July 2017

Southeast asia

july 2017 A Gourmet’s Guide to Asia’s Best Food Tours

Homegrown Aussie Cuisine

Phuket Forage for your dinner

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

Plus: What’s on the menu in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore and Manila

THE BOUNTY OF BINTAN: TASTES OF THE ISLAND STRETCHING ACROSS THE NORTHERN COAST of the Indonesian isle, Bintan Resorts is composed of world-class hotels, recreational facilities and attractions to entice and delight holidaymakers.

Making the journey to the multi award-winning destination is child’s play, with domestic flights to Bintan’s Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport available from Jakarta, Pekanbaru or Matak. Meanwhile, the short transfer from Singapore’s Changi Airport to Tanah Merah Ferry terminal can be made by taxi or aboard the brand new dedicated shuttle bus.

With feet firmly on Bintan, spend your days lounging on tropical beaches or perfecting your swing on designer golf courses. Alternatively, carve through the hills on exhilarating ATV and mountain bike trails or splash through frothing waters in a kayak—as relaxation and rejuvenation are at hand, action and adventure also abound. Most bountiful of all, though, is the smorgasbord of culinary delights in store for the Bintan-bound.

FROM PANAROMIC SEAVIEWS to sandy beaches, you’ll find countless beauty spots for unforgettable destination dining throughout Bintan Resorts— breathtaking settings that provide the perfect backdrop to the island’s many culinary treasures.

Among the most memorable eateries, The Kelong Seafood Restaurant sits at the end of the pier off the Western Coast of Nirwana Gardens. Suspended above the water, and cooled by a sea breeze, experience the true taste of Bintan as you feast on Black Pepper Crab and Stir Fried Butter Prawns as the sun sets over the South China Sea, and indulge in a drink at adjoining Calypso Bar as the stars come out overhead.

Just a stone’s throw from both Lagoi Beach and Plaza Lagoi, Warung Yeah! is where you’ll find local favorites including Internet, Mee Goreng Gila and Indomi Rendang, before strolling over to Lagoi Bay Lantern Park to marvel at the vibrant lantern displays of marine creatures and endangered animal species in Indonesia.

A more adventurous ramble over to the idyllic

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1. The Calypso Bar, Nirwana Gardens.

2. Remixed classics at Pizza Casa Italia.

3. LOCO Cafe, Rimba Jaya.

4. Gong Gong (sea-snails), a local delight easily found in seafood restaurants.

5. Ayam Penyet Sambal Ijo, Warung Yeah!

6. Crab Wall of Fame at The Kelong Seafood Restaurant.

7. Destination Dining-Fisherman’s Dinner at Banyan Tree Bintan.

3 Harbourfront Place #16-01 Harbourfront Tower Two, Singapore 099254 Tel: (65) 6389 3535, Fax: (65) 6396 7758 Email: bintan@bintan-resorts.com

ADVERTORIAL

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Trikora coast rewards intrepid foodies at Pizza Casa Italia, whose traditional wood-fired oven turns out the crispiest crusts, topped with mouthwateringly melted cheese and innovatively remixed with local favorites like Pizza Cornet (corned beef) and Pizza Sosis (chicken sausage).

IN SEARCH OF THE TRULY AUTHENTIC? Bintan is home to unique and unmissable local specialties like aromatic Otak Otak: chunks of freshly caught prawn, squid and fish flamed-grilled over a charcoal barbecue and wrapped in a banana leaf. Also wrapped in fragrant green fronds, the distinctive sweet-and-sour zing of fermented tapioca will stay with you long after you’ve sampled a taste of Tape (pronounced Ta-pei). The Bintan-famous soft-bone chicken known as Ayam Presto is devoured in its entirety by guests from around the world; sink your teeth into the flavorful dish, cooked in a secret blend of beguiling spices and fried crisply to perfection.

Such is the irresistible allure of Gong Gong that the scrumptious sea snails adorn the Tourism Information Center; plunge a toothpick inside a pearly shell to mine the tasty morsel of meat within. Find local delicacies like these, plus specialities from further afield at foodies’ paradise, Rimba Jaya. Explore the cafes, bars and vibrant night market as dusk falls and irresistible fragrances fill the air.

GRAND TALES

Grand Mercure’s refined hotels and resorts provide immersive and elegant cultural experiences through the rich narratives of its warm and engaging teams.

Grand Mercure Phuket Patong Resort & Villas

With deep roots in each destination, Grand Mercure hotels capture guests’ imagination and brings local stories to life while delivering a fresh perspective on world-class service.

Through considered touches such as traditional greetings on arrival, sumptuous regional delicacies, authentic wellness rituals, and unique cultural experiences, Grand Mercure delivers the best of Thailand, Vietnam, and soon Myanmar with the opening of Grand Mercure Yangon Golden Empire next year.

Grand Mercure Phuket Patong Resort & Villas is a secluded sanctuary of spacious rooms, suites and private pool villas that offer a comprehensive set of amenities and extras like in-room sofas, stunning pool views, and a choice of rain shower or bathtub. Though only steps from shopping bazaars, nightlife venues, and the Andaman Sea, guests can indulge in southern Thailand’s classic recipes without leaving the comfort of the resort. Artfully balancing subtle flavours of turmeric and chaphlu leaves with the natural sweetness of fresh crab, the chef’s signature yellow curry with rice noodles and crab, or mee hoon gaeng poo, is the perfect introduction to Phuket’s unique culinary charm.

Grand Grand Mercure Mercure Danang Danang

Located Located in in the the heart heart of of Bangkok’s Bangkok’s most most vibrant vibrant shopping shopping and and nightlife nightlife district, district, Grand Grand Mercure Mercure Bangkok Bangkok Asoke Asoke Residence Residence offers offers unrivalled unrivalled convenience convenience for for exploring exploring everything everything the the city city has has to offer. After a day immersed in a world of sensory wonder, wonder, guests guests return return to to an an urban urban oasis oasis of of calm calm with with spacious spacious suites, suites, aa refreshing refreshing rooftop rooftop pool, pool, and and aa rejuvenating rejuvenating cup cup of of the the hotel’s hotel’s signature signature wellness wellness drink. drink. Crafted Crafted by hill tribes tribes in in Northern Northern Thailand, Thailand, each each sachet sachet of of Floral Floral Blooming Blooming Tea Tea contains contains aa rich rich blend blend of of chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum, jasmine, jasmine, globe globe amaranth, amaranth, and and oolong oolong leaves. leaves. As As itit steeps, steeps, itit unfurls unfurls like like aa blooming blooming flower, flower, creating creating aa sensory sensory experience experience that that relaxes relaxes as as itit restores. restores.

With With an an excellent excellent riverside riverside location location overlooking overlooking the the famed famed Tran Tran Thi Thi Ly Ly Bridge, Bridge, the the Grand Grand Mercure Mercure Danang Danang is is itself itself aa majestic majestic local local landmark landmark where where guests guests can can enjoy enjoy aa traditional traditional Vietnamese Vietnamese coffee coffee with with breakfast breakfast at at La La Rive Rive Gauche Gauche brasserie, brasserie, and and minutes minutes later later be be lounging lounging on on pristine pristine beaches. beaches. As As the the gateway gateway to to some some of of Vietnam’s Vietnam’s most most significant significant cultural cultural sites, sites, Danang Danang is is rich rich in in history. history. The The Grand Grand Mercure Mercure Danang Danang celebrates celebrates that that distinction distinction with with epicurean epicurean delights delights that that treat treat guests guests to to aa range range of of influences. influences. Available Available around around the the clock clock and and featuring featuring high-quality high-quality ingredients ingredients and and fragrant fragrant local local herbs, herbs, the the country’s country’s famed famed noodle noodle dishes dishes provide provide aa taste taste of of each each region’s region’s speciality, speciality, including including pho pho from from northern northern Vietnam, Vietnam, mi mi quang quang from from Danang, Danang, bun bun bo bo from from Hue, Hue, and and cao cao lau lau from from Hoi Hoi An. An. From From the the charming charming bustle bustle of of Chatuchak Chatuchak weekend weekend market market to to the the artistic artistic works works showcased showcased at at The The Bangkok Bangkok Art Art and and Culture Culture Centre, Centre, Grand Grand Mercure Mercure Bangkok Bangkok Fortune Fortune is is an an elegant elegant hub hub from from which which to to explore explore the the city’s city’s many many attractions, attractions, and and its its heritage heritage is is apparent apparent from from the the moment moment of of arrival. arrival.

Dressed Dressed in in classic classic silk silk uniforms uniforms and and accessories accessories inspired inspired by by aa bygone bygone era, era, the the reception reception team team welcomes welcomes guests guests with with aa refreshing refreshing herbal herbal infusion infusion of of roselle, roselle, pandan pandan leaves leaves and and chrysanthemum. chrysanthemum. Additional Additional opportunities opportunities to to drink drink in in Thai Thai culture culture await await at at the the Metro Metro Lounge.

Lounge. Prepared Prepared table-side table-side with with rum rum handcrafted handcrafted in in Phuket, Phuket, guests guests sip sip signature signature Chalong Chalong Bay Bay Rum Rum Mojitos Mojitos to to the the soothing soothing sounds sounds of of live live musicians musicians playing playing traditional traditional Thai Thai instruments instruments and and piano. piano.

For more information, visit grandmercure.com or accorhotels.com.

Grand Grand Mercure Mercure Bangkok Bangkok Fortune Fortune

SEOUL WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF “ GOBLIN ” AS I CONTINUE MY SEARCH for exclusive set locations for the smash TV hit “Goblin”, my journey takes me through Seongsu-dong to the notable Wall Art Street. Relatively hidden from the main roads, its unique murals made by budding local artists are worth searching for. I stare up at wall-sized paintings of literary greats like Ernest Hemingway and Jane Austen that tower over onlookers posing for pictures.

It is here where Goblin waits for Eun-tak while reading a book.

Next, I’m off to Yongdap Station. Hopping off the subway, I exit the station and walk up along the snaking walkway to the pedestrian bridge, one of the most famous moments in the TV series, as it is here, in this very spot, where Sunny and the Death Angel (aka the Grim Reaper and Kim Sun) first lay eyes on each other. Located at Seongdong District in Seoul, the setting is made more memorable by the fantastic views of Seoul. Below a stream flanked by tree-lined paths stretches on for miles while in the distance I can see trains come and go from the nearby station.

*This is the second of a two-part series. The first instalment was featured in the June issue of of Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Colourful murals along Seongsu-dong’s Wall Art Street; the picturesque stone wall alley beside Deoksugung Palace; Seodaemun’s Graffiti Tunnel; wall-sized painting of Ernest Hemingway along Seongsu-dong’s Wall Art Street; the entrance to Yongdap Station. **F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N: W W W.V IS I TS E O U L .N E T

My next stop brings me underground to the Graffiti Tunnel from episode 10, entitled “Spring Onion Runway”. Located near Sinchon Station along subway Line 2, the long, domeshaped passageway is covered in colorful graffiti and was used for that hilarious bromance scene where the Grim Reaper and the Goblin walked through a tunnel carrying spring onions only to have a the special bonding moment distrupted by a motorist.

Finally, my itinerary brings me to the stonewall alley in Jeong-dong. This is the street where the Grim Reaper’s favourite coffee shop can be seen.

Walking through these locations reignites my fondness for the TV series. Having revisited all the locations in person where my favourite scenes were shot reminds me why I became such a fan with the show in the first place.

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July

ON THE COVER Yellow tail hamachi tartar, crème fraiche vinaigrette, rosella powder, sea grapes and Hua Hin Oscietra caviar at Pru restaurant in Phuket.

Photographed by Pornsak Na Nakorn.

features

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The Central Ingredient Vietnam’s waistline is bursting with indigenous dishes and inviting eateries.

Duncan Forgan dines and drives from Hue to Danang to Hoi An. Photographed by Aaron Joel Santos

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c l o c k w i s e F R O M t o p LE F T: S t u a r t Wa l m s l e y; C É l i n e C l a n e t; a a r o n J o e l S a n t o s ; L i l l i a n c h o u

84 104 94 76

Australian Pastoral A new generation of locavore chefs is redefining Australian cuisine, taking it back to the earthy, seaborne and aboriginal flavors. By Alessandra Gesuelli.

Photographed by Stuart Walmsley

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Feeding the Dragon Chinese food comes in as many different cuisines as there are dialects. We offer three of our favorites.

Story and photographs

by Lillian Chou

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Still or Sparkling?

What would champagne be without all the bubbles? By Adam Leith Gollner.

Photographed by Céline Clanet

t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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In Every Issue

T+L Digital 14 Contributors 16 Editor’s Note 18 The Conversation 20 Deals 72 Wish You Were Here 114

departments

25 From Tokyo to Lima with Love

Hong Kong’s new Nikkei eatery serves ceviche, tiradito and causa with a wink and a nudge.

27 Harvest Moonshine These bars look to their own backyards for inspiration and ingredients.

roofs are ablaze with a new slew

Europe’s major tourist hubs lie

36 Perfect Weekends Just beyond captivating cities and country retreats that most travelers never see.

expert at this new izakaya in

38 Noodling Around The soba

abridged guide on what to order from the plethora of tasty plates dished out at hawker centers.

to rolling green hills, these new hotels have views that awe.

that nod to 1940s European-tour style, but keep things fun and forward-looking.

Italian chef, Luca Fantin, has

34 Starry Night Michelin-starred opened a new restaurant in Bali.

Country A meandering drive from Bilbao to San Sebastián shows that this part of Spain is a stronghold for both captivating cuisine and art.

Upgrade 63 Feast for the Senses The right

gourmet guide can show you that the best way to get at a culture’s heart is through the stomach.

Beyond

Philippine capital are whipping

43 Manila Mania Young chefs in the the local food scene into a frenzy.

70 Airbus A350 XWB A look at

what’s new with this family of sleek-but-spacious extra-widebody aircraft.

chef Kevin Ching searches for the

48 Burma in a Bowl Rangoon-based

25

12

56 Another Face of Basque

40 Serving Up Singapore Our

30 Buena Vista From city skylines 32 Old-School Cool Travel pieces

foraging his way to a 100-percent locavore menu.

Bangkok will have you slurping for joy.

28 Drink in the View Bangkok’s of sky-high hotel bars.

chef in Phuket is farming and

52 Earthly Delights An innovative

j u ly 2 0 17 / t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

perfect bowl of mohinga fish noodle soup.

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F R O M LE F T: c o u r t e s y o f t o k y o l i m a ; c o u r t e s y o f C e n ta r a g r a n d ; c o u r t e s y o f b u l g a r i r e s o r t b a l i ; p o r n s a k n a n a k o r n

Here+Now

+

t+l digital

Lookout

Asia’s New Gener ation of Design Hotels Some of Asia’s most ambitious hotel designers and architects shared their secrets with us.

Into the Jungle in Sabah On the eastern fringe of Borneo’s protected rain forest, a new tourism venture welcomes travelers into the heart of the jungle.

A Culinary Journey to Cambodia Passionate foodie and renowned fashion designer Phillip Lim shares his top places for local cuisine in Siem Reap.

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travelandleisureasia.com

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

this month on tr avel andleisureasia.com

Bangkok gets a new, unconventional fine dining hot spot; introducing a stylish new Singapore boutique; rail travel in Japan just got even more glam; Saigon opens a sophisticated art space; the latest travel deals and more.

ADVERTORIAL

Dean Song, Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel.

Often, it’s the little extras that can change an everyday exchange into a meaningful encounter and no one knows that better than Dean Song, Guest Relations Officer at Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel. It was 3:30 a.m. and all was tranquil until Dean got a call from a distressed guest, whose infant daughter was running a high fever. Instinctively, Dean arranged a car to the nearest hospital, but, on seeing his guest frantic with worry about her child and nervous about handling the situation in an unfamiliar country where she did not speak the language, he stepped his assistance up a gear and gallantly accompanied them to the Emergency Room. Here he stayed, communicating adeptly with staff and remaining faithfully

W W W.SHERATON.COM

‘Holiday Heroes’ Meet the personal champions going beyond the ordinary call of duty, for you. at the child’s bedside throughout her treatment until both mom and baby could be returned safely to their suite.

Transforming someone’s entire experience by going just a step further like this is the inspiration for the new campaign, “Go Beyond”, which celebrates Sheraton associates’ dedication to ensuring guests’ safety and comfort, whatever it takes.

The instinct to Go Beyond kicked in for associate Shailesh Sunder of the Sheraton Grand Pune Bund Garden Hotel, when he recognized three distinguished hotel guests stranded in the middle of the highway, having suffered a flat tyre.

Shailesh wasted no time in introducing himself, whisking the guests to safety and

ensuring their rental car was repaired too.

Thanks to his efforts, crisis was averted and the relieved guests made it to their onward flight without any further hitches.

The commitment to Go Beyond is what motivated Joe Huang and the Guest Services team at Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central to play superheroes for a guest who’d lost his wallet, dauntlessly searching through CCTV footage to track down the man’s taxi, and finding the company to return his irreplaceable belonging, safe and sound.

The pledge to Go Beyond comes as Sheraton celebrates 80 years, and serves as a recommitment to going over and above the call of duty for the next 80 — and beyond.

contributors

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Stuart Walmsley

Lillian Chou

Australian Pastoral Page 84 — Melbourne-based Walmsley (try his favorite Curry Cafe in Northcote for genuine Indian tastes and craft beer) notes “a conscious shift in Victoria to more detailed menus, fresher and more local produce and a paddock-to-plate mentality.”

He says chef Simon Stewart at Bespoke Harvest in Forrest “takes pride in knowing all his suppliers and delivering an unforgettable seasonal taste of The Otways.” He’ll also not soon forget the surprise dinner orchestrated by chef Matt Stone “on a sundrenched Black Spur Ridge, a table in the rainforest laden with local treats, fine wine and kangaroo tail broth.”

Instagram: @stu_walmsley.

Feeding the Dragon Page 94 — The American journalist has been living in Beijing and eating her way across China since 2009. “One food quest can yield many discoveries.

A Yunnan mushroom hunt led me to minority foods like rose jams, and a magical tiny hamlet celebrated for its cured hams.” Beyond Cantonese, picking a top regional cuisine is tough “because I seem to fall in love with the food from the last place I visited—except Inner Mongolia.” Dumplings and noodles always tempt, but “my favorite off-the-beaten path dish is the cuminscented spinach at Tuzi’s restaurant in Hangzhou.”

Instagram: @lililbeijing.

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Duncan Forgan

Alessandra Gesuelli

The Central Ingredient Page 76 — “For me, Vietnamese food is all about complexity, subtlety and freshness,” says the Scotsman, who has lived all over Southeast Asia. “I love Thai, Indian, Chinese and Malay for the strong, punchy flavors, but there’s only so much of the sledgehammer approach you can take. Vietnamese offers more refinement.” What to eat? “My favorite Hue dish is banh khoai (crisp crepes with pork belly). In Danang you can’t go wrong with tom nuong (grilled shrimp) at any beachfront restaurant. Hoi An’s greatest gift to the world is its light, fluffy, turmericinfused com ga (chicken rice).” Instagram: @dunc1978.

Australian Pastoral Page 84 — The Italian writer traveled to the countryside beyond Melbourne to meet the locavore chefs redefining Aussie cuisine. “There is a diverse and openminded food culture in Victoria. Through their food, chefs want people to understand their traditions and rediscover them,” she says. “The extraordinary biodiversity is a challenge and great fun for the chefs who like to dare. Ingredients and tastes blow your mind.”

Matt Stone, of Oakridge Wines in Yarra Valley, stands out in particular. “I loved his food concept and preparation.” Instagram: @alegesuelli.

W r i t er

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W r i t er a nd 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 s t u a r t wa l m s l e y; c o u r t e s y o f L i l l i a n c h o u ; c o u r t e s y o f d u n c a n f o r g a n ; c o u r t e s y o f a l e s s s a n d r a g e s u e l l i

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editor’s note

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friend came up with a great suggestion. We would tool around the metropolis, eating at hole-in-the-wall restaurants with no obvious signage. We ate well— small fish dishes with of-the-moment vegetables at one stop, hand-made soba accompanied by out-of-this-world tofu at another. What tied it all together, though, was the sheer joy of eating shoulder to shoulder with Tokyoites who know where to go and enjoy eating without reservation.

In this, our annual food issue, we learn time and again that if you follow the locals, you’ll eat well. Writer Diana Hubbell introduces culinary journeys led by resident foodies through Hong Kong, Melbourne, Rangoon, Penang and Manila (“Feast for the Senses,” page 63), to name but a few of the destinations.

Vietnam’s gastronomical delights pull Duncan Forgan in every direction during his visit (“The Central Ingredient,” page 76). “Food is at the heart of everything here,” one of his hosts tells him, echoing a sentiment that rings true throughout Asia. As it should, his dish-by-dish account will leave you wanting more.

Which brings me back to that night in Japan, when I was left with exactly that yearning. We were denied a bowl of noodles at one back-alley vendor because, the master explained politely, they were out of food—a sure sign that the restaurant was truly worth trying.

@CKucway chrisk@mediatransasia.com

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From My Travels

Opening this month is the Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li, a refurbished collection of 55 shikumen-style villas. Following the lines delineated in the 1930s as the home of a French real estate company, the bold brick getaway also houses a brasserie and a spa. In the Xuhui District preservation zone, the Capella adds some historical flare to this Chinese port, though with modern amenities.

fr o m l e f t: t h a n a k o r n c h o m n awa n g ; c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way

I had a night free in Tokyo earlier this year, when a Japanese

the conversation

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

The struggle to stay hydrated when traveling is real. According to Dr. Clayton T. Cowl, chair of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, a plane’s filtration system, which creates a clean environment inside the aircraft, causes humidity levels to drop to 10 to 20 percent—between 30 and 65 percent is considered comfortable. So how do we avoid itchy eyes and a dry throat on board flights?

“Match each glass of wine with an eight-ounce cup of water.”

— Peter Hackett, director of the Institute for Altitude Medicine.

Add chia seeds t o wat er or food.

“Chia seeds absorb nine to 12 times their weight in water,” dietitian Tanya Zuckerbrot says, meaning consuming them can help you stay hydrated longer.

#TLASIA

On long-haul flights, researchers from St. John’s University in Taipei advise travelers to drink

1 LITER

of water every

5 hours.

Avoid dry ing, alcoholbased mois t urizers.

Instead, Dr. Cowl recommends a vitamin E lotion to combat dry skin.

“don’t forget that fruit and veggies count towards your daily fluid goals.“ Nutrition expert and dietitian Toby Amidor suggests snacking on hydrating produce to up your H2O intake.

this month, readers share their most appetizing food snapshots.

Com ga, or chicken rice, in Hoi An. By @almostlanding.

Breakfast almost too pretty to eat in Hanoi. By @jackiecole_.

Osaka sets lunch standards high.

By @foodicles.

Flavor explosion on Koh Si Chang, Thailand. By @monoubani.

Sanur I Ubud I Nusa Dua I Jimbaran

P. 62 361 705 777 F. 62 361 705 101 E. experience@kayumanis.com

Share an Instagram photo by using the #TLAsia hashtag, and it may be featured in an upcoming issue. Follow @travelandleisureasia

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editor-in-chief art director Deput y editor senior editor senior DEsigner DEsigner assistant EDITOR

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Regul ar contributors / photogr aphers Cedric Arnold, Kit Yeng Chan, Helen Dalley, Philipp Engelhorn, Marco Ferrarese, Duncan Forgan, Diana Hubbell, Lauryn Ishak, Mark Lean, Melanie Lee, Ian Lloyd Neubauer, Morgan Ommer, Aaron Joel Santos, Stephanie Zubiri chairman president publishing director publishER digital media manager TRAFFIC MANAGER /deput y DIGITAL media manager sales director business de velopment managers chief financial officer production manager production circul ation assistant

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TR AVEL+LEISURE (USA) Editor-in-Chief Senior Vice President / Publishing Director Publisher

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Making a Splash FIND POOL PARTIES APLENTY AT AYANA RESORT AND RIMBA JIMBARAN IN BALI FANC Y A SWIM? HOW ABOUT A BAKER’S DOZEN?

Ever had to pull yourself out of a hotel bed early to beat the crowd to the pool and snag a prime lounger, then pray your towel and beach bag were still there after breakfast—well, that doesn’t sounds like a much of a vacation, does it? Chuck out such inconvenience along with all the resorts that don’t value deck space and your precious pool time.

Check in to the verdant wonderland that is Ayana Resort and Spa, Rimba Jimbaran and The Villas at Ayana, and never again be worried about where you’re going to dip your toes.

Hugging a spectacular swath of Bali’s coastline, this forest fiefdom boasts a beach, 12 swimming pools and the onlyone-in-Asia Aquatonic Seawater Therapy Pool, making for 13 resort-wide swimming areas. Toss in the 78 private pool villas, and you’ve got a whopping 91 different places to submerge!

Take the brand-new funicular down to Kubu Beach, a

castaway dream with waves rolling in between dramatic cliffs.

Headlining the Thermes Marins spa, the Aquatonic Seawater Pool here is the largest in the world. Wade the two-hour circuit of 60 water jets that target every pressure point in your body, and emerge a fully revived, utterly relaxed soul.

