https://www.scmp.com/rss/323834/feed Chris Dwyer writes about travel and food for platforms including CNN, the BBC and the South China Morning Post. He has visited 90 countries to date, but his long term former home of Hong Kong stole his heart like nowhere else. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Did somebody say “alfresco?” It is a truth universally acknowledged that food and drink taste better when eaten outside. Maybe it is the primeval joys of huddling around the fragrant flames of a barbecue, the delight of the first cooling sip of bubbly in the afternoon or the undeniable romance of dining in the moonlight. Although some countries do it better and more naturally than others, if there is a better way to spend time in the summer than eating and drinking with friends in the fresh air... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3273817/6-best-alfresco-restaurants-world-miami-tokyo-heres-where-food-truly-best-enjoyed-outdoors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3273817/6-best-alfresco-restaurants-world-miami-tokyo-heres-where-food-truly-best-enjoyed-outdoors?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2024 04:45:08 +0000 Amy Poon grew up in a Chinese culinary dynasty in London, the daughter of Bill Poon, a Hong Kong migrant who was the world’s first Chinese chef to win a Michelin star. She read Japanese at Oxford, lived all over the world and has just opened Poon’s London, a Chinese bistro and deli selling a range of signature Poon’s sauces, dumplings and ingredients such as lap cheong (Chinese sausage), in Bermondsey’s Spa Terminus food market. Did you feel you were always destined to work in restaurants? I... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3272595/poons-london-founder-amy-poon-power-food-nostalgia-and-chinese-food-fetishism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3272595/poons-london-founder-amy-poon-power-food-nostalgia-and-chinese-food-fetishism?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Aug 2024 06:15:09 +0000 New York’s dining scene is known for its creative chefs who serve food from around the world. While many of New York’s most authentic Asian restaurants are found in Flushing, in Queens, and Sunset Park and Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, here are four new openings in Manhattan flying the flag for South Korea, India, Japan and China. 1. Coqodaq We had originally planned to dine at Cote, a steakhouse chain with Korean accents that has taken New York, Miami and Singapore by storm. However, a power outage... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3272270/4-new-asian-restaurants-new-york-chinese-southern-drawl-indian-japanese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3272270/4-new-asian-restaurants-new-york-chinese-southern-drawl-indian-japanese?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jul 2024 11:15:08 +0000 Ahh, Paris. A destination so elegant and beguiling that cities around the world vie to call themselves the Paris of their respective environs. Beirut, Hanoi, Istanbul and Shanghai are just some of the notables laying claim to a mere association (and all with varying degrees of accuracy). On Friday, the world’s gaze will fix on more Parisian pomp than usual, as the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad descend on the City of Light, opening three weeks of running, swimming, riding and, for the first time,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3271521/where-eat-paris-during-2024-olympic-games-summer-5-restaurants-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3271521/where-eat-paris-during-2024-olympic-games-summer-5-restaurants-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jul 2024 20:00:21 +0000 MasterChef is the OG of reality cooking shows, having first aired on British television screens way back in 1990. It had a very different look, feel and format then, but it sowed the seeds of what would become a cultural phenomenon. To date, more than 60 territories have launched their own versions of the show, with the franchise becoming a true culinary juggernaut. The Australian version of MasterChef debuted in 2009 and quickly became a smash hit. Even in its first season, viewership of the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3268792/very-very-impressed-masterchef-australia-cooks-wow-hong-kong-guest-judge-vicky-cheng?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3268792/very-very-impressed-masterchef-australia-cooks-wow-hong-kong-guest-judge-vicky-cheng?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2024 23:15:08 +0000 The elegant art deco features of The Savoy hotel in London are the perfect setting for a dish which has truly stood the test of time: omelette Arnold Bennett. In 1929, a French chef at the hotel called Jean Baptiste Virlogeux created the decadent breakfast mix of eggs, butter, double cream and smoked haddock for Bennett when the British author was staying there. The hotel has been serving it ever since – today, it is on the menu at The River Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay at the hotel, but one chef... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3263505/perfect-omelette-maybe-chef-alyn-williams-his-twist-classic-dish-and-working-gordon-ramsay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3263505/perfect-omelette-maybe-chef-alyn-williams-his-twist-classic-dish-and-working-gordon-ramsay?