Top 10s of 2011: Top 10 Favorite Cities

It's been another successful year of traveling! I've been back to my favorite cities and I've discovered new favorites as well. The list constantly grows and changes after every trip and at the end of each year.

These are my favorite cities that I traveled to this year. I took out San Francisco, Las Vegas, Manila, and New Haven because I go there so often and for long periods of time that it seems a bit unfair to include them in this travel list. But, expect to see at least SF on my favorite food cities list tomorrow

These are the 10 cities I traveled to this past year. My favorite cities are ranked according to cities with the tastiest foods and repeatability to go back.

My Top 10 Favorite Cites from 2011:
10. Kathmandu (to be posted in January)
9. Pokhara (also to be posted in January)
8. Hangzhou (to be posted this coming week)
7. Boston
6. Shanghai
5. Chiang Mai
4. New York City
3. Taipei
2. Hong Kong
1. Bangkok

Can't wait for my 2012 travels!

Next Top 10s: Top 10 Favorite Food Cities

Top 10s of 2011: Top 10 Favorite Restaurants in the World

Now this is a difficult list to rank. There were countless of amazing eats this year. These past two years of living in Asia have been phenomenal for my taste buds and stomach.

My Top 10 Favorite Restaurants in the World from 2011:
10. People's Palace, Manila
9. Ye Shanghai, Hong Kong
8. Jin Sha, Hangzhou
7. Wolfgang's Steakhouse, New York City
6. Bocadillos, San Francisco
5. Every restaurant in Eataly, New York City
4. Sen-ryo, Hong Kong
3. Sala Rim Naam, Bangkok
2. Every single Din Tai Fung in Taipei and Shanghai
1. Chef's Table at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chiang Mai


Next Weekend's Top 10s: My Top 10 Favorite Cities from 2011

Four Seasons Chiang Mai: Chef's Table. A Dining Experience to Remember.

Chef's Table. Eating dinner while the chef prepares your meal right in front you.

That's pretty much a guaranteed memorable dinner. The perfect way to celebrate a birthday.

The Four Seasons Chiang Mai's Chef Table was one of the most memorable meals and dining experiences I've ever had in the world. First of all, the setting is on the mountainous Chiang Mai. The Four Seasons property highlights the natural beauty and greenery.

Then, the cooking school setting makes your jaw drop with how amazing the school is set up with huge exhaust systems, cooking stations, and wooden structures.

There's also the chefs who make you feel so special and welcomed.

Finally, the Thai food is so delicious that weeks (and I'm sure months and years later) I'm still remembering the flavors playing on my tongue and warming my stomach. Great Thai food does that to you. What a night.

10 courses, an open bar, and an exclusive private dinner. All for 2500 baht (~$80USD). I've spent hundreds of US Dollars on meals in the US for great meals from highly reputable celebrity chefs. This night blows them all away.


Place your cursor above "Notes" below to read the captions for each photo.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: Four Seasons Chefs Table

A Casual Meal, Poolside at the Mandarin Oriental Chiang Mai

After an early morning of touring the city of Chiang Mai (and visiting all the celadon and bronze factories), it was already past lunch time. We were left with only a couple choices of where to dine in the resort. Poolside at the Loy Kham Bar. There's something about dining outside by a pool that makes you want to eat light, eat healthy, and enjoy a tropical drink...


Place your cursor above "Notes" below to read the captions for each photo.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: MO Chiang Mai Pool Bar

Northern Thai Lunch in Chiang Mai

If you only have a few days in Chiang Mai and you stay at a resort like the Mandarin, it's so easy to just stay in the resort and enjoy all they have to offer. The resort is huge.. like Disneyland huge. Along with all the sights and activities, there's also a great variety of dining throughout the property.

One of my favorite Thai restaurants is here at the resort. Lanna offers traditional Thai cuisine and traditional Northern Thai cuisine of the Chiang Mai area. Northern cuisine offers lots of fresh flavors and vegetables, as well as deep flavored curries. The tables are spacious to accomodate for family style dining - perfect for Thai cuisine to enjoy tastes of all the dishes.


Place your cursor above "Notes" below to read the captions for each photo.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: Lanna

Back at the Mandarin Oriental Chiang Mai

In my years of traveling, I have a growing list of favorite resorts around the world. Resorts are more special than hotels because they tend to have a unique theme or architecture. Shangri-la Boracay and Grand Hyatt Kauai are two of my favorite beach resorts. It's more than the room, it's the whole resort hotel experience.

The first on my list of favorite resorts around the world is the Mandarin Oriental Chiang Mai. Since I visited last year, I still can't stop talking about it. To celebrate my mom's birthday, we went back to our favorite place, and back to the Mandarin Oriental. Now this is the way to celebrate a birthday!

My post of last year has more pictures and videos of the property. These pictures from this year's visit contain more views of our villa and other shots that I may not have taken last time.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: MO Chiang Mai

Mandarin Oriental, Chiang Mai

I've had the privilege of staying at a lot of amazing hotels. Hands down, The Mandarin Oriental in Chiang Mai is by far the most impressive and coolest hotel. You need a map to find your way around the property. And, to get around the property guests ride on "buggies", or golf carts. All the architecture takes you back in time (the property was built from ground up just six years ago). It mixes traditional/historical Thai and French Colonial architecture.

Here is a slideshow of pictures from the property:


Here are a couple videos of our villa:



Here is a video of our buggy ride from our villa to the main lobby. The main lobby was like approaching the castle at Disneyland:

Chiang Mai: Cooking Class, Day 3

After our second day, we flew up to Chiang Mai for an over-night stay. We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental. It is incredible beyond belief! The next post will showcase pictures and videos of the property.

The format of this class was like the previous day's: visit the local market, then make each of the four recipes. After each recipe was made, we enjoyed our own cooking. This class was the most hands-on because we had our own cooking stations. The chef was a novice, but because of the facilities the whole experience was very enjoyable.

This is a slideshow of pictures taken from the local market:


The Classroom
Of all the three cooking classes, this was the best classroom! We each had our own cooking station, complete with a sink, stove, and prep station.





Thord Mun Pla-Krai
Deep-fried fish cake patties served with cucumber relish.
This recipe was a bit complicated in learning how to form the patties. With techniques from the chef, we all were able to form and fry them nicely.


My Plating

My Mom's Plating

My Dad's Plating

Cucumber Relish


Gaeng Khiew Waan Khai
Green curry with chicken, eggplant, and sweet basil.
We learned how to adjust the spiciness by adding less or no chilis and by adding less green curry paste.


Hor Mok Ta-Lay
Steamed mild seafood curry mousse.
This was a bit on the bland side. It could have used a sauce to add a nice kick. It was so much fun learning how to form the molds with leaves!


Tub Tim Krob
Chilled water chestnut rubies in sweet coconut milk.
I love this dessert now! The water chestnuts were coated in tapioca flour and then boiled. That made it mochi-like on the outside and freshly crispy on the inside.



Certificate of Completion!
Our certified class with the chef.