Capitalizing on its cascading cliff side, Ocean Beach Pool is an intimate affair tucked next to the famous Rock Bar, where whitecaps crashing below and the clear horizon beyond make a stunning backdrop for envy-inducing couples’ selfies. The greenery-draped, multi-level Villas Pool evokes the beautiful natural rock formations of Pamukke, Turkey. The little ones will love the kids’ pools with water slides at both Ayana and Rimba. Even Mexican restaurant Unique gets in on the party with a sunset-spectacular rooftop pool that’s pure Bali beach club, but up above the clouds. Order a margarita from your floating beanbag, and wonder why you don’t do this every day.

Monkey Business Macaques have a 25,000-year history of cohabiting with people, and the lovable long-tailed guys at Ayana are no exception. Twice a day, resort staff put out 40 kilograms of sweet potatoes and native fruits for these resident monkeys, who gather under the trees to eat, socialize—and preen for admiring guests. Pop by the forest road en route to Kubu Beach at 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. “It is just as important to nourish our wildlife as it is our guests,” says General Manager, Clive Edwards. “We trust that this cycle of life will continue to radiate positivity, growth and wellbeing for all.”

Near-Away! by American Express

M SOCIAL SINGAPORE 90 Robertson Quay, Singapore 238259 Call 65 6206 1888 or email reservations.mss@millenniumhotels.com to make your bookings now.

Modern and vivacious, M Social is an inviting new hotel on the historic Singapore River. Conceptualized by renowned French designer Philippe Starck, M Social’s 293 rooms are known for their style. Book an Alcove Cosy room and bask in its high ceilings of 4.1 meters.

Feast at Beast & Butterflies to relish flavours from both East and West, while sipping on artisanal cocktails and soaking up live music. Venturing out is a breeze too, because M Social overlooks the vibrant Robertson Quay enclave, decked with diverse selections of restaurants,

cafés and bars. If you want to go farther afield, grab your room’s smartphone preloaded with city guides and catch the hotel’s shuttle downtown.

M Social helps you define your own reality and customise your comfort, whether it’s using the self check-in kiosk in the lobby or choosing among five distinct room designs, each with its own wow factor.

At M Social, life is all about collecting experiences and embarking on your next adventure.

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M SOCIAL SINGAPORE NEAR-AWAY! BY AMERICAN EXPRESS® IS OPEN TO BASIC PLATINUM RESERVE CREDIT CARD MEMBERS. • Card Member must make reservation with M Social Singapore at reservations.mss@millenniumhotels.com at least 14 days in advance. The use of this voucher must be stated at time of reservation.

• All reservations are subject to availability and not applicable during blackout dates (i.e. Eves of Holidays and Public Holiday) or days of high occupancy. Please contact M Social Singapore for more information. A room reservation confirmation letter or email (in softcopy or hardcopy) must be presented, along with the physical voucher and your American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card upon check-in.

• Offer may not be combined with other hotel programmes or special offers and is not available on pre-existing reservations.

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• No show or cancellation policies apply in accordance to the hotel’s policies. Please check with hotel for details.

• Accommodation is for a maximum of two (2) adults and is inclusive of all applicable tax and service charges for such accommodation. Breakfast is not included. Cost of meals and all other incidentals (including applicable tax and service charges), will be charged to the Card Member’s American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card.

• Merchant’s Terms and Conditions apply – please check with respective merchants for details. American Express acts solely as a payment provider and is not responsible or liable in the event that such services, activities or benefits are not provided or fulfilled by the merchant. Merchants are solely responsible for the fulfilment of all benefits and offers.

• Programme benefits, participating merchants and Terms and Conditions may be amended or withdrawn without prior notice at the sole discretion of American Express International Inc. In the event of any disputes, the decision of American Express will be final and no correspondence may be entertained.

American Express International Inc., (UEN S68FC1878J) 20 (West) Pasir Panjang Road #08-00, Mapletree Business City, Singapore 117439. americanexpress.com.sg Incorporated with Limited Liability in the State of Delaware, U.S.A.® Registered Trademark of American Express Company. © Copyright 2017 American Express Company.

N e ws + t r e n d s + d i sc o v e r i e s

the dish

From Tokyo to Lima with Love

courtesy of tok yolima

Hong Kong’s new Nikkei eatery serves ceviche, tiradito and causa with a wink and a nudge. Diana Hubbell swings by for a bite.

The“Feed Me” menu at TokyoLima is a parade of small plates.

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/ here&now /

clockwise from top left: Sake on

The bartender lifts the lid

on a miniature treasure chest inked with Chinese characters and a heady plume of perfumed smoke escapes. When the fog clears, I see the scarlet glint of a Smoking Gun, a sultry spin on a Negroni. A basket of miso-brined karaage (Japanese fried chicken) materializes beside it. The latter is dubbed “ki-mo-chi,” which roughly translates to “feel good.” As for the colloquial meaning in Japan—well, you’ll have to ask Google about that.

“We’d been open for two weeks before I noticed that guys kept giggling every time they ordered it, while the women looked confused,” says Luis Diez, the restaurant manager, shaking his head. “So I looked it up on my phone and… Oh.” The man behind the cheeky moniker is chef Arturo Melendez.

“I don’t want my food to be too serious,” he says. “I hate when you have these long descriptions on the menu that take more time to read than the dish does to eat.”

His flare for everything fun shows here at TokyoLima, a slick new eatery showcasing JapanesePeruvian cuisine in Central. The sexed-up izakaya, with gleaming brass accents centering on an open

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kitchen, has a vast selection of ice-cold sakes and clever cocktails that keeps patrons buzzing until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. But don’t let the drink menu distract you from the main act: the food.

Order the “Feed Me,” an omakaseesque experience, where a seemingly endless parade of dishes like tuna tartare with watermelon, la causa (seasoned mashed potatoes with toppings), and tiradito (raw marinated fish) appear in quick succession. The courses may fly by fast, but they are the product centuries of tradition.

“People ask, ‘Oh, so you’re doing fusion?’ But there have been Japanese people in Peru for over 200 years. For Latinos, history already did its thing; now we just have to interpret it. The Spanish, the French, the Chinese and Japanese:

j u ly 2 0 17 / t r av e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a .c o m

they all transformed our cuisine,” says Melendez, who happens to be part Nikkei. As the first Peruvian chef to open a Peruvian restaurant in Hong Kong, he’s been both a passionate advocate of his country’s cuisine and a something of a culinary anthropologist. He takes note of how Cantonese words, like “ginger,” crept into Peruvian dialect, and how Moroccan escabeche helped produce what we know as ceviche.

While inspired by Peru, his style isn’t one you’d find there. “It’s my own interpretation,” Melendez says. “Nikkei cuisine started as an attempt to recreate Japanese food with Peruvian products, whereas mine is more Peruvian cuisine with Japanese products,” like the Hokkaido sea scallop ceviche.

He may get playful with his plates, but he is a stickler for the details, especially when it comes to sourcing seafood. “Hey, a wild chef needs to use wild fish,” he says with a laugh. “You could use farmed sea bass for ceviche, but it would lack flavor. If a sea bass comes from the ocean, it tastes of the ocean.”

It’s a buttoned-down blend that’s one part Tokyo, one part Lima, and all part of the modern-day melting pot of Hong Kong. tokyolima.hk; mains HK$260–$360; “Feed Me” menu HK$480.

c o u r t e s y o f t o k y o l i m a (4 )

ice; the open kitchen; la causa, topped with tempura prawn; the sultry Smoking Gun cocktail.

/ here&now / trending

Harvest Moonshine

At this new bar in Singapore, what goes in the glass comes from the ground.

BY VERONICA INVEEN

Vijay Mudaliar likes to get his hands dirty.

Rummaging for curry leaves, harvesting wild figs, hunting for ripe starfruit: it is a messy business but the bounty is transformed into elegant cocktails at Mudaliar’s bar, Native (tribenative.com; cocktails from $S19), where Asian spirits are mixed with fruits, spices, and insects that the team collects by hand from their travels throughout Southeast Asia.

European cocktails like the Negroni and the Sidecar used to be all the rage, but today there is a growing number of marquee bartenders who pride themselves on local sourcing. Goodbye Campari and cognac, hello sparkling Japanese sake, Sri Lankan arrak and Indian whisky.

Mudaliar wants his bar to reflect his Singapore roots. “Asian ingredients are the tastes I know and love,” he says. The Red Light District, for example, uses dragon fruit and calamansi from Singapore, and betel leaves plucked from within a three-meter radius of the venue. While the drinks rely on Singaporean fare, specialty items from across Asia pop up. A trip to Thailand resulted in the Antz, starring Chalong Bay rum from Phuket and finished with a basil leaf topped with basil meringue sprinkled with flash-frozen Thai ants (Mudaliar says Singaporean ants are too acidic).

The menu changes based on Mudaliar’s trips and moods, so you never know what you might find. “There are always new ingredients to discover, new combinations to try,” Mudaliar says. “A bartender’s work is never done.”

clockwise from top left: Singaporean red dragon fruit co-stars with rose vermouth in the Red Light District cocktail; bar owner Vijay Mudaliar; a trip to Thailand inspired the Antz cocktail; the well-stocked bar shelves at Native.

three more locations for local libations

c o u rtes y o f n ati v e (4 )

TOKYO | Ben Fiddich

Helmed by bartender Hiroyasu Kayama, this spot on the ninth floor of a Shinjuku high-rise is stocked with homemade spirits, including absinthe and chartreuse, along with anise, fennel and wormwood grown in his family’s plot on the outskirts of Tokyo. He also makes Campari from scratch, colored the old-fashioned way— with bug blood. fb.com/barbenfiddich; drinks for two ¥8,000.

BANGKOK | Eat Me

Buntanes “Pop” Direkrittikul, bartender at Bangkok’s beloved Eat Me restaurant, is earning the eatery a reputation for its drinks. His ‘Sip Some Thai’ menu of eight cocktails showcases ingredients from a nearby wet market. The Nahm Prik Noon combines grilled bell peppers, garlic-andshallot vodka, lime and pork rinds, in an homage to Chiang Mai chili paste. eatme restaurant.com; drinks for two Bt640.

BALI | Night Rooster

Locavore restaurant is famous for its Indonesian-ingredients-only ethos. Now, the chefs are extending the philosophy to Night Rooster bar, where cocktails are a mix of herbs from Locavore’s garden and homemade liquors including vermouth and bitters. The Jack and Gin blends Balinesejackfruit-infused gin, jasmine bitters and mangosteen. It is Bali in a glass. locavore. co.id; drinks for two Rp250,000.

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/ here&now / after dark

Drink in the View Bangkok’s roofs are ablaze with a new slew of sky-high hotel bars. By Jeninne Lee-St. John

Alfresco 64

Cru

Brewski

Attitude

Chivas Regal has splashed out a ton at Oxford University on cutting-edge research on the synesthetic connection between taste and our other senses. With the opening of Alfresco 64, the highest outdoor whisky bar in the world, the question becomes, how do the cinematic sights and sounds of the City of Angels affect how we savor scotch? The answer is, positively indeed.

Standing on the teak-floored bow of this luxury yacht in the clouds, hovering right atop the southern bend of the Chao Phraya River, sipping a Chivas Exclusive lebua blend, for example, you feel like you’re in a secret hideaway Bond-movie bolt hole. The feeling of penthouse privilege is only heightened by the custom glassware designed to intensify aromas and chill your aqua vitae without ice.

Go on, drink in the sensory overload. lebua.com.

Far be it from me to suggest you sully quality bubbles with silly mixers, but the bartenders at beautiful Cru have a way with champagne cocktails. The Bangkok Bellini is mandarin Absolut, mango, fresh ginger and champagne; La Vie en Rose is a double-trouble ice bucket brimming with beakers of bubbly, and shots of strawberry puree and Absolut raspberry. Purists, though, should pair their lobster and crab fritters with a bottle of GH Mumm No. 1 Pink, which is exclusive to Cru, and matches the sunset hues sweeping in through the roof’s famed arch—a rainbow denoument to the day after you emerge from the fancy-pants glass lift. fb.com/champagnecru.

Bangkok’s balmy and oftenrainy climes do not a good beer-garden culture make.

But the Brewski team has elevated the game, bringing 12 taps and 100 bottled beers to a laid-back, picnic table-laden, trellis-topped roof. The menu categorizes brews by genre, making the globe-spanning abundance (Maryland double IPA; New Zealand pilsner) accessible to the least informed of beer drinkers. There are even some elusive Thai craft brews and on-trend options like gose. The food menu is impressive: try the paneer poppers, the beer ceviche and the Kurabuta pork chop.

Occasional live music and special pairing dinners give this cozy roof a community vibe. venuesbkk.com.

Props to the new Avani for fulfilling one of my hardestto-satisfy desires: not only did they put a pool in their roof bar (virtually unheard of in Bangkok), but it’s a stunner infinity number that seems to cascade off the skyscraper into the river and city beyond. Attitude actually has five distinct areas suited for any mood. (though we hear a sixth, a flash second story, is in the works). Clap for your cuisine at the chef’s table in the open kitchen, drink in the insane southward panorama from the glass-box dining room that offers a rare bird’s-eye view of sunset, beckon mixologist Alexandre Hersent to whip you up one of his signature cocktails at the bar, or grab a beanbag and chill out in the grass under the shady gazebo. Or: bring your swimsuit, buy a bottle and snag a pool lounger with #viewsfordays. minorhotels.com.

Centara Grand

Radisson Blu

Avani Riverside

c o u r t e s y o f C e n ta r a Gr a n d

Lebua at State Tower

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Sunset skies to match your pink champagne at Cru.

ADVERTORIAL

Penang

Sabah

Kuala Lumpur

MESMERIZING MALAYSIA Cendol

From incredible nature to culture and culinary delights, Malaysia is one of the region’s most appetising propositions.

BEAUTIFUL, SAFE AND BLESSED with an excellent transport infrastructure, Malaysia is a delight to explore.

Kuala Lumpur is a capital of contrasts where modern architectural icons such as the futuristic Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower co-exist with character-filled streets such as Petaling Street in the heart of the city’s Chinatown. And then there’s the striking street art and graffiti.

KL’s most compelling draw is its spectacular food: a melange of Malay, Chinese and Indian influences that shine through in hawker dishes like char kuey teow (a rich noodle dish), rojak (fruit and vegetable salad) or cardol (a shaved ice and coconut milk dessert).

Equally gastro-friendly is the island of Penang, regarded by many as the hawker food capital of the world. Open-air stalls are particularly strong on Chinese dishes, but seafood and the island’s legendarily creamy durian are other must-haves.

Penang has acted as a crossroads for trade and a link between Asia’s two halves for centuries and its colourful history is best sampled in George Town, the main hub, full of Chinese shop houses, Indian spice shops and grand mosques.

Another star destination is Malaysia’s portion of Borneo, encompassing the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Famous for towering peaks, impenetrable jungle and incredible bio-diversity, Borneo’s natural bounty can be found in the Kelabit Highlands in Sarawak and the Kundasang Valley and Mount Kinabalu in Sabah.

Sunworshippers can lap up the rays on beachfringed islands like Pulau Rawa and Pulau Pangkor.

Equally spellbinding is the “sky mirror” sandbar off the coast of Selangor.

With cultural, culinary and natural highlights across the board, Malaysia is a country of many flavours: all of them worth sampling.

IT’S TIME TO TAKE FLIGHT AND VISIT ASEAN’S 10 INCREDIBLE COUNTRIES:

• CAMBODIA • BRUNEI • INDONESIA • VIETNAM • THAILAND • LAOS • MALAYSIA • MYANMAR • SINGAPORE • PHILIPPINES

B E L M O N D R O A D T O M A N D A L AY, M YA N M A R

/ here&now / Recon

Kerry Hotel Hong Kong

Prime Lookout: Red Sugar Bar. This alfresco deck on the seventh floor is all

about the Victoria Harbour panorama.

It is no surprise that the first hotel built on the Kowloon waterfront in 20 years

would make this list. Designed by architect Andre Fu, the 16-story hotel was built to bring the outdoor landscape inside. In addition to views of the real thing, the guest rooms reflect Victoria Harbour with a palette of blues, eucalyptus furniture and a motif of ripple patterns. shangri-la.com/hongkong/kerry; doubles from HK$1,900.

EXPERIENCE A LAND OF SPECTACULAR SCENERY AND GOLDEN PAGODAS ABOARD THE LUXURIOUS BELMOND ROAD TO MANDALAY RIVER CRUISER ON JOURNEYS OF TWO TO FOUR-NIGHTS. CONTACT OUR LUXURY TRAVEL CONSULTANTS ON +65 6395 0678 OR YOUR LOCAL TRAVEL AGENT.

HOTELS | TRAINS | RIVER CRUISES | JOURNEYS BELMOND.COM

Alila Yangshuo

Prime Lookout: Heritage suite.

Book this spacious room for the view of karst mountains and the Li River.

Not all views are about vertigous heights. This soon-to-open property is more lush than the lofty. Yangshuo is famous for its karst mountains and winding rivers and you’ll find a bounty of natural wonder wherever your eyes land. The estate was once a sugar mill, and now, as then, it represents the sweet life. alilahotels.com; doubles from RMB1,380

Element Kuala Lumpur

Prime Lookout: Tr ace. On the 40th

floor, this restaurant faces the Petronas Twin Towers and the Klang Valley beyond.

The br and’s first for ay into Southeast Asia, Element is going big. Set in Ilham Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Malaysia, the 252 rooms look down over the city. The building is Green Building Index certified and our favorite eco-friendly features are the large windows that let in light (and a bird’s-eye perspective of KL). elementkualalumpur. com; doubles from RM800.

c l o c k w i s e fr o m t o p : c o u r t e s y o f k e rr y h o t e l h o n g k o n g ; c o u r t e s y o f e l e m e n t k u a l a l u m p u r ; c o u r t e s y o f a l i l a ya n g s h u o

DISCOVER MYANMAR

Buena Vistas

From towering city skylines to rolling green hills, these four new hotels have views that awe. We share the best spots to soak in the scenes. By Merritt Gurley

137 Pillars Bangkok

courtesy of 137 pill ars bangkok

Prime Lookout: Roof top Pool . The 360-degree skyscape from the infinity pool on the 27th floor goes swimmingly with cocktails at the poolside bar.

Chang Mai’s darling has set up shop in booming Bangkok. The Chiang Mai resort is a beautifully restored 125-year-old house that was once the headquarters for the Borneo Trading Company; the brand is intrinsically linked to the property itself, so we were curious to see their new urban digs in the Thai capital. The verdict: as much as the Chiang Mai property feels like Chiang Mai, 137 Pillars Bangkok feels like Bangkok—sleek and modern. At the suites-only boutique set in trendy Thonglor, residences take up the lower floors, positioning all of the hotel rooms on the 24th to 32nd floors, which means sprawling city views. Each suite in this 34-key hotel has a spacious balcony with a queen-sized daybed where you can relax in your sky-high haven. Want to pair the panorama with a bottle of bubbly? Choose a vintage from the wine fridge in the maxi bar and toast to towering heights.

The outlook from the Thai restaurant on the 27th floor, Nimitr—which translates “a special dream”—is also a stunner, but if you prefer to dine from the comfort of your veranda, call your 24-hour butler and they’ll have dinner brought to you. The service is beyond attentive; let them know that your visit is a special occasion (birthday, anniversary, etc.), and you may find cake and balloons in your room, or you might be greeted by a surprise sing-agram courtesy of the doting staff. We look forward to seeing how 137 Pillars will interpret island ease in their Phuket opening, slated for 2019.

T+L Tip: Hit The Bangkok Trading Post restaurant in the garden on the ground floor for brunch. The décor nods to the colonial roots of the brand and the hearty breakfasts (croissants, quinoa pancakes, three-egg farmer’s omelettes, salmon eggs benedict) will brace you for the day. 137pillarsbangkok.com; doubles from US$430.

/ here&now / Tod’s luggage $5,000 (tods.com); Altuzarra jacket $1,705 (bergdorf goodman.com); Ellery loafers price upon request (ellery.com). st yle

Old-School Cool

Steamer trunks and six-week European tours may be a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean retro Continental flair is gone for good. These pieces nod to 1940s style, with lively patterns and modern detailing to keep things fun and forwardlooking. editor: MELISSA VENTOSA MARTIN.

SET STYLIST: M OLLY F INDLAY. R UG COU R TESY O F NA Z M IYAL ANTIQUE R UGS . HAI R AND M AKEUP BY SAND R INE VAN SLEE F O R A R T DEPA R T M ENT. M ANICU R E BY M ICHINA KOIDE F O R A R T DEPA R T M ENT. M ODEL : TALIA AT ELITE NYC

Photogr aphs by Joanna McClure

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1. Miu Miu dress $2,815 (miumiu.com); Hermès crocodile belt $2,950 and bag $11,900 (hermes.com); Panthère de Cartier watch $7,350 (cartier.com). 2. Céline loafers $760 (celine.com); Rosetta Getty trousers $890 (rosettagetty.com). 3. Dior jacket $2,500 (dior. com); Gucci belt bag $1,050 (gucci.com); Valentino shirt $1,950 (valentino.com). 4. Céline earrings $710 (see above); Officine Générale blazer $775 (officinegenerale.com). 5. Dior sweater $2,000 (see above).

*Prices are listed in U.S. dollars and may vary by country and retailer.

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/ here&now / dining

Starry Night

Michelin-starred Italian chef Luca Fantin has opened a second restaurant in Bali, and it dazzles. By Joe Cummings

Luca Fantin is making

himself right at home in Bali. Since the Michelinstarred Italian chef’s first visit in January, he’s opened a second restaurant here.

Bulgari Bali, perched on the dramatic cliffs of Uluwatu, hosts the latest Il Ristorante Luca Fantin.

Open only for dinner, the 36-seat restaurant bears the signature stamp Fantin puts on all his dishes, an edgy take on classic Italian.

At the original Tokyo Bulgari, which has held a Michelin star since 2012, Fantin applies Japanese touches to contemporary Italian cuisine. An alla carbonara sauce, for example, uses sea urchin instead of egg.

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“The only thing I bring to Tokyo is Carnaroli rice, olive oil and Parmesan cheese,” he says. Since Bali is a tropical island without the agricultural resources of Japan, relying on local produce here is more of a challenge. “So far, about 90 percent of our ingredients come from Australia, Japan, Italy and Spain.”

Still, expect Indonesian specialties to make cameos at this tasting-menu-only eatery, where you can choose from three different options: traditional (four courses), contemporary (five courses) and Bulgari (eight courses). The dessert, for example, sees Fantin and team experiment on a variation on his famed consistenze di latte,

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successfully substituting fresh Balinese coconut cream for Hokkaido milk.

For the opening night dinner at Bulgari Bali, Fantin and resident head chef Fabrizio Crocetta prepare a tour-de-force, six-course menu of standout dishes, while the 200-variety-strong wine cellar, made up of predominantly Italian labels, offers ample pairing options for the progression. Early in the dinner, the tartare con crema di avocado ed affumicato di verdure is a beautiful tartar of Italy’s famed Fassone beef with avocado cream and smoked vegetables. The risotto carnaroli mantecato ai finocchi con salsa cacciucco, a rich

fennel-infused risotto doused in cacciucco, the tomato-influenced Italian fish stew native to Tuscany and Liguria, makes for a perfect mid-meal main.

Rounding out the savory recipes, the aragosta con erbe amare consists of expertly cooked Canadian lobster whose sweetness is balanced by the bitterness of arugula.

“I don’t want this to be just a resort restaurant,” Fantin says. “There are plenty of other places on the island where people can order pizza or spaghetti, but I want to offer much more. I want dining here to be a true experience.” bulgarihotels.com; tasting menus from Rp1,100,000.

courtesy of bulgari resort bali

from left: Luca Fantin; a delicate dish of octopus, capsicum cream and potato; Il Ristorante Luca Fantin, in Bulgari Bali.

ADVERTORIAL

Weaving the Seminyak flavours Over the years, Seminyak has evolved into one of Bali’s most intriguing enclaves.

Lured by the beachy, boho-chic vibe, discerning travellers are flocking to this coastal cluster of boutique shops, third-wave cafés and innovative eateries.

Days here are best spent perusing offerings in the eclectic art galleries, stopping by one of the magnificent nearby Hindu temples, or simply curling your toes in the powder sands. In the evenings, a booming mixology scene means that there are plenty of desirable places to sip a craft tipple or two.

In the midst of it all lies the new Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach, a plush bolthole that blends effortlessly into its stylish surrounds. For the world’s first

Hotel Indigo in a resort location, designers took extra care to ensure that this tropical haven featured the same sense of place and emphasis on local culture that forms the core of the brand’s identity. The result is a truly unique retreat that exudes Balinese flair. From the striking works by local artists displayed in the common spaces to the subtle geometric patterns inspired by songket weavings, virtually every element of the design pays aesthetic homage to the spirit of Seminyak.

The connection to the local way of life is more than merely cosmetic. Guests can savour contemporary Indonesian cuisine at Salon Bali, indulge in a soothing treatment derived from the holistic healing traditions of the Island of the Gods

at Sava Spa, or sip Balinese coffee from a mug handmade by ceramic master Kevala at Pottery Cafe. This fall, guests will be able to spend days soaking up the sunshine at resort’s SugarSand Beach Club, a luxe oasis on Mesari Beach. If you’re looking to dive deeper, the hotel’s Neighbourhood Hosts offer insider insights to all sorts of secret corners and hidden gems scattered throughout Seminyak. As a gesture of welcome to its first guests, the hotel is offering a special opening rate of up to 25 percent savings for stays from July 1 onwards to anyone who books directly on seminyak. hotelindigo.com. It’s all the more reason to immerse yourself in this vibrant neighbourhood by the Indian Ocean.