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 May 2024 04:48:16 +0000 The picture-perfect shores of Austria’s Wörthersee are about 7,200 kilometres (4,500 miles) from China, but traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has become a regular part of the treatment for guests at Original Mayr, one of Europe’s most exclusive medical clinics, which overlooks the lake’s calm waters. It reflects a trend in which use of TCM, which has at least 3,000 years of history behind it, is rising globally – embraced by Hollywood stars including Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Lopez and Robert... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3261735/7kg-weight-loss-7-days-thanks-clinics-mix-traditional-chinese-medicine-and-western-medicine-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3261735/7kg-weight-loss-7-days-thanks-clinics-mix-traditional-chinese-medicine-and-western-medicine-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 May 2024 10:15:14 +0000 It may be known to millions of annual visitors as “Music City”, but Nashville, in Tennessee, could just as easily be called “Food City”, thanks to its burgeoning reputation as one of the most thrilling places in the United States in which to eat. With a young and dynamic population, global influences at every turn and impeccable local produce, dining out is both a joy and a challenge. So how to choose where to eat first? For many, an entry point is Assembly Food Hall (5055 Broadway, Nashville)... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3259486/music-city-how-about-food-city-3-nashville-restaurants-show-why-tennessee-capital-top-dining?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3259486/music-city-how-about-food-city-3-nashville-restaurants-show-why-tennessee-capital-top-dining?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Apr 2024 11:15:13 +0000 On Shaftesbury Avenue in the heart of London’s Chinatown, opposite the Sondheim Theatre, stands a new flag-waver for Singapore in the British capital. Singapulah is the latest venture from Ellen Chew, the Singaporean restaurateur behind London’s long-standing Rasa Sayang restaurant. The menu at this new restaurant features Singaporean mainstays like steaming bowls of bak kut teh, and serves as a window into Singaporean culture, design and ingredients. When Chew opened Rasa Sayang in Central... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3253516/shes-bringing-slice-singapore-london-ellen-chew-why-her-new-restaurant-singapulah-about-more-just?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3253516/shes-bringing-slice-singapore-london-ellen-chew-why-her-new-restaurant-singapulah-about-more-just?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Feb 2024 04:15:21 +0000 Just beyond the air bridge at Nashville International Airport, the terminal walkways are decked out in concert posters and other proud reminders that the capital of the American state of Tennessee is also known as Music City. From Pearl Jam to Harry Connick Jnr, a beaming Dolly Parton to a moody 1970s-era Johnny Cash, the line-up of greats who have played here whets the appetite of music-loving visitors. A baggage reclaim that is almost Asian in its efficiency makes the arrival process... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3242707/nashville-tennessee-taylor-swift-johnny-cash-stars-bars-and-guitars-music-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3242707/nashville-tennessee-taylor-swift-johnny-cash-stars-bars-and-guitars-music-city?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Nov 2023 11:15:17 +0000 After a 30-year wait for the perfect location, The Peninsula London has opened in the British capital. The luxury hotel has a prime spot on Hyde Park Corner in Belgravia – many of its rooms and suites overlook the gardens of Buckingham Palace. The hotel group’s signature white lions greet you at the entrance, which open onto an airy lobby. Afternoon tea is in full service, with Londoners and visitors sipping on Earl Grey to the strains of a violinist and pianist. Close your eyes, and you could... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3234929/first-look-canton-blue-peninsula-london-showcase-dim-sum-and-inventive-cantonese-cuisine-using?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3234929/first-look-canton-blue-peninsula-london-showcase-dim-sum-and-inventive-cantonese-cuisine-using?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Sep 2023 04:45:08 +0000 While social media platforms may serve as virtual galleries for chefs to display their edible masterpieces, some restaurants operate under the same roof as real galleries – those of museums and artistic institutions of global renown. Julien Royer opened his restaurant Odette at the National Gallery Singapore in November 2015. Within four years it had earned three Michelin stars, and came top of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2019 and 2020. Surrounding it are galleries housing a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3234633/restaurants-famous-art-galleries-whose-dishes-are-also-masterpieces-odette-national-gallery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3234633/restaurants-famous-art-galleries-whose-dishes-are-also-masterpieces-odette-national-gallery?