The world on a plate

Local dishes, culinary experiences and tipples can make a trip extra special wherever you are in the world. Here are some great suggestions to tempt your tastebuds.

Best unconventional wine tour

Waiheke wineries by horseback, Auckland: Why drive to a winery when you can arrive by horse? A 40-minute ferry ride from Auckland, Waiheke Island has many vineyards and on this tour you’ll visit two of the best on horseback. Cable Bay and Mudbrick have welcoming cellar doors, and restaurants with stunning ocean views. Enjoy tastings and a sumptuous lunch then ride back along the island’s pristine beaches. See waihekehorseworx.co.nz.

Best beer Bia hoi, Hanoi:

Hanoi’s ‘‘bia hoi’’ bars – rowdy, cheap neighbourhood joints that brew their own beer and serve affordable and tasty food to go with it – are the perfect venues for anyone looking to mix with locals and sample authentic cuisine. Simply pull up a plastic stool at a low table, order a beer for less than $1, grab snacks like fried quail or air-dried beef, and soak up the atmosphere.

Best food tour Midnight tuk-tuk food tour, Bangkok:

Many visitors shy away from trying Bangkok’s street food but this tour removes all the guesswork by taking you straight to the best vendors. As well as sampling authentic versions of Thai classics such as pad thai and chicken rice, the tour visits a secret rooftop bar, a temple, and a flower market. How do you get around? By tuk-tuk, of course – a quintessential Bangkok experience. See bangkokfoodtours.com.

Best least-expected foodie destination

Bruny Island, Tasmania: It’s just a 100-kilometre long dot off the coast of Tasmania but Bruny Island is a foodie paradise. There’s the Bruny Island Cheese Company, Get Shucked oysters, a chocolate-cum-fudge factory, a berry farm, and Bruny Island premium wines (the most southerly vineyard in Australia), which knocks out cold climate pinot noir and chardonnay. Wherever you go on the island you’ll also find Bruny Island game meat for sale. Go hungry. See brunyisland.org.au.

Best coffee tour Cafe Ruiz coffee tour, Panama:

Panama has a secret. As well as having a famous canal, it also produces some of the world’s most-expensive coffee. Located in the stunning cloud forests near Boquete, Cafe Ruiz grows the rare geisha variety of arabica coffee. This entertaining tour explains the coffeemaking process and includes a taste of the finished product, which can sell for up to $40 a cup. See caferuizboquete.com.

Best affordable wine Portugal:

While it’s often overshadowed by better-known offerings from France and Spain, the wine of Portugal is extremely good, and almost unbelievably cheap. The country has 29 distinct wine regions, from the famous Douro Valley to lesser-known DOC areas such as Alentejo and Tras-os-Montes, and all produce multiple varietals of the highest quality. And if you find yourself paying more than a few euros a glass, you’re being ripped off. See visitportugal.com.

Best afternoon tea

Mondrian Hotel, London: Forget that traditional British afternoon tea malarkey and head to the Mondrian Hotel’s funky Dandelyan bar for Wyld Tea. Settle in to the purple leather sofa and hoe into elderflower-compressed cucumber and burnt herb cream sandwiches and 1970s-style cakes with a twist (blackcurrant and verbena Battenberg cake, anyone?) Wash it down with weird and wonderful botanical cocktails such as the Fluff & Fold Royale with lime, basil, cacao liqueur, orange bitters and prosecco. See morganshotelgroup.com.

Best noodles Cao lau, Hoi An:

They say it’s the water in Hoi An that’s the secret to cao lau, a dish of thick, chewy noodles with slices of pork, crispy crackling and fresh herbs that has become so famous in central Vietnam that it has become one of the country’s best meals. At Cao Lau Thanh, a scruffy outdoor restaurant just outside the historic centre of Hoi An, cao lau is served fresh and delicious every morning, and it costs about $1.50 for a bowl of absolute perfection. See vietnamtourism.gov.vn.

Best sandwich Madam Khanh the Banh Mi Queen, Hoi An:

It’s hard to know exactly what it is that makes Madam Khanh’s banh mi – the traditional Vietnamese pork roll – so good. It might be the soft-butcrunchy baguettes that are baked fresh every day. It might be the sweetly spicy chilli sauce, the recipe to which will probably remain a secret forever. It could be the balance of farm-style pate with pickled green papaya and fresh herbs. More likely, it’s a combination of all these that makes this one of the world’s greatest sandwiches. See vietnamtourism.gov.vn.

Best food tour Taste of Lisboa, Lisbon:

Foodie Filipa Valente’s popular walking tours provide a great introduction to the city’s underrated but excellent gastronomic scene. There are two itineraries to choose from: the Tram 28 Walk, an exploration of the Campo do Ourique neighbourhood and its traditional flavours; and the Downtown-Mouraria Walk, which takes in Lisbon’s multicultural gastronomic influences, as well as more familiar local dishes. Whichever you choose, you’ll receive expert guidance, and a belt-stretching selection of Lisbon’s best cuisine. See tasteoflisboa.com. – Traveller

ROB MCFARLAND Trek across the mud flats on Waiheke Island on your way to explore some vineyards.

ROB MCFARLAND The high standard of the coffee beans grown in Panama is one of the country’s best-kept secrets.

123RF Portugal’s famous Douro Valley is home to some of the world’s most affordable wine.

123RF Banh mi, the traditional Vietnamese pork roll, is worth the journey.

TASMANIA & ROB BURNETT TOURISM Bruny Island Oysters at Get Shucked in Tasmania.