A weekend in Paris

At the end of summer last year I had a lovely weekend in Paris with my Mum. I meant to write it up but, like many things, it got put on the back burner when I started my Masters. It is now far too late for me to share the intricate details of each meal I had there, but I still have the photos.

The best meal, hands down, was at Les Papilles, a recommendation from David Lebovitz which is number one on his list of 10 insanely delicious things you shouldn’t miss in Paris. I did actually start writing a review of this, so I will finish it off and post it soon.

In the meantime, here are the photos of all the lovely (and not so lovely) things I ate in Paris, along with details of the dishes and restaurants.

Click to read more ...

Urban Angel

Finding good coffee in London is a difficult affair. There are several good places around Borough Market (notably Monmouth) and I have read guides which suggest a smattering of other places, but I do not want to have to go out of my way for a good coffee; there should be one on every corner. Growing up in Sydney, I was spoilt for choice. In London, I choose not to bother.

I assumed this was UK wide phenomenon; London is, after all, the UKs largest and most multicultural city and, arguably, the most cosmopolitan. So imagine my surprise when on my first morning in Edinburgh I was presented with this:

Urban Angel was recommended as a top lunch spot in the Lonely Planet; they didn’t say anything about the coffee.

Click to read more ...

Cusco, a westerner's paradise

After four days of humble, homely and, yes, rather bland cooking on Lake Titicaca I was very excited about my arrival in Cusco. With several recommendations from a fellow foodie friend in my pocket I was ready to be a bad tourist once again and embrace all the western cuisine the city had to offer.

First stop: Jack’s Café. This was no.1 on Emma’s list for exactly the same reason it's no.1 on mine; sometimes when you have been on the road for a long time you just want something that reminds you of home. When you are done with llama and alpaca steaks, deep-fried everything and more rice and potatoes than you can shake a fork at, coming across great coffee, an all day breakfast menu and café food to rival Sydney and Melbourne can be a truly restorative experience.

Click to read more ...

Worst of Bolivia

I was quite surprised when I came to narrowing down the best and worst of Bolivia that I actually had more best ofs than worst ofs. This is partly because I am more lenient in the best of category – something has to be really bad to make it to the worst of list – but I think what it really highlights is that the food in Bolivia is not terrible, it is just not terribly exciting.

Many of the meals that didn’t make it to these two posts were perfectly pleasant, but incredibly plain; think unseasoned potatoes, boiled rice, undressed salads, flavourless meats. I have left out the bland and mediocre and narrowed the worst down to ten. Here goes…

Click to read more ...

Best of Bolivia

Bolivia is hardly a gastronomic paradise.

I was there almost a month and towards the end, following upset bowels and a rather horrendous allergy, I have to admit to being a bad tourist – avoiding street food and seeking out Western fare.

Still, I had several good meals worth sharing but I reckon I can get through them quite quickly. I am now in Peru and still have much to say about Argentina so I thought I would whizz through Bolivia in two posts – best and worst of – try to keep up in Peru and then catch up on Argentina when I am back in the UK.

Click to read more ...