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Sep 2023 08:15:19 +0000 Valencia, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, is the country’s third-largest city. As well as being known for its medieval old town, food markets, beautiful beaches and friendly atmosphere, it is the home of one of the world’s most famous dishes: paella. In the local Valencian language, “paella” refers to the wide, shallow pan with handles in which the rice dish is cooked – although often in forms that would make Valencianos weep. The dish is much more than just food, however; as a representative... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3231871/rabbit-skull-amid-rice-means-your-paella-real-deal-why-valencia-dish-eiffel-tower-paris-and-where?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3231871/rabbit-skull-amid-rice-means-your-paella-real-deal-why-valencia-dish-eiffel-tower-paris-and-where?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Aug 2023 10:15:08 +0000 At first glance, Cantonese and Spanish cuisines may not be natural partners. But given their shared obsession for the freshest possible seafood, an enthusiastic embrace of nose-to-tail eating and a love of communal dining, it quickly becomes clear why a dim sum collaboration between chefs Albert Adrià and Andrew Wong revealed so much about their seemingly disparate cultures. Wong opened the eponymous London restaurant A. Wong in 2012 on the same spot near Victoria station as the Cantonese... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3230785/high-end-dim-sum-collaboration-between-albert-adria-ex-el-bulli-and-wongs-andrew-wong-pushes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3230785/high-end-dim-sum-collaboration-between-albert-adria-ex-el-bulli-and-wongs-andrew-wong-pushes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Aug 2023 10:15:15 +0000 The Unesco World Heritage site of Oporto, in northern Portugal – better known in the English-speaking world as Porto – is linked to the world of wine like few cities. It not only gave its name to port wine, but is home to arguably the world’s most remarkable private collection of drinking vessels. They are housed in a dedicated museum in the World of Wine cultural district, known as WOW, adjacent to the Douro, the river that enabled the port trade – and the British penchant for the fortified... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3226386/you-just-go-wow-wine-city-portos-emotionally-powerful-drinking-vessel-collection-tells-mans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3226386/you-just-go-wow-wine-city-portos-emotionally-powerful-drinking-vessel-collection-tells-mans?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jul 2023 08:15:11 +0000 One early summer evening, picture-perfect clear blue skies make France’s Loire Valley even more special. Not for nothing did 15th and 16th century French nobility call the region the “Garden of France”. It is home to France’s longest river, the Loire, the wide waters of which help to irrigate the abundance of vineyards, orchards and smallholdings that line its verdant banks. Tours, its largest city, is a historical enclave located some 240km southwest of Paris. Just outside it sits the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3226353/tomatoes-his-mothers-garden-we-see-where-3-michelin-star-french-chef-four-seasons-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3226353/tomatoes-his-mothers-garden-we-see-where-3-michelin-star-french-chef-four-seasons-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Jul 2023 04:48:10 +0000 “I feel like I’ve lost a friend.” On June 9, 2018, this was heard time and again as people woke up to the news of the death of Anthony Bourdain. The American chef, writer and documentarian had spent two decades travelling the globe, eating local food, chronicling the characters and cultures he met in his signature style: always open-minded, gracious and non-judgemental. You’d watch him on shows like the Travel Channel’s No Reservations and could picture yourself pulling up a plastic stool next... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3223329/he-saw-what-we-did-great-approach-modern-chinese-food-five-years-after-anthony-bourdains-death-he?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3223329/he-saw-what-we-did-great-approach-modern-chinese-food-five-years-after-anthony-bourdains-death-he?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jun 2023 04:15:16 +0000 Although this is my first weight-loss and wellness retreat, I imagine that it’s pretty unusual not to be weighed, either on arrival, throughout, or on departure. Not only that, but every lunch and dinner starts with home-made sourdough bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. So far, so beautifully unexpected. This is going to be a piece of cake. But after four nights at RAKxa, on a riverside in verdant south Bangkok – which feels a million miles from the city’s bustling Sukhumvit area... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3220359/my-favourite-thai-noodles-lunch-how-does-weight-loss-work-bangkok-retreat-rakxa-changing-your?