon in Koh Samui, from Bt247,560; camps run selected dates in July and August.

Pool views at Sala Samui Choengmon. ABOVE: Campfire stories at Camp Sun Bear.

In a world with dwindling forests and endangered species, the Gir forest of Gujarat is an oasis of hope. The Gir Forest covered area is reducing throughout the world. However, Gir forest of Gujarat has proved to be an exception. Its 1412 sq.km. large deciduous forest provides natural habitat for the lions and conscious efforts on the part of government and willing co-operation of the local residents has helped increase lions' population grow from 15 during early twentieth century to more than 400 now. This has raised the image of India as world's only home for the majestic Asiatic lions. The king of the jungle roams free at Gir. If you are at the right place at the right time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; probably at dawn or dusk, you may actually see this majestic beast in its natural habitat â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the open forest intermingled with grasslands.

www.girlion.in

E-mail: tibahd@gujarattourism.com | www.gujarattourism.com For Gir National Park Details visit: http://www.gujarattourism.com/destination/details/12/258

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gujtourism Twitter: https://twitter.com/gujarattourism

/ take home / organic tropical fruit bars | sri Lanka

salted-egg potato chips | singapore

These all-natural snacks use tropical fruit from Greenfield Farm, an estate of organic, sustainable and ethical farmers in Sri Lanka. Find them in selected cafés around the country.

Craved region-wide for their sweet-and-savory salted-egg seasoning, these addictive snacks—our favorite is Irvins— can be conveniently picked up at Changi airport.

soft dried mango | thailand Don’t leave the Big Mango without a hefty stock of the dried stuff. There’s an endless supply in supermarkets—we like Thaya’s soft golden strips that almost melt in your mouth.

mini almond cookies | macau You’ll find Macau’s crumbly almond cookies all over the region, but these miniature mung bean versions by Ko Kei bakery, which started as a street cart decades ago, are perfect for sharing.

Snacks to Pack The best souvenir is always an edible one. We’ve scouted out the region’s tastiest travel mementos, from traditional treats to newfangled flavors. By Eloise Basuki. Photogr aphs by Supachat Vechamaleenont

cashew tarts | philippines Grown in the Palawan region of the Philippines, cashews are a popular snack across the country. Scout out a box of Emy’s tarts, filled with a decadent caramel-cashew mix.

wasabi kitkats | japan While the chocolate bar’s roots belong to the U.K., KitKat’s craziest flavors are found only in Japan. Look out for soy sauce, Hokkaido melon, sake, cheesecake and wasabi versions to bring home.

Dried ginger | vietnam Mut gung say (candied dried ginger) is a traditional sweet often prepared during Tet new year celebrations. The spicy slivers by Nam Xanh are coated in just a delicate veil of powdered sugar, making them a fragrant snack that is also said to help digestion and ease sore throats.

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/ the quest /

City of Noodles

In the quiet capital of Japan’s Iwate prefecture, noodles are serious business. Eloise Basuki tries bowl after bowl after bowl of Morioka’s local specialties and finds this sleepy city may also be the country’s hungriest.

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Illustr ations by wasinee chantakorn

FROM LEFT: Teruto Aoki,

founder of Shokudoen reimen restaurant; the reimen noodles are slightly chewy, cooked for just a minute.

I’ve eaten 30 bowls of soba. “Hai, don, don!” chants my waitress, who looms over my table with a skyscraper-stack of yet another 30 bowls, urging me to eat “more, more!” No sooner have I slurped down my next small dish of noodles than she slams a new one in front of me. “This is how you eat soba in Morioka,” says my guide, Satake Daihei, breathlessly between gulps. He is very seriously trying to beat his previous record of 70 bowls, a number that seemed ludicrous at first, but now, spurred on by a deepseated competitive streak and relief that the tiny bowls hold only a few mouthfuls, has become my own aim. We are at Azumaya Soba Restaurant, a 111-year-old noodle house in Morioka, the capital of Japan’s northeastern Iwate prefecture. While the rest of Japan eats their soba noodle by noodle in a Zen-like state, in Morioka, wanko soba is a fast, loud and an all-youcan-eat affair. Before there’s time to digest, I find myself neck-deep in a spontaneous slurping competition. I have been known to casually partake in food-eating contests in the past—yep, Sydney’s female tacoeating champion of 2013, no big deal—but my trip to Morioka began with less ambitious intentions: to try what the city calls its “Three Great Noodles” and learn the stories behind them. Most travelers to Iwate use the capital as merely a gateway to Japan’s quieter ski resorts in

Tohoku, the fresh shellfish of the Pacific coast, or Hanamaki’s therapeutic hot springs. But Morioka’s famous noodles— towering stacks of wanko soba; chewy jajamen udon; and the icy bowls of North Korean–style reimen—are worthy attractions in their own right. I’ve just arrived and have already eaten enough for the week, but with just a few days to try them all, the competitive eater in me makes room for more. The bottomless local appetite is also the point of difference in Morioka’s take on zha jiang mian, the Chinese soybean noodle dish known here as jajamen. The simple bowl of udon, grated cucumber and nikumiso (a roasted miso and ground pork sauce) is similar in style and flavor to its Chinese counterpart, but the Japanese version has a surprise ending: a second helping. For dinner, Satake takes me to Pairon, a poky hole-in-the-wall near the city’s ancient castle ruins and where the dish first took root in Morioka. We arrive late to avoid the nightly queue, but its popularity is still hard to miss—the walls are scrawled like Verona with celebrity love letters

In five minutes

FROM ABOVE: A bowl of jajamen; Morioka’s wanko soba competition is serious business.

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/ the quest /

from Japan, China and beyond. The 20-seat restaurant is now run by Mineko Takashina, a mildmannered matriarch, whose father, Kansho, founded the shop more than six decades ago after fighting abroad in World War II. He brought the Chinese noodles back with him, but added his own twist: chitantan. “Chi means egg and tan means soup,” Mineko says. “My father would make it for his hangover. After finishing his jajamen, he’d add hot water and a raw egg to make miso soup from the leftover sauce. It would cure him, so he added it to the menu.” Sure enough, after devouring my tangle of thick, flat udon glazed in the savory, roasted miso, Mineko’s son, Katsuo, takes my bowl, cracks in an egg, adds a dollop of the fresh, jet-black miso and a ladle of hot water. I’m not suffering from too much booze, but I have unquestionably overdosed on noodles, and the soothing, umamiloaded broth eases my bloated belly.

Reimen is based on the North Korean noodle dish, mul naengmyeon, and made its way to Morioka in 1954.

The nex t day, perplexingly hungry again, I venture into the steaming

FROM ABOVE: Iwate is

also famous for its ironware; the reimen dough at Shokudoen is kneaded by hand.

Satake is brimming with strategies to winning this food war—eat quickly, avoid liquids— and it’s serious business: the record at Azumaya is 570 bowls 28

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kitchen of Shokudoen, a 64-year-old restaurant that serves North Korean-style reimen. This cold noodle dish made its way to Morioka in 1954 via Shokudoen’s founder, Teruto Aoki, a Korean migrant from Hamhung, 300 kilometers north of Pyongyang. After arriving in Tokyo when he was just 16 years old, Teruto moved to Morioka when a Korean friend told him about the quieter pace of the city and he began making the noodles to bring a taste of home to his new Japanese life. “My father didn’t know if a reimen shop would be popular in Japan,” says Aoki’s son Masahiko, who took over running the business when his father died in 1996. “He just liked making noodles.” Masahiko brings out my bowl, a chilled beef broth topped with a twirl of chewy, potato starch noodles, slow-cooked beef, pickled cucumbers and a boiled egg. Shokudoen’s reimen is made the Hamhung way: spiked with house-made kimchi, adding red tangy fire to the cold, slightly sweet beef broth. Despite repeated requests from across Japan to franchise the restaurant into other cities, Masahiko says he’s not interested. “My father told me he didn’t want to expand. He just wanted do one thing well,” he says. And although most reimen shops, including Shokudoen, also offer the classic Korean yakiniku barbecue, Masahiko still says: “Reimen is best.”

has Korean origins and jajamen is from China, wanko soba is proudly Iwate’s own—even the prefecture’s mascot is a superkawaii (cute), smiling noodle-bowl named Sobachi. Soba has been the staple carb here since the 1600s, as the cold, unfertile fields of Iwate made rice farming impossible and buckwheat the grain of choice. The prefecture is divided on wanko soba’s genesis. Hanamaki locals say it began with them 400 years ago—embarrassed to serve a visiting feudal lord such a rustic dish, they gave him just a tiny serving, but he loved it and asked for bowl after bowl. Moriokans, however, are adamant it started here 100 years ago, with a local politician who preferred the smaller portions. But no matter where you eat them, the noodles are always the same: cut short to make them easier to swallow and coated in a simple dashi stock. “Don’t drink the soup, it will fill you up,” Satake warns back

While reimen

FROM BELOW: the

hangover-curing chitantan; you’ll need to queue for a taste of Pairon’s jajamen.

at Azumaya, dumping his excess in a small barrel in the middle of the table. Satake is brimming with strategies to winning this food war—eat quickly, avoid liquids— and it’s serious business: the record at Azumaya is 570 bowls and the city has held official eating competitions since 1986. I bow out at a commendable 67 bowls—my waitress says the female average is 30—and Satake, who has grown mysteriously quiet, quits at a valiant 130, before bolting to the bathroom. This noodleslurping tour of Morioka is yet another notch in the belt of Japan’s celebrated cuisine culture, but has also shown me a different side to the country, colored with a foreign influence and, refreshingly, not afraid to laugh at itself. “Too many noodles,” Satake says, somberly, on his return. No guts, no glory, I guess.

The details Getting there It’s a two-hour ride on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Morioka. Hanamaki airport is 50 minutes south of Morioka by train, and has direct flights from Taipei and other cities in Japan. Stay The Grand Resort Hanamaki This sprawling resort is composed of three hotels and a high-end ryokan. Guests can use any of the hotels’ onsens filled with the healing water from Hanamaki’s hot springs. hanamakionsen.co.jp; doubles from ¥12,038. Houraikan Located on the Kamaishi coast, this elegant ryokan is owned by Iwasaki Akiko, a proud survivor of the Tohoku tsunami that

devastated Iwate in 2011. Rooms are spacious, and the outdoor baths have ocean views. houraikan.jp; doubles from ¥17,280. Kumagai Ryokan This family-run inn near Morioka station is welcoming and newly renovated. There’s a bath, and an attached bar and restaurant that serves up a hearty traditional breakfast. kumagairyokan. com; singles from ¥5,000. Hotel New Carina The basic rooms in this business hotel are compact, but the location on Morioka’s main street is ideal. 2-3-7, Saien, Morioka; singles from ¥5,000. Eat Azumaya Soba Restaurant While there is also an a la

carte menu, the draw here is wanko soba. So come with friends and an empty stomach. wankosobaazumaya.co.jp; wanko soba ¥3,460. Hot Jaja This cowboy-themed jajamen restaurant is known for its different kinds of miso toppings, including onion, red or white miso. pyonpyonsya. co.jp; mains from ¥550. Pairon The birthplace of jajamen is in this cozy restaurant near the Morioka castle ruins. Don’t forget to ask for chitantan after you finish your noodles. pairon. iwate.jp; mains from ¥450. PyonPyonsa A popular reimen and yakiniku chain found all over the city—there’s even one in Tokyo’s Ginza. The

large flagship in Inaricho on the outskirts of Morioka has private rooms. pyonpyonsya.co.jp; mains from ¥1,100. Shokudoen The reimen at this 64-year-old traditional restaurant is flavorful and fresh: the noodles cooked

to order and the kimchi made according to the season. Grill a side of yakiniku barbecue to complete your meal. 1-8-2 Odori, Morioka; 81-19/6514590; mains from ¥900. DO Morioka Handi-Works Square Learn about Iwate's traditions at 15 different craft workshops that teach visitors how to make local products such as reimen, senbei rice crackers and traditional ceramics. tezukurimura. com/main; classes ¥1,400.

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/ six dishes / Shan you yi mian (eel noodles)

A mix of yi mien (egg noodles), cabbage, garlic, onion and chunks of fried eel, this thick, sweet and tangy soup is a Tainan roadside classic. The stall on the corner of Guohua Street has been serving it for more than 40 years—order the stir-fried version if goopy soup is not your thing. 46, Section 3, Guohua St.; mains from NT$80.

Grazing Tainan

While Taipei offers a beginners’ guide to Taiwanese cuisine, serious foodies should head further south, to culinary capital Tainan—the birthplace of some of the country’s most popular dishes. Here, we seek out six quintessential local eats in this coastal food hub.

Wa gui (savory rice pudding) While this wobbly, brown dish won’t win anyone over with its looks, wa gui is a surprisingly toothsome snack. Made from rice flour, pork and shrimp, and topped with thick soy sauce, it’s served in the same bowl as it is steamed in. Traditionally eaten with a small wooden paddle (good luck with that), add some garlic or wasabi for extra flavor. One Good Pin draws long queues. 177, Section 3, Guohua St.; mains from NT$30.

Story and photogr aphs by Chris Schalk x

Migao (glutinous rice cake) While called a cake, this classic dish more closely resembles the ubiquitous Taiwanese lu rou fan (braised pork rice), but swaps out steamed rice for the sticky kind. Along with soy-braised pork, the Tainanese version is also topped with fish floss, cucumber slices and boiled peanuts. Visit Shui Xian Gong Migao near the Shui Xian temple, where constant crowds wait for one of their hearty bowls. 48, Section 3, Guohua St.; mains from NT$25.

Market Meals Yongle Market Part–wet market, part-food court, Yongle Market and the shophouse restaurants on adjoining Guohua Street attract diners from breakfast to dinner. Locals arrive as early as 5 a.m. for a pre-work breakfast, and tourists take over around noon for some of the city’s most famous eats. It gets busy, but the popiah-like spring rolls at Jin De and the gua bao (Taiwanese hamburger) at A Song are worth the wait. Sec. 3, Guohua St.; open 5 a.m.–10 p.m.

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Hua Yuan Night Market This is Taiwan’s biggest night market, so you’ll be spoiled for choice among the 400 vendors who hawk their food here. Seek out A San Ge Ke for their crispy oyster omelets and follow your nose to Jie Chan Xiao Pu for stinky tofu fermented in black tea (it tastes better than it smells). Locals and tourists visit in huge numbers, so arrive around 6 p.m. to beat the crowds. Sec. 3, Hai-an Rd.; open Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 5 p.m.–1 a.m.

r i g h t: Dr e a m s t i m e . c o m

Tainan’s famed night markets make ideal grazing strips—here are some of the city’s best.

Ba bao bing (eight treasure shaved ice) Tainan’s ferociously hot summers call for something cooling—bao bing (shaved ice) does just that. You’ll often find it topped with fresh fruits, but the city’s signature style comes piled with “eight treasures,” including peanuts, red and green beans, mochi and brown sugar. Bing Xiang is a city-wide favorite known for serving up generous portions. 160, Section 1, Minsheng Rd.; mains from NT$50.

Shi mu yu zhou (milkfish congee) This popular breakfast dish is composed of tender milkfish, fresh oysters and briny rice porridge. Order a bowl with crispy youtiao breadsticks, and a side of deepfried fish intestines if you’re an adventurous eater. Ah Hang uses only freshly caught fish, making it a local favorite. 704 Gongyuan South Rd.; mains from NT$70.

l e f t: fa c e b o o k . c o m /j i e . M e n t o r 14

Guan cai ban (coffin toast) Said to have been created by second-generation shophouse Chikan Eatery in the 1950s to satisfy U.S. Army personnel stationed nearby, guan cai ban is a thick slab of deep-fried bread, hollowed out to resemble a coffin, and filled with sweet and creamy seafood chowder. 180 Zhongzheng Rd.; mains from NT$60.

Da Dong Night Market Set on a huge parking lot in the east of the city, Da Dong offers a never-ending array of eating options, as well as clothing, electronics, toys and carnival games. A fail-safe strategy to scout out the best snacks? Just join the longest queues. Pork out on the fried salty short ribs at Shan Pin, or line up at Gu Duo Mee Sua for their famed gooey oyster vermicelli soup. Sec. 1, Linsen Rd.; open Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, 6 p.m.–1 a.m.

Wusheng Night Market As Dadong and Hua Yuan markets attract the biggest crowds, smaller Wusheng, one of the city’s oldest, remains delightfully local. Foodie favorites include guai shu shu, the Taiwanese sticky rice pork sausage found at Zheng’s Sausages, and the sweet eggshaped pancakes at Lao Zheng Pai that can be ordered with custard or red-bean fillings. 42, Lane 69, Wusheng Rd.; open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 6:30 p.m.–1:30 a.m.

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/ wellness /

Life Lessons In the hills of Nusa Dua, a new wellness retreat, Revivo, is a break from the race that is modern living, one where the focus is on your diet, and your physical, spiritual and mental health. The idea, writes Christopher Kucway, is to take the ideals away as souvenirs to last a lifetime.

FROM top:

t o p : c o u r t e s y o f r e v i v o . c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way ( 5 )

At Revivo, the aim is to try new things to benefit your health; vivid colors and textures of a “rolling root salad.” opposite: The resort’s yoga studio awaits.

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Nutritionist Alethea Scaparros holds a moistened almond aloft, explaining how and why we’re going to savor eating this solitary nut for the next five minutes. It’s her unorthodox intro to what she calls “vital cuisine.” As a wellness consultant, this vivacious Spaniard who loves Bali and prefers to go by Aliwala, a name picked up along the way, she’s joined our intimate group for part of our three-day spell at Revivo, a 16-villa retreat in the quiet hills of Nusa Dua, well away from the massive resorts that line the coast here. But more about that almond. “If you take your time with food,” Aliwala points out, “you will need less food.” Simple in theory, yet not always my most prominent thought. Each of us holds the almond in our mouths. We peel the skin off with our teeth. Noting the rippled texture on the outside of the nut, we crack it in half to compare it with the inside’s smooth sheen. Then, ever so slowly, we chew. I detect some bitterness, notice the fibrous nature of the nut, then fret that all our meals will be this… minimalist? Strictly speaking, this three-day retreat is meant to help us discover the power of the mind to create beneficial life changes. For most, that means finding work/life balances. Initially, it all sounds overly touchy-feely, but things quickly evolve to the practical. That said, at first glance, my schedule reads like an itinerary in a foreign tongue. I’m not quite sure about any of the varied forms of yoga, some of which I can’t even pronounce, and Cadillac Pilates sounds like it will induce car-accident pains to muscles I never knew I had. As for the food, my knee-jerk reaction is that the portions will be miniscule, bland and otherwise unintelligible. What exactly is the difference between a “pure fulfillment salad” and a “rolling root salad?” Yet, in part I’m here to avoid knee-jerk judgments and I’m well aware that one of the best things about my job is that I never stop learning. Taken one step at a time, it all starts to fall into place even if I’m not up to the more intricate moves in our Asthanga yoga session. Like Leonard Cohen, I ache in the places I used to play. So, while I don’t realize it, during my stay I’ll learn, among other things, how to breathe and open my heart to let out the negative; why I really shouldn’t be eating pistachios even though I love them; and the obvious difference between a jamu and kombucha shot.

