Associate Director of a regional PR firm, Radhina Almeida Coutinho plans her vacations according to the dishes she wants to try, or restaurants she wants to visit, and this was the biggest inspiration for the 30-year old’s blog, Platetrotter.weebly.com. Radhina is originally from Goa, India, and loves travelling – she has visited 37 countries so far! She lives in Al Barsha, and has recently also developed an interest in skiing and scuba diving.

About the blog

tI started my blog on January 1, 2012 as a New Year’s resolution to do more of what I love. The name, Platetrotter, was inspired by the way I plan my holidays. When visiting a new country, most people start with the sights they want to see. I start with what I want to eat and work backwards – from dish to restaurant to a particular area or city. Major landmarks are fitted around visits to restaurants where I can try roasted guinea pig or food markets that sell fiery oyster omelettes, for example. I think anyone who considers food to be a big part of their travels would enjoy my blog. I’ve had a lot of friends try out stuff I’ve blogged about, when they’ve visited new countries, and that’s always great to hear, especially if they are dishes and experiences they wouldn’t normally have sought out or found.

Culinary icons

My dad! He can make everything taste incredible. He loves experimenting with new dishes and flavours, and I believe that’s what inspired my love for food. My family owns a restaurant, Longuinhos, in Goa, and I’ve always found myself surrounded by food and cookbooks.

If I could travel across the globe in a day, I would fly to

Madrid, for a breakfast of churros dunked in gloopy chocolate and a café con leche, followed by lunch in Scotland at The Silver Darling – a restaurant with the loveliest views over Aberdeen harbour and really fresh seafood. I’d end with dinner at Pier Chic, right here in Dubai, for good food, elegant service and its location suspended over the Arabian Gulf, which is unbeatable.

Top culinary destinations

It would be a close race between Spain and Vietnam in terms of sheer variety and the sort of flavours I love. Vietnam would probably win by a narrow margin as the dishes are lighter and fresher, which means I could eat more of them. And they have Vietnamese coffee!

Favourite foodie personality

Bobby Chinn always cracks me up! He’s from an incredibly mixed background – he has Egyptian and Chinese-American parents, lived in New Zealand, the US, China, the UK and Vietnam. I think he’d have some interesting stories to tell. I would like to take him on a street tour in India.

“I often crave sausage rolls from my dad’s restaurant in Goa. I can eat those hot rolls stuffed with chorizo for breakfast, lunch and dinner.|

I can’t resist… A box of Pasteis de nata (flaky tarts with sweet custard, dusted with sugar and cinnamon). I usually ask anyone flying through Lisbon to get me a box of this Portuguese specialty.

One food culture I love

Chinese dim sum. I like meals that involve small plates and the ability to try many dishes in one sitting. There’s an incredible range of ingredients, textures, sweet and savoury flavours and cooking techniques in dim sum – always something new to try.