From an oyster festival in Ireland to cocktails in HK, we’ve got you covered with a list of places to check out this month
Shuck It Up
You’re in for a shucking good time at the Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival, Ireland’s most popular food festival. Held on 28-30 September every year since 1964, the event draws thousands to this harbour city on Ireland’s west coast to enjoy an endless feast of oysters, seafood and, of course, Guinness. The event kicks off on Friday evening with an opening night featuring a Food Village with local restaurants, followed by the World Oyster Opening Championship and Masquerade Mardi Gras ball on Saturday, while Sunday features the day-long Feile Bia na Mara Wild Atlantic Tastes programme, with cooking demos, family activities, live music, and more.
Time For Tapas
Spanish cuisine continues to spread in KL in the form of Tapas Club Malaysia, Pavilion KL’s latest restaurant that satisfies your craving for tapas, paella, churros and more. Tapas Club was originally founded in Singapore by chefs Jose Alonso, who worked with Singapore's Binomio, and Manuel Berganza, who led the crew at New York City's Michelin-starred Andanada. Tapas Club Malaysia is the third outlet in Southeast Asia, following the opening of Jakarta's Setiabudi One outlet in May. Expect all the dishes you expect a Spanish restaurant to have: five versions of paella, including paella arroz negro (squid ink paella) and paella de chorizo, more than a dozen tapas selections like gambas al ajillo, croquetas and tortilla de patatas, as well as cheeses and cold cuts. Cap your meal off with a selection of churros-based desserts, like the popular churros sandwich with ice cream and stuffed churros with chocolate cream.
Pop In For A Fine Meal
Dine in style at Hong Kong’s latest addition to the European food scene, Popinjays, a restaurant and bar located on the rooftop of The Murray hotel on Cotton Tree Drive. Named after the resident cockatoos along neighbouring Garden Road, Hong Kong Park and Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, the restaurant is led by Chef Didier Quennouelle, who brings 25 years’ worth of culinary experience to create an European-inspired menu. From Tuesday to Thursday, have your pick of four- or six-course seasonal degustation menus that changes every week, while Fridays and Saturdays feature the Birds of a Feather menu, which includes a selection of shared dishes and free-flow cocktails for a minimum of four guests. Among the dishes that have been served here include pan-seared Dover sole with Tasmanian winter truffles, roast Challans chicken, foie gras terrine, and poached wild sea bass with Caviar Kristal.
Bar None
You won’t find a better tipple in London than at The American Bar at The Savoy Hotel. The iconic bar, which has been around since the 1890s, was recently named the World’s Best Bar 2018 at the 12th annual Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans. This year, The American Bar launched a new menu that was inspired by iconic black-and-white portraits that have lined the bar walls, including those of Elizabeth Taylor, David Bowie and Judy Garland. Called “Every Moment Tells a Story”, the cocktail menu reinterprets each portrait in drink form, using ingredients such as fermented artichoke, clarified tomato water, jasmine oil and edamame.
Bustling Busan
You don’t need to head far from Busan’s airport to discover the best of Korea’s dining scene. Located next to Gimhae Airport is a new 400-seat dining complex that houses five branches of Chef Edward Kwon’s restaurants: contemporary French restaurant Lab XXIV; modern Korean restaurant Elements; European casual dining space Eddie’s Kitchen; French deli and bakery Atelier M; and American-style diner Eddie’s Café. Chef Kwon is one of Korea’s most celebrated chefs, and is best known for his modern take on French cuisine served at LabXXIV in Le Meridien, Gangnam, which was named one of the world's top 1,000 restaurants on La Liste.
