Local Knowledge — All Articles — Grantourismo Travels

These posts are about the local people we meet, with insider tips we gather from locals, Q&As with locals, as well as great local spots and hidden gems we discover.

Inspired by Jose Andres Haoma Bangkok Chef Deepanker Khosla is Feeding the Hungry

By Lara Dunston|

Chef Deepanker Khosla of Haoma Bangkok is feeding the hungry. Inspired by chef José Andrés his #noonehungry campaign will provide 1,000 meals a day for the jobless. Launching the initiative this week, chef DK called for Bangkok chefs to help cook and for the public to contribute donations. It’s been estimated that some five million ...

Chef Sujira Pongmorn of Saawaan Restaurant Bangkok on Food Memories and Inspirations

By Lara Dunston|

Chef Sujira Pongmorn of Saawaan Restaurant Bangkok speaks to us about her early food memories and inspirations, her first restaurant experiences and biggest influences, how she conceived her first restaurant Saawaan, and Bangkok's dining scene. Meet one of Thailand's most exciting chefs. There was no smoke and flames, no clank and crash of metal as ...

80/20 Restaurant Bangkok Chefs on Rebooting the Evolution of Thai Cuisine

By Lara Dunston|

80/20 restaurant Bangkok chefs Napol ‘Joe’ Jantraget and Saki Hoshino are creating some of Thailand’s most inspired and imaginative contemporary Thai cuisine. Passionate about local produce, little known ingredients, and preservation and fermentation, the husband and wife chefs hope to reboot the evolution of Thai cuisine. Chefs Napol ‘Joe’ Jantraget and Saki Hoshino's 80/20 restaurant ...

Cambodian Chef Tim Pheak, the Travelling Chef Living the Dream at Home

By Lara Dunston|

Cambodian Chef Tim Pheak has probably travelled more than most Cambodian chefs his age. Yet he says he is finally living the dream as an executive chef in Cambodia's Siem Reap, where he's cooking elegant renditions on traditional Cambodian dishes with organic local produce. Cambodian chef Tim Pheak – Cambodians put family names first, so you'd ...

Cambodian Chef Pola Siv on His Mother’s Cooking and How to Open a Restaurant

By Lara Dunston|

Cambodian chef Pola Siv helms the kitchen of Mie Café, one of Siem Reap’s best restaurants, where the 35 year-old chef creates an elegant and inventive contemporary Cambodian cuisine rooted in local produce and European cooking techniques. Cambodian chef Pola Siv has a great story. Like the northern Cambodia city of Siem Reap’s other talented young ...

Mahob Khmer Chef Sothea Seng on Preserving Cambodia’s Culinary Heritage – and Pickling!

By Lara Dunston|

Mahob Khmer chef Sothea Seng is committed to preserving Cambodia's culinary heritage – and pickling! I chatted to the chef about his childhood growing up on a farm, his love of Cambodian produce, his inspirations, and his concerns about the future of Cambodian cuisine. Mahob Khmer chef Sothea Seng is the owner of one of Siem Reap’s ...

Canvas Chef Riley Sanders Creates a Cuisine Inspired by a City, Bangkok

By Lara Dunston|

Canvas chef Riley Sanders is creating a cuisine inspired by a city and that city is Bangkok. Sanders’ inventive food is rooted in beautiful, fresh, local produce, sourced from organic farmers and small growers across Thailand. It has earned Riley and Canvas a Michelin star. The 2019 Thailand Michelin Guide was released a few days ...

Barcelona Travel Tips to Reduce Overtourism – Local Tips to Help the Locals

By Lara Dunston|

Barcelona travel tips to reduce overtourism and give back to locals rather than take away, include everything from avoiding the overcrowded sights and exploring lesser-visited neighbourhoods to visiting over the quieter winter and Christmas and New Year season. We thought it time to ask a local expert for some Barcelona travel tips to reduce overtourism ...

The Young Cambodian Chef Cooking Local Food For People Who Travel for Food

By Lara Dunston|

Meet the young Cambodian chef cooking local food for people who travel for food. We chat to chef Mork Mengly of Pou Restaurant and Bar about cooking strange things, beautiful plating, and taking Cambodian food to the world. The young Cambodian chef cooking local food for people who travel food is chef Mork Mengly, the ...

Cambodian Female Chefs on Cambodian Cuisine, Seasonal Produce, Lost Ingredients

By Lara Dunston|

Cambodian female chefs Pol Kimsan and Sok Kimsan helm an all-women kitchen and front-of-house team at one of Siem Reap’s finest Cambodian restaurants, Embassy. We chatted about Cambodian cuisine, seasonal produce, lost ingredients, and their future dreams. Cambodian female chefs Pol Kimsan and Sok Kimsan are the executive chefs of one of Siem Reap’s best ...

100 Mahaseth Restaurant Chef Chalee Kader on Northeastern Thai Food and Getting Creative

By Lara Dunston|

100 Mahaseth restaurant chef Chalee Kader and partner Chaichat ‘Randy’ Noprapa are responsible for one of our new favourite Bangkok restaurants – a nose-to-tail joint in hip Charoenkrung specialising in wonderful Northern Thai and Northeastern Thai food that is laidback, fun, and eco-friendly. While Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand are familiar to most travellers to ...

How to Experience the French Side of Siem Reap – A Local Guide, Ooh La La!

By Lara Dunston|

How to experience the French side of Siem Reap is a question we get asked by French travellers and Francophiles on holiday in Cambodia. Siem Reap based French expat Christine Gleizes, owner of chic concept store Christine’s shares her local tips. How to experience the French side of Siem Reap is a question usually asked ...