Asia 2011 Travel Planner - (Page 6)

A QUARTET OF GOURMET GETAWAYS: CHINA, HONG KONG, KOREA, MALAYSIA CHINA: A COLOSSUS OF CUISINE The culinary treasury of China is as vast as its geographical boundaries, and considering major cuisine traditions by regions is one way to get acquainted. Southern Cantonese food, which originated in Guangzhou, is probably the most familiar of all Chinese cuisines and the richest in variety. Typically, it features lots of seafood, 1-person claypots of rice, vegetable and meat, and dim sum “snacks” of miniature buns, spring rolls and dumplings, eaten mostly for breakfast and lunch. Northern cuisine is known for its hearty staples of steamed buns, noodles, pancakes and a variety of dumplings ﬁlled with pork and leek or cabbage—most famous in Xian. The opulent Mandarin style—the food of emperors—is the highest form of northern cuisine and crispy Beijing duck its most celebrated dish. Looking east, dishes are prepared with bamboo, mushrooms, seafood and river ﬁsh. The high-end culinary style in this region is the reﬁned Shanghainese, heralded for its little snacks—akin to dim sum—and delicious steamed pork dumplings. Go west, and you are in spicy Sichuan territory, which shares the hot chili reputation with Hunan cooking. Sichuan dishes (Chengdu is the culinary capital) offer up such specialties as Gong Bao chicken with peanuts, twice-cooked pork, and the ubiquitous spicy hotpot. China tea has acted as a beverage, pastime, cultural icon and a lifetime of enjoyment for thousands of years. Join a China Tea Tour with specialists in special interest touring, CHINA TOUR HUB (chinatourhub.com), to visit destinations of tea production, starting with picking up tea leaves with local farmers, learning about tea leaf processing and enjoying a traditional tea ceremony. The 12-day tour visits Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuyishan (site of the China Tea Museum and Royal Tea Garden) and Beijing. China Tour Hub also offers a 2-week China Culinary & Cooking Tour, feasting on the famed Peking duck dinner and the imperial dishes served in the Fangshan Restaurant in Beijing; learning to make Chinese noodles in Xian; grinding spices for piquant Sichuan dishes in Chengdu, and mastering the regional cooking of Yangshuo. Although the accent is on food, there is a full sightseeing schedule between Beijing and Shanghai. LETS DO CHINA (letsdochina.com) adds value and creativity to its China experiences with its Cooking Class Options, ranging from doing duck in Beijing, to dumplings in Shanghai and even dim sum in Hong Kong. One of its favorite venues is the Yangshuo Cooking School in China’s southern Guangxi province where, after a trip to the local markets, you begin to master local specialties such as beer-brewed ﬁsh and steamed stuffed vegetables. The school operates out of two locations: one, a country farmhouse setting of rural pastures and limestone mountains, and the other a lodge along the beautiful Li River. IMPERIAL TOURS (imperialtours.net) combines four culinary centers in a 10-night deluxe tour to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. It kicks off with a lecture on Chinese cuisine from food author Fuchsia Dunlop. Featured highlights are—in Beijing, a courtyard banquet prepared by the grandson of Chairman Mao’s personal chef who prepares dishes that visiting dignitaries once enjoyed; in Chengdu, a lecture on teahouse food and participatory lessons at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine; in Shanghai, a demonstration and cooking lesson on Shanghainese cuisine; and in Hong Kong, a day at the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute, where the city’s top chefs are trained. HONG KONG: WORLD’S FAIR OF ASIAN FOOD At the doorway to China, Hong Kong serves up a dizzying array of Chinese regional cooking and is somewhat of a Mecca for food lovers, who may dine in Michelin-star restaurants or eat at outdoor food stalls or local teahouses. Popular foods are congee (the simple rice porridge that is daily fare all over Asia), noodles and rice dishes, bbq, hotpot and dim sum. Cantonese is the best-known style of Chinese food worldwide, but Hong Kong claims to have the ﬁnest dim sum chefs anywhere. Literally meaning “to touch the heart,” dim sum fare includes har gau (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (meat dumplings), pai gwat (steamed spareribs), ngau yuk mai (steamed beer ball), cha siu bau (steamed barbecued pork bun) and chun guen (fried spring roll). Hong Kong is a good place to learn Asian cuisine. For instance, at MARTHA SHERPA’S COOKING SCHOOL (cookery. A6 recommend.com http://www.letsdochina.com http://www.imperialtours.net http://www.chinatourhub.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Asia 2011 Travel Planner

Map of Asia
A Quarter of Gourmet Getaways
River Cruising
The Two Faces of Asia
Shopping
Luxury India
Cosmopolitan Japan
Thailand Spa Hideaways
Eco-Adventure
Getting There

Asia 2011 Travel Planner