An Ever-Evolving List of Places to Eat And Drink Around The World!
Auckland
Verona Cafe – Nice little outdoor cafe and bar.
169 Karangahape Road, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010, New Zealand +64 9-307 0508
Mudbrick – Fantastic vineyard on Waiheke Island. Best Pinot Gris I have ever had.
126 Church Bay Road, Waiheke Island, Oneroa 1971, New Zealand +64 9-372 9050
Christchurch
Mumbaiwala – Fantastic Indian Restaurant. They had the greatest naan. I needed to get two.
120 Hereford Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8011, New Zealand +64 3-943 9536
Bacon Brothers Burgers – Great little restaurant in a collective. So if you do not like it, there are other types of food nearby.
181 High Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8011, New Zealand +64 21 287 4375
Sydney
Side Bar – Fantastic bar, dance club. Big international nights.
509 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia +61 2 9288 7878
The Soda Factory – Great “speakeasy” where you need to walk through a fake soda machine to gain access to the bar. Very spacious and excellent live music. A great place to take a date.
16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia +61 2 8096 9120
Melbourne
Queen Victoria Market – Great selection of produce, meats, fish, cheese, and wine. Some places offer sit down services. Be sure to head outside for even better deals and load up on souvenirs.
Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Young and Jackson – This historic hotel is where the rich and powerful of Melbourne have a pint in the shadow of Chloe, a 19th-century French nude painting.
1 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia +61 3 9650 3884
Adelaide
Adelaide Central Market – Much smaller than Queen Victoria Market, but this is the central food hub of Adelaide. While there are many stalls and sit down places to eat, be sure to get a porchetta sandwich from a stall in the back if you enter from Grote Street.
44-60 Gouger St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia +61 8 8203 7494
The Gallery – A lovely little rooftop deck bar. They started playing New Orleans oldies, so I felt right at home.
30 Waymouth St, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia +61 8 8211 8820
Perth
Viet Hoa – Lovely Vietnamese restaurant serving the classics of South East Asian cuisine.
Unit 1/349 William St, Northbridge WA 6003, Australia +61 8 9328 2127
Bar 399 – One of my favorite places on my trip. Great selection of beers and incredibly friendly staff.
399 William St, Perth WA 6000, Australia +61 420 922 716
Palace Arcade – If you are looking for some nostalgia served by the glass, this place is it. 2 stories of retro arcade games combined with frosty draft beers are a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
84 Beaufort St, Perth WA 6000, Australia +61 8 9227 7439
Singapore
Marina Bay Sands Hotel – Fantastic hotel. You need to buy a ticket, but you can go to the top of the hotel 57 floors up and buy a frosty Tiger Beer.
10 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018956 +65 6688 8868
Chinatown Complex Food Centre – Honestly, this is the best food in the city. Walk around, try everything. If you like food, you will love it here.
335 Smith St, Singapore 050335
Liao Fan Hawker, Chinatown – Want to eat at a Michelin rated restaurant for less than the price of a Big Mac, then this is the place for you. It can get crowded, but it is certainly worth the wait.
78 Smith St, Singapore 058972
Taipei
Ningxia Night Market – Honestly, everything is good here. Scallion egg pancakes, grilled beef, and a fried chicken cutlet bigger than my two hands put end to end, to name a few. And it is all super cheap. Plus, carnival games! However, watch out for the stinky tofu. Unless you are into that sort of thing. No judgments.
Ningxia Road, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103
Hawker Chan Liao Fan – Miss the fantastic food of Singapore like I did while in Taipei? Well, be sure to stop over at the famous hawker stand that got a Michelin Star, now in restaurant form. You will not regret it.
No.36, Sec. 1, Zhongxiao W. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Zhongzheng District, Taipei 100 Taiwan
Tokyo
Yoshinoya – The equivalent of a Japanese Denny’s this place has been serving quality food since 1899. There are locations all around Japan, so find the one closest to where you are staying.
New York Bar – Located atop the Park Hyatt Tokyo, you might remember this place from the film Lost In Translation. It is a little pricey, but the views make up for it. Watch the Tokyo night come alive over the rim of a glass of Suntory, for a relaxing time.
Japan, 〒160-0023 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Nishishinjuku, 3 Chome−7−1 パークハイアット東京
+81 3-5323-3458
Tsukiji Fishmarket – If you are a fan of eating our friends from the sea, this is probably the best fish market in the world. You can find everything here. Don’t feel like cooking? Don’t worry. They have stalls here where you can get blowtorched cooked tuna, as well as other delights.
