Text: Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau
Set in the heart of Lisbon on the famous Comercio Square, a small door leads to an unexpected journey through Portugal’s most secret vineyards where small producers work their sunny lands to produce beautiful wines. Gathered at Vini Portugal, a non-profit governmental organisation promoting the native grapes of Portuguese varieties, these gems are waiting to be tasted.
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Text: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
With its vibrant markets, plentiful food stalls and world-famous umami, the food culture of Thailand is not to be missed! Follow us on a food tour in Chiang Mai and dig into the wide variety of Thai (or are they?) dishes, authentic family recipes and wide assortments of exotic fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs!
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Text: Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau
It is still morning when Chef Sara Verissimo takes us for a stroll to the 31st of January market, far away from touristy Lisbon. Locals have been shopping here for their fresh vegetables, cheese, meat and fish since 1878, and so do we on this sunny day to get the best ingredients for some typical Portuguese dishes.
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Text & photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
The Czech Republic has been topping the charts of beer consumption for years. On average, it is a 33-centiliter beer bottle that is drunk every day by every woman, man and child in the country! Actually, ordering a pint is very often cheaper than a coffee or water to the point that now restaurants and bars must propose a cheaper non-alcoholic drink by law. However, the beer culture in Prague goes way beyond cheap beer enjoyed by locals and tourists in one of Europe’s top destinations for bachelor parties. Keep reading to find out how to experience it through authentic and unusual experiences!
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Text: Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau
Are you expecting pizzeria recommendations? It gets even better than this!
If Italian gastronomy goes way beyond pizzas, they remain a must-taste during any trip to Italy, and they are for sure better than any back home, wherever home is. For the best pizza in Rome, do not look too far: join a pizza making class! Not only will it be the best and most fun pizza ever with your own specific generous toppings, but it is also a wonderful way to bring back home a bit of Italy to share with your loved ones any time you wish.
Article updated on December 30, 2022
Text: Claire Lessiau
Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Over a few years, Cape Town has become a foodies’ paradise. If the city developed thanks to its ideal conditions to resupply passing ships, today its food scene thrives thanks to its organic green grocers, ethical fisheries, free range cattle farmers, excellent wine regions and inventive chefs putting it all together. From fine dining to casual eateries, do yourself a favour and taste the best of Cape Town! Here is our cherry-picked selection of casual eateries…
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Text: Claire Lessiau
Photographs: Marcella van Alphen
Tromsø, nicknamed the gateway to the Arctic, is the largest urban area in Northern Norway (and the third largest in the world North of the Arctic Circle) where one can tick off probably all the northernmost bucket list items one can think of from the northernmost brewery to the northernmost botanical garden and many more.
With the city centre located on the Tromsø Island, surrounded by the Norwegian Sea and snowy mountain peaks, the weather can be tricky at times. In this article, activities are sorted out by indoor and outdoor settings in order to easily fill up a three-day stay, with a special section about the Northern Lights that are often the reason to visit.
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Text: Claire Lessiau
Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
The ice-cold winds howl through the planks. The fishing nets and gear hanging in the adjacent room make the whole cabin humid. The stinking cod liver oil lamp provides a gloomy light. There is no escape from the pungent smell of cods hanging on the wooden racks everywhere outside. Through the window, the small harbour is packed with fishing rowing boats. As least, they are well protected here in this natural harbour close to the Moskstraumen, one of the strongest ocean currents, running between this island of Moskenesøya and the small island of Mosken at the western tip of the Lofoten Archipelago in northern Norway. Looking at the direction the king cod hung from the ceiling is pointing, the weather is not about to better anytime soon. With another eleven fishermen sharing the four-bedded 20-square-meter room, the snoring is non-stop and covers the lapping of the waves against the stilts and the loud squeals of seagulls. Today is going to be another day getting busy building a mock up fishing boat to pass time.
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Text: Claire Lessiau
Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Keep travelling!It is only thanks to the fish! Mastering the drying of cod, fished in the winter off the coast of Lofoten, transformed this fish into a sought-after and profitable commodity exported all over the world. Without the nutritious stockfish with no expiration date, the Vikings would not have been able to survive their long journeys to Greenland or America; the Hanseatic merchants would not have established profitable businesses in Bergen; Norway would have missed out on one of its most important sources of revenue; and Lofoten would have never seen its cute and colourful fishermen’s cabins pop along its shores attracting so many today and in which it is so enjoyable to stay.
