Truly Asia

Sore that Asia never gets shown enough love in international rags' 'Best Restaurants' lists? A new restaurant guide is set to right that wrong. Due to be released at the end of October this year, The Miele Guide will rank the region's top 20 best restaurants annually, decided upon by a stringent selection process. After gathering input from 84 respected restaurant critics in an online poll (held from May 15 to the end of July) will have voters casting their votes for a specific number of restaurants from their own countries and a larger number of restaurants from outside their own countries. In addition, a selected jury of respected foodies and food and wine professionals across Asia will place their votes for the third round of judging. The final evaluation will be made by The Miele Guide's in-house editorial team and contributing editors who will visit all of the top-ranked restaurants anonymously to verify voting results. Can't wait to see if your favorite eatery makes the cut? The Miele Guide hits stores late October and will evaluate restaurants in 16 Asian countries — Brunei, Cambodia, China (Hong Kong and Macau inclusive), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. DID YOU KNOW The much-watched annual 'World's Best Restaurants' list by Restaurant magazine has consistently named only five or fewer Asian restaurants among its 100 honorable mentions. Mind your manners We're all prone to a little holiday misbehavin' but Expedia's made a list and checked it twice. And they know who's been naughty and nice. The travel portal's global survey had more than 4,000 hoteliers from across the world dishing the dirt on travelers' best and worst travel traits, as well as ranking them in 10 specific categories including manners, willingness to learn the language and try local cuisine, generosity, tidiness, volume, fashion sense and propensity to complain. While the survey named the Japanese as overall best tourists with the Germans and British tied in second place and the Canadians and Swiss next, American tourists came in 11 overall. Other findings include: •Americans were considered noisy tourists, the least tidy and sporting the worst fashion sense, but they ranked top when it came to putting effort into learning the local language and sampling local fare. •The French, Chinese and Japanese were the least likely to incorporate the local language, and the Chinese, Indians and Japanese had the least interest in the culinary styles of the places they visit. •Americans were also considered the most generous, followed by the Canadians and Russians. •Italians and French tourists were named best dressed. •French tourists are seen as the most "fiscally conservative," followed by the Dutch and the British. •The Germans, just before the Japanese and British, were considered the tidiest tourists -- never leaving a mess. Sex and City Still in a tizzy over the Sex and the City movie? Make like Carrie and co by heading down to the ultra-fashionable SEVVA the next time you're in Hong Kong. The hip resto and bar, located in Penthouse of Prince's Building in Central, now features a new cocktail menu designed by renowned mixologist Joseph Boroski, who blended all those colorful alcoholic creations on the Sex and the City series. Among Boroski's SEVVA creations are Asian influenced cocktails such as "Bloody Mary in Asia" (incorporating wasabi and lemongrass), the "SEVVA Sexy Pink Sangria", "T-Rated" (with gin and Chinese tea) and "Ginseng & Pink Grapefruit Cosmopolitan". Beauty calls Can spa treatments get any more pimped out than they already are? Apparently so. The acclaimed Anantara Spa at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi has just introduced its Diamond Experience Ritual (US$380) while Phuket's Trisara Resort and Spa now lays claim to the six-hand 'Royal Trisara' (US$450) massage treatment. The former capitalizes on the already popular spa trend taking Hollywood and Europe by storm and features the use of real diamond dust. The' Diamond Experience' begins with a Diamond Magnetic body exfoliation, a peel made from real diamond dust, iron and luminous mud to purify and cleanse the skin, followed by the luxury facial from the Natura Bisse Diamond Collection to smooth the skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Meanwhile, the 'Royal Trisara''s magic lies in the healing touch of three therapists, who work magic on your aches and knots with a combination of Thai and Swedish techniques -- hands, forearms and elbows timed in perfect synchrony across the entire back of the body. The 90-minute treatment also includes a Thai oil massage and warm coconut oil, scalp, head and shoulder massage, and Thai oil foot massage. The Jakarta Post