Good Food and Views are Worth the Journey
One of the largest private museums in Paris - Pinacotheque - has opened a branch in Singapore. Known to be like a mini-Louvre given the breadth of its collection, the Paris museum's Singapore arm is housing both a permanent collection as well as a rotating exhibit. The current feature is based on Cleopatra and her myth, which I think is the more interesting exhibit at the moment. The permanent collection is small and, alas, feels disjointed.
Firstly, if you're going to visit and are...
San Sebastian's Michelin two-starred Mugaritz gets polarising reviews and I wanted to find out why so I went recently to try out the restaurant. The best way I would describe the food is that it's exploratory and really tests diners' boundaries in some cases. So, while I didn't enjoy all the courses, I really had a good time because on the whole it was fun. The wine probably helped in this case as did going with open-minded and adventurous friends.
The restaurant is degustation /...
If in your mind’s eye of Japan, you see old wooden structures lining narrow lanes and paper lanterns then Kyoto is probably the best place to find this. And specifically, the Kawaramachi and Gion areas in central Kyoto are great places to soak up the atmosphere of old Kyoto. I think the evenings are the best time to walk around and especially in the summer when the restaurants along Pontocho-dori expand out over the river.
My first trip to Kyoto, I stayed south of Gion so I started...
Those of us living in Singapore may be familiar with Hashida Sushi's Singapore branch, which has been named among the best restaurants here by a number of publications. However, we decided to pay a visit to the original Hashida in Tokyo. Both are good. In fact, Kenjiro Hashida ("Hatch") who heads up the Singapore outlet , was also behind the counter the night we visited in Tokyo. The main difference is the proximity to the various seafood in Japan meant that Hatch was able to serve us...
Three of Kyoto's major temples are located within a 40 minute walk of each other in the northwestern quadrant of the city. Of these Kinkaku-ji - also known as the Golden Pavilion - is probably the best known. And while all three are temples, they each have different characteristics which makes a morning or afternoon spent exploring this area, a nicely contained visit.
I started at Kinkaku-ji and although there are a gazillion photos on the net of this temple, I was still in awe even...