I now understand why people feel compelled to return to Tokyo again and again. It’s not a place you visit once and tick off some travel bucket list, like you might with the balloons of Cappadocia or the hike to Macchu Picchu, or a city that you can explore in a few days and feel satisfied that you’ve seen the highlights. It’s vast and crazy and orderly and peaceful all at once: skyscrapers and neon lights meet parks full of runners and manicured gardens, small local cafes fit in with sprawling luxury malls, systematic vending machine restaurant ordering and slick subway queues sit alongside the chaotic, colourful crowds of Harajuku. And then there’s the food. It seems (as an outsider) to be a culture always striving for absolute excellence, whether that be in the form of the freshest sashimi and the perfect bowl of ramen or a straight-out-of-Paris crisp, flaky pain au chocolat and punnets of flawless, identically shaped strawberries. Restaurants do one thing perfectly – udon or soba, tempura or yakitori. This clearly extends outside food too – knives, cars, bonsai, toilets! – and in the past, training to be a geisha, the ‘perfect female’.

There has both been so much already written about and photographed of Tokyo, and simultaneously a near infinite amount to explore, that this is far from a comprehensive guide. It’s simply a collection of memories from a wonderful week, from my favourite flat whites to steaming bowls of ramen, where to find gorgeous sushi on a budget and the best truffle pasta I’ve ever eaten (plus a few ideas for when you’re not stuffing yourself). There are no high end eateries on this list as this was still a student budget trip – I’ll be back again for those!

Some practicalities to start:

• We visited in early November, when the weather was perfect for walking everywhere and the vivid reds and oranges of fall were out in full force. Not too cold, not too hot.
• I bought a SIM card online the day before to pick up at the airport on arrival which worked perfectly and gave me 7GB for our 3 weeks in Japan, though there are different sizes (I bought a Mobal card) – definitely worthwhile, even just for google maps purposes.
• We stayed near Yoyogi Park, just north of Shibuya – an up and coming area of cool restaurants and cafes a short walk away from the madness of both Shibuya and Shinjuku while feeling much more local. I would definitely stay there again, though Nakameguro also came highly recommended.
• And finally, be aware of the fact that there are different social norms and etiquette to respect when you’re there that you might not be used to – read up a little. Some of the most obvious are not to eat while walking, not to talk on the phone in public or on the subway, line up orderly when everyone else is, wait for and only cross at the crossings, always take your shoes off at the door and don’t hang around after you’re finished eating at restaurants when there are queues for the seat (this especially goes for ramen – it’s generally considered fast food).

Caffeinate

• Coffee Supreme: one of my favourites back home, Wellington’s Coffee Supreme is now also my favourite in Tokyo for a perfect flat white. Pop into Camelback next door for an upmarket breakfast egg sandwich while you’re here.
• Path: quite possible the best pain au chocolat I’ve ever eaten came courtesy of Path, alongside deep caramel caneles, flaky cubed scones and rustic chestnut tarts. They serve drip coffee, no espresso, as well as a full all-day menu.
• The Roastery By Nozy: tucked into a vintage and boutique shopping strip between Shibuya and Harajuku, the Roastery not only serves coffee but also a creamy and intense espresso soft serve for your afternoon pick-me-up.
• About Life Coffee Brewers: a hole in the wall outfit in Shibuya serving up great takeaway.
• Fuglen: coffee and freshly baked cinnamon buns by day and cocktails by night.
• Cibi: another Melbourne transplant by Japanese couple Zenta and Meg Tanaka, Cibi is a cafe and design concept store serving up Japanese style breakfast, freshly baked cakes and coffee in a light warehouse space. Don’t be put off by the location – it’s off the tourist track in old-school Sendagi which is worth a wander in itself.
• Others that I didn’t quite make it to: Switch coffee, Omibus coffee, Allpress Tokyo, Koffee Mameya.

