Fall 2008 | Most Memorable Meals

A bazillion-course, bazillion-dollar dinner at Guy Savoy in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. Among many memorable dishes: young chicken roasted inside an inflated pig?s bladder, popped tableside.
Ted Allen, food writer and TV personality

Perched on the 25th floor of Hong Kong?s ultraluxurious Mandarin Oriental is the fuchsia-pink Man Wah restaurant and the most sensuous applewood-smoked soy chicken east of the Great Wall.
Chef and food personality Tony Tan, Melbourne

Tiny squid stuffed with sweet miso and baby flat translucent eels, so fresh they were crunchy! Highlights from Omakase in a Takashimaya department store in Singapore.
Chef Anita Lo, Annisa, NYC

At Morocco?s La Maison Bleue, the pastilla (almond milk pastry) is sensational. Their century chicken is made from an ancient, richly spiced 16th-century family recipe.
Chef Christine Manfield, East @ West, London

In a small town called Chimayo, N.M., I had the most fabulous tamales with red and green chile sauce at a place called Leona?s, which is in the back of a church -- just rad! An older woman named Leona has been busting out handmade tortillas for half her life in this little space.
Chef Jamie Lauren, Absinthe, San Francisco

Hechizo in Tulum, Mexico, is in the middle of dense jungle in a hidden enclave in a palapa-roofed structure. Chefs Stefan and Hui kneel at the foot of your table to tell you the day?s offerings, like watermelon cubes with goat cheese, balsamic reduction, and watercress. The presentation on a crystal plate was spectacular, and the cubes of watermelon processed with flavorings in sous-vide were so perfectly formed, dense, and juicy that when they first arrived at the table we thought they were sashimi-grade tuna.
Chef David Sterling, founder of Los Dos Cooking School, M?rida, Mexico

Ubuntu, a vegetarian restaurant and yoga studio in Napa, Calif., serves shavings of white chocolate on a pea salad and a fabulous deconstructed cheesecake in a jar layered with cherries and cheesecake crust.
Chef Pichet Ong, P*ong and Batch, NYC

The best bone-sucking BBQ I?ve eaten (and I?ve eaten a lot!) is at Shaw?s grocery in Collierville, Tenn.
Chef Christine Keff, Flying Fish, Seattle

An unusual dish in Cura?ao, Netherlands Antilles, was rabbit in tomato and apricot mash -- very spicy yet sweet.
Chef Rudy Kerremans, Caf? Des Artistes, Ubud, Indonesia

Panipuri at a market in Bombay where they served tons of chaats -- crispy dough stuffed with sprouted chickpeas, potatoes -- and a cilantro serrano shot topped with a tamarind chutney. Shooters on the street?so fantastic.
Chef and TV personality Susan Feniger, Border Grill, Santa Monica, Calif.

Related Article:
Taste: Most Memorable Meals (a teaser)