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/ wellness /

Revivo’s intimate setting is dotted with tranquil corners.

“It’s always good to try new things that may benefit your health,” points out Kathy Cook, a Revivo health and wellness coach. “The truth is we all must come to health on our own.” Try, experiment, see the effects, is her advice at our one-on-one intro session. We’re each given a detailed journal—with sections on face-mapping, as well as food and activities for the various blood types—to monitor our goals and progress. I go in knowing that, while active and younger than my age (some would say not acting my age), I could stand to lose some weight. The bodycomposition analyzer fills in specific details about my fat-, muscle- and bone mass; my basal metabolic rate—literally the amount of energy the body requires to function; and my metabolic age. I’m chuffed at that last one, coming in 16 years younger than my actual age, though fret about how I’m ever going to lose five or, shudder, even seven kilos. Each day begins at 7.30 a.m., with a trio of shots from room service: warm water with lemon and a pinch of salt; kombucha; and jamu, a mix of ginger, turmeric and coconut oil. The first morning, it all goes down a bit weird. By the next, I’m thinking this is something I should do every day.

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We’re all at different levels when it comes to yoga or Pilates, and after the shots I’m with a group of women who seemingly perform yoga poses while waiting in bank queues. They know their Vinyasa from their Asthanga, and that spurs my curiosity. Once we leave Bali, Kathy will put me in touch with a yoga studio in Bangkok and, as luck would have it, close to where I live. No excuses now. Following an hour of Pranayama meditation, where I learn to breathe again, I head for an aromatherapy massage and am impressed that the masseuse notices tightness in my legs and, more specifically, at the backs of my ankles. I’ve just returned from a cycling break in France’s Maritime Alps and, with close to 6,000 meters of climbing in my legs, wish the hour-long session was twice that. I’m late to that Cadillac Pilates class, so once it’s my go on what looks like a modern torture device, I’ve missed the instructions and end up doing 40 reps instead of the required 20, something I’ll feel in my in-needof-work core two days later. Once our Pilates session is done, it’s off to something called Primordial Sound Meditation. This I have to experience. I’m not entirely sure I understand it all but the end game of inner calm is >>

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF THE PERFORMING ARTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

September 12 - October 18, 2018

ORCHESTRATING THE GREATEST SHOW IN THAILAND Operas • Ballets • Dance • Symphony Concerts • Musicals

TICKETS FOR ALL PROGRAMMES ON SALE NOW For details CLICK

www.bangkokfestivals.com Venue: Thailand Cultural Centre, Bangkok Nutcracker Classical Ballet in 2 acts Moscow State Classical Ballet

Hotline 02 262 3191 (24 hrs) www.thaiticketmajor.com

/ wellness / relatable. It reminds me of mornings when I wake, don’t switch on my phone or tablet, don’t slide Chopin, Muddy Waters or Springsteen onto the turntable, but simply enjoy the quiet for 15 minutes until daily life breaks loose like a slow green light in Bangkok traffic.

FROM left:

Meet me by the pool; warm smiles and first names only, please.

If color is anything to go by, then any worries about dining well evaporate. My meal—each of us is offered a specially designed menu—consists of a root salad and plate of fish that is as tasty as it is vibrant. After a meal or two, Aliwala’s goal of showing how delicious and fulfilling healthy food can be to eat is reached. Each of the dishes isn’t overly complicated, and the biggest problem might be finding these exact ingredients at home. The idea is that there is something available for everyone, blending the ingredients and cooking methods from a variety of cultures. Overall, the tone of the menu is clean. “Our body is not designed to handle the chemicals that we are introduced to on a daily basis,” Aliwala points out. “Once we break from the

The simple goal of showing how delicious and fulfilling healthy food can be is reached. Each of the dishes isn’t overly complicated

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constant input of toxins, our body will relax and start regenerating.” Lunches and dinners are so filling, inevitably I forget about dessert—usually something like a cashew nut tempeh with an avocado and ginger almond milk—causing staff to hunt me down later with the dish. “One of the benefits of our programs is you can come in at your level of wellness and from there take on new ideas and disciplines,” Kathy tells me. “We don’t force you to do anything, but do suggest, based on your goals, particular recommendations.” So even Aliwala, the nutritionist, she of the 90-percent plant-based diet, isn’t superhuman? She’s the first to shoot down that claim: “The day I drink a glass of wine is the day I really enjoy that glass of wine.” Still, I can’t take everything about this break to heart. My blood type suggests Pilates, tai chi and walking as suitable activities—and not cycling! Turns out, there is no single road map for any of us. The retreat aims to have you learn more about yourself, about your body and mind, and to set your own goals, no matter how big or small. That much I can do. revivoresorts.com; Emotional Balance and Mind Training Retreat, from US$3,491 for five nights single occupancy.

In the Family

From a Spanish culinary heir to a passionate pastry whiz, these next-gen chefs are giving Singapore a modern spin on their ancestral food.

By Grace Ma Following in the footsteps of giants is never an easy task, all the more in the unforgiving world of dining, where first impressions rarely change and dish comparisons are inevitable. Fueled by passion and undaunted by challenges, these young chefs have been inspired to join the kitchens of the generations before them and share their families’ food in their own ways.

above from left:

Forest’s Textures of Sesame; Fulvio Manini's squid-ink tagliolini with clams; stuffed baby squid, a Catalan classic at Restaurant Gaig.

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This year, 25-year-old Joe Leong finally joined his parents behind the pass of their Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant, Forest. While many chefs struggle to find familial successors, surprisingly, Joe’s father, celebrity chef Sam Leong, initially objected to his son’s intention to follow his career path. Sam and his wife, the Thaiborn chef also named Forest, Joe Leong suggested that their son try Forest desserts instead. After training under some of Singapore’s best, including sweets queen Janice Wong, Joe took charge of the pastry kitchen at envelope-pushing Tippling Club in 2016. This January, Joe became Forest’s junior sous chef, creating Chinese desserts for his parents’ menu. So far, the young chef has displayed a modern style while staying close to his roots: classic black sesame dessert is reinvented as “Textures of Sesame,” a hot black-lava cake, crumble and ice cream; Italian panna cotta becomes a tofu version, flavored with ginger and orange; and the classic egg tart gets a modern twist with local-obsession salted egg custard. “Finding the right ingredients is a challenge,” Joe says. “I hope to creatively use the techniques I’ve learned over the years to showcase Chinese ingredients.” rwsentosa. com; mains from S$30, five-course set menu from S$138.

c l o c k w i s e fr o m t o p l e f t: c o u r t e s y o f R e s o r t s W o r l d S e n t o s a ; c o u r t e s y o f c a s a m a n i n i ; c o u r t e s y o f g a i g r e s ta u r a n t ( 2 ) ; c o u r t e s y o f c a s a m a n i n i ; c o u r t e s y o f R e s o r t s W o r l d S e n t o s a

/ trending /

While his years working in the luxury watch industry were satisfying for Fulvio Manini, the Italian only felt truly in his element when cooking for friends and family in his Singapore home. Inspired by his grandparents, who had run Ristorante Manini in the Italian town of Bergamo in the early 1900s, and by watching his mother prepare simple Fulvio Manini hearty dishes at home, Fulvio Casa Manini finally opened Casa Manini in February. The cozy 45-seater restaurant in leafy Serangoon Gardens in Singapore’s northeast is a tribute to his family. The layout is a mini replica of the Maninis’ home, decorated with treasured family heirlooms, lush botanicals and pretty seaside murals. Among the inherited recipes Fulvio has refined and put on his menu are rigatoni in a richly braised Wagyu sauce, which he simmers for four hours, and a perfectly baked lasagna with drizzles of light béchamel. Fulvio says he has no Michelin aspirations, only a dedication to deliver home-style cooking in a setting that triggers happy memories: “It’s like your mother’s cooking. You don’t get sick of it.” At the rate we are polishing off our plates, his mama—and nonna—would surely be proud. fb.com/fifimanini; mains from S$20.

Nuria Gibert has Catalan cuisine in her DNA. Her father is revered chef Carles Gaig, the fourth-generation owner of 149-year-old Restaurant Gaig, a Michelin-starred Barcelona institution. Consulting on the menu for Singapore-based Spanish restaurant La Ventana first brought the pair to the city-state, but their affection for the cosmopolitan foodie scene Nuria Gibert convinced them to stay and Restaurant Gaig establish a Gaig outpost. While dad’s original in Spain is a refined, white-tablecloth affair, Nuria’s Singapore sibling is a more relaxed hole-in-the-wall in the heart of the bustling CBD. Nuria hopes to transport Singaporeans to Catalonia with her family’s classic recipes, such as their signature Barcelona-style cannelloni stuffed with roast meats and drenched in a truffle sauce, or their squid-ink fideuà, a paella-style pan of seafood and pasta. “Everyone is very open-minded to try new flavors,” Nuria says, adding that her main challenge is the locals’ low tolerance for salt, which is heavily used in Spanish cooking. Dish in point: Nuria’s fideuà, which she had judged to have crossed over to the sweet side, while I found the salt level to be just right. Well, family is all about compromise. fb.com/gaigsingapore; mains from S$29, set lunch menu from S$38.

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/ drinks /

something’s brewing The hot height of summer calls for lazy days, barbecuing, and kicking back with some of our favorite craft beers from around the region.

1. Vietnam: Heart of Darkness, “Kurtz’s Insane IPA.” 2. Australia and Thailand: The Brewing Project in collaboration with Nomad Brewing Co., “Whale Pale Ale.” 3. Hong Kong: Young Master Brewery, “Classic Pale Ale.” 4. New Zealand: Behemoth, "6 Foot 5" American-style IPA. 5. Cambodia: Rosewood Phnom Penh, IPA. 6. Japan: Far Yeast Brewing Company, “Tokyo Blonde.” 7. Philippines: Crazy Carabao Brewing Co., “Tarsier” wheat beer.

Photogr aph by Thanet K aewduagdee

5 2

6 7

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/ cruise /

A Dream Ticket

The sparkling seas of Okinawa are calling—a sail around the Japanese archipelago will make an intriguing summer sojourn that cruises off the beaten path. Plus: Three other small ship journeys

fr o m t o p : I p p e i N a o i / g e t t y i m a g e s ; c o u r t e s y o f k u d a n i l e x p l o r e r

Japan’s tropical isl ands are postcardperfect, and best explored from the water. To celebrate summer, Dream Cruises will set sail on a five-night Okinawa Discovery tour, which travels from Hong Kong and Guangzhou to this cluster of white-sand islands in a coral-dotted ocean. With stops in Naha and Miyakojima, this little-visited side of Japan is perfect for exploring from the comfort of your own ship. In Naha, be sure to visit Shuri Castle, which dates back to the 15th century and today, in its reconstructed form, has been declared a unesco World Heritage Site. The eastern cape of Miyakojima, with rugged limestone cliffs dropping off into the sea, is known as one of the most beautiful settings in Japan. The island is also famous for its own version of soba and its sugar-cane plantations producing brown sugar. dreamcruiseline.com; from HK$13,340 per person; cruises depart weekly until November 25.

Scenic Okinawa.

More Ocean Adventures During October and November, the Kudanil Explorer

offers several weeklong sailings in the Spice Islands out of Ambon. The

sturdy, eight-berth, 16-passenger ship is prepped for any eventuality in the furthest reaches of the Indonesian archipelago, but

with five-star accoutrements including a staff of 21, staterooms befitting a fivestar hotel and even a Jacuzzi. kudanil. Aboard the Kudanil Explorer.

com; from US$1,000 per person per night. +

Set to sail in December is True North Adventure Cruises’ The Mystery of Melanesia, a

10-night journey that starts with a flight out of Cairns to Alotau in Papua New Guinea. The cruise takes in the mysterious Trobriand Islands

before sailing to Bougainville across the Coral Sea. Snorkel over World War II wrecks, and get a bird’s-eye view of the seascape with opportunities to explore by helicopter. truenorth.com.au; from A$20,995 per person. +

For a true dose of intimacy—just you and your loved one

catered to by an eight-person crew—glide along the Ganges on the one-bedroom wooden ship Nauka Vilas that will launch this year. The teakwood floor bedroom comes with Victorian furnishings and modern comforts. exoticheritage group.com; prices not yet set; cruises start in September.

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/ behind the scenes /

With a vast and ever-growing collection, exactly how does Singapore’s National Gallery choose artwork for its shows? Of course, there’s currently an exhibit on to explain just that.

clockwise from top: Works by

Indonesia’s Affandi and Navin Rawanchaikul, from Thailand; assistant curator Jennifer K.Y. Lam with a Chuah Thean Teng selfportrait; work from Loke Wan Tho.

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c l o c k w i s e fr o m t o p : c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way; c o u r t e s y o f N at i o n a l G a l l e r y S i n g a p o r e ; c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way; c o u r t e s y o f N at i o n a l G a l l e r y S i n g a p o r e

Frame by Frame

the National Gallery Singapore has etched its place on Asia’s art map already. The marriage of the city’s former supreme court and city hall with modern architectural touches is a design triumph that makes an appealing canvas on which to display masterpieces from across the region and the generations. But how, with more than 8,600 artworks in its collection, does the gallery choose what the public gets to see? (Re)collect, The Making of Our Art Collection, which is on until August 19, aims to answer just that question. The 120 works on exhibit, including both recent acquisitions and pieces that have never been shown before, act as a guide to the changing landscape of Southeast Asian art—an evolution that informs every decision of what to hang on the walls. As part of a four-person team that spent a year-and-a-half setting up (Re)collect, assistant curator Jennifer K.Y. Lam is the first to admit that this, like all shows, was a gargantuan task. While 70 percent of the gallery’s total collection is from Singapore, the rest of Southeast Asia also figures into the equation. “We’re not just looking at a piece of art, but at a reflection of ourselves,” Lam explains. Naturally, then, the beloved postImpressionistic painter Georgette Chen, a driving force behind the visual arts in Singapore, might spring to mind, but the curators also highlight the influence and importance of underappreciated artists such as Chuah Thean Teng, a Malaysian specialist in batik. Tribute of course must be paid to Singapore’s multicultural nature. Says Lam: “A lot of our artists came from China and brought their medium and methods with them.” Think photographs incorporating the empty space found in scrolls of Chinese calligraphy. The exhibit, after all, does aim to surprise. nationalgallery.sg; tickets from S$20. — Christopher Kucway

Not yet three ye ars old,

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High above Kuala Lumpurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vibrant cityscape, Troika Sky Dining is an oasis we visit every time we are in town. Three great restaurants and two bars offer just about everything a traveller needs and there is a clear danger one might never leave.

Cantaloupe is the flagship of the triumvirate of restaurants. Fine dining that is elegant, yet casual. The inventive modern menu changes regularly and is clearly produce-driven.

We love Strato for its uncomplicated ways and rustic welcome. Serving the best handmade pastas and pizzas in town, it is definitely our go-to place for delicious Italian comfort food.

We usually start or end our evenings at one of the two bars: Coppersmith for artisanal cocktails or Claret for some interesting wines. You will never be thirsty at Troika Sky Dining.

When we are in the mood for a party, we head to Fuego. The mezcal cocktails, the open air, the South Americanâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; inspired food, the animated talk... it all conspires to create a good time! Remember to start with the guacamole and do not leave without trying the best churros ever.

Level 23A, Tower B, The Troika, 19 Persiaran KLCC, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. | TEL: +603 2162 0886 | W: www.troikaskydining.com

/ after hours / Drink Your Way Home Asian-inspired adult beverages are hitting prime time. And they’re elevating non-alcoholic drinks along the way. You can chart a direct line from the invention of the pho cocktail in 2012, which won Pham Tien Tiep the Diageo World Class best bartender in Vietnam title, to the rave-garnering Hainanese chicken rice cocktail at the new, foodiefocused Amrith bar in Singapore. Mixologists in Asia have been looking to their own heritage for libation inspiration, and the resulting concoctions—say, Noodle Soup at The Ritz Bar and Lounge in Shanghai, or Chedi Club Tanah Gajah’s new menu blooming with their garden’s Balinese herbs—would've raised our eyebrows in the past, but now have our palates primed. And as the creativity flows, so does the complexity of what used to be called mocktails. Here are great new cultural-deep-dive drinks menus in the region, plus (reluctant) picks for our teetotaler pals. — Jeninne Lee-St. John

Yomogi.

Million Dollar Fee.

The Bamboo Bar

Duddell’s

Origin Bar

Bangkok

Hong Kong

Singapore

It’s fitting that an icon of old-world Thailand would want to distill its roots into a glass. The Bamboo Bar’s new menu, “Compass,” perambulates around the country, taking in the signature flavors and recipes of each region. Keeping things locavore, it also uses many domestically made liquors, such as Phraya and Chalong Bay rums and Iron Balls gin. Get the Mortar, inspired by the som tam of Khon Kaen—made with a mortar and pestle—it has vodka, papaya and chili, plus clarified tomato and palm sugar. Convince yourself you’re drinking healthy with the turmeric and ginger (and rum) -inflected Hang Lay from northerly Chiang Rai. “Alcohol-free” pick: the Plantation from southern Trang has mango, coconut flower, cinnamon and fresh-pressed banana juice (which, if we’re being honest, was smooth like pie with an added shot of rum).

