Apart from being a gastronomic trip, I expected this to be a spiritual journey as well. Many people, friends of mine included, describe it as a life-changing experience. Life-changing indeed it was, for reasons I never would have expected. And it all started here in Kolkata.
As always, I do a fair amount of research before a trip but there’s only so much Google can tell you. Insider knowledge, especially when it comes to food, is always best, which is why I think it’s so important to experience a new city with a local. Shailesh, a third-generation resident, was about to give me my first real taste of Mumbai.
If you’re visiting Phuket and looking for a fun, informative food tour, then you should seriously consider this one. Pema is an excellent guide with an infectious enthusiasm for her town, a town that seems to hold as much wonder for her now as it did when she was a little girl.
Krabi is most definitely a beach paradise, reeling in people from all over the globe for its mix of beauty and culture. Adventure sports, food and natural beauty; this small town offers a little taste of everything. Quite literally though, it offers much more than a taste of the vibrant local food culture.
It had become a dream of mine to enjoy authentic curry in northern India, which is why this stop at Delhi was the one I was most excited about on this three-city India food tour with A Chef’s Tour.
As always, we try to find the best restaurants when we travel and that’s exactly what we sought to do when coming up with this Chiang Mai food guide. We consulted trusted food blogs and crowd review sites to find the best examples of local dishes in Chiang Mai. Things like the best khao soi, the best kai yang, and the best suki are all represented here.
Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao is easily the nicest hotel we’ve stayed at in Bangkok. It’s a 5-star hotel integrated with a shopping mall and features seven restaurants, six of which have at least a 4.5 star rating on TripAdvisor. If you fly for food like we do, then you’re going to enjoy staying at this hotel.
Perched on the side of a cliff overlooking Karon Bay, Centara Villas Phuket lies along a mountain range stretching from north to south on the western side of the island. It offers soaring sweeping views of the ocean and could very well be one of the most romantic resorts in Phuket.
I’ll be honest, this foraging adventure isn’t for everyone. It’s rough, it’s tough, the food will challenge you and the accommodations may make you uncomfortable, but it’s one of the most memorable things I’ve ever done in my life and I’m grateful to have experienced it.
Chef Por of Suan Bua creates Thai court cuisine from the royal kitchen of King Rama V. He aims to keep the flavors authentic and intact, but present the dishes in a modern, more contemporary way.