Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2018 i Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, Hong Kong & Macau

01 JULY 2018/ 25,000 VIEWS So excited to report that we spent another lovely weekend in Macao! This time, meandering through the alleyways of Taipa Village, posing against the Instagram-perfect backdrops of what could be Wes Anderson film sets, all pastel-colored walls and old European lampposts. Taipa Village is home to low-rise shophouses of local diners called cha chaan tengs, gourmet restaurants, and some converted into hip lifestyle concept stores. We popped into centuries-old temples, marveling at the beautiful shadows of spiral incenses and the prayers and wishes written on tiny pieces of paper attached to them. As we strolled under the shade of large old banyan trees, occasionally passing a sleepy granny having a siesta on her rattan recliner chair at home, we were also thrilled to stumble upon…

no.1 Bali’s seafood restaurants are pledging allegiance to the ocean. There’s no longer plenty of fish in the sea according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which warns that Asia’s commercial fish stocks will run out by 2048 save a massive reduction in indiscriminate dragnet fishing. “The world as a collective has woken up to the fact that we can’t just pillage and plunder the ocean anymore,” says Australian hospitality veteran Isabella Rowell. In May, Rowell partnered with fellow Antipodean Benjamin Cross to open Fishbone Local, one of a slew of new and existing eateries in the Balinese surfing center of Canggu with a commitment to sustainable line-caught or farmed seafood. Here, some of the island’s most ocean-friendly plates. FISHBONE LOCAL A former executive chef of Bali’s iconic Ku…

IN FIVE MINUTES I’ve eaten 30 bowls of soba. “Hai, don, don!” chants my waitress, who looms over my table with a skyscraper-stack of yet another 30 bowls, urging me to eat “more, more!” No sooner have I slurped down my next small dish of noodles than she slams a new one in front of me. “This is how you eat soba in Morioka,” says my guide, Satake Daihei, breathlessly between gulps. He is very seriously trying to beat his previous record of 70 bowls, a number that seemed ludicrous at first, but now, spurred on by a deep-seated competitive streak and relief that the tiny bowls hold only a few mouthfuls, has become my own aim. We are at Azumaya Soba Restaurant, a 111-year-old noodle house in Morioka, the…

Yongle Market Part–wet market, part-food court, Yongle Market and the shophouse restaurants on adjoining Guohua Street attract diners from breakfast to dinner. Locals arrive as early as 5 a.m. for a pre-work breakfast, and tourists take over around noon for some of the city’s most famous eats. It gets busy, but the popiah-like spring rolls at Jin De and the gua bao (Taiwanese hamburger) at A Song are worth the wait. Sec. 3, Guohua St.; open 5 a.m.–10 p.m. Hua Yuan Night Market This is Taiwan’s biggest night market, so you’ll be spoiled for choice among the 400 vendors who hawk their food here. Seek out A San Ge Ke for their crispy oyster omelets and follow your nose to Jie Chan Xiao Pu for stinky tofu fermented in black…

JAPAN’S TROPICAL ISLANDS are postcard-perfect, and best explored from the water. To celebrate summer, Dream Cruises will set sail on a five-night Okinawa Discovery tour, which travels from Hong Kong and Guangzhou to this cluster of white-sand islands in a coral-dotted ocean. With stops in Naha and Miyakojima, this little-visited side of Japan is perfect for exploring from the comfort of your own ship. In Naha, be sure to visit Shuri Castle, which dates back to the 15th century and today, in its reconstructed form, has been declared a unesco World Heritage Site. The eastern cape of Miyakojima, with rugged limestone cliffs dropping off into the sea, is known as one of the most beautiful settings in Japan. The island is also famous for its own version of soba and…

YOU CAN CHART A DIRECT LINE FROM the invention of the pho cocktail in 2012, which won Pham Tien Tiep the Diageo World Class best bartender in Vietnam title, to the rave-garnering Hainanese chicken rice cocktail at the new, foodie-focused Amrith bar in Singapore. Mixologists in Asia have been looking to their own heritage for libation inspiration, and the resulting concoctions—say, Noodle Soup at The Ritz Bar and Lounge in Shanghai, or Chedi Club Tanah Gajah’s new menu blooming with their garden’s Balinese herbs—would've raised our eyebrows in the past, but now have our palates primed. And as the creativity flows, so does the complexity of what used to be called mocktails. Here are great new cultural-deep-dive drinks menus in the region, plus (reluctant) picks for our teetotaler pals. THE…