A wise bartender once told me that everyone’s a poet after six drinks. The new “Harmony” menu at Duddell’s aims to make philosophers of us all, using recipes informed by Eastern wisdom and proverbs. Nature and the cycle of life are the themes here: one category of drinks is made with memory-evoking flavors to act as alcoholic madeleines for the seasons; the richer, sweeter section of nightcaps hopes “to capture the essence of impermanence.” Of course, dusk is also a time of change, and within the aperitif section meant to feel like sunlight filtering through trees, we pick the highball Yomogi, with gentle, mostly Japanese ingredients—Ichiro’s malt, yomogi shochu, red shiso. “Soft cocktails” pick: the Masala Chai Kombucha gives a caffeine and a superfood kick, but you can’t really get lost with a menu based on forest bathing.

Take a stroll around Singapore without leaving your stool at this new bar. Based on the histories of five city ’hoods, the menu is like a time-machine travelogue. Recipes in “Orchard” tell of the shopping road’s rural plantation past; “Boat Quay” explores the diversity of a bustling port; the theme of “Marina Bay” is futuristic and imaginative. “Chinatown” overflows with feel-good TCM remedies: chrysanthemum in the Safari Tea boosts vision, cooling and detoxing (just tell that to the whisky it’s mixed with). But it’s the Million Dollar Fee in spice-driven “Little India” that has us atizzy. Coconut distillate with saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, and champagne? Glamour of historic levels. “0% Proof” pick: the cold-brew coffee, chocolate and wild berry marmalade in Not Going to Sleep make a delish interlude before forging on into the night.

mandarinoriental.com/bangkok; Compass cocktails Bt420, alcohol-free drinks Bt250.

duddells.co; Harmony cocktails from HK$150, soft cocktails from HK$115.

shangri-la.com/singapore; Origin cocktails from S$22, 0% Proof drinks S$14.

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fr o m l e f t : c o u rt esy o f T h e Ba m b o o Ba r ; c o u rt esy o f d u d d e l l ' s ; c o u rt esy o f o r i g i n ba r

Plantation.

/ the place /

c o u r t e s y o f S t. L o u i s U n i o n S tat i o n H o t e l , C u r i o C o l l e c t i o n b y H i lt o n ( 2 )

The New Spirit of St. Louis The Midwestern city is one of America’s most overlooked yet vibrant destinations, distinguished by its hospitality, embrace of the arts, and picturesque spot on the mighty Mississippi River. Right now, St. Louis is in the midst of a growth surge, with new hotels, an increasingly global restaurant scene, and reborn cultural institutions offering more reasons than ever to visit.

The historic St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton. above: The Grand Hall’s golden archways form the lobby of the restored St. Louis Union Station Hotel.

A Relic Reinvented

After St. Louis’s opulent Union Station debuted in 1894, it served for almost 60 years as one of the country’s busiest railroad terminals, with up to 100,000 passengers rushing through its gold-leafed Grand Hall every day. In the 1980s, the space morphed into a shopping and dining hub. After a US$40 million renovation, the National Historic Landmark building was converted into the 539-room St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton

(curiocollection3.hilton.com; doubles from US$229). Now the hotel’s lobby and lounge space, the Grand Hall is still a popular meeting place, where visitors can sample local microbrews and seasonal small plates. Its ornate 20-meter-high ceiling and extensive mosaics draw eyes during the day and serve as a backdrop for the hotel’s 3-D light show at night. Over the next few years, visitors will notice more of the city’s iconic buildings reemerging as boutique hotels— the Angad Arts Hotel takes over the former Missouri Theatre in the fall, and the Last Hotel moves into a shoe manufacturer’s former headquarters in spring 2019. — Sar ah Bruning >>

t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m / j u ly 2 0 1 8

/ the place / America’s Next Great Food City? Promising upstarts point to a cosmopolitan dining scene that pushes far beyond grilled meat.

American food lovers owe St. Louis a debt of gratitude. After all, the city introduced the world to restaurateur Danny Meyer and, by extension, his growing hamburger empire, Shake Shack. But that’s only one reason to care about the culinary scene in St. Louis. Now young chefs are shaking up the local dining scene, too. + Michael Gallina, chef de cuisine of New York’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns who brought an infusion of culinary cred to his hometown when he

ta k e i t fr o m a l o c a l

da n n y m e y e r r e s ta ur at e ur

“My perfect St. Louis day would include strolling through the Central West End shopping area, then walking along Portland Place and Westmoreland Place, with their dozens of gorgeous Gilded Age mansions.”

The Urban Wild Recreation areas in Greater St. Louis have always been so scattered that outsiders opted for the easy-to-access Forest Park, an urban jewel. But that is changing because of the Great Rivers Greenway (greatriversgreenway.org), a 15-year-old project to create a 965-kilometer network of green spaces, with trails where visitors can hike, bike, and immerse themselves in nature without leaving the city limits. This month, new sections of Fee Fee Greenway in Maryland Heights and Gravois Greenway in Grantwood Village join the fold. — Lil a Bat tis

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moved back in 2015, opened Vicia last year (viciarestaurant. com; mains US$12– US$16). His vegdriven dishes, like tacos that use paper-thin kohlrabi slices in place of tortillas, feel almost subversive in a city once known mostly for its barbecue. + Also in 2017, Qui Tran, whose family opened Mai Lee, the city’s first Vietnamese restaurant, in 1985, debuted his own offshoot, Nudo House (nudohouse stl.com; mains US$6–US$13), which merges Vietnamese

traditions with Japanese, American and European ideas. One particularly delicious example of cross-cultural ingenuity, the bánh mì pho dip, finds the sweet spot between the Vietnamese sandwich and a French dip. + The Bosnian population, the largest outside Europe, is represented by Loryn and Edo Nalic’s Balkan Treat Box (balkantreatbox. com), a roving truck with a wood-burning oven that draws a lunchtime crowd. Try the oblong pide bread topped with

ground beef or cheese, served with tangy ajvar, a redpepper paste. + Of course, a city famous for its frozen custard and pork steaks still has room for a taste of Americana. That’s where chef Rick Lewis comes in. His new counter-service spot Grace Meat + Three (stlgrace.com; mains US$6–US$28) earns its devoted following thanks to showstoppers like a super-moist turkey leg brined in sweet tea, confited, and topped with a bright, herby sauce. — Jordana Rothman

From the Grounds Up After a five-year, US$380 million renovation, the revitalized Gateway Arch National Park (archpark.org) made its official debut this month. Once divided by a tangle of freeways and parking structures, the district around Eero Saarinen’s soaring monument has been reimagined with a landscaped park spanning the interstate and kilometers of new paths leading downtown. The overhauled Museum at the Gateway Arch has 4,180 added square meters for programming and interactive displays, plus a glass foyerthat looks out to the city. — Hannah Walhout

fr o m t o p : Gr e g R a n n e l l s / c o u r t e s y o f v i c i a ; B e n G a b b e / G e t t y Im a g e s ; veni/get t y images.

The pastries at Vicia make use of whole-grains.

A Day of Culture

Rooftop fun at City Museum.

fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f c i t y m u s e u m ; J a s o n L aV e r i s / F i l m M a g i c / G e t t y i m a g e s . i l l u s t r at i o n s b y t u g r i c e

Navigating the City Museum with Kids This 17,000-square-meter fun house (citymuseum.org) includes such oddball attractions as an indoor tree house, a giant ball pit, and a human-size hamster wheel—all made with reclaimed objects like boiler tanks and old Hostess Twinkie pans. We asked executive director Rick Erwin to name three areas no family should miss. — Siobhan Reid ■ MonstroCity Comprising slides, a suspension bridge, and airplane fuselages, this outdoor installation serves as a kind of postapocalyptic jungle gym. Thrillseeking youngsters will flock to a steel tunnel suspended 15 meters in the air. ■ The Roof Here you’ll discover a 9-meter Ferris

wheel, three slides (one three stories high), and a school bus that cantilevers out over the building’s edge. In the summer, the café serves tacos, nachos, and, for of-age chaperones, cocktails. ■ Spiral slide In the middle of the 20th century, when the building housed an International

Shoe Company factory, workers sent their wares down a network of winding shafts that led to the loading docks. These chutes have been transformed into a dizzying spiral slide that runs from the 10th floor all the way down to the basement. Erwin advises wearing jogging pants for maximum speed.

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ellie kemper actor, unbreakable kimmy schmidt

“On my ideal St. Louis day, I’d wake up early and eat half a pound of our legendary toasted ravioli from Schnucks, followed by a nice, long run in Forest Park and a movie at the Tivoli.”

Curtis Sittenfeld, St. Louis resident and author of the best-selling novel Prep and the just-released You Think It, I’ll Say It, plots out four places to hang between meals.

9 A.M. Kaldi’s Coffee With six outposts around town, these bright, modern cafés fuel the community with drinks made from sustainably sourced beans. (Also on the menu: gooey butter cake—a dense, caramelized regional confection.) Roastery tours run every Friday. kaldiscoffee.com. 11 A.M. Left Bank Books This indie shop hosts literary events with native rising stars (Amy Spalding) and nationally acclaimed novelists (Junot Díaz). Sittenfeld appreciates the staff’s “personal touch.” left-bank.com.

2 p.m. Forest Park A choice spot for warm-weather peoplewatching, the urban escape contains the city’s art and history museums, science center, and zoo. It’s also home to the Muny, the municipal amphitheater, which is currently celebrating its 100th season with Gypsy and six other Broadway shows. forestparkforever.org.

7 P.M. The Pageant Comedians and musicians take the stage at this popular concert venue. Score prime seats by grabbing a preshow drink at the adjacent lounge, Halo Bar, which grants early admission to the first 150 people at most performances. thepageant.com.

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t r av e l s m a rt e r

Street Eats From the steamy streets of Bangkok to the higgledy-piggledy alleyways of Hanoi to the rambunctious hawker centers of Singapore, Southeast Asia is acclaimed for having the finest street food on the planet. Overflowing with flavor, steeped in history and cheap as chips, it offers not only nourishment for the masses but stories of trade, migration and shifting identities. A new tour in Java teaches us about the beguiling, sometimes baffling, tastes of Indonesia, then we get a primer on some of the must-try open-air meals elsewhere in the region.

Smoky satay at Warung Ondemohen in Surabaya.

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Hungry In Java

Story and photographs by Ian Lloyd Neubauer

from left: Rawon

is a traditional beef soup with a dark black broth from East Java; Bali-based chef Will Meyrick; Yogyakarta’s markets are lined with fresh food.

to accommodate tens of millions of migrant workers, Java’s cities aren’t exactly pretty, many lack definitive centers and the traffic is a joke. But the island’s natural attractions—verdant hillsides and endless tropical beaches— haven’t yet been overexploited for tourism, and the dining scene here, both traditional and high-end, is a major draw card. Encompassing East Asian, South Asian, Arab and European, Javanese street food is fascinatingly diverse, plus it’s sold not on the street as in most Southeast Asian countries but in warungs, family-run eateries set in homes.

Hapha z ardly constructed

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And now, Indonesia-based chef Will Meyrick is determined to broaden our palates to the tastes of the most populous island in the region. Though he hails from Scotland, Will’s name is synonymous with gastronomy in his adopted home of Bali, where he operates some iconic restaurants like Mama San, a gentrified nod to Asian street food, and Sarong, a highend curry house that mirrors the interior of a sultan’s palace. Will spends weeks traveling to investigate the roots and variations of traditional foods before recalibrating them for fine diners. Will also runs street-food tours in Denpasar, Bali’s capital—and this year he’s expanding to Java with a new weeklong food and cultural excursion that takes in Surabaya, Malang and Yogyakarta, the ancient ruins of Borobudur, luxury heritage accommodation, and some of the funkiest street food on the island. I road-tested the first trip.

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cities of Southeast Asia, Surabaya in East Java is a cultural melting pot writ large. “There’s been more mixing of races and religions here than anywhere else in Indonesia—Malay, Chinese, Indian, Tamil, Dutch, Thai and Arabic,” Will says. “And because of that, it has the country’s most diverse street food.” Our first stop is Jalan Mas Mansyur, home to the descendants of Yemeni traders who sailed to Surabaya to trade spice and textiles in the early 20th century. There we visit Zaheer Ahmad, the Pakistani owner of Parata House Restaurant. “How did I end up here? It’s a long story,” he says, explaining how he hit the streets selling roti—Indian f latbread—in 2011 after his once-successful import-export business went belly up, working day and night until he saved enough dough to lease this shop. “I always loved cooking at home and

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Thailand’s internationally famous food is a tour de force for tourism, leaving an indelible mark on visitors willing to trade white linens for plastic street-side tables. But going well beyond pad Thai, this shape-shifting cuisine reveals itself in a new way nearly every time it crosses a provincial border. In the north, Thai food is defined mostly by what it’s not—five-alarm spicy—and Thailand’s mildest dishes are found in Chiang Mai and surrounding hamlets. The region’s signature item is khao soi, an egg-noodle dish where coconut milk cuts through a spiced curry broth. In the 18th and 19th centuries, ChineseMuslims from Yunnan brought a halal version of this dish to Burma via a spice trade route. Most chefs agree the addition of coconut milk came from the Burmese since khao soi is one of only a few northern dishes to use it, but some local institutions, like Chiang Mai’s family-run Khao Soi Lamduan Faham, say the coconut milk was added to appeal to wealthy Bangkok patrons. In the nation’s capital, you can find Chinese influences everywhere, starting with the woks that sizzle beside endless roadside food stalls. Ground zero for Chinese-Thai fare is Bangkok’s cacophonous

Chinatown, established in 1782 when Rama I relocated Chinese merchants from the banks of the Chao Phraya River to Yaowarat Road. Kuay tiaw noodle soup is ubiquitous and served in countless forms. Classic kuay tiaw is stringy rice noodles with a rich pork broth, springy fish balls with coriander, bean sprouts and white pepper. Other quintessential dishes fall under this umbrella: bamee (egg noodles served with roasted pork), yen ta fo (a locally loved sweet soup with red fermented tofu broth) and guay jab (rolled rice noodles with a peppery broth, pork organs and crispy pork belly). Southern Thailand loves fiery cuisine with a hearty dose of local crops, like cashews and coconuts, and an abundance of seafood. Local delights reflect the region’s immigrant communities, like Thai-Muslims, who produce cracking biryanis, spicy soups with prawns, and coconut milk curries with crab. In Phuket, street eats are inspired by the Hokkien Chinese who settled on the island, and signature dishes include Hokkien-style oyster omelets, known as o-tao, with a topping of taro and deep-fried pork rinds. Go with a pro: tasteofthailandfoodtours. org, from Bt1,950.

/ upgrade / entertaining friends with traditional Muslim food like keema (minced beef fried with onion, tomato, cinnamon, cumin and chili). “But these people are not genuine Arabs,” Zaheer says of his customers. “They’ve been here for so many generations they no longer eat their ancestors’ cuisine; if I tried to sell it to them I’d go broke again. So I do Indian food prepared the Indonesian way—it’s easier, everyone loves it and when tourists or business travelers from Pakistan or other Muslim countries walk through the door, they’re so happy. They order the nasi biryani kambing straight away. I’ll make you some now.” “What this actually is,” Will says as we share a bowl of long-grain rice f lavored with cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, coriander powder, star anise and a pinch of saffron, “is an Indonesian version of a traditional biryani. Normally the rice is half-cooked with a masala and chicken or lamb, mixed all the way through and baked, whereas this is basically rice that is stir-fried in ghee with spices. They’ve braised the lamb separately and put it on top.” Our next stop is Warung Ondemohen— Surabaya’s most famous satay joint— established in 1945 by the late Lady Wasii and now run by her daughter. Out front, two young women lay handful after handful of chicken and beef satay sticks over roaring charcoal grills to feed a never-ending procession of office workers and students who pay the equivalent of US$1.50 for a quality meal of half a dozen satay sticks, a dollop of peanut sauce and serving of rice.

TAIWAN Populated by indigenous people until the 17th century, Taiwan then spent centuries under foreign rule—mostly Chinese and Japanese, but nearly every major western country camped out there for a while. Today, the years of immigration and colonization have permeated the culture, art and cuisine of Taiwan, and the country offers an array of Chinese delights and

“Meat on a stick is the oldest form of cooking. The cavemen invented it,” Will says. “It’s also the national dish of Indonesia. The secret to this warung’s popularity is the marinade. They soak the meat in a mixture of coriander seeds, garlic, turmeric and grated coconut… and then freeze it overnight so the coconut sticks to the meat.” The condiments enliven the f lavor but the grated coconut adds a

outstanding Japanese food. One could, and should, spend an entire trip snacking on the endless regional delicacies. Here are a few great dishes not to miss. Taiwan was an essential pit stop for sea-based traders traveling to ports in China such as Fujian and Macau, as well as Japan and Manila. Much of Taiwanese food has roots in Fujian province, and immigrants and traders brought Hokkien cuisine to

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Taiwan in the 18th century. The most enduring dish from the region is the now-famous street food snack of oyster omelets, with a distinctive flavor from tapioca starch, chrysanthemum leaves and local chili. Heartier, more sustaining Chinese dishes come from the Hakka people, a migrant farming community with recipes designed to power a long day of work in the fields. Fuel up for a day of touring and exploring with a

Hakka classic like ke jia xiao chao, made with stir-fried squid, tofu, pork belly and fresh leeks. The Japanese occupation lasted from 1895 to 1945, and during that time Japanese essentials, like ramen, yams, tofu and bonito fish flakes all worked their way into mainstream Taiwanese cuisine. Today, the Japanese precision in presentation and use of high-end local ingredients is alive and well,

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From Left: The

secret to the tastiest satay: turmeric and coconut marinade; a street vendor in Yogyakarta sells, gudeg, a slow-cooked jackfruit stew.

crispy, almost caramelized texture I’ve never experienced in 12 years of travel in Indonesia. I knock back a plate and then another without dipping my satay sticks into the peanut sauce once. There’s really no need. colonial period, cool-weathered hill town Malang was where plantation masters went to escape the hustle

During Indonesia’s Dutch

and the country has a stronghold of Japanese restaurants, from sushi bars to izakaya gastropubs. For many outsiders, stinky tofu is the best-known Taiwanese dish. And it is true that, beyond the I-did-it-forthe-Instagram mentality, this deep-fried fermented bean curd represents the heart of Taiwanese cooking—which centers around fermented meats, fish and vegetables, and the use of offal. Locals

use acids, sweeteners and spice to cut through the fermentation, and toppings of vinegar, sugar and chili are common. Oh-ah mee sua is an oyster vermicelli dish that brings together pig offal, bonito flakes, chili oil, pepper, garlic and cilantro. Try both these sour-meetsfermentation dishes at the Miaokou Night Market, Taipei’s mothership food market. Go with a pro: taipeieats.com, from US$45.

and bustle of Surabaya. Many of the Yemenis who first settled in Surabaya came to Malang, too—not for the fresh air but to seek out new business opportunities. We meet one of their descendants, Abu Salim, at a small grocery overf lowing with pistachios, chickpeas and dates in Malang’s colorful Yemeni Quarter. “The best dates I have are from Saudi Arabia,” he says. “They grew in an orchard planted by the Prophet Mohamed himself.” I’m unable to challenge this enticing claim, but the sticky fruits do taste sweetly blessed. Next door is Warung Do’an, a Yemeni restaurant where customers sit cross-legged on plush red carpets and eat from knee-high tables as in the Middle East. The menu is cut from the same cloth, with items like pita bread, hummus and shakshuka—spicy eggs baked with tomato and capsicum. But the pita turns out to be fried f latbread, the hummus is out of stock and the shakshuka is a plate of scrambled eggs with diced onion and curry powder. “One way to describe it is a fusion of Indonesian street food with the memory of a recipe someone’s relatives brought here a century ago,” Will says. “Another way to describe it is overcooked eggs.” We have better luck with the nasi kebuli, which adds the sweetness of sultanas to Indonesia’s iconic nasi goreng (fried rice). Yet it’s the gulai kambing kacang hijau (braised lamb curry with soybeans and cloves) that really hits the spot—the perfect merger of Southeast Asian ingredients and Arabic spices, a multi-layered f lavorsome broth that would’ve taken hours to prepare and years to perfect.

