Michelle Li

New York City 

The best tofu in town. Growing up I used to eat sweet rice cakes every morning for breakfast, this place takes me back with their bai tang gao. It comes in different flavors but I like to stick to the classic white sugar one!

Bring a spicy friend. You choose your ingredients and they throw it in a Chinese dry pot together for you with the perfect blend of spices. The atmosphere inside is so cozy and nostalgic, as if you were in a Wong Kar Wai movie.

Lil store big bites. I love their chicken biscuit sandwich with gravy and cole slaw, if I'm feeling extra treat-y I'll grab a bag of beignets and eat them at the park on Forsyth Street.

A nice place to end a day in the Lower East Side. This cute coffee shop is the kind of place you go into for a snack but then see the table beside you eating something yummy so you end up having a whole meal."

So many good classic Szechuan plates here. Another spicy spot to bring a friend, Chinese food is for sharing so the bigger the group the better because you can try more dishes.

I used to work retail down the street in college and this was my go-to lunch spot. Their moussaka lunch special is SO special and the baklava is self-serve from tiny drawers that hold sheets of them. It's a light airy cafe that if you can snag a seat, do it and sit for a bit.

They're famous for their beef noodles but on days that I miss home I like to go in and just get a cucumber salad and lu ro fan, my comfort food.

Malaysian breakfast! I love to go and get a bunch of snacks, sweets, and cute fancy toasts.

This well-curated shop has pieces that are quirky and unique, they inspire you to want to break out of your style comfort zone and try to wear some more color or a new silhouette. It's a very persuasive store.

An LES (Lower East Side) institution at this point. A lot of NYC girls are always shopping here for their oversized wool coats, blanket scarves, and plaid blazers. There are a lot of knick knacks and familiar brands, but you'll always find some new designer from Europe in here.

My go-to for when I'm in a bind and need to pick up a cute gift for a friend. Also a great place to go if you're looking for special home goods.

The purveyors of finding great younger brands and designers. I always pop in this store when I'm looking for some inspiration for upcoming shoots, it's a great way to see what is up-and-coming in the fashion world.

NYC's Best Spots to Eat and Shop by Michelle Li

Maya Kerthyasa

Bali

One of the best Balinese meals I’ve had recently was at Dapur Bali Mula in Les on the island’s north coast. Basically, it’s a kitchen run by chef Jero Mangku Dalem Suci Gede Yudiawan, who also happens to be a pemangku, or priest, in the area. He cooks everything over wood-fire in a hand-built clay stove, using only traditional, local ingredients and techniques.



This could be mackerel, caught that morning, massaged with yellow spices and turmeric leaves and cooked in a tube of young bamboo, or smoked chicken with raw sambal and Javanese long pepper leaves for greens. You might end proceedings with daluman leaf jelly in a glass of coconut cream and lontar-palm sugar syrup, or work your way through Yudiawan’s impressive collection of house-made arak – palm wine (also made from the nectar of the lontar tree) flavoured with everything from moringa leaves to fresh mango and fermented in 8th century Chinese clay pots. Either way, you’ll leave inspired.

Mek Juwel is another absolute go-to in my books. It’s a warung, which is best described as a small local eatery that’s usually family-run and specialises in a specific regional dish. Mek Juwel serves nasi or rice, with ayam or chicken, braised in a secret formula of spices and aromatics until it’s fork tender and simultaneously bright and earthy on the palate. It’s displayed behind a glass counter alongside a spread of equally-as-delicious condiments – torch ginger flower sambal and stir-fried noodles, among them. Head there in the morning when the birds are still warm.



Over the past few decades, meat has become the star of the Balinese diet – but this hasn’t always been so. As recently as 35 years ago, our cuisine was mostly made-up of native plants. We’d cook whatever nature provided – whether that’s fern tips, mango leaves, young papaya, banana-tree trunks or young bamboo shoots. Proteins from larger animals (pigs, ducks) were reserved for ceremonies or special occasions, and smaller animals (dragonflies, frogs, small eels known as belut) would be foraged in the rice fields and eaten on more of a daily basis.

