Q: This is your fourth collaboration with Luxury Escapes. Why do you enjoy hosting these food-inspired tours so much?
A: There is no little joy in introducing people to tasty new experiences and then to watch the pleasure on their face when they taste something delicious for the first time and then the subsequent excitement as they chat animatedly about it.
It’s a way of sharing our love of food in the most visceral manner possible – whether in some sleek fine diner or that one impeccable street food joint that’s hard to find as a normal tourist.
The best thing is that the great places you’ll be going to, you really don’t need to be some hard-core foodie to enjoy it.
Q: Your previous tours have covered Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka. Why choose Hong Kong and Taiwan for this next adventure?
A: Hong Kong and Taiwan are two of Asia’s most exciting food destinations – Hong Kong is well-known for its impeccable yum cha, signature egg tarts, dai pai dongs and some of the best roast meats in the world.
Yet hidden away in office blocks and warehouse are some fine dining gems that usually only the cognoscenti can get a table at.
Taiwan is an undiscovered gem – Mume is little known outside Taipei, one of my favourite modern restaurants in the world right now – and the country is famous for its bubble tea and soup dumplings, but the street food and hole in the world places are a real surprise – and incredibly varied – from delicious oyster omelettes to all manner of delicious and unique fried snacks.
Also, both have impeccable and luxurious places to stay such as the iconic Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and the Mandarin Oriental in Taipei.
The pleasure of being pampered and having some serious downtime between each epic experience is very much part of the joy of these tours.
Q: What can guests on this Signature Series tour expect to see, eat and do?
A: Well, obviously we’ll tick off all the major sights you’ll want to see as well as eating very well.
As a guest on a Luxury Escapes Signature Series tour you can also learn stuff about both the dishes and the society that eats them.
Guests may also have some myths busted about dishes that they love here in Australia after eating at the source of their creation.
I also hope they’ll return with warm memories and a desire to chase out local versions of these experiences (where available – I’ve never seen Taipei’s delicious, steamed clams with loofah here!)
Q: Do you have any favourite foodie spots in either destination?
A: Yup, obviously! That’s where we’ll be taking them, but if I had to pick just a couple of things; the roast goose in Hong Kong can be celestial and I loved trying delicious stuff I’d never eaten before in Taiwan.
That steamed clam and loofah dish is one such example. Crumbed squid beaks…not so much!
Q: Why do you think food-inspired tours are the flavour of the month right now?
A: Food has always been a major part of the pleasure when Aussies travel…there’s nothing new in that.
The proliferation of places has however made it harder to find the gems and increases in culinary tourism has made it harder to get a table at the posh places.
This is what makes these tours special – knowing that everything has been hand-picked and organised.
I think there is also a big reassurance in knowing that Gary and I have been on the ground prior to the tour checking out these places. There is a nervousness with some Aussie travellers about some of these destinations and our involvement seems to ease any reticence.
Q: Are there any other destinations around the world where we might see you hosting tours in the future?
A: There are the great food destinations like France, Italy, Spain and Portugal – whether we are looking at the greatest hits or the hidden gems.
Morocco, Laos and Cambodia, Lima, Southern India, Argentina and Thailand all reward deliciously with exploration.
I do think the locations have to cover more than just great food experiences – the food is just a vehicle to get cultural immersion. The chosen location also has to offer something in the way of drama, natural beauty, or fascinating history.
Our job is to look hard enough to find the gems that make each tour a rewarding and memorable experience.
Q: Finally, what memories do you hope your guests will take away from their trip with you to Hong Kong and Taiwan?
A: That Gary loves a chat. That I am a food history nerd. That you can love food and the place as much as we do. That sometimes things that you never thought you’d like…you can love and that to eat a dish where it came from somehow makes it twice as delicious.
Signature Series Hong Kong & Taiwan Exclusive Foodie Tour with Matt Preston & Gary Mehigan. Departs November 17. Priced from $15,499 per person.