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3220359/my-favourite-thai-noodles-lunch-how-does-weight-loss-work-bangkok-retreat-rakxa-changing-your?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2023 03:15:18 +0000 If you’ve ever sipped on a refreshing Ribena or Orangina, enjoyed a glass of Chateau Lagrange, or maybe had a pick-me-up with a Boss coffee, then you have the Japanese company Suntory to thank. The drinks giant was founded in Osaka in 1899 and today is a global leader, with its 2022 annual revenue at over US$22 billion. The company’s founder, a former drugstore worker called Shinjiro Torii, always dreamed big, but never more so than when it came to building another of the brand’s iconic... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3218282/how-japanese-whisky-giant-suntorys-yamazaki-single-malt-became-so-coveted-and-story-behind-drinks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3218282/how-japanese-whisky-giant-suntorys-yamazaki-single-malt-became-so-coveted-and-story-behind-drinks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Apr 2023 23:15:14 +0000 Johanne Siy, head chef of Lolla, in Singapore, didn’t take a typical path towards a career in the kitchen. Born and raised in the Philippines, she graduated with a double degree in business management and accountancy before taking a role as regional brand manager for multinational consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble, in Singapore, where she spent eight years. Then came a turning point in her life, when she moved to New York to train at The Culinary Institute of America, regarded as one... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3214375/how-asias-best-female-chef-2023-winner-johanne-siy-carved-her-own-path-and-keeps-things-very-simple?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3214375/how-asias-best-female-chef-2023-winner-johanne-siy-carved-her-own-path-and-keeps-things-very-simple?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Mar 2023 10:15:17 +0000 It started with a pint in my local in London. First licensed in 1722, The Blue Anchor is beside the Thames, just along from the Victorian architectural splendour of Hammersmith Bridge. Behind the bar is a still of Gwyneth Paltrow from the romcom Sliding Doors. Depressed that 2023 marks a whole quarter of a century since the release of that celebration of serendipity with Paltrow’s questionable British accent, I googled the name of the film and the pub. Images of Paltrow and co-star John Hannah... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3213097/want-recreate-scenes-movies-and-tv-shows-their-locations-6-places-asia-including-hong-kong-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3213097/want-recreate-scenes-movies-and-tv-shows-their-locations-6-places-asia-including-hong-kong-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Mar 2023 08:15:07 +0000 Under brooding and magnificent slate-grey skies in the Tasmanian capital, Hobart, the pre-departure briefing starts aboard Little Penguin. The boat belongs to Pennicott Wilderness Journeys, which takes visitors from around the world on culinary tours that show off the Australian island state’s incredible produce. One of its most popular trips – especially among Asian visitors, at least pre-Covid – is Tasmanian Seafood Seduction. It is well named, the six-hour trip allowing guests to watch as a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3208553/where-enjoy-abalone-hong-kong-michelin-star-restaurants-and-eaten-freshly-harvested-seas-tasmania?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3208553/where-enjoy-abalone-hong-kong-michelin-star-restaurants-and-eaten-freshly-harvested-seas-tasmania?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Jan 2023 23:15:10 +0000 The iconic capital of Australia’s New South Wales state, Sydney is a shining example of a truly multicultural city. And with mainland China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines making up four of the top five countries of foreign birth for residents of Greater Sydney, it’s no surprise one of the world’s finest and most diverse Asian dining landscapes can be found here. From the Chinese in Hurstville and Ultimo, to Vietnamese in Cabramatta and Indians in Harris Park, the city’s sprawling suburbs... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3206671/3-new-asian-restaurants-sydney-rocking-australian-citys-food-scene-wagyu-ramen-reinvented-sweet-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3206671/3-new-asian-restaurants-sydney-rocking-australian-citys-food-scene-wagyu-ramen-reinvented-sweet-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jan 2023 04:45:11 +0000 It’s barely seven hours since we said goodnight following a truly world-class dinner at his restaurant, Sézanne at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo, in Marunouchi, but chef Daniel Calvert is already up and about, somewhat bleary-eyed, as we meet in the autumnal sunshine outside Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market. While Toyosu may lack some of the charm of the famed and historic Tsukiji fish market, it’s still a wonderland of peerless produce, beloved by chefs who visit for inspiration as much as for the finest... