Beautiful, delicate pintxos—a type of tapas from Spain's Basque region—with olives, cucumbers, anchovies (right).
In Asian nations, there's a big appetite for small plates. Tapas culture—the sharing of dishes among groups of friends—has close ties to the dining culture in China and other Asian nations, making it a natural fit, says Miguel Utque, vice president of the recently formed Spanish Chefs' Association in Asia.