Good Food and Views are Worth the Journey
I balked when a friend suggested that we have pizza in Kyoto. The thought of giving up one precious Kyoto experience for an Italian street food item elicited a reluctant agreement from me. But I had faith that my foodie friend knew better. And so it was - the best pizza I’ve ever had.
En Boca, with a branch each in Kyoto and Tokyo, is a gourmet pizzeria that uses the finest seasonal ingredients. Besides the traditional Italian choices (e.g. quattro formaggio), there are Japanese...
It’s possible to get an overload of temples in Kyoto. And with beautiful sites easily accessible, the imperial gardens of Shugakuin and Katsura Villa may be overlooked by non-Japanese tourists. Certainly if you have a shortage of time, you may not want to allocate two hours to the imperial sites. However, I certainly think they are worth a visit - the landscaping is remarkable. These were residences after all, of Japan’s former royal families.
Between the two, Shugakuin is...
I was fooled. I ordered what I thought was a minced pork ramen at Mamezen and found out even the “meat” was made of soy. This vegetarian ramen restaurant makes its noodles from soy, its broth from soy milk and of course, as it turns out, its garnishing from soy and other vegetables. Taste-wise, I don’t think you’d realize that the meal was soy based other than from the milky appearance of the soup. My husband, a major carnivore, and I were both amazed by the richness of the broth....
I love New York for its energy; I can’t think of another place that is so emblematic of humanity. But sometimes, I like to remove myself from that frenzy and just observe and really savour the life of the city. The following are my five favourite spots to do just this (and they’re almost all free!).
Given Tuscany’s medieval and renaissance jewels, visitors often overlook Italy’s other wine region Piedmont. But with its delicious Barolo and Barbaresco wines, super restaurants and sculpted vine covered hillsides, Piedmont is a worthy culinary and scenic destination especially since it’s within easy reach of Milan. Best of all, you can get a great meal and a fantastic room at prices well below that of comparable establishments in Milan and much of Tuscany.
I discovered...