VIETNAM Years of occupation by foreign powers created a diverse and dynamic local cuisine. To truly discover Vietnamese food is to notice Chinese, French, Indian and even Japanese elements, along with a strong local influence. Use this primer to decode the many delicious street meals. Long before the 1954 Geneva Conference split the country into two, there was a culinary line in the sand that divided Vietnam. The north has a proclivity for traditional and straightforward versions of national dishes, and the south proclaims a love for more complex flavors. For example, take the country’s most enduring culinary contribution: pho bo, a beef noodle soup popularized towards the end of the 19th century. The bone-broth soup is a mash-up of cultures, taking rice noodles from the Chinese and red meat from the French. Another Eastmeets-West nod: it’s eaten with chopsticks and a spoon. In the north, chili and lime grown by the region’s hill tribe farmers flavor the pho; in the south, Thai basil, herbs, coriander and an extra dose of chili add complexity. Vietnam’s varied topography shapes nearly every meal as well, and a tropical climate in the south fosters a year-round growing season that yields lush rice paddies and coconut groves. As a result, southern food is sweetened with coconut milk and palm sugar, and menus

include a variety of fruit-based salads and fresh herbs. Enduring cuisine from the French colonial tenure is most readily available in the south. The ubiquitous banh mi sandwich is the epitome of street food, and obvious French ingredients are the baguette, pâté and smear of mayonnaise; barbecue pork, or char siu, adds a Chinese touch. The geographical heart of the country toes the line between traditional and modern, and soups, seafood dishes and French-inspired rice-flour crepes, called banh khoai, are all available—most with a spicy kick. Cho lao is found most authentically in Hoi An, a one-time trading port that drew a host of international ships. The dish’s dense noodles are a take on Japanese udon, crispy wontons and thick cuts of pork are from China, while a topping of Vietnamese herbs keeps it local. Northern Vietnam spent centuries under Chinese occupation, and you don’t have to be a Michelin Guide inspector to taste the lasting Chinese imprint, like stir-fry dishes with heavy-handed doses of soy sauce, black peppers providing the spice factor, and a proclivity for simple, locally grown ingredients. Chili doesn’t grow well in the mountainous north, so expect mongers to dish out milder meals. Go with a pro: saigonstreeteats.com, from VND456,000.

We stay the night at Hotel Tugu Malang, a luxury property home to the largest private collection of art in all of Indonesia. Following a typical Peranakanese breakfast of sweet black kopi, laksa, fried chicken, and toast with coconut jam, we take a stroll down Malang’s wide Parisian boulevards to Warung Rawon Rampal. Established in 1957, it makes the city’s best rawon—a traditional beef black soup with lemongrass, lesser galangal, garlic, shallots and keluak nuts that give the dish its strong nutty f lavor and dark color. “Surabaya and Malang always fight over who makes the best rawon, though Surabaya’s is more watery and always served with salted duck eggs,” Will says, referring to the beef rib rawon we ate the night before at Sarkies Restaurant in Surabaya’s Hotel Majapahit—a heritage hotel built in 1910 by the famous Sarkies brothers who were also behind the Raff les in Singapore and The Strand Yangon.

/ upgrade / That meal went down swimmingly even after all the coconut-rolled satays I’d just had. But today’s rawon is too rustic for my liking: bits of sinew, bone and fat swim in the soup, while the nutty f lavor is overpowering. Will acknowledges the presentation is rudimentary. By contrast, the rawon sold at his restaurants in Bali is made from Australian Wagyu. His chefs also go to town removing all the off-cuts from the meat before compressing them into a natural gelatin that melts into the soup. “But the f lavor is the same,” he says. “That way, if a local comes in and orders it, they’ll say, This guy knows his stuff.” the only part of Indonesia still ruled by a pre-colonial Sultanate, Yogyakarta is its own administrative entity. “It has its own culture and a distinctive cuisine to match,” Will says. “The f lavors are very strong. Not spicy… just strong and earthy.”

Our first stop in “Yogya” is a warung called Gudeg Yu Djum, famous for gudeg, a signature Yogyakartan stew made using slow-cooked unripe jackfruit. Will walks me through a dimly lit, smoke-filled medieval industrial kitchen where thick-armed women use giant wooden spoons to stir big black cauldrons bubbling on charcoal f lames. Chicken, jackfruit, duck eggs and coconut husks simmer in separate pots, each filled with a red-brown palm-sugar reduction accented with garlic, shallots, candlenut, white pepper, coriander seed, galangal and bay leaves. After 12 hours on the fire, the ingredients will be served with f luffy white rice and sambal krecek, a spicy paste made from reduced beef-skin, soybeans and tempeh. Weird is probably the best way to describe the dish: it’s super sweet, stringy and pungent—not my cup of tea but fascinating nonetheless, in part because of its backstory.

from far left: Preserved salted fish in the Surabaya market; all smiles at the wet market; rawon (top left) is often served with short bean sprouts, tempeh and chili sambal.

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/ upgrade / “Ibu Djum, the lady who founded this place, started her career collecting straw to feed people’s cows,” Will says. “She used the money she made to buy a few cooking pots and a food cart and sold gudeg in the streets until she saved enough to buy this warung. Over the years she opened five more venues in Jogja. She died a few years ago but her legacy lives on. Her children and grandchildren run the empire now. “That’s what I love about Indonesian cuisine,” he continues. “Everything comes from small beginnings: home-schooled chefs

SINGAPORE & MALAYSIA To the untrained palate, Singaporean and Malaysian cuisines seem “same same but different,” but food-loving locals adamantly disagree. As a testament to how closely linked these culinary heavyweights are, tourism authorities from both countries have argued in the past over who gets to claim heritage of popular dishes. Before you proffer an opinion on who is correct, hop from one side of the Johor Strait to the other try to discover the distinctions at hawker centers

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in the region. We’ve grouped them together here for ease of comparison, not to reignite any turf wars. Thanks mostly to their geographical proximity, both cuisines are heavily influenced by Indian, Malay and Peranakan cultures, with a large Chinese stronghold. As early as the second century, Cambodian royalty created port kingdoms in the northern peninsula and opened routes with Chinese traders where the Hokkien and Teochew subgroups dominated Singapore, while the Cantonese had a large impact

who become mini-celebrities by perfecting home-style dishes that people in this country will travel hundreds of kilometers to eat.” I travel further outside my culinary comfort zone at Warung Tambak Segaran, where Will orders goat satay wrapped in goat offal. The meat is marinated in a kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) that is crawling with ants that pop and sizzle on the grill. It doesn’t taste half as bad as it sounds. It is similar to a sweet and sour pork sausage with extra-tangy barbecue sauce. Boiled lamb bones are another popular order, but I draw the line at sucking out the mucus-like marrow from the bones though all the other customers seem to be relishing it. “The whole purpose of these tours is not to fill your stomach or eat the foods you’re used to,” my guide and now friend tells me at the end of the week as we sit down to a kingly kakilima smorgasbord dinner in the colonnaded restaurant at the Amanjiwo Resort an hour’s drive north of Yogya. There are eight food carts to choose from, each serving tidy versions of traditional Javanese soups, salads, stir-fries, satay and grills made from the finest ingredients—and not a single ant in sight. “It’s about traveling to educate yourself, to feel you’ve learned something about the locals and touched their culture. Because if you go home without having learned anything new, what have you done other than temporarily escaped your life?”

in Malaysia. Collectively, these countries share a handful of can’t-miss specialties that deviate mostly in cooking techniques. Start with laksa, a many-faced soup that carries regional pride, and is most commonly found Malay-style, with a spiced gravy and a base of sweet coconut milk or sour tamarind. But such a complex dish cannot be simplified by a single origin, and street vendors pride themselves on serving a secret recipe that is unique to them. Officially, there are nearly a dozen takes on this national dish with each one adding regional elements,

JAVA

SURABAYA Yogyakarta

MALANG opposite, from left: Peeling

THE DETAILS GETTING THERE Garuda Indonesia is now offering multi-city promo fares from BangkokSurabaya-YogyakartaBangkok for US$658. The same route using Hong Kong as a base starts at US$703; use Singapore as a base from US$715. garuda-indonesia.com. WHERE TO STAY Hotel Majapahit’s suites in Surabaya are furnished with elegant period pieces. hotel-majapahit.com; doubles from US$102. Hotel Tugu Malang is set in the heart of Malang’s old town. tuguhotels.com; doubles from US$129.

such as types of spices, fish, or noodles. Hainanese chicken rice, the national dish of Singapore, arrived in the 19th century via Chinese traders from the Hainan province. This simple comfort food, like most streetfood dishes, has adapted to local taste. Singaporean chicken rice is elevated with broth made from tofu, and tamarind, a thick soy sauce and even mustard leaves, while Malaysians add boiled sprouts and hot chili. Another Chinese-inspired dish that traveled a similar route is bak chor mee or minced pork egg

D’Ombah Boutique Village Resort offers charming, wallpapered cottages in a garden. yogyakartaaccommodation. com; doubles from US$71. Amanjiwo Resort’s villas overlook the ancient temple of Borobudur. aman.com; doubles from US$700.

shallots at Surabaya’s Pabean market; dried chickpeas in the Yemeni quarter of Malang.

THE TOUR Will Meyrick’s weeklong street-food tours of Java, including Surabaya, Malang and Yogyakarta, are US$1,550 per person. Discounts apply for groups of three or more. Flights and accommodation should be booked and paid for separately. willmeyrick.com.

noodles. Oil, black vinegar, all sorts of pork—from dumplings to thick-cut slices and lard— are included, along with a hearty dollop of homemade chili sauce. Widely considered Malaysia’s national dish, nasi lemak uses coconut cream rice as a vehicle for hearty sides like deep-fried anchovies, grilled fish paste, egg, peanuts, cucumber and spicy chili sambal. Fish cakes, chicken drumsticks or curried vegetables are more Chineseinfluenced add-ons, and are found most often in Singaporean nasi lemak.

Singapore and Malaysia’s pervasive Muslim presence is represented in a street-side pancake meal called murtabak, a crepe-like dish stuffed with sweet or hearty ingredients. In the Lion City, pancakes come loaded with eggs and green onions, a familiar mashup to the country’s sizeable Chinese population. In Malaysia, the dosa-like dish’s fillings skew Indian, and it is accompanied by a spicy dipping sauce. Go with a pro: foodtourmalaysia.com, from US$31; indiesingapore. com, free.

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BEACH VIETNAM

This month, book a family adventure in Siem Reap or Penang, see Tokyo by canal, or luxuriate in a private villa in Bali or Phu Quoc.

Garden Pool villa, Fusion Resort Phu Quoc.

Fusion Resort Phu Quoc To celebrate the first anniversary of this five-star, spa-focused resort, Fusion Resort Phu Quoc is offering 35 percent off bookings in their Garden Pool villas. Included in the deal is Fusion’s “Breakfast Anywhere, Anytime” service; all-inclusive daily spa treatments; all-inclusive wellness activities, including yoga, tai chi, kayaking and cycling; return airport shuttle transfers; and daily shuttle transfers to Duong Dong town. The Deal First Anniversary Special Offer: a night in a Garden Pool villa, from US$237, through September 30. fusionresorts.com. Millennium Resort Patong Phuket Stay in the beating heart of Phuket’s entertainment district for less with this special from Millennium Resort. Book a minimum of three nights and you’ll save 20 percent on the Best Flexible Rate. Guests will also get return airport transfers; daily buffet breakfast; a three-course Thai lunch or dinner at Straits Dining Thai Restaurant for two people; 30 percent off meals at The Bistro and room service; and 50 percent off a meal at Straits Dining Thai. The Deal Indulgence Package: a night in a Superior room, from Bt4,240, through October 31. millenniumpatong.com. INDIA

SUPERSAVER The Longhouse, Bali

Enjoy the best of Bali without the crowds at The Longhouse, a six-villa boutique hotel in the hills of Jimbaran. First-time guests who book a room for three nights or more will receive a 20 percent discount, plus a poolside cocktail. The Deal Save My Room: a night in an East Java room, from US$190, through December 31. To reserve, e-mail info@thelonghousebali.com with promo code SAVEMYROOM. thelonghousebali.com.

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Alila Diwa Goa Enjoy the charm and beauty of Goa in a luxury setting at this contemporary beachside resort surrounded by lush rice paddies. The Rediscover Goa package offers 10 percent savings on the room rate; breakfast, lunch and dinner at Vivo restaurant; return airport transfers; 20 percent discount on spa services; Rs1,000 hotel credit per night stay (excluding

fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f F u s i o n r e s o r t p h u q u o c ; c o u r t e s y o f T h e l o n g h o u s e

THAILAND

alcohol, Alila Living Retail purchases and outsourced services); and Rs1,000 credit per night’s stay on Leisure Concierge destination experiences. The Deal Rediscover Goa: a night in a Terrace room, from Rs13,163, through December 31. alilahotels.com.

WELLNESS JAPAN

Palace Hotel Tokyo Stay fighting fit with this wellness package from Palace Hotel Tokyo. The deal includes two nights in a deluxe balcony room or executive suite; daily breakfast; and one 90-minute experience at Evian Spa. Guests have the option to select more health-centered activities during their stay for an additional cost: explore the city by kayak on a two-hour tour through its canals; take a private swimming session with former Japanese Olympic swimmer and Asian Games medalist Hanae Ito; or spend a peaceful two hours in a private Zen meditation session with the head monk of a 400-year-old Buddhist temple. The Deal Energizing Tokyo package: a night in a deluxe balcony room, from ¥172,000 single occupancy, through December 31. Extra activities from ¥30,000. palacehoteltokyo.com.

breakfast at The Riverside Terrace; and 24-hour personal butler service. The Deal Discover Bangkok Creative District package: two nights in a deluxe room, from Bt39,950, through September 30. mandarinoriental.com.

FAMILY

CAMBODIA

Shinta Mani Shack This three-night package from Shinta Mani Shack is packed with activities the whole family will enjoy. Guests will receive accommodation in a Pool View room; daily breakfast for two adults and one child under 11 years old; a full-day trip to see the Angkor Complex (Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm), including temple passes, Englishspeaking tour guide, private vehicle and driver; a spiritual monk blessing; a local market tour followed by a cooking class and lunch; a half-day tour to Tonle Sap Lake; a ride in a traditional ox-cart; tickets to the Phare Cambodia Acrobatic Circus for two adults and one child; a meditation experience exclusively for your family; an authentic Khmer dinner at

Kroya restaurant with a bottle of house wine; a dinner at Soul Kitchen with free flow beer and non alcoholic beverages for two hours. To make your stay more comfortable, you’ll also get return airport transfers; fast-track immigration on arrival to Siem Reap airport; and early check-in and late checkout. The Deal Family Adventure Package: three nights in a Pool View room, from US$1,035, through September 30. shintamani.com. VIETNAM

JW Marriott Emerald Bay Spend a summer vacation on the sandy shores of Phu Quoc with this five-star resort wonderland as your family’s base. This special deal offers guests accommodation in a king or twin room; breakfast for two adults and two children under 12 years old; free dining throughout the resort for children under 12; complimentary kids’ programs including yoga, Vietnamese dancing and art classes; and discounted tickets for the Phu Quoc Cable Car. The Deal Family Summer in Paradise:

a night in a twin room, from US$300, through September 30. marriott.com. MALAYSIA

DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, Penang Take in sweeping Indian Ocean views from this new resort on the north coast of Penang. With this family-focused package, the resort is offering complimentary buffet breakfast for two adults and two children; late checkout at 2 p.m.; 20 percent off food and beverages, excluding alcohol; and tickets for two adults and two children to TeddyVille, Malaysia’s first museum of toy bears that exhibits a collection from various nations and eras. With 316 rooms, the resort also offers complimentary shuttles to attractions like Batu Ferringhi and George Town; a large outdoor swimming pool; a spa and fitness center; a Kids’ Club; a children’s swimming pool with artificial beach; and direct access to the actual beach. The Deal TeddyVille Package: a night in a twin room, from RM491, through December 31. doubletree3.hilton.com.

A Pool View room, Shinta Mani Shack.

