Food & Travel Editor
Drew Hsu
A TIDEZINE editorial byline covering restaurants, bars, hospitality and travel across Taiwan and Asia.
Latest Stories
Less Color, More Feel: Amy Kalikow Keeps the Texture, Skips the Palette, for This Water Mill Home
Designer Amy Kalikow teamed up with artist Stephanie Hirsch-Graf, a friend of over 30 years, to create a Hamptons home that trades color for neutral tones and layered textures — with a quiet but eye-catching detail tucked into every room.
New Central Spot YuSang Brings Korean Anju and Drinking Culture to LANDMARK PRINCE'S
Named after the traditional Korean drinking game "yusang gogok" (flowing cup along winding water), YuSang zeroes in on the pairing of anju (drinking snacks) and sool (alcohol). Don't miss the signature honey makgeolli, perilla burrata, and galbi-jjim.
Hong Kong's 10 Best Fish & Chips Spots, From New Zealand Cod to Sai Kung Threadfin
From Central to Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong's take on British fish and chips spans everything from pricey grouper to local threadfin, with prices ranging from HKD48 for a portion of chips to HKD320 for a grouper set—here are 10 spots each putting their own spin on the classic British staple.
The Guardian's 13-Year Crusade Against Small Plates Leaves Asia Utterly Baffled
London media has been trashing small plates from 2013 to 2025, calling them a "tyranny" that should be banned; meanwhile dim sum, banchan, and mezze — all "small plates" — have been eaten across Asia for centuries without anyone ever crying for help.
9 Cafes in Causeway Bay: From Pour-Over Specialists to Instagram-Worthy Coffee Bars
From Artista Perfetto, which got its start in Taipei back in 2012, to the newly opened Korean-inspired The Berlin Service, these nine Causeway Bay cafes span two distinct paths — serious pour-over craft and design-forward Instagram bait — complete with single-origin picks, prices, and addresses.
Water Bamboo Shoots with Mayo Make It Onto the Tasting Menu—28-Year-Old Chef Opens mirei in Dadaocheng
Kenta Iizuka, who trained in a two-Michelin-star kitchen in Tokyo, is opening his first solo restaurant, mirei, in Dadaocheng. He deconstructs everyday Taiwanese flavors like water bamboo shoots and sesame-sauce cold noodles, with tasting menus priced at NT$3,680 per person.
Thai Milk Tea Brand Karun Thai Tea to Open First Overseas Branch in October at AIRSIDE, Kai Tak, Kowloon City
Bangkok-founded Karun Thai Tea will open its first overseas branch this October at Kai Tak's AIRSIDE, coinciding with the brand's 7th anniversary, known for its handcrafted Thai milk tea with adjustable sweetness levels.
Shanghai's Gelato Map: Chinese Herbal Medicine, Tofu Pudding, and Scallion Oil Noodles Are All Getting the Gelato Treatment
Wulumuqi Middle Road has already been crowned Shanghai's "Gelato Street," but the real story isn't the sheer number of shops—it's places like Zhong Yao Tang infusing gelato with Chinese herbal medicine, Making Gelato turning tofu pudding into a scoop, and Dal Cuore going as far as serving up a scallion oil noodle flavor.
Tokyo's Hamburg Steak Rice Chain Hikiniku To Come Lands in Shanghai—After the Lines Died Down, I'm Still Voting for the Local Rival
Tokyo-born Hikiniku To Come opened in Shanghai's FUFU mall on Donghu Road this January, grilling Australian Wagyu shoulder to order and drawing opening-day queues. Now that the hype has cooled, a real test suggests rival Roumi Dami might be the better line to join.
'Lanterns' Skips the Superhero Moves, Shoots Itself as a Mystery Thriller Instead
HBO's newest DCU series "Lanterns" trades Hal Jordan's suit for jeans, hiding an alien crisis inside a Nebraska town of just 1,001 people. The UK's GQ calls it the best superhero show on TV right now.
Corolla Turns 60, and Toyota Is Marking It with a Limited-Run Hybrid of Just 2,500 Units
Toyota has unveiled the 2027 Corolla 60th Anniversary Special Edition, based on the Hybrid SE trim, limited to 2,500 units across the US and expected to launch in early 2027.
Freed from Racing Rules, Cadillac V-One Uses 830 Horsepower to Crash Europe's Track-Only Supercar Club
Cadillac unveiled the single-seat V-One concept at Monterey Car Week, built on the same Dallara carbon-fiber chassis as its V-Series.R race car. With racing regulations stripped away, output jumps to 830 horsepower, and the brand is evaluating a limited production run for private collectors.
Ask for Alonzo Rolls Out Sicily-Only Menu, Spotlight on Rigatoni alla Norma
Hong Kong Italian restaurant Ask for Alonzo has launched a limited three-course Taste of Sicily menu, available now through November 15 at HK$358 per person, spanning everything from yellowtail crudo to eggplant tomato pasta, channeling flavors from Sicily's eastern coast.
Causeway Bay Food Map: From Basement Bikes to Michelin Stars, 19 Restaurants Hidden at the End of Staircases
From ninth-floor office-tower teppanyaki to basement Indonesian fare, Causeway Bay's best eats are rarely found at street level. This list rounds up 19 restaurants tucked into alleyways and vertical building spaces, spanning Michelin one-star establishments, old-school soy-sauce Western cuisine, and international flavors.
