Wallowing in the Caribbean's sunshine, breeze and tropical warmth is one of the many charms that tell this region of the planet apart, an area where the quirks of Mother Nature have made summer an everlasting season.

Those who choose these Eden-like destinations know they can find here the comfort and conveniences of the region. And when it comes to food, a location like this that has put its smart money on the development of tourism can offer an assortment of flavors good enough to please the most demanding patrons.

Today, Oriental food is all the rage, especially in urban and cosmopolitan ambiences. That means that vacationers roaming the Caribbean can also revel in an exquisite cuisine that's both healthy and easy to tuck in.

The lovely ambience is an add-on worth highlighting. We're talking about Asian restaurants that go the extra mile in food decoration, even serving each and every treat in different dishes.

Food is arranged in such a way that all plates make up an awesome combination faithful to the Oriental precept of perfect color and flavor harmony. And if you can gobble up with chopsticks, the end result is simply too exotic to be found in any other restaurant elsewhere.

Thus, the mixture of top-quality offerings and sophistication turns out a luring motivation for those seeking gourmet sensations other than the ones they usually have in their places of origin.

Chinese Food Everywhere Chinese food was the first member of the Oriental cuisine that elbowed its way through in the realm of the world gastronomy. Variety, as broad as the country itself, is the name of the game.

The lacquered duck, hailing from Beijing, is one of the many specialties worth mentioning. The lacquer-like appearance stems from a mixture of oils and molasses used to cover the fowl before cooking.

Well-known spring rolls –puff paste shaped in cylinders, filled with meats or vegetables and smeared in bittersweet or soy sauce- are simply irresistible. The key to success in this particular treat is the quality of the fritter. Most of the time, the filling consists of pork meat spiced with a combination of different sauces.

And what about the chow mein, those fried Chinese noodles spiced with pieces of chicken, pork meat and beef, let alone an array of vegetables?

Some Caribbean countries, like the Dominican Republic, have received huge waves of Chinese migrants through the years and the newcomers have opened small restaurants and eateries at very affordable prices.

Even in some places where the Asian community is not so large, the abundance of Chinese food restaurants is appalling.

Great Flavors from India The most distinguishing element of the Indian cuisine is the peculiar fragrance and taste of its spices. Some dishes take as many as twenty five different spices or even more, depending on the cook's expertise and skills.

Each seasoning combination is known as masala. One of the best known ones is the kind of curry currently used in many European countries.

The word curry comes from the Indian term kari, meaning spice sauce. Indeed, curry is nothing but a mixture of such items as ginger, coriander, curcuma, nutmeg, cardamom, poppy seed, clove and saffron.

In the same breath, Indian cuisine makes extensive use of yogurt mixed with curry, either sugared or with a pinch of masala in it.

Indian restaurants in the Caribbean –most of the them scattered around Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago- can make a veggie's day or bring the mightiest meat-eaters down to their knees with trays of lamb and chicken.

And as far as desserts are concerned, nothing in the Tropics compares to fresh fruits coupled with a huge array of homemade pastries, like puddings, milk custards or crepes. Is there a better way of combining the mystical Oriental atmosphere with the Caribbean sun-and-sand delight? If you ever find that out, let us know.

Bittersweet Fish Ingredients: One and a half kilos of white-meat fish half a cup of flour cooking oil one cup of sugar five tablespoons of soy sauce one and a half cup of vinegar two tablespoons of cornstarch one onion cut in thin slices ginger

Bone the fish well, leaving the head and the fin intact. Cover it in flour and fry it in abundant cooking oil. When the fish is crispy, remove it from the burner and put in on a paper tissue to get rid of the dripping oil. The sauce is made by adding three tablespoons of cooking oil in a casserole together with all the sugar, the soy sauce, the vinegar and the cornstarch. Let it cook to a slow burn. Then add the onion and the ginger and let it boil for five minutes. Pour the sauce all over the fish and serve hot.

Mango Kulfi Ingredients: Two pods of cardamom 850 grams of mango slices one cup of sugar one can of evaporated milk one cup of sweet crème one tablespoon of lemon juice

Pry the cardamom pods open and remove the seeds; grind them in a mortar to extract the flavor. Heat the milk and the cardamom for awhile, only to make it tasty. Remove it from the burner. If you don't want the flavor to be that strong, then do the whole process with the pods unopened. Grind the mango slices and the sugar in a blender. Mix the mango puree, the milk, the crème and the lemon juice together. Pour the mixture into cone-shaped cookie cutters or larger moulds, good enough to serve eight helpings.