Brindisa in London’s Borough Market

It may not have the adrenaline rush of free falling from an airplane but for our columnist there is nothing quite as thrilling as making a new culinary discovery – Stacey Teo

Travellers today are given the choice of dozens of kinds of adventure holidays. For me though, instead of zip lining over a 300-foot gorge or swimming with great whites, I like my adventures served to me on a plate. There is a real excitement in trying a local dish for the first time or discovering a new flavour.

In my wanderings I’ve stumbled upon some excellent places. I will never forget, and still long to return to, a busy little stall in Bangkok’s Otoko Market for their perfectly grilled Mekong River prawns. I had another memorable experience many years ago on a trip to Hong Kong where I discovered some of the world’s best egg tarts at the Tai Cheong bakery.

Those were lucky moments. Really special finds like those have been rare. In between I’ve had my share of dreadful food experiences. I know I can limit the risk by picking up a guide, and there are a lot of good ones out there, but I have made it a personal rule to go by word of mouth instead. Of course this doesn’t included big name, award winning restaurants. I don’t need a guidebook for that. I normally reserve a Michelin star, or two or three, before ever packing my bags. No, what I’m interested in finding are the places that only the locals know. Finding these little gems is the kind of adventure I want in my travel.

Basically wherever I go, I am in search of the rustic fare that forms the base for that destination’s cuisine. As a chef, I know that in order to appreciate the flower one must understand the root. Ferrán Adrià’s brilliantly deconstructed tortilla means nothing to anyone who has never had a slice of the humble Spanish potato omelette.

One of the advantages to working for a company with a multinational staff is that, without leaving the office, I can get great insider tips on local restaurants that normal tourists would never find. Before I set out on any journey I ask around to get a few pointers and now that I have a pretty good idea of whose culinary instincts to trust, the system works like a charm.

This is how I ended up at Mak’s Noodles in Wellington Street, Hong Kong. I’d been in the city countless times but it was thanks 01 to a co-worker that I enjoyed one of the best plates of wonton noodles I’d ever had. Thanks to another recommendation I also had one of the best pizzas in my life at a place called L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples where the Condurro family has been making pizza since 1870. Five generations later it is no longer a tightly held secret, especially since Julia Roberts in the film Eat, Pray, Love ate here, but the two types of pizza they serve (Neapolitana and Margherita, that’s it) are out of this world and the plainly decorated dining room still has a very local feel to it.

One sure sign of food globalisation I have noticed recently is that I am no longer being recommended just the fish and chips in England or the tacos in Mexico. Like my office, the food world has gone international and I am just as likely to hear about a good paella in Washington DC as a fantastic burger in Madrid. A recent trip to Paris was highlighted not by the French food of a famous chef, although there was plenty of that too, but by the falafel served at Chez Marianne followed by a sorbet at Maison Berthillon.

Spicey chorizo sandwich from Brindisa

Before my last trip to London a colleague steered me to a little place called Brindisa in the Borough Market where I had a chorizo roll served with rocket and roasted Navarrico Piquillo peppers. I had to wait out the 20-minute queue that snaked its way into the market (I had been warned) but the smoky intense flavour of the barbequed chorizo was well worth it and probably just as good as anything I could get in Spain.

Next up? A colleague from Montreal who insists there are two stops I simply must make if I’m ever in the city. One is to a humble little establishment called Patati Patata for an order of what she says are the very best fries in the world. The secret apparently is to use a little basil in the frier. The other is to Schwatz’s deli for a thin sliced pastrami sandwich. Normally I’d choose New York for my Jewish deli sandwiches but I’ve dined with this woman numerous times. I know her and trust her taste, so I’ve promised myself that if I ever make it to Montreal I will make time, and room, for both.

Tasmania may be an unlikely location for a cutting edge art show, in a state-of-the-art museum space. But that’s exactly what you’ll find if you make the spectacular journey to the Museum of Old and New Art this summer Darius Sanai

If ever there were a show that could be dubbed Adventure Art, it would be this. On an exposed tip of the island at the farthest corner of Australia sits the spectacular Museum of Old and New Art, a space that combines a microbrewery, chic wine bar, restaurant, arresting architecture, and, oh, one of the world’s greatest collections of global antiquities, combined with dramatic works by leading contemporary artists from around the globe.

It is into this space that Jean-Hubert Martin, former director of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, is guest curating a one-year show launching this June, entitled Theatre of the World. The show is a journey through the wildest recesses of Africa, South America, Australasia, and east London, with works by artists ranging from Chris Ofili to Sidney Nolan.

There are more than 300 works on in a show the museum describes as taking visitors “on an experiential voyage that moves them from the visceral to the symbolic, and the factual to the poetic.”

In an interview with LUX, Martin commented: “There is no reason to look at art only in terms of historical and geographical categories. An anthropological perspective allows for comparison between any creations of humankind. It provides a much broader scope.”