Sweet Tooth

• Gomaya Kuki: tucked into a Harajuku side-street is the best sesame ice cream I’ve ever had – choose from six different types (salted black sesame was a favourite) then DIY toppings of sesame oil and seeds.
• Fluffy ricotta hotcakes at Bill’s: the instagram famous hotcakes are instagram famous for reason – and, having eaten the Sydney and Tokyo versions a few weeks apart, the Tokyo version was fluffier, lighter and altogether better. Completely worth it for a birthday breakfast in Tokyo at this classic Australian cafe.
• Taiyaki Wakaba: for a classic Teriyaki in Shinjuku, this tiny store has been open since 1953 serving up fluffy fish-shape waffle cakes stuffed with red bean paste. Chefs make taiyaki in cast iron grills over coals while locals queue out the door to buy boxes at a time.
• Pierre Herme Aoyama: Tokyo’s culture of perfection lends itself well to French patisserie, and Pierre Herme’s Aoyama outpost encapsulates this. Completely worth a morning tea stop off for the caramelised hazelnut mille feuille- maybe after browsing the Saturday morning Aoyama farmer’s market next door.
• Suzukien Asakusa: if you’re a matcha person (can’t say that I am), then Suzukien offers 7 different strengths of matcha ice cream, as well as hojicha and black sesame.
• Others I didn’t quite make it to (check the hours of these as they are only open a few days a week): Harrits coffee & donuts, Sunday Bakeshop

Eat

• Sushi No Midori: very high quality mid-budget sushi with a number of locations (plates of tuna nigiri at approximately $40 pp) but it comes at the cost of a queue. Get there early for lunch to get a ticket and wait on the benches outside till you’re called.
• Uogashi Nihon-Ichi: a tiny standing sushi bar with room for about 10 around the counter in Shinjuku, perfect for a quick lunch on the go. Point to the mixed plate you’d like and the chefs serve it straight up in front of you. Very reasonably priced and some of the best sushi I had.
• Ohitsuzen Tanbo: beautiful rice sets with your choice of topping – think grilled salmon and roe, unagi or seared tuna on perfectly steamed rice, served up with sides of miso, wasabi, yam and a pot of roasted rice tea for you to DIY your meal. Prepare for the possibility of a line, or go early – but one of our favourite meals in Tokyo.
• Tsuta: a Michelin starred ramen bowl, complete with homemade noodles (flour from France and Hokkaido, soda ash from inner Mongolia), triple broth (whole chicken, clam and kelp, and dry fish), three different types of premium soy sauce, beef, porcini mushrooms, black truffle oil, balsamic truffle cream, morel and porcini cream sauce, fig compote and roasted Iberico pork. Insane. Get there around 8am to grab yourself a time to come back later (12 or 1pm), then expect to wait another half an hour when you return. We chose the shoyu ramen with everything. So worth it.
• Kikanbo: one of my favourite bowls of ramen from the trip – rich and spicy miso ramen topped with chunks of carmalised pork (chashu) and lots of garlic oil. It’s a food-coma inducing meal. You’ll get asked what level of spice you’d like – I went regular on both, and it was very manageable.
• Tensuke: a cheap and cheerful hole in the wall tempura outlet seating about 8 – get the tempura set and start with the crispy outside, gooey-centred tempura egg on rice, and follow up with a series of different vegetable and seafood tempura all made directly in front of you and delivered straight to your plate.
• OUT: an Australian run 13 seat restaurant serving up one dish only – a perfectly executed bowl of truffle pasta. Who knew a bowl of housemade fettuccine with liberal parmesan, olive oil and truffle could be this good. Start with a glass of red wine or bubbles and finish with the truffle chocolate truffles for dessert.
• Afuri: a much lighter ramen than many of the others we tried, Afuri is famous for their use of yuzu in their chicken and dashi broth. Head to their Nakameguro outlet for lunch before exploring the area (see below) .
• Udon Shin: it’s busy and touristy but with good reason – the udon here is chewy and bouncy and slippery and served in all manner of ways. Try the ultimate comfort food hot soy sauce udon with butter, pepper and soft boiled egg, the carabonara style bowl with bacon and parmesan, or go more traditional with cold udon, dipping sauce and piles of tempura.
• Anda Gyoza: if you’re staying in the area, this is a perfect local spot when you can’t be bothered to venture far to eat. Their gyoza are Taiwanese and look more like tortellini with a thick and nutty roasted oat wrapper and fillings like chicken and coriander, pork and daikon. Make sure to order the mapo tofu too – spicy and rich and perfect with rice.
• Ahiru Store: a tiny natural wine bar in Shibuya that delivers on atmosphere, nibbles and desserts – we devoured the tarte tatin and chocolate ganache cake.
• Sushi Zanmai: for cheap, fast, reasonable quality sushi that you won’t usually need to queue for (a number of locations).
• A few of the many many others on my list I didn’t make it to: Seirinkan or Pizza Studio Tamaki for allegedly the best pizza around, ramen at Mensho, Kiraku and Ramen Nagi, Obana for unagi and Tamawarai for soba