CITY

c o u r t e s y o f S h i n ta m a n i s h a c k

THAILAND

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok Explore the growing hub of art and design in Charoen Krung’s riverside Creative District on your next stay in the Thai capital. The Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok is offering a special package that includes luxurious accommodation for two nights; a private two-hour guided walking tour of the Creative District by Bangkok River Partners; afternoon tea in the iconic Mandarin Oriental Authors’ Lounge; a history tour of the hotel’s “Oriental Journey” exhibit; daily

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Kingdom of Spice

The melting pot of Kerala has been a global foodie center for thousands of years. Steering clear of the wrath of over-jealous locavores, Duncan Forgan eats his way through the spice-rich hills and coastal backwaters of the lush southwest Indian state. Photographed by A aron Joel Santos

Carefree cruising on a small canal in central Alleppey. opposite: A set thali lunch with spice-rubbed fish and several curries, at Brunton Boatyard in Fort Kochi.

t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o mâ&#x20AC;&#x2020;/ j u ly 2 0 1 8

An angry holler interrupts my afternoon stroll through the cardamom fields of east Kerala, its fearful intensity echoing around the steep valley walls.

clockwise from top left: A table

setting at the Taj Malabar in Kochi; Dr. Simon, owner of Windermere Estate, which is set among the tea fields and cardamom plantations in the hills of Munnar; a suspension bridge over the Periyar River in Kerala; spice-rubbed fish with curry leaves and lemon, grilled in a banana leaf— just your typical local manna at a small family-run restaurant in the Keralan backwaters.

“We’re not actually meant to be here,” says Anoop, my guide, glancing from the distant security guard to me with a look that lies somewhere between worry and dread. The emerald peaks that undulate around the hill town of Munnar comprise one of South India’s most beguiling tableaux. Yet while the multi-hued butterflies and equally luminescent birds that flit around the plantation could double as escapees from the Garden of Eden, the lumbering gent moving towards us at speed, scythe aloft, is more like an emissary from the gates of hell. Turning tail from the maniac overseer we make it back to our vehicle unscathed. Anoop, chastened, offers his apologies. “The local produce is of such high quality that people in Kerala tend to get over-protective,” he adds with a sheepish grin. It’s fine. This high-altitude showdown at what will be known from now on as the ‘O.K Kerala’ is about the closest thing to stress I’ll experience in the prosperous enclave labeled “God’s Own Country.” The state, which is nestled at India’s southwestern tip, lives up to its billing as an oasis of peace and sanity amid the dizzying maelstrom of the subcontinent. Nevertheless, the crazy in the cardamom patch is but an extreme example of the passions induced in Keralans when it comes to their native food culture. My first inkling of this locavore devotion came while living in Dubai, where a largely dissatisfactory year in the Middle East was partly eased by my apartment’s proximity to the Keralan restaurants in Karama—an earthy neighborhood populated largely by migrant workers from India. As it turned out, I was far from the only transplant experiencing pangs of

melancholy for home in these utilitarian curry houses under the burning Arabian sun. “This food is actually pretty average,” Subramanian, a Keralan colleague, said to me once as we took dinner in a regular haunt. “The produce and the spices are all imported and you can’t taste any joy in the preparation. To fully appreciate Keralan food, you need to go to Kerala.” Ten years and two trips later, I’ve found no reason to quibble. Kerala’s history as a key staging post for trade with European and Arab powers has bequeathed it with some of the world’s finest spices. Its rivers, 600 kilometers of Arabian Sea coastline, and paradisiacal expanses of brackish backwaters are home to myriad fresh- and saltwater delights. While north Indian food, notably the much-exported meatand-bread-heavy gastronomy of Punjab, revels in its indulgent richness, Keralan food has a freshness and lightness of touch that sets it apart. Coconut oil rather than ghee (clarified butter) often forms the base for dishes here, while popular additions such as tamarind, curry leaf and mustard seeds imbue food with more of a tang than northern creations. Throw in a tropical bounty that makes it rude not to stir ingredients such as coconut oil and milk, jackfruit and mango into the pot, and it’s easy to see why many consider this to be one of India’s most exciting cuisines. I can also attest to the fact that quintessential Keralan dishes such as ularthiyathu (beef fry) and fish molee (white fish flesh stewed with ginger, turmeric and coconut milk) taste infinitely better when sampled under a frond of coconut trees on a beach at sunset than they do around rush hour in one of Dubai’s grittier hoods. t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m / j u ly 2 0 1 8

Sunset at Fort Kochi in Kerala. opposite:

“Special” promises at an old spice market outside of Mattancherry in Fort Kochi.

‘keralan cuisine is sophisticated enough in its purest form’ 66

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These things are obvious. On this visit, though, I aim to dig a little deeper into the culinary culture of the state and discover exactly why—when it comes to sampling authentic Keralan food—it pays to go straight to the source.

The odyssey, which will take in the spice-

rich hills and the lush coastal backwaters, kicks off in Kochi, a gateway and introduction to Kerala that encompasses in its compact space a microcosm of the destination’s ancient and recent history. Ernakulum, the teeming municipality on the landward strip, is Kochi’s commercial and transport hub and its financial towers and luxury condominiums are visible signs of Kerala’s rude economic health, based on a booming service sector and remittances from overseas workers: better wages at least acting as a salve to homesick taste buds. For visiting foodies though, the mother lode is Fort Kochi, the oldest part of the city. Here, within a patchwork of churches, artsy cafes, colonial architecture and grassy palm-shaded areas hosting impromptu games of cricket, clues to the region’s gastronomic heritage are everywhere. Giant cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, enormous spider-like contraptions, on the shoreline are a legacy from the court of Kublai Khan. The old Jewish quarter of Mattancherry, meanwhile, is still an active center of the spice trade and resonates with the pungent aromas of ginger, cardamom, turmeric and cloves. A walk around the place is enough to make anyone peckish—not least a Scotsman with a fatal weakness for hearty Indian ballast. A pit stop is made at the Kayees Rahmathullah Hotel for a Kerala-style chicken biryani, a specialty from the town of Thalassery in the state’s Muslim-dominated north, that carries subtle hints of cardamom, clove and mace and is topped off with fried onions and crushed curry leaves. The day’s main event though comes a short ferry ride away in the rarefied environs of the Rice Boat, the showpiece restaurant at the swish Taj Malabar Hotel. Arguably the fanciest restaurant in the state, Rice Boat is where politicians, big-ticket draws from the thriving local movie industry and sporting celebrities come to dine. The experience more than lives up to its billing: fist-sized tiger prawns are elevated to superhero status courtesy of their tender flesh and a smoky infusion of curry leaves, garlic and ginger. A fish molee features delicate red snapper and a turmeric-tinged coconut milk gravy that could easily be bottled

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as a beverage. The food goes down especially well with a few of the restaurant’s signature Malabar Mules—a blend of vodka, Kingfisher beer, fresh ginger, lime juice and ginger ale. Yet, despite elevated presentation and a ritzy clientele, the restaurant stays true to the cuisine’s homespun tenets. Chef Thomas George trained with Gaggan Anand, the Michelin-starred Kolkata-born magus whose eponymous Bangkok venture is often cited as an example of how Indian cooks can conquer daring culinary frontiers. George, however, is not about to emulate his contemporary by conjuring molecular spheres and jellies or disguising his vegetables as meat. “Keralan cuisine is sophisticated enough in its purest form,” he laughs. “Therefore, I don’t feel inclined to change it. There are so many distinct influences and flavors. We are tremendously fortunate here to have such a varied culinary heritage. The Europeans, Chinese and Arabs brought plenty to the table. The Christians, Hindus and Muslims all have their own specialties, which are enjoyed by everybody. And the quality of the spices, the seafood and the produce means it’s easy to make delicious food.”

The elements listed by George as integral

to Keralan cuisine come into focus throughout my trip. On the winding route from Kochi to Windermere Estate—my plush plantation digs in the hills just outside Munnar—we whiz by mosques and churches and defy death as Jose, our devout Christian driver, overtakes trucks and buses bedecked in garish Hindu imagery while clutching tightly at his rosary beads. Just as obvious as its harmonious religious diversity is Kerala’s sheer abundance of natural culinary riches. We break up the journey between the hills and the backwaters with a stop at the River House. The beautiful new boutique property on the banks of the lazy Periyar River is truly magical: plush dark wood–heavy rooms in the main colonial-style villa opening out to a grove of banana trees and a gorgeous riverside sala and pool. It’s tempting to linger, but, as is so often the case here, there are gastronomic rewards awaiting in the most local of contexts. Anoop takes me to a toddy shop, the South Indian equivalent of a speakeasy. We reach the drinking den after following a steady stream of men in lungi proceeding across a rice field. While the dark, unadorned interior won’t be winning any prizes for décor, a fiery chemmeen curry made with river prawns, coconut, fenugreek and black mustard seeds earns my nomination for Indian pub

clockwise from top left: Rolling

tea fields and plantations in Munnar; a toddy tapper in Kerala climbs a palm tree to gather its fermented juices; Windermere River House on the banks of the Periyar River; a worker on a Munnar tea plantation carries cooking equipment from the fields the easy way.

A morning cricket game in Fort Kochi. above: University students get their groove on with traditional instruments at a small festival in Fort Kochi.

grub of the year. Also memorable is the shop’s toddy itself. Fermented, funky, milk-colored and a little warm, coconut palm liquor is not the world’s most refined beverage. But sourced as it is straight from the palms and delivered direct to the bar by its supplier—a heroic tree-climbing booze-entrepreneur known as a “toddytapper”—it’s certainly the freshest. More manna awaits in Alleppey, the main portal to Kerala’s famous backwaters: a luminous waterworld teeming with wildlife and dotted with agrarian communities where inhabitants till the earth and harvest the depths for a living. Most tourists experience this fabled area by chartering a kettuvallam (converted rice barge) for an overnight stay. The often-luxurious vessels keep guests fed and watered with standard (but still excellent) Keralan meals and coolers full of Kingfisher. With tight schedules to keep though, vessels don’t deviate much from a tried-and-tested route. In fact, pulling back into Alleppey port in the company of hundreds of other identical boats is the closest thing I’ve experienced to a big-city rush hour in Kerala. There’s still time though for a final locavore thrill before leaving. Heading back out on the backwaters, on a smaller boat secured for the afternoon in Alleppey, I ask the skipper to steer me to Ammus, renowned in these parts for its way with seafood—and lack of official contact information. It would be a culinary travesty to journey to this region without dining in its most famous restaurant without an address. It’s an idyllic afternoon with a soundtrack of distant birds. On my command, four gargantuan prawns still active in a plastic bag are handed over by the owner to his wife. I watch transfixed while she chops tomato, garlic and ginger at lightning speed, adds the ingredients and a pre-made masala to a flaming pan and throws in the crustaceans to broil for a few seconds in the searing inferno. As the proprietor puts the food on the table, along with a fresh bottle of toddy, an urgent whine strikes up just outside the dining area. A giant guard dog is eyeing me and my lunch furiously. Luckily, this security guard is safely chained-up and he wouldn’t be able to wield a weapon if there were one in reach. But, while I’m slurping the shrimp juice and the accompanying flavor-bomb sauce off my ever-messier hands, it occurs to me that if anyone tried to swipe this backwater banquet away, I would fight them off myself with a scythe. I now have Kerala in my soul. That’s something my old colleague Subramanian would definitely approve.

kerala

The freshness of Keralan cuisine comes from coconut oil, tropical fruits, and tangy produce, plus a bounty of fresh- and saltwater seafood, all washed over by European and Arab influences. Secret ingredient: joy.

GETTING THERE Direct flights to Kochi International Airport are available from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. HOTELS Brunton Boatyard A shipyard during British colonial days, this is now one of the most prestigious hotels in Fort Kochi, with distinguished decor and a fabulous pool. cghearth.com; doubles from US$145. Kallapurra Homestay With owner Jose offering comfortable digs as well as invaluable local advice on houseboats, cuisine and other tips, this is an impeccable base in Alleppey. kallapurahomestay. com; doubles from US$20. River and Country Houseboat One of the most respected houseboat operators in Alleppey, River and Country supply comfortable vessels and conscientious staff. riverandcountry. com; from US$150 to charter a twobedroom boat for an overnight trip. Taj Malabar Kochi On the northern tip of manmade Willingdon Island, the Taj offers colonial-inspired rooms, gorgeous views of the harbor and a fantastic outdoor pool. taj.tajhotels.com; doubles from US$115. Windermere Estate Perched at 1,600 meters on a former cardamom plantation, Windermere Estate offers beautifully realized villas and planters’ cottages: wooden floorboards

and terracotta tiles imbuing each one with a warm, homey feel. windermeremunnar. com; doubles from US$140. Windermere River House The owners of Windermere Estate have opened this fiveroom property by the banks of the Periyar River. Lush gardens and a pool are among the highlights. windermeremunnar. com; doubles from US$200. RESTAURANTS Kochi Dhe Puttu A do-notmiss in Ernakulum, dedicated to the puttu, a cylindrical breakfast staple prepared with rice flour and coconut, served alongside a multitude of delicious curries. 91-484/2807591; meal for two from US$5. Fort House Hotel Specializing in SyrianChristian cuisine, the waterfront restaurant at the Fort House Hotel is a classic culinary gem in Fort Kochi. Highlights of their seafood-heavy menu include a manga ittuvecha meen (fish mango) curry. hotelforthouse.com; 91-953/93 75431; meal for two from US$25. Kayees Rahmathullah Hotel A legendary spot for Kerala-style biryani, this humble eatery serves up hefty portions of soft, fluffy rice bursting with spice flavors, and accompanied by meat or fish. 91-484/2221234; meal for two from US$5. The Rice Boat The signature dining venue at the Taj Malabar

Resort lives up to its exalted billing with elevated takes on Kerala classics such as tiger prawns in coconut oil and a red snapper molee. taj.tajhotels. com; 91-484/6643000; meal for two from US$50. Alleppey Ammus The peaceful waterside ambience is good reason for guiding a boat to Ammus. Another is its homestyle food, encompassing fish and beef fry and crisp parotta (flaky flatbread) as well as its signature curry prawns. There’s no set address or phone number, so just ask a boatman to guide you. Meal for two from US$10. Carol Days The shack-like restaurants on the beach at Mararikulam, about 7 kilometers north of Alleppey, are all much of a muchness—no bad thing when it means excellent Keralan curries prepared with fresh fish, plenty of love and a grandstand view of the Arabian Sea. 91-984/754-1353; meal for two from US$10. Thaff Restaurant Tables at this local draw (now with four branches) are perpetually packed, indicating the value and quality of the food. Try the thali with bottomless curry refills and staples like prawn fry and karimeen pollichathu (spot fish marinated in lemon juice and chili, wrapped in plantain leaves). 91-974/6880011; meal for two from US$5.

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Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner Home to not just gaming tables, Macau has four centuries of culinary fusion up its sleeve, and the world is starting to notice. Eloise Basuki arrives with an empty stomach, and puts all her money on egg tarts. pho t o g r a phed by l eig h g r iffit h s

Tikka masala tacos from Goa Nights, a new addition to Macauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bar scene serving Indian-fusion eats and cocktails inspired by the sailing route of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

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When Portuguese merchants first sailed into the tiny enclave of Macau in the 16th century, they struck gold. Not because they had found any tangible treasures—the swampy Chinese islands bore no jewels to mine or crops to farm—but because they had reached an Eastern port open to trade. The Portuguese sold the discoveries from their maritime route and the bounty pilfered by their Spanish neighbors—potatoes from Peru, chilies from Mexico—to China and also made a tidy profit trading Chinese tea and porcelain to the Europeans. The alliance infiltrated Macau’s food. New settlers introduced ingredients they’d found from previous ports—spices from Goa, coconuts from Malacca, piri piri chili sauce from Mozambique—and the Chinese cooked Portuguese dishes with their own techniques to create a brand-new “Macanese” cuisine. Over the past couple of generations, Macau’s identity has evolved to center on its current neon-lit gambling rep. But punters are beginning to appreciate the region’s culinary merits, which last year earned its classification as a unesco Creative City of Gastronomy. As a traveler who is more concerned with my next meal than ticking off top sights, I’m not here for an architectural tour—who has time for a selfie at St. Paul’s ruins when egg tarts are coming out of the oven?—and I’m far too stingy to try and beat the Baccarat table. Instead, I plan on studying Macau’s culture and history through its dishes. To kick off this gluttonous madness, it’s

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only fitting that I start with Macau’s most epic traditional feast: Cha Gordo, a bilingual portmanteau whose direct translation is Fat Tea. “Gordo means fat, so a Cha Gordo has to be abundant; it has to cover the whole table with food,” says Felipe Ramos, an operations manager at St. Regis Macao and a born and bred Macanese. He’s not kidding. The spread that takes over the gilt St. Regis Manor each Saturday for their Cha Gordo afternoon tea is a noholds-barred buffet, featuring a mix of distinctly Macanese finger food and decadent Portuguese desserts. It’s the only place the public can get a taste of this home-style tradition in Macau; the celebration is usually reserved for birthdays, weddings and family events. I pile my plate with a mishmash of savory and sweets (don’t judge, I’ve skipped lunch for this): chilicote pastries filled with pork and beef; pasteis de bacalhau, the famous salted-cod croquettes; a slice of bolo de chocolate cake; a cloud-like spoonful of pudim molotof, a Portuguese egg-white soufflé; bagi, a cinnamon-spiced coconut rice pudding; a Portuguese egg tart, of course; a wobbly wedge of bebinca de leite, Macanese coconut custard; and a maltose “lollipop”—maltose syrup between two crackers—a nostalgic treat from Ramos’s childhood. “There are a lot of recipes here that don’t really exist anymore in Macau,” Ramos says. “We’ve had to revive many from my grandmother’s cookbook.” I polish off the entire stack of food, for history’s sake. But wait, there’s more. Two madeto-order Macanese plates arrive: minchi, stir-fried ground pork and beef, cooked with first-press soy sauce, a hint of chili and topped with a fried egg; and lacassá, a shrimppaste noodle dish with obvious Malay influence—the name is said to derive from the street food staple laksa. from top: Pile your plate

at the Cha Gordo buffet at St. Regis Macao; Jade Dragon chef Tam Kwok Fung; the Grand Lisboa.

Colorful creations at Janice Wong MGM, the new Macau outlet of the Singaporean dessert maven.

for my stomach’s sake, i’m secretly thankful i’m leaving tomorrow

Lord Stow’s egg tarts at the original Coloane bakery. opposite: The Eight’s 14-day-old suckling pig stuffed with fried rice.

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Dim sum almost too cute to eat at threeMichelin-starred restaurant The Eight.

