Tastes to Try: Chefs' Elevated Casual Food

The impossibly light lard-pastry dumplings with char siu pork at Hong Kong's divey Tim Ho Wun justify its Michelin star.

Photo © Madelin Pow

In Barcelona, Pizzeria Saltimbocca's virtuoso chef, Jordi Vilà, uses a two-year-old sourdough starter that ferments for 24 hours.

Photo courtesy of CaviarBCN

The crew at L.A.'s Kogi BBQ Korean-taco truck now has the Scion Mobile Kitchen—a car with a built-in grill to make foods like chive pancakes.

Photo © Eric J Shin

Tokyo's soba-obsessed Sasuga Hanare keeps a soba grinder behind the counter. It uses buckwheat in nearly every kaiseki course.

Photo © Kelly Zenkewich

Led by Heston Blumenthal (photo), the cooks at Fat Duck in Bray, England, spent months perfecting an ice cream that won't melt when flambéed.

Photo © Jose Louis Lopez de Zubiria