Five Best Food-Haven Cities

The award-winning travel writer Sally Hammond gives us her top five best cities when it comes to good food. Here's the list:

Macau has rich blend of cuisines: Portuguese, Chinese and Macnese. Lord Stow's Bakery has popularized Portuguese egg tarts to wide aclaim. Also try dishes elsewehere using ubiquitous dried salt cod, bacalhau.

bacalhau

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has a unique combination of Indian, Malay and Chinese foods. For upmarket dining go to Senses in the Kuala Lumpur Hilton, where Cheong Liew (voted one of the Ten Chefs alive) is a consultant chef. Also drop into the markets and hawkers' stalls for sticky Nyonya cakes, murtabak, laks and more.

murtabak

Palermo, Sicily, boasts vibrant markets and hole-in-the-wall places. The cuisine has Moorish and North African influences, and couscous is popular. Look for savory arancini di riso (rice balls), cassata, amazing sweet cakes, and granita (shaved ice flavored with coffee or almond) for breakfast with brioche.

cassata

Hong Kong: SoHo, around the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator, has renowned cafe and bar scene. Another notable restaurant, Yung Kee, began as a hawker store many years ago and specializes in gourmet roast goose.

roasted goose

Reims, France, less than two hours' drive from Paris, is the center of the Champagne region. Dine at Michelin-starred Chateau Les Crayeres after a day of discovering the bubbly in the world-famous champagne region.

Reims champagne