Hot Pot 17 Wardour Street London W1D 6PJ Tel: 020 7287 8881 Hot Pot or to give it its original Mongolian name ‘huo guo’ is a traditional form of cooking that has been around for a 1000 years. It can now be found across Asia with regional variations. It is a simple way of
Central America A New Revolution Once the hotbed of revolution and unrest the collection of seven countries that separate the Americas are experiencing something of a renaissance, a revolution in tourism if you will. Visiting three of them gave me a flavour of what’s on offer to the more adventurous visitor. I started my
Primavera Ritz-Carlton Hotel Bldg. 112, King Mohammed VI Ave Block 428 Al Seef District, Manama Bahrain Every once in a while I come across a little gem of a place tucked away somewhere. In the case of Primavera Bahrain not so much tucked away just not very well known. It should be. There is Italian
Jungfrau region Bernese Oberland Switzerland Read more about this wonderful region in Switzerland that is impossibly beautiful and tremendous fun (and it’s not all about skiing)! It’s ridiculously easy to get to Zurich from London, only a 75-minute flight from Heathrow. From there I travelled on the superb Swiss Rail system that saw me
Iguazú Falls Argentina July is mid winter for Argentina and as a European it is possibly the best time to visit. On this trip I visited Buenos Aires where the temperature is pleasantly warm but not cold and certainly not stiflingly hot either, although first I headed up country to the north to see a
Basque Country In the 1955 the redoubtable Orson Welles had his own travel series for the BBC, Around The World With Orson Welles where he trotted the globe learning about and understanding different cultures. One of the best episodes is about the Basque region. He interviews many Basque people in the region that straddles France
The Meat Co. Unit 1026, Westfield London Ariel Way London Westfield Tel: 0208 749 5914 I first visited The Meat Co. over a year ago and felt it was time to return to see if it was still as good as I remember. The slick Westfield location still delivers. M and I each had a
Porto Portugal Porto as we all know is the birthplace to that revered tipple Port. Despite a decline in popularity it has had many loyal followers over the centuries and continues to generate new admirers, including this writer. Even that great recorder of Dr Samuel Johnson’s work, James Boswell noted “Claret is the liquor
Isola 2000 and Nice France As incongruous as it sounds getting to the southern French Alps is best achieved by flying into Nice. The ninety-minute flight takes you to the land of yachts and the super rich with all those beautiful people to look. I was to discover more of this luxury later but first
Egypt: The Red Sea & Luxor The 5-hour flight from Gatwick to Hurghada gave me plenty of time to check in my guidebook on what I wanted to do when I arrived in Egypt. The short transfer to the Makadi Spa Hotel seemed over in minutes and I was ushered into the luxury of a
Sands Hotel Marine Drive Margate Kent CT9 1DH Tel: 01843 228 228 A trip to the seaside is one of those evocative phrases that we all have our own version of. As a child I spent quite a bit of time at West Wittering near Chichester on the south coast. Sometimes I was bored
The Goldsmiths Arms 3 Croydon Road London SE20 7TJ Tel: 020 8659 1242 About 15 years ago a serious decline started in pubs. Across the country they were falling like flies. The country local was no more, the London boozer had reached its end and the world was a poorer place for it. In
Mauritius An island of dreams It might only be a tiny speck in the Indian Ocean but Mauritius is no lightweight when it comes to having fun. Lying between Africa and India with its nearest significant neighbour Madagascar some 2000 km away it is fair to say it has it’s own identity albeit made
Eating out in Nottingham The first thing to realise is that Nottingham has a tremendous choice of good food on offer. It’s very easy to get caught up the London bubble when it comes to restaurants. But if anything, London is guilty of muddying the water with its fads and fickle pop ups that
Eating out in Buenos Aires – Argentina Once you get over the party atmosphere of this vibrant city you will at some point feel hungry. It’s a hot place so it may take some time but when you eventually feel hungry you are in for a real treat. There is street food in Argentina and