I recognize Malay elements in many meals this trip, but the most iconic is African chicken. “This dish is symbolic in Macau,” Frederico So, of Macao Tourism, tells me. “The name goes back to its origin in Mozambique, but the Macanese version is served in a sauce that’s made up of coconut milk, a Malaysian ingredient.” So has ordered us some classic dishes at Restaurante Litoral, founded by local cook Manuela Ferreira in 1995 as a venue to share her Macanese family recipes. Steaming clams, African chicken and tender turmeric-stewed pork with potatoes arrive on our table, alongside a basket of bread and a plate of rice. This trifecta of carbs is yet another symbol of cultures combining. “The Macanese community always serve rice, even with what you consider to be ‘Western’ cuisine,” So explains. I drench my rice in the garlicky clam juice, and carve up a piece of the African chicken, veiled in a glossy sauce redolent in sweet and spicy piri piri, creamy coconut and, the secret ingredient, peanut butter. “The Portuguese normally serve their chicken dry,” So says with satisfaction. “This is something unique to Macau; you won’t find it anywhere else in the world—not in Portugal, not in Africa.” Checking into the new MGM Cotai is another round-the-world tasting experience. The sprawling 1,390-room resort is happily foodfocused, offering nine global dining spaces within its building block structure. After taking the gordo a little too literally the day before, I sleep through my buffet breakfast. So, in the spirit of all-out decadence, I opt for mid-morning cake instead, at Singapore dessert-queen Janice Wong’s newest outlet in the MGM. But “cake” doesn’t do these sweets justice—these are science-defying creations. My “Cassis Plum” plates a from top: Morpheus rises

in Cotai; the kung fu tea ceremony at Five Foot Road; Restaurante Litoral’s African chicken.

sphere of tart plum ice cream filled with elderflower yogurt foam on a bed of boozy plum liqueur jelly, granita, freeze-dried raspberry bits and yuzu pearls. While this elaborately ticks off my most important meal of the day, I’ve got two more dining dates under MGM’s undulating skylight roof. At their Sichuan restaurant Five Foot Road (an alternate nickname for the Silk Road) I try hot-and-sour jellyfish, pull-apart beef short rib and a spicy bowl of dan dan noodles while my acrobatic waitress pours a traditional Chengdu-style kung fu tea ceremony, gracefully wielding her long-spouted teapot like a weapon. For dinner I nestle in at Aji, the first Japanese-Peruvian eatery in Macau, with a menu overseen by Nikkei chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, whose Maido in Lima is a constant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The Peruvian chocolate mousse topped with yuzu and mochi is sinkin-your-seat kind of wonderful. On either side of MGM are two more food-and-beverage (and, yes, hotel and gambling, but remember why I’m here) megaplexes. The most dramatic way to access the veryVegas Wynn Palace Cotai is via its gondola that circumnavigates its dancing fountain. This plush, floralthemed shiner is accented by animatronics, from the giant chicken-and-the-Faberge-egg reveal in one rotunda to the choreographed mini-shows that accompany your prime cuts and fresh seafood at SW Steakhouse. Other main events include Cotai Strip branches of the original Wynn Macau’s Michelin two-starred Japanese spot Mizumi and one-starred Cantonese high-end Wing Lei—though you might find hopping the shuttle bus to the older sister property worth it for their two-starred pan-Chinese fine dining Golden Flower. Meanwhile, next door at City of Dreams, the complex’s freshest hotel, Morpheus, mightily looms. The nine-year project finally opened last month, and was the last work of the late, legendary architect Dame Zaha Hadid. So far, Morpheus’s superficial qualities have garnered t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m / j u ly 2 0 1 8

the hype—it’s the world’s first freeform exoskeleton-bound high-rise (translation: supported entirely from the outside, there’s no need for columns)—but inside’s gourmet options promise to be just as unforgettable. Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse oversees French and Chinese restaurants, Pierre Hermé’s pastries tempt in the lounge, and regional Chinese omakase-style restaurant Yi offers a daily changing menu. On my visit, the hotel is still in the final stages of construction, so I head to City of Dreams’ longrunning culinary star: Jade Dragon. The Cantonese restaurant’s acclamations run deep: Michelinstarred, five stars in Forbes Travel Guide and a prominent figure on South China Morning Post’s 100 Top Tables, all since 2014. Chef Tam Kwok Fung credits quality produce for the string of awards. Hokkaido kegani crabmeat swims in a tangy hot-and-sour soup; Australian Wagyu arrives flambé; and Iberico pork is barbecued in a traditional lychee wood–fired oven. “The Iberico pork has nicer marbling,” Fung says. “After cooking, the texture and flavor is different.” Tiny drawers on walls herald the Chinese medicine cabinets of Guangdong’s herbalists, and Fung draws upon this culture in his menu—for example, the doubleboiled sea conch soup uses yam and wolfberries, said to aid digestion and improve vision. “Chinese herbal [recipes] have been passed on from one generation to another,” he says. “This is not a secret recipe, it’s just the way of Chinese living.” But food here isn’t all about fine dining, and Macau’s true roots shine best in the shophouses and holes-in-the-wall on the streets of the Macau peninsula and Taipa Island. I heed chef Fung’s advice and eat at one of his favorite Macanese joints, Rico’s, spooning straight into their creamy salted-cod pie that’s so good there’s no need for a plate. In Taipa Village, a fishing-townturned-tourist-destination, busloads spill out for a taste of Macau’s classic snacks: crumbly almond cookies

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from Pastelaria Fong Kei, and famous egg tarts from Lord Stow’s. I wander off the beaten path down the narrow laneways to Antonio, a proudly authentic Portuguese restaurant. “We don’t serve any Macanese dishes here,” says our steadfast waitress, who also says we must we try their clams. I ask how they’re different from the Macanese version. “It’s all in the sauce,” she answers, pointing to the housebaked bread. “You have to dip the bread in the juices. When I eat this dish I eat more bread than I do clams,” she laughs. Like Restaurante Litoral’s clams, they are cooked in a white wine and olive oil broth, flavored with coriander and a sprinkle of chili, but the juice in Antonio’s version is almost drinkable—a refined, clear broth that’s a sweet, delicate ode to the sea. After lunch I check out the sights (and smells) of Taipa Village. Incense wafts from the Sam Po Chinese temple, and the funky stench of fermenting shrimp paste smacks me as I walk past a tiny balichao factory. Behind a Chinese restaurant I spot three chefs taking a cake break on stools outside the kitchen. I follow the sugary aroma to Pui Kei, a tiny café on busy Rua do Cunha. Trays of freshly baked cupcakes greet me, and an iced lemon tea goes down perfectly with one. I order Macau’s signature pork chop bun, which looks difficult to eat, what with the bone sticking out, and has me anticipating chewing through dry leather. But the pork meat is tender and tasty, and Pui Kei’s fresh-baked, crusty bread is the perfect casing to soak in the buttery juices that spill out as you bite in. By now, it’s sundowner time, and Taipa Village’s newest watering hole, Goa Nights, is a cozy finale. The tapas-style menu of Indian classics and fusion pub food are tasty, but the cocktails here are the main attraction, each celebrating an ingredient from Vasco da Gama’s from top: Serenity at Sam Po temple; hot trays of almond cookies at Fong Kei; Antonio’s flaming chouriço.

sailing ports: the Lisbon gin sour uses raw turmeric–infused Aperol with a rooster sprayed in Port wine on top. Three cocktails and yet another bowl of clams later (here they’re sautéed in a Goan recheado spice mix and topped with Goan Alphonso mangoes), I’m stuffed, and, for my stomach’s sake, secretly thankful I’m leaving tomorrow. Before I resign myself to a diet back home, I make a last lunch booking at The Eight. It’s in the Grand Lisboa hotel, whose sister is neighboring Lisboa Hotel, the first

casino in Macau opened by gaming tycoon Stanley Ho in the 1950s. Grand Lisboa draws thousands of Chinese high rollers not just to play its garish baccarat tables, but also to eat what Michelin has essentially anointed the best Chinese food in Macau: The Eight is the only threestarred Chinese restaurant here. Executive chef Joseph Tse lifts his Cantonese menu with refined execution—“Fish Delicate” is a chicken broth with homemade fish balls and a cube of silken tofu sliced more than 100 times to create a blossoming chrysanthemum flower.

For Tse, it’s all about the ingredients—he is so excited about a just-delivered box of Alphonso mangoes, he asks if I want to try one. Silly question. Now icons of the dining scene, the Goan mangoes were, of course, a lasting gift from the intrepid Portuguese. Tse plans to use his in a sautéed scallop dish, but serves mine simply sliced on a plate: sweet, creamy, the color of saffron. In Macau, the migratory influence on its cuisine now comes second nature to its chefs, and the delicious results are still worth crossing oceans for.

Macau

Most may come here to gamble, but along the cobblestone alleways, past old Catholic churches and Chinese temples, Macau's multicultural cuisine can, and should, be scouted out. Fine dining, home-style cooking, on-trend cocktails, Macau has it all.

Getting There Most Asian cities are connected with Macau International Airport. Ferries from Hong Kong leave every 15–30 minutes; buses from Zhuhai, in Guangdong province, go to the Gonbei border gate, where hotel shuttles will pick you up. A new 55-kilometer bridge connecting Macau to Hong Kong and the mainland will open this year. Hotels MGM Cotai This colossal Cotai resort has luxe rooms and plenty of entertainment. Its central atrium features a series of panoramic LED screens playing cinematic scenes of nature and art; and the MGM theatre will open later this year boasting the world’s largest permanent indoor ultra-HD screen. mgm. mo; doubles from MOP1,500. St. Regis Macao The rooms in this five-star Cotai hotel are spacious and plush. Visit the St. Regis bar for their Macau-themed Bloody Mary, Maria do Leste, inspired by the Portuguese journey, and don't miss Cha Gordo every Saturday at 3 p.m. stregismacao.com; doubles from HK$2,088; Cha Gordo afternoon tea HK$148. Grand Lisboa You’ll spot this iconic hotel’s neon lights all the way from Taipa. The lobby holds some of

founder Stanley Ho’s antiques, and the dining spaces are among the best in Macau. grandlisboahotels.com; doubles from HK$1,388. Wynn Palace Cotai The second Wynn in Macau, opened in 2016, is a gilded affair, overflowing with floral décor and spring colors. The glam resort pool sits between the 4,500-square-meter spa and the dancing fountain, which is best surveyed from the gondola. All generously sized guest rooms come with a superintuitive touchscreen control panel. wynnpalace.com; doubles from MOP1,435. Morpheus Opened in June, this ultraluxury 770-room hotel was designed to abstractly resemble the number eight, auspicious in Chinese culture. cityofdreamsmacau.com; prices not available at press time. Restaurants and Bars Aji The stand-outs on this Nikkei menu by Japanese-Peruvian chef Mitsuharu Tsumura are the fresh seafood cebiches and nigiri sushi. mgm.mo; mains from MOP288. Antonio Run by Portuguese chef Antonio Coelho, the menu here is authentic and rightfully acclaimed. Order the traditional

chouriço, which is set alight at your table. antoniomacau.com; mains from MOP255. Five Foot Road Fiery Chengdu recipes are served in an elegant dining space surrounded by Sichuan vistas. Watch out for the kung fu tea ceremony. mgm.mo; mains from MOP180. Pastelaria Fong Kei The almond cookies at this century-old bakery are crumbly yet not too dry, and come Michelin recommended. 14 Rua do Cunha, Taipa; cookies from MOP34. Goa Nights Stop for tapas at this Indianfusion small bar in Taipa Village. Save room for dessert: their bebinca is authentically made by a member of the GoanMacanese community. goanights.com; mains from MOP98; drinks from MOP88. Jade Dragon Award-winning Cantonese cuisine inspired by the balance of Chinese medicine. The roasted meats from the lycheewood barbecue are a specialty. cityofdreamsmacau.com; mains from MOP268. Janice Wong MGM Try house-made gelato, decadent waffles or one of Wong’s signature mind-blowing desserts in this colorful café in the MGM Cotai. mgm.mo; desserts from MOP130.

Lord Stow’s Bakery The first Macanese version of Portugal’s egg tarts were made here in 1989, using fresh cream in their custard filling. There are outlets across Macau, but make the effort to visit the original bakery in Coloane, a quaint fishing village south of Cotai. lordstow.com; egg tarts MOP8. Pui Kei This tiny café in Taipa Village is famed for its cupcakes, pork chop noodles and pork chop buns. 25 Rua do Cunha, Taipa; mains from MOP28. Restaurante Litoral This two-story Macanese restaurant by the A-ma temple feels like Europe. The African chicken is succulent, spicy and a signature dish. restaurantelitoral.com; mains from MOP128. Rico’s Homestyle Macanese fusion at its friendliest. The rice-stuffed crispy chicken, the salted-cod pie and the clams come recommended. 6 Rua de Tomas Rosa, Macau; 853/2835-3797; mains from MOP65. The Eight Macau’s only three-Michelinstarred Cantonese restaurant serves more than 40 dim sum items, including their most famous: goldfish-shaped shrimp dumplings, porcupine barbecue pork buns and crab curry tarts. grandlisboahotels.com; mains from MOP240.

www.wbtourism.gov.in / www.wbtdcl.com www.facebook.com/tourismwb www.twitter.com/TourismBengal +91(033) 2243 6440

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DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM, GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL

Anderson Valley sheep supply milk for cheese. Opposite: Miso deviled eggs and a salad of foraged greens at the Bewildered Pig, one of the area’s best restaurants, in the town of Philo.

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ohemian Rhapsod

Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mendocino County is best known for its beguiling coastline. But travelers who venture inland are also discovering a sybaritic paradise in Anderson Valley. Jody Rosen meets the free spirits giving shape to this flourishing wine region with a soon-to-be-legendary culinary scene.

Photogr aphed by Alex Farnum

Seemingly everyone you meet in Anderson Valley can tell you a migration story that has the flavor of myth—a tale that casts their arrival in this shockingly picturesque corner of California’s Mendocino County as the climax of a great quest, or the punch line of a cosmic joke, or both. One of the best yarns, surely, is Bruce Anderson’s. In 1971, Anderson, an avowed “big hippie,” rolled out of San Francisco in a Volkswagen van, heading, like many pilgrims of the period, back to the land. For years, Anderson had lived in the thick of San Francisco’s counterculture. He had played a leading role in anti–Vietnam War protests. But as the 60s turned into the 70s, the city’s bohemian enclaves were gripped by malaise, Flower Power dreams withering amid rising violence and a plague of hard drugs. So Anderson hit the road with his wife, his young son, his brother, and a handful of friends, heading up the coast in a caravan, seeking spiritual rejuvenation in a landscape of stretching redwoods and soaring oceanside cliffs. And they had another plan in mind: to raise a dozen troubled Bay Area foster children in the countryside, far from the deprivations and vices of city life. Anderson and company hadn’t decided exactly where they were headed, but the decision was soon made for them. About 200 kilometers northwest of San Francisco, Anderson pulled into a service station in a tiny town whose name, Boonville, made no secret of the fact that it was, well, the boondocks. “We barely knew where we were,” Anderson recalled. “We just happened to run into a guy who told us there was a ranch for lease south of town.” They drove to the ranch and stayed. The basics of rural homesteading proved a mystery. (“Gravity-flow water systems, septic tanks—all that was completely new,” Anderson said.) As for the foster kids, that plan didn’t work out too well: “We had the delusional idea that juvenile delinquents would be less delinquent under the redwoods than they were under streetlights. They turned out to be twice as delinquent.” But nearly a half-century later, Bruce Anderson has become so synonymous with Anderson Valley that he’s often mistakenly assumed to be its namesake. Today he lives with his wife in the center of Boonville. He works steps away, in a 12-meter trailer that serves as the headquarters of the Anderson Valley Advertiser, the weekly newspaper that he has owned, edited and largely

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A private vineyard in Anderson Valley, a region known for its full-bodied Pinot Noirs.

written for 34 years. At 78, Anderson looks and sounds the part of an éminence grise, with an ample white beard and a commanding basso profundo. He is a fount of local lore. Ask for a history lesson and he will tell you about successive generations of economic refugees, fortune seekers and utopian questers who made their way to the valley: the European pioneers who pushed into Pomo Indian country in the mid 19th century; the Arkies and Okies who arrived after World War II, finding work in the then-booming timber industry; the members of his own hippie tribe, who came in the 1970s, buying up cheap logged-over land where they raised kids and communed with nature. A fourth wave of Anderson Valley migration is under way. The climate and topography that for decades nurtured the valley’s agricultural staples—first apples and pears, then cannabis—has proven ideal for growing grapes, especially Pinot Noir. Today, Anderson Valley is California’s most exciting emerging wine region, a magnet for the 21st century’s new class of NoCal back-tothe landers: oenophiles, foodies, and others who want to live simply but sumptuously. Travelers who once bypassed the valley, following the siren call of Mendocino’s famous coastline, are increasingly journeying inland. What they find there is bounteous farmland and deep forests, a food-and-wine scene slowly but steadily coming into its own, a place that has maintained the funkiness that was long ago gentrified out of the county’s more well-trafficked communities. For locals, the transformation of Anderson Valley is nothing short of surreal. “It’s like something out of science fiction,” marveled Anderson. “Everywhere you look, you see vineyards coming over the ridge.”

