Food & Stays

Categories: Accommodations · Basel · Food · France · Paris · Switzerland · ZurichTags: · ·

As I say Danke and Merci to Zurich and Paris, here are the food and stays during this trip: La Bottega Di Mario is a wonderful ristorante and salumeria in Zürich, earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction. Catching up with Swiss friends, I was taken to Zeughauskeller, for traditional Swiss fare (warning servings are huge!) Another Bib Gourmand brasserie that is good is AuGust. A gem of a restaurant is Bauernschanke, tucked in an alleyway in the old town. Totally deserving of their Bib Gormand. A modern Japanese izakaya is Gaijin – another casual place with a Bib Gourmand distinction….

MIA

Categories: Accommodations · Art · Food · Miami · USATags: · ·

A brief 3-day / 2-night trip to Miami to attend my first Art Basel. It was overwhelming at times – sensory overload – yet a wonderful and awe-inspiring visit. There were several other art and design fairs taking place in the city at the same time – Art Miami, Untitled, Design Miami, among others – that caused a deluge of visitors (and party-goers) to Miami and Miami Beach. The causeway to Miami Beach had heavy traffic every day and local police was out in full force. For food: first dinner was at Lucali, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant serving 20-inch…

An Empire Long Weekend

Categories: Art · Food · New York · USATags: · ·

A long weekend back in New York – for 72 hours this time. It has been awhile since I have been to the Guggenheim Museum so I decided to pay a visit on this trip. I decided to go back to Momofuku Noodle Bar for my first meal, as it has been years, compounded by the closing of its Toronto outlet. I also headed back to the one star Michelin rated Estela in SoHo. The arroz negra still tastes as good as I remember it. One new restaurant I tried is DomoDomo and ordered their “Domokase” tasting menu. Food and…

Þakka þér fyrir

Categories: Accommodations · Food · Iceland · ReykjavikTags: · · ·

Or simply said as Takk (thank you). I have several friends who have raved about this country, yet in many respects, it still feels like a well-guarded secret – likely because of its bountiful natural resources, empty roads that wind through vast volcanic landscape, or massive open land with nothing but horses and waterfalls for miles. No trip to Iceland is complete without bathing in a hot springs. I decided to skip the famous Blue Lagoon, as I heard it gets overcrowded, and went to the Sky Lagoon instead. Featuring an infinity edge geothermal lagoon with views of the Atlantic…

40 hours in The Chi

Categories: Accommodations · Art · Chicago · Food · Travel · USATags:

Third time a charm they say. My last visit to the Chicago was more than ten years ago and thought of another weekend getaway, as that is the only time off I can take these days. Went back to one of my “Happy Place” – the Art Institute of Chicago. There was a special exhibit on, entitled “Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan”. I tried out two Michelin Bib-Gourmand restaurants: The Purple Pig and Perilla (serving Korean-American cuisine – contemporary take on familiar Korean food). Both were outstanding. My lunch break from the museum was at The Gage –…

40 Hours in NYC

Categories: Art · Food · New York · USATags: · ·

A weekend getaway – mainly to checkout this year’s Whitney Biennial 2024. The eighty-first edition of the Whitney Biennial—the longest-running survey of contemporary art in the United States—features seventy-one artists and collectives grappling with many of today’s most pressing issues. The exhibition’s subtitle, Even Better Than the Real Thing, acknowledges that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is complicating our understanding of what is real, and rhetoric. I took the opportunity to re-visit the permanent colllection of the Whitney, as it has been years since I have been. And of course, no visit to this city is complete without trying out restaurants for the first…

BCN

Categories: Accommodations · Barcelona · Food · Spain · TravelTags: · ·

The last time I was in this city, it was seven years ago – mucho tiempo sin verlo! I am back in Barcelona, a city that is dear to me, for less than 24 hours to catch my flight home. It was a walk down memory “paseo”! I had the chance to go back to Arrosseria Xativa for their paella, specifically the Paella Valencia con Pollo. They have a few branches in the city. It was a challenge finding a restaurant for Sunday dinner but got I lucky to find Besta in the Michelin Guide. It was one amazing Menú…

Gracias, Chile

Categories: Accommodations · Chile · Food · SantiagoTags: · ·

I googled “Where is it not hot in August?” – and South America came up (after Iceland). And that is how I ended up going to Chile for an extended long weekend, since l have not been. Blame it on global warming, but what was supposedly winter, it was in the 18C to 23C degrees while I was here. The meals I had were all good. Lots of seafood – including octopus and sea urchin. One of the most flavourful meal I had was when I was in Valparaiso at Maralegre. I had a very late lunch in Santiago one…

Revisiting New York

Categories: Accommodations · Food · New York · Travel · USATags: · ·

It was a brief Easter weekend trip back to New York. I couldn’t believe that it has been seven years since I was last in this city. It was more of a gorging weekend, admittedly. I did go back to a couple of my favourites and tried out a few new ones as well. I did manage to go back to Marta and to the Michelin-Starred Estela. Both still consistently wonderful! First dinner was at Tonchin, a Tokyo-based ramen chain (and also a Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient) that offers one of the city’s best bowls. Two other new places I…

Amanpulo

Categories: Accommodations · Food · Palawan · Philippines · TravelTags: · · ·

A brief 70-minute flight (or 360 kilometres south) from a hangar at Manila airport takes me to the Cuyo Archipelago of northern Palawan in the Philippines. My island escape is Pamlican Island, where Amanpulo is located. A private “peaceful island” with white powdery sands, crystal clear waters, and pristine reefs – this island is extremely tranquil and serene. There are three food outlets in the island. The Beach Club offers Mediterranean cuisine. The Lagoon Club offers Japanese food for dinner and outdoor oven-baked pizzas during lunch. The Clubhouse serves Filipino and Asian dishes. I found the Lagoon Club and Clubhouse…