Asia Culinary Trips

Culinary Vietnam

As as you may have already heard, anyone who has traveled to Vietnam will mention three things that stood out most: the people, the scenery — and especially Vietnam's delightful food and food culture. This trip emphasizes all of these with sightseeing from the vantage point of an insider. Vietnam has firmly planted itself on the world's culinary stage and this private tour masters its specialties, from the regal cuisine of Hue to the modern fusion of Hoi An and the colorful presentation of Hanoi. On this ultimate culinary adventure trip, enjoy the cultural and natural highlights of Vietnam, with a focus on cuisine for — as many of our past traveler's have said — the experience of a lifetime.

Vietnam features some of the most delicious and innovative cuisine in the world, and our local culinary guides and guest chefs will reveal the hidden delights of Vietnamese food. There are few culinary adventures on par with Vietnam, and this trip will highlight the distinctive cuisines of each region with a mix of activities, including hands-on cooking, kitchen and market visits while canvasing the best of Vietnam from Hanoi to Saigon, including thousand year-old Old Quarter in Hanoi, the sublime Imperial Capital, Hue, charming ancient port town of Hoi An, and south to the Mekong Delta, Vietnam's "rice basket", and finally, busy Saigon, tasting the very best of Vietnam's cuisine. Note: this trip may combined with bicycling

Culinary China

During this immersive foodie trip, explore China's celebrated culinary capitals Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong from exotic street eats to world-class venues, visiting markets, and enjoying cooking classes and time with premier chefs, including Paul Pairet of Ultraviolet. Cook in Shanghai’s most iconic kitchen, meet the chefs behind renowned and local restaurants, and wander into legendary street food haunts. Building on two decades of culinary tours in Asia, our trips honor the people and places behind the cuisine, showcasing how the region’s best food is the ultimate expression of both a time and a place.

After mastering soup dumplings in Shanghai and perfecting dim sum in Hong Kong, explore World Heritage sites including the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace.

Tastes of Thailand

Thailand is one of the world’s most exotic destinations. A Buddhist Kingdom, a whirlwind of modern and ancient customs, with gilded temples and chrome office towers, saffron-robed monks, elephant sanctuaries, silk and gem traders, and jungle legends from the notorious Golden Triangle era. But it is the cuisine, one of the world’s most popular, that is the richest aspect of Thai culture. A complex, bold, and exotic cuisine makes Thailand a must visit for any culinary traveler.

On our trips in the culinary crossroad of Asia, exploring Thailand's four distinct culinary styles have been influenced over time by China, India, Myanmar, Laos, and even Portugal. Discover these influences while unlocking these secrets of Thai food, from Royal Thai cuisine to the best street food in the world and mastering the balance of its four flavors, sweet, sour, spicy, and salty, all often present within a single dish.

Start in Bangkok, the world's gastronomic capital, with a dizzing variety of markets, street food and chic world-class dining. Our trip canvases not only the culinary highlights, but the arts, culture, and landscapes of Bangkok, but also other important culinary destinations featuring distinct styles, including Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai, with day trips into the beautiful countryside of farms, jungle, river valleys, and villages.

Between learning to create delicious Thai favorites, explore farms and markets, enjoy immersion into local culture, people and customs, meeting with artists in each destination. Thrill to tuk tuk rides, Muay Thai boxing, and encounter with elephants in their jungle sanctuary. Our trips canvas the most interesting of the country, from Bangkok into the Golden Triangle, visiting renowned sites, including the Grand Palace, White Temple, and enjoying canal and river cruises, with some free time for Thai’s most popular pastime, sanuk (having fun). End your trip with quality resort time on the legendary Thai islands.

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Japan Culinary Adventure

Japanese cuisine is not just about the taste, it's also about the beauty and the presentation. The food is a work of art." —Nobu Matsuhisa

From Tokyo, Osaka, all the way to Kanazawa, explore the best of Japan's cuisine, from farm, to market, to table—meeting chefs, mastering dishes, while exploring the country's most spectacular landscapes and sights. Dine where every bite is a sensory delight and every meal a captivating experience. Take in busy food markets, sampling sizzling takoyaki and savory yakitori, savor the elegance of Kyoto's multi-course culinary ballet, kaiseki, that marks the seasons through meticulously prepared traditional dishes. And, of course, delight in the delicate artistry of sushi, expert chefs transforming the freshest seafood into masterpieces that melt in your mouth.

For many years we've been organizing culinary-first trips in Japan for "food adventurers". From Tokyo, all the way to Kanazawa, you too may explore the best of Japan's cuisine, from farm, to market, to table, meeting chefs, mastering dishes, while exploring the country's most spectacular landscapes and sites. Consume not only a cuisine, but a culture and place, where every bite is a sensory delight and every meal a captivating experience. Take in Tokyo's busy food markets, sampling sizzling takoyaki and savory yakitori, to the tranquil countryside, where traditional tea ceremonies and farm-to-table fare reveal a rich culinary heritage. Delight in the delicate artistry of sushi, with expert chefs transforming the freshest seafood into masterpieces that melt in your mouth. Savor the umami explosion of a steaming bowl of ramen, a comforting symphony of flavors that warms the soul. Enchanted to the elegance of Kyoto's kaiseki, a multi-course culinary ballet that marks the changing seasons through meticulously prepared dishes.

During a food-first trip, discover incredible food is never hard to find in Japan. Learn about the exceptional quality of ingredients, produce, and meats while enjoying the bounty of talented, renowned chefs who are obsessed with crafting their ramen, yakitori and the world’s finest sushi — in atmospheric settings creating unforgettable dining moments. Explore fish and traditional food markets, legendary sushi bars, busy izakaya (pubs), delicate Zen vegetarian shojin ryori cuisine at a Buddhist monastery, to savory street food in the chaotic alleyways of Osaka. Visit Japan's oldest food market, "theaters of food"—depachika food courts—Tokyo’s sprawling “Kitchen Town,” master sushi with a top Tokyo sushi chef, share a traditional yet complex kaiseki dinner with a Geisha in Kyoto, sample street food in Japan's oldest wholesale food mart, sample fresh sake at a top brewery, breakfast with sumo wrestlers in their training stable, and experience a traditional tea ceremony in a sublime garden setting. Stop at Japan’s most renowned maker of wagashi, and in between bites of kushikatsu and nomiyaki, sample delicious sweets that are the best in the world.

"Japan's cuisine? It's like a full-on assault on your taste buds, a gastronomic journey that's as wild and thrilling as a ride down the back alleys of Tokyo on a motorcycle. You think you know sushi? Wait till a master sushi chef in Tsukiji lays down a slice of the freshest tuna that melts in your mouth, a piece so fresh it might have been swimming that morning. Ramen shops in hidden corners, with broths that have been simmering for days, are scenes of reverence. And don't get me started on the street food in Osaka, where every bite is a new adventure, or the traditional Kaiseki dinners that are like 12-act plays on a plate. Wash it down with some local sake, and you're not just eating; you're absorbing a culture, a history, an art form. Japan's food is unapologetic, intricate, and down-right delicious. It doesn't just fill your stomach; it gets under your skin, and good luck shaking it off." —Anthony Bourdain

Contact us to plan a once-in-a-lifetime culinary journey to Japan discovering and exploring the very best of all things food.