Local Knowledge — All Articles — Page 2 of 5

Local Knowledge: Hack from Luang Prabang

2015-08-14T11:19:15+07:00By Lara Dunston|

The waiter who looked after us during the Amantaka cooking course we did on the organic farm in the Luang Prabang countryside was brilliant. His service was impeccable. He was so good at his job that when we asked him what his future plans were, whether he had a dream, we expected he would say …

Local Knowledge: Janet Chan from Siem Reap

2018-11-26T20:26:47+07:00By Lara Dunston|

Our Local Knowledge interviews — and the other expert interviews we do for our local guides and Playlist series — are with locals we’ve befriended who have helped us get beneath the skin of a place, by sharing insider advice, hidden gems, local secrets, and their most favourite things to do. We’ve interviewed local artists, chefs, singers, a filmmaker, musicians, a surfing …

A Local Guide to the Siem Reap Arts Scene and Creative Community

2018-11-27T17:39:00+07:00By Lara Dunston|

This local guide to the Siem Reap arts scene and creative community comes from designer, gallery owner and entrepreneur Loven Ramos, a long-term resident. Siem Reap has a rich artistic and cultural heritage, evident in its Angkor temple architecture and elaborate carvings, and in the classical Khmer dance and music, but we didn’t expect to …

Local Knowledge: Vibol from Phnom Penh

2018-11-27T17:31:38+07:00By Lara Dunston|

We met 18 year-old Cambodian waiter, Pheng Vibol, or ‘Vibol’ as he’s called, at the wonderful Romdeng restaurant in Phnom Penh. Romdeng had been recommended to us by several locals as Phnom Penh’s best restaurant with fine Cambodian cuisine and a lively atmosphere. It didn’t disappoint. In addition to the delicious food, what we also …

Local Knowledge: Audrey from Saigon

2019-01-29T16:47:58+07:00By Lara Dunston|

We met the delightful Miss Audrey Tran and her warm smile at her groovy shop, Saigon Kitsch, when I was scouting shops for the magazine story we were working on in Ho Chi Minh City. The 26 year-old French-Vietnamese Audrey told us that she had started Saigon Kitsch just six months earlier, after leaving her …

Local Knowledge: Chef Bo from Bangkok

2018-12-17T17:26:58+07:00By Lara Dunston|

We first met Thai-born chef Duangporn 'Bo' Songvisava, better known as Chef Bo and her Australian chef husband Dylan Jones — protégés of the legendary master of Thai cuisine, David Thompson, at Nahm London — after eating a very memorable meal at their restaurant Bo.lan, just after it opened in Bangkok. In the last 18 months or so, …

Chef Ian Kittichai’s Guide to Eating and Drinking in Bangkok

2018-12-17T16:57:02+07:00By Lara Dunston|

Chef Ian Kittichai, celebrity chef, Thailand’s Iron Chef, and a global ambassador for Thai cuisine, has restaurants in Bangkok, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and New York City, and does a weekly television cooking show Chef Mue Thong, which has been broadcast since 2001 in 70 countries around the world. Somewhat surprisingly, Chef Ian Kittichai (whose full Thai name is …

Footpath Feasting: From Street Food to Soul Food

2018-12-17T17:26:18+07:00By Lara Dunston|

As travel and food writers we have to eat out every day, sometimes two or three times a day. In Bangkok one of those meals will involve street food. That means we've eaten a lot of street food. That doesn't mean we don't reach out to people like Jarrett Wrisley of Soul Food Mahanakorn for street food …

A Local Guide to Eating and Drinking in Edinburgh

2018-11-26T14:20:59+07:00By Lara Dunston|

To get the lowdown on the foodie scene in Edinburgh, we consult Donald Reid, the eating and drinking editor of The List, the city’s homegrown version of Time Out magazine, over whisky at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Here's his guide to eating and drinking in Edinburgh. A Local Guide to Eating and Drinking in Edinburgh …

Local Knowledge: Owen from Edinburgh

2015-01-25T18:15:38+07:00By Lara Dunston|

We’ve resisted using mainstream guidebooks on our grand tour this year, choosing instead to rely on local people for advice. However, wherever possible we’ve sought out local guidebooks written by residents of the places we’ve visited. In Venice, we used the illustrated My Local Guide to Venice, and in New York City we used the …

A local Guide to Berlin

2018-05-07T16:13:51+07:00By Lara Dunston|

We met Berlin local Gerd Tepass in Buenos Aires about four years ago when we were writing a guidebook to the city. Now back in his home city, he gives us a local Guide to Berlin. Gerd owned a funky boutique in Buenos Aires, with a good little restaurant and a bar. It was the kind …

Local Knowledge: Kaska from Kraków

2015-08-02T14:47:23+07:00By Lara Dunston|

When we met Kaska from Crazy Guides, when she came to collect us from our apartment for the Communist Tour in Kraków, I felt like I’d met her someone else before... Later, on our drive, she mentioned that she had an additional job bartending to put herself through university. Do you work at Dym? I asked. She did! Dym …