Grand Seiko SBGA527 Only 50 Pieces Made: An Ocean-Inspired Limited Edition Crafted Exclusively for Ben Bridge Honolulu
Grand Seiko has launched the limited-edition SBGA527, available only at two Ben Bridge Jeweler locations in Honolulu. Inspired by the sister-city relationship between Wakayama's Shirahama Beach and Waikiki Beach, the watch is priced at $7,600.
Ferrari Special Projects Spends Two Years Building the CZ26, a One-of-One Custom Supercar for a US Client
Built by Ferrari Special Projects on the SF90 Stradale platform for an American client, the CZ26 is the only one of its kind in the world—its body defined by subtraction rather than piled-on flashy lines.
From OMA's Golden Pavilion to a Moroccan Palace: Foodie Picks Hong Kong's 12 Most Instagrammable Cafés
From Tsim Sha Tsui to Mui Wo, 12 Hong Kong cafés let spatial design steal the spotlight from latte art, spanning an OMA-designed cube pavilion and a flagship inspired by a Moroccan palace.
Time to Change the Frying Oil: Dune Brothers' All-American Twist on Fish and Chips, Using Beef Tallow to Fry Underutilized Fish
Dune Brothers in Providence, Rhode Island fries underutilized species like shark and skate in 100% refined beef tallow, adding crushed potato chips for extra crunch—putting three distinct twists on the classic fish and chips.
Same Bottle of Greek Mastiha Spirit, Testing Room Builds a Fragrance, The Public House Steeps Pouchong Tea
Skinos, the mastiha spirit from Greece's Chios Island, makes its Taiwan debut with a limited collaboration. Testing Room breaks down the perfume logic with top, heart, and base notes, while The Public House folds red oolong, watermelon, and Kyoho grapes into the glass. Limited run through end of August.
"Removing the Roof" Is an Understatement: Eccentrica Stripped This Diablo to Its Bones, Then Rebuilt It With 3,500 Parts
At Monterey Car Week, Eccentrica unveiled a V12 Roadster built on the original Lamborghini Diablo—underneath the open-top silhouette lies redesigned suspension, bodywork, and a 550-hp naturally aspirated V12. Only 19 will ever exist.
No Gimmicks, Ten Years Strong: How Sakal Phoeung Turned Le Corto's Kitchen Into Saigon's Chef Nursery
From Sofitel to striking out on his own, chef Sakal Phoeung has spent a decade proving that a restaurant's longevity isn't built on reinventing concepts, but on discipline and cultivating people.
7.3 Hours a Day on Their Phones: Norway's Gen Z Finds Themselves Again Kneading Dough
Norwegian research firm Opinion's latest "UNG 2026" report shows that the 15-to-25 generation, tethered by algorithms on one hand, is turning to TikTok to learn how to bake bread and cook fish on the other—turning the kitchen into an outlet against information anxiety.
Role Reversal: Rookie Singer Kacey Takes the Lead, Foodie Editor Just Along for the Ride
Rookie singer Kacey takes Foodie editor Aiden on her personal food route, from home-style Middle Eastern dishes to French classics, chatting about how her tastes and lifestyle have shifted since debuting.
The Baker With No Storefront Turned Her Kitchen Into the Only Shop
Katsura Kitagawa bakes egg-free, dairy-free bread inside a house over 50 years old, where wooden floors and Showa-era windows frame a completely reservation-only home bakery.
The Tangzhong Master and the Minimalist Bakery: Two Tokyo "Technique × Personality" Business Models
Same "technique × personality" theory, two completely different answers. Sasazuka's "Dough-ist" is scaling up and going global, while Nishi-Oi's "Tempagne" chose a one-person, two-location model with zero staff and zero rent. Akimasa Sugikubo's business lesson proves there's more than one right answer.
Sweden's Doomsday Bread Proposal: A Non-Essential Bread That's Shelf-Stable, Nutritious, and Just a Little Sweet
Born from the disaster-preparedness mindset that followed the 2004 South Asian tsunami, Sweden has recently launched a professional baker's competition for "emergency bread." The winning recipe uses a tangzhong method to create a shelf-stable, slightly sweet whole wheat bread.
Metal Fabrication Boss Crosses Over to Pasta, Upending the "Mamma's Handmade" Doctrine
The Marche-based brand Metodo Massi doesn't name itself after a region or ingredient—it puts "method" front and center. Founded by someone from the metal fabrication industry, the brand applies industrial-grade precision logic to make pasta that's changing even seasoned foodies' minds.
Paris Pastry Chef Toshiya Takatsuka: The Paradox of French Dairy Is the Backbone of His Desserts
After a decade as pastry chef at "Restaurant KEI," Toshiya Takatsuka struck out on his own in Paris in 2025, crafting French desserts that are rich yet light using Brittany butter and Normandy cream cheese.
One Egg, 8 Minutes 40 Seconds, €8.40: Paris's First Bar Dedicated to Œuf Mayo
Ter., a restaurant in Paris's 11th arrondissement, has turned the most humble of French bistro dishes—œuf mayo—into an entire bar menu. Soft-boiled eggs topped with miso, soy sauce, and nori hint at the former head chef's time in Japan, plus a fun numerical coincidence.
Corn Silk, Corn Cobs, All Kept: How One Shirokanetakanawa Restaurant Turns Scraps Into a Soup
At Japanese restaurant "Watanabe," the owner roasts corn until fragrant, then simmers it whole—silk, cob, and all—drawing out flavor with nothing but premium Rishiri kelp. The result is a suringashi drink, served hot or cold, that shows how food-saving can still be refined cuisine.