Search results for

Wandering Chef: Martin Yan in Beijing

One traveler returns to Laos.

Writer David Thompson shares his favorite parts of living in Bangkok’s Dusit neighborhood.

With celebrated chefs hailing from every corner of the globe, Shanghai’s broad culinary landscape offers incredible restaurants in a spectrum of styles. Dumplings—Shanghai’s most popular snack—come in every glorious incarnation: fried and steamed, pork and radish. But there’s much more to eat and drink here. Duck into an urban soup kitchen, sit down for satisfying noodles, or discover the plethora of options on Wujiang Lu. Here are our picks of where to go!

Tucked behind the bustle of Nanjing Rd. (W), Wujiang Lu has always been a food street. While it used to be famous for its steaming pots, sidewalk grills, and stinky-tofu vendors, it has been revamped to a pedestrian walk-through packed with both Western and Chinese fast food joints. Pho, sushi, and burgers round out the menu options, so there’s a chance you’ll be able to satisfy any craving in one short block. Wherever you choose, be sure to leave room for something sweet from Awfully Chocolate before you leave.

The first Tasmanian winery to achieve biodynamic certification has a new restaurant and tasting room that doubles as a biodynamic wine information center. Sample limited-edition bottles such as the Settebello single-block pinot noir at the cellar door, or order your favorite vintage alongside a rustic Italian dinner at farm-to-table Osteria.

The latest sign that Luang Prabang, the once-undiscovered unesco World Heritage city on the Mekong River, now fully caters to upscale tastes, Villa Maly is in the former residence of Prince Khamtan, grandson of a 19th-century Lao king. The hotel’s 33 rooms, furnished with four-poster mahogany beds, rain showers, and parquet floors, surround the 1938 French colonial–style home in seven comfortable cabanas. During my stay, I fought the heat by spending time on the dark-wood pool deck ringed by tall palms and tropical flowers. It’s a five-minute stroll to the town’s historic center—and a five-minute stroll back to the hotel’s onsite spa for a massage. —This appeared in the December/January 2010 issue.

Two of Tasmania’s most abundant wine regions ripen within a 20-minute drive from Hobart. With a similar latitude to the famous wine regions of France and Germany, the Derwent and Cole valleys produce wines more like those of Europe than mainland Australia. Sip a wide range at such wineries as Stefano Lubiana Wines—the first Tasmanian winery to achieve biodynamic certification—and Frogmore Creek, a pioneer of organic wine and artistic cuisine. There’s also hand-pumped beer (try one of the seasonal sours) and cider at the Two Metre Tall Farm Bar Wednesday through Friday and on Sunday afternoons; award-winning whiskeys at Sullivans Cove; and probably the best paddock-to-plate dining in all of Tasmania at the Agrarian Kitchen Eatery.

For something beautiful, unique and quintessentially Chinese, you’ll want to pick up a yak-wool knit from Shokay. This incredible social enterprise works with yak farmers in Western China to teach them how to harvest the finest down from their yaks. From here the wool is sent to a group of trained spinners who work their magic, turning the down into the most luxurious, soft yarn. Further transformed into elegant wraps, scarves, jewelry, hats, mittens, throws and pillows, Shokay’s collection offers perfect locally-made, ethically-sourced, beautiful gifts to take home. Store Location: InShop, 1605 West Nanjing Road (Just above JingAn Temple Metro Station, Line 7/Gate 10). Tucked back on aisle “D”, you’ll find Shokay’s pieces in an open space boasting a collection of Shanghai-based designers and labels. And for a true adventure, SHOKAY has transformed its knitting cooperative on Chongming Island into an open textiles workshop. Just over an hour away from Shanghai, the creative space welcomes visitors to spend the afternoon relaxing, joining in knitting classes, or custom ordering hand knit pieces from yak down. For more information, visit their website.

The morning market in Luang Prabang is bursting at the seams with culinary curious - some you may indeed want to put in your mouth, and others, well - others you’ll need to see for yourself. Luang Prabang is the busiest tourist destination in Laos, but early in the morning, the market is generally void of foreign faces, making it a perfect place to meet the locals, dine on Lao food, and watch the people as they wander. Grab yourself a frosty bevy and a slice of blood sausage and check it out.

For one of the best restaurant views you’ll ever enjoy, head to L’Orangerie at the five-star hotel Bastide de Gordes. Here, you can dine on the garden terrace or open-air veranda with breathtaking vistas over the Luberon Valley. The menu features traditional Provençale dishes, providing flavors—and prices—to match the elegant setting. Start with a salad of chilled watermelon, feta, mixed greens, and fresh mint, followed by roasted cod with squid ink spaghetti. The Grand Marnier soufflé with bourbon-vanilla ice cream will set you back around $20, but there are few places you can savor dessert in such extraordinary surrounds.

A little known fact is that located within the Park Hotel, perched across from People’s Park, is the “Zero Center Point of Shanghai”. In 1950, the Shanghai Bureau of Land Administration designated the flagpole atop the Park Hotel as the true center of the city, using this landmark as a marker for its surface coordinate system. Pop into the lobby to stick your finger on the actual spot. And while you’re there, poke around and read a bit about the old race course that used to occupy People’s Park or glimpse into “Old Shanghai” in the hotel’s museum on the second floor.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art is located in Kilmainham, just a short trip out of Dublin’s City Center on the Luas. Housed in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the building and its grounds are vast. The grounds are littered with contemporary public sculpture from Lawrence Weiner to Richard Long, and an equally impressive (though still relatively small) collection from Abramović to Gillick. While much of the building remains under construction the museum is a must for any art enthusiasts visiting Dublin!

One block south of the glitz and glamor of Huaihai Road, the boutiques on Nanchang are the perfect antidote for the over saturation of foreign labels and runway glamor. The storefronts that dot this tree-lined road in the Former French Concession are as fun as their quirky names suggest. Tucked in between fruit vendors, baozi steamers and neighbors bantering over mahjong games, the shopping here is truly Shanghai-chic.

Buddha statues in lower Pak Ou Cave on the Mekong River north of Luang Prabang, Laos. Pak Ou is a series of limestone caves which contain hundreds of Buddha statues palced there over the centuries. It is a popular pilgrimage site for local people, especially during Lao New Year in April when the caves are crowded with devotees who gain merit by ceremonially washing the Buddha statues. The caves can be reached by boat from Luang Prabang in about 30-40 minutes.