A great recommendation for lovers of all things spicy in Hong Kong; Chilli Fagara on Graham Street.
A hotbed for fiery Szechuan-style food, diners can pick from a "numbing", "burning" or "neutral" menu. Make sure you try their house specials: baby squid, pork slices, lamb shank, chilli jumbo prawns, chilli crab (unbelievably good) and mandarin fish. The braised aubergine and minced pork wraps are fantastic too.
To keep prices down (this place is not expensive anyway) you can bring your own bottle and pay corkage.
A fun place to take over with a group of friends or to come with just a few. The restaurant is small with room for about 20 covers, so make sure you book in advance.
The restaurant is very low-key, you could blink and miss it on Graham Street. There's no sign outside so look for the place with dried chillies around the door and a cosy, red interior.
Chilli Fagara: Shop E, G/F, 51A Graham Street, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2893 3330; www.chillifagara.com.
Photo: Red chilli by wetwater via Flickr (Creative Commons)
The stuff of Parisian fantasies
Posted by Emma on July 24, 2008 at 02:35 PM
Everyone has a Paris that they fantasise about. Some dream of dining in candlelit bistros, others hanker after markets heaving with cheeses and warm baguettes, perhaps you imagine getting lost in a maze of old streets, stumbling upon delicious patisseries and hidden courtyards.
The sad truth is that whatever your particular Paris fantasy is, it's hard to find in reality. The City of Lights is a big and busy capital: tourists swarm, noses in guidebooks, from The Louvre to the Musée d'Orsay to the Eiffel Tower to the Champs Elysees to Montmartre. Getting off the beaten track is no mean feat. Many of the city's rarest treats are almost impossible to find, eluding even the most avid of guidebook writers behind unassuming doors.
So, what if for €175, less than the cost of a pair of Parisian Louboutins, you could find your fantasy? Richard Nahem, a native New Yorker, has been living in Paris for three years with one mission: to show people the city he loves and the one that tourists seldom see. From the moment he made the move to France he was inundated with requests from friends and acquaintances to show people the "real" Paris and now he's made a business of it, Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which dovetails with the places that he features on his blog Eye Prefer Paris.
Richard's tours cater to a maximum of 6ish people so you're guaranteed a personalised experience. Based on clients' interests tours take a specific theme – e.g. shopping, markets and gourmet food, architecture and culture. Standard tours (€175) last three hours, those looking for more can extend to a full day, three days or a week if needs be.
Most tours centre on the Marais district, Richard's home and area of expertise, which spreads across the third and fourth arrondissements. Le Marais is one of Paris's most impressive areas, packed with 16th and 17th century private mansions, secret courtyards, neighbourhood restaurants, outstanding patisseries and traditional ateliers. Unless you know where they are however they all too easy to miss, chances are you'll be swallowed up instead by the tourists who flock to the district's famous gay bars and kosher restaurants.
Richard describes the perfect three hours in Paris as exploring the Place des Vosges (the oldest square in the city, dating back to 1605); stopping for a coffee and a pastry at one of the best patisseries in town; visiting a chocolate shop where you can buy all the chocolate sculptures you could ever dream of; uncovering a secret garden where wild roses grow unchecked; soaking up impressive 16th and 17th century architecture and exploring former private mansions.
Food lovers can look forward to Paris's Bastille food market (the city's biggest), gourmet food shops and the inside scoop on where to eat. Die-hard shoppers will feel lightheaded at the prospect of speciality shops, exclusive to Paris, where you can pick up organic cosmetics, stashes of handcrafted jewellery, piles of pashminas and Parisian couture. Culture vultures can sate themselves on Richard's expert knowledge of the history behind the city's streets, buildings and gardens.
As Richard puts it, "I'm here to fulfil peoples' Paris fantasy" - everyone dreams about Paris and whether your version includes ateliers and authentic restaurants or palaces and patisseries, Richard's goal is to find you exactly what you've been looking for.
For more information on Richard's tours and to contact him please visit Eye Prefer Paris Tours.
A Culinary Tour of Bangkok
Posted by Emma on February 14, 2008 at 05:59 PM
There's plenty of chow in the Big Mango and it's cheap, delicious and super fresh. Here's a handful of recently discovered gems.
DECK BY THE RIVER, ARUN RESIDENCE
What? Great food on a luscious wooden deck above the Choapraya River. Deck by the River overlooks the mighty Wat Arun so you can soak up some culture whilst you wolf down your lunch. What could be better? Choose from a Thai or a Western menu. Delicious spring rolls, tom kha gai and salads. 1000 baht ($30) for lunch for two.
Where? 36-38 Soi Pratoo Nok Yoong, Maharat Road; +66 2221 9158.
LE LYS
What? Simple, filling, good Thai food washed down with cold Singha beer (no wines available). Sit on tables around a grassy courtyard amidst posters of the 2007 French rugby team and St. Tropez. One guidebook says it feels more like a dinner party here than a restaurant, and it's easy to see why, Ly Lys is a very laidback, friendly place.
We gorged on spicy carrot salad, aubergine and shrimp salad, green curry and red curry, plus plenty of Singha for 845 baht ($26).
Where? 104 Soi 7, Th Narathiwat Ratchanakharin; +66 2287 1898.
EAT ME
What? Slick and sexy, this "art restaurant" is both hip and delicious. Enjoy great Australian / Pacific Rim food on an outdoor terrace cooled by overhead fans, or sit inside underneath work by Bangkok artists.
Wet your whistle with a cocktail then dive straight into the starters; we chose mountain bread nachos with salsa and lentil and sesame soup. No rest for the wicked, next up was a feta, lentil, green been, tomato and paprika salad and salmon steak with capers, broad beans and lemon zest pulp.
All this and a good wine list. 2,700 baht ($83) for two people, two courses, plus wine.
Where? 1/6 Soi Pipat 2, a small street off of Convent Rd. just south of Silom Rd; +66 2238 0931.
What? Super stylish space-esq party pod. A favourite amongst well-healed expats with surprisingly good food. 1,750 baht ($54) buys you a three course set menu and entertainment galore.
Tomato and coriander soup was chased in by a waitress dressed as a rat (it being Chinese New Year). Then came a duck salad accompanied my Monsieur and Madame Massage who, for 200 baht, pummel your pressure points and ease away your aches. A quick rubdown was followed by sirloin steak then a mango, ginger and pomegranate sorbet. One treasure hunt later and in came a chocolate brownie with ice-cream and raspberries. The meal was rounded off by dragon dancers and acrobats performing vertigo-inducing feats to celebrate the year of the rat.
Non-stop entertainment plus supine supping and, if you’re feeling really energetic, an adjoining club pumping out house music.
Where? 26 Soi 11, Th Sukhuvmit
THE BLUE ELEPHANT COOKING SCHOOL
What? Where better to master the art of Thai cuisine than in the country’s crazy capital? ½ day or whole day courses with menus that change daily. Visit a market, watch fish have their heads ripped off and meet water beetles that smell of mangoes, go back to the school and get stuck in. Four courses, four classes, four chances to cook it yourself. When it’s all over you go downstairs and feast on the fruits of your labour.
Where? 233 Th Sathon Tai; +66 2673 9353; ½ day classes cost 3,250 baht.