HOTEL INDIGO BALI SEMINYAK BEACH Jalan Camplung Tanduk No. 10, Seminyak, Bali 80361 seminyak.hotelindigo.com. Social Media @hotelindigobali

/ here&now / Lef t: The lobby

lounge at Glasgow’s CitizenM hotel.

Glasgow

Scotland

Bluebellgray

Trip Pl anner

Perfect Weekends

Just beyond Europe’s major tourist hubs lie captivating cities and country retreats that most travelers never see. These five gems—with their mix of stylish lodgings, standout cuisine and cultural charms—are ideal spots for summer getaways.

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(bluebellgray.com), known for textiles and housewares with impressionistic floral motifs, and Trakke (trakke.co.uk), which offers a line of adventure-ready bags and backpacks. And they’ve given new life to the city’s studios and galleries: spots like the Glue Factory (thegluefactory.com) and the Modern Institute (themodern institute.com) show work by homegrown talent. For dinner, don’t miss Alchemilla (thisisalchemilla.com; mains £9–14), where Nordic décor meets Mediterranean flavors—a nod to chef Rosie Healy’s time at Ottolenghi in London.

Take in a concert at St. Luke’s (stlukes glasgow.com), a venue in a converted church, then rest up at the mod CitizenM Glasgow (citizenm.com; doubles from £79), featuring Vitra furniture and bold, graphic artwork.

— L aur a Itzkowitz

Olomouc Czech Republic

Two hours by train from Prague, Olomouc has yet to become a go-to stop for visitors.

But this winsome city has much in the way of old-world charm, starting with its astronomical clock in the Upper Square.

Walk to the Archdiocesan Museum and Wenceslas Cathedral

(muo.cz) for a look at 900 years’ worth of iconography. Wander the city’s alleys, where sophisticated shops, like design atelier Mimokolektiv

(mimokolektiv.cz), are sprouting up; then stroll past remnants of medieval city walls in Bezruč Park . Pair Moravian wines with Czech dishes (like moravský vrabec— roast pork with dumplings) at Moravská Restaurace

(moravskarestaurace. cz; mains Kč180–480), or trade hearty fare for vegetable-forward plates at Entrée (entree-restaurant.cz; mains Kč215–400).

Just outside the city center, the Theresian Hotel (theresian.cz; doubles from Kč2,400), next to the Theresian Gate, weds Czech Baroquerevival architecture with sleek interiors.

— Morgan Childs

COU R TESY O F CITI Z EN M GLASGOW

Often overlooked in favor of history-rich Edinburgh, this city is in the midst of an art and design renaissance thanks to grads of the Glasgow School of Art. Young alums now run chic shops in town, like

Ticino

Brandenburg

Switzerland

F R O M TOP : ANNA R OSE ; B l a i n e H a rr i n g t o n / p r o f i l e p h o t o l i b r a r y; S a n d e r B u i j s

Germany

The state’s forests, lakes and villages are a favorite escape for Berlin’s creative crowd, and a crop of charming hotels and restaurants have made it appealing for tourists. In Lychen, a former farm has been reinvented as Rehof Rutenberg (rehofrutenberg-ferienhausbrandenburg.de; doubles from €90), with design-savvy cabins, an orchard and a wood-fired sauna. A few kilometers north, chef Wenzel Pankratz runs Forsthaus Strelitz (forsthausstrelitz.de; doubles from €50; prix fixe from €35), a rustic inn and haute farm-totable restaurant in Neustrelitz. The Berlin nightclub Clärchens

The Italian-speaking canton of Ticino offers doses of mountain-side dolce vita. Mornings are best spent exploring the region’s castles, like the unesco -listed Castelgrande

Ballhaus has a bucolic sister site in Schloss Schwante (schloss schwante.de; mains €14–35), which moonlights as a music and theater venue. In Waldsieversdorf, the Dada (be-dada.com; from €450 per person per night) is a new exclusive-use rental home, which adds luxury with amenities such as a cinema, spa and 24-hour concierge.

— Gisel a Williams

overlooking the medieval capital of Bellinzona. As the afternoon heat fills the valley, head to the hills for a hike along the Verzasca River—follow the locals’ lead and jump in from the Ponte dei Salti . There’s no shortage of Michelin stars here, but familyrun rustici better

express the area’s cooking. La Faura (bertazzi.ch; mains CHF18–29), just off the Strada Alta trail in Cavagnago, serves up pesto-laced minestrone and slabs of lasagna.

Embrace Ticino’s contemporary side in Lugano at the new LAC Museum (luganolac.ch), home to worldclass exhibits. Bed down at the stunning View (www. theviewlugano.com; doubles from CHF700), where you’ll find cashmere robes and terraces for watching the sun rise on turquoise Lake Lugano. — Adam Harne y Gr aham

from top: The Quince guest room at Forsthaus

Strelitz, in Neustrelitz, Germany; the town of Bellinzona, in the Swiss canton of Ticino; Plateau Royal is one of the most popular dishes at Fiskebar.

Antwerp Belgium

There’s more to this port city than diamonds and guildhalls—it’s a culinary Eden. In the Zuid neighborhood, tuck in to plateaux of North Sea shellfish at Fiskebar (fiskebar.be; mains €25–35), then down Old-Fashioneds with Kriek beer syrup and walnut bitters at Belroy’s Bijou Bar

(belroys.com). Head to Zurenborg for croissants at Domestic (domeweb.be) or Cantonese at Bar Chine (barchine.be; mains

€13–18). In Berchem, De Koninck Brewery

(dekoninck.be) houses top-notch food shops: try the chocolates at Jitsk (jitsk.com) and cheeses at Van Tricht (kaasaffineurs-van tricht.be). Down the street, chefs compose exquisite plates in a former military-hospital chapel at the Jane (thejaneantwerp.com; tasting menus from €107). The kitchen stands in place of the altar—a testament to food’s venerated place in Belgium’s second city.

— Meredith Be thune

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/ here&now / Noticed

Noodling Around

The soba expert at this new restaurant in Bangkok will have you slurping for joy.

He serves two types of soba: one that is 100-percent Hokkaido-sourced buckwheat and another that is 80 percent.

More buckwheat translates to coarser texture and stronger flavor. The 80-percent soba is to satisfy those who prefer a chewier consistency. From fresh dough, he slices the noodles by hand as swift as a fan blade to exactly 1.2 millimeters square, and serves it al dente. Hot or cold, it should be slurped up quickly so the noodles don’t dry out, or get saturated by the broth, which overwhelms the flavor.

“Japanese people don’t chew,” Mizuho scolds me as I try to delicately eat his soup. He

demonstrates the art of shamelessly slurping not one but three times to hammer the point home, then tells me to wash down the meal with one of their premium sakes or a glass of crisp white wine.

Venture beyond the bowl with a serving of yakitori, which is grilled to perfection over a charcoal fire. Yakitori skewers are loaded with organic local chicken and kushiyaka skewers are heavy with pork, seafood or house-made tofu. The melt-in-your mouth tsukune, a combination of minced chicken, chopped cartilage

and spices, slathered with yakitori sauce, should be dipped in raw egg yolk for a bit of sweetness.

With the help of his cousin, Yuta Nagao, who came with him from Japan, Mizuho makes three batches of hand-kneaded noodles per day. “You need to be heavy to knead the dough,” Mizuho tells me, as we watch Yuta pound the mixture of flour and water with all his might.

“If he loses weight, he can only make a small amount of noodles.” Well, then, Yuta, to your health. —V.I. Soba Factory at Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park; marriott.com; soba from Bt245.

At Soba Factory, a bowl of the namesake noodles topped with shrimp tempura. INSET: Soba master, chef Mizuho Nagao.

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c o u r t e s y o f s o b a fa c t o r y

Meet Mizuho Nagao , a chef with a distinguished soba lineage. His family runs a soba restaurant in Fukuoka and his father is one of Japan’s top soba chefs, awarded accolades from the imperial family. After finishing school and getting his soba-making license (a certification required of all soba chefs) Mizuho stepped into the family kitchen where he spent 13 years mastering the noodle dish. In 2007 he started his own restaurant in Fukuoka, and now he’s bringing his soba skills to Bangkok with the opening of Soba Factory in the new Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park hotel.

As you enter the izakayastyled restaurant, you’re greeted by the smiley face of Mizuho working on his authentic Fukuoka-style soba in the open kitchen. “I’ve adjusted the tsuyu sauce,” Mizuho says, “but otherwise my process and the noodles are just the same as in Japan.”

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/ here&now / Satay Is there anything more satisfying than meat on a stick, grilled over a charcoal fire, and dunked in groundpeanut sauce? Here you’ll find it served with a lontong (compressed rice cake) or ketupat (rice dumpling) on the side.

Char siew noodles Egg noodles are tossed in hoisin and black soy sauce, topped with char siew (barbecue roast pork) and garnished with green vegetables and pickled green chili.

Chicken rice The most iconic of all hawker foods, this is a must-try when you are in Singapore.

The simple combination of rice, chicken, chili sauce, black sweet soy sauce and ginger packs a flavor punch far beyond the individual ingredients. There is no right way to eat it; some prefer to mix chili and ginger and soy sauce carefully with each bite while others mix it all up on the plate.

Anatomy of a me al

Serving up Singapore

Bubur pulut hitam This dessert—a blend of black glutinous rice, pandan leaves and palm sugar, served with lightly salted coconut milk—comes from Indonesia but is widely available in dessert stalls.

There is not a more quintessential dining experience in the city than pulling up a plastic chair to tray full of food at a hawker center. Here, our abridged guide on what to order from the plethora of tasty plates dished out at these colorful outdoor food centers.

Story and photogr aphs by L auryn Ishak

Laksa Katong laksa, the Singaporean take on the classic soup, consists of rice noodles afloat in a spicy coconut-milkbased broth, along with cockles, prawns, deep-fried tofu puffs and fish cakes.

Clay-pot chicken rice

Bak chor mee Minced meat, pork liver, sliced mushroom, fried lard and noodles, tossed in a sauce of vinegar, chili and oil. The dish can be ordered dry, with soup on the side, or as a soup but without the sauce.

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A newer addition to the hawker scene, here the rice is cooked in a clay pot over a charcoal fire before the chicken, Chinese sausage and vegetables are added. Each one is cooked to order, but it is worth the 20-minute wait. The best part is the burnt, crunchy, smoky, crispy bits of rice at the bottom of the pot.

Maxwell Road Hawker Center.

Hawker Stalker

J TB P h o t o \ UIG / p r o f i l e p h o t o l i b r a r y

We track down the best spots to try these Singaporean foodie favorites.

Maxwell Road Hawker Centre.

This hot spot next to Chinatown is perennially packed and you can count on long lines at Tian Tian Chicken Rice, where the classic dish has won international recognition— Anthony Bourdain tweeted praise for their chicken rice and Gordon Ramsay lost to them in a cook-off—but even the lesser-lined stalls have noteworthy noshes, like the delectable dumplings at Special Shanghai Tim-Sum and the bak chor mee at Ah Guan Mee Pok. 1 Kadayanallur Street.

Tekka Centre.

Set next to one of the city’s biggest wet markets in Little India, the biryani, Tandoori breads and curries are delicious renditions of North and South Indian favorites, but the Chinese stalls are superlative as well, with standouts including 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodle

and Heng Gi Goose and Duck Rice. For dessert, head to Hajjah Fatimah and order the burbur pulut hitam. 665 Buffalo Road, Tekka Centre.

Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre.

Re-opened in May after three months of renovations, the space is now a sleeker spin on a traditional hawker hall.

You’ll find a tasty laksa at the aptly named Teochew Fishball Minced Pork Noodle Laksa stall, with lots of coconut and chili.

30 Seng Poh Road.

Old Airport Road Food Centre.

There is a glut of options at this classic food court.

Traditional Claypot Chicken Rice and Chuan Kee Satay are scrumptious spots for their titular dishes, while Hua Kee Hougang Famous Wanton Mee has amazing char siew noodles, balancing spicy and sweet.

19 Old Airport Road.

HERITAGE OF SERENITY

Escape to the peace and tranquility of Kamandalu Ubud, a 5-star boutique resort situated amid lush paddyfields in the green hills of Ubud. From your very own Balinese-inspired villa, step out to enjoy the warm hospitality of our staff and explore the natural surroundings that lie just beyond.

Jalan Andong Banjar Nagi Ubud, Bali 80571 Indonesia T +62 361 975 825 reservation@kamandaluresort.com www.kamandaluresort.com

Near-Away! by American Express

HOTEL FORT CANNING, SINGAPORE 11 Canning Walk, Singapore 178881 Call 65 6559 6769 or email reservations@hfcsingapore.com to make your bookings now.

Hotel Fort Canning is a magnificent, award-winning, 86-room luxury boutique hotel set amongst 18 hectares of lush national parkland in the heart of the city. As one of the finest boutique hotels in Singapore, the hotel offers easy access to the Orchard Road shopping belt, the Clarke Quay entertainment hub, the Central Business District and the Civic District.

Hotel Fort Canning was styled to incorporate the finest hospitality amenities, while retaining and conserving its old-style, colonial glamour. The guest rooms are beautifully designed with expansive views of the park or

the city skyline, where guests are pampered with inroom Nespresso machines, a selection of TWG teas, Poltrona Frau statement furnishings, lavish Jim Thompson silk finishings, and deep bath tubs.

Rejuvenate at your leisure, with a dip in NASA technology-purified mineral swimming pools, complimentary evening drinks and canapes in the Private Lounge, or sip the afternoon away with High Tea at The Salon.

Hotel Fort Canning is your urban oasis in a park.

To enjoy a one night’s stay in a Deluxe Room at an American Express subsidised rate of S$190 nett, please present the voucher located in your Platinum Reserve Credit Card Welcome Pack or annual Renewal Pack.

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• All reservations are subject to availability and not applicable during blackout dates (i.e. Eves of Holidays and Public Holiday) or days of high occupancy. Please contact Hotel Fort Canning, Singapore for more information. A room reservation confirmation letter or email (in softcopy or hardcopy) must be presented, along with the physical voucher and your American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card upon check-in.

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b u r m a | t h a i l a n d | s pa i n + m o r e

pl ace settings

Manila Mania

Young chefs in the Philippine capital are whipping the local food scene into a frenzy with their cool new restaurants. By Stephanie Zubiri. photogr aphed By Magic Liwanag

Food porn has taken Manil a’s

Chef Josh Boutwood shaving salted ox heart on eggplant puree.

social-media scene by storm. A new generation of adventurous gourmands are willing to trek beyond the obvious to the city’s gentrifying districts just to try the latest photogenic eats. Lower rents in these neighborhoods mean it is easier for up-and-coming talents to set up shop.

It’s in this scene that hot young chefs are firing up Manila, serving their creative energy and youthful enthusiasm on well-adorned plates. Meet a roster of culinary wunderkinds who are funneling international inspiration, classic training and innovative techniques into building new and distinctive dining concepts. >> t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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clockwise from above: Jack Flores

of Made Nice Supper Club; Flores’s black rice with lamb shoulder and fried onions; enjoy elevated eats in a cozy setting at Made Nice Supper Club.

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rice. Pastry chef Gabbi Ramos Flores is to thank for the hefty desserts; order the Milk Chocolate, a dense chocolate cake with malt ice cream topped with crunchy, crumbled honeycomb. 109 Esteban Street, Legazpi Village, Makati; 63-99/5017-2482; mains P395–P1,210.

La Chinesca Type of cuisine: Mexican Head chef: Bruce Ricketts At the tender age of 27, chef Bruce Ricketts is already a veteran of the Manila dining scene, with several establishments, including Sensei Sushi, Ooma, and the much-lauded omakase fine-dining concept Mecha Uma under his belt. Building on that momentum, he and his fiancée Jae Pickrell opened La Chinesca, named after the Chinatown in Mexicali. Hole-in-the-wall is an understatement for this signless tiny taqueria, so on weekends look out for the line stretching down Aguirre Avenue. Here you’ll find an assortment of juicy tacos that range from pop icons like carnitas and carne asada, to lesser-known traditional recipes like tripitas, a dish highlighting cow intestines. “It’s the kind of food I grew up eating,” Ricketts says about his time spent in California, “and the type that I crave after a long day of work. It is simple and always hits the spot.” Before La Chinesca opened, Ricketts would regularly organize popups of the concept during Mecha Uma’s off hours and would tease the public with his Instagram posts of their staff meals. But the real test of a killer taco isn’t how well it photographs. “The making of a proper tortilla is always the most important thing as well as the timing of the salsas,” Ricketts says. Each tortilla is made from a secret ratio of water and hand-ground corn from Oaxaca, and

chef jack flores: courtesy of made nice supper club

Type of cuisine: Intercontinental Head chef: Jack Flores The sparse interiors match the pared-down Continental menu with only a handful of appetizers, mains and desserts. The initial panic of not having enough choices quickly vanishes as you realize you want to order everything on offer, including the grilled octopus with tonnato sauce; roasted carrots with quinoa; sweet-corn agnolotti pasta; and roast lamb shoulder. Their simplest dish, the taglioni, exemplifies their philosophy, cooked to perfection, tossed in a silky duck-egg-yolk sabayon and topped with generous parmesan shavings. Add a pinch of fresh cracked pepper and you are in pasta heaven. This mix of high-end ingredients and on-point technique is de rigeur for this restaurant that specializes in the simple, well-executed and delicious. “Our cuisine is a hodgepodge of ideas we got from our travels, experiences and even some from imagination alone,” sous-chef and partner Raul Fores says. “We try to tailor these dishes to the local palate which has, hopefully, given them an identity of their own.”

The more cooks here, the merrier. There are six active partners, all in their twenties, behind Made Nice Supper Club, four of whom are chefs. They’ve all lived abroad at some point in their lives and experienced the pang of Filipino homesickness, most commonly manifested in rice cravings. This shows up in their lamb and roast pork belly, pairing the meaty mains with black paella-style

from far left: La

chef bruce ricket ts: courtesy of la chinesca. chef nicco santos: courtesy of hey handsome!

Chinesca’s carne asada taco; inside the hole-inthe-wall taqueria; the man behind the tacos, chef Bruce Ricketts.

the salsas are made fresh every few hours to keep the flavor vibrant. While the bulk of the menu brims with classic Mexican classics, a few Asian influences sneak on board as well. Pinipig (dried toasted rice) and Chinese chorizo complement the heady Mexican dried chilies in the guisada de res and camaroncito. For another dreamteam of tastes, wash down the tuna tostadas with a ginbased La Fresa, the chef’s refreshing take on an agua fresca with cucumber water, aloe vera and lime. 248 Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Parañaque; 63-2/738-072; tacos and tostadas P90–P180.

brand that makes my team and my guests feel good,” Santos says, “so what better name than Hey Handsome?”

And if you think the flattery gives you a boost, wait until you try the food. “The menu is inspired by flavors that I have learned to love from the homes of my friends around Southeast Asia,” Santos says, but he gives each dish his own twist, like the paneer with oyster mushrooms, tossed in bright violet beet curry, served with a tangy homemade yogurt sphere, papadums and a quinoa tabbouleh salad. These dishes represent new flavor combinations that are borderline risky for the finicky local palate, and yet, they are among the restaurant’s bestsellers. In the beginning he worried that the Filipino market would be reluctant in accepting the complex layering of spices and herbs from neighboring cultures. “Now I have learned to let go of this fear,” Santos says, “and cook with the idea of creating familiar flavors with slightly stronger foreign notes.” The craft cocktails are as exotic as the menu, with standouts like the Thai chili smash with Sipsmith gin. G/F Net Park building, Fifth Avenue, BGC, Taguig; 63-2/946-3815; mains P490–P1,330.

The Test Kitchen Type of cuisine: Contemporary Head chef: Josh Boutwood It was a classic case of golden handcuffs, or in this case, hand mixers. During chef Josh Boutwood’s five years as the corporate chef of Bistro Group, responsible for American-style casual-dining concepts like TGIFriday’s

Hey Handsome!

Type of cuisine: Southeast Asian Head chef: Nicco Santos As you walk through the doors, a chorus of wait staff will greet you, “Hey handsome!” It is the friendly refrain that Singaporean and Malaysian hawkers use to hail passersby to their stalls, and chef Nicco Santos has appropriated the salutation. “I wanted a

from LEFT:

Open kitchen and easy banter at Hey Handsome!; the restaurant’s beetroot curry; chef Nicco Santos.

t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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/ beyond /pl a c e s e tt i n g s

from above Left: A purple yam croissant at The Workshop Baker; chef Miko Aspiras designing the white nutella cake; a colorful confection by Aspiras.

as those limited seats are coveted real estate. 9780 B&C Kamagong Street, San Antonio Village, Makati; 63-91/ 7304-1570; six-course tasting menu P1,900, wine-pairing menu P1,500.

Workshop Baker at Le Petit Soufflé

from above: Putting the finishing touches on 21-day dry-aged beef; chef Josh Boutwood; a casual and communal atmosphere inside The Test Kitchen.

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Type of cuisine: Desserts Head chef: Miko Aspiras Pastry chef Miko Aspiras is the madcap genius behind craft cookies at Scout’s Honor and the Technicolor ice cream confections at Freezerburn. At his latest venture, Workshop Bakery, you’ll find sweet treats like purpleyam-filled croissants and matcha canelés that bring together French pastry techniques, an American sense of glut and an Australian irreverence. “I get my inspiration from everywhere,” Aspiras says. “I do not want to define it as one distinct style. I am open-minded and love to try new things every time.” Aspiras also picks up tricks at international culinary competitions. He says just the act of competing keeps him sharp: “It pushes me to my boundaries and forces me to learn more and see what’s happening in the dessert world out there.”

Recent products of his global research include the garam masala donut that uses Indian spices, and the hazelnut mousse, inspired by a trip to Melbourne, where an Italian lady at Queen Victoria Market shared her Nutella hot-chocolate recipe. “I applied the idea to a mousse and added sea salt to bring out the flavor,” Aspiras says. “I love trying a new take on a classic.” 2F SM Mega Mall, Mega Fashion Hall Ortigas; 63-2/944-6541; desserts P100–P700.

ice cream: courtesy of workshop baker. chef josh bout wood: courtesy of the test kitchen

and Denny’s, he didn’t have much opportunity for artistic expression.

Last January, a month after his 30th birthday, he opened The Test Kitchen.

This 22-seat eatery serves as his blank canvas to finally unleash his creativity.

“I see those five years as an intricate learning path,” Boutwood says. “It gave me time to refine who I am as a cook.” His vision for his restaurant is a reflection of his multi-cultural upbringing. Born to a Filipino mother and British father, he spent his childhood bouncing between Boracay, Spain, the U.K and Scandinavia before finally settling in Manila where he built a solid career, earning more than 20 medals at different culinary competitions.

The menu highlights produce-driven cuisine and changes daily, which he says suits his limited attention span. “We only use three ingredients per dish but we use different cooking methods and procedures to transform them,” Boutwood explains of his method, which leans heavily on dry-aging, curing and smoking. His 40-day dry-aged beef, for example, is grilled medium rare, and served with a celery root mash and glazed onions.

Nestled between auto shops and dive bars in a grittier area of Makati, the restaurant itself is a sleek, warmly lit industrial space. It’s also one of the few places in town that offers wine-pairing menu. Reservations are a must

/ beyond /t h e q u e s t I’m on a mohinga walk about

with Rangoon-based chef Kevin Ching. In old tea shops, we tuck into hearty bowls of the tangy catfish soup, slurping the mildly fermented rice noodles mixed with stewed banana stems, lemongrass, coriander and heaps of black pepper.

In between toothsome bites, we peer at each other through pungent swirls of mist and try to pick apart the bewildering textures and flavors in an attempt to get to the bottom of the country’s obsession with the iconic breakfast soup, considered by many to be the national dish.

Mohinga is fishy business, we find out. Born in the backwaters of the Irrawaddy Delta, the peppery soup combines chunks of river catfish, thickened with toasted rice and chickpea flour and garnished with lime, soft-boiled duck eggs, coriander, gourd, urad daal (lentils), and fritters. A sticks-to-your ribs repast, mohinga has a silty texture that has absorbed the river’s saltwater. You can practically taste the Irrawaddy in each bite.

Mohinga made its debut centuries ago, though the exact timing is tough to pin down. After migrating up the Irrawaddy, it was adapted to regional tastes and spices. During colonial times, the dish came to represent a shared heritage in the diverse society. When the socialistleaning military effectively shut down the country in 1962, mohinga hawkers were one of the few vendors permitted to sell on the street because it is cheap, filling and neutral. In tea shops across the land, dissidents, students, housewives and laborers commiserated over bowls of the steaming soup, and before long, mohinga took on a deeper meaning: it filled the belly, yes, but it also fortified the soul.

When I first traveled to Burma, I steered clear of mohinga. The idea of eating a piping hot soup in the

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Burma in a Bowl

Rangoon-based chef Kevin Ching leads the way through the fine restaurants and back alleys of the nation’s largest city in search of the perfect bowl of mohinga fish noodle soup. By R achna Sachasinh. Photogr aphed by Thet Htoo

From top: Chef Kevin Ching’s tasty take

on mohinga; Kevin peppers his stock.

