Housed in a century-old villa in the Dongshankou old town of Guangzhou, restaurant Yong, owned by vessel collector, investor and Sichuan cuisine master Lan Guijun, has become a veritable treasure-house of culture and gastronomy. Through refurbishment and landscape redesign, the building evokes an aura of yore as if we were going back in time while enjoying Master Lan's cuisine. It is heart-warming to see the time-honoured and almost forgotten oriental aesthetic come alive again.

"Coming to Japan was not part of the plan," says Chef Lionel Beccat at the French restaurant Esquisse in Tokyo. Chef Beccat was born in Corsica but moved to Marseille with his family at the age of four. As a major port on the Mediterranean coast, the city of Marseille is a fascinating multi-cultural melting pot in its own right. "Marseille defines who I am," he says, with a calm, slightly melancholic temperament but his eyes shining stars of wisdom.

Japan's only Michelin three-starred Chinese restaurant, Sazenka, aims to showcase the essence of Chinese cuisine with the splendid ingredients in Japan. The experience was truly flawless and full of pleasant surprises. The veritable three stars has made Sazenka the most convincing and worth-visiting restaurant on this trip to Tokyo.