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Just Add Spice

You're guaranteed to work up an appetite on our tour of the savory cuisines of India, Thailand and other Asian countries.

by Nicole Alper
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Calling all foodies: If you’re hungry for a honeymoon that features exotic culture and unique culinary traditions, destinations like Vietnam, Thailand, India, Malaysia and China want you. Whether you choose to visit Malaysia’s Shangri-la Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa’s Spice Market Café or a Thai floating market (or even if you opt for a walking tour in China that combines feasting and exercise), all these getaways offer delicious reasons to take your trip of a lifetime in Asia.

Vietnam

If you like the idea of experiencing a cooking demo at an ancient pagoda, checking out a pho noodle production facility and taking culinary classes at private homes, Artisans of Leisure Vietnam for Foodies may be just the ticket. Founded in 2003, the upscale private tour company offers the ultimate in-depth exploration of Vietnam’s exciting food and culture. You’ll start out in Hanoi and travel to Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An and Saigon for 11 days of out-of-this-world gastronomic adventures.

Just Add Spice_9
A sampling of popular Vietnamese ingredients
Hanoi’s striking architecture and the picturesque West Lake make a deliciously romantic backdrop for the country’s French-influenced restaurant menus. You’ll check into the colonial-era grand dame of Hanoi hotels, the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi. From its fantastic central location, you’ll set out to visit the city’s charming Old Quarter, with its winding backstreets lined with cafés and cool boutiques. Sample street vendors’ food such as pho—noodle soup with beef—as well as simple local dishes like banana flower salad, Hanoian nem (deep-fried spring rolls) and grilled chicken with lemon leaves. Here in Hanoi, you’ll also join a hands-on cooking class with Didier Corlou, one of Vietnam’s most celebrated chefs.

When you arrive at Halong Bay, you’ll spend the night on a small luxury boat before setting off for the ancient capital of Hue. In between touring the former royal residence, the Imperial City and the walled Citadel, you can enjoy Hue’s famous Imperial Cuisine, dishes that date back to the feudal dynasty that ruled the area from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Favorites include banh be (small rice-flour pancakes with shrimp, pork, sugar and fish sauce), banh loc (shrimp in kudzu flour steamed in a banana leaf), banh nam (a shrimp or pork patty in rice flour, wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf) and the sweet and sour chao tom (shrimp paste brushed on sugarcane and barbecued).

The tour includes a few days at Vietnam’s luxury beach resort, the Nam Hai, located near the enchanting city of Hoi An. During the day, you can take a riverboat ride along rice paddies, tour old merchant homes and explore the local spice markets and silk shops. (Insider tip: Hoi An is a great place to score custom-made clothing.)

Your culinary adventure concludes in Saigon at the Park Hyatt, the city’s finest hotel. In this bustling city, you’ll sample such local dishes as goi cuon (fresh pork and prawn spring rolls with spicy peanut sauce), ca cho to (caramelized fish cooked in a clay pot) and thit ko tieu (stewed pork in a sticky caramel sauce). Then you’ll walk it all off by visiting neighborhood markets, art galleries and museums (artisansofleisure.com).


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