Those making the journey, he said, “should be free to interpret and play with their imagination, combining and playing with their knowledge, not mine, in front of items we have put together to excite their neurons.”

And if your neurons don’t get enough excitement from the 4000 year-span of the works on show, there’s always the rest of MONA, which includes a rather splendid winery and brewhouse. MONA itself is the creation of David Walsh, a brilliant, colourful, and eccentric Tasmanian multi-millionaire, and if his aim was to put Tasmania on the world map, one could say he is certainly succeeding. A visit to MONA is an adventure in itself; and getting there only adds to the fun.

For the adventurous traveller, no continent has the allure of Africa. The cradle of civilisation is also host to the world’s greatest big game, some of its most magnificent vistas, and is spellbinding in the sheer variety of its wildlife. Award-winning photographer William Chua has travelled many of Africa’s most celebrated wilderness areas, from the Serengeti to the Namib, and we showcase his images on the following.

William Chua is an award-winning photographer whose work has been seen in numerous international publications such as Geographical Magazine (UK) and Asian Geographic Magazine. In collaboration with luxury travel experts Country Holidays, William also accompanies photo hobbyists to the far ends of the earth to share his passion and impart wisdom to help capture the perfect shot.

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countryholidays.com.sg

Epic Tomato’s Iceland trip

Travelling to the earth’s wildest places has obsessed humans for centuries. The difference is that now, we can do it in style and little risk, as Darius Sanai explains

To travel to the ends of the earth. It’s a metaphorical concept these days, but one that has inspired travellers from Livingstone to Scott. Many of us would like to think of ourselves as modern-day explorers, setting foot where no man or woman has gone before, and there are a surprising number of experiences that can take you very close to this goal.

Staying in a mountain village in Papua New Guinea, or trekking across the Antarctic, may not be replete with the kinds of danger Stanley faced in Africa or Scott in the South Pole, but it’s certainly a change from the office grind, yacht or private jet, however privileged your lifestyle. And a new generation of travel companies has emerged to assist clients with just such demands.

Antartica exploration from Abercrombie & Kent

It’s about far more than barefoot chic. “One of our clients, who is on the Forbes Billionaires list, comes from a very humble background,” says one travel company insider. “He wanted to show his children that the world is very different from their Chelsea house and Nikki Beach holidays. He asked us to organise a three month tour through South America, including being left on an Amazon tributary for a week with just the supplies on their back. They had no satellite phone, nothing: if they’d gotten ill or lost, they would have died. But they didn’t; and they had the time of their lives.” They also spent time in mountain villages in Peru where very few Westerners had gone before. Some may decry such journeys as “human safaris”, but how better to learn about the world? And if it is done with humility and empathy, there is no reason why all three sides – the traveller, the locals, and the travel company – can’t benefit.

Going over the edge with Epic Tomato’s first Guyana and Venezuela adventure

One of the companies at the forefront of this style of travel is the London and New York-based outfit Black Tomato, which has recently launched an even more extreme offshoot, Epic Tomato.

“To me Epic Tomato is about meeting the needs of an experience-hungry person who wants to be challenged and get more than the easily accessible,” says Tom Marchant, the company’s young founder and CEO. “They may have the yacht, the plane and the island but to summit a never-beenclimbed mountain, or trek through jungle that no western traveller has ever set foot in, is something truly unique. “To me it is also a modern definition of luxury. Luxury these days is about providing rare access and extremely personalised services to an individual and dropping off the grid to go somewhere where few others or no one has been before is the embodiment of that.”

They may have the yacht, the plane and the island but to summit a never-been-climbed mountain, or trek through jungle that no western traveller has ever set foot in, is something truly unique

Another player in the adventure travel field is the global travel company Abercrombie & Kent. Says their UK Managing Director Justin Wateridge: “Our clients have the curiosity and confidence to learn more of the astounding diversity of this planet. Travel gives them so much – experience, empathy, perspective, understanding and such vivid memories. They come to us for inspiration. We listen to their brief and deliver an experience that is tailor-made to their needs.”

The great Victorian-era travellers were criticised in some quarters as selfish, for leaving their families and seeking personal gain from their experiences. We can be just as selfish; the difference is, we can do it with our families, and with rather less risk to life and limb. These pages are a celebration of the enduring human passion for adventure travel.

