Chinese-Peruvian cuisine in Lima, a Croatian getaway for those who like taking to the water, and remote-controlled cockroaches at Singapore Design Week
What better time to start planning your next holiday than the end of summer? Yes, yes I know, we’re only just back from a slow-paced August. I managed to escape Hong Kong’s brutal heat with a weeklong trip to Yunnan province last month, but I’m already plotting the next getaway. That’s the thing about travel, isn’t it? It’s addictive. The change in place, in pace and in tastes. It’s hard to get enough.
So, in the spirit of escapism (and a soft landing back into real life), we’re kicking off autumn with a travel special, and we’re hopping continents – from the nostalgic snack stalls of Lima’s Chinatown and a swimming boat bobbing in the Adriatic to a Singaporean exhibition where cyborg cockroaches might just save the world.
First stop: Peru. Hei Kiu Au explores the legacy of chifa, the Chinese-Peruvian cuisine that predates fusion trends by about a century. Her story winds through Lima’s historic Chinese eateries, tracing the evolution of the cuisine from its roots in coolie labour to its current incarnation as a new generation tries to elevate it for the future. There’s deep-fried guinea pig, Hakka salt-baked chicken and enough wok hei to make a Hongkonger homesick.
