

Lol the durian debate continues! Yeah, the variety is definitely true of London. It has more of an organic sort of variety that I would compare with San Francisco, New York, or Hong Kong.
I think what really hit me was the overt curating I saw in Singapore (which also has a chilling/freezing effect on the small restauranteur) All the restaurants I went to were completely amazing and, like anything in that city, way more costly than in any other country I’d visited that trip. Singapore, at times, felt a bit gauche and decadent with how great/polished everything was.
I also think it’s interesting to see what permeates these trade hubs in terms of food. I will say that I did not catch any Caribbean fare in Singapore, although I wouldn’t be surprised given its imperial past. International hubs for technology, finance, and pretty much anything else miss out on varied cuisines if they’re sufficiently culturally or geographically insulated (looking at Paris and Shanghai from my experience lol).








Agreed. Singapore felt like Disneyland. There’s a place for that experience and I can only take it in doses lol.
I loved Shanghai. During that trip, we stuck mostly to the historical bits, which I was suuuuper fascinated by. We had a few days there and a few more in and around Beijing with some traveling in between.
Foodwise, it was awesome, but all very traditional fare (which I never grew tired of and would definitely go back). We were on our own, though, so we didn’t have the luxury of local friends and their preferences. Definitely got gawked at a bit more than in Hong Kong, but everyone was super kind. A bit more businessy, I’d say.