Bring a hearty appetite, roomy
trousers, and a camera to these delicious destinations, where the presentation
of food has become a spectacle in itself.
1. Donghuamen Night Market, Beijing, China.
This bustling night market is
a kaleidoscopic food zoo of all the Chinese food you could wish to try
(with plenty of critters-on-a-stick you might not care for, into the bargain).
For the squeamish, there are lamb kebabs, beef and chicken skewers, corn on the
cob, noodles and candied fruit kebabs. For those harder-of-stomach, how about
smelly tofu, or deep-fried and skewered creepy crawlies such as grasshoppers,
scorpions, silkworms and centipedes? For many it might be a case of look but
don’t dare to buy, but the photo opportunities are outstanding. Dozens of
stalls are set up here each evening (from about 5.30pm); vendors’ signs are
generally in Mandarin and English.
Want fancier fare? Head to nearby
Courtyard for fusion cuisine and one of Beijing’s
best wine lists.
2. Gelateria di Piazza, San Gimignano, Italy.
It’s not only the incredible beauty
of the walled Tuscan town of San
Gimignano that will cause your heart to soar. Stop by
the Gelateria di Piazza and your taste buds will applaud… As the pictures on
the wall attest, many celebs have wrapped their lips around one of the
gelateria’s rich ice creams (‘all the family thought the ice cream was
delicious’ attested one Tony Blair). Master Sergio uses only the choicest
ingredients: pistachios from Sicily and cocoa
from Venezuela.
There are plenty of the traditional flavours, but you’ll be tempted by unusual
combinations such as rosemary-scented raspberry, or pink grapefruit and
sparkling wine.
Give your appetite another thrill
at the town’s Museo del Vino (Wine
Museum), where you can
taste some of the choice local white wines.
3. La Grande Epicerie, Paris, France.
If grocery shopping normally bores
you to tears, prepare to be stunned. The exquisitely presented chocolates,
pastries, tins of biscuits, fruit and veg, seafood, cheeses, wines and other
enticing edibles in this glorious food store within Le Bon Marché department
store are a sight to behold (for our money, this beats the Mona Lisa). There
are downsides to visiting this shrine to fine food, however. The first: no
suitcase (or budget) will be big enough for all that you wish to buy and take
home. The second: returning to your neighbourhood supermarket after visiting Le
Grand Epicerie will likely reduce you to tears.
You’re not too far from the Jardin
du Luxembourg, so snaffle some supplies and dine alfresco in one of the city’s
most beloved parks.
4. Tokyo Fish Market, Japan.
Come for the tuna auctions, stay
for the sushi breakfast. After it’s been fished from the sea and before it
turns up on a sashimi platter, most of Tokyo’s
seafood transits through Tsukiji Market. This gigantic pulsating hub of Tokyo’s gastronomic
system pumps at a frenetic pace. Workers yell, slice blocks of ice, haul
massive bluefin tuna, spit, stop for a smoke, laugh, bone an eel and yell some
more. You’ll have to trundle out here early to see the predawn arrival of fish
and its wholesale auctioning (when visitors are permitted), but even at around
7am there’s still some good market bustle and seafood-slinging going on.
Lines are unavoidable at Daiwa
Sushi, Tsukiji’s famed sushi bar (open from 5am). The sushi sets are a good bet
if you’re not comfortable ordering in Japanese.
5. House of Master Belgian Chocolate-Makers, Brussels, Belgium.
Belgium
produces a dreamy 220,000 tonnes of chocolate per year. Its unmatched
reputation for sublime chocolate derives from the silky smooth texture created
by extended conching (stirring) during the production process, and from the use
of pure cocoa butter. A turning point for Belgian chocolate came in 1912, when
pralines (filled chocolates) were born in Brussels.
On that city’s magnificent Grand
Place, La Maison des Maîtres Chocolatiers Belges unites 10
of the country’s choco-craftsmen in an upmarket boutique that also offers
demonstrations in English (and the all-important taste-tests) at 4pm Saturday
and Sunday.
Also stop by a Pierre Marcolini
store – his innovative choc-creations are a top choice for Belgium’s
wealthy and fashion conscious.
6. Darjeeling, India.
It’ll start on the train there (or
indeed, any train in India)
– the nasal call of the chai wallahs pacing the platforms, hawking their
masala-spiced nectar. But that’s nothing compared to Darjeeling itself. Once you switch to the
narrow-gauge steam train that hauls you up to this 2000m hill station you’re
surrounded by the stuff : tea in the cafes, tea in the bazaars and a deep-green
leafy profusion of tea cascading down the hillsides, with the might of the Himalaya behind.
Between March and November (picking
and processing season) take a plantation tour and marvel at what goes into a
humble tea bag. Of course, high tea is in order – take it at the Elgin or Windermere
hotels. Shop for tea at Nathmull’s Tea Room.
7. Spice Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey.
Although somewhat tainted by
tourist creep, this market can easily transport you back to its Ottomanera
heyday with the kaleidoscopic colours of its mounds of saffron, sumac, chilli
and salça (tomato paste), its
herbal teas and lokum (Turkish
delight), and enough aphrodisiac remedies to make even a sultan blush. As well
as baharat (spices), nuts and
honey in the comb, there are truckloads of incir
(figs) and pestil (fruit
pressed into sheets and dried). This is a regular shopping spot for the city’s
best chefs.
Don’t be afraid to do as the locals
do – try before you buy, and compare prices. If you’re in need of more
sustenance than a market snack, Bab-i Hayat is a beautiful vaulted space over
the eastern entrance to the bazaar.
8. Maison Mercier Épernay, France.
Épernay, the capitale du champagne and home to many
of the world’s most celebrated champagne houses, is the best place for touring
cellars and sampling bubbly. The most popular champagne brand in France,
Mercier, has thrived on unabashed self-promotion since it was founded in 1858
by Eugène Mercier, a trailblazer in the field of eye-catching publicity stunts
and the virtual creator of the cellar tour. Everything here is flashy,
including the 160,000L barrel that took two decades to build, the lift that
transports you 30m underground, and the train taking you along part of the 18km
of champagne cellars.
Stay in style at Le Clos Raymi,
once occupied by Monsieur Chandon (of champagne fame).
9. Roquefort Caves, France.
In the heart of rural southern France, the village
of Roquefort turns ewes’ milk into France’s
most famous cheese. Its steep, narrow streets lead to natural caves, where
seven producers ripen 22,000 tonnes of Roquefort each year – and some
cheesemakers offer tours. La
Société, established in 1842, has one-hour tours of its
pungent caves (including tasters). It’s now the largest Roquefort producer,
churning out 70% of the world’s supply. And did you know that the mouldy
blue-green veins that run through Roquefort cheese are, in fact, the spores of
microscopic mushrooms, cultivated on leavened bread? Er, yum.
Roquefort is a parking nightmare;
it’s better to leave your car beside the tourist office at the main, western
entry to the village and walk in.
10. San Miniato National White Truffle Market, San Miniato, Italy.
The tuber magnatum pico (white truffle) reigns supreme at the
medieval hilltop town of San Miniato, roughly
halfway between Pisa and Florence. The woods around here are famed
throughout Italy
as prime truffle-hunting grounds, and mid-September to December is when all the
action takes place. The best way to enjoy it is via the town’s white-truffle
market, held on the last three weekends of November. During the festival,
restaurateurs and truffle tragics come from every corner of the globe to
purchase supplies, sample truffle-based delicacies in the town’s shops and
restaurants, and breathe in one of the world’s most distinctive aromas.
From
October to December, join a truffle hunt with Barbialla Nuovo Fattoria, an
agritourism estate.
