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TASTE
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QUICK BITES
NEW Aquatini Riverside Bar & Restaurant (Phra Arthit Road, tel +66 (0)2 280-9955, www.navalai.com), located in the new Navalai River Resort in the heart of Bangkok’s bohemian Rattanakosin Island, is an ideal place to watch the sunset with a cocktail. “We offer a combination of modern design, relaxed jazz music and magnificent candlelit views of the Chao Phraya River,” says owner Tom Peeraroj Chairat. Beyond a wide range of Thai and Western dishes, Chef New creates her own fusion cuisine. The spaghetti amatriciana is wonderful, blending the traditional fiery spiciness of Thai food with the flavours of Italy.
MOVED Vasco’s (74/7D Hai Ba Trung, District 1, tel +84 (0)8 824-2888) is a favourite with Ho Chi Minh City revellers looking for a classy dancing and drinking venue. To accommodate its growing number of fans, Vasco’s has moved to a larger venue. The new District 1 location is on the first floor of a renovated opium refinery, in an area formerly known as The Courtyard. The look has been updated as well – instead of the previous black-and-red colour scheme, the new Vasco’s has a brighter, younger feel, with a semi-circle bar, graffitied walls, and a more spacious stage and dancing area. Regular live bands rock the joint, but there are also comfy sofas outdoors that suit a quiet tête-à-tête.
HOME BREW
When in Laos, drink as the Lao do. Most Asian beers are of the lager family – light, crisp, refreshing, and perfectly suited to the local weather. Here are four must-try national beers:
Beer Lao (Laos)
Perhaps Asia’s best brewski , this is a tasty French-style lager with a crisp finish. It marries well with laab (spicy salad of meat, herbs and greens) and tam mak houng (spicy green papaya salad).
Chang Beer (Thailand)
Thailand’s top-selling beer is light, crisp and clean with a slightly malty aroma. Chang is the perfect accompaniment to the bold flavours of Thai food – hot curries, tart salads, and dishes like pork ribs with barbecue sauce.
Tsingtao (China)
The most widely available beer in China, Tsingtao is considered a rather light lager. It can be matched with stir-fried beef, roast duck and deep-fried wontons.
Sapporo (Japan)
This light and crisp Bavarian-style beer is native to Japan’s north island of Hokkaido and goes well with the delicate textures of Japanese food such as those found in sushi and tempura.
Tiger(Singapore)
A light and dry beer with medium body, Tiger can be enjoyed with flavourful Singaporean dishes like pepper crab and satay.
FOODIE IN PARADISE
Director of Ate Media, Aun Koh, is one of Singapore’s best-loved food critics and writer of popular blog Chubby Hubby (www.chubbyhubby.net). In a landmark move, Aun’s company is publishing the first Miele Guide, Asia’s very own version of Michelin and Zagat. Here, Aun tells us all about the new biannual restaurant guide (which will be out in stores this month) and offers his ultimate foodie travel tips.
How is the Miele Guide different?
There’s no guide in the region which has the kind of influence that Zagat or Michelin has now. Our aim is to create a guide that will have the same kind of clout, but is unique to Asia and reflects Asian tastes. So the restaurants in the list were selected by a panel of 84 experts with public input through online voting.
Favourite foodie destinations?
Bangkok and Chiang Mai. I also love eating in Japan. The attention to quality of produce and presentation there amazes me.
What is your must-try dish in Thailand?
Whenever I go to Chiang Mai I must have a bowl of khao soi (left ) – egg noodles in thick curry gravy. It’s served in most street stalls and restaurants there.
How do you order when you don’t speak the language?
I point a lot, gesticulate, or simply try and let the waiter know I am up for anything and willing to try their recommendations.
What are your tips for eating well when travelling?
I always bring a bottle of duck rillette onboard with me just in case.
DID YOU KNOW?
China’s lover affair with tea is thousands of years in the making. Teapots were all the rage in China during the Ming dynasty, long before they made it to the West. Fourteenth century Chinese flavoured their cuppa with ginger, mint and orange, and drank it mostly for medicinal purposes. Even the words “tea” and “chai” trace their roots to the Chinese words “teh” and “cha”. See the country’s sipping legacy up close in Hong Kong’s Flagstaff House of Tea (10 Cotton Tree Drive, Central, tel +852(0) 2869-0690, www.lcsd.gov.hk).
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