Do

• Shibuya: shop, eat, peer down at the crossing scramble (pop up to the top of Magnet by Shibuya 109 for a bird’s eye view at peak hour). Head up towards The Roastery by Nozy for an afternoon coffee softserve – it’s on a prime street for vintage, boutiques and people watching before hitting Harajuku in the evening. Another street worth exploring is the one that Coffee Supreme is located on.

• Ebisu and Nakameguro: head to Daikanyama T-site for book-shop heaven (there’s English and Japanese), wander down the canal (especially if it’s spring blossom or fall colours season), drink lots of coffee at Omibus and head to Afuri Ramen once you’re hungry.

• Ginza: head to Ippodo for high end matcha and sweets, the basement level of Mitsukoshi for food hall heaven, Ginza 6 for designer shops (but more importantly the giant suspended whale, golden architecture and rooftop city view) and Akomeya for boutique food items. Wander around the Imperial Palace if you have time while you’re over this side of the city.

• Shimokitazawa: if you want to vintage shop, this is the neighbourhood to do it.
• Tsukiji Market: the infamous Tokyo fish market has now been split in two – the commercial fish market and tuna auctions shifted to sterile warehouses a few kilometres away, and the bustling (and touristy) exterior street food stalls and eateries remaining in the original location. The latter is still absolutely worth a morning visit for a bowl of some of the freshest sashimi you’ll find (it’s still all sourced from the market). Go here for breakfast before venturing out to Team Lab: Borderless.
• teamLab borderless: a digital art museum you’ve probably already seen on instagram but unlike many things, is 1000x more impressive in reality – think rooms of floating lamps and a floor to ceiling crystal maze, constantly dynamic and changing. Buy tickets in advance.
• Yayoi Kusama Museum: a tiny museum worth it for Yayoi fans, a little off the beaten track but a lovely way to spend a spare hour. Book tickets ahead.
• Aoyama Farmers Market: a bustling, local Saturday morning farmer’s market full of more vegetables than I saw in the rest of the city, fresh wasabi, jars of vibrant pickles, freshly made rice milk, nut butters and bread.
• Senso-ji: the oldest temple in Tokyo, and also the busiest. Visit early if it’s tranquility or empty photographs you want.
• Kappabashi Utenstils St: need a Japanese knife, chopsticks or literally anything else you could possibly want for your kitchen? Here is your place. Tsubaya World is particularly well known for knives.
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observation Room: a 360° view over the city from 202m up – on a clear day, you can spot Mt Fuji. Unlike the Tokyo Sky Tree, this view is free.
• Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden: in good weather, this is worth an hour or two exploring the greenhouse, watching the reflections in the lakes and lazing on the grass.
• Other museums: the Mori Art Museum and Nezu Museum both came highly recommended but were closed the week I visited.

The post A Tokyo Travel & Food Guide appeared first on The Brick Kitchen.

It was the first blue-sky, t-shirt temperature weekend of spring in a city emerging from winter, and it was glorious. The canals were sun-drenched and sparkling, and seemingly every human in town was seeking out that vitamin D: couches pulled out onto doorsteps, cafe tables haphazardly dragged onto the cobbles, people reading while lounging on their front steps or sunbathing on balconies, and parks and canals full of picnics. Around every corner was another view – bridges adorned with bicycles or a strip of unnervingly tilted canal-side houses, narrow buildings with large windows that in the evening emanate golden light (with residents clearly not averse to being seen by passers by). Plus bustling street markets, world class museums, warm stroop waffels oozing caramel and an emerging restaurant scene – what more could you want?

