The day I arrived in Quy Nhon, this already supremely chilled out seaside town was in the process of shutting down for the New Year celebrations, meaning that the vibe was so laid-back it was almost horizontal. Almost nothing was open, nearly everyone was at home with the family, and one's options for eating and drinking were severely limited. So thank god that, as I arrived in town on the back of a motorbike taxi, I glimpsed the Kim Dinh through the palm trees on the seafront.

Though nothing more than an open-front unit with chairs and tables on the pavement out the front, something about the place immediately appealed to me, and sure enough, it became my default hangout for the duration of my stay in Quy Nhon.

Like all the best cafes in Vietnam, the Kim Dinh does not make a song and dance over its operation. The only things sold here are coffee, tea, sinh to, and the classic central-coast region snack, banh beo. All of which were done to perfection.

The banh beo, above, came bathed in a unctuous, vinegary (in a good way) sauce, which worked wonderfully with the glutinous chewy texture of the pancakes. Great with an iced coffee, but even better with the Kim Dinh's signature sinh to, which, like the amazing sinh to that made up The Best Breakfast of my Life, was a combination of fruits rather than just one or two, including avocados, papayas, and dragon fruit, among others.

What took this sinh to to even greater heights, however, was that the fruits were not blended as is usual with sinh to, but arrived at my table roughly chopped, along with crushed ice and - oh my - a generous dollop of condensed milk.

The photo above is of the many glasses of the fruit, minus the ice and milk, which the Kim Dinh staff prepare in advance for when there's a rush of customers (because almost EVERYONE orders the sinh to). The opening photo is of after the whole lot has been mixed together into a delicious mess and is waiting patiently for me to devour it.

Just the thing before a stroll along the seafront at sunset.

Kim Dinh
18a Nguyen Hue,
Quy Nhon,
Vietnam.

Cafe Z is legend in Chengdu – hugely expensive compared to the price of an average meal, but considered by many as the best place to get Western food in the city. I’ve had this buffet restaurant at the Shangrila Hotel recommended to me countless times, but being the cheapskate that I am was somewhat reluctant to go. Yesterday evening though, what with it being Mike's last night in town, we decided to take the plunge. And boy was it worth it.

It isn’t just that the food is all high quality and totally delicious – it’s the range that’s spectacular. Not only are there Sichuan specialities, Cantonese Dim Sum, Beijing Duck and various other Chinese dishes, but there is also Japanese, Italian, Moroccan, Indian…the list goes on, and is topped by perhaps the most gorgeously presented dessert selection I’ve ever seen.

Sadly I was too busy stuffing myself silly to take many photographs of the food in its entire splendor, but hopefully the following gives you a rough idea.

Bowls of delicious titbits.

Sauces and dressings in the Mediterranean section.

Sichuan-style Douhua.

The chocolate fountain.

Individual chocolate squares served on spoons.

So, if, like I did, you’re wondering if it’s worth the high price, wonder no longer and just go.

While in the first installment in the Beyond Sichuan series I went south, this time I’m going north – to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province. This city, a large proportion of whose population are of the Hui Muslim minority, is home to the famous Lanzhou Lamian, a.k.a Lanzhou ‘Pulled Noodles’: fresh wheat dough pulled by hand into long, even strands, and served in a plain meat broth. It is a cheap, filling and delicious meal.

Luckily, I don’t have to go all the way to Lanzhou to eat Lamian, as they are found in cities across China and Chengdu is no exception. My local Lamian joint is run by a friendly family, whose littlest member is particularly cute.

Like most Lamian restaurants, my local is open much later than many other eating establishments, so is particularly convenient for a midnight snack. But the absolute best thing about Lamian is its preparation, which is visually wonderful and usually done within eyesight of the diners. Through a magical and mind-boggling process of twisting, folding, pulling and loud slapping of the dough onto the work-board, the chef creates perfect noodles from raw dough in mere seconds. He also makes it all seem ridiculously easy, which, I am quite sure, it’s not.

Here are some photos of the making of Lamian at my local restaurant. The finished dish itself isn’t that much of a looker – just noodle soup with some sliced beef and fresh coriander; it’s the making of the noodles, right in front of you, and the visual spectacle it involves, that makes Lamian so special.

Sichuan people like their Sichuan food. On Chengdu’s mean streets, Chuancai dominates, and it’s sometimes difficult to find any other Chinese cuisine. A few, though, are readily available, and so over the next few weeks I’ll be introducing you to some of my favourites in my neighborhood. First stop: Yunnan, and the famous ‘Crossing the Bridge Noodles’.

Legend has it that this dish was created during the Qing dynasty, by the wife of a hard-working scholar. The scholar liked to work on an island on a lake, and everyday his wife would bring him a bowl of rice noodles for lunch; but by the time she had walked from their home and crossed the bridge to the island, the noodles would be cold.

Eventually, however, the scholar’s wife hit upon a clever idea: a layer of oil on top of the broth. This little trick kept the heat from escaping, and ensured that the noodles arrived at her husband’s table still hot and delicious. Thus, the dish was named 过桥米线 (guo qiao mixian) – ‘Crossing the Bridge Noodles’.

Today, Crossing the Bridge Noodles are perhaps Yunnan’s most famous dish, and specialist restaurants can be found on almost every street in the capital, Kunming. They’re are also quite popular in Chengdu, and accordingly, my local Crossing the Bridge Noodles restaurant is run by a family who used to live in Yunnan. Here, the layer of oil isn’t very thick, but I don’t really care about that anyway, because what really make Crossing the Bridge Noodles fun are all the things you add to the broth: quail’s eggs, tofu skin, bean sprouts, spring onions, tomato, lettuce, a couple of different meats, and of course, the rice noodles.

First, a plate laid out with all these goodies arrives at your table, along with a generous bowl of rice noodles.

Next comes a huge claypot-ful of broth, to which the waitress adds all the other ingredients.

Finally, you mix it all together with your chopsticks, add any extra flavourings you may desire (such as vinegar or chili oil), and it’s ready – as seen, in all its glory, in the photo at the top of this post. Crossing the Bridge Noodles are perfect in cold weather, when the hot broth is wonderfully warming. It’s also particularly good when you’re feeling a bit unwell, for not only is it full of fresh, lightly cooked vegetables, but it also has many of the qualities of that universal cure-all, chicken soup.

Keep your eyes peeled for more in the Beyond Sichuan series, coming soon…

ps. I recently learnt that, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, you shouldn't eat chicken when you've got a cold - the complete opposite to Western medical wisdom! I wonder which one is right...

Chop Chop Dumpling Restaurant (the Chinese name is much better - 饺子王 translates as 'dumpling king'). Haymarket, Edinburgh.

The Szechuan. Tollcross, Edinburgh.

China Garden. Preston Street, Brighton (you can see the ruined West Pier in the background).

Famous Sichuan. Queen's Road, Brighton (this was definitely not here when I was a student in Brighton!).

Fuzhou Restaurant (Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian province, where many early Chinese immigrants to the UK came from). Chinatown, London.

Young Cheng. Chinatown, London (the Chinese businessmen you can see going into the restaurant were the end few of a very long line - must be a good place...)

Note: I only ate at one of the above restaurants (the Szechuan, more on which still to come), so cannot recommend any of the others!