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BANGKOK
“Everyone loves a good papaya salad,” Lean says. Her top pick is the guacamole-bar-style Somtum Der (somtumder. com; som tam for two Bt200) both for its unusually cool, modern wood-finished setting and for its 15 versions of Thailand’s beloved bite. “Best part is,” Lean says, “the rest of their menu is absolutely delicious too.”
THE DISH
The Lean Principles
Food Network Asia host Michele Lean cracks open her little black book of delectable dishes and guides you through a tasting tour of Asia. MICHELE LEAN SCOURS THE EARTH in search of
amazing food. The Food Network Asia host has been table-hopping Southeast Asia’s best restaurants and taste-testing their signature dishes in Food Wars and before that, she was traveling across China, meeting ethnic minorities and sampling local delicacies for CCTV’s Travelogue. Although this Beijing-based journalist has lived in the Middle Kingdom for the past eight years, she travels the world for work and play: “Aren’t all vacations food-driven?” This year alone, the Le Cordon Bleu-trained personality has already visited Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, so she’s well qualified to weigh in on food trends. She can tell you all about the burgers, brownies and craft beers that are making waves in this part of the world but her favorite development is the reinvention and modernization of regional signature dishes, whether it’s in the city of origin or in another. “I love the movement of these different cuisines,” Lean says, “as it brings so much more variety to a city.” Here Lean calls out the restaurants that best embody this trend in four of her top food capitals. — MONSICHA HOONSUWAN
RANGOON
Lean is obsessed with the mohinga fish soup served at Rangoon Tea House (fb.com/rangoonteahouse; mohinga for two K10,000). “It’s commonly a streetfood but they’ve spruced it up, loaded the bowl and made it one of the most heavenly treats you’ll ever encounter,” Lean says. The restaurant, set in a colonial building, reflects the golden days of Burma.
KUALA LUMPUR
Sabah’s staple breakfast ngiu chap beef noodles is given a new twist by Lean’s uncle at Ngiu Chap Wong (P-1-3 Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas; 60-12/238-0009; noodles for two RM20), opened in June. Lean says the ngiu chap taste like home since it is her grandma’s recipe and the result is “just slow-cooked, homemade beef goodness.”
LEAN IN: The TV host’s secret to building up a Rolodex of gastronomic insight is a fearless approach to eating: “As a rule of thumb, I wouldn’t miss anything!” Imodium at hand, Lean tries everything, at least twice, including Manila’s balut (cooked developed duck embryo); chocolate-colored, jelly-like duck blood; and deep-fried salted silk worms. “If there are long lines and the locals love it, chances are, you will too,” Lean advises. “That’s how we discover new dishes, expand our palates and learn more about different cultures.”
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OCTOBER 2015 / TR AV EL ANDLEISURE ASIA .COM
C L O C K W I S E F R O M T O P L E F T: C O U R T E S Y O F M I C H E L E L E A N ; C O U R T E S Y O F T R A N S I T; C O U R T E S Y O F S O M T U M D E R ; C O U R T E S Y O F R A N G O O N T E A H O U S E ; C O U R T E S Y O F N G I U C H A P W O N G
High-quality ingredients, like the organic young chicken sourced exclusively for the koushuiji, or “saliva chicken,” make Transit (fb. com/transitbeijing; koushuiji for two RMB156) Lean’s go-to restaurant in Beijing. The koushuiji here is a balanced mix of tender meat and spicy sesameand-peanut sauce, which Lean says is “rich, creamy and spiced to perfection.”