RSSFeb|02|2011
Ben Thanh Night Market
Posted by Noemi as Asia, Cities, Destinations, Food and Drink, Shopping, Travelogger
There is something about night markets that attract me – and tons of other tourists, as well. Every time I visit a new city, I make it a point to find out if it has a night market, and I make sure that go there at least once. I don’t know why, but night markets are much more fun than the “day” ones.
In any case, as I was telling you in my previous post, Ben Thanh Market closes in the early evening, but its night market draws more crowds – if that’s at all possible. The night market is composed of stalls set up in the streets flanking the Ben Thanh Market. During the day, these streets serve as, well, streets. The sides are parking areas as well. When the night market opens, they still serve as streets – motorcycles galore – but your …
Jan|29|2011
Tasty Treats in Peru
Posted by as Around The World, Destinations, Food and Drink, Nature, Travelogger
If you’ve chosen Peru to visit for your next holiday, you definitely have some taste in traveling – Peru has been a very popular tourist location for quite a while, and having so much to offer to its visitors, many of them keep coming back for more each year. If you’re visiting Peru, we surely don’t have to start listing the large number of places you can go to and things you can see – if you’ve planned your trip well enough, this shouldn’t be necessary as you’re probably already neck-deep in your list for sightseeing.
If you’re looking to grab something to eat while in Peru though, this can be somewhat tricky depending on your particular location. Some towns have very good places for eating all around, while in other towns you’ll have to look around for quite a bit before you’ve been able …
Jan|28|2011
Good Places to Eat in Lima
Posted by as Around The World, Arts & Culture, Destinations, Food and Drink
Lima – Peru’s capital and also its largest city – is quite the popular tourist location. People come to visit it all around the year, and the city is able to offer a wide variety of things to do all the time, regardless of when you chose to make your trip. If you’re going to be staying for a while, you’ve got a large selection of museums and events to explore, so you should by no means feel bored at any point of your trip.
One of the things that’s important to arrange properly in any tourist trip is the food – it’s a factor many people take for granted, only to find themselves puzzled in trying to find a good place to grab a snack while they’re exploring the location they’re at. A short walk around the busier downtown areas should show you a large …
Jan|26|2011
Experience Chile’s Cuisine
Posted by as Around The World, Arts & Culture, Family, Food and Drink
Chile is a popular tourist destination, especially among those who enjoy tasty treats and generally exploring the cuisines of the various places they go to. If you’re visiting Chile, you should definitely set aside some time to indulge in the nation’s quite broad selection of foods and treats – and this is especially valid for those of you who enjoy spicier foods, as Chile is one of the most popular sources of such food in the world!
If you want to try out some of the more traditional meals, stay away from the central coast – this area is primarily populated by foreigners and thus offers mostly foreign cuisine and not so many traditional local meals. Still, the selection here can be quite tasty regardless, so you can still try them out a bit.
If you want to try out some of Chile’s traditional hot soups, …
Nov|15|2010
Japan Eats: The Best of Fraponese Cuisine from Hortensia
Posted by Noemi as Asia, Cities, Features, Food and Drink
Travelers visit different destinations for many reasons, but there is no doubt that tasting the local culinary offerings is high up on most everyone’s list. If you are heading to Tokyo any time in the future, there is a new restaurant that you absolutely have to visit: Hortensia.
This restaurant is going to titillate your taste buds with a fusion of French and Japanese cuisine. Fraponese is what this marriage of cuisines is called, and it is one of the trendiest things in the Japanese restaurant scene these days.
At the helm of Hortensia is renowned chef Tetsuji Koja, who has decided to strike out on his own after a long string of achievements in the Japanese culinary scene. Chef Koja is well known for his imaginative touch in the kitchen, and his creations at Hortensia …
Sep|30|2010
Travellers: Peter Mayle
Posted by Zahir as Arts & Culture, Europe, Food and Drink, People
When I want to do some seriously relaxing armchair travelling I turn to Peter Mayle, who has written some of the best books on what life is really like in the Provence region of France, as well as its wonderful food and drink!
