Because I was conducting educational tastings for the Samsung credit card holders, I was invited by Mrs. Lee, the daughter of Samsung’s founder and former chairman, to her home for...

Our first night in Seoul, we were lodging at the exquisite Hotel Shilla, which sits on a bluff with fabulous views of the mountains and the modern city of Seoul....

This fascinating Chinese restaurant, actually classic Sichuan food, was the favorite restaurant of China’s former leader, Deng Xiao Ping. It is now a club, even though it is open to...

For anyone going to the Summer Olympics, this would be one of my top picks for eating in Beijing. It is located in the Grand Hyatt, the venue is superb,...

One of the great modern-day Cabernet Sauvignons is consistently Shafer’s Hillside Select, and the 2002, a vintage that produced many classic Cabernets, was sensational. Inky blue/purple-colored, it offered up notes of pain grillé, crème...

I am still not a fan of abalone, which I was served numerous times in Asia, and I feel it is an overrated shellfish. Nevertheless, I was pleased by how...

The service was impeccable and the wines simple, from a straightforward, waxy, honeysuckle-infused 2006 Caymus Conundrum, to Jadot’s pleasant cherry-scented and -flavored 20005 Beaujolais from the appellation of Brouilly. This is another restaurant that I...