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I love Indian food, and my favourite dish is dal rice.

Rice and vermicelli is a common combination in Arab and Turkish cooking - it has a lighter texture than rice on its own.

I'm encouraged because you pick up any food magazine and there's two or three recipes involving Indian spices.

Natto, Japanese ferment bean paste, will never cross my lips again. Spam Musubi, on the other hand, is something I love. I used to have a roommate of Vietnamese descent, and he would eat it all the time. It looked gross, but I finally had it - wrapped in seaweed and rice - it was terrific.

Southeast Asia food uses many different types of spices which are quite new to me, like the curry leaves which I saw at the Kreta Ayer wet market in Chinatown. With such spices used in cooking, this usually imparts a strong aroma to Southeast Asian food, which appeals to the senses.

My favorite dish is tandoori chicken.

I can't stay away from Chinese food. I really love that stuff.

I have a great love for cuisine, so I'm always interested in local food, and there are so many interesting dishes, spices and ingredients in India.

Chinese sausage, which is widely available from Asian grocers and online, is sweet, rich, and enticingly smoky. I add it to steamed rice with strips of omelette and a few baby veg stir-fried with soy.

I am not a stickler for Indian food, but by the third day or so I start looking for something familiar to eat. I have travelled a lot, and I always try out local food.