Author: Theodora

Food for a Quid: Asam Laksa on Petaling Street

Food for a Quid: Asam Laksa on Petaling Street

The spicy, sour, tamarind-based asam laksa is a speciality of Penang. But that doesn’t stop me craving it when I’m in KL. And, while the asam laksa at Petaling Street night market is technically slightly over a pound (£1.03 at current exchange rates), it’s so 

Tea Tourism in Bandung

Tea Tourism in Bandung

European thirst for tea shaped history in bizarre ways. That’s because, for centuries, all the tea that came to Europe was made in China, where tea has been cultivated for thousands of years. During the nineteenth century, tea caused two wars: the Opium Wars. At 

10 Indonesian Dishes You Have to Try

10 Indonesian Dishes You Have to Try

With 17,000 islands to choose from, including the original homes of nutmeg and cloves, Indonesian food is insanely diverse. Though you wouldn’t necessarily know it from what presents overseas, there’s more to Indonesian cooking than nasi goreng, the fried rice dish that’s the local equivalent 

How to Get Your Macaroons Fix in Paris

How to Get Your Macaroons Fix in Paris

Call them ‘macarons’ or ‘macaroons’ – I favour macaroons in a type of reverse snobbery that I don’t want to analyse too closely – Paris is the spiritual home of the feather-light, double-decker, miniature macaroon. And, just like a gelato quest in Rome – we 

Sumptuous Holiday Cooking with White Wine

Sumptuous Holiday Cooking with White Wine

Cooking with white wine will absolutely change the way you enjoy the holidays. Time to wine up! White wine has the unique ability to balance acidity and intensify the flavour of food. While fortified wines have their own role to play, simple styles like the 

Paella in Barcelona: 7 Portes

Paella in Barcelona: 7 Portes

There are two things everyone needs to know about eating paella in Barcelona. Firstly, paella is not a Catalan dish – it comes from Valencia, 300-odd kilometres down the coast. And, secondly, paella is a lunch dish. Eating paella for dinner in Barcelona, while not 

The London List: Sheekeys

The London List: Sheekeys

It is a peculiar fact of travel that you’re much more likely to visit iconic restaurants in cities that are not your home than when you actually live somewhere. And J. Sheekey (AKA Sheekeys), like Rules, has been on my list of “London restaurants I 

In Singapore? Why Not Try the High Tea at Raffles?

In Singapore? Why Not Try the High Tea at Raffles?

Singapore Slings at the Long Bar in Raffles, Singapore’s answer to the soon-to-reopen Ritz Paris, are a rite of passage for anyone visiting Singapore: both the hotel and the drink are older than the nation. But if you’re after a colonial fix while in Singapore, 

The London List: Hix Soho

The London List: Hix Soho

At the top of a long list of bars and restaurants – most of which I never got to, because London, because friends, because family and because money – that I wanted to visit when back in London was Hix Soho. I’d tried the British 

The Belgian Monk: The Best Value Pub Lunch in Norwich

The Belgian Monk: The Best Value Pub Lunch in Norwich

Before the Beer Orders of 1989, almost every British pub was tied to a brewery, and British pub food and beer made your average German beer garden seem a pinnacle of culinary variety, craft and innovation. Then the gastropub revolution happened. And, although behemoth chains