Review

A restaurant menu is never entirely fixed. Ingredients shift with the seasons, kitchens discover new techniques and certain dishes return because diners simply refuse to forget them. At SOMA Bangkok, the latest menu refresh reflects all three, bringing together new interpretations and familiar favourites rooted in Thailand’s regional cooking traditions. Head Chef Pak Yamoo leads the kitchen, bringing each dish to life with bold creativity and a deep respect for tradition. Gui

Macau has never been particularly interested in understatement. Along the Cotai Strip, hotels compete not simply through rooms and restaurants, but through architecture, entertainment, art and increasingly ambitious expressions of hospitality. Within that landscape, Wynn Palace Macau understands exactly where it stands. It is grand, colourful and unapologetically theatrical, yet behind the spectacle is a hotel where some of the most memorable details are surprisingly small. A

Luxury resorts often attempt to impress from the very first moment with towering lobbies, extravagant chandeliers or lavish displays. The Retreat Koh Chang takes a different approach. Set along the quiet shoreline near Kai Bae Beach within Mu Ko Chang National Park, this elegant adults-only, five-star sanctuary embraces restraint, allowing architecture, landscape and the rhythm of the sea to become the defining elements of the experience. Home to just 38 spacious rooms, suite

Few chefs have shaped contemporary perceptions of Thai cuisine as decisively as Pam—Pichaya Soontornyanakij. The chef behind Restaurant Potong was named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024 by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, followed by the World’s Best Female Chef title from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2025, while The Best Chef Awards presented her with Three Knives. These accolades have placed her firmly among the most celebrated chefs in Thailand, yet they tell only part of her

Occupying the upper floors of the Grand Green Osaka South Park Tower, the hotel overlooks Umekita. This ambitious urban redevelopment has transformed the former freight yard north of Osaka Station into one of the city's most dynamic neighbourhoods. Directly connected to the station itself, the property places Kyoto, Kobe and Nara all within an hour, making it an ideal base for discovering the wider Kansai region. Yet despite its central location, Waldorf Astoria Osaka quickly

Da Nang has quietly become one of Vietnam's most compelling dining destinations. Long celebrated for its sweeping coastline and as the gateway to both Huế and Hội An, the city has matured into a place where ambitious chefs are redefining Vietnamese gastronomy through global perspectives whilst remaining deeply connected to local identity. Among them is Chef La Thua An, whose restaurant, The Temptation, offers one of the city's most personal interpretations of contemporary Fre

There are hotel brands that focus on luxury, others on heritage, and some on efficiency. Then there are brands such as Moxy Hotels that understand hospitality can also be playful. Designed for travellers who appreciate vibrant social spaces as much as a comfortable room, Moxy has built its identity around colourful interiors, contemporary design and an energetic atmosphere that encourages guests to mingle rather than retreat behind closed doors. That philosophy arrived in Tha

There is a fine line between fusion and confusion. Too often, restaurants attempting to bridge two culinary traditions end up flattening both, relying on gimmickry rather than understanding. Sato San Rooftop Bar Bangkok , however, approaches the meeting of Isaan and Japanese cuisines with considerably more care. Rather than forcing together two disparate food cultures for novelty's sake, the restaurant looks at the quiet affinities between them: the fondness for smoke and cha

Nonthaburi sits just beyond the usual orbit of Bangkok's dining scene, which means it is often overlooked by both locals and visitors in favour of the city centre or Hua Hin when in search of a memorable meal. Yet restaurants such as SANN make the drive out feel entirely justified. The recent Bib Gourmand recognition from The MICHELIN Guide only reinforces the point. This is not merely a charming Thai restaurant with a handsome setting, but one of the more compelling places

There are restaurants that modernise Cantonese cuisine by stripping it down, making it lighter, prettier and more abstract until little of its original character remains. Then there is Wing Restaurant Hong Kong, where Chef Vicky Cheng takes the opposite approach. Rather than distancing himself from tradition, he sharpens it. Familiar flavours become cleaner, more precise and more elegant, yet never so refined as to lose their warmth. It is this balance between polish and soul