Batukaru Coffee Retreat is up in the foothills of the island’s western mountains and a great place to explore home-style Balinese vegetarian food. Its proprietor, Kentri Norberg, prepares her menus based on the food she ate growing up: just-picked, minimally fussed-with, naturally medicinal. She only uses house-made coconut oil and palm sugar from the farm next door; her rice is sourced from heirloom fields below the property; her coffee is grown biodynamically on the adjoining plantation. Comfort eating in its most nourishing form.

The north-east coast on the other side of the island, is brimming with artisanal producers such as sea-salt makers, home arak distilleries and coconut groves that turn out everything from palm sugar to coconut milk and oil. Many of the best cooks source their ingredients directly from these small producers out east. When I head up there, I like to stop at Warung Lesehan Merta Sari for fish sate. They use tuna, which they mince, spice and grill over coconut charcoals, served with white rice, a bowl of glassy seafood soup and stir-fried kangkung or water spinach. You dine lesehan-style, cross-legged on elevated seating platforms in a sprawling, buzzing dining hall.

I’ve stopped eating pork for spiritual reasons, but have heard great things about the suckling pig at Babi Guling Pan Ana. The pork skin is the real draw here. It’s super-golden, crisp and glossy. Another big plus, is that this warung is located in Denpasar, which is a great place to explore all the different riffs on Indonesian cuisine. It’s often overlooked by travellers, but I strongly recommend it to anyone who loves food.

Fu Shou Noodle Club Ubud is full of culinary treasures and one of its most intriguing casual diners. The offerings are kept simple. There’s a few varieties of steaming bakmie noodle soups with free-range chicken, mushrooms or pork, classic Hainan chicken rice and pangsit dumplings deep-fried or boiled in chicken broth. It’s all made from scratch, in-house and with a noticeable dose of care.

Room4Dessert, on the opposite end of town, is my favourite special-occasion restaurant. You’ve probably heard of it if you’re a Chef’s Table binge-watcher or a proud owner of chef-owner Will Goldfarb’s dreamy cookbook (Room for Dessert, Phaidon, 2018). What I love about Goldfarb’s cooking and ethos is that he’s such a champion for real Balinese produce. He digs deep to source rare native foods from small-scale farmers, and works with them thoughtfully, allowing the produce to shine. There’s a blockbuster tasting menu 21-courses strong, and a new a la carte menu that’s super-accessible if you’d rather drop in for a tray of house-baked breads and condiments with a glass of natural wine.

The Best Local Spots to Eat in Bali with Maya Kerthyasa

ANONIE

The silkiest noodles. Hope you have a strong grip.

Next door to Mala Project. If you are feeling cheeky get the Mala Beef Rice Noodle.

If hugs were a food, it would be pho from Hanoi House.

Get the braised meatball noodle soup. The eight spices crispy tofu is a must.

I am really bad with spicy food. But I’ll eat the rice cake hot pot from Her Name is Han through tears if I have to (I want to).

Let’s not forget about ramen. Try the thin rye noodles like Tokyo Shio."

NYC’s Best Noodle Spots with Anonie

Melbourne

Excellent resource for niche interest books and publications, as well as architectural, art, design and esoteric stuff. New and out of print material. Located in the city's iconic Chicago school Nicholas Building.

There's hundreds of fancy wine and food bars in Melbourne, but Embla just always seems more delicious.

Also housed within the Nicholas Building, this is Melbourne's latest and greatest new record shop. Experimentally focussed, superbly curated – vinyl, CDs and publications.

Situated in a weird, grimy walk-through arcade in Preston, cooking homemade dumplings and noodles with delicious slow-cooked broth.

Stunning 100 hectare arboretum of both native and exotic species, not far from where I live, in the Dandenong Ranges. You'll probably find me walking my dog here or foraging for something. Beautiful sequoia plantations and lush native fern gullies. Good place to picnic or just meander around and get lost.

A mysterious, strange and eerie clustered rock formation on Wurundjeri/Dja Dja Wurrung/Taungurung country just outside of Melbourne. Truly interesting, beautiful energy to literally get lost in.

Not technically in Melbourne, but if you've made it this far, you may as well go an extra couple of hours for the most beautiful, varied, sometimes alien landscapes that Victoria has to offer. Home to my favourite Victorian beach, Fairy Cove. A really nice (long) day trip, but the overnight camping situations here are even better for the secret secluded stuff.