9 A.M. KALDI’S COFFEE With six outposts around town, these bright, modern cafés fuel the community with drinks made from sustainably sourced beans. (Also on the menu: gooey butter cake—a dense, caramelized regional confection.) Roastery tours run every Friday. kaldiscoffee.com. 2 P.M. FOREST PARK A choice spot for warm-weather people-watching, the urban escape contains the city’s art and history museums, science center, and zoo. It’s also home to the Muny, the municipal amphitheater, which is currently celebrating its 100th season with Gypsy and six other Broadway shows. forest park forever.org. 11 A.M. LEFT BANK BOOKS This indie shop hosts literary events with native rising stars (Amy Spalding) and nationally acclaimed novelists (Junot Díaz). Sittenfeld appreciates the staff’s “personal touch.” left-bank.com. 7 P.M. THE PAGEANT Comedians and musicians take the stage…

/ JULY 2018 / Don’t get between a local and his plate in Kerala | Go a few rounds with our self-crowned eating champion of Macau | California culinary capital Mendocino | Obscure-wine lovers find heaven in a glass in Switzerland An angry holler interrupts my afternoon stroll through the cardamom fields of east Kerala, its fearful intensity echoing around the steep valley walls. “We’re not actually meant to be here,” says Anoop, my guide, glancing from the distant security guard to me with a look that lies somewhere between worry and dread. The emerald peaks that undulate around the hill town of Munnar comprise one of South India’s most beguiling tableaux. Yet while the multi-hued butterflies and equally luminescent birds that flit around the plantation could double as escapees…

GETTING THERE Most Asian cities are connected with Macau International Airport. Ferries from Hong Kong leave every 15–30 minutes; buses from Zhuhai, in Guangdong province, go to the Gonbei border gate, where hotel shuttles will pick you up. A new 55-kilometer bridge connecting Macau to Hong Kong and the mainland will open this year. HOTELS MGM Cotai This colossal Cotai resort has luxe rooms and plenty of entertainment. Its central atrium features a series of panoramic LED screens playing cinematic scenes of nature and art; and the MGM theatre will open later this year boasting the world’s largest permanent indoor ultra-HD screen. mgm.mo; doubles from MOP1,500. St. Regis Macao The rooms in this five-star Cotai hotel are spacious and plush. Visit the St. Regis bar for their Macau-themed Bloody Mary,…

THIS MONTH ON TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM BEHIND THE SCENES AT SHANGHAI ’S BOLD HERITAGE HOTEL Amanyangyun’s radical fusion of contemporary luxury and historic heritage is nothing short of a modern miracle. BANGKOK’S ESSENTIAL CREATIVE HUBS From a retired airplane to century-old warehouses, these multipurpose spaces in Bangkok are turning heads for all the right reasons. THESE AUSSIE HOTELS PROVE THAT BIGGER ISN ’T ALWAYS BETTER Travelers Down Under are ditching the super-sized digs for more intimate boutique lodgings in secluded places. DOWNLOAD US T+L TABLET EDITIONS Available on iOS , Android, Win 8 and Zinio Desktop Reader. FOLLOW US TWITTER.COM/TRAVLEISUREASIA FACEBOOK.COM/TRAVELLEISUREASIA PINTEREST.COM/TRAVLEISUREASIA INSTAGRAM.COM/TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA KEEP UP WITH US Sign up for our newsletter for monthly highlights and offers from T+L Southeast Asia. TANDL.ASIA/NEWSLETTER CONTACT US TLEDITOR@MEDIATRANSASIA.COM LOOKOUT Where to eat and drink in…

At the time, it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. I had asked our features editor, Eloise Basuki, to go to Macau and eat everything in sight. A food-eating competition winner—see tacos, female, Australia or chicken wings, Canada—she gladly tackled the assignment, venturing from casino glitz to backstreet bakeries and everywhere in between searching out the perfect meal. No doubt, her culinary report on the casino town, “Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner” (page 74), will leave you salivating for a long weekend on the South China Sea. A month or two earlier, she ventured to Japan’s Iwate prefecture for a story on noodles and inadvertently, so she claims, was roped into slurping 67 bowls of soba in a single, out-of-competition sitting (“City of Noodles,” page 26). Nowhere near the…