y first glimpse of Anderson Valley came on a vibrant morning, when the sun streamed through cracks in a ceiling of magnificent gray-white clouds. The night before, I’d completed my own trek to the valley from San Francisco. The last leg of the journey was hair-raising: a 50-kilometer-long drive along fearsomely twisty Route 128, which slaloms north and west across a forested mountain pass before dropping into the valley at Boonville. (Locals credit the challenging drive with keeping the area’s population down.) I quickly got my reward in the form of an early lunch at Boonville’s Pennyroyal Farm, which for the last decade has been producing excellent wines and the valley’s most famous small-batch cheeses. In the tasting room, locals and visitors crowded around the bar, sampling whites and rosés. I made my way outside, taking a table on a canopied patio that offered views of the vineyard. Nine hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapevines lace a landscape roamed by sheep that do double duty as cheese suppliers and weeders of the vineyard floor. The food arrived on heaping platters: charcuterie; pickled vegetables; a big dollop of Laychee, Pennyroyal’s signature goat cheese; a slab of Boont Corners Vintage Tomme, a tangy, salty

sheep double as cheese suppliers and weeders goat-and-sheep-milk cheese. I washed it down with a bracing Blanc. A couple seated at the next table, Pennyroyal regulars, told me, “You can’t leave without trying the Pinot.” The advice was less a suggestion than a command; it seemed foolish to ignore it. The pour of the day was Pennyroyal’s 2015 Jeansheep Vineyard Pinot, dark and spicy with notes of morello cherry. I ordered a glass, drank it, and ordered a second. The first Anderson Valley vineyards appeared in the 1970s, but it was the arrival of legendary French champagne maker Louis Roederer in the early 80s that established the region’s bona fides. Since then, dozens of vintners have set up shop, specializing in wines that thrive in the region’s distinctive terroir. Anderson Valley is a narrow strip, just 40 kilometers long, tucked between coastal redwoods and inland oaks. It’s threaded by the Navarro River, which passes through Boonville and two smaller hamlets, Philo and Navarro, on its way to the Pacific. In summer, fog drapes the valley in the morning. Afternoon temperatures can reach 37 degrees; in the evening, the thermometer may plummet by 10 degrees. “When it comes to grapes, the temperate climate here makes all the difference,” said Matt Parish, a winemaker from New Zealand who in 2017 took the helm at Philo’s Lula Cellars. “You get that nice, even ripeness without blowing out the fruit flavors in too-hot weather.” Lula Cellars is a favorite of valley cognoscenti. The wine is superb: meaty Pinots, holding lingering notes of dark fruit, with tannins that tickle the palate. The vibe at the vineyard is High Quirky. The tasting room manager, Dan Reed, is a burly man with a courtly manner and a wit as dry as the Pinots he pours. His business card reads pushy salesman, but his technique leans more toward gentle persuasion. “I think you’ll like this,” he told me, offering a glass of 2014 Costa Pinot Noir. (I did.) Reed lives on the property, in a house that he shares with Honey, a yellow Labrador mix, who has her own Lula business card (head of barketing). When visitors bring their dogs—a practice Lula always encourages—Honey leads them on bombing runs into the vineyard’s pond to chase frogs. Honey often rides shotgun in Lula’s house car, a vintage Morris Minor, when Reed does errands in Philo and Boonville. “Me and Honey, we’re a little bit famous around here,” Reed said.

n years past, visitors who sought upscale lodging were forced to leave Anderson Valley and spend their nights on the coast, where options are plentiful. But today the valley has its own high-end Xanadu, which sacrifices nothing in the way of amenities while offering the kind of oddity that can’t be faked. The Madrones stands behind a grand gateway entrance in Philo, just across the Boonville line. The property includes a rose garden and a working farm. There are tasting rooms for three local wineries and an excellent little restaurant, Stone & Embers, that serves exquisite wood-fired pizzas and small plates. There are four guest rooms in the compound’s main building, and five more in guest houses situated on the raffishly landscaped grounds. The rooms are appointed with a variety of antiques, nearly all from the collection of Jim Roberts, the owner. Weirder items from his stash— 19th-century German anatomy posters, Victorian embalming machines—are on sale in the hotel’s curiosity shop, the Sun & Cricket. The main building has the look of a Mediterranean villa, with a shady courtyard and tiled roof. But there’s also a scattering of Asian statuary, a huge bronze dragon that presides over the hotel’s circular drive, and two fierce Chinese lions painted a lurid shade of pink. The first time I met Roberts, I confessed that I found the architectural hodgepodge delightful but disorienting. “Is this Tuscany? Spain? China? I’m not sure where I am,” I told him. “Good,” he said. Roberts grew up in Orange County, California. “I always wanted to live in Mendocino,” he said. “I read about it. I dreamed about it. So I packed up my car and went.” For years the property was his home and the office for his now-shuttered interior design firm. In 2011, Point Cabrillo Light Station, outside the town of Mendocino. Opposite, from top: Donnelly Creek, outside Boonville; charcuterie and house-made cheeses at Pennyroyal Farm, in Boonville.

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The Brambles, a new property in Philo by the owners of the Madrones, consists of a cluster of cottages nestled in a grove of redwood trees. Opposite, from top: Daniel Townsend, co-owner of the Bewildered Pig, chats with a guest outside his restaurant; the Mendocino coast south of the town of Little River.

Roberts decided to try his hand at hospitality and, in the succeeding years, has gradually expanded the Madrones. Now, Roberts and his partner in business and life, Brian Adkinson, have added an adjacent property to the compound. One afternoon they took me to the Brambles, which occupies a sprawling plot in a grove of old-growth redwoods a short distance from the Madrones. The Brambles’ guesthouse, holding three spacious suites, is a Victorian stick-and-shingle structure. It looked like something out of a Grimms’ fairy tale. Roberts and Adkinson epitomize the new breed of Anderson Valley refugees: creative, unconventional, entrepreneurial. On Boonville’s main drag, you can shop at Farmhouse Mercantile, a housewares emporium as tastefully rustic-chic as any in San Francisco’s hipster redoubts. Even the old Boonville Hotel—which dates back to the town’s rugged mid-19th-century frontier era—bills itself as a “modern roadhouse” where the restaurant serves food “inspired by whim and season.” It’s a big change for a place that has always been hardscrabble.

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A century ago, Boonvillians developed a language impenetrable to outsiders, Boontling. (A few old-timers still speak the argot, which is heavy on sexual and scatological terms: “moldunes” are large breasts; to “burlap” is to have intercourse.) On weekends, the streets ran with blood from bare-knuckle bar fights, and the brothels heaved. “This was wild country,” Bruce Anderson told me. “Lots of little mill shacks and people who worked hard, played hard.” The valley grew more sedate when the timber mills began to shutter in the late 1950s and 60s. But the outlaw spirit endured in the formerly illicit trade that has formed the backbone of Mendocino’s economy since the 70s: growing and selling marijuana. On New Year’s Day 2018, California’s first retail weed shops opened their doors, and the question hovering over the region today is how life will transform in the era of legalization. Everywhere you go in Anderson Valley, you hear grumblings that the pot business is facing a corporate takeover and that momand-pop growers will be left in the cold. Some imagine a time when marijuana farms and tasting rooms will line Route 128 alongside the vineyards, with “ganja sommeliers” proffering varietals to “weed tourists.” But if that day comes, who will reap the profits? For now, the answers—like the pungent scent of Mendocino cannabis that locals proudly call the world’s best—are blowing in the wind. In the meanwhile, curious new forms of life are taking root in the valley’s loamy soil. Oddly enough, the place that may best embody Anderson Valley’s iconoclastic spirit is its fanciest restaurant. The Bewildered Pig sits on an otherwise sparsely developed stretch of 128 in Philo, about three kilometers south of the Navarro line. Janelle Weaver, the Bewildered Pig’s chef, and her partner, Daniel Townsend, fit the archetypal profile of Mendocino pilgrims. For seven years, they rolled up and down the coast in their 1978 Volkswagen Westphalia camper, seeking the ideal spot for the restaurant they envisioned. Weaver grew up in Michigan and Alaska, where she hunted and fished with her family; her first professional cooking job was at a breakfast counter, at age 12. Townsend spent much of his childhood on the White Mountain Apache reservation in Arizona. (His father was a missionary.) The couple met in 2004, in Napa Valley, where both had worked for years as chefs. Townsend is also a landscape designer and tinkerer whose touch is all over the Pig: a “cactus wall” that shields outdoor diners from traffic; gurgling fountains ingeniously crafted from repurposed industrial scraps; a gorgeous adjacent patio, where they plan to host DJ nights and other events. The dining room is an enchanted space. Weaver and Townsend like to throw around the term “refined rustic,” an apt description of both their design aesthetic and Weaver’s astonishing cooking. I had one of the great meals of my life at the Pig. It was a lavish six-course tasting menu with wine pairings, highlighted by dishes like the explosively flavorful spruce-tip custard garnished with maitake mushrooms and locally foraged herbs, and an obscenely delicious sunchoke bisque with house-smoked black cod and

smoked trout roe. There are notes of Eastern European cooking in Weaver’s plates. (Her Polish grandmother was an early influence.) There is a classical French sense of balance, too, and the requisite Alice Watersian emphasis on garden-fresh ingredients and regional sources. But Weaver’s style is bold and unusual; an inventory of influences doesn’t tell the tale. Maybe, eventually, Weaver’s innovative food will simply be called Anderson Valley Cuisine. To say that the Bewildered Pig is the valley’s best restaurant is not to insult the area competition: soon enough, it may be the best restaurant in California. With its mix of revelatory food, conviviality, and ambition without pretension, it feels like a dream of what a restaurant should be.

ourism isn’t rocket science. But Anderson Valley is the kind of place where you can get sightseeing advice from a rocket scientist. While sipping Pinot at the Lula Cellars tasting room one afternoon, I met a Lula regular, Todd Lukes, who moved to Mendocino from southern California five years ago. Lukes has the languid, sun-fried look of an aging surfer, but he works in the aeronautics industry. After quizzing me about my visit to the valley, he concluded that I’d spent too little time experiencing its natural wonders. He asked if I’d explored Hendy Woods State Park in Philo. Yes, I’d done that: I’d been struck dumb by the cathedral-like groves of ancient redwoods. “Then you have to head to the beach,” Lukes said. “You can’t leave Mendo without hitting the coast.” Where exactly should I go? “Blues Beach, just outside of Westport. There’s no sign. But you’ll know it when you see it.” Lukes was right. On a shimmering morning I guided my rental car down the steep curves of Route 1 until I spotted a little jog off the big road. I practically drove right onto the beachfront, an unspoiled, unpeopled coastline that seemed to stretch to infinity. I scrambled down to the sand and marched north, stepping over chunks of seaweed the size of large squid, with the wind and surf roaring. It was a scene of almost unseemly beauty. The sky was a deep, dusty blue, roiled by swiftly moving clouds. About 500 meters from the beach, two giant outcroppings rose from the deep—rocks that animist ancients might have worshipped as gods. This was Mendocino utopia: a place on the edge of the continent, where nature at its most untrammeled is on display, and freedom seems absolute. An hour passed, maybe two. It was time I moved along. The next day I would have to follow Route 128’s zigzags out of the valley, to Route 101 South and on to San Francisco to catch a flight back to the East Coast. In the meantime, I longed to get back to the valley, which offers its own mellow version of splendid isolation: a glass of something strong and red, a vineyard vista, a landscape gradually turning deep blue as the sun drops into the sea on the far side of the pine-lined ridges. I remembered a comment Jim Roberts made about Anderson Valley’s slowly-but-steadily rising profile. “The secret is out,” Roberts said. “But, you know, it’s not too out.”

Blues Beach Fort Bragg

Route 1

Pacific Ocean

Mendocino Little River

EXPLORING mendocino county Three days in Anderson Valley allows time to sample local wines, experience gastronomic nirvana, and immerse yourself in natural beauty. Add two or three days to your itinerary to visit the county’s famously dramatic coastline.

Getting There Fly into San Francisco International Airport and rent a car. The scenic way to reach Mendocino County from San Francisco is Route 1, which winds along the coastline. The drive takes roughly four hours; stop at Point Reyes National Seashore if time allows. If you’re in a hurry, take inland Route 101 to Route 128, which reaches Anderson Valley in three hours.

Anderson Valley LODGING

Boonville Hotel In the 19th century, this place was a raucous roadhouse. Today, it has 15 comfortable rooms, including a private creekside bungalow with a screened-in porch. Boonville; boonvillehotel.com; doubles from US$155. The Brambles From the owners of the nearby Madrones hotel, this renovated homestead in a redwood grove has three suites and two adjacent cabins. Philo; themadrones.com/ the-brambles; doubles from US$250. The Madrones Nine guest quarters in a gorgeous setting that is

part Tuscany, part Alice’s Wonderland. Philo; themadrones. com; doubles from US$252. Philo Apple Farm Hidden in one of the valley’s last fruit orchards is this exclusive hotel with four chic guest cottages. Visitors can choose to “just stay” or to “stay and cook,” joining staff in hands-on farm-to-table meal preparation. Philo; philo applefarm.com; doubles from US$300. FOOD & DRINK

Anderson Valley Brewing Co. This 30-year-old valley institution is one of the country’s pioneering craft-beer makers. Try Frisbee golf on an 18-hole course that wends through oak groves and pasture. Boonville; avbc.com. Bewildered Pig The Anderson Valley culinary revolution starts here. Janelle Weaver’s “refined rustic” food will bowl you over; the dining room feels like your long-lost home. Book in advance. Philo; bewilderedpig.com; mains US$26–$32.

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California

Navarro Route 128 Hendy Woods State Park

Philo

Boonville

Table 128 The Boonville Hotel’s restaurant serves family-style dinners. Reservations are a must. Boonville; boonvillehotel.com/eat; prix fixe from US$38.

rooms are a modern take on a sea captain’s quarters, with fireplaces and Persian rugs. Mendocino; bluedoor group.com; doubles from US$159.

ACTIVITIES

FOOD & DRINK

Hendy Woods State Park To step into the redwood groves is to enter a sublime space— nature’s own Chartres Cathedral. The trees are towering (some stretch to 90 meters) and ancient (some are more than 1,000 years old). Philo; parks.ca.gov. SHOPPING

Goldeneye Winery “The Pearly Gates of Pinot Noir” is this vineyard’s none-toohumble tagline, but the wine merits the boast. An Essentials Tasting is US$15, or book the Elevated Tasting, a deep dive into the winery’s portfolio. Philo; goldeneyewinery.com. Lula Cellars The wines are delicious and surprisingly complex; the vineyard views, gorgeous. Philo; lulacellars.com. Navarro Vineyards One of the valley’s oldest vintners, with a charming, barnlike tasting room. The Pinots are big and flavorful, but don’t miss the Gewürztraminer. Philo; navarrowine.com. Pennyroyal Farm Come for the farmstead cheeses, stay for the wine. Anderson Valley’s most hopping lunch scene. Boonville; pennyroyalfarm.com. Stone & Embers This delightful restaurant on at Madrones makes the most of its tiny space. The inventive woodfired pizzas have toppings like “turducken sausages.” Philo; stoneandembers. com; mains US$15–$19.

Farmhouse Mercantile This lovely Boonville shop sells housewares, clothing, jewelry and curiosities curated with an expert eye. Boonville; farmhouse128.com.

The Coast LODGING

Brewery Gulch Inn A perennial on T+L’s World’s Best list, Brewery Gulch Inn overlooks a spectacular swathe of coastline. The inn combines the best elements of luxe resort, bed-and-breakfast, and rec room; in the highbeamed dining-roomcum-lounge there are plush couches, board games, and picture windows that frame eye-popping views. Mendocino; brewery gulchinn.com; doubles from US$385. Inn at Newport Ranch This brand-new hotel is situated on an 800-hectare working ranch with more than 1½ kilometers of private coastline. Take advantage of the hiking, biking, and horsebackriding trails that run through the property. Fort Bragg; theinnat newportranch.com; doubles from US$375. JD House This justrenovated bed-andbreakfast is named for John Dougherty, its original resident. The

Circa ’62 at the Inn at Schoolhouse Creek A quaint inn uphill from Route 1 serves a decadent brunch. Menu highlights include kimchi pancakes and bacon-and-sweet-corn hash. Little River; schoolhousecreek.com; mains US$7–$17. Trillium Café Housed in a whitewashed clapboard house, this restaurant is beloved for its quintessential California cuisine with an emphasis on fresh seafood. Mendocino; trilliummendocino.com; mains US$24–$37. Wild Fish At this Pacific Coast Highway restaurant on the cliffs above Little River Cove, all ingredients come from local purveyors or are grown on the property. Little River; wild-fish.com; mains US$22–$39. ACTIVITIES

Blues Beach Located just south of the town of Westport off Route 1, this pristine stretch of shore is officially known as Chadbourne Gulch Beach. You can drive your car right onto the sand. Mendocino Headlands State Park Mendocino is surrounded by 140 hectares of protected green space. Visit the park for pleasant nature trails and two beaches, which draw fishers, sailors and scuba divers. Mendocino; parks.ca.gov. Skunk Train This 133-year-old train line, nicknamed for its diesel fumes, winds through the forest for 65 kilometers. Fort Bragg; skunktrain.com; adult fares from US$25. — Jody Rosen and Hannah Walhout

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One of the world’s most highly regarded conductors, Zubin Mehta’s musical journey has seen him head some of the world’s leading orchestras like the Berlin, Vienna and New York Philharmonic Orchestras. The history of the orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo is closely linked to that of the San Carlo opera house which opened in 1737. Through the centuries the orchestra has been the recipient of works composed by leading composers of western classical music including Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. After the Second World War and in the following decades, San Carlo welcomed many famous conductors including Igor Stravinsky. Great soloists through the centuries have played with the orchestra. The sixties saw this emerging young directors on the podium: Claudio Abbado, who made his debut in 1963, Riccardo Muti in 1967and Juraj Valčuha in 2016.

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A view of Lake Geneva and the Lavaux vineyards from the home of Cyril Séverin, owner of Domaine du Daley. His winery dates back to 1392, making it one of Switzerland’s oldest.