Amazing, delicious tapas and no frills vibe situated near my place.

For all your drip requirements! Located in the iconic Curtin House in the city – once home to Melbourne's communist party.

CS + Kreme’s Ultimate Guide to Melbourne

Tedman Lee

Hong Kong

Most famous dai pai dong on the island. Good vibes all around, drunk staff, good food, corny but awesome music on blast, all in a wet market...can’t ask for more

Vintage shop with a unique and nostalgic selection of antique from the colonial days of Hong Kong along witVintage shop with a unique and nostalgic selection of antique from the colonial days of Hong Kong along with super rare vintage eyewear and vinyl recordsh super rare vintage eyewear and vinyl records

Go get a bowl of the famous Hong Kong styled cart noodles. There was a long heritage of street vendors during the 1950s in carts until they all got banned by the government due to hygiene regulations. Now they're all in shops

The neighbourhood bar in Prince Edward where all the local creatives hang out at. Go and ask for a cocktail with yuk bing siu

The Private Label is stocked here along with a few other contemporary clothing labels from Hong Kong. Go get a cup of honey americano and look at some local designs

Amazing selection of vinyl records. Be sure to have a few hours to kill and be ready for long conversations

Fusion diner designed by Sou Fujimoto with a dope vinyl music room

Tedman Lee's Hong Kong Spots

Lichen is located in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It’s a design shop that’s helping to democratise design and proselytise more under-the-radar participants. Founded by Jared Blake and Ed Be the two have curated an exceptional archive of accessible vintage and contemporary furniture.

Sitting at the crossroads of Chinatown and the Lower East Side, Chop Suey Club is a boutique store in downtown NYC focusing on contemporary Chinese design, arts and culture. They procure design products from young Chinese creatives around the world, showcasing seasonal rotations of items for diverse lifestyles. They believe the best way to dissipate xenophobia is to make your own culture more accessible to others. Chop Suey Club is an effort to open up contemporary Chinese culture to a larger audience.

Rooted is a modern-day plant company reconnecting you to nature, one houseplant at a time. Rooted was started because they firmly believe in the positive mental, emotional and physical health benefits associated with having greenery in your space.

.IMAGE is the first sneaker consignment shop to open in Queens, New York. Located in the heart of Queens, Main St Flushing, they carry many hard to find and limited sneakers you will not find anywhere else.

The space is a more than a restaurant, it’s a home away from home. With a growing number of Korean-Americans and Korean internationals working and studying in the city, Her Name Is Han wanted to create a place where these busy dwellers of New York can find the perfect home-cooked meal, prepared with the goal of bringing about the flavours of their mothers’ cooking.
Using only traditional Korean ingredients and recipes to produce what we like to call “Korean soul food”, their mission was not to replicate the fancy contemporary culinary experience, but to design a nostalgic one, where guests can enjoy an authentic Korean meal, all with the same feeling of comfort as eating at home.

Make sure to get your trim at 12 Pell, one of our favourite barbershops and community spaces in the city.

Mint By Mai is an amazing lash extension business run by lash artist and educator Tammy Mai. In addition to her lash services, Tammy offers educational 1:1 training to those who are looking to start their own businesses.

Jeepney is the best Filipino Food in NYC hands down. The restaurant, founded by Nicole Ponseca’s and Miguel Trinidad, has been at the fore-front of popularizing Filipino food in the city. It’s named after the "Jeepney", the WWII jeeps left behind by US occupation. Filipinos took the left-over jeeps chopped them up and tricked them out, creating a vibe, a mode of transport and a symbol that is uniquely Filipino. That is the essence of being of Jeepney and being Filipino – it's a vibe, a mode, and a symbol of uniqueness.

The original Lhasa in Jackson Heights is one of our favourite places in the city to eat momos. Each momo flavour is so delicious it’s understandably difficult to choose which flavour you want to commit to. So to make it easier for you, they do great combo selections, perfect for lunch of dinner.

Asian-Owned Businesses in NYC

Junior Sealy 

Barbados

The smoothies here have gotten me through some of the longest days and always make for amazing hangout beverages. They also have great cold salads.

