The Nomadic Chef
"My catering company Root Cellar KL is a well-oiled machine of its own," begins Basira. "And whenever I start to get bored, I bugger off! I wanted to do a stage but not in Europe, as I've already been there and done that. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it feels like things are coming back to Asia; this is where it’s at! I knew that the Michelin guide had arrived in Seoul not too long ago so I went to check out the city last year."
If Berlin and Bangkok had a baby, it’d be Seoul.
"Save for Singapore, I never knew a single soul in any of the cities I moved to. Six months later, I find myself strangely comfortable in Seoul. I can even go to the pasar and bargain! I was never crazy about Korean dramas and all that, so I couldn’t understand some things, but I was, and still am, pleasantly surprised by the city. The public transport is tip-top, but it's still got grit and character; it’s neither clinical nor cold."