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3206064/how-top-5-star-hotel-chef-japan-tackles-tokyo-fish-market-we-join-him-early-morning-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3206064/how-top-5-star-hotel-chef-japan-tackles-tokyo-fish-market-we-join-him-early-morning-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2023 04:45:13 +0000 It is, without doubt, the most controversial football World Cup of all time. Even Sepp Blatter, former president of Fifa, the body that awarded the competition to Qatar, has admitted it was a mistake to hand it to such a tiny nation without a footballing pedigree. On one hand there are concerns, including criticisms of Qatar’s treatment of the migrant workers who have built the country’s infrastructure, some of whom have lost their lives in the process. The lack of LGBTQ rights – same-sex sexual... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3199211/qatars-world-cup-finding-alcoholic-drinks-watching-post-malone-getting-room-and-transport-all-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3199211/qatars-world-cup-finding-alcoholic-drinks-watching-post-malone-getting-room-and-transport-all-you?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Nov 2022 08:15:12 +0000 We like to pretend it’s the culture, the history and the sights. But the ultimate joy of travel for many – perhaps the majority – comes from something that brings together all three, and then some: the food. These five beguiling locations promise culinary experiences that let you channel your inner Anthony Bourdain, Nadiya Hussain or Stanley Tucci – namely travelling where food is the perfect mirror on your destination. From cooking classes to produce immersion, from the steamy Spice Islands to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3195159/japanese-food-kyoto-geisha-french-wine-tours-oyster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3195159/japanese-food-kyoto-geisha-french-wine-tours-oyster?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Oct 2022 11:15:08 +0000 When you nibble a chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano, bite into a slice of pizza topped with tomato and anchovies or dip your sushi in soy sauce, you’re indulging in the intoxicating “fifth taste”, otherwise known as umami. It translates from Japanese as “essence of deliciousness” and was first identified by Japanese scientist Dr Kikunae Ikeda as he tucked into a bowl of kombu dashi, or kelp broth. He discovered that umami is a glutamate, an amino acid that occurs naturally in all of us. In food, the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3189739/umami-fermented-fish-sauce-top-pick-chefs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3189739/umami-fermented-fish-sauce-top-pick-chefs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Aug 2022 04:45:28 +0000 “People are put on earth for various purposes; I was put on earth to do this. Eat noodles right here,” said the late, great Anthony Bourdain while slurping down a bowl of noodles in Vietnam. The irreverent chef made dining on noodles, preferably while perched on a low plastic stool on the street, into a rite of passage for any self-respecting visitor to the Southeast Asian nation. While in Hanoi, he famously took then-US president Barack Obama for a bowl of bun cha – chargrilled pork patties... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3189710/not-just-pho-3-noodle-dishes-vietnam-not-miss-cao-lau-hoi-bun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3189710/not-just-pho-3-noodle-dishes-vietnam-not-miss-cao-lau-hoi-bun?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Aug 2022 10:15:24 +0000 Whether for business or pleasure, there’s an inevitable question that everyone asks when travelling to Singapore: where are we going to eat first? A hawker centre is the answer for most. Coming straight off the plane you immerse yourself in a steamy, fragrant maze of stalls and jostle for space as you enjoy great food such as char kway teow or nasi lemak. While that rightly still rings true, it pays to draw up a schedule for some fine dining and drinking. In post-pandemic Singapore, people who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3185001/7-new-restaurants-and-bars-singapore-check-out-nobu-osteria?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3185001/7-new-restaurants-and-bars-singapore-check-out-nobu-osteria?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Jul 2022 10:15:24 +0000 A massage is a profoundly personal experience, as another human kneads and pummels, stretches and soothes those mysterious knots in our shoulders and back. It can therefore be disconcerting to glance up from your moment of blissful escape to be confronted by 50 curious faces looking back at you. When those people are all on mopeds, and are joined by an equally curious water buffalo standing to the side of a dusty road, the feeling is all the more surreal. The episode comes on board The Vietage,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3181065/what-vietnams-first-luxury-train-carriage-ride-soothing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3181065/what-vietnams-first-luxury-train-carriage-ride-soothing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jun 2022 03:15:19 +0000 You could be an Italian superstar chef like Massimo Bottura, crafting five different ages of Parmigiano Reggiano into a three-Michelin-star dish that includes a soufflé, a wafer and a mousse. You could be a home chef, baking an aubergine Parmigiana or shaving cheese into a salad to give it a fabulous whack of umami. Frustratingly, you could be dining in a restaurant where they ration the grated cheese like gold dust, hovering over your plate with a tiny spoon, whereas you’d much rather they just... