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NOUVEAU VIET

Zen Shabu (92-96 Le Loi Street, District 1, tel +84 (0)8 829-6287) offers cuisine that is known as “new Vietnamese”. Traditional ingredients are cooked with modern execution, and there is an emphasis on healthy preparation.

The restaurant’s speciality, steamboat, is like a fondue set in the centre of the table, filled with flavourful broth instead of oil – far healthier, really. Diners add fresh meat, seafood and vegetables (right) into the steamboat and cook to their own preference. Finally, the full-flavoured soup is enjoyed.

There is also a good selection of a la carte dishes, which arrive beautifully presented – for example, fishcakes around stalks of asparagus instead of the traditional sugarcane stalk. The sleek interior, excellent service and late hours make this a hotspot for the in-crowd.

THAI LOVER

Ian Sherlock recently became the Executive Chef at Buri Rasa Village Samui (tel +66 (0)77 230222, www.burirasa.com) but the Briton has been mad for Thai food since the 1990s, having worked at some of Thailand’s best resorts, including Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa, and the Banyan Tree Bangkok.

Here, he tells us about the food he loves and how he first fell for the country’s cuisine.

What is your favourite Thai meal?
I tried tom yam goong 15 years ago on my first trip to Thailand at a street stall in Bangkok. It was so spicy and yet full of flavour – right then and there, it changed my approach to cooking.

What are some of your signature dishes?
I am a big fan of fresh seafood. I go to the local fish market every day to hand-pick ingredients. I even bring our guests along three times a week so they can see how I select food.

Do you employ any Thai cooking methods?
I cook some of my seafood dishes inside local green bamboo. When the bamboo burns in the smoldering charcoal, it lightly smokes the fish and gives it a woody, aromatic flavour.

How is cuisine in Koh Samui different?
In the south, they use a lot more coconut in their cooking, and obviously, the dishes tend to feature more seafood because of the abundance of fish.

WOK WITH YAN

Learn a trick or two from celebrity chef, Martin Yan. His shows Chef Yan’s Happy Kitchen, Yan Can Cook and Wok with Yan have aired on TV screens around the world since the 1980s and his latest project, Chef Martin Yan Culinary Art Centre, is set to excite his loyal fans. In this cooking school, Yan will teach workshops and short courses, aiming to take the fussiness out of fusion food preparation.

Ming Ming SensAsian Restaurant, 5 European Bar Street, Overseas Chinese Town, Windows of the World, Shen Nan Da Dao, Shenzhen, tel +86 (0)755 2660-2923

DIY DRINK

Shaken, stirred, on the rocks or with a twist? Now you can have it your own way with Conrad Hotels and Resorts’ new “bespoke” cocktails. With the Conradtini menu, you can design drinks to your own specifications – choosing everything from the garnish to the glass. Available at the chain’s properties worldwide – try it at the Conrad Bangkok Hotel’s Diplomat Bar (87 Wireless Road, tel +66 (0)2 690-9999, www.conradhotels1.hilton.com). Capsicum garnish, anyone?

RECIPE READS

Bring the flavour of your travels into your kitchen with these four cookbooks:

Vietnamese Favourites
by Wendy Hutton
Over 30 home-style, easy-to-do recipes, including beef soup with lemongrass, pork pate and grilled fish wrapped in banana leaf. An essential Vietnamese ingredients guide is also included for novices.

Modern Th ai Food
by Martin Boetz and Sam Christie
The brains behind Sydney’s famous Thai restaurant and lounge, Longrain, have assembled 100 delicious, no-nonsense recipes like stir-fried crab with chilli jam and caramelised pork hocks with chilli vinegar dip. Cocktails such as Purple Haze (blueberry-infusedvodka, vanilla liqueur and lemon juice) are also included.

Shunju: New Japanese Cuisine
by Takashi Sugimoto and Marcia Iwatate
Perfect for first-timers, this book features recipes from one of Tokyo’s top eateries, Shunju. On top of impressive dishes (think miso-pickled cream cheese) are step-by-step preparation tips: how to perfectly slice a fish fillet, shuck an abalone, and prepare sushi rice, among others.

The Food of China
by Kenneth Law, Lee Cheng Meng and Max Zhang
On top of the 80 recipes from the country’s best restaurants, there are backgrounders on regional Chinese cuisines, indispensable utensils (yes, cooking with chopsticks!), and traditional cooking methods. All books are published by Periplus Editions. Available at major bookstores or at www.periplus.com