From the steamy streets of Bangkok to the higgledy-piggledy alleyways of Hanoi to the rambunctious hawker centers of Singapore, Southeast Asia is acclaimed for having the finest street food on the planet. Overflowing with flavor, steeped in history and cheap as chips, it offers not only nourishment for the masses but stories of trade, migration and shifting identities. A new tour in Java teaches us about the beguiling, sometimes baffling, tastes of Indonesia, then we get a primer on some of the must-try open-air meals elsewhere in the region.…

GETTING THERE Direct flights to Kochi International Airport are available from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. HOTELS Brunton Boatyard A shipyard during British colonial days, this is now one of the most prestigious hotels in Fort Kochi, with distinguished decor and a fabulous pool. cghearth.com; doubles from US$145. Kallapurra Homestay With owner Jose offering comfortable digs as well as invaluable local advice on houseboats, cuisine and other tips, this is an impeccable base in Alleppey. kallapurahomestay.com; doubles from US$20. River and Country Houseboat One of the most respected houseboat operators in Alleppey, River and Country supply comfortable vessels and conscientious staff. riverandcountry.com; from US$150 to charter a two-bedroom boat for an overnight trip. Taj Malabar Kochi On the northern tip of manmade Willingdon Island, the Taj offers colonial-inspired rooms, gorgeous…

SEEMINGLY EVERYONE you meet in Anderson Valley can tell you a migration story that has the flavor of myth—a tale that casts their arrival in this shockingly picturesque corner of California’s Mendocino County as the climax of a great quest, or the punch line of a cosmic joke, or both. One of the best yarns, surely, is Bruce Anderson’s. In 1971, Anderson, an avowed “big hippie,” rolled out of San Francisco in a Volkswagen van, heading, like many pilgrims of the period, back to the land. For years, Anderson had lived in the thick of San Francisco’s counterculture. He had played a leading role in anti–Vietnam War protests. But as the 60s turned into the 70s, the city’s bohemian enclaves were gripped by malaise, Flower Power dreams withering amid rising…

1 Chris Schalkx WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER “Six Dishes: Tainan” Page 30 “Taiwanese food is influenced by Japan, the West and China (mainly Fujian). Compared to many other Chinese cuisines, Taiwanese use fewer spices, and a more diverse range of produce, meat and seafood. With fresh oysters, milkfish and eel, Tainan’s cuisine is the most seafood-centric on the island. It’s also sweeter, owing to the local sugar industry. Tainan’s signature goopy soups and jellified substances might take time getting used to, so start safe with danzai mian, a small bowl of chewy noodles in light pork broth, with minced pork and a boiled prawn. Chih Kan Peddler’s Noodles is famous for it.” Instagram: @chrsschlkx. 2 Ashley Niedringhaus WRITER “Upgrade: Street Eats” Page 49 “Governments may try to clean up street vendors,…

SALTED-EGG POTATO CHIPS | SINGAPORE Craved region-wide for their sweet-and-savory salted-egg seasoning, these addictive snacks—our favorite is Irvins—can be conveniently picked up at Changi airport. ORGANIC TROPICAL FRUIT BARS | SRI LANKA These all-natural snacks use tropical fruit from Greenfield Farm, an estate of organic, sustainable and ethical farmers in Sri Lanka. Find them in selected cafés around the country. SOFT DRIED MANGO | THAILAND Don’t leave the Big Mango without a hefty stock of the dried stuff. There’s an endless supply in supermarkets—we like Thaya’s soft golden strips that almost melt in your mouth. MINI ALMOND COOKIES | MACAU You’ll find Macau’s crumbly almond cookies all over the region, but these miniature mung bean versions by Ko Kei bakery, which started as a street cart decades ago, are perfect…