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sweltering heat was not appealing, even though locals insisted it would cool me down. But on this trip I run into Kevin Ching, a noodle-obsessed expat chef who masterminds all the menus at Rangoon-based Pun + Projects, and often runs their kitchens at Rau Ram and Paribawga Café. After a drawn out discussion, Kevin convinces me I must try mohinga. “I grew up on ramen, saimin, wonton mien, roast duck noodles and pho,” he says. “But mohinga is like nothing I’ve cooked or tasted before.” Even though Burmese flavors are not his global favorite, Kevin sees mohinga as an entry point into the cuisine. Singular

clockwise From Right: Soup garnishes at Toe Toe

Tin’s house; Toe Toe tosses shallots in the broth; early morning mohinga at Myaungmya Daw Cho.

and versatile, the recipe can be tweaked on the fly depending on the spices on hand. More ginger, less turmeric, heavy on garlic, light on lemongrass; and yet despite the perpetual fiddling, mohinga still manages to taste like mohinga.

The soup’s evolving flavors seem to mirror the country’s fastchanging culture. Maybe the best way to this nation’s heart is through its belly, so we hatch a plan to undertake a mohinga odyssey, with the hope of knowing Burma a little better with every bowl.

Home-style

Our first stop is a homecooked meal with Dr. Toe Toe Tin, a dentist, and her husband U Stanley Kyaw Zaw, both Rangoon natives. Their charming daughter Khin Thu Thu welcomes us with cups of green tea and leads us to an outdoor kitchen under a canopy of yellow-flowering shade trees.

A spirited conversationalist, Toe Toe regales us with anecdotes while chopping river catfish fillets, lemongrass, banana stems and fresh garlic. In 1989, she was sentenced to three years in prison for leading protest marches during the 8888 Uprising for democracy. “I asked Stanley to bring me mohinga on visiting days,” she says, “It was one of our few comforts, a reminder of home.” Listening to her, it becomes clear that mohinga is more than a meal; it has historical sentiment.

Mohinga means pepper soup, Toe Toe tells us, and its success begins and ends with the broth. She spices the stock, simmering in a cauldron in their courtyard, with lemongrass, black pepper and garlic. Next she adds rice flour, turmeric and a colander full of fresh banana stems.

“Don’t add onions to your stock,” she cautions. “Or it will taste like curry.”

The secret ingredient, she tell us, is fish sauce. “That’s where the taste

comes from,” she says, adding ngan bya yay—a lot of it. The dark, colacolored Burmese fish sauce is extracted from fermented local river fish and salt, without added sugar or water. Kevin and I take a whiff: it smells fishy, yes, but mostly it’s like sticking your nose into a bowl of dank mushrooms. We agree that it’s like nam pla, or Thai fish sauce, on steroids. By now the ochre-tinged broth has been cooking for two hours and is ready to eat.

We pile our bowls with vermicelli noodles and sprinkle on garnishes.

The ruddy-brown broth goes in last.

Toe Toe’s mohinga is tangy, spicy and pungent. Generous amounts of garlic (perhaps too much, she admits), coupled with a pinch of jaggery (raw sugar) give the peppery

t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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/ beyond /t h e q u e s t chowder a subtle sweetness. The banana stems have little taste but contribute texture. Kevin’s eyes brighten, and he scribbles his notes: No onions in the broth. Extra garlic.

Fresh green beans. Don’t over-boil.

Choose the right ngan bya yay. His perfect bowl of mohinga is already taking shape.

City-style

Mohinga is typically a breakfast soup, and most morning stalls sell out by 9 a.m. When we walk up to Ma Phyu’s simple shack in a narrow lane off Inya Road at 7 a.m., things are already winding down. When she opened shop 30-odd years ago, Ma Phyu set the benchmark for Rangoon-style mohinga, which gets it richness from lemongrass and ginger fried in oil. Country mohinga, meanwhile, is leaner and highlights the fish, black pepper and lemongrass. Ma Phyu’s mohinga is famous for its lightly battered vegetable fritters. Kevin and I elbow our way past rickshaw drivers and high-society mavens and dig in. He jots down: Pungent ginger, black pepper notes. Lime to offset extra oil.

Crispy fritters in mildly sour batter.

Northern-style

Each region of Burma puts its own stamp on mohinga: Mandalay’s has a watery broth, with fewer noodles and less oil; Barman or Rangoonstyle is rich, with plenty of noodles and fancy fritters; in the far south, Mawlamyine mohinga uses carp rather than catfish. From the northwestern state of Rakhine we discover a whole different ball game.

Here anchovies replace catfish.

Ngapi, or pressed fermented fish paste, galangal and tamarind are added, while toasted rice and chickpea flour are left out. We speculate that perhaps they skip the grains because it is a less affluent society. An extra dose of black and red pepper explains this version’s moniker: “hot throat, hot tongue.”

Kevin and I flag down a longyiclad hawker peddling moti (another name for Rakhine mohinga). We squeeze into small plastic chairs in front of his rig and watch him efficiently whip up two bowls. He mixes the rice noodles with a pinch of ngapi, a couple of teaspoons of fermented

nga bya yay, chilies, red pepper oil and cilantro. Rakhine moti can be eaten dry or wet, so the clear broth is served on the side. This rendition is very light, citrusy, spicy and unfussy. It is my favorite so far.

“Yeah, it’s definitely skinny-girl mohinga,” Kevin teases, as he jots down this thoughts: Citrus, lime, clear broth, galangal.

Delta-style mohinga

To get back to the dish’s roots, we head over to Daw Cho’s eponymous tea shop for Myaunmya or deltastyle turmeric-laden mohinga, with chunks of river catfish, lemongrass and coriander, which arrives looking like a bright ray of sunshine.

Predictably, the river catfish is potent, although it is the ginger and black pepper that linger after each mouthful. In between bites, I notice folks coming in just to buy bottles of ngan bya yay, the shop’s special fish sauce blend that’s fermented and bottled on site. “It’s famous, very fresh!” a lady next to me exclaims.

Kevin’s notes echo Dr. Toe Toe’s advice about broth: It’s all in the fish sauce.

From far left: At U

Yae Khael, friends catch up over bowls of mohinga; Dr. Toe Toe’s fully garnished mohinga, ready to eat.

opposite, from top:

Kevin lays out the mise en place; ladling broth at Myaungmya Daw Cho.

GUIDE: Ma Phyu Ou Yin Street at Inya Road; mohinga for two with extra fritters K7,500.

U Yae Khael Offically named Daw Yin Shwe Moti Yen Khar, but everybody knows it by the street it’s on. U Yae Khael Street at Pyay and Insein Road; mohinga for two K1,600.

Myaungmya Daw Cho Mohinga 11th Street at The Strand; mohinga for two K1,400.

Rangoon Tea House A savory and classic version of mohinga, but using the lighter daggertooth fish in addition to the traditional catfish. 77-79 Pansodan Street; mohinga set with fritters K5,500.

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Kevin’s Mohinga Recipe Serves four THE BROTH A lighter take on classic mohinga broth

The Kevin Finale

Hipster-style

Late one evening, we hop into a cab and race north on Pyay Road in search of U Yae Khael Street, where the cool kids eat. The cabbie, a young chap with moussed hair and skinny jeans, knows the hipster mohinga joint well, famous for its late-night crowd. Smartly dressed Yangon University students and late-night revelers from nearby discos saunter in around 2 a.m., and the vibe turns youthful and buzzy. Mohinga here is hearty, great for midnight munchies.

Kevin swirls the broth around his mouth, singling out ginger and lemongrass. Though satisifying, we agree that U Yae Khael’s real cachet is the scene, not the soup. “Wait, what’s this?” Kevin asks. “This” turns out to be square bits of pressed fish-roe. Add fish roe? writes Kevin.

In the kitchen, Kevin is a daring alchemist not shy to experiment.

When I met Kevin back in 2015, he and his business partner Ivan Pun had just opened Port Autonomy, a tricked-out food truck serving international hipster bites: Cuban sandwiches, Korean barbecue, American fried chicken. It was all about showing the country what it had been missing. Today, elbow deep in nga khu (a petit river catfish) fillets, Kevin’s changing tactics: he’s tackling Burmese cooking head on.

“I cherry-picked highlights from our mohinga journey,” he tells me, showing me his notes: black pepper and extra garlic (Dr. Toe Toe), strong lemongrass and ginger (U Yae Khael), extra turmeric for bright yellow color (Daw Cho). He pre-blanches the fillets for a cleaner flavor, then gives them a quick turn on the skillet before tossing them into a vat of boiling water. He goes easy with toasted rice and chickpea flour and blends in the fish bones for extra richness. The soup he places before me is piquant and bold in flavor, but not in the least bit overworked. It tells a story of Burma—complex, evolving, richly satisfying—as seen through the eyes and palate of the chef. Kevin’s version is classic, and yet somehow also very new. It tastes, I decide, like mohinga.

1 kg

4 c 10 1/3 c

1/3 c

½c

4 t 6t 6t 2 t 1t 5 t

5 t

4 t 1c 15

baby catfish or other firm, white fish fish stock stems lemongrass ginger, finely chopped (half for broth, half to sauté fish) garlic, finely chopped (half for broth, half to sauté fish) shallots, finely chopped (half for broth, half to sauté fish) ngapi, or shrimp chilli paste toasted rice flour chickpea paste turmeric black pepper Burmese fish sauce (reserve a splash when sautéing fish) Thai fish sauce (reserve a splash when sautéing fish) jaggery or palm sugar sliced banana stems whole shallots

The Garnish Per individual bowl, and will vary according to taste ½ c 3 T 3 2 T 1 t 1 t 1 3-4

fresh rice noodles coriander, chopped lime wedges long beans, thinly sliced dried chili flakes (optional) chili garlic oil eight-minute duck egg various fritters: onion, gourd or chickpea

The Method 1. Boil chickpeas until very soft. Blend with small amount of cooking liquid to create a paste. Set aside.

2. Clean fish and boil in a stock of lemongrass, pepper, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder and fish sauce.

3. When the fish is fully cooked, remove, debone and reserve meat.

Strain fish stock and set aside.

4. Sauté fish meat in oil with chopped ginger, lemongrass, shallot, garlic, turmeric powder, fish sauce, salt and pepper, until it becomes a golden brown paste.

5. In a new pot, bring fish stock to a boil and add the chickpea paste, toasted rice flour, sautéed fish paste, and palm sugar. For fortification, blend the fishbones at high speed with a bit of cooking liquid and add it to the pot.

6. Add in the whole peeled shallots and banana stems and simmer for 20 minutes. Check for seasoning, tasting for black pepper, salt and fish sauce.

7. Place rice noodles in bowl, with garnishes and duck egg. Pour in one cup of mohinga broth.

8. Drizzle with chili oil and enjoy.

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/ beyond /s p o tl i g h t Clipping baby kale at Pru Jampa farm.

Earthly Delights

A chef in Phuket is farming and foraging his way to a 100-percent locavore menu.

By Jeninne Lee-St. John. Photogr aphed by Pornsak Na Nakorn

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if we were in France, Japan or Australia,” chef Jimmy Ophorst confides with a wink about his grand culinary experiment, Pru, in Phuket. It’s a white-tablecloth, degustation-centric restaurant that sources 100 percent of its ingredients from within Thailand, half from the nearby farm he started or from his ad hoc foraging excursions—remarkable on a tropical island. “In Thailand, we are quite limited when it comes to meat and vegetables. But it is also why it is so interesting: it challenges us to find new ingredients all the time, some of which I have never seen before, and this helps us push creative boundaries.”

These days, such words from a chef can spark in me trepidation as much as enthusiasm. I have no desire to eat tiny mouthfuls of >>

“This would be a lot easier

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/ beyond /s p o t l i g h t Chef Jimmy Ophorst.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, organic eggs, baby kale, limes, eggplant and basil at Pru Jampa.

prettily plated ants or weeds, just for the “creativity” of it.

But dining at Pru (“plant, raise, understand”), ensconsed in the barefoot luxury cocoon of Trisara Resort, is good, as well as aesthetically and intellectually rewarding. The seasonal menus are by necessity “vegetable forward,” but, as evidenced by the standout carrots cooked in their own soil, with carrot hollandaise and fermented eggs from Pru Jampa farm, meals are hearty and educational. And every dish comes with an origin story, shared tableside by Ophorst, that sheds light on the art and science of cooking, and the culture and terroir of Thailand.

One star of the menu is local yellowtail. The fish he uses is one that’s similar to Japanese Hamachi but for a lack of depth of taste because it comes from warm waters.

“I use a technique I learned in Tokyo from a sushi chef to boost the flavor of his fish,” Ophorst says. “He would wrap it overnight in seaweed to give it a more complex flavor.” Pru’s yellowtail tartar comes out as a pink crescent moon, topped with sea grapes that add a pop of saline and homemade crème fraiche to bind it all together.

Beyond the mains, supporting characters also get a lot of love in Ophorst’s kitchen. He personally forages for spring onions and pine needles. Butter is whipped with burnt coconut husks, giving it a smoky taste. And what of luxe ingredients like bottarga (that cured fish roe beloved

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by Italians) and truffles, which chefs have to import to Asia but can use as an easy flavor-crutch? “Though we can not find truffle in Phuket, we knew we could make our own bottarga,” Ophorst says, “as long as we could find fish roe big enough.” The solution: Andaman tuna, whose eggs he cures in salt water for 24 hours—using salt from Petchaburi province—then dries, then covers in salt for a month, then washes again before leaving them to dry for two months. “So the whole process is long, but very rewarding as the result is great.” Indeed, it’s difficult to spot the difference between his briny orange slivers and those flown in from the Mediterranean. in cooking your food,” Ophorst tells me. “Nearly nothing goes on a plane.” Eighty percent of the restaurant’s ingredients come from Phuket; of the items that aren’t grown on or near Pru Jampa, it’s mostly fish and seafood from local fishermen with whom he has built close relationships. “We are willing to pay a little extra, as long as the products are grown, raised or caught sustainably and with respect of the environment.”

The remaining 20 percent of ingredients are sourced from the Thai mainland, such as Petchaburi (salt), Pak Chong (lamb), and Chiang Mai (artisanal cheese).

Even the drinks menu is locavore in spirit. Thailand isn’t strong on wines, but Pru does offer vintages from the mountainous Khao Yai region. They also work with a local rum producer from southern Phuket, as well as gin and vodka from north Thailand, which are part of the signatures cocktails.

“The benefits are mostly to the community, promoting and helping small farmers, fishermen and purveyors who work very hard every day. It’s a recognition of their labor,” Ophorst says, “and our guests feel part of the movement. I want them to relate to the stories behind each bite.”

“We know everyone involved

Twenty-seven-year-old Ophorst was ripe for this job, having been raised on the west coast of the Netherlands, “where everyone has greenhouses. I grew up between the cucumbers and tomatoes.” He went to hotel school at 15, and worked with Gaggan in Bangkok before opening Pru last year. The 100-hectare Pru Jampa farm, originally a native-plant nursery, nestles among hills in north-central Phuket. A garden blooming with Thai basil, different eggplants, multiple forms of ginger (Ophorst’s favorite ingredient) sits on a spit of land that pokes into a placid lake filled with catfish and cobia fish. The trellis-covered promontory here might one day make for prime farm-totable dining. Chickens and ducks flap around in large penned-in swaths of wild; a chain of ducklings waddles up from an unseen creek as we gather fresh hen eggs.

“One of our dreams would be to brew our own beer on the farm,” he says. That’s currently legally out of the cards, but they can add livestock—pigs and lambs, and even cows for milk—a goal for which Osphorst has set a two-year time limit. “The farm is very inspirational for me. There is a very positive energy there; it is great if you want to clear your head,” he says. “I love to go there in the morning and pick vegetables that I will cook in the afternoon and serve in the evening.”

It’s a feeling he shares with his staff once a month, when the entire Pru team heads to the farm. “Everybody gets their hands dirty, planting, digging, picking, so everybody feels part of it,” he says, “and some of the vegetables we serve have been picked by the service staff themselves.” Foraging, like dining, is a little more fun with friends.

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

Pru at Trisara Resort in Cherngtalay, Phuket, Thailand; prurestaurant.com; set menus from Bt3,000 per person, a la carte also available.

Amuse bouche of tomato from Pru Jampa farm.

Cauliflower stems in brown butter, bone marrow creme, foraged mushrooms and sardine powder.

Urban Farming

two rooftop homesteaders in the heart of Bangkok, whose greens go straight into your grub.

Chanuphan (Tong) Horsuwan

Anantara Riverside Hydroponic farming—growing plants using nutrients and water without soil—was first developed by the Aztecs on Lake Tenochtitlan 1,000 years ago. A modern innovation was made on this side of the Pacific by the father of Anantara’s farm manager, Tong: an efficient, chemical-free, quickcultivation hydroponic growth table that continuously pumps cooled, fortified water to roots planted along it. Last year, Tong and his team converted 4,000 square meters of roof into weather-controlled greenhouses filled with such tables, growing produce like tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and melons at an astounding rate of 12 to 50 kilograms each per day, used by hotel chefs in everything from Chinese stir-fries to fresh juices. Tong’s favorite blooms? Lettuces, kale and wheatgrass because, if grown hydroponically, they contain triple the essential nutrients as their soil-based counterparts. bangkokriverside.anantara.com.

Arnie Marcella

Bunker When chef Marcella moved to Bangkok from New York, he was keen to teach his staff the urban farming methods he’d learned with Brooklyn Grange, a leader in the field.

While, he says, “many things I’m used to working with in the U.S. don’t find conditions here favorable, what does thrive comes with intensely packed flavors.” On the roof of his modern American eatery grows butterfly peas, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, passion fruit, chickweed, spearmint, rocket, mizuna, purslane, various basils, and small citrus plants. Floating-market farmers have taught him about foraging: “They often surprise me with herbs, wildflowers, and fruits from around the canals and plantations.”

Find his farmed and foraged foods in dishes including canapés, desserts and local sweetbreads. Bunker’s kitchen compost is used to fertilize its garden, and Marcella wants to introduce a colony of bees to increase pollination and make honey. bunkerbkk.com.

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/ beyond /r o a d t r i p

Another Face of Basque Country On a meandering drive from Bilbao to San Sebastián, Gabriel Urza finds that this part of northern Spain—globally renowned for its cuisine—has also long been a stronghold of captivating art.

for starting off my trip a bit hungover. It had been three years since I’d been back to Spanish Basque country—where my father is from and where I’ve lived off and on—so when I arrived late in Bilbao I headed straight for dinner. It was already 11 o’clock, but the streets were filled with families and weekend partyers, and the bar tops were still lined with plates of pintxos. Naturally, I stayed out later than I’d planned.

Now I was shaking off a headache with a café con leche before heading out of the city. I hadn’t come to see Jeff Koons’s puppy-dog topiary or pieces by other international art stars at the Guggenheim, which put this part of Spain on the map 20 years ago. I was here to explore the region’s own art traditions, which are lesser known but no less intriguing, from the area’s earliest Neolithic works to the creations of modern Basque artists.

P e d r o S a l av e rr í a / p r o f i l e p h o t o l i b r a r y. o p p o s i t e , F R O M LE F T: J u a n C a r l o s M u ñ o z / p r o f i l e p h o t o l i b r a r y; J av i e r L a rr e a / p r o f i l e p h o t o l i b r a r y

I told myself not to feel guilt y

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From left: Artist Agustín Ibarrola’s Oma Painted Forest, outside Basondo; the Oñate Valley, south of Bilbao. opposite: Comb of the Wind, a sculpture by Eduardo Chillida, at the end of Ondarreta Beach in San Sebastián.

The first stop on my art pilgrimage was actually a bar called Lezika in the town of Basondo, which is essentially a cluster of farmhouses amid pastures and pine forests. As it happens, it is run by my father’s cousin Román. I arrived unannounced, but after I introduced myself to the older man behind the bar as Carmelo’s son, I was welcomed with plates of chorizo, wedges of potato omelette and a thick slice of cheesecake.

After we exchanged updates about births, marriages and deaths on both sides of the Atlantic, I excused myself. I had come here to see the prehistoric paintings of the Santimamiñe caves, which are located beyond the bar’s parking lot. The mouth of Santimamiñe, which because of its natural orientation captures a great deal of daylight, was discovered by a group of local schoolboys in 1916. When I was a kid in the 1980s, Román’s

brother-in-law had a key that he used to let me in. These days the locals are more cautious with the 14,000-year-old Neolithic artworks—only the first section is open to the public. The rest is an active archaeological site. My guide showed me where an ancient deer antler was being unearthed and where now-fossilized oyster shells had been tossed by the artists who’d painted these walls.

It was threatening to rain when I emerged, but that didn’t deter me from visiting the nearby Oma Painted Forest, the brainchild of the Basque painter and sculptor Agustín Ibarrola.

This living masterpiece connects art, nature and the region’s rich pagan history. It consists of bright blocks of color, animal figures and mysterious eyes painted on dozens of scattered tree trunks. As you walk through the forest, you discover different shapes from new perspectives. There were only a few other visitors, which added to the otherworldly feel of the place.

Afterward, I drove an hour south to Oñati, a medieval town where some of the stone walls are spray-painted with nationalist slogans calling for Basque independence. I stopped at the first bar I saw and quickly realized that most of the patrons were speaking Basque instead of Spanish. I ordered a glass of wine, saying “eskerrik asko” instead of “gracias,” and noticed that the pour seemed especially high. This seemed like as good a town as any to spend the night in. t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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/ beyond /r o a d t r i p BASONDO

FR ANCE

SAN SEBASTIÁN

BILBAO DAY 1 107 kilometers

DAY 3 111 kilometers

S PA I N OÑATI

PAMPLONA DAY 2 106 kilometers 0

16

ALZUZA

KILOMETERS

The next morning I drove up the steep mountainside outside town to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arantzazu, a church and Franciscan monastery. It was founded in 1468 after a small sculpture of the Virgin Mary was found nestled in the branches of a nearby hawthorn tree. The basilica was constructed in 1950 by several prominent Basque artists. It is the most avant-garde European church I’ve ever seen. “They say that Arantzazu was the first contemporary religious building,” my guide informed me as we approached the entryway. What immediately caught my eye was an abstract, rough-hewn frieze of the apostles created by Jorge Oteiza, who is considered the father of modern Basque art. Next I passed through a set of oxidized-iron doors, carved by the sculptor Eduardo Chillida in the bold, elemental designs that are a hallmark of the region’s art.

Inside, the stained-glass windows bathed the massive wooden altar in blue and green light.

But it was the crypt painted by the artist Néstor Basterretxea, which few visitors get to see, that I found the most intriguing. The room’s panels depict scenes unusual for a sacred space: the Big Bang, nuclear war and a 4.5-meter-tall Christ painted in bright red, his torso wide and strong, his crucified hands curled into tight fists.

That afternoon I headed to Pamplona— which identifies as Basque, though it is not technically part of the region—where I would stay the night. The city, which is famous for the running of the bulls and for being the setting of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, is close to the village of Alzuza, where there’s a museum dedicated to Oteiza.

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Bay of Biscay

FRANCE

Detail area SPAIN

below: Empty Space, a sculpture

by Jorge Oteiza on the Paseo Nuevo promenade in San Sebastián. opposite: The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arantzazu, outside the town of Oñati.

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Designed by the architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza, the Jorge Oteiza Museum is a surprising juxtaposition of old and new. Most of its exhibits are housed in a modern building that might as well be an Oteiza sculpture itself: a rectilinear space with wide windows that offer views of the valley below and allow light to enter at unexpected angles. The museum’s director, Goyo Díaz Ereño, explained that the museum was situated to receive the most possible daylight, reminding me of the caves of Santimamiñe. As if to reinforce this prehistoric connection, Ereño told me that Oteiza had once said, “There are not many individual artists but rather just one, since the time of the cavemen.” It took me a few moments to understand the enigmatic line: what Oteiza was referring to, I think, is the deep sense of continuity within the Basque artistic tradition.

Next, I drove north to San Sebastián, my final stop, to meet Iñaki González, who had been my art-history professor when I’d studied in the city. I had asked him for a tour along the city’s oceanfront to look at some of region’s most important works, including Chillida’s famous Comb of the Wind, three iron claws jutting out of the rocks. But González thought this was too obvious a choice.

“How about this?” he suggested. “I can show you a few hidden works here in town, a Chillida and an ugly piece by Oteiza.” Why not, I thought.

We headed to the Basilica of Santa María del Coro, an 18th-century Baroque church. I’d been before, but González led me into the dimly lit cathedral, where we stood beside the baptismal font. There, we saw a cross that Chillida had rendered in negative space by carving into a piece of alabaster. It was strikingly modern, almost glowing. González pointed to the ceiling, where a twisted metal sculpture hung amid 250-year-old sculptures of saints. “That one’s by a disciple of Oteiza,” he said.

ROAD-TRIP

CHEAT SHEET DAY / ONE

Santimamiñe Caves Guided tours of this site in Basondo are available by appointment. santimamine@ bizkaia.net.

The pieces seemed subversively secular and yet completely at home within the church’s ornate realism aesthetic. I was delighted.

González was pleased.

When we arrived at the church of San Vincent, González gestured at a sculpture attached to the façade, a faceless, genderless re-creation of the iconic image of the Virgin Mary cradling Jesus’ dead body.

