Lake Garda’s Ristorante Beati – Meal with a View

Ristorante Beati sits overlooking Lake Garda

We swung by Lake Garda for dinner at Ristorante Beati, a pretty romantic restaurant with nice views, while en route back to Verona from the Alto Adige. The restaurant has a nice setting, overlooking Lake Garda and serves a seafood favored menu. We chose the restaurant due in part to positive reviews but also because it wasn't all the way in town so access to the A22 expressway to Verona was quicker.

The restaurant was much swankier than we anticipated but the staff were very...

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Barcelona’s Xiringito Escriba – Surf, Sand and Good Paella

Barcelona paella

If you're looking for good traditional paella in Barcelona, then Xiringito Escriba is it.  Situated on the beach north of Port Olimpic, this was definitely a place to come for gazing and grazing. Nothing beats looking out at the sea while tucking into some fresh seafood.

We came here for lunch on a Saturday, which was all the more fun because this beach side eatery was filled with locals out to enjoy the weekend. The paella was definitely the most popular item here and you can...

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Tamashii Robataya – Man was Meant to Cook With Fire

Tamashii robatayaki

No matter the cuisine, man was meant to grill. Tamashii Robataya specializes in robatayaki - the Japanese slow grilling of fresh produce and meats over charcoal. Its specialties include a very nicely cooked Kinki fish, and a wonderful grilled beef with rice (saga gyu don) and truffle. As with many of Singapore's restaurants serving high quality food, the question is going to be on the value perception as dining here may not be cheap.

I enjoyed my dinner at Tamashii Robataya and I...

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Three Lunch Options in Arashiyama, Kyoto

Hirano-ya food

If you’re in Arashiyama for a day (or more), there are three great dining options for lunch - Shigetsu, Unagiya Hirokawa and Hirano-ya. They are very different from each other and I really enjoyed all three. So, depending on your food preferences and available time, at least one of these should tick the boxes.

Shigetsu - Zen Vegetarian (Shojin Ryori)

Shigetsu is a zen buddhist vegetarian dining hall in Tenryu-ji temple. The story goes that it started with the monks cooking...

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Kyoto’s Kitcho Arashiyama – Go for the Experience Not Just the Food

Kitcho's kaiseki cuisine

Michelin 3-starred Kitcho Arashiyama is known as a temple of Kyoto Kaiseki cuisine that comes with a high price. Reviews thus, are often mixed. Having now been there in winter and summer, I say that it’s worth trying at least once because of the complete experience it offers. However, if you’re just going for the food, you can get as fulfilling a Kaiseki experience elsewhere for a lot less financial pain.

I’m a sucker for Japanese ceramics, so to see the antiques that Kitcho...

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