This is probably at odds with Amsterdam’s traditional seedy reputation, which might be the impression you leave with if you stick to the tourist-filled city centre (which is very easy to avoid). But even in that there is history and stories, as I learnt on a walking tour, and it epitomises the Dutch culture of tolerance (as long as there are ways of turning a profit and minimising harm, that is). The tolerance of soft drugs (PS. A cafe is for coffee. A coffeeshop is not) and the infamous red light district are prime examples, and the stories of how they came to be are worth hearing.

It’s a compact city of just 800,000 people and is easily walkable: it’s also a city made for cycling, with dedicated bike paths criss-crossing canals. Great food did seem slighter harder to find than in cities like London, but with research, recommendations and a certain amount of trial and error, we ate extremely well. Below I have compiled some of my favourite spots for how to spend a weekend in Amsterdam – obviously not entirely comprehensive but based on four days packed full of eating. Read on for lots of photographs, where to find a Melbourne-worthy flat-white, canal side drinks, neighbourhoods to explore, farmers markets, museums and the best apple pie I’ve ever had.

We stayed in an airbnb in De Pijp, which is an area I’d highly recommend – much more local than the city centre (and more affordable), lots of cafes and restaurants, and walking distance to pretty much everywhere you’d want to go.

Coffee and Brunch

• Scandinavian Embassy: a sun-lit spot in De Pijp serving up excellent coffee, with freshly baked cinnamon knots emerging on trays from the tiny kitchen every morning. The bowl of rye and barley porridge topped with berries and a splash of cream was also a treat.
• Toki: the best coffee of the trip was found at this minimalist spot on the west side of the city, alongside a counter of shiny kouign-amanns and loaf cakes with the best frosting:cake ratio I’ve seen in a while. The lunch menu looked equally enviable.
• Little Collins: a Melbourne-inspired cafe opened by XX which felt a bit like the place to see and be seen, with lunchtime bloody marys possibly more of a priority than the coffee. In saying that, the menu was much more innovative than many of the brunch spots around Amsterdam – just be prepared for a wait.
• Dignita: this glass-house in a garden cafe feels like an escape from the bustle of the rest of the city – perfect for a slow morning or a late lunch on a sunny day. Try the chickpea and zucchini fritters with golden haloumi, herby yogurt and a poached egg.
• Bocca Coffee: a central dedicated coffee roastery with a few small lunch plates and treats.
• Buffet van Odette: a light and white-tiled canal-side restaurant dishing up seasonal, vegetable focussed food. It’s open all day – stop by in the morning for their famous truffle omelette or parmesan baked eggs, lunch time for the Ottolenghi-vibed salad bar or simply for their gorgeous desserts. Book ahead if you can.

Bakeries and Patisserie

• Winkel 43: this APPLE PIE. I’m sure you’ve probably already heard it, but I’m going to reiterate it for good measure. Mind-boggling numbers of ultra-deep, cinnamon scented apple pies emerge from the downstairs kitchen of this restaurant throughout the day, and slices disappear from the counter as fast as they are cut. A buttery crisp pastry and a side of whipped cream – what more could you want? Go on a Saturday morning and wander round the Noordermarkt at the same time (just be warned that Saturday is also their busiest day for the same reason).
• Original Stroop Waffels in Albert Cuyp market: the best freshly made stroop waffel I tried – the distinctive crisp and cinnamon waffled pastry filled with a gooey caramel centre and served hot and hand-sized with a smear of dark chocolate. Eat while wandering the market, and enjoy the sugar rush. The pofterjes made at a stall nearby were also worth trying- get them topped with a chunk of butter, a drizzle of maple syrup and a serious dusting of icing sugar (no nutella here).
• Van Wonderen Stroop Waffel: a second best to the market version above, these stroop waffels are also freshly made (and therefore superior to any non-fresh version), but this time come with your choice of topping (and thus are also the most instagrammed stroop waffel in amsterdam, precariously held out of the edge of canals – note that I didn’t do this, ok?!).
• Van Stapele: a tiny mahogany wood-panelled shopfront tucked in next to the fumes of a few coffeeshops, with the much more delicious smells of freshly made double chocolate cookies wafting from the door. So fresh you can literally watch them tuck white chocolate centres into balls of dark chocolate dough and peer through the glass oven doors as cookies spread and rise.
• Patisserie Holtkamp: founded in 1886, this patisserie not only supplies the Dutch Royal family, but (perhaps the royalty of food) Yotam Ottolenghi described it as probably the best bakery in Amsterdam. They’re well known for the croquettes, but I also tried a slab of lemon meringue pie. There’s no room to eat in, but if it’s sunny have a picnic canal-side.
• Massimo Gelato: I unfortunately ran out of stomach room to try this corner shop in De Pijp, but really wanted to – and the line of locals out the door all weekend affirmed this. Possibly the best gelato in Amsterdam.