Hunting in the jungles of Guyana

A 16th century palazzo in central Genoa is home to Via Garibaldi 12

Interior design and homewares are undergoing a boom to parallel the explosion in the art market. Karys Webber seeks out some of Europe’s coolest places to accessorise your living space

Objeto de Deseo. Barcelona

Objeto de Deseo, rather more of a gallery than a shop, stocks an eclectic mix of ornamental vintage and contemporary objects from both big name designers and anonymous artists around the world, most of which are exclusive to the store. Unusual items in glass, ceramic, wood, metal and clay range from the traditional looking to the exotic and often just utterly bizarre; a porcelain beaver skull complete with gold-coated teeth an example of the latter.
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Objeto de Deseo, Barcelona

Via Garibaldi 12. Genoa

Via Garibaldi 12 is a family run emporium housed in a grand 16th century palazzo in central Genoa. Often mistaken for a museum, customers ascend the marble staircase to explore the eight impressive rooms, two of which have frescoed ceilings depicting scenes from the Punic Wars. Despite the building’s rich history, Via Garibaldi 12 displays an array of modern furniture and home accessories from the store’s own label, B Home Interiors, other established names and up-and-coming designers. The store, which recently celebrated its 10th birthday, has become a must visit for international industry professionals who attend the annual Salone del Mobile in nearby Milan.
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Via Garibaldi 12 features pieces from its own label B Home Interiors

Via Garibaldi 12

Ben Pentreath. London

Architect and interior designer Ben Pentreath opened his modest shop nestled in the heart of London’s Bloomsbury in 2008 and, alongside store manager Bridie Hall, has crammed it with delectable treasures for the home sourced from all over the world. Claiming they only stock products they themselves like, their exquisite taste has ensured a shop full of new and antique items that you won’t find elsewhere. Standout pieces include glass plates by John Derian, linen tablecloths and tea towels by Les Toiles de Soleil and limited edition illustrations by Glynn Boyd-Hart.
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New and antique pieces at Ben Pentreath

Ben Pentreath, Bloomsbury, London

Normann Copenhagen. Copenhagen

Wander around Norman Copenhagen’s vast flagship store, once home to a theatre, and the most mundane household item seems like a work of art. The 1700 square metre space is filled with quirky products that challenge traditional design; tilted cognac glasses that gently rotate around a point and twisted ‘swing’ vases (each one unique) in which it would be impossible to put flowers in, are just a couple of the unusual items you can pick up from here.
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Normann Copenhagen’s 1700 sq metres of design

Normann Copenhagen

Moooi. Amsterdam

Moooi’s flagship store in Amsterdam is a weird and wonderful space full of innovative furniture, lighting and home accessories arranged in Dali-esque displays. Alongside the store’s own range, designed by co-founder Marcel Wanders, and other established designers such as Jasper Morrison and Ross Lovegrove, Moooi is credited with giving up and coming designers their big break. Relative unknowns Front were catapulted into the limelight when Moooi stocked their somewhat surreal matt black lamp in the form of a life size horse.
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Moooi’s flagship store in Amsterdam

Dali-esque displays at Moooi

Il Valore Aggiunto. Milan

Set back from the street, the treasure trove that is Il Valore Aggiunto, project of sisters Elena and Patrizia Sterzi, is not easy to find but is well worth the effort. A loft space that opens out into a picturesque courtyard; the duo have amassed a vast selection of decorative furniture, frames, mirrors and chandeliers with elaborate Italian flair plus period pieces ranging from the 1700s to the 1970s.
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Il Valore Aggiunto, Milan

Graanmarkt13. Antwerp

This unusual boutique in a residential neighbourhood in Antwerp houses founders Ilse Cornelissens and Tim Van Geloven in the top floor of their stately renovated row house whilst the remaining three floors they have thrown open to the public. The result is an intimate and warm shopping experience filled with a carefullly selected range of home accessories and fashion from cutting edge designers. The location also boasts an exhibition space, restaurant and outdoor terrace café where shoppers can relax with a glass of champagne.
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Graanmarkt13, Antwerp

Graanmarkt13

Mint. London

Mint, based in central London, is an interior designer’s dream. Avant-garde furniture and home accessories are hand picked by owner Lina Kanafani, who champions emerging talent, often commissioning design graduates for one-off and limited edition pieces for the store, which is laid out in the context of a real living space. Hand crafted ‘bark bowls’ carved from reclaimed trees which are dried for a number of months before applying a bright lacquered interior, are just one of Mint’s unique offerings.
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Mint, London

Hay. Copenhagen

For effortless style and the best of contemporary Danish design look no further than Hay on Copenhagen’s bustling Østergade. Clean lines and bold colours make up the desirable furniture from the likes of Louise Campbell and Jakob Wagner plus a fantastic selection of rugs range from the fun, multi-coloured ‘Pinocchio’ rug to some well chosen vintage boucherouites. Chic stationery sets and beautiful children’s toys are also on offer.
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Iconic Danish design at Hay, Copenhagen

Svenskt Tenn. Stockholm

Established in 1924, Svenskt Tenn has a long history but a recent refurbishment has seen the store almost doubled in size and given a new lease of life. The perfect place to see the newest trends in iconic Scandinivian design, the store has an array of colourful and contemporary pieces plus an extensive fabric and textiles selection. The newly revamped store even has a charming tearoom offering a selection of teas specially customised for the store and served in teacups by Florentine porcelain maker Ginori.
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Scandinavian design Mecca, Svenskt Tenn