“Oteiza’s Pietà,” González said, rolling his eyes. “And in aluminum!”

For hours, we strolled through San Sebastián, González pointing out secret artworks. I was exhausted by the time we said goodbye, but the streets around me—streets where I’d spent so much time—seemed suddenly fresh and full of possibility. It was the Basque Country that I’d come to find, hidden in plain sight.

Oma Painted Forest Stroll Agustín Ibarrola’s monument to Basque art and tradition outside Basondo on your own or book a guided tour. 34-94/465-1657.

Hotel Torre Zumeltzegi This 13th-century stone tower in Oñati has spectacular views of the Basque mountains, beautiful rooms and an excellent restaurant. hoteltorrezumeltzegi.com; doubles from €77.

DAY / TWO

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arantzazu After visiting this futuristic church in Oñati, continue on to the Aizkorri-Aratz Natural Park, which offers excellent hiking.

Hotel Maisonnave Pamplona’s Plaza del Castillo, where some of Hemingway’s favorite bars remain in business, is a short walk from this well-kept boutique hotel. hotel maisonnave.es; doubles from €140.

DAY / THREE

Jorge Oteiza Museum This bold concrete cube, set next to the artist’s former workshop on a hillside overlooking Alzuza, offers the world’s premier collection of his work. museooteiza.org.

Basílica de Santa María del Coro Inside this Baroque church in San Sebastián are obscure works by several Modernist Basque artists. Calle 31 de Agosto, 46.

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11 September - 19 October 2017

www.bangkokfestivals.com Venue: Main Hall, Thailand Cultural Centre.

Performance starts: 7.30pm (afternoon performance: 2.30pm). Doors open: 30 minutes before.

FREE shuttle from MRT station. Thailand Cultural Centre, Exit 1, During 5.30-7.00pm.

PROGRAMME

Broadway musical from USA

Hotline 02 262 3191 (24 hrs)

www.thaiticketmajor.com

Monday 11 September (7.30 pm) KATYA & THE PRINCE OF SIAM, classical ballet, Russia Ekaterinburg Ballet & Opera Theatre Supported by Embassy of Russia Celebrating 120th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Thailand Tickets: Bht 4,500 / 3,500 / 3,000 / 2,000 / 1,500 Wednesday 13 September (7.30pm) CINDERELLA, classical ballet, Russia Ekaterinburg Ballet & Opera Theatre Supported by Embassy of Russia Tickets: Bht 4,000 / 3,000 / 2,500 / 1,800 / 1,200 Friday 15 September (7.30 pm) SPARTACUS, classical ballet, Russia Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre Supported by Embassy of Russia Tickets: Bht 4,000 / 3,000 / 2,500 / 1,800 / 1,200 Sunday 17 September (2.30 pm) LE CORSAIRE, classical ballet, Russia Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre Supported by Embassy of Russia Tickets: Bht 4,000 / 3,000 / 2,500 / 1,800 / 1,200 Tuesday 19 September, Wednesday 20 September (7.30 pm) FLYING SUPERKIDS, from Denmark Tickets: Bht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 1,000 Friday 22 September (7.30 pm) TORERA, flamenco from Andalusia, Spain Antonio Andrade Flamenco Supported by Embassy of Spain Tickets: Bht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 1,000 Saturday 23 September (7.30 pm) CARMEN, flamenco from Andalusia, Spain Supported by Embassy of Spain Tickets: Bht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 1,000 Sunday 24 September (2.30 pm) SHANGHAI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, China PART I: Leonard Bernstein (Candide) Violin Concerto (The Butterfly Lovers) PART II: Antonín Dvorak (Symphony No 9) Conductor: Muhai Tang, Violin Soloist: Siqing Lu Supported by Embassy of China Tickets: Bht 3,500 / 2,800 / 2,200 / 1,500 / 1,000 Thursday 28 September, Friday 29 September (7.30 pm) “WOW! – WORLD OF WONDERS”, Switzerland Peter Marvey’s Magic Show Supported by Embassy of Switzerland Tickets: Bht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 1,000 Monday 2 October (7.30 pm) THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ballet, France Malandain Ballet from France Supported by Embassy of France and BNP Paribas Tickets: Bht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 1,000 Thursday 5 October, Friday 6 October (7.30 pm) Saturday 7 October, Sunday 8 October (2.30 & 7.30pm) WEST SIDE STORY, Broadway musical from USA Supported by Embassy of the United States of America Tickets: Bht 5,000 / 4,000 / 3,500 / 2,500 / 2,000 Saturday 14 October (7.30 pm) LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Lithuania PART I: Franz Liszt (Hungarian Rhapsody No 2) Edvard Grieg (Suite Per Gynt) PART II: Johannes Brahms (Symphony No 4) Conductor: Modestas Pitrénas Tickets: Bht 3,000 / 2,500 / 2,000 / 1,500 / 1,000 Wednesday 18 October, Thursday 19 October (7.30 pm) TAMING OF THE SHREW, classical ballet, Germany Stuttgart Ballet Supported by Embassy of Germany Tickets: Bht 5,500 / 4,500 / 3,500 / 2,500 / 2,000

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Feast for the Senses

Food is increasingly driving our travels, rather than just fueling them, and the right gourmet guide can show you that the best way to get at a culture’s heart is through the stomach.

By Diana Hubbell Illustr ated by Autchar a Panphai

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I find out exactly why when the first bowl arrives brimming with slippery rice noodles and hunks of roast goose. Days of marinating and a blast in the restaurant’s vertical oven, which rises to more than 400 degrees Celsius and is powerful enough to cook a whole pig in just two hours, render most of the fat, leaving behind brittle skin that crackles at first bite.

Though locals have been coming to this place since 1976, most tourists mob its Michelinstarred copycat in Central.

“See the owner there, in the white T-shirt at the cash register? When his brother was in debt in the 1980s, he taught him how to roast a goose and now he’s the more successful one. To me, the goose is delicious at both, but I love the atmosphere here,” Carrie says. Having paid a visit to the sibling’s rival location, I agree— dalliers who take more than 20 minutes to finish a bowl risk being thrown into the street, and the goose is inevitably gone before noon.

Here, the gracious septuagenarian shows me around the shoebox of a kitchen with a smile.

“Anthony Bourdain visited this shop four years

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from top: In Tai Po

Market; originally from Macau, a candymaker offers samples in Hong Kong; these sumptuous roast goose noodles have made a fortune for a family business in Tai Po.

ago,” Carrie confides, “once he found out that this was the original chef behind the Michelinworthy recipe, the true master.”

Over the next three hours, as we wander through the alleyways of sleepy Tai Po with Hong Kong Foodie Tasting Tours, I’ll hear many more stories like this, though usually in places too off-the-beaten track for even Bourdain. I’ll meet the Macanese Willy Wonka, who spins molten sugar and toasted pumpkin seeds, sesame and peanuts into addictive sweets right before our eyes. He’s generous with the samples, doling out almond cookies, blackened ginger and candied Buddha’s hand into our greedy palms. I’ll visit one of city’s last

Diana Hubbell (3)

“Do you eat these?” asks Laura, a British anesthesiologist and one of my three dining companions, gesturing to a school of opalcolored fish swimming languidly in a tank. Carrie Poon, a lifelong Hong Konger and our guide for the day, shakes her head vigorously and laughs.

“Oh no! These are for feng shui.

That fish right there costs eight thousand U.S. dollars,” she says.

Judging from the humble exterior of this shophouse selling traditional Cantonese barbecue, one might never guess the owner’s prosperity. As I start to count the number of iridescent bodies, as well as the certifications of their authenticity on the wall, I get a clearer picture. A rare breed of house cat with eyes like jade and spots like an ocelot—also lucky, also expensive—slinks by soundlessly.

Clearly, business is good.

five shops that still makes cheung fun the old-fashioned way, a maddening process dependent on surgical skills and precise timing to keep the fragile dough intact. The resulting rice-flour wrappers are ethereal, disintegrating on the tongue like snowflakes and leaving behind only savory notes of the dried scallop or caramelized pork within.

It’s details like these that inspire me again and again to take food tours when I travel in any region, but especially in Asia-Pacific. All those crowdsourced TripAdvisor and Yelp reviews pale in comparison to the personal touch of a well-connected guide. Having someone who speaks the language and has forged relationships with restaurant owners and hawkers over the course of years often

opens doors that might otherwise remain shut.

When executed properly, a food tour offers much more than a meal; it provides a window into a different culture and the social, political and anthropological factors that affected both the evolution of a cuisine and the society that created it.

“With food increasingly becoming a primary reason why people are traveling, food tours are the most comprehensive way to gather insight into a local culture,” says Izzy Pulido, the Saigon-based travel and food blogger behind The Next Somewhere who makes a point of taking one almost everywhere she goes. “It takes the anxiety out of eating and gives us a different perspective on how to explore a city.” >>

Roasting in Melbourne.

T+L PICKS: FOOD TOURS

fr o m t o p l e f t: M a r i a Pa o l i ; c o u r t e s y o f ya n g o n s t r e e t f o o d t o u r s

Much like at an all-you-can-eat buffet, trying to decide which dishes best tempt your palate can be dizzying. Here, we’ve culled our favorite food tours from around the region.

Everyone’s tastes are different, but this list should give you a good primer to embark on an Asia-Pacific feeding frenzy.

AUSTRALIA Historical Cafe Society Trek, Melbourne Coffee Tours

Melbourne’s baristas are to latte art what Rembrandt was to oil painting, and the city’s cafés are the stuff of caffeine-fiend dreams. Amble with Maria Paoli, director of Australian Women in Coffee and a prominent figure in the local espresso scene for 15 years. Her knowledge of both

growing and roasting has taken her to coffee plantations all over the world, and her anecdotes make the two hours whizz by. “I see tourists standing in line for cafés all the time, unaware there are other coffee shops nearby that offer a much better experience,” Paoli says. The standard tour introduces you to the java junkies behind your flat white; the Private Xpresso Trek explores the evolution of the local coffee culture, from the first wave explosion in the early noughts, to the third wave, when artisanal brews flourished, to the stilldeveloping fourth wave. Is it bulletproof coffee? Nitrocoffee? Hybrid coffee? Take a walk with Paoli to find out. melbournecoffeetours.com.au; A$40 per person.

R ango on street fo o

BURMA

d.

Yangon Street Food Tours Since swapping the French Alps for the streets of Rangoon, half-Burmese chef Marc Shortt has been scouring the local markets in search of unusual finds. On his three-hour morning and evening walks through areas like Bogalay Zay market, guests might try Shan noodles and durian lassis. “Without a guide, you’ll only get to taste a portion of Rangoon’s complex food scene. Few vendors speak English here and you can miss a lot,” Shortt says.

Through his research, he’s pulled together a number of finds that go well beyond the usual tea-leaf salad stops, some in unexpected locations.

“I know one lady who sells

delicious sticky rice stuffed with marinated pork in her living room. She tends to sell out fast.” Though relatively new to the scene, his walks have already proven popular with longtime local residents and expats hoping to learn something new. fb.com/ yangonstreetfoodtours; breakfast walk US$30 per person, dinner US$35.

CAMBODIA A Taste of Cambodia, Backyard Travel

This week-long journey whisks travelers from Siem Reap, where you’ll take a cooking class in the countryside, sample street food and enjoy

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A key stop in Hong Kong.

to a stop at traditional teahouse in the countryside. chengdufoodtours.com; RMB400 per person.

fine dining at one of the city’s top tables, to Battambang, where you’ll learn to mill rice, check out local markets, and dine at a socially responsible eatery. Along the way, there’s plenty of time to stop for street snacks such as krolan (sticky rice and black beans in bamboo) and get a feel for how the locals live. Although food is clearly the focus, the smart guides do their best to provide a broader perspective on Cambodian culture, including visits to art galleries, pagodas and, of course, the temples of Angkor. backyardtravel.com; seven days, six nights from US$2,914 per person.

CHINA Chengdu Classics, Chengdu Food Tours

“We want to use the food as a platform for telling stories, to help bridge cultural barriers, and to demystify China,” says Jordan Porter, a Canadian who set up shop in Chengdu in 2010 and has a special focus on how ingredients (say, artisanal pickles) are made.

The Chengdu Classics tour gives a well-rounded look at this vibrant city and includes a jaunt through a wet market and street food such as guo kui (bread stuffed with meat and vegetables). It culminates in a family-style dinner, often gathered around an incendiary hot pot bobbing with chilies and tongue-tingling Sichuan peppercorns. Porter and his team are all too happy to arrange for a bespoke tour that might include anything from foraging for wild edibles

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As the author of five cookbooks on Chinese cuisine and one of the few foreigners to make it through Sichuan Culinary Institute, Fuchsia Dunlop has long been regarded as one of the world’s preeminent authorities on the subject. Her semi-regular tours via WildChina, a boutique luxury operator, are worthy of any foodie’s bucket list. On her upcoming offering this autumn, up to 12 participants will learn the secrets of Mengzi’s “Crossing the Bridge Noodles,” wander through Jianshui’s most famous market, visit a tea plantation, make rushan cheese, and cook with local families in a Bai minority village. wildchina. com; September 18–27, 2017; from US$5,869 per person.

HONG KONG Tai Po Market Foodie Tour, Hong Kong Foodie Tasting Tours

Despite all the attention lavished upon Hong Kong’s many Michelin-starred fine dining temples, some of the best eats can still be found at humble dai pai dong. While Tai Po isn’t the rural backwater it once was, the area still has a decidedly local vibe and plenty

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of low-key mom-and-pop-run shophouses where everything is made from scratch. Thanks to the slightly out-of-the-way location, the Tai Po Market tours tend to be less popular than guided walks through Central and Kowloon, meaning the group sizes are small and flexibility high. As you roam through a market still devoid of tourists, you’ll sample all sorts of sweets and savories, learning the stories behind each of the businesses from one of the enthusiastic local guides. hongkongfoodietours. com; HK$890 per person.

infinitely complex culinary scene. From private sake tastings to fine-dining eateries to excursions to a depachika (supermarket), there’s nothing this power pair can’t do. foodsaketokyo.com; tours are priced upon request.

JAPAN

MALAYSIA

Tokyo Food Tours, Yukari and Shinji Sakamoto

Brunch Tour, Food Tour Penang

Author of Food Sake Tokyo, Yukari Sakamoto has a vast knowledge of Japanese cuisine. The fact that her husband, Shinji, is a fishmonger and former regular buyer at Tsukiji Market makes these outings a must for gourmands looking to venture beneath the surface of Tokyo’s

Street food is so prevalent George Town, Penang, it almost requires more effort to avoid the seasoned woks of char kway teow and the heaping platters of samosas than to find them. Still, a local guide can be invaluable when deciding which of all these tasty offerings merit stomach (Continued on page 69.)

A feast in Chengdu.

Tokyo fishmongers.

c l o c k w i s e fr o m t o p : D i a n a H u b b e l l ; c o u r t e s y o f f o o d s a k e t o k y o . c o m ; c o u r t e s y o f C h e n g d u f o o d t o u r s

Yunnan Gastronomic Tour with Fuchsia Dunlop, WildChina

Diana Hubbell (3)

With so many food tours on the market, choosing the right one can be a daunting task.

A quick scan through Viator reveals a seemingly infinite list of options, each touting its own authenticity. Laura Woo, an agent who specializes in arranging tours in her childhood homes of Hong Kong and Macau, says the first step is honing in on your own expectations and doing a little homework on the local culture.

“When it comes to food in Southeast Asia, no two people are alike. Some demand Michelinstarred restaurants and some prefer to eat like a local in an outdoor eatery,” she says. In other words, the hearty snake soup served on some Hong Kong Foodie Tours through Kowloon may thrill certain guests and repulse others.

When matching her clients up with guides, Woo makes sure to find out how long a guide has been working, how long they’ve lived in the area, and how accommodating they can be to special dietary restrictions or requests.

If those requests happen to be very specific, whether you want to seek out a particularly niche dish or have strict food intolerances, it may be worth springing for a bespoke tour.

“On private tours, guides adapt around the client, and not the other way around. Join-in group tours are a bit more tricky,” says Maeve Nolan, who seeks out guides all over Southeast Asia as the general manager of Backyard Travel. Yet while private tours offer flexibility,

from top: Durian in Tai Po Market; all the dumplings you can shove in your face; incense hangs in the air at a Tai Po temple.

group tours can still be worthwhile, provided you ask the right questions beforehand. “It’s important to determine how many people will join the tour. If the answer is, say, 15, then this will ruin experience,” Nolan says. “Travelers also need to ask what’s included, as you don’t want to be hit with pesky bills for small items.”

Whether you opt for a small group or a private experience, the first thing you want to look for is either the guide’s or the operator’s track record and experience with the local food scene. A tour run by a prominent food writer, blogger, or chef who has staked their reputation on their in-depth, intimate knowledge of the local culinary landscape will usually offer a better experience than a small startup. Naturally, tour operators with higher credentials seldom come cheap.

“A general rule of thumb is you get what you pay for. And any tour under two hours is, for the most part, underwhelming,” Pulido says.

In her experience, a well-run tour more than merits the slight splurge. “On a recent food tour around Saigon, I was guided down the maze-like thoroughfare of the Ho Thi Ky Flower Market, where a 60-year-old stand selling Cambodian-style Vietnamese dessert soup lay hidden among stalls hawking >> t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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candied bananas. My favorite part: what I thought was a spool of cheese floss turned out to be noodles made from egg yolk and sugar.

Definitely not what I was expecting, but that’s the beauty of a food tour.”

Ultimately, the biggest question may be what a guide’s individual outlook is and what they hope travelers take away from the experience. Look for guides who are either local or have lived in the destination for a considerable amount of time and who express a curiosity about the cuisine. If you’re not sure, reach out to them directly via email; their response should give you a clearer sense of what you’re getting yourself into.

“A good tour guide also needs to see the bigger picture. Culture and food are intertwined. Both impact each other. A nation’s weather, politics and history are all reflected in its cuisine,” says Marc Shortt, a chef who leads street food tours around Rangoon. “The best food tours feel more like an old friend taking you around their neighborhood and saying, ‘You have got to try this!’”

Which is exactly how I feel after a day of nibbling my way through Tai Po Market. Over the course of the afternoon, we’ve discussed everything from the railway that shaped this corner of town to Chinese traditional medicine. By the time we reach the last stop, a traditional dai pai dong in a municipal center, the four of us are laughing and downing beer

from top: Many vendors use squid, but one Hong Kong stand makes this addictive snack with tastier cuttlefish; rice rich with oily crab roe at a traditional eatery.

like old friends. We sink our chopsticks into crab rice, slick and oily with bright orange roe, at an unassuming stand run by an interior designer who gave up a decades-long career to pursue her dream of cooking.

“It’s getting harder to find places like this where everything is made by hand,” Carrie says. “If you know where to look, you can still come across these slivers of old Hong Kong.”

Thanks to her, we do know where to look.

Headed back to Central, bags bulging with handmade candy and porcelain bowls, we pass by the same route we came, but see it with fresh eyes. We glance back at the candymakers, the dumpling masters, the artisans holding translucent sheets of tofu skin for dim sum—the living pieces of the city’s history, still vital to its modern flavor.

Tokyo is both one of the world’s richest and most impenetrable food cities. The best eateries are usually hard-to-find and English-language information is sparse. Enter Ramen Beast, an app created by two Japanese-speaking noodle fanatics cataloging the city’s best spots. “There are some 10,000 shops in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and innovation is constant. There are whole magazines devoted to ramen subculture, but very little good info is available in English,” says co-founder Patrick Brzeski, who wolfed down 5,000 bowls with his partner in crime, Abram Plaut, in pursuit of the best.

“We’ve been eating ramen in Tokyo nearly every day for a decade; we created Ramen Beast to share some of what we’ve learned and to show our respect for the Japanese masters who keep this amazing food scene humming.” ramenbeast.com; free; iOS.

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Diana Hubbell (2)

The Digital Guide

space. All the guides are born and raised in the area, so they know all the good spots, and since group sizes never exceed eight, you’ll have plenty of time to stop at each one. The four-hour brunch walk through hawker stands for such delights as Penang lobak (fried meat roll) will make you forget all about your usual eggs Benedict. foodtourpenang. com; US$62 per person.

PHILIPPINES

SOUTH KOREA Chicken & Beer Pub Crawl, Korea Food Tours

Ivan Man Dy and Anson Yu share their exhaustive knowledge and boundless enthusiasm for their hometown on six guided trips through some of Manila’s most culturally diverse neighborhoods. This gloriously gluttonous option takes three to four hours and traverses the streets of Binondo, which dates all the way back to 1594 and is said to be the world’s oldest Chinatown. Along the way, you’ll learn all about Tsinoy history and dine on as much Filipino-Chinese fusion fare as you can handle. oldmanilawalks.com; P1,400 per person.

Fried chicken inspires a level of devotion in South Korea that verges on religious fervor.

Batter recipes, which might include anything from vodka to instant pudding powder, are zealously guarded secrets and asking a group of Seoulites which place has the best wings is a good way to incite a brawl. These boozy crawls may not settle the dispute, but they’ll introduce you to a bunch of the top places. The fact that they’re led by Joe McPherson, founder of one of South Korea’s most famous food blogs, ZenKimchi, and Cory May, a Korean-American YouTube star and selfprofessed KFC-junkie, adds to the fun. koreafoodtours.com; US$59—$89 per person.

Mangan Kapampangan, Bryan Ocampo

THAILAND

The Big Binondo Food “Wok,” Old Manila Walks

fr o m l e f t: c o u r t e s y o f w i k i p e d i a ; c o u r t e s y o f k o r e a f o o d t o u r s . c o m

with the conquistadores, Celestial traders, natural disasters and the rich bounty of the their land,” says director of operations Bryan Ocampo, a half-Pampango who proudly leads travelers to a sweets factory and baking lessons with local chef Lillian Lising de Borromeo. They have exclusive access to family-run businesses in the province, and hosts will walk you through their dishes to give a better understanding of your meal. mangankapampangan. com; P2,900 per person.

Any day that starts with lechon pugon, or pork belly slow-roasted in a brick oven, is guaranteed to be good. After this breakfast of champions, embark on a calorie-packed 13-hour day through Guagua, Mexico and San Fernando in the province of Pampanga.

“Food is a product of the Kapampangan’s experience

Thonburi Food & Art Walk, Chin’s Chili Paste Tour

Bangkok’s labyrinthine back alleys can be daunting, which is why Chawadee Nualkhair, the food blogger behind Bangkok Glutton and the author of multiple books on Thai street food, recommends turning to a pro like Chin

Chongtong, a resident of the capital for more than a decade and an avid foodie. “You see the real Thailand that most other tourists don’t see,” says Chawadee. Of course, she also really knows her stuff.” Chin’s day tour around Banglamphu is her most popular, but this walk on the less-traveled Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River will take you to places virtually no tourists ever go. foodtoursbangkok. com; Bt2,000 per person.

VIETNAM Bespoke Saigon Tours, Grain Cooking Studio

Celebrity chef, TV star and author of seven cookbooks, Luke Nguyen is a Vietnamese cuisine ambassador. Curious foodies can book a fully customized day tour through Grain, his cooking school in Saigon. “I want to make sure every visitor who comes to this country raves about it. I want to take you to places you’ll never think of going,” Nguyen says. His guides can showcase anything from local markets to fine-dining tables.

For those with a bit more time and budget, he also personally leads extended journeys through Vietnam with APT (aptouring.com) several times a year. These trips are rare and tend to book out months in advance, but the chance to see the land through the eyes of

this gregarious, encyclopediaic chef is worth it. “I sometimes take groups to my old family neighborhood, where my parents were born and where my aunties and uncles still live,” he says. “It’s stepping back into the old Saigon, the real Saigon.” grainbyluke.com; all itineraries are bespoke and priced upon request.

Hanoi Gourmet Trails, Trails of Indochina

Wander the atmospheric streets of the Vietnamese capital in search of pho, bun cha, che, banh cuon, and coffee enriched with golden egg yolks in the Old Quarter, then join forces with a chef for a market trip and cooking class.

As one of Vietnam’s first luxury tour companies, Trails of Indochina offers travelers a wealthy network that allows you access to experiences like making banh chung (sticky rice cakes) at the home of a budding young chef from one of the city’s top culinary families. trailsofindochina. coms; three-day, two-night tours are customizable and priced on request.

Korea’s famous chi-mac.

Banh chung in Vietnam.

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Airbus A350 XWB This family of extra-wide-body aircraft is made up of jets that look sleek from the outside but are surprisingly roomy within. christopher kucway hops aboard a maiden flight to discover what’s new.

air

commonality

Unnoticeable to the naked eye, the A350 series of aircraft is made largely from composite materials and titanium. That’s relevant to passengers because both are less susceptible to corrosion allowing better temperature and humidity levels in the cabin, where the air is renewed every two to three minutes. The lighter materials result in more environmental efficiency too.

Designed with 325 seats in a threeclass configuration— economy, premium economy and business— the A350-900 is only the first version in this series. A 366-seat cousin, the A3501000 is slated to be in the skies by the end of this year.

Aside from the fact that the A350-1000 is seven meters longer than the A350-900, in order to accommodate the extra seats, the newer aircraft mirrors its cousin, which cuts costs.

