Lauren Arena

One of the best things about Trieste is the food. It’s not typically Italian, but a delicious mix of Italian, Germanic and Slavic tradition.

The culinary scene in this city, perched on a hill overlooking the Adriatic ocean, is as varied and colourful as it’s past. Whether its fine dining or grabbing a bite on the run, Trieste’s history is etched onto almost every plate – be it porcelain or plastic.

Where culinary worlds collide… Trieste

Restaurants, cafes and bars all reflect the city’s Austro-Hungarian roots as a prominent trading port and shipbuilding centre throughout the 19^th century. So while pasta and pizza are easily found on the menu, so too are dishes like jota, a bean and sauerkraut-based soup, wurzel, and krapfen (the German word for doughnut).

The city’s development as an urban melting pot was the product of Habsburg mercantilism, beginning with Charles VI’s declaration of Trieste as a free port in 1719. Foreign merchants and traders were welcomed in order to foster a merchant community.

With the arrival of Greeks, Serbs, Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians, Croats, Bosnians, French, English, Turks, Armenians, Italians and Jews from all over Europe, Trieste become the most prosperous port city and an important Mediterranean ‘bridge’ and a vital ‘gate’ to Eastern Europe.

After being annexed to Italy in 1918 Trieste’s economic significance diminished but its eclectic combination of flavours is still alive and well.

Delizioso… Gelateria Zampolli

Near the city centre, in Via Dante, there’s Eppinger Caffè, a historic pasticceria and restaurant that soon becomes a personal favourite. It’s the best place for a pre-dinner aperitif, all of which are served with freshly baked savoury nibbles, or a sweet treat afterwards.

A short walk away is Via del Ponte, a narrow laneway in the city’s old Jewish quarter that is jam-packed full of bars, restaurants and a few boutique shops. Come here any night during the week and it is swarming with people. So it’s a great place for a casual meal and a few social drinks.

Shifting through the crowds here I find the inconspicuous Taverna del Ghetto, a pint-sized, rustic tavern with a home-style menu and two incredible bar men, Eugenio and Michele. I order a hamburger – served on a toasted, ciabatta roll and stuffed with beautiful things like pancetta and provolone cheese – accompanied by a beer. Talking with the two kindly gentlemen behind the bar, I am soon very well acquainted with the cocktail list and after three delightfully refreshing Moscow Mules, I decide that is my favourite of all.

Next door is Osteria da Marino, another cosy tavern with a scattering of eclectic antiques, fish nets hanging from the ceiling, a fresh, seasonal menu and a hugely impressive wine list.

I stumble out of the Via del Ponte at 11:45pm – just enough time for me to walk across town to Gelateria Zampolli (in Via Carlo Ghega) before it closes at midnight. There is a ridiculous variety of flavours to choose from, all the classics are present, but so too are some original concoctions, like walnut, pink grapefruit and pumpkin. On a whim I chose ‘millefoglie’, a gelato reincarnation of the French mille-feuille dessert. It’s deliciously creamy with hints of vanilla and crunchy flakes of puff pastry. It’s better than the original and at 12:01am I quickly order another scoop.

My advice – visit Trieste on an empty stomach and stay a couple days so you can really appreciate its epicurean offerings.

Spain is a gastronomic paradise and its cuisine lauded throughout the world – a fact that was recently affirmed with the naming of El Celler de Can Roca as the World’s Best Restaurant in this year’s San Pelligrino Top 50 . So even the briefest of visits to the sun-soaked southern cost, Costa del Sole, will have a lasting impression on one’s culinary knowledge.

Country escape… Cortijo El Carligto

In particular, the experimental cooking courses offered at Cortijo El Carligto, a private country estate in eastern Malaga Province overlooking the glorious Mediterranean Sea.

Here the private luxury villa accommodation and pristine views are topped by the estate’s impressive array of Spanish cultural and culinary courses where guests can revel with delights such as the infamous pata negra cured ham, which includes a full butchering course. This culinary adventure begins with a whole Iberian pig and ends in finger-licking treats like chorizo and sausages, all prepared and delivered to the dining table in numerous dishes throughout a weeklong stay.

