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Mumbai's best new restaurants of 2011
Traveling parents should be wary of creating iPad junkies
Shanghai’s weirdest foods
7 trips for 7 travelers
Best wonton noodles in Hong Kong
Bangkok hotels: The best of 2011 and what's coming in 2012
自然が織りなすオーストラリア景勝地

Mumbai's best new restaurants of 2011

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 11:47 PM PST

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With inputs from France, Britain and Belgium, Mumbai's culinary scene grew even more cosmopolitan in 2011. We even got back a sadly missed restaurant space on the beach.

Here goes with a round-up of the best new restaurants of the year.

The Table, Colaba

One of the biggest culinary hits of 2011, The Table is reminiscent of a fancy jazz club, complete with black-and-white floors, green velvet armchairs and sparkling cocktails.

Manned by San Franciscan expat chef Alex Sanchez, the kitchen is as impressive as the decor, sending out French-American dishes like lobster sliders, quesadillas with green pea guacamole and the prettiest beet and mascarpone risotto in the city.

Traveling parents should be wary of creating iPad junkies

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 11:47 PM PST

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My 18-month-old toddler still can't say his grandmother's name "Mima", but he has already said the word "iPad". The first time he said it, my husband and I looked at each other in disbelief.

"What did he just say?" my husband chuckled.

"iPah, iPah," my son repeated, removing any lingering doubt, before outstretching his little arms to wrestle the sleek tablet from his father's clutches.

When my husband finally relented, we both stepped back to marvel at my son sliding his stubby fingers across the screen, moving pages until he found the icon he wanted. He tapped it effortlessly and right on cue, his favorite show, "The Wiggles," started to play.

Shanghai’s weirdest foods

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 11:46 PM PST

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Although it's the people from Guangdong province who have the reputation for eating just about anything, Shanghai foodies are no slouches.

You can find plenty of weird eats around the city that you might actually enjoy if you know where to look.

For this list we stayed away from the shock value -- no sheep penis here -- and sought out what locals are actually eating.

1. Honeybees (蜜蜂)

Wild honeybees are a traditional Yunnan dish. Locals go far into the mountains at night to find their nests.

The best preparation is deep-fried with salt and pepper, says waiter Zhou Zhirong, a member of Yunnan's Hani minority group (哈尼族).

7 trips for 7 travelers

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 08:05 PM PST

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Where's the best place to escape another year's grind and remember that a whole world is still out there?

A mountain. A beach. A Greek idyll. Only you know who you are and what suits you.

But we've got a decent idea. Or seven.

What follows are seven trips for seven traveler types, all of whom deserve an adventure this year -- and a friendly 2012 reminder to not forget the sunscreen.

1. The outdoorist: Mount Whitney, California, United States

You want to clamber up a "highest" mountain somewhere. Gotcha.

But, let's be honest, it's not gonna be Everest or even Kilimanjaro in this lifetime.

Best wonton noodles in Hong Kong

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 05:07 PM PST

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The Hong Kong wonton noodle is a simple dish: dumplings are made with several shrimp held together by a delicate flour wrapper and served with chewy egg noodles in a savory broth.

Simplicity doesn't mean they're all the same though. Each restaurant tries to outdo the next with just the slightest touch of variation in flavor and texture. Whether its plumper shrimps, more al dente noodles or an extra fragrant broth.

Be prepared to have to wait for a table at most popular places, especially during lunchtime. But with the Hong Kong-style lunch culture of sit-down-eat-pay-leave-immediately, that steaming bowl of shrimp and noodle satisfaction is never too long a wait away.

Bangkok hotels: The best of 2011 and what's coming in 2012

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 01:55 PM PST

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Come hell or high water, Thailand somehow manages to stay atop of the global holiday hotlist. Despite this year's flood crisis, the Tourism Authority of Thailand expects an international visitor tally of between 18.3 and 18.6 million after the last passenger arrives on December 31.

In Bangkok, it certainly seems that if you build it, they will come. International chains and independent boutique brands have been stamping their footprint on the city's evolving hotelscape all year, with still more slated for 2012.

Here are some notable new beds on the block.