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3174126/how-parmesan-famous-italian-hard-cheese-produced-medieval?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3174126/how-parmesan-famous-italian-hard-cheese-produced-medieval?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Apr 2022 04:45:22 +0000 In Salman Rushdie’s literary masterpiece Midnight’s Children, the main protagonist, Saleem Sinai, is the manager of a pickle factory. A motif runs through the award-winning novel, as chutneys and pickles represent stories and memories. Saleem even stores chapters of the book he is writing in a chutney jar. The links between this humble but crucial condiment and South Asian culture are rich and deep, underscoring how important it is in cuisines – but also society. “Every chutney has a story,”... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3172588/every-chutney-has-story-chefs-indian-cuisine-staple-and-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3172588/every-chutney-has-story-chefs-indian-cuisine-staple-and-its?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Apr 2022 03:15:08 +0000 It’s a conversation we’ve had time and again in Hong Kong – when “normal” travel is finally possible, without weeks of enforced hotel quarantine upon return, where will we head first, and what will we do? It’s a given that reconnecting with family and friends will be top of the agenda but, beyond that, people are hatching plans for the sorts of experiences and adventures that define the phrase travel writers love to hate – the one involving a list … and a bucket. We spoke to five Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3166698/whats-first-your-bucket-list-amazon-adventure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3166698/whats-first-your-bucket-list-amazon-adventure?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Feb 2022 08:15:19 +0000 An intense dark brown with hints of red gives way to caramel as syrupy drops of one of the world’s finest balsamic vinegars trickle down the creamy folds of a scoop of vanilla gelato, changing colour as they do so. This vinegar is the ultimate in slow food – waiting for the aceto balsamico tradizionale DOP to emerge from the bottle is a test of patience. But the precious liquid is the product of centuries of expertise, so the few seconds it takes can’t be begrudged. Our life-changing dessert,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3165644/how-balsamic-vinegar-best-artisanal-kind-takes-decades-mature?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3165644/how-balsamic-vinegar-best-artisanal-kind-takes-decades-mature?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Feb 2022 03:15:11 +0000 The hospitality industry has long lagged behind others when it comes to women holding the top jobs, notably as hotel general managers. “It’s a very white, male industry,” says Dr Lalia Rach, founding dean of the hospitality programme at New York University, in the United States. “Is it changing? Yes. But it is changing glacially. Is it right and appropriate that so few women are GMs throughout the world? Of course not; there is no justification for continuing what we know are antiquated beliefs,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3161661/why-are-women-hotel-general-managers-still-so-rare-we-ask?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3161661/why-are-women-hotel-general-managers-still-so-rare-we-ask?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jan 2022 08:15:20 +0000 It is a truth that any article on Hong Kong and Covid-19 must include the line, “some of the toughest quarantine regulations in the world”. But are they in fact the toughest? Is anywhere any stricter ? I searched high and low, and received suggestions from local epidemiologists and amateur sleuths alike. However, finding a definitive answer proved impossible given the ever-changing nature of travel regulations and the difficulty in sourcing up-to-date information. Then Shenyang came to the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3156490/how-survive-quarantine-people-multiple-stints-behind-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3156490/how-survive-quarantine-people-multiple-stints-behind-them?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Nov 2021 02:15:18 +0000 “Ha trovato! Brava!” (She found one! Well done!) rings out in the distance through the oak trees as we run towards the voice through sun-dappled leaves, damp soil underfoot in the early autumn morning. It’s only 10 minutes into our hunt for truffles in a forest deep in the hills of Chianti, in Italy’s Tuscany region, but the pair of adorable lagotto romagnolo dogs leading the way have already found their third black truffle of the day. A brother and sister, Iside and Rigel belong to Francesco... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3154943/how-black-and-white-truffle-hunting-tours-italy-give-real?