Text: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Keep travelling!Barely an hour north of Trondheim, the lovely Inherred region is the ideal place to slow down and follow a food path between local farms and historical landmarks through fields of gold, rolling hills and scenic fjords… Here is your perfect four-day itinerary in Norway’s food basket through Trøndelag starting from Trondheim.
Article updated on April 30, 2022
Text: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
South Africa attracts for its safari game reserves, varied landscapes, surfing spots, beautiful Cape Town and the very well-marketed Garden Route. A day in the vineyards of Stellenbosch or Franschhoek is often part of the trip, but the rainbow nation is not necessarily renowned for its gastronomy. However, for the past 15 years, the food scene in Cape Town has gone from non-remarkable to exquisite. If there are no restaurants rewarded with Michelin stars in the country, it is simply because the prestigious French guide does not operate on the African continent. Nevertheless, Capetonian restaurants have become used to hitting competing lists of world’s best restaurants such as the Test Kitchen in Woodstock, or La Colombe in Constantia. If it has become quite noticeable, and has also hit the top of these lists, there is still a little gem for the ones in the know… The Chefs Warehouse… Started as one location in the city centre in 2014 by chef Liam Tomlin, and expanded since, the dish-sharing restaurant concept combines delicious food artistically plated in remarkable locations with a fantastic service and a great attention to details.
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Article updated August 16, 2022
Text: Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau and Marcella van Alphen
Belgian gastronomy is too often summed up to beer, chocolate and waffles. There is a lot more to it, and Ghent is the perfect city to explore the wide range of yummy foods and innovative drinks! On top of this, its vibrant student life makes Ghent’s nightlife lively and a forerunner for vegetarian and even vegan fares in Belgium.
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Text: Claire Lessiau
Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Cinque Terre is so much more than just five instagrammable colourful medieval villages dominating the crystal-clear Ligurian Sea. First of all, it is more like a dozen other tiny villages including the ones that are high up overlooking the five most famous Italian villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore (from North to South). It is also a National Park, including a large marine reserve, and it is an agricultural land where vineyards have been cultivated on narrow terraces supported by dry-stone walls for almost a millennium.
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Text & photographs: Marcella van Alphen
Seated with my back against a century-old dry-stone wall, I am overlooking the small picturesque harbour of Manarola in Cinque Terre where a few fishing boats dance on choppy waves. Colourful houses built on the dark cliff above the turquoise blue Ligurian Sea in Italy set the backdrop. I contemplate the view when Keep travelling!
Text: Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau
Keep travelling!Greek food is one of the most characteristic gastronomies of the Mediterranean diet. Based on olive oil, nuts, vegetables, and fish, its traditional recipes are not only healthy but also simply delicious – and with the proper teacher, not that hard to prepare. Let’s pierce its secrets in the heart of Athens.
Walking the picturesque streets of the Medieval city of Strasbourg can get you pretty hungry and thirsty! As the city attracts quite a few tourists you probably would like to skip the tourist traps and soak in some local vibes during your well-deserved break. Look no further and try out these local spots for the an authentic experience. Keep traveling
In this last article of our traditional crafts of Cambodia series, we will introduce you to the most favoured alcoholic drink in Asia: rice wine. As the name implies, the alcoholic beverage is made of Asia’s main cereal: rice.
In Battambang, another popular way for families to make a living is to produce the favoured local Cambodian snack: dried banana sheets. Keep reading
“Smell like the hell, eat like the heaven”, Mr. Ola tells us with a mesmerizing smile while explaining his mother’s signature recipe for the traditional prahok, a Cambodian fish paste dish. I uncomfortably move from one leg to the other trying to carefully listen to his story but holding my breath at the same time, avoiding the offending foul smell. We are about to discover how the unmissable and key ingredient for many Asian dishes is made on the fish paste market of Battambang, Cambodia. Keep reading
Rice paper is used for making the famous and delicious spring rolls. Due to the high demand of these thin leafs of edible paper, most of its production takes place in factories. In Battambang, a few families still make a living by producing them by hand. Keep reading
Rice noodles are a favourite in many Asian countries. A pho for breakfast or rice noodles as a base for lunch or dinner are common. To serve this high demand, most noodles are produced in factories. However, it is still possible to buy them fresh and hand-made. In Battambang, a few families living in the rice noodle district have been passing on this know-how for many generations.
