Spice WORLD

There’s a teeny tiny burger on my plate. I’m told to pop it straight in my mouth and, surprisingly, it melts immediately. It’s not a burger at all, but a tomato-scented meringue filling my mouth with tantalising flavours: it’s sweet but salty, tart and acidic, then earthy… I’m in foodie heaven.

We’re experiencing a multi-course tasting menu at a restaurant in Manila. Course after course of incredibly creative flavour combinations are placed in front of us, all created with diverse local ingredients: a cassava chip with delicate sea urchin and sweet potato; a tiny squid stuffed with hot, mustardy rice and glazed with ginger, onion, garlic and tomato; mackerel cured with coconut vinegar, served with zingy pickled cucumber. Dessert is a smoked coconut cream with reduced coconut vinegar, candied cashews and mango. This Silversea culinary journey has started on a high.

I’m on board Silversea’s Silver Muse to experience a preview of the cruise line’s brand new culinary experience programme, .S.A.L.T. (Sea And Land Taste), which will debut on their brand new ship Silver Moon in August 2020.

After an exhilarating drive through the crazy Manila traffic, we