Born in 1939 in Brighton, England, Mayle spent 15 years of his career in the cut-throat world of advertising before becoming a writer in the mid-seventies. He started off writing educational books for children on useful topics such as sex education.
In 1989 his most famous book, “A Year In Provence” detailing his life in Provence was published and became an international bestseller. More books followed, as well as contributions to numerous magazines and newspapers around the world.
According to sources, Mr.Mayle and his wife left the home in Provence he so aptly described in “A Year..” to return to the …
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Aug|13|2010
Everything You Wanted To Know About Airline Meals
Posted by Zahir as Air Travel, Food and Drink, Tips, Trivia, Website
I was actually told to visit this site some time ago by my sister (who has a knack for sniffing out extraordinary sites), but never got around to doing so until today.
Airline Meals is a site entirely dedicated to (surprise, surprise), Airline Meals. It has 8,484 images of airline meals from 534 airlines, gives you the latest news and trends on airline meals and even has a forum for those who want to discuss the meal from the skies which people (more often than not) love to hate.
Quirkiness aside, the site actually has a lot of interesting and relevant information, especially if you find yourself on airplanes a lot, or planning your next trip (which means you’re probably OC though). The creator of the site says in the FAQ, that his mission for this site is not purely for entertainment, but also to …
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Jun|18|2010
America’s Coffee Towns. Part 2
Posted by Zahir as Americas, Cities, Food and Drink, Historical
In the meantime, Starbucks under Schultz mutated into an operation of 2,000-plus stores. To San Franciscans, the coffee-as-image attitude is evidence that Seattleites aren’t as discriminating about good coffee as they are.
In San Francisco proper, Starbucks has 67 stores to Peet’s 10 and local chain Martha & Brothers’ five, and all 67 seem to be thriving.
So what does the way Seattle obsesses about good coffee and the way the Bay Area takes it for granted say about those two places?
To quote Baldwin: “It’s a question of experience and maturity, if you put it into human terms, the younger athlete, let’s say, is much more aggressive about asserting himself because he has something to prove. In the ’70s, there were just a handful of decent restaurants in Seattle, and no one came to Seattle to eat or shop or see what was going …
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Jun|14|2010
America’s Coffee Towns. Part 1
Posted by Zahir as Americas, Cities, Food and Drink, Historical
Seattle, San Francisco. These two jewels of U.S Pacific Coast have much in common: a reputation as the coffee lover’s Nirvana. So who is the real pro?
Though the cities’ caffeine societies are distinct, their pasts are intertwined. San Francisco has a tradition of good coffee that goes back at least as far as the 1899 opening of Freed, Teller & Freed, the oldest specialty bean roaster west of New York.
Peet was Dutchman Alfred Peet’s modest little roastery, opened in 1966 on Walnut and Vine in Berkeley, that became the real epicenter of the gourmet coffee boom that has engulfed the Bay Area, Seattle, and, mercifully, many former Maxwell House strongholds beyond.
It may be purely coincidental that many of San Francisco’s independent coffeehouses have a similarly well-worn, unhi-tech atmosphere. But it is no accident that the first Starbucks, …
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Mar|14|2010
Binh Soup Shop, Saigon
Posted by Noemi as Asia, Food and Drink, Historical, Travelogger
Going to Saigon? You will definitely find tons of soup shops around the city. They’re everywhere – and I mean everywhere. From the footpaths to medium sized eateries to classy dining places, they all have pho, the “national food” of Vietnam. My first – and best, I think – taste of real beef pho was at this corner eatery. We got to Saigon after midnight, starving. The shop was right around the corner of the first hotel we went to. Needless to say, it was bliss.
I did have another beef pho experience, and this time, it was more about history than the food. The soup was good, though not exceptional. However, the soup shop – Pho Binh – used to be the secret headquarters of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. …