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3154943/how-black-and-white-truffle-hunting-tours-italy-give-real?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Nov 2021 04:45:15 +0000 The diversity of Hong Kong’s restaurant landscape is famed for letting diners travel the world through their palettes without ever leaving the city. Such flights of food fancy are appreciated more than ever in the current climate, but spare a thought for the chefs crafting the dishes that whisk you to the heart of India, the islands of Finland or the mountains of Colombia. Many of these kitchen artists have also been grounded, unable to connect with the distant family, friends and foods that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3149028/stuck-hong-kong-8-chefs-what-they-miss-most-home-chicken?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3149028/stuck-hong-kong-8-chefs-what-they-miss-most-home-chicken?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Sep 2021 08:15:20 +0000 Having 40 years of cooking experience means that executive chef Jackie Ho Hong-sing of Cantonese restaurant Lai Heen at The Ritz-Carlton, Macau, started working on his craft when he was only 12 years old. His first job at that age was as a kitchen apprentice at a Chinese restaurant. Some industry veterans with that much experience might tend to get stuck in their ways, but that’s certainly not the case for Ho. The chef still maintains a playful element to his mastery, always daring to shake up... https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/food-drink/topics/fuelling-culinary-fire/article/3147820/lai-heen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/food-drink/topics/fuelling-culinary-fire/article/3147820/lai-heen?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Sep 2021 00:30:16 +0000 Having forty years of cooking experience means that executive chef Jackie Ho Hong-sing of Cantonese restaurant Lai Heen at The Ritz-Carlton, Macau, started working on his craft when he was only 12 years old. His first job at that age was as a kitchen apprentice at a Chinese restaurant. Some industry veterans with that much experience might tend to get stuck in their ways, but that’s certainly not the case for Ho. The chef still maintains a playful element to his mastery, always daring to shake... https://www.scmp.com/food/port-wine-thai-spices-global-citizens-travels-shape-his-ever-evolving-michelin-menu/article/3147821?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/food/port-wine-thai-spices-global-citizens-travels-shape-his-ever-evolving-michelin-menu/article/3147821?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Sep 2021 23:00:15 +0000 There was a time when the most pressing issue upon returning to Hong Kong was whether to take the Airport Express or brave an epic wait for a taxi. Current travellers juggle unimaginable costs, constant changes in entry requirements, emotional heartbreak and the solitary confinement of a 21-day quarantine. For those attempting to return from countries including the United States, France, UAE, Thailand and Malaysia, things took a dramatic turn on August 16. “The government has decided to upgrade... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3146597/travellers-stranded-overseas-and-trying-return-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3146597/travellers-stranded-overseas-and-trying-return-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Aug 2021 04:15:11 +0000 With thousands of places at which to eat across Hong Kong’s rich and varied dining landscape, not to mention whole districts dedicated to dining, it’s easy to become a creature of habit and not venture out beyond a few convenient neighbourhoods. But doing so means missing out on special, off-the-beaten-track spots which reflect their unique location and serve memorable food in relaxed surroundings, far from busy city streets. Yin Yang Coastal is barely a 20-minute drive from Hong Kong Island,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3146276/locavore-cooking-beach-indian-afghan-private-kitchen-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3146276/locavore-cooking-beach-indian-afghan-private-kitchen-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Aug 2021 04:15:21 +0000 When was the last time you heard the phrase “doors to manual and cross check”? For the vast majority of Hong Kong’s population, it has been upwards of 18 months without getting on a plane or leaving the confines of the city. Cabin fever has not only reached a peak but also led some to take the plunge and travel outside Hong Kong, whether for business, pleasure or personal reasons. That’s no small matter, but a number of Hongkongers we spoke to shared the same joy in getting up, up and away from... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3144787/best-thing-about-travel-summer-2021-seeing-family-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3144787/best-thing-about-travel-summer-2021-seeing-family-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Aug 2021 01:15:07 +0000 All American: I was born in a Rhode Island village during World War II and bred during the complacent and compliant 1950s. I was a small-town girl with visions of faraway places, wanting to break away to find a wider world aboard the blue and white jets of Pan American World Airways. Shopping in Hong Kong, surfing in Hawaii, dining in Paris – a far cry from home. My story is quintessentially American. Air heading: As a senior at a Catholic women’s college, I had no promise of an “engagement ring... