The Best Food Tours in East Asia

The island nation of Taiwan is a unique place, with a distinct cultural identity, a diverse range of modern cities and natural beauty in abundance. It’s also paradise for foodies, with its diverse range of cultural influences combining to cook up a uniquely delicious cuisine. Our nine-day loop tour places great value on food as a cornerstone of Taiwanese culture, starting on opening night with a welcome dinner at an authentic local restaurant in Taipei. Street food takes centre stage the following night at Fengjia Night Market, while a detour to Sun Moon Lake offers the perfect opportunity to sample the nation’s rich tea-producing heritage during a tasting session at a local factory. It’s the perfect palate cleanser before heading to the country’s culinary capital, Tainan. On the second half of our loop, you’ll have lunch with a spectacular mountain view in Shifen, followed by more street food delights at Raohe Night Market. Our last full day starts at a local culinary school in Taipei, where you’ll be given a masterclass in traditional Taiwanese cooking – the perfect way to put all your cultural learning into a delicious plate or two of local specialties.

Korean cuisine has enjoyed a boom in western popularity in recent years, with kimchi and bibimbap becoming increasingly familiar, and KFC taking on a new, stickier meaning. Our 10-day trip in South Korea offers you the chance to sample this incredible culinary culture from the source. We’ll welcome you to Seoul on opening night with a traditional Korean barbecue, featuring meats and vegetables cooked over coals and wrapped in a lettuce leaf with ssamjang sauce. You’ll have lunch in a traditional Hanok village in Seoul, as well as dinner in another Hanok in Gyeongju. You’ll visit the fish market of Sokcho and lunch veggie Buddhist monk-style at Golgulsa Temple, before reaching Busan, where the foodie experience steps up a notch. You’ll explore the famous Jagalchi Fish Market and have the chance to gorge on Busan Hotteok (a sweet, filled pancake) before mastering the art of Korean cuisine with an expert cooking class. You’ll wash your creations down with rice wine, before experiencing a traditional tea ceremony and enjoying a few sips of Makgeolli, a milky sparkling rice wine. The following day we’ll sip soju, a subtly-sweet Korean spirit, on the beach. Finally, we spend our last full day in Jeonju, the home of bibimbap, so there’s nowhere better to try this iconic Korean dish at our farewell dinner, following a thirsty trip to a local craft brewery.

This 12-day Rail Trip takes in a remarkable amount of Japan in a relatively short period of time, which means a wide variety of tasting experiences are on the horizon. We’ll start with a welcome dinner in Osaka and a visit to the famous Dotonbori Strip, home to the first sushi train in the world. In Hiroshima you’ll try okonomiyaki, a popular savoury pancake usually topped with meat or seafood. In Kyoto you’ll take in the sights, smells and sounds of Nishiki food market, before winding up to the Japanese Alps, where you’ll visit a local brewery for a sake-tasting session. After a traditional onsen experience and a boat trip in the shadow of Mount Fuji, we’ll finally arrive in Tokyo. The capital is one of the world’s greatest food destinations and you’ll see it up close, first with a visit to Tsukiji Outer Market and later with an expert class in the crafty art of sushi-rolling – don’t worry, you’ll be able to gobble down your creations too. Our farewell dinner will be in the buzzy night neighbourhood of Kabukicho.