Our 45th issue is out in print, so grab your free copy now! Or read it online if you can’t be bothered to find it.
This issue focuses on food, bringing you some of the culinary highlights worth looking for on your journeys, and re-introduces familiar foods in a brand-new way. So strap in, loosen your belt, and let’s get started.
Food and Travel
As you hop on a cyclo (front-seated trishaw) to explore historic Ho Chi Minh city, remember to cafe-hop to try their delicious coffee (ca phe) blends, and take in the French colonial edifices like Vietnam’s own Notre Dame Cathedral.
If Taiwan is your destination, check out the trendy spots to eat and chill. There’s Taipei’s Da’an district with hipster cafes, trendy shopping, and bars, or Kaohsiung Pier 2, a seaside artists’ haven where cafes, shops and galleries offer a plethora of artsy delights.
International Dishes
We show you how Portugal’s delicious cuisine has also been flavoured by history; faux-pork sausages invented to escape the Inquisition, and a profusion of egg desserts because monks starched their robes with egg whites (it’s true).
Macao’s dishes are a blend of Portuguese, Cantonese and Asian cuisine stewed over 450 years. This fusion cooking brought us dishes like Tamarind Pork with Balichao, the hearty African Chicken, and the delectable serradura or sawdust pudding – soft whipped cream layered with fine cookie crumb powder.
How the World Cooks
The humble dumpling is common around the world, spanning from the cinnamon-coated souskluitjies of South Africa, to the orocne knedliky of the Czech Republic that are filled with whole fruits. Fried, boiled, steamed or baked, and even containing yak meat, this doughy dish has something for everyone.
Popcorn may be the most iconic movie snack, but the world’s cinema-goers chew a variety of munchables, including dried sardines … and braised duck tongue? Mm, pass the roasted leafcutter ants please.
Food trends
Trendy diets are quite the rage. Always wanted to try that vegan diet, or wondered about the benefits of smoothies and biodynamic produce? We breakdown for you some of the popular diets: what they mean and if they’re right for you.
Then we ask: what animals are ethical to eat? Is the consumption of dog meat in China worse than mass farming by KFC?
While we’re at it, how healthy is a meat diet for the health of our bodies and the planet? It seems the easiest way to solve health woes and global warming is simply to refrain from eating meat.
Walking down memory lane, we recall Singapore’s food crazes; the bubble tea sensation, the psychedelic rainbow bagel, instagrammable Korean bingsu, plus the amazingly sinful over-the-top milkshakes.
Can listening to someone else eat actually curb your cravings, induce calm, and offer much needed company at dinner? Enter the spine-tingling world of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) food videos, for a peek into this Youtube sensation.
Food History and Food Economics
Did you know potatoes have changed human history by fueling the industrial revolution, feeding armies and even becoming the first veggies grown in space by NASA?
Then there’s the peculiar history of invented foods, like luncheon meat and instant noodles which got popular because of World War II, and Coca-cola which originally contained cocaine and alcohol. Weird!
We also chronicle the rise and fall of the coffee empire – how Robusta and Arabica rose to stardom, and how our love of these beans might, with climate change, spell the end of readily available coffee.
What’s up doc? Follow the journey your carrots make from field to plate and how that feeds into their final price tag, plus how modern pressures are generally raising food prices. Then we reveal the hidden food oligarchy that controls most of the supermarket brands, and what you can do to keep it in check.
Helpful How-tos
A quick guide on cooking popular varieties of rice, from slim-grained basmati to broth-soaked bomba, and black rice for the health-conscious.
For those who can’t bear to throw out old food, we show you how to tell when it’s finally gone bad – the “iffy” signs to look out for in your favourite cheese, alcohol, yogurt, cured meat and kimchi.