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c o u r t e s y o f a i r b u s . i n s e t: c h r i s t o p h e r k u c way

Cabin The A350900’s winglets help to reduce drag, making the aircraft more efficient in flight (far left). Inside the colorful Thai Airways 3-3-3 economy cabin.

Comfort

floors

Entertainment

Most passengers first notice the high ceilings and vertical sidewalls, which make for a lessclaustrophobic cabin.

Add in ambient lighting in millions of shades that mimic different times of day, and larger panoramic windows, and you end up improving comfort.

Cabin floors are flat in the A350, with all wiring embedded beneath your feet.

The space below every seat is the same as the seat width, while supports align with armrests.

Translation: no under-seat electronics or seat frames in the way.

All versions of the A350 are fitted with high-definition, on-demand video screens, with economy screens of up to 12 inches. Also, a number of airlines have opted for Wi-Fi connectivity in every class.

orders

future

Floors

Aside from Thai Airways (shown here, with 289 economy seats and 32 business seats), China Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Vietnam Airlines all fly the A350-900.

Asiana, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines have ordered the A3501000 version.

Airbus says the A380 is capable of fitting 11 seats across its main deck economy cabin in a 3-5-3 configuration.

While you wouldn’t want to sit in that middle perch, seat widths would remain at 18 inches thanks to vertical rather than curved walls at window-seats, narrower armrests and tighter aisles.

Next year, Singapore Airlines will take delivery of its first A350-ULR, which it helped develop, allowing the carrier to introduce ultra-long haul flights such as Singapore to Los Angeles, and the 19-hour route between Singapore and New York City.

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DEALS | t+l reader specials

CITY SINGAPORE

The spa entrance at the Mandarin Oriental, Singapore.

Mandarin Oriental Take in unmatched views of Singapore’s skyline from the luxurious quarters of this classic haven. With this package, a fourth night in one of their elegant suites is yours gratis. The suite’s floor-toceiling windows make rooms the perfect (and not to mention most comfortable) place to catch Marina Bay Sands’ nightly light show. Also included in the deal is a spa credit of S$60, and breakfast at Melt Café, their gourmet buffet restaurant where a world-class patisserie takes center stage. The Deal Suite Temptations: a night in a City suite, from S$560 for two, through December 31. Save 25%. mandarinoriental.com.

Oakwood Studios Singapore With an unbeatable location in Orchard Road, the city-state’s shopping mecca, and a cozy, yet modern living space, this serviced apartment will have you finding ways to extend your trip. This package gives you discounted room rates, a S$50 transportation credit, and an exclusive souvenir. The Deal Great Singapore Sale: a night in a Studio room, from S$225 for two, through July 31. Save 25%. oakwoodasia.com.

BANGKOK

SUPERSAVER Anantara Hoi An Revel in the charm of historic Hoi An with this package that grants you a cruise for two down the Thu Bon River.

Additionally, enjoy round-trip airport transfers and daily breakfast at the resort’s riverside restaurant. The Deal Thu Bon River Cruise package: two nights in a Deluxe Balcony room, from US$191 for two, through December 31. Save 60%. hoi-an. anantara.com.

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W Bangkok This sleek hotel, which rightfully calls itself an urban playground, boasts some of Bangkok’s coolest accommodations. Enjoy two nights in a flashy Wonderful room and two nights in a spacious Studio suite with this package that also includes breakfast at their stylishly dressed restaurant, The Kitchen Table. The Deal My Suite, My Style: two nights in a Wonderful room and two nights in a Studio suite, from Bt4,910 for two per night, book through December 28. Save 20%. wbangkok.com.

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

Take advantage of this month’s deals and you may find yourself exploring historic riverside towns in Vietnam, or living the suite life high above Hong Kong.

CHINA

Conrad Guangzhou A new urban oasis has just debuted in Guangzhou, and it’s serving as a luxurious hub in the sprawling port city for both leisure and business travelers alike. Located in the heart of CBD Zhujiang New Town, guests have access to shopping, parks, the Guangdong Museum and more.

Posh rooms inspired by Guangzhou’s Xiguan Mansion overlook the Pearl River and the concrete giants that line it.

Book your stay at least seven days in advance with this package and receive a stellar discount on accommodations.

The Deal Advance Purchase: a night in a King Deluxe room, from RMB960 for two, through December 31. Save 20%. conradguangzhou. conradhotels.com.

HONG KONG

c o u r t e s y o f s i x s e n s e s ya o n o i

Dorsett Wanchai With a central location and rooms that could impress any traveler, this hotel has you covered, whether your stay is for business or for pleasure.

Take advantage of this deal and get access to one of the five newly renovated themed suites with breakfast, late check out and free shuttle bus to Hong Kong hotspots. If you and your family book the Ocean Park suite, your kids get special amenities like snack boxes and teddy bears. The Deal Best Suite Deal Ever: a night in one of five themed suites—OSIM massage, Sony 4K 3D, Ocean Park Family, Jockey or Executive—from HK$1,400 for two, through September 30.

Save 50%. wanchai. dorsetthotels.com.

Petronas Towers. Welcome the new hotel with this package and enjoy discounted accommodations, a complimentary happy hour, Zumba or yoga classes, and free bicycle rentals. The Deal Discover Element KL Opening Offer: a night in a Studio room, from RM350 for two, through November 1. Save 20%. elementkualalumpur.com.

CULTURE VIETNAM

La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa Sleepy Hue serves as the perfect destination for a charming getaway, and with digs at the city’s most luxurious and iconic hotel, a relaxing trip is guaranteed.

Explore the best of the historic city with this package that includes daily breakfast at Le Parfum Restaurant, an evening’s visit to the Imperial City and an escape to Thuan

An Beach where you’ll enjoy a private dinner. The Deal HueGlow: two nights in a Superior room, from US$579 for two, through October 31.

Save 25%. la-residence-hue. com.

THAILAND

Six Senses Yao Noi Picture an island paradise and your mind will conjure visions the likes of this resort, with its luxury thatched-roofed pool villas, uninterrupted views of the Andaman Sea and airy spa that is tucked into lush tropical hillside. Go full-on retreat mode with this package that grants up to four people access to the breakfast buffet, a 60-minute signature Six Senses spa treatment, a halfday island hopping cruise and an in-villa Thai barbecue cookout. The Deal The Retreat Experience: three nights in a Retreat villa, from Bt69,100 per night for four, through

December 19. Save 18%. sixsenses.com.

BALI

COMO Uma Ubud With the abundant amount of activities Ubud boasts, whether you choose to play with primates at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary or trek through the ridged cliff sides of Tegallalang Rice Terrace, a relaxing home base is key to a successful vacation.

Celebrate the launch of the new Garden Pool Villas with this package and get daily breakfast, daily lunch or dinner at the resort’s famed Italian restaurant, and choose two complimentary activities from a list that includes a private cooking class and a 75-minute massage. The Deal Romantic Escape: two nights in a Garden Pool villa, from US$980 for two, through December 19.

Save 22%. comohotels.com.

—VERONICA INVEEN

Tiki vibes at Six Senses Yao Noi.

KUALA LUMPUR

Element Kuala Lumpur Set high in one of the tallest buildings in Malaysia, this new eco-friendly hotel in the heart of the capital houses contemporary rooms and swish facilities like the indoor pool that looks over the

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P h oto C r e d i t T e e k ay

LET’S CONNECT W W W.TR AVEL ANDLEISUREASIA.COM

TR AVELLEISUREASIA

@TR AVLEISUREASIA

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Lillian Chou

Stir-frying bamboo at Hubin 28 in Hangzhou, page 94.

/ july 2017 / Traveling to the food center of Vietnam | Why “locavore� in Victoria means so much more than kangaroo steaks | Three lesser-known foodie regions in China | Unbottling the changing landscape of Champagne

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l a r t n e The C t n e i d e Ingr Vietnam’s narrow waistline is bursting with indigenous dishes and inviting eateries.

Duncan Forgan dines and drives from Hue to Danang to Hoi An.

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A bowl of bun bo Hue with beef, crab balls, blood sausage and herbs, a local specialty in Hue. opposite: Outside Hue's Imperial Citadel.

Photographed by Aaron Joel t r Santos a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m  /   j u n e

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e r a t s a p e h t o t s Portal . e u H n i e r e h w y r e ev Rickety, produce-laden carts and livestock present formidable obstacles on the road. Weatherbeaten pagodas and moss-covered tombs appear through thick foliage and a curtain of drizzle, the signature weather quirk in this part of Central Vietnam.

After piloting my motorbike through the countryside on the outskirts of the former imperial capital, I’m not surprised to find my terminus, the home-gallery-eatery of artist and restaurateur Boi Tran, is imbued with a potent air of nostalgia. A garden of flowering plants and placid koi ponds, and a

complex of low temple-like wooden buildings smack of timeless tradition. So too does the elegant, feminine bearing of my host, resplendent in a black ao dai, who seems to glide around her domain. But the essence of Hue, in the opinion of Boi Tran, is captured in the series of beautiful and intricate culinary creations that appear at the table in steady succession.

“Food is at the heart of everything here,” she says as a server offers plates of bo la lot (grilled beef with wild betel leaves) and banh cuon (steamed rice rolls stuffed with wood ear mushrooms). “It is part of the soul. We respect tradition very much here, perhaps more than in other parts of Vietnam. I think that’s why our cooks take so much pride in what they put on the table.”

Eating is rarely anything less than a pleasure in Vietnam. Indeed, the country’s rich culinary tradition is

among its prime assets. Drawing on Chinese, Southeast Asian and even Indian influences while remaining wholly distinct, Vietnamese food is also characterized by regional differences. In Hanoi—where the clichéd pho bo always lives up to the hype—and the north, sharp and often salty flavors are the norm and use of spices and herbs is less common. In Saigon—where I crave hunkering down with a plate of com tam suon nuong Saigon, broken rice with marinated pork chop—and the south, the taste profile is sweeter and herbs are more abundant. Yet while the two extremities of Vietnam often hog the limelight, it is the country’s slim waistline that offers the broadest scope for gastronomic discovery.

Options here range from the dainty imperial cuisine of Hue, the wide choice of excellent homegrown and international food in Danang—the region’s main hub—

from far left:

Artist and restaurateur Boi Tran at her villa in the countryside of Hue; a view over Danang and Son Tra Peninsula; imperial dishes at La Residence, in Hue, include a stewed duck leg with mushrooms.

and the fine Vietnamese dining and ancient indigenous creations found in the historic port of Hoi An. I’ve always been particularly partial to food from middle of the country. To my mind, the banh mi (Vietnamese baguettes, a word that also gives its name to those famous pork and pâté sandwiches) is crisper, seafood and vegetables fresher and tastier. Additionally, two of my favorite Vietnamese dishes— bun thit nuong (cold rice vermicelli noodles topped with grilled pork, fresh herbs and lettuce) and bun bo Hue (spicy soup with rice vermicelli and beef)—originate here.

That’s why I’ve plotted a culinary route in this region that spreads southward of the DMZ to where the country meets Cambodia’s northern border and starts to fatten up. It’s the very opposite of an arduous assignment. Neither is it a chore to be kicking things off in Hue: a regal city widely regarded as the apogee of Vietnam’s food culture. he Nguyen Lords, the feudal dynasty that ruled from Hue and dominated much of southern Vietnam from the 16th to 18th century, chose their capital wisely, on a verdant, temperate swathe of the Perfume River, 15 kilometers in from the coast. When Gia Long unified the

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candidate for a move to the brighter lights of the bigger cities.

She has other ideas. “I’ll stay here forever,” she laughs without missing a beat. “You can get Hue cuisine elsewhere in Vietnam, but it never tastes quite the same. I think it has something to do with the specific currents and weather systems that affect this part of the country: the seafood tastes fresher and the herbs are smaller and have more flavor.”

A night later and 100 kilometers or so south down Highway 1A, I hear a similar refrain from Summer Le. The difference is that it’s Danang, not Hue, with which the food blogger and operator of the Funtastic Danang Food Tour can’t bear to be parted. “Among Vietnamese, Danang

country in 1802, he set in motion the construction of a Citadel and a lavish wonderland of palaces, temples and tombs picked up on by his successors, the last emperors.

Yet these shoguns and monarchs didn’t just leave architectural tokens of their reign. They also helped bequeath an indigenous cuisine upon Hue that is envied around the country.

“From the middle of the 1600s until 1945, nine lords and 13 emperors ruled from Hue,” says Phan Trong Minh, general manager at La Residence, an Art Deco beauty that was once the home of the French governor and is now by far the city’s most prestigious hotel. “These rulers were finicky eaters. They wouldn’t settle for the same humble dish day after day. So the cooks of Hue had to get creative. It’s said that the emperors wanted fifty different dishes served at a single sitting.”

Dining highlights in the city range from Imperial cuisine—a succession of dainty dishes purveyed at lavish multi-course banquets like deep fried prawns with young rice and beef in la lot (wild betel) leaves—to the homey but refined dishes served at Boi Tran Gallery including fried rice with lotus seeds and a delicate version of che (Vietnamese sweet soup), to ingenious creations like banh khoai (pan fried crepe stuffed with shrimp and pork belly) and banh beo (steamed rice cakes topped with dried shrimp, pork crackling and fried shallots) that trace their roots to a febrile climate of creativity that leaked out to the streets from the gilded royal kitchens.

As I sit in one venue carefully assembling a rice paper roll consisting of herbs, fruit and salad leaves and nem lui (charcoal grilled pork and beef formed around lemongrass stalks), I ask my guide Lan about her plans.

Only 21, with perfect English, she seems like an obvious

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is considered the food capital of central Vietnam,” she says. “Not Hue or Hoi An.” Summer’s combative attitude can be attributed to Danang’s relative lack of fame as a dining destination in comparison with its near neighbors. A recent edition of Anthony Bourdain’s hit show “Parts Unknown” that focused on Central Vietnam completely bypassed the area’s main hub—an omission Summer mocks. “He should have renamed that particular episode ‘Parts Known,’” she quips as we tuck into bowls of mi quang, Danang’s most beloved indigenous dish, a mélange of rice noodles topped with pork, shrimp, banana blossom, herbs and peanuts and topped off with a spoonful of sweet-hot chili jam.

In fairness, though, what makes Danang stand out is not its variety of unique dishes—mi quang is its sole significant contribution to Vietnam’s culinary arsenal— but its strength as an all-rounder. A burgeoning expatriate community and more tourists have propagated a growing range of international venues like

from far left: A temple rooftop in the old town of Hoi An; bowls of mi quang noodles with pork and shrimp in Danang; chef Sen at the Nam Hai Cooking Center.

Italian/Asian fusion restaurant Fat Fish, and La Maison 1888 at the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Hotel, where multiMichelin-starred French maestro Pierre Gagnaire oversees the menus.

The booming city, meanwhile, is a magnet for migrants from around Vietnam, and its local dining scene offers a smorgasbord of highlights from around the nation.

There’s certainly no sign of slacking on the culinary front during Summer’s street food spectacular. Highlights include a moist and crisp banh xeo (Vietnamese crepe) at the boisterous and atmospheric Ba Duong and a delightfully light and airy banh mi with pork floss, pâté, shredded green papaya and chili from Banh Mi Ba Lan that blows expensive versions of the on-trend sandwich out of the water. In my view it’s every bit the equal of the world-famous Banh Mi Phuong in Hoi An said by many— including Bourdain—to be Vietnam’s most righteous sarnie.

ll odysseys, even those of a culinary kind, must come to an end. Fortunately, Hoi An—home to Vietnam’s most vibrant dining outside Saigon and Hanoi—makes for the softest of landings. As an important port, Hoi An was once at the crossroads for trade that spanned Asia and Europe.

Chinese and Japanese merchants settled here, stirring their own ingredients into the pot. And this international outlook continues to this day. In the heart of the unescolisted ancient town, amid its narrow streets and yellow-hued buildings, visitors can flit between innovative restaurants like the Mexicaninfluenced Mango Mango, where local celebrity chef Duc Tran works his alchemy on a fusion-inspired menu, and wine and cocktail bars like White Marble and Q Bar.

from Top: Duck

and eggplant sweet potato pancakes at Mango Mango restaurant in Hoi An; the streets of Hoi An old town are closed to motor traffic during much of the day.

More important for my purposes, the town is also the motherlode of indigenous dishes such as banh bao vac or white rose dumplings (a type of shrimp dumpling made with translucent white dough and bunched up to resemble a flower), com ga Hoi An (fluffy rice cooked in chicken stock then served with boiled, coarsely shredded chicken) and cao lau, a noodle creation with pork and local greens that traces its roots to the soba noodles that the Japanese brought with them on trade missions.

On my final morning, I ignore the sumptuous breakfast spread at the Four Seasons Nam Hai Resort, choosing instead to commandeer a bike for an early ride to the central market for noodles. Although the sky is blue, the weather is brisk and I arrive at the stall in dire need of warming sustenance.

My efforts are rewarded. The cao lau are comforting while tender pork loin is seasoned beautifully with five spice, soy, lemongrass, black pepper and garlic.

Meal completed, I take a pew by the Thu Bon River, gaze towards old town and allow myself to drift into a food-filled reverie. I’ve learned about how demanding emperors and ancient traders all left their stamp on Central cuisine. I’ve been told about the magical alchemy that happens when currents and weather systems do their work. And I’ve reacquainted myself with the central penchant for a spot of chili jam to spice up their dishes.

As Lan and Summer repeatedly impressed upon me, it’s the subtle nuances that make the delicious difference. It would be an oversight of imperial proportions not to uncover them dish by dish.

The details HUE .

Hotel La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa Formerly the manor of a French governor during colonial times, La Residence retains a stately grandeur befitting its 1930 build.

Its original Art Deco design and furnishings include a stunning crimson bar, there's a serene saltwater pool on the banks of the Perfume River, and all the staff are simply lovely. They can arrange a tasting menu of imperial cuisine at their in-house restaurant. la-residence-hue.com; doubles from US$120.

m a p b y a u t c h a r a pa n p h a i

Restaur ants Boi Tran Located in the rural countryside that surrounds Hue, this gallery/restaurant captures the timeless charm of the city.

Artist/owner Boi Tran and her team specialize in delicate imperial-style creations as well as refined takes on Hue home cooking; boitran.com; set menu for two VND2,000,000.

Hanh One of Hue’s tastiest dishes, banh khoai (shrimp and pork belly crepes) is a crispy, decadent treat.

Diners generally eat them by ripping off small pieces and wrapping them in rice-paper rolls alongside herbs, fruit, salad leaves and nem lui (pork on lemongrass skewers). 11 Pho Duc Chinh; 84-165/830-6650; meal for two VND250,000.

Bun Thit Nuong Huyen Anh This restaurant near the Perfume River is Hue’s most legendary venue for another of its signature dishes, bun thit nuong (cold rice vermicelli noodles topped with grilled pork, fresh herbs and lettuce). 52 Kim Long; 84-54/352-6105; meal for two VND100,000.

Tour Vietnam Vespa Adventures There are few better ways of exploring Hue’s dining scene than by flitting from venue to venue to taste banh beo (miniature steamed rice cakes) and myriad other delights on the back of a vintage Vespa. vespaadventures. com; US$75 per person.

DANANG .

Hotel s Hyatt Regency Danang Although expansive, there’s scope for intimacy at this excellent luxury all-rounder. Regency Club

guests get access to a private lounge and a gorgeous pool. Other highlights include its Beach House seafood restaurant, one of the best venues in Danang. danang. regency.hyatt.com; doubles from US$270.

InterContinental Danang Sun Cascading down the Son Tra Peninsula, this Bill Bensleydesigned carnival-chic resort deserves its reputation as one of Vietnam’s finest. Stand-out features include the generous balconies on the spacious rooms and the excellent Pierre Gagnaire–helmed La Maison 1888. danang.intercontinental. com; doubles from US$460.

selection of sharing platters from local celeb-chef, fusion-master Duc Tran, who also owns Mango Mango and Mango Rooms in Hoi An. 439 Tran Hung Dao; 84511/394-5707; fatfishdanang.com; meal for two from VND1,500,000.

Restaur ants Ba Duong The banh xeo (sizzling pancake) at this alley venue is legendary in Danang. Wrap portions of the crisp, moist crepe with herbs, fresh vegetables and nem lui in rice paper for the best results. 23 Hoang Dieu; 84-511/ 387-3168; meal for two VND300,000.

Mi Quang Ba Vi The mi quang at this Danang stalwart is made to an old family recipe. Marinated shrimp and tender pieces of pork enhance a punchy soup stock. 105 Le Dinh Duong; 84-511/386-5651; meal for two VND100,000.

Fat Fish Locally sourced produce and select imports from Italy and Japan provide the basis for creative salads, pizzas and a

HOI AN .

Hotel s Four Seasons Nam Hai Resort A rebranding has only enhanced the status of the Nam Hai as perhaps Vietnam’s preeminent top-end property. The all-villa resort features a selection of design-led residences incorporating sunken living rooms and tented beds on platforms, as well as trimmings such as outdoor rain showers and Bose stereos. An enhanced state-of-the-art cooking academy and new beach bar are fresh additions. fourseasons.com/ hoian; doubles from US$500.

Anantara Hoi An On the banks of the Thu Bon River, this little colonial portico–lined haven is conveniently tucked just a couple

Tour Funtastic Danang Food Tour Founded and run by Summer Le, a New York Times–featured food blogger, this tour takes visitors to some of her favorite spots in Danang, including famous banh xeo venue Ba Duong, and Mi Quang Ba Vi, known for its delicious mi quang. summerle. com; US$45 per person.

of blocks from the center of old town, so you can retreat to its garden pool when touristing gets too hot at midday then head back out for dinner. hoi-an.anantara. com; doubles from US$221.

Restaur ants Home Hoi An An excellent place for fine Vietnamese dining in the ancient town is this new venue where local favorites such as com ga (chicken rice) and banh dap (smashed rice pancakes) are served in an elegant old townhouse. 112 Nguyen Thai Hoc; homehoianresaurant.com; meal for two from VND1,500,000.

Phuong Banh Mi Hoi An’s banh mi (Vietnamese filled baguette) are legendary. Some yield to the alchemy of Madam Khanh, others (including Anthony Bourdain) wax lyrical about the versions—try the grilled pork with pâté, cilantro and pickled vegetables—here, near the town’s main market. 2B Phan Chau Trinh; from VND25,000 per sandwich.

Hoi An Central Market The cao lau at the food court here is regarded by many as the best in town. Work your way inwards and look for the blue-and-white sign that reads pho, cao lau, hu tieu, kinh moi . That’s your woman. However, fear not if you can’t find her; it’s hard to go wrong with any of her competitors. Tran Phu and Nguyen Hue streets; meal for two from VND60,000.

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Australian Pastoral

Unobstructed Yarra Valley views at Oakridge Wines.

A new generation of locavore chefs is redefining Australian cuisine, taking it back to the earthy, seaborne and aboriginal flavors native to this rugged continent. Alessandra Gesuelli heads out of Melbourne on the trail of emu eggs and bush quandongs. Photographed by Stuart Walmsley t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m  /   j u l y 2 0 1 7

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Chef Dan Hunter gets his hands dirty at Brae.

very morning chef Dan Hunter goes foraging. Ingredients for his seasonal menus, including eggs from free-range chickens and vegetables are Australian in origin and grown on his property or nearby. If they are not available in his garden, he sources from neighboring farmers, each of whom he knows personally and visits often just to check in.

“We have so many native ingredients, and so many good producers to work with, it’s really exciting to be a chef in Melbourne and Australia right now,” Hunter told me at his groundbreaking restaurantslash-pastoral fiefdom Brae, in the fairytale town of Birregurra, a 90-minute drive from the country’s culinary capital. Melburnians are passionate foodies, constantly seeking new flavors. And while these are cravings both inspired and sated by the spectacular cultural diversity, it’s the farm-fresh menus making the biggest waves in the food scene these days.

Hunter along with Ben Shewry, the Kiwi chef-owner of Ripponlea’s Attica whose pioneering use of indigenous Australian ingredients in a fine-dining setting has earned him global accolades, are leading a new generation of cooks elevating the homegrown, -cultivated, -caught and -cooked to an art form. Call it Nouveau Australian—though these guys are too unpretentious to do so. “We don’t have a long story,” Shewry said, making the contrast with rarefied Continental fare, “so we have no rules or traditions to follow, and we are free to experiment.”

The chefs I met on this journey are connected by a passion for their country and good food. While pushing boundaries stylistically, their contemporary approach to cuisine goes along with an authentic vision of sustainability for future generations and a profound respect for the extraordinary Australian biodiversity.

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Brae

I

Where: Birregurra Chef: Dan Hunter

n buying a 30-hectare pastureland in the Otway hinterland not far from the sea, Dan Hunter had a laser-sharp focus for his restaurant: the utmost respect for nature, seasonality and self-sufficiency.

Ninety-five percent of the ingredients in his famously “avantgarden” menus—dishes are plated to resemble logs, rocks, cornucopia and even outer space—come from his organic farm and orchard. “The landscape is my main inspiration,” Hunter told me.

This was exactly the impression I had sitting in Brae. The elegant, white, calm interiors of what feels like a modern farmhouse merge with the vivid green outside through the large windows. Certainly nature sashays right in via the dishes, in a 15-course journey to and from the Australian outback. Take one of the starter snacks from the autumn menu (I visited in April)—the cucumber pickled with green ants from Darwin and native lemon myrtle, which combined in a strong and delicious citrus flavor. Or the prawn, nasturtium and finger lime made of Australian lime caviar (basically, little juice globules) now so popular as a gourmet bushfood. The iced oyster surprised us.