Not for the faint-hearted… Iberian pig

El Carligto house chef David Palacios provides much of the guidance throughout the course, drawing on his lifelong experiences in Andalucia and connections with local butchers and bodegas.

A four night ‘light’ version of the package is also available, skipping the butchering and leading with educational sessions on how to prepare some of Spain’s most popular pork dishes.

Both packages feature tastings of the acorn fed pata negra and a consultation with a local sommelier where Spanish wines are matched with the pork dishes planned throughout the week. An initial orientation also includes background information explaining the cultural importance and history behind the rise of pork in the cuisine of the Iberian peninsula. Guests are then taken on a guided tour of Cordoba to explore the region’s three historic cultures – Islam, Christianity and Judaism and visit the food markets of Malaga.

Culinary packages start from €1600 per person for a full week’s experience.

http://carligto.es/en/home.html

Among most popular… London

The Boutique and Lifestyle Hotels Report, due for release on 22 May at this year’s Boutique Hotel Summit in London, will reveal the most popular search terms used online for specialist accommodation in domestic, short haul and long haul destinations.

“Boutique Hotel Summit was launched because we recognised the need for an event catering to this very specific niche in the hospitality industry,” says founder Piers Brown.

“To some extent, the plethora of online marketing channels levels the playing field and allows boutique hotels to compete with the industry’s bigger players”.

Among others, popular generic search terms include ‘boutique cottages’, ‘specialist hotels’ ‘unique hotels’ and ‘small luxury hotels’.

Major cities topped the list with London, New York and Paris as well as the UK’s Lake District and Sao Paolo among the most sought after locations for boutique accommodation.

The report, produced by digital marketing agency Greenlight, analyses brands, retailers and review sites and compares organic search results with paid online ads to reveal more than 50 per cent of the most visible websites rely solely on visibility gained in the paid ad listings on Google.

The report also assesses those players who interact well on social media networks, where hotel brands are noticeable for their absence.

www.boutiquehotelsummit.com

The 84-year old, shrinking signora hunches over as she sets our frothy cappucini down on the Formica table.  She was born in the back of this latteria, or milk store, and took over the family business years ago.  It’s small, and empty, save for the refrigerated milk and Coke bottles, and a few pastries behind a glass counter.

Local flavour… Campo de’ Fiori

Elizabeth Minchilli, an American expat living in Italy the last 40 years, has brought me to Latteria di Vicolo del Gallo, named for its street address, to begin one of her exclusive food tours around Rome.

The latteria, she explains, is one of a dying breed; rare because it’s an old fashioned coffee bar, resistant of restoration.  Instead, it’s like a step back into the 40s or 50s – and in a place you’d least expect it.  Located just off the Campo de’ Fiori, this is some of Rome’s most expensive real estate.

The latteria may be at the heart of a tourist attraction, but few know about this treasure.  And that’s where Elizabeth comes in.  She knows quite a few of these places, and not just in Rome, but also Florence and Venice.  Minchilli authored three restaurant apps, but food is actually a second career for Elizabeth.

Architecture and design were her original areas of expertise, having written several books about recreating rustic Italian style in a non-Italian home, and through years of contributing articles to Architectural Digest, the New York Times and others.

But about four years ago, she got tired of writing about furniture, and switched the focus of her blog to food. Soon, Minchilli’s readers wanted to know whether she would show them the places she wrote about, and that’s how her small (only 1-4 people maximum), bespoke tours began.

Tours can be tailored specifically to client requests; today Minchilli takes me on her tour of Campo de’ Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto.  It’s a touristy area, but one with a rich history.  We walk through the market talking about the stark contrast of exotic produce, like blue potatoes flown in from Peru, to the first wild asparagus just in from Umbria, both selling at a stall where there are no prices listed.

If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.  And Minchilli tells me it’s so local, there are prices for friends, and prices for strangers.  I learn it’s bad form to patronise more than one vendor (unless they sell different things).  And who would want to offend their produce supplier?  Just opposite, stalls sell rainbow coloured pasta in phallic shapes, and pink limoncello; items no Italian would go near.