5 Chome-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
Kyoto
Fushimi Inari – Not just a Shinto temple, but a fantastic place to find traditional Japanese food served in stalls lining up to the temple. It is packed with travelers, but worth it.
68 Fukakusa Yabunouchicho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0882, Japan
Hiroshima
中華そば 陽気 横川店 – Roughly translated to “Chinese soba cheerful Yokogawa store” this fantastic noodle house really hit the spot after a long day of sightseeing. If you do not speak Japanese, that is fine. All you have to do is point and grunt and they will understand.
11-18 Yokogawashinmachi, Nishi Ward, Hiroshima, 733-0013, Japan
+81822946722
Nagasaki + Fukuoka
Really, in these places as well as the rest of Japan, if you are on a budget, you cannot go wrong with any convenience store. They have anything and everything you can want that is Japanese, including sushi, tempura, sake, and even onigirazu. Onigirazu is a rice sandwhich filled with almost anything you can think of from the sea. They are wrapped in plastic, but there is a special way to open them that keeps the sticky rice off your fingers by enveloping them in seaweed. The major chains are 7-11, Lawsons, and Family Mart. If you happen to be there during cherry blossom season, I suggest starting your days with cherry cream-filled croissants from Family Mart.
Busan
Hongkong Ban 410 (홍콩반점0410 부산역점) – This great noodle bar located just off of Texas Street served all its delicious food piping hot with some incredibly cold beer.
203 Jungang-daero, Choryang 2(i)-dong, Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple – Like most places I experienced in Asia, outside of important temples, there are places to get your snack on. If you want some typical Korean food from stall vendors, like grubworms, this a great place. After, be sure to head into the temple for a fantastic view of the Korean Strait against a Buddhist temple backdrop, but leave your food outside.
86 Yonggung-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea
Seoul
Eoulmadang-ro – This is a pedestrian walkway in the middle of the hip, young Hongdae district. Lots of restaurants and bars.
Hong Kong
The Peninsula Hotel – If you want expansive views of Hong Kong’s electric skyline, this place is it. Take a seat facing Kowloon or Hong Kong proper, it will not disappoint. Be sure to get there around 7pm for the light show!
75WC+2P Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong – Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong – +85229202888
Hanoi
Ta Hien – Hanoi’s equivalent of Bourbon Street, this place is filled with bars and restaurants. Throw a stick and you will find a fantastic place to eat or drink. However, have caution when eating on the street at night due to the constant police presence.
Captain Crawfish Restaurant – I never ate here, but it is the only recognizable sign of a restaurant right across the street that served delicious Com. Go eat there!
19 Lương Ngọc Quyến, Hàng Buồm, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Bun Cha Huong Lien – Made famous by Anthony Bourdain, this excellent restaurant serves a delicious Bun Cha, a traditional Vietnamese pork dish that’s a speciality of Hanoi.
24 Lê Văn Hưu, Phan Chu Trinh, Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội, Vietnam – +842439434106
Cafe NOLA – A great little cafe with rustic accouterment.
89 Phố Mã Mây, Hàng Buồm, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam – +842439264669
Hue
Bo Bun Lady of Hue – Located inside the Dong Ba Market, she is a little hard to find, but completely worth the beef broth soup. Keep in mind this is a food market in Vietnam as the experience will be quite “rustic.”
2 Trần Hưng Đạo, Phú Hoà, Thành phố Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam
Saigon
The Lunch Lady – If you need a fix of Bun Bo Hue in Saigon, be sure to stop and see the Lunch Lady. Her “restaurant” is located in a cleared outdoor area behind the stated address.
23 Hoang Sa St., District 1 Phuong Da Kao, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 Vietnam
Bui Vien Street – Absolutely packed with bars and restaurants. If you ever wanted to experience the party scene of R&R of the Vietnam War, this place it is. I was greeted with Creedence Clearwater Revival being blasted from a bar when I first arrived. It is sureal.
Hotel Continental – If you are looking for colonial refinement in Saigon, look no further than the Hotel Continental. Located right across the street from the Opera House, it is a perfect place to have a beer or tea as the street life of Saigon passes you by.
134 Đồng Khởi, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam – +842838299201
Bánh xèo – Another spot made famous by Mr. Bourdain, this establishment serves a fantastic Vietnamese crepe filled with meat and seafood which you can watch them hand make.
46 Đinh Công Tráng, Tân Định, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam – +842838241110