Presented on a bed of water-smoothed stones, the shell contained an oyster ice cream covered with green sea lettuce powder; it paired well with a glass of NV Holly’s Garden “überbrut” from King Valley in Victoria.

From there, we took a trip to Southern Australia, with a dish of muntries (also known as emu apples, berries from a low-growing plant), southern calamari, wild cabbage and fermented daikon. The crayfish was served with wild mushrooms picked by Hunter himself plus Brae farm egg yolk, meat broth and seaweed from near the Great Ocean Road, 45 minutes away. I accompanied it with a 2000 Mukai Shuzo sake, another excellent choice from the drinks menu. Only here does Brae go global, with a diverse selection that includes small-batch wines and craft beers.

“When you work so closely with nature, any change is quite positive,” he said. “So I enjoy the flexibility that comes with that: one day is mushrooms, another one is tomatoes.” He has just published his second book, Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant, and opened six guest suites onsite. In line with his sustainable cooking ethos, the rooms feature artisanal, handcrafted furniture constructed with recycled materials, and make use of solar energy and a worm farm wastewater system that ensures the building has zero net emissions. Be sure to book far in advance if you want to spend a night at Brae and have the opportunity of a morning stroll in the garden, catching Hunter and his team of chefs and gardeners at work.

From top: Barbecued beetroot with

Brae farm honeycomb and rainbow trout roe; the new guest suites at Brae; Hunter's free-range egg yolk producer.

Oakridge Wines

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From top: Local-themed desserts by

pastry chef Jo Barrett; a flight with Global Ballooning over the Great Dividing Range; at Oakridge Wines.

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Where: Yarra Valley Chef: Matt Stone

t’s not every day you meet a chef in the woods, but Matt Stone, Victoria’s wunderkind sustainable star, assured me that it was “the perfect place to show you my food concept.” The tattooed, hipster, plaid shirt–wearing 29-year-old is head chef of Oakridge Wines in Yarra Valley, and co-star of the National Geographic Food show Recipes that Rock with Blur bass guitarist Alex James, and he just published The Natural Cook, a book on the importance of sustainable eating. “We need to move forward from the gimmick bush tucker movement of the past and embrace these amazing ingredients in a natural way,” Stone writes. “I’d like to see native herbs and spices become staples in every cook’s pantry.”

Stone has constructed his seasonal menus based on what thrives best in the Oakridge Kitchen garden, as well as what wild produce he discovers on his foraging and fishing excursions around the region. In the stunning Black Spur forest, for example, he digs up mushrooms in autumn and fresh wild pepper berries from March to May, then he dries them to use whenever, giving him flexibility in planning dishes. In the kangaroo loin, he uses quandongs (a native superfood fruit prized by aborigines for dietary and medicinal powers), muntrie berries, desert limes and beach herbs. I was fascinated by the barilla, which is a dune spinach, easy to find on the coastline. Australian biodiversity is funfair for a curious chef. Emphasizing fermenting and pickling allows Stone to use local ingredients year-round and all over the table. “I’d like home cooks to have fun with these ingredients,” he told me, “to be creative and not automatically fall back on the traditional condiments and flavors that arrived with European settlement.”

He collaborates with aboriginal organizations and looks to Australian indigenous writer Bruce Pascoe’s studies on aboriginal agriculture to come up with sustainable, and tasty, ways to cook with ancient and native produce. The desserts, created by head pastry chef and senior sous-chef Jo Barrett, especially take full advantage of this historic and cultural knowledge.

Take, for example, Barrett’s macadamia, using native myrtle and spent-orange gin by the Victorian distillery Four Pillars, renowned for experimenting with native botanicals.

But the region is defined by wine. The best way to drink in the varied terrain home to so many vineyards is on an early-morning balloon ride. From up in the clouds, I could still pick out white roads leading to oldfashioned estates, some of them converted to hotels.

The patches without vines looked like heaven for cattle, and mobs of kangaroos running wild. It was a rolling, verdant overview of Stone’s dining table come to life.

in the kangaroo loin, he uses quandongs prized by aborigines, muntries, desert limes and beach herbs

Matt Stone (right) hosts a seasonal-menu picnic dinner in Black Spur forest.

Above: Making a splash at Oakridge Wines.

Forrest Brewery in the Otway Range. below: Mussels, tomato and lentils, at Bespoke Harvest in Forrest.

it was like all the community was taking care of my food, coming together to make a warm welcome

Bespoke Harvest

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Where: Otway Ranges Chef: Simon Stewart

reat Otway National Park is famously home to some of Australia’s best rainforest scenery. The fertile region surrounding it flowers with Victoria’s finest products, from organic fruit and veg to wild mushrooms to craft beer. At 30 minutes from the coast, it’s the perfect gateway to explore the Great Ocean Road, but off the map enough that on my drive I spotted honesty boxes at every farm’s gate.

Nestled in this absurdly wholesome cradle is Simon Stewart’s Bespoke Harvest at Forrest Guesthouse, a restaurant and hotel that both embody the authentic rural spirit of the Otway Ranges. The lodgings, owned

by Emma Ashton, are a small village of four styled houses along a veranda overlooking the greenery that despite its sleepy look is a popular holiday spot.

Stewart, who grew up half an hour away, works with produce from his garden and nearby farms to inject the flavors of the area into Mediterranean-inflected fare.

That all the dishes are shared gives dinners a family feel. In the kitchen, he’s the only chef for up to 30 guests. His pantry is a lab of fresh and fermented vegetables, and cheese from local diaries.

I could taste the freshness of the lamb balls with yogurt soup and silverbeet, and the earthiness in the tomato, purslane, red radish and shanklish, a Middle Eastern cheese produced in nearby Moriac. Many of the suppliers are family, friends and acquaintances: it was like all the community was taking care of my food, coming together to make a warm welcome to the Otways. “We want to cut down the food miles and the energy used sourcing ingredients. We also purchase the whole animal and use it entirely by making multiple products with the meat: up to 600 dishes from one beef animal, even breakfast sausages for our guests,” said Ashton, who was born and raised in Forrest and knows every family in the village.

There are about 80 Otways farmers Stewart works with, but his veggies come mainly from a food hero of the region: Joe Sgro and his Foothills Organics farm, certified organic since 1992. Sgro and his wife Rose grow half a dozen varieties of potatoes, spinach, silverbeet, beetroot, turnips and many other plants.

Foothills helps smaller growers convert to organic by sharing spaces in markets locally and in Melbourne.

Very Berry Orchard, in Barwon Downs 20 minutes from the restaurant, steps in for Bespoke Harvest’s desserts and marionberry fermented tea—a purplecolored and tart-flavored infusion that Stewart serves just before the lamb. Very Berry grows six varieties of raspberries, 15 of blueberries and seven brambleberries, and owner Wally Hannam makes a particularly exquisite fruity honey.

From top: Chef Simon Stewart; Foothills Organics supplies most of Bespoke Harvest's vegetables; plump plenty at Very Berry Orchard.

Burnham Beeches

Where: Sherbrooke Forest Chef: Shannon Bennett

From top: At Piggery Café; awardwinning Blackmore farm supplies the Wagyu burger beef; chef Shannon Bennett and his truffle dog, MJ.

courtesy of burnham beeches (3)

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hannon Bennett, born and raised in Westmeadows, Melbourne, classically trained in France, and, with 10 venues in the city, one of the most successful restaurant entrepreneurs, is a big part of the reason Melbourne became a modern foodie center. His flagship restaurant Vue Du Monde has been repeatedly awarded three Hats (the highest accolade in Australia’s Michelin equivalent, the Good Food Guide) since launching in 2000. Sitting at one of Vue Du Monde’s tables atop the Rialto Tower in the CBD, it was hard to decide which was more exalted: the spectacular panorama of the city or Bennett’s reverent application of French classic techniques to Aussie ingredients. His raw kangaroo with figs and muntrie berries was accompanied by a surprising charcuterie: a wallaby snag (sausage) with wattleseed damper, the typical Aussie soda bread enriched with native acacia seeds.

But then I journeyed with him to his enchanting Burnham Beeches property in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, about 40 kilometers east of Melbourne, and got a real sense of how grand the chef’s vision is. He and his truffle dog, MJ, escorted me around this blooming plot, where stately old eucalyptus trees shadow the large garden and the piggery that feed his restaurants. There is a truffle farm, of course, where he grows the Black Perigord; every week a kilo goes to Vue Du Monde’s kitchen. In a fence were some emus that provide the eggs.

But I was barely thinking about haute cuisine when I had the chance to chill out at the on-site Piggery Café.

As on most weekends, this rustic and warm hub was busy with families and kids. Everyone was enjoying the terrace, amid the saliva-inducing smoke of the outdoor barbie. The barefoot-bowling green was also busy. “This is a place for relaxation,” the chef said. “I love to come here and just spent time out in the property and in the garden.”

It is a true country retreat out of Melbourne, ideal for a coffee, a Wagyu beef burger with meat from award-winning local Blackmore farm, and a selection of tasty homegrown veggies, plucked from the soil and washed just before my order. Taking it all in, I was sad I couldn’t dally a while longer. Come October, though, Bennett will finally start to work on converting Burnham Beeches’ iconic Art Moderne mansion into a hotel. “I bought this place on emotion,” he said, “and now I don’t want to let it go.”

Melbourne Must-Eats

Unique, cultural, vibrant. The local food scene in Melbourne is an extraordinary melting pot with enticements on every busy street and down every little laneway.

Here, a few favorite spots that highlight the city’s many identities.

CafÉs & Restaurants Tivoli Road Bakery Bread is baked fresh every morning at this venue in South Yarra, owned by pastry chef and baker Michael James and his wife Pippa.

3 Tivoli Rd., South Yarra; 61-3/9041-4345; tivoliroad.com.au.

Atlas Dining Twenty-two-year-old chef Charlie Carrington changes his menu every four months as he explores the cuisine of a different country. First stop Vietnam, then Israel; the current Korean-food menu runs until August. 133 Commercial Rd., South Yarra; 61-3/9826-2621; atlasdining.com.au; four-course menu A$50.

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The details hotels Brae Six minimalist suites constructed with recycled materials featuring artisanal furniture, right next to the restaurant. 4285 Cape Otway Rd., Birregurra; 61-3/52362226; braerestaurant. com; doubles A$715; closed July 3–27, 2017.

Chateau Yering Hotel A heritage-listed property bordering the Yarra River.

The mansion, with 32 individually decorated suites, was reborn in 1997 thanks to current owners Len and Elly Milner. The stuffed toy cat on the bed doubles as a do not disturb sign. 42 Melba Hwy., Yering; 613/9237-3333; chateauyering.com.au; doubles from A$415.

Forrest Guesthouse Four stylish rooms along a veranda overlooking the greenery, near mountain bike trails and walks to waterfalls. 16 Grant St., Forrest, Otway Ranges; 61-3/5236-6446; forrestaccommodation. com.au; doubles from A$225.

restaurants Brae 4285 Cape Otway Rd., Birregurra; 613/5236-2226; braerestaurant.com; tasting menu from A$220, alcohol pairing A$130.

Bespoke Harvest 16 Grant St., Forrest, Otway Ranges; 61-3/5236-6446; bespokeharvest.com.au; menu from A$65.

Oakridge Wines 864 Maroondah Hwy., Coldstream; 61-3/97389900; oakridgewines. com.au; menu from A$86.

Piggery Cafè 1 Sherbrooke Rd., Sherbrooke; 61-3/96913858; piggerycafe.com. au; lunch menu from A$38.

Coombe Yarra Valley The former home of opera singer Dame Nellie Melba now houses Coombe Farm Wines. In the new restaurant, try High Tea, Wednesday and Saturday from 2:30 p.m., until September 2. 673675 Maroondah Hwy., Coldstream; 61-3/97390173; coombeyarravalley. com.au; menu from A$75.

Ezard @ Levatine Hill Hatted chef Teage Ezard

has brought his gourmet experience to Yarra, to match the acclaimed Levantine Hill wines.

882-886 Maroondah Hwy., Coldstream; 613/5962-1333; levantinehill.com.au; tasting menu from A$135; wine pairing A$225.

Igni Chef Aaron Turner opened this 30 seater with a focus on the openkitchen charcoal grill.

The menu is created based on conversations with guests. Ryan Place, Geelong; 61-3/5222-2266; restaurantigni.com; tasting menu from A$100, wine pairing A$160.

Activities Global Ballooning Victoria’s largest hot-air ballooning firm flies over Melbourne and the Yarra Valley. globalballooning. com.au; Yarra Valley flight with breakfast A$435.

Four Pillars Distillery Small distillery that has received global praise for using native Australian botanicals. 2A Lilydale Rd., Healesville; 61-3/ 5962-2791; fourpillarsgin. com.au.

Chin Chin Get in line at this classic for all Asian-food lovers in Melbourne. Tattooed executive chef Benjamin Cooper whips up creative Southeast Asian cuisine. We think the flavors are pretty authentic, but you be the judge. 125 Flinders Ln., Melbourne; 613/8663-2000; chinchinrestaurant.com.au; menu from A$60.

Lee Ho Fook Young, talented chef-owner Victor Liong plays with his Chinese cuisine heritage in this small restaurant in a laneway, which has a cult following among gourmet Melburnians. 11-15 Duckboard Pl., Melbourne; 61-3/9077-6261; leehofook.com.au; menu from A$56.

The Everleigh In the hip neighborhood of Fitzroy, this is one of the World’s 50 Best Bars. Head bartender Michael Madrusan serves drinks that nod to the golden age in a speakeasy atmosphere.

Upstairs, 150-156 Gertrude St., Fitzroy; 61-3/ 9416-2229; theeverleigh.com.

Hotel QT Melbourne Innovative design abounds in this flash new hotel, where the terrace bar has a great view over the city center. 133 Russell St., Melbourne; 61-3/8636-8800; qthotelsandresorts.com.

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Feeding the Dragon you think you know chinese? this massive country of gourmands dishes up as many different cuisines as they have dialects. here, three of our favorites.

A Chuck Close photographic work at the Henry Art Gallery.

Opposite: Frank Gehry’s building for the Museum of Pop Culture.

Story a nd photogr a phs by Lilli an Chou

Essential victuals of Hang Ban Cai, at Steam House restaurant, in Amanfayun, Hangzhou.

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n a country where the common greeting is Have you eaten yet?, it’s little surprise that scholars more than a millennium ago were driven to parse the various regional cooking styles. There are now eight universally recognized great cuisines of China that merit distinction for their culinary prowess and natural bounties. Cantonese food is the dominant export, and everyone knows Sichuan is spicy and Shanghainese sweet.

Beyond that spectrum, though, humble villages and minority groups in the outer provinces surprise the senses with exciting flavors and philosophies.

I’ve lived in Beijing for nine years, and have been fortunate enough to travel China extensively, searching for history, ingredients and cooking styles. I could fill several magazines with the delicious discoveries I’ve made, but as an introduction to the lesserknown areas, I’ve selected three important palate primers whose evocative surrounds directly fuel their cuisine. We’ll head first for the fresh sweetness of seasons along the ethereal lakes and mountains in Hangzhou, then go south for the briny freshness of Xiamen, and finally take the Silk Road to the unusual scents and flavors of Xinjiang in China’s far west. I hope you haven’t eaten yet.

Hangzhou Zhejiang Province

When people effuse about the refined

and mellow seafood– and local vegetable– driven cuisine of Zhejiang province, known as Zhecai, they’re usually referring to the food of Hangzhou, an eastern idyll with a rich history dominated by arts and writing, and fine dining. Since the Sui Dynasty in 605 BC, Hangzhou was a major port as the southern destination of the Grand Canal, a legendary transport system that originated in Beijing.

The prosperity from trade introduced northern foods, particularly ducks, that followed grain-laden ships. Hangzhou later became China’s capital in the Southern Song Dynasty from 1132 to 1276—a period of such immense prosperity that when Marco Polo passed through he described it in wonder as the greatest city in the world.

This imperial pedigree and consistent wealth spawned generations of epicureans with a taste for the dainty and sophisticated,

Handpicked Longjing tea buds. clockwise from below left:

Lamb kebabs on nan in Kashgar; a server at Longjing Manor garnishes fresh-made soy milk; spring bamboo shoots drying in Hangzhou.

and an omnivorous palate open to the weird and raw. Among them: Yuan Mei, China’s most famous gourmand, known for his poetry and his 18th-century treatise on China’s cuisine, Suiyuan Shidan, or Menus from the Garden of Contentment. There’s a culinary museum dedicated to Hang Ban Cai, (the ways locals refer to their hometown fare), and the extensive records of Hangzhou’s historical obsession with eating include a display on Su Dong, a poet and political figure whose namesake dish Dongpo rou is among the city’s most well-known. You can get a sublime single serving of this braised hunk of fatty pork in a dark soy-based sauce, glistening in similarity to Shanghai’s famed hong shao rou, at Jin Sha at the Four Seasons Hotel. But about a decade ago, Dongpo rou was given a facelift at Hubin 28 in the Hyatt Regency, reconstructed into a pyramid filled with braised bamboo shoots that’s been replicated throughout the city and taken such root that there’s a resin display of its new iteration at the culinary museum. Both dishes use historical techniques referenced in Yuan Mei’s famous treatise.

Bamboo is a year-round obsession with a multitude of varieties offering different textures and flavors that excite with each season. Freshly poached, dried or braised, its spring-peak crop goes well with fava beans in particular. Historically, brining plays a delicious role in preserving seasonal foods vital during the cold winters and volatile hot summers; xue cai, or salt-pickled snow cabbage, might be one of the most popular in home-style cooking. My favorite noodle dish combines the two ingredients: pian’er chuan mian is a bowl of fragrant broth with thin noodles, slivers of tender pork, crunchy fresh bamboo shoots, salted ham and scatterings of xue cai that is done expertly at Amanfayun.

Other Hangzhou classics include xi hu yu, West Lake fish, a sweet-and-sour-sauced fish named for the city’s beloved lake.

Early birds can have a fairytale morning at Amanfayun, set inside an old tea farmer’s village, with Buddhist temples and a nunnery.

Chant with the monks, then join for breakfast in a simple dining hall serving vegetarian Buddhist cuisine that includes a bottomless bowl of rice porridge and gently flavored vegetables like cabbage, sweet peppers or salted greens depending on the season. For lunch, treat yourself to a lip-smacking meal of creative home-style Hangzhou cuisine at Jiang Nan Yi, just outside the Faxi temple, by owner Tuzi (Rabbit), whose name is as memorable as her smile. Try the radish soup with rosemary and lemon, unusual flavors that work together; t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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a pile of lightly scaled cumin-scented spinach; and a deep bowl of local chicken poached in a fragrant scented mixture of leeks, chilies, ginger and numbing Sichuan peppercorns in a spiced seasoned oil.

Visiting Hangzhou in the spring is nothing short of magical. The bamboo forests sprout fresh shoots and it’s harvest time for the country’s prized green tea, named Longjing or Dragon Well, after the area’s legendary spring water (sadly, no longer potable). Longjing tea, which fetched record prices of US$57,000 for a kilogram in 2012, higher than the price of gold, has an imperial pedigree dating from 17thcentury Emperor Kangxi; his grandson Emperor Qianlong crowned 18 lucky bushes in Longjing Village to which tourists today flock for photographs. Teapickers dot the countryside pinching off single buds attached to solitary leaves, which are hand-roasted in a steel wok. The rush is around early April on Qing Ming, a national lunar holiday to honor ancestors that also marks the deadline for the first and best-quality spring tea. The delicate tea flavor is famously infused with tiny freshwater shrimp known or Longjing xiaren, which appears on menus throughout the city.

For an unforgettable meal, head deep in the tea gardens across from the city’s official tea museum at the Longjing Manor. You’ll find a community of farmers and suppliers led by Dai JianJun, better known as A Dai, the visionary who was among the first here to create an establishment where customers could enjoy food grown without pesticides or chemicals. He now has his own farms, but coordinates with others with whom he keeps close relationships, maintaining volumes of photographic records of the daily harvests to ensure their authenticity. His chefs prepare traditional meals according to seasons—such as spring water-shield soup, an aquatic plant that has a very limited window; a rice-wine custard referenced in Yuan Mei’s treatise; and of course, tea of their own harvest.

Xiamen

Fujian Province Delicious surprises await at the

southern tip of Fujian province on the island of Xiamen. The ocean breathes nostalgia to the many Southeast Asians, particularly Singaporeans and Taiwanese, who have native roots along these shores—and life into much of the bounty here, spiced up by wacky sea creatures and veggies most people elsewhere never think of eating. Fujianese food is also

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Opposite:

London Plane, a small-plates restaurant near Occidental Square.

Hand-pulling lagman noodles at Kashgar's Sunday animal market.

Opposite:

Shiny exteriors of the MoPOP, formerly the Experience Music Project.

distinguished by precision in plating, applying a variety of seasonings, and an addiction to soup. Learn the phrase bu tang bu xing—“No soup is not okay”—for at some meals that’s the only thing available to drink.

Bashi Market, the biggest and freshest wholesale seafood bonanza, is fun in the morning. Follow the devoted just outside the entrance to Fuyu Datong, which has a rack full of duck parts waiting to be added to your bowl of savory congee made from a duck broth that has been simmering continuously for more than 30 years. That’s what an employee who’s worked there that long told me, and the richness of the flavor does nothing to dissuade me of that fantastic claim.

Xiamen University is one China’s most beautiful campuses with Daxue Lu (University Road) turning into Minzu Lu, a street full of cafés and boutiques mingled with traditional vendors. Immerse yourself in real life, sampling local eats including yutou, a local specialty of grated taro root with a savory stuffing of pork, dried tofu and water chestnuts that’s steamed and drizzled with shallot oil and served with a squirt of ketchup and mustard.

The young crew at Jingangbingshi, an artsy concrete dining room with open kitchen, have created modern renditions of old flavors and dishes that appeal to a growing community of artists and fashionistas. Try their fried oysters with basil leaves, a play on the traditional oyster omelet, or almond milk pudding with sweetened beans, a version of a traditional dessert of shaved ice drizzled with condensed milk. The residents of Xiamen are laid back, so don’t expect bustle early—unless you go to Wutang for shacha noodles, a customizable mix of seafood, meat, fishballs, egg and a choice of vegetables that go with tender egg noodles in a sweet peanut-based sauce made fresh each day. The recipe has been cooking for decades. Wutang, whose name means black sugar, and his wife are there every day until the soup runs out, usually by 2 p.m., so it makes sense to start here and then work your way through the cafés down the lane.

Head to Baicheng Beach and dip your feet in the water or rent bike or go for a walk along the seaside on Huandao Ring Road and relax until you’re ready for a Xiamen-style treat of fresh seafood. There are plenty of choice options with tanks of live fish and shellfish made however you wish, although staff will recommend preparations for your selections.

Although Jiali has more than one location, this one is known for its grand displays along with a menu of Xiamen local dishes… and, if you can get here for an early dinner, a great sunset.

In the evening, stroll through the bright lights along Zhongshan Lu, Xiamen’s most famous boulevard that’s become a car-free pedestrian stretch to help preserve the charming traditional shophouses. Dried seafood, souvenirs and kitsch line your path with an energetic buzz. Shop and people-watch while nibbling on an overwhelming variety of food from street stalls and local franchises unique to Xiamen. You’ll see lines clamoring for a bowl of peanut soup, a local favorite, but skip the tourist version and veer off to find SiBei, a humble tiled corner shop whose specialty is a peanut soup from skinned raw white peanuts that are simmered with sugar.

Ask to have an optional egg mixed in (and heated) to form a viscous custardy version.

Gulangyu Island, once one of the most gilded addresses in China, still claims wellpreserved mansions from the mid-1900s that were home to foreigners and returning rich overseas Chinese. Many of the stone manses have transformed into shops or guesthouses, with a number of great eateries along the central square like the Lin Family Fishball shop, which has been dishing out local tender fishballs with a juicy pork center since 1935.

Just next door, join the queue for chang fen, tender rice sheets steamed with minced pork and opt for the addition of an egg. Shuttles can take you around the village and its surrounds; be sure to hop off for sweet pineapple cakes and a cup of local oolong tea to complete the retro experience.

Kashgar

Xinjiang Province

Hangzhou's West Lake. clockwise from left: Chilled pig ears at Hubin 28, in Hangzhou; eating shacha noodles at Wutang, in Xiamen; marinated lamb and onion on nan, about to be steamed, in Kashgar.

Far-western Kashgar was a major stop

along the Silk Road and continues to mesmerize intrepid travelers in search of a less-known, kaleidoscopically diverse China. It anchors Xinjiang province, which is Uyghur Muslim country and legendary for its exotic flavors. Lamb, beef and chicken are the meats of choice, redolent with cumin, and sweet chilies often soused with tomatoes, peppers and onions. The tastes hail from a nomadic lifestyle in deserts dotted by oasis cities whose limits engulfed what travelers brought with them, including brick teas, often spiced with both fake and real saffron, rose petals, cardamom, cinnamon and clove.

