Good Food and Views are Worth the Journey
Despite the rainy start, our morning in Antibes followed by an afternoon walk around the cape ended up being my favourite day in France's Cote d'Azur. Like many of the towns along this coast, Antibes is a fishing village but unlike its better known neighbours like Cannes and St Tropez, it's largely devoid of the glitzy commercialisation. And after our afternoon walk around the scenic cape (Cap d'Antibes), we celebrated with champagne at the majestic Hotel du...
If you're shopping in Orchard Road and need a tea break, or more appropriately - a cake break, then do drop by Chalk Farm. Located in the basement of the Paragon shopping mall, most of the cakes at this little store are really good. There are a couple bar seats on the side and they do coffee too. My personal faves are the Guinness cake, Coffee Walnut cake, Black & Gold Sesame cake, Banana Muscovado Loaf and for something more local - the Kueh Salaat. Also, their occasional cakes...
Chinatown is a good place to come to get a sense of old Singapore. The protected historical buildings provide a colourful backdrop to the shops and eating places. And because most of it is shaded, it's not too bad a place to come around midday and try some local favourites for lunch including very good Ipoh hor fun, Hainanese chicken rice and flaky egg tarts.
With the heat in Singapore, I'd recommend visitors to do most of any planned outdoor activities in the morning. High on my...
My favourite gourmet burger joint in Singapore is currently Wildfire, which for me is handily located near the Botanical Gardens. High-grade beef patties are grilled and served in toasted brioche buns. Besides the lunchtime burger fare, they also do some really good breakfast/brunch burgers - sort of like a grown up Egg McMuffin.
One of the reasons the burgers are good here is the brioche bun. Firstly, I think it's the perfect size - so the meat to bread ratio is balanced. Secondly,...
Bodega 1900, a casual tapas eatery by the Adria brothers (of El Bulli) in Barcelona provides good quality tapas while showcasing vermouth. The challenge for this place is that there are a large number of great tapas places in Barcelona and I don't think Bodega 1900 stands out. So while I enjoyed the food, I had more more fun elsewhere and I guess I should just try harder next trip to get into the Adria brothers' other eatery, Tickets.
Part of the reason I think Bodega 1900 was...