Food & Drink holidays

Asia is a food-lover’s heaven, and there are as many ways to experience it as there are things to try.

In fact, there's a recipe to the perfect foodie holiday — and it all starts (and potentially ends) with a guided food tour. Once that’s under your belt, and you’re fully armed with knowledge of all those local delicacies, you can graze with confidence in the destinations to come. And wherever you go, be sure to take in a little drinks culture, too; whether you wind up at a hipster coffee café in Saigon or delving into Korea's 24-hour bar culture, you’ll soon find that Southeast Asia is home to some of the best people watching places there are.

To truly understand a cuisine, we’ll sing the praises of taking a cookery class to anyone who will listen. Plus, the classes we've handpicked (many of them community or charitable initiatives) are run by some of the best people we know. Tasty and memorable!

Hanoi

Northern Vietnam

Combining canary-yellow French palaces with colourful and chaotic market streets dating back to the imperial dynasties, Hanoi is the place to soak up the atmosphere of old Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City

Southern Vietnam

The yin to Hanoi’s yang, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon to its friends) offers a more internationally minded counterpoint to that northern bastion of tradition — not to mention an exciting base from which to explore Vietnam’s most interesting war sites.

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur is a true cultural melting pot, where jade-topped Chinese gates open out onto palm-lined squares, Indian restaurants serve banana leaf curries in marigold-scented alleyways, and old-fashioned Malay villages lie squeezed between the skyscrapers.

Kuching

Borneo

A wide variety of indigenous and immigrant cultures combine to form Kuching’s unmistakable cultural mélange, expressed not only in its historic architecture and ethnic diversity, but in its legendary laksa, multicoloured cakes and freshly blended gourmet coffee.

Penang

Malaysia

World Heritage architecture, 130-million-year-old rainforest, world-class street art and a countryside peppered with spice gardens and durian groves: the island of Penang is an intoxicating medley of natural and cultural treasures.

Siem Reap

Cambodia

The laid-back, low-rise town of Siem Reap is the gateway to one of the most spectacular man-made sights on the planet: the sprawling, root-strangled ruins of Angkor.

Kampot

Cambodia

World-famous for its tongue-tingling pepper, sleepy Kampot is the jumping-off point for adventures in Bokor National Park, and a wonderfully chilled-out place to relax for a few days.

Bangkok

Thailand

Bangkok is an assault on the senses. Clouds of aromatic steam battle with exhaust fumes, neon signs blink jarringly alongside confection-like temples, and 30-degree heat and humidity heightens the sensation that you’re simmering in a heady, spice-laden stew.

Organic Farm Cooking Class

Hoi An

We've road tested our fair share of cooking classes in Vietnam, and this is one of our favourites.

Evening street food tour of Kuching

Kuching

Kuching is the gastronomic capital of Borneo, and this guided tour is about sampling its many delights.

People queuing at food stalls in Singapore Hawker Centre

Hawker stalls and food tour

Singapore

Each specialising in a single, meticulously prepared dish honed over generations, Singapore’s hawker stalls are so unique they’ve been given heritage status by UNESCO.

A morning at Araksa Tea Garden

Chiang Mai

Discover the secrets of growing, harvesting and roasting top-quality tea against the backdrop of the evergreen hills of Mae Tang.

Two people preparing food on kitchen table

Kanazawa cooking class

Japan

No sooner have you stepped inside Moe and Chikako’s front door than you’ll be seated at the kitchen table, chatting away and sipping the latest batch of their home-made plum wine.