The place for pizza… Forno de Campo de’ Fiori

The first stall, with its expensive, unusual inventory is for the wealthy residents whose homes line this legendary square.  Minchilli fills me in on the history of the area, explaining that years ago, after the war, many who lived here were desperate to escape to the calm of the suburbs, for more greenery and more space, but those who remained now hold some of the city’s priciest property.  They’re the ones buying the Peruvian blue potatoes.

We step into Forno de Campo de’ Fiori, a bakery known for its pizza bianca which is like focaccia, just drizzled in olive oil and salt.  The key, Minchilli says, is to eat it fresh; within 45 minutes of it coming out of the oven. The owner comes from a family of bakers and we compare this pizza to that of Roscioli, owned by the same family and just around the corner.  They’re both excellent.  Roscioli is a bigger bakery, filled not just with bread, but cakes, and Panini, whereas the Forno concentrates more on its pizza.  You wouldn’t go wrong hitting either, or both.

There’s a quick stop at I Formaggi di Gianni e Paola, across the street, to buy mozzarella di buffalo and burrata for a tasting over cocktails at Caffe Peru.  I learn all hard cheese is called “formaggio,” while soft cheeses simply go by their names, like mozzarella, ricotta, or stracchino.  Our midday aperitivi tasting goes beyond Campari.  I taste Aperol, a similar drink, but with half the alcohol.  It tastes of bitter oranges.  Then there’s Crodino, a non-alcoholic adult soda made with blood oranges.  Apparently it’s hard to match wines with mozzarella as the tannins get in the way.  Perfect excuse for cocktails.  When children take the tour, Minchilli replaces the cocktails with craft beer and soda, offering kids a natural fizzy pop tasting.

Norcineria Viola is busy as people pile in to try plates of pork in various forms.  The fennel sausage is delightful and we eat it with unsalted bread to balance the salty meat.  A cold, red, farmhouse wine goes down too easy given its not even lunchtime.

Simple living… Beppe e i suoi formaggi

We’re making our way to the neighbouring Jewish Ghetto, and just on the border sits Beppe e i Suoi Formaggi.  It’s the main event for me; the wine and cheese tasting, we sit at a lovely table in an old wine cellar.  Beppe began life as Rome’s first ever wine bar.  It originally opened as a wine shop, and evolved because most stores closed during the day for lunch.  Beppe’s owner thought there was a market for serving food, and asked his wife to prepare simple, “non-cook,” dishes to offer.

The idea took off and has been replicated all over the city. Over time, Beppe has turned into more of a boutique wine shop, stocking vintages that go well with cheese, mostly from the north.  I try a Nebbiolo that could keep me here all day.  The concept here is simple: fantastic, affordable wines, champagnes and cheese to purchase, with table service for both, and one hot dish a day, as well as fondue.  I’m told they serve cheese you won’t find anywhere else in Rome.  I think I could live at Beppe.

Instead, we’re off for a “proper” lunch in the Jewish ghetto, at Da Gigetto.  Here, we eat deep fried artichokes, a Jewish Roman dish one shouldn’t try at home.  Like most fried food, it just doesn’t work as well without a serious deep fryer.  The highlight is vigna rola, a seasonal stew only available for about four weeks a year because all three ingredients are in season: artichokes, fava beans and peas.  It’s light, wholesome flavour is a welcome treat.

We’ve skipped pastries and finish with gelato at Alberto Pica, another classic latteria, where the ingredients are fresh and natural.  Gelato di riso, a signature flavour with a creamy base and real grains of white rice is both slightly strange and delicious all at the same time.

A day with Elizabeth begins at 10.30am and finishes at 3pm, with 10 stops and I can guarantee you won’t be hungry for dinner.

http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/

Fashionable… Roca Moo

Breaking down the barriers between kitchen and restaurant, the new space unites head chef Felip Llufriu with his diners in one central kitchen-bar.

Reflecting the fast pace of the Catalonian capital, the restaurant has embraced an open kitchen with a chic cafeteria design, where guests can dine at the bar directly in front of Roca Moo’s famed chefs – allowing customers on a tight schedule to indulge in award-winning cuisine on the fly without having to compromise on flavour or quality.

