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It’s Not Just Maracas In The Latinas

Filed in archive Cities , Dining on July 23, 2010

It’s Not Just Maracas In The Latinas
© jc.westbrook
If you are a tourist caught in any of the Latin cities, you will find that maracas inviting you to sway to the zamba beat are not all that the streets have to offer.

Street food, Latina-style will surely get you all heated up. Here are a few that will warm your palate:

1. In Ensenada, Mexico

It's a rare city in Mexico that doesn't have great street food, but the tacos de pescado in the Baja port town of Ensenada demand a special pilgrimage. Join the masses at the city's fish market for corn tortillas piled high with battered fried halibut, shredded cabbage, pickled onions, avocado, jalapeños and sweet-tangy crema-mayonnaise sauce.

2. In Puerto Rico

The food stands along Piñones Road about 30 miles east of San Juan make some of the island's best frituras, or fried snacks: coconut arepas, piononos (plantains stuffed with beef) and bacalaítos -- a mixture of pancake dough and salted cod. If you hit the strip around sunset, you might even catch an impromptu salsa-thon.

3. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Health-conscious Cariocas (as locals are known) hit up Ipanema's Sunday market in Praça General Osório square, open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., for grilled-shrimp skewers and the occasional dessert splurge: churros stuffed with dulce de leche. The less guilt-inducing alternative is a fresh coconut drink or an açaí shake from one of the stands along Copacabana Beach.

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Street Food in Asia

Filed in archive Adventure , Cities , Dining on July 21, 2010

Street Food in Asia
© joeannenah
With all due respect to esteemed chefs and restaurateurs, anyone who's ever bought fresh steamed crab from a Bangkok canal boat knows that not all stellar meals are served in courses or come on silverware.

In fact, certain cities in Asia have cult followings built entirely around their street-food cultures. Indeed ,street food seem to have been invented in Asia as can be seen from the following:

1. Bangkok, Thailand

For centuries, Thai food sellers operated out of boats along the canals that formed the city's main transportation system. In recent years, roadside cafés have all but supplanted the custom. But at Taling Chan - floating market on the western edge of the city - vendors still grill fish and steam crabs directly on their boats every weekend.

2. Hanoi, Vietnam

The narrow alleyways of the city's Old Quarter yield a treasure of breakfast delicacies for the jet-lagged traveler. Street vendors set up really early to prepare sweet green rice wrapped in banana leaves, sesame- and coconut-filled dumplings in ginger syrup and rich coffee poured over sweetened condensed milk.

3. Singapore

In its many food courts such as Chinatown's Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore delivers a civilized street-food experience, complete with table service. Patrons can usually ditch their belongings at one of the marked tables, browse the offerings (ranging from Chinese fish ball soup to spicy Malaysian pork-rib prawn noodles) and give their table number at the counter.

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Budget Gastronomical Feasts In Europe And Middle East

Filed in archive A World Away , Cities , Dining on July 19, 2010

Budget Gastronomical Feasts In Europe And Middle East
© Lars Plougmann
Sample hot, crisp frites on a Brussels sidewalk and you will know that not all meals are served in courses -- or even come with silverware.

Below is a short guide to seeking out the best bites in Europe and the Middle East's most bountiful cities:

1. Marrakech, Morocco

In the city's rambling medina, grilled-meat hawkers will cook to order any cut you bring from one of the many nearby butchers. In the evening, head to the night market at Jemaa el-Fna and settle in at the communal tables for chickpea stew, boiled snails, and strong mint tea poured the traditional way: from a pot held perilously high above the glass.

2. Brussels, Belgium

Art nouveau architecture, the European Union headquarters: Who cares? Brussels is all about the frites (which, we assume, account for the bulk of the nearly 250 pounds of potatoes a typical Belgian consumes annually). At the city's standard-bearer, the Maison Antoine kiosk in Place Jourdan, the secret to success is in the sauces: pineapple ketchup, beer-flavored carbonnade and mayonnaise so tasty it's almost a dish unto itself.

3. Vienna, Austria

Stroll the city center and you'll encounter numerous Imbisses, stands selling sausages and sliced Leberkäse (a baked loaf of ground beef and pork) topped with mustard and folded into Semmel rolls. And to try the local caffeine fix of choice, head to the cafés of the 18th-century riverside Naschmarkt for a Wiener Melange, an espresso drink with steamed milk and whipped cream.

4. Istanbul, Turkey

Happily for all the travelers who make their base in the Sultanahmet district (home to the Hagia Sophia)...the stalls beside the nearby Grand Bazaar can compete with any in this food-rich city. Have your pick of mussel skewers in garlic sauce, grilled corn, roasted chestnuts, and permutations of kebab too plentiful to count. (Feeling adventurous? Try the kokoreç, chopped lamb intestines seasoned with hot pepper and oregano.)

5. Tel Aviv, Israel

Mouthwatering falafel abounds throughout the Middle East, but this waterfront city is also home to a unique treasure: the Iraqi Jewish specialty of sabich -- a pita sandwich stuffed with fried eggplant, chopped hard-boiled egg and pickled cabbage and beets. To get right to the source, head to the stands of neighboring Ramat Gan, where the dish was invented.

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Nangthong Bay Resort: Phuket on a Budget

Filed in archive Budget Travel on July 5, 2010

Nangthong Bay Resort: Phuket on a Budget
© Ruth
I said 'budget', and I mean budget. Where else can you get superb beachfront bungalows for just THB1,500 a night? That's about 38 euro or 30 British pounds.

Nangthong Bay Resort is located at Phang Nga Bay, about an hours drive north from Phuket International Airport. So yes, technically, it's not in the island of Phuket, but if you seek a laidback place to unwind and relax, this is probably better (and better-priced as well) than the other Phuket resorts which can get crowded especially during peak season. This photo, showing the view of the ocean from one of the bungalows, is actually from Nangthong II (they have two beachfront properties, a couple of minutes' walk apart), which has a more quiet, village feel to it than the main resort.

'Bungalow' is rather a grand term for what is actually just a room the size of a decent hotel room or master bedroom. But for a couple, perhaps plus one kid, it's more than enough especially as you'll probably be spending most of your time outdoors anyway. Who would want to stay cooped inside when the beach, pool and garden awaits outside?

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