Osteria Francescana – Modena
There is no doubting that the food scene in Emilia-Romagna is quite spectacular, and there is no need to fork out large sums of money for a very decent meal. A great lunch or dinner can be had at one of Bologna's many trattorias, for example, for less than 20€. Sometimes, though, it is nice to visit a restaurant that is a little more upmarket, [...]
Lluerna – Barcelona
Another day, another Michelin starred restaurant. Difficult life eh? Headed by Victor Quintilla, winner of the Young Chef Award 2012 awarded by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy, Lluerna restaurant was given a star by the Michelin Guide in 2013. The night started with a rather unusual appetiser, the solid mojito. The name pretty much describes exactly what it is - a little frozen gel with [...]
Quimet y Quimet – Barcelona
High on my list of things to avoid is meat and fish from a can, so it comes as a bit of a surprise for me to say that my most memorable food experience in Barcelona was at Quimet y Quimet, a bar where instead of somebody standing over a hot stove sautéing a duck breast or chopping fresh peppers, there is a man standing [...]
Dans le Noir? – Barcelona
We entered the restaurant, sat down, and were promptly served our entrées. The ambiance of the room and its interior decor were a bit different to anything that I had experienced before. I was seated at a table with two people that I had never met before. Interior decor at Dans le Noir? Entrée at Dans le Noir? If I had [...]
Eslava – Seville
Tucked away on a side street, away from the crowds that gather in the city centre, is Eslava, one of the gems of the Seville food scene. This was a location recommended to us by Madrid Food Tours, and what a great recommendation it was. Being foreigners without much of a grasp on the local language, we decided to get there early before the crowds [...]
Restaurant Abantal – Seville
The Michelin Guide is somewhat of a notorious annual publication within the food community, and can make or break a chef's career. Each year, Michelin has its anonymous "inspectors" visit restaurants within a particular region for the purpose of rating and critiquing it. Michelin may then award up to three stars for outstanding dining (or remove existing stars if it feels the restaurant has dropped [...]
Wild Duck Restaurant Perth
The Wild Duck restaurant once upon a time lived in Albany, in the far south of Western Australia. In 2012, however, it relocated closer to the Perth city, where it now lives on Hampden Road in Nedlands, not far from The University of Western Australia. I studied at the university for six years and had not even once visited the Wild Duck, so it was [...]
East Cafe & Vietnamese Bistro
Studying medicine is no easy task. It requires at least six years of full-time university study (and when I say full time, I mean 25 hours a day), which includes endless rotations in hospitals, and shuffling through what might seem to the mere moral like never-ending textbooks. Starting a business from scratch is also no easy task, and brings with it a multitude of stresses [...]
Red Opium Perth
On an opium-induced high, surrounded by the bright colours used to mask what was once a gloomy and drab underground lair, we anxiously waited for the next hit, as the attendants scurried across the floor to the becks and calls of the other patrons. I am, of course, speaking not of a night filled with the narcotic alkaloids of the opium poppy, but an inspired [...]
Echye’s Restaurant Perth
There aren't all that many places in Perth that offer traditional African cuisine, however there are a few small restaurants scattered around, and Echye's in Victoria Park is one of them. Echye's is an eatery along the cafe strip offering a selection of dishes from the traditional Eritrean cuisine, and was opened in December of 2012 by a mother and her daughter from Eritrea. Eritrea [...]