WA GUI (savory rice pudding) While this wobbly, brown dish won’t win anyone over with its looks, wa gui is a surprisingly toothsome snack. Made from rice flour, pork and shrimp, and topped with thick soy sauce, it’s served in the same bowl as it is steamed in. Traditionally eaten with a small wooden paddle (good luck with that), add some garlic or wasabi for extra flavor. One Good Pin draws long queues. 177, Section 3, Guohua St.; mains from NT$30. SHAN YOU YI MIAN (eel noodles) A mix of yi mien (egg noodles), cabbage, garlic, onion and chunks of fried eel, this thick, sweet and tangy soup is a Tainan roadside classic. The stall on the corner of Guohua Street has been serving it for more than 40 years—order…

NOT YET THREE YEARS OLD, the National Gallery Singapore has etched its place on Asia’s art map already. The marriage of the city’s former supreme court and city hall with modern architectural touches is a design triumph that makes an appealing canvas on which to display masterpieces from across the region and the generations. But how, with more than 8,600 artworks in its collection, does the gallery choose what the public gets to see? (Re)collect, The Making of Our Art Collection, which is on until August 19, aims to answer just that question. The 120 works on exhibit, including both recent acquisitions and pieces that have never been shown before, act as a guide to the changing landscape of Southeast Asian art—an evolution that informs every decision of what to…

American food lovers owe St. Louis a debt of gratitude. After all, the city introduced the world to restaurateur Danny Meyer and, by extension, his growing hamburger empire, Shake Shack. But that’s only one reason to care about the culinary scene in St. Louis. Now young chefs are shaking up the local dining scene, too. + Michael Gallina, chef de cuisine of New York’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns who brought an infusion of culinary cred to his hometown when he moved back in 2015, opened Vicia last year (viciarestaurant.com; mains US$12–US$16). His veg-driven dishes, like tacos that use paper-thin kohlrabi slices in place of tortillas, feel almost subversive in a city once known mostly for its barbecue. + Also in 2017, Qui Tran, whose family opened Mai Lee, the…

HAPHAZARDLY CONSTRUCTED to accommodate tens of millions of migrant workers, Java’s cities aren’t exactly pretty, many lack definitive centers and the traffic is a joke. But the island’s natural attractions—verdant hillsides and endless tropical beaches—haven’t yet been overexploited for tourism, and the dining scene here, both traditional and high-end, is a major draw card. Encompassing East Asian, South Asian, Arab and European, Javanese street food is fascinatingly diverse, plus it’s sold not on the street as in most Southeast Asian countries but in warungs, family-run eateries set in homes. And now, Indonesia-based chef Will Meyrick is determined to broaden our palates to the tastes of the most populous island in the region. Though he hails from Scotland, Will’s name is synonymous with gastronomy in his adopted home of Bali, where…

SUPERSAVER The Longhouse, Bali Enjoy the best of Bali without the crowds at The Longhouse, a six-villa boutique hotel in the hills of Jimbaran. First-time guests who book a room for three nights or more will receive a 20 percent discount, plus a poolside cocktail. The Deal Save My Room: a night in an East Java room, from US $190, through December 31. To reserve, e-mail info@thelonghousebali.com with promo code SAVEMYROOM. thelonghousebali.com. BEACH VIETNAM Fusion Resort Phu Quoc To celebrate the first anniversary of this five-star, spa-focused resort, Fusion Resort Phu Quoc is offering 35 percent off bookings in their Garden Pool villas. Included in the deal is Fusion’s “Breakfast Anywhere, Anytime” service; all-inclusive daily spa treatments; all-inclusive wellness activities, including yoga, tai chi, kayaking and cycling; return airport shuttle…

GETTING THERE AND AROUND The Southeast Asian destinations from which Swiss International Air Lines (swiss.com) offers non-stop flights are Bangkok, Hong Kong, Phuket, Saigon and Singapore. To get between cities by train, invest in a Swiss Travel Pass (sbb.ch). Though you can visit most wineries and tasting rooms unannounced, a good option is to work with a tour company like CountryBred (countrybred.com), which plans tastings and dinners with winemakers, luxury transport, and more. THE VAUD Stay in Lausanne. The recently renovated Beau-Rivage Palace (brp.ch; doubles from €475), originally built in 1861, has spectacular views over Lake Geneva, both from its exquisitely appointed rooms and from chef Anne-Sophie Pic’s namesake Michelin two-starred restaurant. A walk along the Lavaux terraces’ Chemin des Grands Crus, just 15 minutes from Lausanne, is not to…