In a city where experimentation in bars often leans towards spectacle, XIM Bangkok arrives with a quieter, more deliberate proposition. Positioning itself as an Xplorimental Bar, this Bangkok cocktail bar is not built on theatrics alone, but on the discipline of restraint—an approach that feels increasingly rare. Here, innovation is not about how far a drink can be pushed, but how precisely it can be resolved. At the centre of this philosophy sits a guiding principle: Balanc

When it opened in 2018, Rosewood Phnom Penh quickly established itself as one of the most distinctive luxury addresses in Cambodia's capital. Occupying the upper floors of the striking Vattanac Capital Tower, the hotel sits high above the city, commanding sweeping views across Phnom Penh's skyline. From this vantage point, the city unfolds beneath the windows — from historic neighbourhoods and colonial-era buildings to the grounds of the Royal Palace Phnom Penh and the wide c

Japan's bar culture is often associated with Tokyo, yet the country's devotion to craftsmanship in drinks extends far beyond the capital. In Osaka, a city more famously celebrated for its street food and exuberant dining culture, a quietly impressive bar scene thrives after dark. From tiny counter-only sanctuaries to polished hotel lounges and eccentric speakeasies, the city offers a spectrum of drinking experiences shaped by meticulous technique and distinct personalities be

Perched prominently on the 23rd floor of Andaz One Bangkok , Piscari rises above the city skyline with the easy elegance of a Mediterranean retreat suspended in the sky. Conceived as a rooftop supper club grounded in the philosophy "Live Daily Life with Spirit," the space captures the relaxed conviviality of coastal living while embracing Bangkok's vibrant urban rhythm. The experience unfolds as a gradual journey: from the soft glow of golden hour to the lively pulse of the

Bangkok's riverside dining scene took on a distinctly European refinement as Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River welcomed Spanish pastry chef Miquel Guarro for a limited-time pop-up and collaborative Afternoon Tea. While the Café Madeleine showcase concluded on 28 February 2026, its technical clarity and flavour architecture continue to resonate. The limited-edition Afternoon Tea at The Lounge, created alongside Executive Pastry Chef Andrea Bonaffini, remains av

Four years since its debut in January 2022, Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen has settled confidently into the upper echelons of the city's hospitality landscape — both figuratively and quite literally. Occupying levels 67 to 79 of Tower A at UpperHills in Futian's business district, the hotel rises above the city's velocity with quiet authority, offering a vantage point that feels composed rather than removed. All 178 rooms and suites — among the most spacious in Shenzhen — are fr

W Does Brunch at The Kitchen Table with Aperol has settled into Bangkok’s weekend rhythm with the kind of confidence that only comes when spectacle meets structure. Since its collaboration launched on 1 November 2025, the brunch has evolved from a refreshed concept into a fixed ritual. As March approaches, it feels less like a seasonal highlight and more like an established cadence. Held every first and third Saturday from 12:30 to 15:30 on the second floor of W Bangkok Hotel

In Bangkok, longevity is an achievement measured quietly. New bars arrive with cinematic lighting and ambitious manifestos, only to dim when the next new thing commands attention. The city rewards novelty, but it ultimately respects conviction. As Dry Wave Cocktail Studio marked its second anniversary in late January 2026, the milestone arrived without spectacle. It unfolded with composure — the understated assurance of a bar that has never relied on theatrics to define itsel

Few hotels in Bangkok carry history quite as visibly—and gracefully—as Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel. Since opening in 1978 as the Bangkok Peninsula Hotel, the property has undergone a series of transformations: sold and reborn as The Regent Bangkok in 1982, re-emerging as Four Seasons Bangkok in the early 2000s, and eventually rebranded as Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel. Rather than erasing its past, each evolution has added depth, leaving behind a hotel that feels layered, assur

When it comes to izakaya dining, sophistication is rarely part of the expectation. The genre is more often associated with bustle and informality—places defined by noise, familiarity and quick gratification rather than refinement. With KŌKULABO Izakaya Bangkok, however, Koleido Lifestyle Group gently repositions that narrative, offering an izakaya experience shaped by precision, premium ingredients and thoughtful restraint. KŌKULABO Izakaya Bangkok is the group's latest openi