With the celebrated Roca brothers, Joan, Josep and Jordi as gastronomic advisers, Llufriu brings the vibrancy of Barcelona on a plate with his unique spin on Catalan cuisine.

A selection of tantalizing menus excites the palate, including a seasonal lunch menu, tapas, a six-course tasting menu and a la carte options in the evening. Expect dishes like suckling pig with sweet potato and mandarin;  mushroom omelet with white Catalan sausage; and carrot cream with cardamom and foie from the main dining room. While the newly installed Roca Bar serves Spanish street-food amid the energetic vibe of the hotel lobby.

The new open-air design was completed by Sandra Tarruella Interioristas, who were entrusted to refresh the space while ensuring they maintained the original concept created by Rosa Maria Esteva in 2003.

www.hotelomm.es

Between the rolling hills of Tuscany, the architectural wonders of Rome, and the sun-soaked beaches of Sicily; Italy remains a favourite destination for tourists, history buffs and fashionistas alike.

And now Italophiles the world over can experience more of Italy’s picturesque landscape and buzzing cities for less.

More for less… Trenitalia

Rail Europe customers will now have access to the complete range of fares across Trenitalia’s lines, including discounts offered through the Italian train operator.

More than 180 trains link Italy’s cities every day. While the Frecciabianca runs the classic routes, the state of the art Frecciarossa and Frecciargento connect passengers between Milan and Salerno, and between Rome, the North East and South of Italy.

For those who like to travel in luxury, Trenitalia’s Executive Class features an open bar, meal services, a meeting room and a club lounge. All carriages provide wifi for one cent.

Rail Europe’s Australasia Manager, Richard Leonard, says this is an important and long-awaited move, especially for the Australian market.

“It’s no secret that Aussies love visiting and revisiting Italy each year,” says Leonard.  “In 2012, more than 45,000 Australians travelled around Italy by train, a 12 per cent increase from 2010, making it the third most popular European country for Aussie rail travellers.

“On average, Italian rail ticket sales in Australia increase by about 10 per cent each year and with increased air capacity to Europe this year, we are confident sales will only strengthen.”

Bookings for Trenitalia services can be made up to three months in advance and seat reservations are required before departure.

The Italian Rail Pass starts at $200 per person.

www.raileurope.com.au

Hold on to your hat here. It’s crazy and you won’t know where to look first!

Elegantly sandwiched between the sombre, legal, august Inner Temple and the renowned University of London, number two Temple Place is a triumph of architecture and Gothic Disney.

Exquisite… Two Temple Place

An unsettling, architectural gem of a building, it is a clutter of wood paneling, pictures and paranoia.  So visually overpowering that if it weren’t for the immediate mugging by fabulous Mediterranean and Cornish aromas, you could easily miss lunch, altogether.

William Waldorf Astor, the dizzyingly wealthy creator of New York City’s Waldorf Astoria, built this Thames side, neo-Gothic, late Victorian mansion, (its that and more), in 1895, for £250,000; probably £25million at today’s prices.  It’s rumoured he believed his children would be safer here, from the threat of kidnapping.  With the touch of a button, it’s said, Astor could bar and lock all windows and doors.

And there are plenty of doors. The first one prepares you for what London’s evening newspaper called an “entertaining, camp, joyful and funny” building.

Two romantic cherubs, each holding a telephone, celebrate the then new age of telecommunication. There are carvings of characters from The Three Musketeers, 54 others from history and fiction, Pocahontas, Bismarck, and, probably for some good reason, Marie Antoinette. The Last of the Mohicans is there too, Rip Van Winkle with his dog, and 82 characters from Shakespeare.  To top out the restored, fake Elizabethan stonework there’s a Golden weather vane representing the Santa Maria in which Columbus discovered America. The Astor’s symbolic connection across the ‘pond’ is relentless.

All that and you still haven’t seen the pictures.

But not quite yet… pause here, follow your nose and sample the stupendous salads, good bread or a Cornish pasty. For me though their ‘take’ on a prosaic Egg and Watercress on Poilane rye was second to none.  Mint tea with real mint made me want to hug somebody.

