CHARLES Reed was born in Japan, raised in England and considers the spicy Padang curries of Indonesia his all-time favourite food. It may not be that great a stretch, then, to say that if Austin Powers is the International Man of Mystery, the chief executive of DoCoMo interTouch could well be the International Man of Food.

'Travel has and continues to shape my taste buds to a great extent as a result of spending more than 200 days a year travelling for work or for leisure,' says Mr Reed. 'Being exposed to diverse cultures and their cuisines has opened up my 'foodview' greatly. I have grown to be particularly fond of rich and spicy foods - some of my favourite foods are Padang-style beef rendang and kangkong (water spinach), and Peranakan cuisine.'

Mr Reed has been in Singapore for 12 years; and before that, he lived and worked in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Mexico. 'I do not tire of travelling because of the amazing cross-cultural experiences I get every time I visit or revisit a place,' he says. It was of course, during his stint in Indonesia that he had his first taste of Padang cooking, and he's been hooked since.

Living in Singapore, too, has inculcated a taste of hawker food in him. 'Barbecued seafood like stingray is one of my favourite hawker food dishes, and of course, sambal kangkong.'

Generally, he has not had any difficulty adapting to the local cuisine of the country that he is living in. 'Furthermore, today's fast rate of globalisation means it is increasingly easy to get access to different international foods in one city. Hence, there is always a way to treat food nostalgia.'

For example, he says: 'I love natto (fermented soya beans), which is commonly eaten in Japan, especially Tokyo. Natto is a bit like durian - you either love it or hate it. It is very easy to find natto in Singapore, just as it is to find a lot of other foreign food imports. Singapore truly lives up to its reputation as a food paradise.'

Indeed, he adds that Singapore restaurants offer such high quality and variety that it is 'second only to Tokyo'.

When he is entertaining - which is about once a week - the eateries he chooses 'ranges from Western and Japanese to local seafood and even hawker centres'. He adds: 'My favourite Western restaurant is Senso, a very charming Italian place on Club Street.'

But when friends visit, 'I like to bring them to The Stone Grill in Katong, which has a fantastic menu, ambience and the right amount of homely chatter'.

When he's in his favourite dining city of Tokyo, his must-visit restaurant is Yoshihashi Sukiyaki restaurant in the Minato-ku area. 'The food is exquisite, fresh beyond imagination and the ambience is very traditionally Japanese and rather exclusive.'

It's certainly a far cry from his worst dining experience, which occurred when 'I once had to undergo a survival training course for a week and had to live off the land', he says. 'The things I had to eat - well let's say I wouldn't do it again!'

While that experience is one which he would rather forget, unbeatable are the childhood memories of eating Japanese food such as 'natto, raw egg with soya sauce mixed with rice, kitsune udon and baked sweet potato', he reminisces. 'There used to be this old man who used to push a trolley around Tokyo (very common in those days; now it is usually a van), selling baked sweet potatoes and he would shout at the top of his voice. It was rather comparable to ice cream trucks that kids listen out for back in England.'

Now, the intrepid gourmet is happy to seek out good food in all corners of the world, be it sukiyaki in Tokyo or seafood in Jimbaran Bay in Bali. Or just whipping up Thai curry at home.

Whatever the cuisine, so long as it excites his taste buds, the international man of food will be there.

Charles Reed's favourite Japanese restaurants:

'The quality of Japanese restaurants in Singapore is excellent. For good ramen, I would recommend Satsuma Shochu Dining Bar at the Gallery Hotel. For top-grade sashimi, Nadaman at Shangri-La is the place to go to.

If I'm dining with friends, I would go to Akashi at Orchard Parade Hotel, a cosy place with very warm hospitality that makes me feel right at home in Japan.'