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3136736/pan-am-flight-attendants-high-life-1960s-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3136736/pan-am-flight-attendants-high-life-1960s-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jun 2021 05:15:00 +0000 Imagine working 16-hour days, six days a week. Imagine doing it in a notoriously stressful environment, one where you are constantly being judged by professionals and amateurs alike. Then imagine doing it all with your life partner. Whether they are chefs or working front of house, some find their shared passion for the job and mutual understanding of the trade’s unique pressures strengthens their relationships. At Belon, in Hong Kong’s SoHo nightlife quarter, a popular French restaurant that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3134060/three-hong-kong-restaurants-where-husbands-and-wives-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3134060/three-hong-kong-restaurants-where-husbands-and-wives-work?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 May 2021 06:45:21 +0000 If you were to ask the average Hong Kong diner to name a dish from Ukraine, Ghana or Myanmar, chances are they’d be stumped. Yet you can try all three cuisines in Hong Kong – evidence of the global diversity of its restaurants. First, we head to Ukraine by way of Hollywood Road in Central. In a small spot tucked away among far busier bars and restaurants is Dacha, where sisters Olena Smith and Oksana Shevchuk work alongside their parents to deliver tastes of their homeland. Dacha, which means... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3133294/where-eat-food-ukraine-ghana-and-myanmar-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3133294/where-eat-food-ukraine-ghana-and-myanmar-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 May 2021 04:15:06 +0000 Although Queen Elizabeth has an enviable collection of crown jewels, castles and palaces, like the rest of us she has also suffered financially as a result of Covid-19. Even if the Crown Estate – a portfolio of prime land and property in Central London – has been valued at more than US$18 billion, only a fraction of that epic sum reaches the queen’s purse, through the form of the annual Sovereign Grant. Why Prince Philip should be remembered as a style icon For the 2019-2020 financial year, it... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3133209/how-queen-elizabeth-spends-her-millions-she-might-have?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3133209/how-queen-elizabeth-spends-her-millions-she-might-have?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 May 2021 22:00:17 +0000 With international flights mostly grounded, 2020 saw travel marketers looking for increasingly creative ways to remind people why getting on a plane and going somewhere used to be so much fun. Zoom travel conferences and virtual travel experiences have had limited appeal. As a cynical travel writer I have created a Covid-19 bingo card, in which words and phrases such as “unprecedented”, “new normal” and “pivot” score points whenever they are mentioned in an online conference. It’s a cheap shot,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3119802/moscow-worlds-third-best-self-care-capital-whatever-yes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3119802/moscow-worlds-third-best-self-care-capital-whatever-yes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Feb 2021 02:15:17 +0000 Outside Bordeaux is a vegan restaurant called ONA, which stands for Origine Non Animale. Just last week – five years after it opened – it made international headlines as the first vegan restaurant in France to win a Michelin star. ONA’s success is indicative of the global rise of plant-based dining, a trend that has been increasingly embraced in Hong Kong. Raw vegan restaurant MA … and the Seeds of Life, by French chef Tina Barrat, is one of the newest additions to the city’s meat-free dining... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3119473/new-vegan-and-vegetarian-restaurant-menus-hong-kong-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3119473/new-vegan-and-vegetarian-restaurant-menus-hong-kong-are?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Jan 2021 04:17:38 +0000 The numbers are nothing short of astonishing: figures from Hong Kong’s government statistics department reveal that 678,000 tonnes of beef and beef products are imported into the city every year. That translates into every adult and child in the SAR consuming the equivalent of two quarter pounders per person per day – every day. These remarkable consumption figures naturally pose multiple questions. It’s important to acknowledge that in the normal years before Covid-19, Hong Kong’s huge number... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/well-being/article/3117629/hongkongers-eat-equivalent-two-hamburgers-each-every-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/well-being/article/3117629/hongkongers-eat-equivalent-two-hamburgers-each-every-day?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jan 2021 02:00:10 +0000