Classic… Forbes’ A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach, 1885

Ok, now you can see the pictures.  They’ve only recently started to stage exhibitions and this one is the most significant grouping of Cornish art, outside Cornwall, in recent times.

‘Amongst Heroes: the artist in working Cornwall’, is a cornucopia of fish, fishermen, their boats and the sea.

Mostly not great art, and very much late Victorian to early Edwardian taste, these works are seldom seen, much of it tucked away in private collections or in museum storage.

There’s a massive Stanhope Forbes, ‘A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach’ which was done, we’re told, ‘as it happened’. There’s the chaotic but triumphant ‘trawling of pilchards’, painted actually on the sea from a neighboring boat. Everywhere are ruddy-faced seafarers in dozens of painterly works and drawings.  There’s even, rather oddly, a fragile Cornish oyster-fishing boat.  There must have been many drownings.  But for me the most thrilling picture is a small, 1930’s Christopher Wood fishing boat; clear and clean, a lovingly painted work from arguably the finest, certainly the most tragic, of the Cornish school.

Two Temple Place is worthy of half an hour of your life, even stripped of the paintings.  And, because this is not a ‘great’ collection, if you haven’t had enough of the very best, all is not lost. A short walk away is London’s greatest gallery, The Courtauld, home of some of the world’s most perfect art treasures. It’s currently staging a small, but perfectly formed two-room exhibit of Picasso works, all produced in 1901.

There’s been much talk about the disappointing, rambling Manet exhibit at the Royal Academy stuffed with lots of filler and few captivating pictures.  This one’s a no-brainer, save a few quid, and get a two-fer, combining the Courtauld with Two Temple Place.  Or, after such a splendid battering of art, you could just retreat to the patio behind the University and sit and watch the Thames.

www.twotempleplace.org

www.courtauld.ac.uk

Amy Hughes

Usually, between the two of us, either my friend or I have pretty well sussed where we’re headed, and what we might do there.  Not this time.  We’ve booked a night at Hipping Hall for its location.  It’s a good mid-way point from Scotland back to London to break up the seven-hour drive.  Except neither of us quite know where it is, exactly.  The website says it’s between England’s Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, but now that we’re here, we realise there’s nothing ambiguous about it – we’re in the Yorkshire Dales.   She’s a Brit, and I’ve lived here 12 years, yet neither of us ever ventured here. The landscape is all rolling hills punctuated by the odd church steeple.

Charming… Hipping Hall

We arrive at Hipping Hall late in the afternoon. The 15^th century stone building used to house a blacksmith before a later owner married the daughter of a local lawyer, becoming proper “gentry.” He left the hall as a legacy and it’s now an intimate hotel with just nine rooms.

It’s a cold Saturday, and we’re shown to the sitting room where small coal fire is surrounded by comfortable couches, a pick of the day’s papers and wonderful jazz playing just loud enough.  A welcome cup of tea and cake is soon set on a side table while I tuck in to the Times in the few hours before dinner.

Hipping Hall is miles from any major city, and like most country hotels, they offer dinner in their gothic dining room. It’s mostly couples on a romantic break, but we’re one of two sets of gal pals reducing the pressure on our neighbouring husbands and wives to look overly into each other.

Warm, fresh baked bread takes the edge off before we’re presented with a dish of pork belly accompanied by orange and chicory which are more subtle than overpowering.  With the added broccoli stem it’s nearly a “healthy” dish as we’re more than halfway to our five-a day.  Yorkshire goat’s curd arrives in the form of two bubble gum shaped balls, deep fried with a soft, salty centre.  White and red beetroot and candied walnuts balanced the flavour, along with a lovely dollop of burrata.

We’re torn between the halibut and the vegetarian field mushroom duxelles, so we agree to share both.  The mushrooms are tasty and unusual, but need a light jus or broth to enhance the flavour, and unfortunately it’s the third time we’re seeing the small fried balls (they were in the amuse bouche as a coating for quail’s eggs) so they’ve worn out their welcome.  But the halibut is better than many I’ve had at top London restaurants.  It’s a perfectly flavoured dish which marries mushrooms, an emulsion, and artichokes brilliantly.  The halibut is moist and delicious.