Five Gaits is where I go to get equine therapy and learn to really ride via Equestrian classes but the best thing is a trail ride through the valley with friends and then after grabbing some of the best ital/ vegetarian food from Ras Val's! The vibes are great all around and the food never fails! Oh, the moonlight rides with the roast breadfruit are something special.

In Martins Bay, St.John - this spot and the grilled marlin or snapper with rice and their sweet potato pie with Cole slaw...topping it off with a tamarind drink or coconut water from in the shop below. It's one of those places that when you are on east...you can get a nice meal and its never crowded on most days except Thursdays - thats their fish fry mini festival day with music etc.

There are many people selling juices on the side of the street but not like these...her combinations are special and the flavours are super interesting. I would stop by every Saturday morning religiously! Tell her Junior sent you! She is honestly the best!

A great spot for that mid morning ital vibes. Just check when they are open cause it's a bit of a drive if you not staying up in St.Philip.

Not only is the place beautiful with incredible views and you can take a dip in a natural cave swimming pool then come out order breadfruit tacos and maybe catch a whale passing by. It's right up north but well worth the drive plus Sue and Manny are great!

Up North, there isn't much but this gem hidden in a small community is a special place with a chilled vibe and really local food full of love. The owner is super nice and the food is great! The macaroni pie and the grilled fish - Slaps!!!!

In Speightstown, if you want something a bit more local and low key...this is the spot. I would come here with a close friend every weekend and get a full veggie meal or maybe add a bit of fish. One of those "yuh grandmother or mother cook that" feelings.

Okay, let's talk about this big box combo - it changes every day and with each day you just feel the energy put into it. The creativity of the vegan/vegetarian meals and the new mixtures are exciting plus get a kombucha - you can go wrong!

One of my favourite spots to chill for a drink and watch the sunset. The concoctions are the best and the finger foods mixed with the decor - all a big hit for me and my friends. The music is always great with special nights hosting incredible DJ's.

The South coast's newest hot spot. Owned by the same owner as one of the best night time spots on the island "Red Door" this is like a day party with good food and a good vibe.

Sometimes, I want to eat something different but it might be a bit hard if I don't want to eat fish so this place is perfect because almost every meal could be asked to be vegetarian. The staff and owner make

In the sea of spots to eat in oistins - this is my go to fish spot. I always get the grilled Swordfish with Rice, Grilled or Parsley Potatoes and all the salads. I am never disappointed and all my friends who visit me would tell you it's the one place I will always take them. This spot and everyone involved has become like a family to me.

Live Like a Local in Barbados with Junior

Jakarta

Located at the parking lot of a mini market, this place serves you ketoprak – vegetables, rice cakes, tofu and rice noodle drenched with peanut sauce. To top everything, pick one: salted duck eggs, sunny side up or omelette – your choice!

This rice porridge place is located next to my past office. Whenever I needed that extra kick of carbs, I would go here before work. I also love to talk with Bang Udin, who happens to be a paralympic athlete in archery. When you eat here, don’t forget to ask for extra crackers!

A breakfast spot in the middle of Jakarta’s business district that can make you feel like you’re transported to a tranquil place with their fried chive noodles cooked in a wok, paired with fried meatballs.

In a country full of Soto, this one is a taste of Surabaya, a city in East Java that you can enjoy in Jakarta. A piping hot bowl of chicken soup filled with slices of chicken, egg, rice noodle and shreds of cabbage. Located just behind the city’s bustling business district, you will experience eating soto with office workers.

Rice cooked with coconut milk. You will be faced with an endless option of toppings. From soy-glazed tempe orek, fried omelette with green onions to potato fritters; I usually get two to three different toppings to try, but you’re more than welcome to get more!

An explosion of spice and herbs that I always crave when I need something to wake me up in the morning. It’s rice cakes poured with light vegetable curry, topped with eggs, crispy potato bits, shrimp crackers and shredded coconut. Not to mention the clam skewers that you can add as extra.

This is a quite personal spot I used to go to with my family! One of the legendary dishes originated from Solo: rice cooked with coconut milk with spicy chayote vegetables, chicken and steamed eggs served on banana leaves.

Noodles with boiled chicken. Sounds simple, but it’s always the simple things that are the most difficult. Their broth is some of the most flavourful broth I’ve ever tasted. Perfect for one of those cold and gloomy mornings.

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