FOOD • February 2018
Six of Asia’s most unique dining experiences
From secret supper clubs and plastic plates in a typhoon shelter to writhing robots and dinner with a side of ‘taste-tailored’ theatre, Asia offers some of the world’s most memorable eating experiences. Come with an appetite and a sense of humour, says Hong Kong-based travel writer Cathy Adams
Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter
Where: Hong Kong
Why: The swaying sampans of Causeway Bay’s typhoon shelter – peaceful most of the year, chaotic during a summer superstorm – are the antithesis of Hong Kong’s typically slick dining experiences. At Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter, which was started by local chef Leung Hoi, eaters munch plates of garlicky razor clams, chilli crab and noodles while gently floating on one of the shelter’s rough-and-ready wooden boats. Eye-popping views of Causeway Bay’s neon-lit high-rises come as standard.
Dinner costs between HK$200-400pp (£19-38)
Ultraviolet
Where: Shanghai
Why: Immersive, avant-garde and radical are just three adjectives used to describe Ultraviolet, a theatrical 20-course dinner dreamt up by French chef Paul Pairet in Shanghai’s Huangpu district. There are 10 seats, no windows and three rotating set menus at this epic venue, where the chef – a one-time science student – reserves the right to serve his ‘personal avant-garde figurative’ food alongside an accompanying mix of light, sound and aromas. Reservations at this three-Michelin-starred secret venue, one of the world’s most pioneering immersive dining experiences, are both essential and expensive.
Tasting menu from 4,000 RMB (around £450)
Britannia and Co Restaurant
Where: Mumbai
Why: Mumbai’s vanishing Parsi cafe community – eateries established by Iranian Zoroastrian immigrants in the 19th century – makes checked table-clothed Britannia and Co a charmingly unique hangout in the city’s southern fringes. Not so much for its uniformly excellent food (the chicken berry pulao is the most lusted-after dish) but for its decor: portraits of the British Royal Family, including a life-size Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are dotted around the restaurant. The 90-something owner Boman Kohinoor was able finally to meet the couple in 2016, which made international news.
Mains start from 300INR (around £3.50)
Gaggan
Where: Bangkok
Why: Gaggan is a regular fixture on Asia’s ultra-competitive 50 Best Restaurants list – last year it won the top gong for the second year in a row. That doesn’t mean the experience here is stiff and rarefied, despite Gaggan’s location in an elegant colonial Bangkok townhouse in the Lumphini neighbourhood. Eponymous chef Anand Gaggan cooks an innovative Indian tasting menu with the same degree of chemistry and artistry as chef Heston Blumenthal: there are smoke-filled domes, edible plastic, and dishes you eat just with your hands in this lab-like setting. Best of all, the menu is all written in emojis.
Tasting menu from 5,000 THB (around £114)
Andsoforth
Where: Singapore
Why: This Singapore supper club ticks all the usual boxes: a secret location in the Lion City (check) and a performance chock-full of sound and theatre (check), which promises a puzzling ‘non-linear experience’ (check). The experience is rather less pretentious. Andsoforth’s last secret dinner was retro disco-themed, complete with actors in drag, psychedelic costumes and cabaret cocktails, while past dinners have centred on Alice in Wonderland or been themed around heists and auctions. Check out the Facebook page and Instagram hashtag #andsoforth for clues.
Tickets from SG$98 (around £54)
Robot Restaurant
Where: Tokyo
Why: Japan has no shortage of themed experiences (the newest trend sweeping Japanese hospitality: robot-staffed hotels), so robots are nothing new for Tokyo, where its zingy Shinjuku neighbourhood hosts the rather unoriginally named Robot Restaurant. You don’t come here for the quality of the food – expect snacky bento boxes – rather, you visit for the sheer eccentricity of the entertainment, watching writhing, laser-lit robots, monsters and cosplayers dance in front of your dinner.
9,000 yen entrance fee and dinner (around £60)
This article has been tagged Food + Drink, Travel Tips