We’re perhaps too accustomed to poor service in the UK, particularly once we leave the confines of the Big Smoke, but that’s where Hipping Hall shines.  The same small staff that runs the hotel also works the dining room.  They seem to get to know each guest (but not too much), and are very responsive.  Every time we fail to leave a dish empty (which isn’t very many); we’re asked if it was okay, if anything was “not quite right” with the dish.  Spend some time in England and you’ll understand how unusual this is.   It’s not just that they ask, it’s the way they ask.   Say to a Brit, “Is everything okay?” and you can pretty much bet serious money the answer will be, “Oh yes, lovely thanks,” even if it was dog food on the plate.  It’s a subtlety, but by asking if something wasn’t quite right, the waiter has a better chance of gently coaxing the customer about what went wrong.

We keep it local with dessert, a sort of deconstructed rhubarb pudding.  We’re informed it’s forced Yorkshire rhubarb.  Little do they realise we wouldn’t actually be bothered if it was frozen, but we love the full disclosure.  Two toasted mounds of marshmallow are set down with tiny drops of meringue, strips of rhubarb, and refreshing sorbet.   It’s very tasty, but the best is yet to come.

It’s time to escape couple-dom so we retire to the fire for a few mean rounds of backgammon over tea and petit-fours.  Three small chocolates never tasted so good.  After a three-course meal I’m too self-conscious to ask for more, but if these came in a box, I’d have bought more than one to take back.  The cream content is so high; they practically melt in our fingers.

Breakfast in the dining room with the Sunday papers is heavenly.  The croissants are warm, the eggs delicately scrambled.  And we’re off to the see Kirkby Lonsdale, just a few minutes’ drive.  We know nothing about it, but quickly learn it’s a market town (code for quaint).  We’re instantly charmed by the old fashioned sweets shop, Ruskin’s view (a sweeping view of the hills which the author pointed out to Turner, who later painted it), and a street lined with a handful of great boutiques.  It’s the sort of shopping that convinces one to leave London; terrific things at a fraction of city prices.

Our little detour may convince us to give up the train, and drive to Scotland more often.

www.hippinghall.com

Amy Hughes

Just off Shaftsbury Avenue, in the heart of London’s Soho neighbourhood, a glut of Vietnamese restaurants is emerging.  It’s a Saturday night, and, as usual, I’m in charge of the restaurant plans for a group of friends.  We’ve just been to see The Gatekeepers, the Oscar-nominated documentary featuring interviews with the former directors of Shin Bet, the Israeli version of the FBI.

Appetite stimulation… Cay Tre

After taking in all this intellectual stimulation and we head around the corner to Cay Tre, a busy place that feels like we could be in Ho Chi Minh City.  Waiters buzz around with stacks of exotic dishes, and diners are packed in tight against the white-washed walls in the cafe-style atmosphere.

The menu is long, and filled with things I’ve never heard of…jasmine bulb stir-fried with egg white, squid filled with duck confit, anchovied chicken wings, and lamb “wokked” (is wok now a verb?) with lemongrass.

As the Middle Eastern debate at our table rages between a Canadian Jew and a Lebanese Londoner, I concentrate on ordering dishes to distract the conversation.  We go for half a dozen things, and agree, the square pads of fried tofu with thick shiitake and hon-shimqui mushrooms is one of the best dishes for its warm flavour and substantial texture. Local squid “wokked” with cherry tomatoes, chilli and water spinach is spicy, but clean…everything the tofu isn’t.  The stewed pork in caramelised coconut curry is the only miss, but the Red Sea prawns with Chouchou make up for it with a light, but flavourful oyster sauce with dill and chilli.

It’s not long after the first dish is set down that my companions quickly forget about one-state versus two-state solutions to focus on the flavours, which are a refreshing change to our culinary routine of British, French, Italian and Lebanese, all of which seems to dominate London’s restaurant scene.

There don’t seem to be any Vietnamese desserts, so we retreat to a nearby bar for drinks, where even a 30-year old whisky can’t keep us from returning to the topic of world peace.  We agree to disagree about politics, but Cay Tre gets a unanimous vote of confidence.

www.caytresoho.co.uk