Green markets, farmers’ markets, fresh markets, wet markets — whatever you call them, these are the places that make Walmart, Tesco and other supermarket chains look like crimes against cuisine. Often centuries old but full of freshness, markets are usually packed with dozens of vendors and worth visiting even if you have no intention of cooking anything yourself on your vacation. [Read more...]
Top 5 New Mountain Resorts
Travelers can expect mountain retreats with designer furniture, original art on the walls and top chefs brought in from cities to give the cheese-and-potato ski cuisine a makeover. And, naturally, some ski-specific perks: better ski-in, ski-out access, ultra-groomed and longer trails and state-of-the-art lifts.
Whether you ski or not, there’s never been a better time to change your altitude with a stay at one of these chic mountain resorts. [Read more...]
5 Lofty Vacations In Our Pipe Dreams
To find some of the most out-of-this-world destinations for jet-setters in 2013, CNN.com asked Robb Report editorial director Bruce Wallin for ideas. So keep this list handy in case of a fat financial windfall:
Singita Grumeti Reserves, Tanzania
Located on a private 350,000-acre game reserve, the Singita Grumeti Reserves has only four small lodges on the property. The four-bedroom Serengeti House, which is listed on its blog, quietly opened to guests in December and includes its own chef, guides, tennis court and pool. Serengeti House rates start at $8,500 a night for up to four guests during high season with additional charges for five to eight guests. [Read more...]
5 Countries With The Best Food
We love to write about food. We love to celebrate the good stuff and lambaste the bad. But there’s a debate we’ve avoided, if only to save computer screens the world over from the liters of spittle that will fly from the mouths of irate readers as they vent incredulously about our “ignorant, biased, un-researched and unreasoned” choices. But it’s time to find out once and for all, which cuisine is king. [Read more...]
Top 4 Freakiest Places On Earth
Whatever the nature of their flesh, the spirits of the dead rake in very real profits when it comes to sightseeing. The places featured on our list below are less about the sort of commercial scare that you can buy at an amusement park. This is the real deal. These sites are authentically and unintentionally weird, macabre and mysterious. [Read more...]
Top 5 Renovated Monastery Resorts And Hotels
In recent years, many monasteries and convents have been reborn as hotels so luxuriously appointed that you might confess to feeling a little guilty about how their previous occupants had to live. Here’s our list of some choice and unusual properties to select from, but there are plenty of others you’ll find in your own travels. [Read more...]
Bathing In Public — How To Enjoy Japan’s Sento
Does the thought of getting nude with the neighbors or starkers with strangers in your local sento, or public bath, raise a smile or make you cringe? Whatever your personal take, most reading this will be aware the process of bathing in true Japanese form has long been a communal, often social, activity. Still, if you’re not too far on the shy side, we recommend you swallow your pride, understand that your own bits and pieces are of little interest to anyone else and take off the towel. [Read more...]
China’s ‘Oktoberfest’ In Qingdao
Probably the most-frequently mispronounced Chinese city in English, Qingdao was China’s default beach resort before Hainan started making waves two decades ago. But Qingdao — which was briefly a German colony at the turn of the 20th century — has one thing Hainan can’t offer: beer, good beer, barrel upon barrel of it. With the opening of Qingdao International Beer Festival (August 11-26), this is the season to enjoy both Qingdao and Tsingtao. [Read more...]
5 Best Fresh Markets In The World
Green markets, farmers’ markets, fresh markets, wet markets — whatever you call them, these are the places that make Walmart, Tesco and other supermarket chains look like crimes against cuisine. Often centuries old but full of freshness, markets are usually packed with dozens of vendors and worth visiting even if you have no intention of cooking anything yourself on your vacation.
1. La Boqueria: Barcelona, Spain
Believed to have originated in the 13th century as a pig market, the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria has grown into one of the finest outdoor markets in the world. It’s home to fishmongers, butchers, cheesemongers, greengrocers and dozens of small charcuterie shops specializing in Spanish hams and cured meats. With an entrance off busy La Rambla, La Boqueria is a popular spot to stop for lunch. [Read more...]
Jinro Soju — World’s Best Selling Liquor
The Millionaires’ Club, an England-based catalog that ranks brands, liquors and spirits, pinpointed Korea’s Jinro soju as the world’s best-selling brand of liquor, based on data collected in 2011.The rankings are based on yearly aggregate sales in units of nine-liter cases. In order to even make it on to the list, brands need to sell at least 1 million cases a year — no easy feat. Some 61.38 million cases of Jinro soju were sold last year, easily making it the world’s most heavily consumed brand of liquor.
And though we all like an underdog success story, believe it or not, this isn’t even Jinro soju’s inaugural or record-breaking win — it’s the untoppled eleventh. What’s more, Jinro sold 75.99 million cases in 2008. That means that based on numbers from the last few years, 2011 actually marks a new low in sales.
Jinro doesn’t publish a breakdown of percentages of consumption by country, but does say that most of its orders come from Korea (obviously), then Japan, followed by the United States/Canada and Southeast Asia. A bottle of soju costs around ₩1,450 (a little more than US$1) at convenience stores and around ₩3,500 (around US$3) at restaurants and bars.