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T A S T E of

H E A V E N Blessed with a bounty of land and sublime native grapes, Swiss winemakers have been perfecting their craft for centuries. Ray Isle discovers the crystalline vintages and steep vineyards of this great, unsung wine destinationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one sip of Chasselas at a time. Photogr aphed by Simon Bajada

the Beau-Rivage Palace hotel in Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva, maintains one of Europe’s great wine cellars. Earlier in the day I’d made my way through it, a maze of 80,000 bottles extending all the way under the tennis courts, with sommelier Thibaut Panas. The cool underground rooms held the usual suspects— grand cru Burgundies, first-growth Bordeaux, Barolos— as well as plenty of fine Swiss wines. It was one of the latter that I was drinking now, as I sat on the terrace at Anne-Sophie Pic, the acclaimed French chef’s namesake restaurant at the hotel: a glass of 2007 Les Frères Dubois Dézaley-Marsens Grand Cru de la Tour Vase no. 4. A Chasselas from the terraced vineyards of the Lavaux wine region, just outside the city, the white wine was rich, complex, and subtly spicy all at once. And it was exactly why I’d come to Switzerland, since there was little chance I would ever find it back home in the U.S. The Beau-Rivage was built on the Swiss side of the lake in 1861, and it’s what a grand old European hotel should be, which is to say it keeps the feeling that you might at any moment drift into a black-and-white movie set between the wars. Its Belle Époque salons, ballrooms and suites have played host to the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel, and countless others accustomed to grandeur and privilege. Case in point: the woman in red leather pants at the table next to mine, who was surreptitiously feeding morsels to her miniature dachshund. The dog would poke its snout out of her red leather handbag to receive bites of €75 duck, then disappear. It had manners. I drank my good Swiss wine, pondering the quirkiness of rich Europeans. The reason you won’t find much Swiss wine anywhere else is simply this: 98 percent of it stays in Switzerland, where it’s drunk quite contentedly by the Swiss, who are well aware that their wines are extremely good, even if the rest of the world is not. This situation isn’t entirely intentional. The wines are dauntingly expensive outside

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Swiss borders, and the fact that they’re made from unfamiliar native varieties doesn’t help, either. A €50 bottle of Swiss Chasselas would be a tough sell in your local wine store. That said, once you arrive within their borders, the Swiss are more than happy to share. Visiting wineries in Switzerland is actually easier than in many other European wine regions. Most have shops that double as tasting rooms and keep regular hours. Plus, Switzerland’s wine country, which includes the popular cantons of Vaud and Valais, is starearound-yourself-in-awe beautiful. All that is to say why, the day after my epic dinner, I was standing with Louis-Philippe Bovard on the Chemin des Grands Crus, a narrow road that winds among the ancient Lavaux vineyard terraces east of Lausanne, in the Vaud. Bovard is the 10th generation of his family to make wine here. “I have just a small piece of vineyard, which my father gave me,

Clockwise from left: Turi Thoma, chef at Wirtschaft zur Burg, a traditional farmhouse serving modern European cuisine on the outskirts of Zurich; bottles from Domaine du Daley, in the Vaud, which produces Chasselas and Pinot Noir; the barrel room at Domaine Jean-René Germanier, in the heart of the Valais, where visitors can taste Swiss varietal wines like Humagne Rouge and Chasselas.

which the first Louis bought in 1684,” he said with the kind of casual modesty available to you when your family has been farming the same plot of land for nearly 350 years. To our left, the green vines climbed in dramatic steps— some of the stone walls are 7 meters high—up to bare rock and, eventually, the Savoy Alps. Below us they dropped equally precipitously down to the ultramarine waters of Lake Geneva. The Chemin des Grands Crus sees a lot of foot traffic these days, a consequence of the region’s having been named a unesco World Heritage site in 2007. Bovard tolerates this with equanimity. “In September there will be a thousand people on the route,” he said. “They get very annoyed when they have to move aside for my car! But harvest is harvest. The work has to be done. And the winemakers are the ones who built the road, after all.” To give perspective, Bovard’s winery is in the nearby town of Cully, whose population tops out at 1,800 or so. “And the other villages around here aren’t even this big, maybe three hundred inhabitants,” he added. “But of those, ten to twenty will be winegrowers.” The Dézaley Grand Cru area, which we were standing in the midst of and from which Bovard makes one of his best wines, is a tiny 55 hectares, but more than 60 different families farm it. The principal grape of Lavaux and of the Vaud as a whole is Chasselas. At one extreme it makes light, delicate, floral whites; at the other, rich, supple, full-bodied ones. “In its variety of expression, it’s like Burgundy,” Bovard told me later as we sampled wines in his tiny tasting room. “Chasselas from one cru to the next can be as different as Chablis is from Montrachet.” All of Bovard’s wines are impressive, but the standout was a 2007 Domaine Louis Bovard Médinette Dézaley Grand Cru, his top wine, its youthful fruit notes now shifting toward a layered toastiness. “As the wine ages you have less white flowers, more dried apricots, honey—much like a white Hermitage but just a bit lighter.” I was exposed to Chasselas’s chameleonic range of styles again during lunch at Auberge de l’Onde, in the tiny town of St.-Saphorin on the old road from Geneva to the Valais. The green-shuttered, 17th-century building has been an inn for most of its existence, but these days it is known mostly for its restaurant. The feel in the downstairs brasserie is homey: wooden chairs, white-painted ceiling beams, white flowers in the window boxes. (The upstairs rotisserie is more formal, and open only for dinner.) As maître d’ and sommelier Jérôme Aké Béda seated us, a young guy carrying a motorcycle helmet poked his head through a window, and he and Aké chatted in French. “He’s a winemaker, a local guy,” Aké explained. “He makes a special cuvée for me, about three hundred bottles.” Aké’s magnetic personality and extraordinary wine knowledge are this restaurant’s secret weapons. He’s also quick to note his unlikely path in life: “I’m from the Ivory Coast. I was raised on pineapple juice, not wine! But now I’m in wine because I love it. I swim in wine.” If not for a chance meeting, Aké might still be living in Abidjan, the largest city in the Ivory Coast. In 1988, when he was the maître d’ at Wafou, one of the city’s top

A vineyard in the village of Le Perrey, in the Valais, where the winemakers at Domaine GĂŠrald Besse source their grapes.

‘The Valais, well, the soils are very different , the climate is very different , it’s very dry. And the people are very different! They’re lunatics over there’

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restaurants, he went to France on vacation and ran into one of his former professors from hospitality school. They chatted for a while, and eventually the man asked if Aké might like to be on the team for a project of his—in Switzerland. By 1989, Aké had a new life in a very different country. But it wasn’t until the mid 90s, working at acclaimed chef Denis Martin’s restaurant in Vevey, on Lake Geneva, that he fell in love with wine. He began training as a sommelier and, in a remarkable ascent, by 2003 had been named the best sommelier in Frenchspeaking Switzerland by the Swiss Association of Professional Sommeliers. Now he’s found his home at Auberge de l’Onde. “Chaplin, Stravinsky, Edith Piaf, Audrey Hepburn, they all came here,” he told me. But it was when he started to talk about Chasselas, not famous people, that he became truly passionate: “I have wines from everywhere in my cellar, but I’m going to talk to you about Swiss wine. And Chasselas—it’s one of the great grapes of the world. When you drink it, you feel refreshed. And it’s so subtle, so sensitive, you must read between its lines.” Right as I was beginning to wonder if I’d wandered into a novel about the Chasselas whisperer, Aké set down plates of perch from the lake and expertly spit-roasted chicken in tarragon sauce. To go with them he poured us tastes from seven different bottles, all Chasselas. Some were bright, citrusy and crisp; some were creamy, with flavors more reminiscent of pears. Of the two older vintages we tried, one had honeyed notes, the other a nutty flavor suggesting mushrooms and brown butter. “Chasselas...it’s also very earthy,” Aké went on. “It needs salt and pepper to bring out its amplitude.” The following day I headed west in the direction of Geneva to La Côte, another of the Vaud’s six wine regions, to meet Raymond Paccot of Paccot-Domaine La Colombe. Here the land was less abrupt, the vineyards flowing toward the lake in gentle slopes. Paccot’s winery was in Féchy, a rural village. Above it, higher on the hillside, was Féchy’s aptly nicknamed sister town, Super-Féchy, “where Phil Collins lives,” Paccot explained. “The rich people.” Even in less celebrity-filled Féchy, the local castle was currently for sale for €31 million, Paccot told me. “With a very nice view of the lake, if you’re interested.” Rather than buy the castle, I ended up at La Colombe’s little shop and tasting room. Paccot, one of the first vintners in Switzerland to farm biodynamically, makes a broad range of wines, both red and white—Chasselas is not the only grape grown here. He set out an abundance of charcuterie and cheeses, and surrounded by bottles, we chatted about the history of the region. As with essentially every European appellation, it was the Romans who cultivated vines here first. Later, in the 10th or 11th century, Cistercian monks established their own vineyards. Lavaux’s spectacular terrace walls were erected in the 1400s by northern Italian masons. By then the Vaud was part of the French-speaking Duchy of Savoy; that was also, Paccot told me, around the time when his family received its coat of arms, which features a dove (la colombe), a symbol of peace, and of course the winery. “It

was given to us by Amédée, one of the Savoy counts, because in 1355, my ancestor helped secure peace. Plus, it was easier to give him a coat of arms than to pay him.” Through Europe’s many wars, vignerons grew grapes and made wine here. In French-speaking Switzerland you find local whites like Amigne, Chasselas, Petite Arvine and Humagne, along with French transplants such as Marsanne (here known as Ermitage) and Pinot Gris (here known as Malvoisie). In the German-speaking regions, reds are more popular, particularly Pinot Noir (often referred to as Blauburgunder); in Italian-speaking Ticino, Merlot dominates. Paccot’s 2014 Amédée, primarily made from the Savagnin grape, was a standout among the wines we tasted—melony and earthy, fullbodied but brightened by fresh acidity. “With Chasselas, it’s the delicacy, the lift, the fruit,” he said after taking a sip. “But with Savagnin it’s

Langoustines and beets at Anne-Sophie Pic, the restaurant at the Beau-Rivage Palace hotel, in Lausanne. opposite: The waterfront walking path in Lausanne offers ample opportunities for peoplewatching. The city is the capital of the Vaud canton and close to the Lavaux vineyards, a unesco World Heritage site.

more like a mushroom. It smells the way it does when you’re walking in the forest.”

That comment came back to me the next day when I was, in fact, walking in a forest. But I was in the Valais, a very different place. If the Vaud is defined by the openness of Lake Geneva, Valais is defined by mountains. It’s essentially a vast gorge carved by the Rhône glacier, which before it began its retreat some 10,000 years ago stretched for nearly 300 kilometers and was, according to Gilles Besse, the winemaker I was walking with, “more than a mile deep. But what it left behind was this extraordinary mosaic of rocks. The soil in the Valais changes every fifteen yards—it’s not like Bordeaux.” Nor, except for that mosaic-like soil structure, is it much like the Vaud. Here, the Alps towered up on either side of me, jagged and stunning. The previous day I’d had a conversation with Louis-Philippe Bovard and a Swiss wine-collector acquaintance of mine, Toby Barbey, about the difference between the Vaud and the Valais. Bovard had said, “The Valais, well, the soils are very different, the climate is very different, it’s very dry.” At this point Barbey interjected, “And the people are very different! They’re lunatics over there.” I told Besse this and he laughed. He is trim, in his forties, with the requisite interesting eyewear and

expensive watch that all Swiss men are apparently issued at birth. An accomplished skier, he’d recently completed the Patrouille des Glaciers, a frigid, all-night, cross-country-ski race covering some 110 kilometers from Zermatt to Verbier. Proof enough of a lunatic streak for me. His family’s winery, Domaine Jean-René Germanier, opened for business in Vetroz in 1886. But at the moment we were deep in the precipitous Val d’Hérens. The forest we’d walked through gave way to one of his prized vineyards, Clos de la Couta. It is absurdly steep—your average mountain goat would be daunted. But somehow Besse harvests grapes from it, and very good ones at that. His peppery, nectarinescented 2015 Clos de la Couta Heida (the local name for Savagnin), which we tried later on, was sublime. He also informed me that Val d’Hérens’s true fame comes less from its grapes than its fighting cows. “Fighting cows?” “Of course! Really angry animals. A top cow might sell for eighty-five thousand dollars, you know.” “Not like a bullfight, right?” “No, the cows fight each other. It’s to determine the queen—which lady rules the herd. There are many fights, but the finale is in Aproz in June. It’s a very big event. People come from all over Switzerland.” Visual confirmation would have helped me wrap my brain around the concept. But for dinner we did indulge in an equally Valaisian tradition, raclette, at the ultimate destination for it, the Château de Villa, in Sierre. It’s easy to look at raclette and think, “Well, that’s melted cheese on a plate.” And yes, raclette is basically melted cheese on a plate. But sit outside at Château de Villa on a spring night, looking at the turreted tower and white walls of this 16th-century building, and order the dinner tasting of five different cheeses from five alpages (high mountain pastures) throughout the Valais. You will realize it’s much more than that. At Château de Villa, the raclette master slices great wheels of Raclette de Valais AOC cheese in half, mounts them on metal racks, and positions them just close enough to a fire that the edge of the cheese crisps and the center melts without burning. He then scrapes the molten cheese onto a plate with a single stroke. Some cheeses are more earthy, some more oily, some more floral. All are distinct. After you try all five, you can have more of whichever you prefer, along with “light” accompaniments: bread, pickles and boiled potatoes. And ask for the pepper mill. The correct amount of pepper? That, Besse told me, is a matter of debate. t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m / j u ly 2 0 1 8

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The next day I took the train to Zurich, because of a new rule I’ve decided to apply to my life: if someone offers to show you vineyards from a speedboat, always say yes. The someone in this case was Hermann Schwarzenbach, the debonair owner of Schwarzenbach Weinbau, in the nearby town of Meilen. Zurich’s not really known as a wine region—the city itself is too dominant, with its focus on international business and the arts— and as the villages on the northern shore of Lake Zurich have been absorbed into its sprawl, the historic line between what’s urban and rural has blurred. But the vineyards are still there, semi-hidden. Schwarzenbach pointed them out from the water—dozens of halfhectare parcels up and down the lake, tucked in between stands of old plane trees, riverside parks, and the gabled summer homes of rich Zurichers. “Most of them are on land that’s protected against development,” he noted. “Otherwise they wouldn’t be there anymore.” After zooming up and down the lake several times, we parked the boat in Schwarzenbach’s boathouse and repaired to lunch in the garden at a restaurant, Wirtschaft zur Burg, to taste his wines. Though the building dates back to the mid 1600s, chef Turi Thoma is known for his lightly modernized takes on traditional Swiss dishes—pike from the lake simply roasted but served with a poppy, lime and chili butter, for instance. Thoma, a compact, bald fellow with an impish smile, also buys all the wine. He joined us to taste Schwarzenbach’s 2008 Meilener Pinot Noir Selection. Pinot Noir is a more significant and increasingly popular red grape in German-speaking Switzerland than in the French areas, and the wine was a revelation—full of black tea and spice, intense dried-cherry fruit, juicy acidity. “You can really see the similarities to a great Côte de Nuits,” Thoma said. “You like the food?” “Great!” I said. “Brilliant.” He was giving me that intent look that chefs give you when they feel like you might be politely hiding your actual opinion, so I ate another bite of the venison course we were on for emphasis. “And fantastic with the wine, too.” “Good,” he said, leaning back. I said I was surprised to find Pinot Noir— and very good Pinot Noir at that—by the shores of Lake Zurich. “Yes,” Schwarzenbach said thoughtfully. “But think about it. The tradition of Pinot Noir here is over four hundred years old. Perhaps even longer. It was always our main variety of red wine. Classic cool-climate reds, that’s what we do. Yes, it was brought here by the...oh, the duke of whatever. But it’s our variety. Right?”

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Vaud wine region

Zurich

Lausanne e Geneva Lak

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Val ais wine region

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exploring swiss wine country The cantons of Vaud, Valais, and Zurich offer all the pleasures of the world’s best-known wine destinations without the crowds. Give yourself a week to experience all three, along with the urban pleasures of Geneva.

Getting There and Around

The Southeast Asian destinations from which Swiss International Air Lines (swiss.com) offers non-stop flights are Bangkok, Hong Kong, Phuket, Saigon and Singapore. To get between cities by train, invest in a Swiss Travel Pass (sbb.ch). Though you can visit most wineries and tasting rooms unannounced, a good option is to work with a tour company like CountryBred (country bred.com), which plans tastings and dinners with winemakers, luxury transport, and more. The Vaud

Stay in Lausanne. The recently renovated Beau-Rivage Palace (brp.ch; doubles from €475), originally built in 1861, has spectacular views over Lake Geneva, both from its exquisitely appointed rooms and from chef Anne-Sophie Pic’s namesake Michelin two-starred restaurant. A walk along the Lavaux terraces’ Chemin des Grands Crus, just 15 minutes from Lausanne, is not to be missed. Then visit Domaine Bovard (domainebovard.com), in Cully, one of the region’s benchmark Chasselas producers. Domaine du Daley (daley.ch), founded in 1392, is in Lutry. Its terrace has the best view

of all the Lavaux wineries. Closer to Geneva in La Côte, Raymond Paccot’s Paccot-Domaine La Colombe (lacolombe.ch) is another highlight. Make sure to try the three Chasselas bottlings—Bayel, Brez, and Petit Clos—all from different terroirs. I loved dining at Auberge de l’Onde (aubergedelonde. ch; mains €11–€35), in St.-Saphorin, where sommelier Jérôme Aké Béda preaches the gospel of Swiss wine and the rotisserie-grilled meats are incomparable. The Valais

Hotel-Restaurant Didier de Courten (hotel-terminus.ch; doubles from €200), in Sierre, is a pleasant, relaxed base for your excursions. Thirty minutes away in Ardon, Domaine JeanRené Germanier (jrgermanier.ch) is known as one of the Valais’s best producers, both of whites such as Fendant (as Chasselas is known in the region) and reds such as Syrah. Twenty minutes southwest is Gérald Besse’s (besse. ch) brand-new winery outside Martigny. Taste his impressive wines, such as the Ermitage Vielle Vigne Les Serpentines, from a vineyard planted on a dramatic 55-degree

slope. Cheese-and-wine fanatics should try Château de Villa (chateaudevilla.ch; mains €10–€45), in Sierre, not only for the raclette tasting but also for the attached shop, which stocks some 650 different wines. Zurich and its environs

Staying in Zurich gives you access to all the attractions of the big city, but just outside lie wineries that produce lovely whites and surprisingly good Pinot Noirs. In Zurich, the Baur au Lac (bauraulac.ch; doubles from €785) is one of the great historic hotels of Europe, built in 1844—the same year its founder, Johannes Baur, started his wine business, which the hotel still runs. At Schwarzenbach Weinbau (reblaube.ch), a wine producer 15 minutes away in the town of Meilen, you can sip subtle Pinot Noirs and citrus-apricoty white Rauschlings, available nowhere else on earth. Dinner at Wirtschaft zur Burg (wirtschaftzurburg. ch; entrées €12–€25), also in Meilen, is excellent. Chef Turi Thoma relies on ingredients such as pike and hare for his brilliantly executed spins on traditional recipes. — R.I.

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Originally, tiny bowls of this Thai staple of pork or beef, rice noodles, morning glory and nam tok—the spiced blood of cow or pig—were served by floating merchants on longtail boats that traversed the canals of Siam’s former capital, Ayutthaya. That explains both the name “boat noodles” and why the bowls are so small: to avoid spillage. Although tradition-minded vendors now usually dish them out on drier land, an aromatic boat-noodle meal will still cost you by the final number of stacked saucers. — Leigh Griffiths

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