Smile-worthy eats and environs at airy Café Albion

April 16, 2010

LONDON, UK – I’m not a particularly cheerful person in the morning, or at least not for the first few minutes, but if Café Albion is my breakfast destination, I’m prone to jolliness at the first tone of the alarm. The cheerful Shoreditch café (“caff” in London parlance) is an… (more)

Eat like a local in food obsessed Singapore

April 12, 2010

SINGAPORE – It could be business, the renowned shopping in the Orchard Road district or simply the need to expand your geographical horizons that brings you to Singapore. But trust me, it’s the food that will keep you coming back. Simply stated, food is a national obsession in Singapore. A… (more)

XO marks the spot at Lei Garden Hong Kong

April 11, 2010

HONG KONG, CHINA – XO sauce is to Asian cultures what caesar salad dressing is to America: a culinary concoction that used to be the province of only the most gourmet of restaurants but is now ubiquitous in bottled form on any grocery store shelf. Debates rage over where precisely… (more)

Salsa, with a side of steak, at Stevens Steak and Seafood House

April 5, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA – A steakhouse in a post-industrial area of Los Angeles is probably the last place you’d think to look for the hottest salsa bands and dancers in town. But Stevens Steak and Seafood House, a restaurant-cum-banquet hall right off the 5 Freeway in Commerce (just southeast of… (more)

A-maze-ing Edibles at Borough Market

April 3, 2010

LONDON, UK – You’re lost in a labyrinth of gourmet chocolate, organic cherries, potent espresso, and chorizo sandwiches. Whatever shall you do? Such is the brainteaser at the center of Borough Market, the expansive maze of fruit and vegetable stalls and fine food purveyors collected under London Bridge. The sprawl… (more)

Wickedly good food at the original Gordon Ramsay

March 27, 2010

LONDON, UK – The devil had to start somewhere. Today, the merciless judge at the helm of “Hell’s Kitchen,” Gordon Ramsay, is a celebrity chef par excellence, with his “brand” splashed on restaurant properties all over the world. But he first earned his impish stripes at his eponymous restaurant… (more)

Hooray for Homespun Hunan: Xiangwei Renjia

March 26, 2010

BEIJING, CHINA – My neighbors got a rooster. A seemingly innocuous turn of events if you live in, say, rural Saskatchewan and you need a telescope to pick out the nearest house on the horizon. If, however, you live smack-dab in the center of Beijing where there’s very little room… (more)

Capturing the zeitgeist of a freewheeling era at Le Caprice

March 24, 2010

LONDON, UK – Picture London in 1947: the war is over, reconstruction has begun, and a mood of optimism has settled over a city pockmarked by air raids. It’s the start of the “Golden Age” of London couture, Glenn Miller is invading the pop charts, and a sparkling little brasserie,… (more)

Gluttony goes foodie at Gobi Mongolian BBQ House

March 16, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA – On my first real date ever at age 15, my date took me out for my first taste of Mongolian BBQ (he was a year older and could actually drive). It was one of those create-your-own-stir-fry kinds of places, and I was waaaaay too excited and… (more)

The reign of the humble dumpling at Din Tai Fung

January 27, 2010

BEIJING, CHINA – There’s just something about dumplings. The Italians have their raviolis, the Polish have their pierogies, and the Chinese have xiao long bao. These Shanghainese soup dumplings are a hit worldwide, and one thing is clear: Beijing is nuts for the yummy bites. Luckily for Beijing, Din Tai Fung,… (more)