Tawny, mud-colored buildings in traditional Uyghur architecture line the streets of Kashgar’s Old Town, a series of enclaves that have slowly been annihilated and rebuilt, creating tension between the majority t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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ethnic Han Chinese. But the one thing everyone agrees upon is a love of noodles, a beloved staple. In fact, in this region rice is rarely eaten other than on Sundays (when it’s usually served with lamb, carrots and onions in polo, a pilaf rich with cumin and lamb meat and fat). Lagman or la mian is the most common noodle, expertly pulled into thin strands by practiced cooks and graced with a saucy mix of vegetables, lamb and tomato. The dish is ubiquitous, but the exceptional versions have a greater abundance of lamb or a slightly finer noodle, so try it where you see a crowd.

In the early hours, women in colorful headscarves gather on the edge of Old Town selling bowls of freshly set yogurt with an optional bag of white sugar. A few steps down the road, young bakers huddle over a black hole with a metal pole, spearing and fishing out crisp golden-rimmed disks of nan, a flatbread eaten throughout the province and here piled in stacks to welcome the morning. The bakers, young, white-capped boys, work in tandem.

The taller one rolls out rounds of dough, flattening and shaping with his hands to form a raised edge. He pounds a spiral rhythm with a tukche, a traditional wooden stamp whose thick brass pins create a circular pattern on the surface, then wets the dough and inverts it into a dish of raw sesame seeds. He passes it to the quick hand of the shorter boy, who presses it against the circular oven wall while checking others inside for doneness. Soon, those are speared out and the routine continues, the boys only pausing for my purchase.

The breads of Kashgar are reason enough to come running. An astounding variety is baked in the tonur, a deep wood-fired oven similar to the Indian tandoor, but that is where the commonalities end. The local nan has a raised crust that borders perfect circles in large and small sizes. There is no ghee, no oil, no onion or cheese option, perhaps the only similarity is the sometimes-sprinkle of finely chopped shallot. Fresh nan is crispy and firm enough to hold a stack of grilled lamb skewers; a day older, it’s good for dipping into brick tea and soup. To produce gerda, bakers splash salty water on thick donuts of dough then cover the tonur’s opening with a piece of carpet. The result is the western bagel’s predecessor, with a harder, thicker crust and soft center. Samsa, meanwhile, is a golden pouch of baked bread filled with hand-cut bits of lamb and almost equal amounts of delicious tail fat seasoned with onion and cumin.

And rest assured the meat is as fresh as can be. Each morning, butchers hang new, bulbous, fatty lamb carcasses from their street stalls

A Uyghur man enjoys his daily samsa. Above: Teapickers at the end of a day in Hangzhou. Below: Karakul fat-tailed sheep at a Kashgar market.

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and as the day wears on, the meat is winnowed away and clean bones appear one rib at a time, a testament to skillful knife work and fresh slaughter under Halal Muslim law. “The tail fat is best,” says Anissa Helou, a cookbook author who is writing about the foods of Islam. She explains that males of this Karakul variety are preferred for their sweeter, less gamey taste.

The graphic display of organs ensures proof of a male that is shocking to a first-time visitor, but it eventually blends into the streetscape.

Across from the Id Kah central mosque, a nightly show of heads, hooves and all spare parts including all four stomachs of local ruminants (beef and lamb) appear at the night bazaar, a street-food feast. Crisp-edged chunks of grilled lamb dusted with fragrant cumin, salt and a pinch of a sweet chili pepper hover over smoking charcoal as a giant propeller fan blasts loudly on an angle, inhaling an inferno of smoke just above the coals and blasting it into the night sky. The skewers are often served on an edible plate of nan, deliciously spiced, fragrant and tender from their marinade of onion and peppercorn.

Visit on a weekend to see the Sunday animal market, a tradition that has lasted thousands of years. Fat-tailed lamb, cattle and the odd camel, donkey and horse all show their faces alongside butchers and a good mix of delicious snack sellers. The grand bazaar, meanwhile, is open daily, and has an impressive spice market with loads of local chilies that are sweeter than their fierce red colors suggest. In Old Town, see fascinating stalls of spices, teas and herbal medicine, and check out the coppersmiths who hammer kettles, cups and hot pots just past the 100-year-old Kashgar Tea House. Time your travels right in summer and fall, and you will be lucky to hit prime season for Hami melons, sticky figs and tiny sweet apricots.

T+L Tip: With Kashgar nestled alongside the Taklamakan Highway that leads to Central Asia and Pakistan, and Xinjiang boasting so many international borders, security can be vigorous. There is caution in the air and a notable police presence in response to unrest in the Middle East, and the ethnic and political tension between the Han majority and Uyghur Muslims. Tourism remains welcome, though.

The Uyghurs are gregarious and inviting, and I’ve experienced some of kindest encounters with locals throughout the province. The phrase “Salaam-alaikum,” (“peace be upon you”) brings smiles and offerings of tea.

Getting to Kashgar is a trek, but a rewarding journey that combines the adventures of legend with a feast of the senses.

The details HANG Z HOU .

Getting There Fly directly to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport from Singapore on Xiamen Airlines, and Bangkok on Air China or AirAsia. Flights out of Hong Kong are available on several local carriers like Dragonair. Fast trains from Shanghai’s Hongqiao station are an hour away. Check with your Chinese embassy for visa information.

Hotel s Amanfayun 22 Fayun Lane; aman.com; doubles from RMB5,100.

Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at West Lake 5 Lingyin Rd.; fourseasons.com; doubles from RMB3,850.

Park Hyatt Hangzhou 1366 Qianjiang Rd.; hangzhou.park.hyatt. com; doubles from RMB1,288.

Restaur ants Hubin 28 West Lake; hangzhou.regency.hyatt. com; meal for two RMB900.

Jiang Nan Yi 355 Tianzhu Rd.; 86571/8715-3273; meal for two RMB200.

Hangzhou Cuisine Museum Restaurant Fenghuang Hill; 86571/8792-2227; meal for two RMB150.

Longjing Manor 399 Longjing Rd.; 86571/8788-8777; meals prepared for a minumum

of four people, starting from RMB1,600 per foursome.

X IA M EN .

Getting There Fly directly to Xiamen from Singapore on Xiamen Airlines, Silk Air and Singapore Airlines.

Fly from Bangkok on Xiamen Airlines or Thai Airways. From Hong Kong, take Dragonair.

Hotel s Conrad Xiamen 186 Yanwuxi Rd.; conradhotels.com; doubles from RMB1,350.

Westin Xiamen 398 Xianyue Rd.; starwoodhotels.com; doubles from RMB910.

Restaur ants Jingangbingshi 126 Minzu Rd.; 86-188/05921218; meal for two RMB200.

Wutang Shacha Noodles 74 Minzu Rd.; 86-592/204-1658; meal for two RMB50.

Jiali Seafood Restaurant Roundabout South Rd.; 86-592/2195777; meal for two RMB300.

SiBei Peanut Soup 64 Siming Bei Rd.; meal for two RMB30.

Fuyu Datong Duck Congee 174 Xiahe Rd.; 86-592/239-8761; meal for two RMB50.

Lin Family Fishballs 97 Longtou Rd.; 86138/ 5005-8618; meal for two RMB50.

K ASHGAR .

Getting There China Southern and China Airlines fly from Bangkok and Singapore to Kashgar Airport with connections through Shanghai or Beijing and Urumqi. From Hong Kong, take Dragonair, China Southern or China Eastern via Xian or Korla.

Hotel s Radisson Blu 2 Duolaitebage Rd.; radissonblu.com; doubles from RMB688.

Luxemon Qinibagh Hotel 144 Seman Rd.; 86-998/230-0666; doubles from RMB240.

Restaur ants Altun Orda 328 Renmin Rd.; 86-998/258-3555; meal for two RMB250.

Herembag Eden Café 148 Seman Rd.; 86998/266-4444; meal for two RMB180.

Kashgar Tea House Ostangboyi Street; tea and snacks for two RMB40.

T OUR GUIDES .

Wild China Bespoke private and small-group tours to some of China's more uncharted destinations. wildchina. com; tours from RMB2,107.

Xinjiang Travel Private, tailor-made tours on the Silk Road and Xinjiang. xinjiangtravel. com; tours from RMB1,500.

t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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s t i l l or

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A vineyard near the village of Avize.

Opposite: Champagne at the Marion-Bosser winery, in Hautvillers.

What would champagne be without all the b u b b l e s? A g r o u p o f a r t i s a n p r o d u c e r s i n Fr a n c e’s storied wine region is doing t h i n g s t h e o l d - f a s h i o n e d w ay — s a n s fizz—and turning a whole v i t i c u lt u r e d e l i c i o u s ly on its head.

by Adam Leith Gollner photographed by Céline Clanet

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clockwise From top right: A guest room at La

Maison de Rhodes, in Troyes; Elodie and Bernadette Marion tend their vines; Bresse chicken at Racine, in Reims.

“I can’t stand bubbles,” announced Cédric Bouchard, a scruffily handsome winemaker who looks more like an indie rocker than the producer of some of the most rarefied champagnes in the world. Bouchard talks quickly and has a lot to say—much of it expressed in a rural French version of skater slang. As we stood sampling his wines in the frigid cellars beneath his home in Landreville, in southern Champagne, he decreed the delicate pearlescence in one of his experimental cuvées to be “vachement monstre, quoi”—the Gallic equivalent of “totally gnarly.” This was a good thing, bien sûr.

Bubbles may be Bouchard’s pet peeve, but he’s been finding radical ways to discreetly incorporate them into his wines. His hallmark is a gently elegant spritziness, as opposed to the Perrierlevel carbonation found in many commercial sparklers. “Big bubbles are way too present in most champagne,” Bouchard continued. “I hate it when you get a bottle with that expansive, nasty mousse.

There is no other word for it: I detest bubbles.”

Champagne, a vast region roughly 90 minutes east of Paris, has long been dominated by multinational luxury brands that sell industrially made fizz. In fact, these big houses have cornered more than 70 percent of the market, buying up grapes from vintners all over the region. Now a new generation of récoltants-manipulants (the private farmers who cultivate and keep their own grapes) is rediscovering the area’s little-known heritage of still wines.

Like Bouchard, these artisan producers are creating soulful, homegrown, and, yes, sometimes bubble-free champagnes that are increasingly in demand.

Few people outside France have ever tried a sparkle-free wine from Champagne, but these still wines, known as Coteaux Champenois, aren’t hard to find locally. You can even buy them at the Autogrill rest stops on the highway that runs through the region. Unfortunately, they are rarely exported. So for wine lovers like me, part of the allure of visiting Champagne is the opportunity to sample these non-bubbly treasures.

In the time it took me to finish half a glass of Bouchard’s rosé champagne, its effervescence (which began as a very fine bead) had dissipated entirely. “That’s exactly it,” he explained. “I like it when the bubbles are there at the beginning, in a subtle, silky way—and then, before you empty your glass, they vanish. This allows you to see that what you are drinking is truly a vin de Champagne: a wine from Champagne.”

Bouchard is adamant that his wines, like all great ones, are capable of transmitting terroir and the nuance of individual vintages. This notion is in direct opposition to the way major brands

standardize their wines, creating blends of different years so that their nonvintage bottlings always taste identical. While some champagnes by the luxury brands are excellent, this isn’t necessarily true of their entry-level offerings, which account for the majority of champagne consumed globally.

Bouchard’s pursuit of finessed, less bubbly wines actually dates back to an earlier era of wine making in Champagne. In fact, Louis XIV’s favorite drink was non mousseux wine from Champagne. Bub­bles were considered a fault in wines until the 18th century.

The legend goes that Dom Pérignon, a monk at the St.-Pierre d’Hautvillers abbey, invented sparkling champagne by accident. “Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!” he exclaimed.

The truth is that Pérignon was actually more concerned with preventing bubbles from forming, as they tend to do in this cold climate.

Champagne is a chilly place, even in springtime. Upon my arrival, I noticed that everybody was wearing scarves. The region’s famed underground cellars, so vast that you can ride trains through the labyrinthine tunnels, are frigid year-round. Champagne is, after all, the northernmost viticultural region in France. And according to Bouchard, a frosty cellar is one of the key factors in securing the ultralight bubbles he favors in his wines— alongside low-pressure bottling and not dosing it with added sugar.

Bérêche et Fils, in the hamlet of Ludes, is a prime source for bubbleless Coteaux Champenois, as well as sparkling champagnes.

“I want to showcase the fact that we make wine first and bubbles second—and to give people a sense of our terroir,” explained Raphaël Bérêche as he walked me through his family’s winery. Like Bouchard, Bérêche is one of the region’s younger vintners. His operation is bigger than Bouchard’s, but an emphasis on precision and purity can be seen in all of the family’s cuvées, from their various excellent sparklers to their red and white Coteaux Champenois. “The challenge is to prove that still wine deserves to be made again in Champagne,” he said.

His red Coteaux Champenois is proof enough, as I discovered when he opened a bottle of his Ormes Rouge Les Montées. The wine is a refreshingly light-bodied Pinot Noir blend with notes of spices and strawberries. His white Coteaux Champenois is just as good, with more than a passing resemblance to white Burgundy.

As we tasted, he showed me an old advertisement for his family’s 1928 and 1929 vintages, including “Vin Brut de Champagne non Mousseux.” It was yet another reminder t r a v e l a n d l e i s u r e a s i a . c o m / j u l y 2 0 1 7

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The wine shop at L’Épicerie au Bon Manger, in Reims.

Opposite: St.-Pierre d’Hautvillers abbey.

that still wines aren’t novelties here.

That non-fizzy champagne has such a long, if largely forgotten, history is part of the reason this region is returning to its roots. The one snag with Coteaux Champenois is that it needs to be grown on the best, sunniest slopes— premium real estate. As a result, still wines can end up costing as much as high-end bubbly champagne. “There really isn’t a huge market for these still wines,” Bérêche admitted, “but that’s not the point. The point is to show what our landscape is capable of. Plus, like mousseux champagne, it’s really good with food.”

Many of the restaurants in and around Reims, the region’s largest city, are now showcasing these still wines along with the traditional champagnes. The Michelin threestarred restaurant in the Assiette Champenoise hotel offers more than 1,000 different champagnes (with all levels of bubbliness) to pair with its particularly haute cuisine: truffles, langoustines, foie gras and sea urchin.

Rich food like this needs soaring acidity— which you find both in champagne and in Coteaux Champenois.

Nearby, at Racine restaurant, where Japanese chef Kazuyuki Tanaka prepares refined, artful dishes, the sommelier recommended I try a glass of Mouzon Leroux’s L’Atavique champagne with the deconstructed flower-scallop-cucumber dish I was eating. The bottle’s label explained its philosophy: “Atavism: the reappearance, in a descendant, of characteristics that belonged to an ancestor.”

This was a champagne made with the very intention to keep alive the qualities of champagne from the past—and it paired spectacularly well with my meal. It was simultaneously old-fashioned and forwardthinking, as earthy as it was elevated.

“I don’t offer any of the grandes marques here,” explained Aline Serva, the stylish owner of L’Épicerie au Bon Manger, referring to the big brands of champagne. Her grocery store has several tables where you can sit and wash down smoked salmon, Basque charcuterie, and sustainably farmed caviar with a bottle of Coteaux Champenois from her well-curated selection. Serva also highlights a number of women-run Champagne domaines in her selections—a natural choice, since Champagne today has a strong female wine-making presence, including producers such as MarieNoëlle Ledru, Marie-Courtin and Marion-Bosser.

Many young winemakers hang out at Aux Crieurs de Vin, in Troyes, which is 90 minutes south of Reims, not far from Bouchard’s vineyards. Once the region’s prosperous

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Bu b b l e s w e r e c o n s i d e r e d a fa u lt i n w i n e s u n t i l t h e 1 8 t h c e n t ur y capital, Troyes has stayed delightfully stuck in time, filled with slanting, centuries-old, half-timbered houses, giving it the feel of a Shakespearean set. Aux Crieurs de Vin specializes in no-frills French-country cuisine in a historic building in the center of town.

The front section is set aside as a wine store where you can pick up a bottle of natural wine, like a Savart or a Jacques Lassaigne, to drink with your andouillette or roasted lamb in the back dining room.

Vincent Laval, who makes wine under his father’s name, Georges Laval, is one of the region’s elder statesmen. His family has been growing grapes here since at least 1694, and his father is seen as a pioneer in organic viticulture. When I visited his winery in Cumières, a village not far from Dom Pérignon’s abbey, Laval, bearded and burly, greeted me. He was eager to show me the intricacies of making his various wines and champagnes. He pointed out two kinds of vine root systems planted on the walls of his cellar. On one side were vines that had been treated with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Their roots were shallow, growing horizontally across the top of the soil. Next to them were vines grown organically, with roots that grew vertically, deep into the ground, in search of nutrients. “This method may produce more grapes,” he conceded, pointing at the shallow roots. “But these grapes,” he turned back to the organic roots, “have a more pronounced minerality, a greater aromatic complexity, a much stronger depth of flavor.”

He offered me some of that year’s vin clair, the freshly fermented wine destined to become champagne after undergoing the méthode champenoise to add bubbles. These still wines are different from Coteaux Champenois in the sense that they aren’t a final product.

They tasted luminous, with a haunting floral perfume, somewhere between jasmine blossoms and wild irises. Vin clair transmits the essence of Champagne’s terroir, Laval explained. It’s a reminder that real champagne is an elemental thing, a gift of the soil tilled by actual craftspeople as opposed to a product necessarily destined to be marketed as a luxury good.

As good as his vin clair was, Laval stressed that it was not a finished wine. “It is still taking its form,” he explained. “And it becomes even better with bubbles. After all, bubbles are what we are.” Laval produces small quantities of all his different wines and champagnes—around 10,000 bottles a year in total, as compared with the 26 million bottles Moët & Chandon produces annually. And he makes his red Coteaux Champenois only in certain years. The one I was lucky enough to try had a lovely, slightly tannic, cherryjuice quality.

Like Laval, Domaine Jacques Selosse is renowned for the rarity— and the quality—of its bottlings. This maison is run today by sixtysomething legend Anselme Selosse, a central figure in the viticultural revolution, whose wines fetch significant sums. Selosse makes a wide variety of champagne at his cellar in Avize. (It’s a family operation: his son, Guillaume, works with him at the winery while his wife, Corinne, helps run a small, elegant hotel inside the château.) A tasting here is an opportunity to experience everything

Clockwise from top left: A guest room

at Hôtel Les Avisés, on the Selosse vineyard; a Gothic portal at Reims Cathedral; delicacies at L’Épicerie au Bon Manger.

that Champagne’s terroir is capable of— specific parcels, vintages, blends and styles.

Selosse surprised me by mentioning that he even makes a Coteaux Champenois, although he does so in such small batches that he ends up giving most of his bottles away as gifts to friends and family.

“Our whole aim is to highlight where our wines are made,” Selosse said. “What is champagne? It is a wine from Champagne. You need to be able to taste where it is from, which means it shouldn’t be insipid or neutral. When you get a sparkling wine made by a technician you can’t tell where it was made.”

Selosse has the ability to explain Champagne’s varying complexities in the most simple of terms. “The idea of terroir exists all over the whole planet,” he told me as songbirds chirped away in the background. “The United States, for example, has barbecue culture. I always tell Americans to think of barbecue as a way to explain what’s happening here in Champagne. Sunday barbecue has an ambience around it, a ceremonial aspect, a way of doing it. The sauces and the rubs and the methods of marinating or smoking differ from state to state and from region to region and even from producer to producer. The same thing applies with champagne.”

Although Selosse doesn’t sell Coteaux Champenois wines—he says they’d be too expensive—I was ecstatic to taste his red wine, the Lubie rouge, when I visited. As soon as I tried it, I could tell that it is what wine used to be in Champagne: a wine for kings. It had a sensationally floral bouquet: a combination of rose, raspberry, and lychee. It was a glimpse into the past, yet as I tasted it, I also felt like I could see a future in which bubbleless champagne could become as important as it once was.

“A bubble is, in effect, a defect—but what a remarkable defect it is,” Selosse pointed out.

“It’s a fault that became an accessory. And now that accident is part of the texture of our wines.

It’s an espuma in the mouth, like a pillow your taste buds recline on. It’s something that gives consistency. And really, we don’t have the choice: our identity is in the bubbles.”

“But what about the fact that all champagnes used to be still wines?” I pressed him.

“Centuries ago?” he asked in return.

“Nobody today knows what those wines were really like. The fact is, tradition is something that renews itself. Tradition does not mean being bound by the past. It simply means respecting those who came before, and knowing where you’re headed—while simultaneously living in the present.”

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The details hotels Hôtel Les Avisés A renovated 10-room château in the heart of the Côte des Blancs. Its restaurant serves traditional dishes and features an extensive wine list curated by legendary winemaker Anselme Selosse. Avize; selosselesavises.com; doubles from €241.

La Maison de Rhodes This hotel is housed in a centuries-old architectural marvel and has a lovely medieval garden just a few blocks from the cathedral in Troyes. maisonderhodes. com; doubles from €201.

L’Assiette Champenoise This property on the outskirts of Reims is popular for its Michelin-three-starred restaurant. Tinqueux; assiette​ champenoise.com; doubles from €179. restaurants Aux Crieurs de Vin A natural-wine bar known for its fantastic country cooking and store stocked with plenty of organic champagnes and other French varietals.

If you see a bottle of Jacques Lassaigne’s white Coteaux Champenois, get it. Troyes; auxcrieurs​devin.fr.

Glue Pot This pub is among the best places in the region to get classic bistro fare. Reims; fb.com/glue.pot; prix fixe from €12.

La Gare This restaurant inside a former railway station in the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is run by wine-making estate Robert Moncuit. Its bistro cooking is as good as its blanc de blancs. lagare​ le​mesnil.com; prix fixe €25.

Picturesque Troyes.

L’Épicerie au Bon Manger Stock up on groceries and the finest artisanal champagnes after grabbing a bite to eat at Aline and Eric Serva’s store. Reims; aubon​manger.fr.

Racine To experience the full range of Kazuyuki Tanaka’s meticulously composed dishes, go for the €90 “Daisuki” tasting menu. racine.re; tasting menus from €67. wineries Bérêche et Fils This family-owned company’s domaine in Ludes, in the Montagne de Reims region, can be visited on Fridays at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. by appointment. bereche.com.

Champagne Georges Laval This popular domaine sits on a tiny side street in Cumières. It produces only a limited number of bottles of Coteaux Champenois a year, so make sure to snag one while you’re there. georgeslaval.fr.

Champagne Marion-Bosser Situated next to Dom Pérignon’s abbey in Hautvillers, this domaine has a simple two-bedroom apartment available for rent by the night. champagnemarionbosser.fr.

Jacques Selosse To do a tasting here, guests must stay at the owner’s hotel, Les Avisés, and prebook a spot at one of Anselme Selosse’s VIP tastings, which cost €29 per person and are held at 6 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. on Saturdays. selosse-lesavises.com.

Near-Away! by American Express

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Dine in at an all-day restaurant, featuring a selection of international and local dishes or enjoy privileges as a Dorsett guest at the hippest bars and restaurants in town, steps away from the hotel.

To enjoy a one-night stay at The Splash Room at American Express subsidised rate of S$190 nett, please present the voucher located in your annual Platinum Reserve Credit Card welcome or renewal pack.

DORSETT SINGAPORE HOTEL NEAR-AWAY! BY AMERICAN EXPRESS® IS OPEN TO BASIC PLATINUM RESERVE CREDIT CARD MEMBERS. • Card Member must make advance reservation with Dorsett Singapore Hotel at +65 6678 8388 . Any use of vouchers must be stated at time of reservation.

• All reservations are subject to availability and not applicable during blackout dates (i.e. eves of Holidays and Public Holiday) or days of high occupancy. Please contact Dorsett Singapore Hotel for more information. A room reservation confirmation letter or email (in softcopy or hardcopy) must be presented, along with the physical voucher and your American Express® Platinum Reserve Credit Card upon check-in.

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• No show or cancellation policies apply in accordance to the hotels’ policies. Please check with hotel for details.

• Accommodation is for a maximum of two (2) adults and is inclusive of all applicable tax and service charges for such accommodation. Breakfast is not included. Cost of meals and all other incidentals (including applicable tax and service charges), will be charged to the Card Member’s American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card.

• Merchant’s Terms and Conditions apply – please check with respective merchants for details. American Express acts solely as a payment provider and is not responsible or liable in the event that such services, activities or benefits are not provided or fulfilled by the merchant. Merchants are solely responsible for the fulfilment of all benefits and offers.

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wish you were here

David Hartung / Dali / China A Bai aboriginal woman warms cow’s milk in a wok to make a local cheese called rushan, which she rolls and places on bamboo poles in her basic village kitchen to dry.

Today, the aboriginal group numbers less than two million and is found mostly living in mountain villages around Dali in Yunnan. The Bai diet still revolves around sharp, cold and spicy flavors, with dishes like cured ham, local fish and corn often served. This traditional craft of cheese making is dying off, though can be found occasionally in remote corners of the province.

The mozzarella-like cheese is mixed with vinegar or sour milk so it will curdle and then dried for 24 hours.

While it can be eaten raw, it is usually deep-fried and cut into smaller chunks.

Not all traditions are lost to the modern world, with the Bai tea ceremony, san dao cha or three-course tea, still a common sight at festivals and weddings.

Rushan continues to be made as a key ingredient of this tea ceremony.

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