https://www.scmp.com/rss/515631/feed Kissa Castañeda is a lifestyle journalist based between Europe and Asia covering design, travel and food since 2005. She has called five different cities home and has travelled to 60 countries and counting. Formerly editor-in-chief of Tatler Singapore, she has a soft spot for adaptive reuse hotels and is always in the mood for flânerie. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com To define Filipino cuisine in a single sentence is like trying to condense the essence of 7,107 islands into a few words – almost impossible. By now, many are familiar with dishes like adobo or sisig, and perhaps recognise the thread that unites Filipino cuisine: prominent sour flavours delivered through vinegars and local fruit such as calamansi, tamarind, santol and kamias. That and a penchant for combining sweet and salty flavours in one bite. Filipino cuisine can be full of contrasts – which... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3266111/filipino-food-next-best-thing-said-anthony-bourdain-4-players-proving-he-was-right?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3266111/filipino-food-next-best-thing-said-anthony-bourdain-4-players-proving-he-was-right?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2024 23:15:09 +0000 A towering float – complete with a wooden pole that easily rises six storeys – heaves into view. The float is elaborately decorated with tapestries festooned with gold, and has jet-black wheels taller than the average adult. About 50 people surround it, while a few stand guard on the roof and others sit inside. The focus of spectators gathered at a road junction in Kyoto, Japan, is on the front of the float, where volunteers are pouring water on bamboo slats laid on the ground to help this... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3264226/why-kyotos-gion-matsuri-japans-most-famous-festival-its-parade-huge-floats-not-be-missed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3264226/why-kyotos-gion-matsuri-japans-most-famous-festival-its-parade-huge-floats-not-be-missed?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 May 2024 10:15:14 +0000 Whether you want nasi lemak, larb or lechon, chances are you can now find a delicious take on these dishes in London – but that was not always the case. For decades, before the city became the culinary Mecca it is today, high-quality Asian restaurants were few and far between. The ones that enjoyed brisk trade often condensed the flavours of an entire country or two into a single establishment. Things have changed for the better, but there is still room to make the dining scene more diverse if... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3224305/non-asians-loving-dim-sum-will-always-be-golden-moment-chinese-siblings-london-expanding-food-lovers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3224305/non-asians-loving-dim-sum-will-always-be-golden-moment-chinese-siblings-london-expanding-food-lovers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jun 2023 06:15:16 +0000 Applause and raucous laughter may greet you when you arrive at Mia Mia, an independent coffee shop in Tokyo’s Higashi-Nagasaki district founded by Vaughan Allison in 2020. And yes, they’re probably applauding your decision to go out of your way to this unexplored part of the city, largely unknown to most travellers – and even some locals – but bearing the makings of the next Shimokitazawa. “I have been living in Tokyo for 15 years and I hadn’t heard of Higashi-Nagasaki before I came here. But,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3220559/where-find-tokyos-best-old-world-cafes-japanese-capitals-speciality-coffee-scene-thrives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3220559/where-find-tokyos-best-old-world-cafes-japanese-capitals-speciality-coffee-scene-thrives?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2023 04:45:17 +0000