The conclusion might be that the weaker and cheaper the alcohol, the better it sells — in Korea, anyway. That and the fact that Koreans drink a lot. Pricing aside, soju’s explosive popularity is also mind-boggling when you take the actual taste into consideration: ”Soju tastes like rubbing alcohol,” said one foreigner who declined to give his name. “I don’t know how Koreans drink it.”
Have you tried drinking soju? Tell us of your opinion about this Korean liquor!
Source: CNN Go
Image: Korea Bang
Japan’s Loo With A View — The World’s Largest Toilet!
A little-known industrial city on the outskirts of Japan’s capital is hoping to lure in the masses by building the “world’s largest toilet.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that the city of Ichihara has a public bathroom oasis where one can be in nature while answering its call. The stall, designed by architect Sou Fujimoto, is a 6.5 tall glass box surrounded by rows of flower boxes set in an outdoor garden. Unfortunately for the gentlemen, this lavatory is women’s only. There is a curtain that can be pulled should the protective glass encasement feel too transparent as well as another lock for the insecure — the first lock is the fence door.
“We wanted to welcome tourists with clean toilets,” Eichi Kirikae, an official at Ichihara city tourism department told the Journal.
Ichihara City is looking to tourism as a potential new revenue stream but said they needed to update existing toilets. Annual operating costs of the luxurious outhouse, and another bathroom nearby, total $125,300.
Given a chance to visit Ichihara, would you spend some of your precious time answering nature’s call in the world’s largest toilet? Tell us what you think of this city’s new feature!
Source: Fox News Travel
Image: The Telegraph
World’s Top Fast-Food Chains
For travelers, fast-food chains represent a convenient, inexpensive taste of how everyday residents in far-flung cities eat. Granted, fast-food chains aren’t exactly hidden gems. But they have their own quirky appeal and dish out a quick fix of local culture and cuisine. Forget Mickey D’s and seek out the following fast-food chains instead.
England: Pret a Manger
Nearly all 230 locations of this quick-service sandwich shop have an on-site kitchen where food is made fresh daily, using all-natural ingredients that change seasonally. Rather than being kept overnight or thrown out, unsold products are donated daily to homeless shelters. Order Chicken and avocado sandwich on malted wholegrain bread with yogurt dressing and fresh basil.
Philippines: Jollibee
Fast food gets a Filipino twist at this quick-serve chain, which is so beloved that its mascots star in their own children’s television show. There are more than 700 locations across the country, serving everything from fried chicken and hamburgers to local favorites like palabok, rice noodles with meat sauce, shrimp, and hard-boiled egg. Order Spicy Chickenjoy, fried chicken coated with chili powder.
Russia: Teremok
It’s easy to spot Teremok’s 175 orange-and-red kiosks and restaurants that have sprung up in St. Petersburg and Moscow (the name is Russian for “fairy-tale cottage”). The main item is cooked-to-order blini, essentially Russian crêpes—perfect for eating on the go. Fillings run both savory (ham, cheese, smoked salmon) and sweet (chocolate, fruit, jam).
South Africa: Nando’s
Chicken, basted in one of four consecutively spicier piri-piri chili sauces and flame-grilled to order, is the star at this casual sit-down Portuguese-Mozambique chain. Cheeky advertisements and a welcoming, woodsy aesthetic have propelled Nando’s into 30 countries worldwide. Order 1/2 grilled chicken with hot piri-piri sauce and French fries.
Japan: Ippudo
It’s all about ramen at this stylish chain, which features an open kitchen and bar and table-style seating. Most bowls start with the chain’s signature slow-simmered pork bone broth and thin, chewy noodles. Toppings range from the traditional (roasted pork) to the more inventive (a Spanish-inspired bouillon cube).
For you, what is the best fast-food chain in the world? Share your best food trips with us!
Source: Yahoo Travel
Image: Travel and Leisure
Hongkong’s ‘Beertopia’ Features Craft Beers
In a city more accustomed to wine (importing it is duty-free) and baiju (a potent Chinese liquor often drunk on special occasions), a small group of craft beer devotees is spreading the word that not all brews are created equal. One of their first moves is a festival called Beertopia, taking place on 28 April in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan neighbourhood.
Along with the chance to sample more than 90 beers from microbreweries as far afield as New Zealand and Estonia, the festival offers lectures on home brewing and pairing beer with food. Live music, food and raffles are on offer, as well as the opportunity to play seminal college drinking games like beer pong and flip cup.
So promises that Beertopia attendees will be spoiled for choice, with everything from fruity, light Belgian brews to a rich mocha porter and a chocolate stout on offer — and there are even ciders for those that aren’t wild about ale. Despite the fact that Hong Kong trails well behind other major cities in its number of microbreweries (it has two, a paltry sum compared with Japan’s 200 and even Singapore’s nine), So says that some local bars are starting to diversify their beer menus, including The Globe, Hong Kong Brew House and The Beer Bay in Central, Inn Side Out and Ruggers in Causeway Bay and Trafalgar in Wan Chai.
Beertopia runs from noon to 11 pm and will be held on the second floor of Western Market, a colonial building that dates back to the 19th Century. Tickets are available either online or at several local bars, and come in two varieties: $250 Hong Kong dollars for five tasting tokens, a glass and a raffle ticket or $300 Hong Kong dollars for 10 tasting tokens, a glass and a raffle ticket. Additional tokens can be purchased during the event.
Source: BBC Travel
Image: Asia Tatler Dining
