Food Wine Travel

Six best pousadas in Portugal in the eyes of Mary Lussiana

In The six best pousadas in Portugal (Times Online, UK, September 2005) Mary Lussiana enlightens us on the topic of Pousadas.
The word "means "resting place" and denotes a collection of gourmet historic hotels across the country. Not every hotel can call itself a pousada. Those that qualify were once castles, fortresses, convents, palaces and medieval town houses, and have been picked for their phenomenal settings and architectural significance".

Tea Map...Taste Globally...Drink Locally

Looking up the site of CHA MA GU DAO (which translates into 'Ancient tea and horse trail'), I found Tea Map which offers a window into the world of tea and allows you to find the nearest Tea Emporium in the US by entering your Zip Code.
It seems they are the creation of Adagio Teas.
What you call a soft sell!

Food is Therapy at 'L'Absinthe' in London (according to The Independent)

A brand new review of L'Absinthe, 40 Chalcot Road, London NW1 by Terry Durack (The Independent) discovers that "Primrose Hill's L'Absinthe is teaching flexible locals the French bistro method of beating stress".
The owner, Jean-Christophe Slowik has a secret sauce for his success: Keep it simple as The Menu proves.
L' Absinthe is closed on Mondays.

Related: Stress Down Day

Eyeglass Shop for the Connoisseur...Lunettes du Jura...Tokyo

While scouting for ideas that could fit on Tokyo Thursdays, I found that deep in the heart of Tokyo existed an Eyeglass Shop for the connoisseur with the very French name of Lunettes du Jura.
Sorry the site is mostly in Japanese. They actually count more than one location.

An underground Tokyo Guide describes it as "an amazing wacky glasses store. more kinds of crazy nutty frames. . . somewhere beyond New Wave in terms of candy-like wackiness".   

Related: Camembert and Sushi

Copenhagen, a 'Top 20 Most Liveable Cities' says Monocle

I have written about Copenhagen numerous times on Serge the Concierge and was not surprised that Monocle magazine chose it as one of its Top 20 Most Liveable Cities in the world.

Related piece: Mr Conran goes to Copenhagen

Cyclotherapy...Life of the Cyclist in London and the UK

Cycling is not popular as a way to commute only in Portland (Oregon) and Copenhagen or Holland for that matter.
2 Wheel fans in London express their views and exchange tips on topics such as Do puncture-proof tires really exist ? via Cyclotherapy (The Independent).

Related stories: Cycling in High Heels, Green and Stylish the Copenhagen Way

Appetite for Destruction, when Food Trends might suck dry the Seafood Stock

Fake labeling, endless scooping up of certain species, our culinary tastes can turn into an appetite for destruction as Something's fishy as Europe dines by Elisabeth Rosenthal illustrates (International Herald Tribune).

Related: Sounds fishy, Blue Moki and the Maoris.

The 'Hidden Tokyo', picture it thanks to Marco Silvestri

I could not find much information on the Tawaramachi neighborhood of Tokyo while writing 'Guerilla Flowerpots', Nature, Real and Fake in Tokyo concrete jungle (Tokyo Thursdays) on Serge the Concierge.

I did find visual cues of what this part of town has to offer thanks to Hidden Tokyo by Marco Silvestri, a book and its companion website.

Enjoy!

Pedicure with Sharpened Blades, Samuel So in Shanghai

Samuel So's treatment might not be for everyone but Shanghai pedicure, with sharpened blades by Joyce Hor-Chung Lau (Globespotters) makes for an interesting read.

As for his thoughts on British Feet: “Bad feet,” he said. “Really bad feet.” He attributes it to a combination of cold weather, indoor heating and the fact that British bath water was harder than Hong Kong’s.

'Bread, Lard and Potatoes'...everything the Gourmet from Belarus wants

I heard yesterday that Belarus is currently holding the World Record for Potato Consumption.
I have to believe it after reading Bread, Lard and Potatoes.
This humorless piece of officialdom announced a year ago that "scientists from the nutrition research center at the Belarusian Academy of Sciences have prepared a new present for us. They have developed 22 new potato dishes"...no less.