Taiwan

The food: The island’s climate is sub-tropical, allowing for a bounty of great agriculture produce, from rice to seafood. Taiwan’s cuisine is characterized by stews (mostly with lamb) and the use of wheat flour dough instead of steamed rice, as seen in xiao long bao.
The place: Ran Nam Toahu Yung Her (also Taohu Yung Hoe or He) certainly looks exotic with its food stuffs stacked up behind the cashier and an open kitchen that allows for plenty of banter in languages we can’t begin to comprehend. The stews are pure meaty bliss. The chunks of beef or goat (B150 for a bowl of noodles) are buttery soft without having lost their consistency, their juices preserved in the thick, herby broths in which they are cooked. Another must-try is the xiao long bao (B155)—the dough is very thin and the soup is naturally sweet.
Ran Nam Toahu Yung Her, 68 Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Rd., 02-635-0003. www.sukanyayonghe.com. BTS Chong Nonsi. Open daily 11am-10pm.

Hainan

The food: Hainan or Hai Lam is a small island in the South China Sea, where seafood reigns supreme. Just like other Asian cuisines, there’s a big focus on noodles and rice, the most famous specialty being Hainanese chicken rice. The original dish, Wenchang chicken, is now popular through Southeast Asia, where it’s often called Hainanese chicken rice (we, of course, call it khao man gai) and comes with subtle variations.
The place: Despite moving from Ploenchit to the edge of Bangkok, Suan Sone’s air-con shophouse is still home to some of the best and most authentic Hai Lam noodles (B50) in the city—a thicker, shorter version of our sen lek noodles. The soup they are served with comes with a choice of beef or pork. Both meats are very tender and juicy. Of course, they also do the Hainanese chicken rice (B40).
Suan Sone, 103-105 Pracharat Soi 7, Bang Sue, 02-587-5344. Open daily 8am-6pm.
The other place: Located on a quiet bend of the Chao Phraya River, Kuan Ah is about as stylish as a cafeteria, more function than fashion. The focus here is obviously on the food, which is terrific, the kind of confident, presentation-be-damned cuisine you can only get in places that have been in business this long. We do recommend the pae toon ya jeen (goat stew with Chinese herbal medicine, B300 for small), another famous Hainanese dish, which is very addictive.
Kuan Ah, 884/9 Rama 3 Rd., 02-682-7747-8. Open daily 10am-10pm.

Tae-Jiew

The food: Tae-Jiew, Teochew or Chaozhou is commonly known for the lightness and subtlety of its flavor. In the region of Chaoshan, the cuisine is more about stewing, braising and steaming. Located close to the ocean, steamed fish in soy sauce is a big classic there. Other famous dishes are goose in five spices, fish balls and oysters.
The place: With its typical red and gold color scheme, Lim Kwong Meng (a.k.a. “the 1999” restaurant) serves a variety of perfectly executed traditional dishes ranging from roast suckling pig to hue sae—raw sliced fish sprinkled with white sesame and dipped in sweet-and-sour sauce.
Lim Kwong Meng, 294 Chulalongkorn Soi 5, Rama 4 Rd., 02-216-8065. www.lkm1999.com. Open daily 11am-2pm, 5-10pm.
The other place: Another Tae-Jiew kitchen, the venerable institution Yim Yim has been around for some 80 years—a sign it is some of the best Tae-Jiew food you’ll get in Bangkok. We recommend ham with goat skin served with canned asparagus and a mayonnaise dressing with crunchy sugar. The meat itself, with that thin layer of goat’s skin, once plunged into the accompanying rice vinegar, is a pure delight—robust, meaty, but lean. The goat skin is flavorful without being smelly, thanks to very careful washing. Yim Yim is also famous for its chicken soup, a wonderfully flavorful broth—just don’t be shocked if a foot or head sticks out of your bowl.
Yim Yim, 89 Soi Yaowaphani, Yaowarat Rd., 02-224-2203-5. Open daily 11am-2pm, 5-10pm.

Szechuan

The food: Szechuan cuisine is perhaps the strongest in character—pungent and spicy due to its wide use of chili and garlic to increase your body temperature in the cool weather. The techniques used are mostly stir-frying and braising. Dishes like mapo doufu (stir-fried tofu in chili and bean curd sauce) and gong bao chicken (sweet and sour stir-fried chicken) have become famous worldwide.
The place: Ta Yang or Giew Jeen is a small shophouse that looks like a photocopy shop with its decrepit glass front. As its name represents, Giew Jeen or wonton is the highlight here, as well as the mapo doufu, whose strong flavors manage to balance spicy, sweet and salty. Another must try is their fried eggplant. You’ll spot every table ordering one plate because of its appetizing smell and silky texture.
Ta Yang, 5/4 Soi Ngamduplee, Rama 4 Rd., 02-679-7019. Open daily 10:30am–2pm, 5pm-9:30pm.

Hotel Spot: Four in One

Feeling lazy? Now at Silk Road (3/F, Plaza Athenee, 61 Wireless Rd., 02-650-8800. www.plazaatheneebangkok.com), you can discover four Chinese regions’ cuisines in one setting. Covering Szechuan, Hong Kong, Cantonese and Beijing, expect dishes like fried Maine lobster with Szechuan bean curd and sautéed blue crab with marinated pork sauce. Through Jun 30.