Sticky rice is paramount to any meal in Lao cuisine, and can be found as well in neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Cambodia. There, it is prepared as a dessert like mango sticky rice, or a sweet snack known as bamboo sticky rice.
Mediterranean goods are sold in many shops scattered along the medieval streets of Keep reading
“Pupusas are the specialty of El Salvador! We eat pupusas all day. There is even the National Pupusa Day every November where the biggest pupusa was cooked reaching a diameter of 4.5 meters! And if you ever fly from San Salvador, you will see that Salvadorans buy pupusas before the flight to bring them abroad!” With this enthusiastic answer of our Salvadoran friend to our local specialty question, we had to try as many pupusas as possible while traveling through El Salvador! Keep tasting!
It is still dark and Deyanira is already cooking the first tortillas of the day: they are an important part of the daily diet in Central America and must be ready by breakfast. She started by curing corn in limewater to easily peel off the skin of the corn kernels she will later feed her chickens with. By the time I woke up, Keep travelling
Beyond the ever present pupusas, El Salvador offers excellent seafood. With its 307 kilometres of coast on the Pacific, restaurants with Keep savoring!
The teeth-less Maya man stares at me and laughs. I must look a bit clumsy trying to open the top of the green coconut I have just found, with a huge blunt machete. I did it before so it should work. I keep smashing the metal into the sturdy green coconut shell. The man shakes his head and takes the machete. Keep traveling!
Article updated on May 23, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
The Tokyo station is a crazy maze! Japanese people walk around like ants, workers in Keep savouring!
“Almond, Granny Smith, avocado, and a slight trace of pepper lingers in the throat”, says Mr. Thibault after smelling and Keep travelling
Article updated on May 26, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau
About 5 centimetres (2 inches) in length, 2 centimetres in width (a bit less than an inch), and roughly the same in heigth for just a few grams and 40 to 50 calories… They do not sound like much but sushi have conquered the world to the extent that many identify them with the whole of Japanese gastronomy (as you know by now if you have checked out our Japan food series, this is far from the truth!). Keep savouring!
Article updated on May 22, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Tsunahachi in Shinjuku has been serving one of the finest tempura (天ぷら) in Tokyo for almost a century. In a country where excellence is the rule, that does mean something! Let’s explore the world of tempura in Japan! Keep savouring!
Article updated on May 25, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
It is dark outside when we arrive in front of the sliding doors of a tiny restaurant in the centre of Takayama in the Japanese Alps. Keep savouring!
Article updated on May 25, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen
Yakitori (やきとり) have become famous outside of Japan, and are often proposed in sushi restaurants all over the world. But in Japan, excelling is the norm, and Keep savouring!
Article updated on May 15, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau
Before visiting Japan, we had a hate & hate relationship with ramen (ラーメン) noodles! Associated to cheap student food, their instant version is the best-seller of Japanese convenience stores with 5.7 billion packages of instant ramen noodles sold in 2019 worldwide. Keep savouring!
Article updated on May 15, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau
While Asian noodles are often associated with cheap ramen, a wide variety of them can be savored in Japan. They come in three kinds: ramen (ラーメン) of course, but also Keep savouring!
Article updated on May 14, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau
Street food is not that common in Japan, and tends to disappear fast: yatai (屋台 – literally “food cart”) or food stalls popping up in the evening Keep savouring!
Article updated on May 11, 2020
Text & photos: Claire Lessiau
Literally, okonomi means “how you like it” and yaki, “fried”, otherwise known as the Japanese savory pancake: a delicious and cheap food served with no frills, around a hot griddle with toppings ranging from meat to vegetables or seafood.
Traveling is all about new experiences, also when it comes to food.
So obviously, when the Korean Air hostess prompted us for our dinner choices, we went for one of the signature Korean dishes: the bibimbap, literally meaning “mixed rice”. Concerned, she warned us to not put too much of the chili pepper paste as Keep travelling!
Best regards from far, 