Restaurants 

• 101 Gowrie: a tiny space in De Pijp headed by Alex Haupt, an Australian chef who recently featured on the Netflix show The Final Table and has worked at Dinner by Heston in London. Described as New Dutch cuisine, the food was outstanding and (for a tasting menu) reasonably priced. A taste of a savoury pofetje, here made with potato and topped with caviar; mini boules of housemade spelt sourdough smeared thick with rich whipped cultured kefir butter; more starters and a choice of main. I would highly recommend booking a table here if your budget extends to it – a well thought-out tasting menu that didn’t feel pretentious or fussy, retaining the vibe of a local, neighbourhood restaurant with a fairly young clientele.
• Sir Hummus: casual and fast, here they dollop up portions of hummus to rival Tel Aviv- fluffy, smooth and creamy, with your choice of toppings (mine was a roast eggplant salad, chickpeas and pine nuts) and a side of warm pita, salad and pickles.
• Soup and zo: essentially salad and takeaway soup, but just the kind of food you want when you’ve been travelling for days: homely and full of vegetables and a cheap, easy meal. There’s a few locations over the city, perfect for lunch or an early quick dinner.
• Other places I didn’t make it to but might be worth a try:
  • Tujuh Maret: because of Amsterdam’s history of trading and colonisation, international cuisines are prominent, and the Indonesian rijsttafel most of all. Essentially a set menu of many small (and spicy) dishes, I was disappointed not to get the chance to try it.
  • Bar Fisk: a tucked away seafood restaurant inspired by the food of Tel Aviv – casual small share plates.
  • Choux: a casual vegetable focused tasting menu that came highly recommended.
  • La perla pizzeria or Sotto Pizza: apparently some of the best pizza in Amsterdam (that also wouldn’t be out of place in Italy).
  • Wilde Zwijnen or their Eetbar next door: a daily changing menu of modern Dutch cuisine.
  • Fou Fow Ramen: for a quick dinner in a bustling ramen joint.

Markets, museums and things to see:

• Albert Cuypstraat: a six-day a week street market (closed Sundays) in De Pijp – apparently over 100 years old and the largest street market in Europe. Perfect for acquiring bread, cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables if you’re cooking for yourself or having a picnic, or seek out the Original Stroop Waffels and neighbouring pofterjes stall.
• Noordermarkt: a lively Saturday morning farmer’s market right beside the legendary Winkel 43 (see above) filled with everything from fresh produce to flowers, clothing and antiques.
• Anne Frank House: a haunting tour through the largely untouched rooms that Anne Frank and her family hid in for 2 years during the Nazi occupation – the annex of the warehouse where her father formerly worked, and where she penned her diary. I re-read her diary in the days before I visited, and was overwhelmed by the somewhat precocious insight into relationships and humanity of a normal girl in extraordinary circumstances in a way I don’t think I appreciated when reading it age 12. Because of limitations on visitor numbers, tickets are exceedingly hard to come by –  either book 2-3 months out, or get online the morning of your visit for the 9am release (my advice would be to get in the queue at just before 9, then keep reloading the page if it crashes. Mine crashed a number of times and I thought they were sold out, but finally at 9:10am it finally worked and there were still tickets available).
• The Van Gogh Museum: disclaimer – I’m not a huge museum person. I enjoy them for a few hours, but I’m not one of those people who could stay all day and stare at a few pieces of art work. In saying that, this was probably the best museum I’ve been to (up there with L’orangerie in Paris – the water lilies are something else). Telling the life story of Van Gogh alongside a huge collection of his art, it was fascinating to hear more about the man behind some of the most recognisable paintings in the world. Again, book tickets ahead of time as they tend to sell out, particularly for the weekend, and I also really enjoyed the audioguide. Other people also highly recommend the Rijkmuseum, and we enjoyed a quick visit to the Moco museum of modern art.
• Walking tour: for learning the basics of a city’s history and fascinating insights about places that you might ordinarily have walked straight past, as well as getting local’s perspective on their city, a walking tour is hard to go past. I did a Freedam tour on my first day and would highly recommend it – it was the only time I walked through the Red Light district the whole trip, but I learnt so much more about its history and current issues than I ever would have otherwise.
• Vondelpark: essentially the central park of Amsterdam – on sunny days full of picnics, and on dreary mornings full of cycling commuters and joggers. It backs onto the museum district, so perfect for a wander pre- or post-museum visit.
• Bike and explore! Amsterdam seems to be one of those cities that is best seen not through the grand museums or the tourist-crammed central city, but by exploring on your own two feet (or two wheels – hiring a bike is an inexpensive way to feel more like a local). Spend an afternoon exploring De Pijp’s concept stores and wine bars, discover one boutique store after another alongside the most beautiful canals in the nine streets, wander through Jordaan and spent a morning at at a market. In the summer, grab treats and picnic canal-side.

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After visiting Copenhagen this year, it didn’t surprise me that it was recently named Lonely Planet’s top city to visit in 2019. If it wasn’t for the long, cold winters, I might have moved there already. Though the Danes seem to have developed a solution even for that: the concept of hygge (pronounced hue-guh) which embraces all things cozy and comforting, like a giant hug of warm baths and candles, books by a crackling fireplace, long lazy dinners and snuggly sweatpants. Copenhagen well and truly won me over.

Copenhagen has experienced a culinary resurgence of late, spearheaded by Noma and their chefs making waves in their own ventures (think best-outside-Tokyo ramen at Slurp, and plates of fresh corn tortillas straight from Mexico at Hija de Sanchez) . We tripped between bakeries with pastries to rival Paris: yeasty knotted cardamom buns, the lightest koign amann, buttery almond croissants and warm cinnamon scrolls topped with chocolate ganache – with coffee to match. There was chewy sourdough served up with sliced cheese and thick cream (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it), and cabinets of traditional sturdy smorrebrod with endless cold (and colourful) toppings. I was also lucky to be invited on a Foods of Copenhagen afternoon tour, and it was a highlight of the trip – a walking tour, history lesson and food guide to the city all at once. I can’t give away their secrets (though I hear the route changes regularly), but I would highly recommend it.

It’s a city made to be seen on two wheels: less than a third of locals own cars, and it’s the safest I’ve ever felt on cycle paths. Hire a bike and you’ll suddenly cover far more ground and feel much less like a tourist. The most inexpensive option we found were the ubiquitous orange Donkey bikes (maybe not stylish, but very functional). That’s the other thing – Copenhagen is big on style. Despite the odd moment of feeling just a little short and frumpy, it was people-watching central: effortlessly cycling and chatting in flowing dresses, meeting for sunset drinks on the bridge, stopping for coffee and picnicking in parks. There’s multiple royal castles and modern design museums if that’s your thing (I’ve had Glyptotek, the David Collection and SMK recommended), but even simply cycling and wandering the cobbled streets of different neighbourhoods was more than enough.

Yes, it is an expensive place to visit, but not drastically different to London. My student budget meant there was no fine dining, so here are a few of my favourite slightly cheaper eats and sights.

Bakeries and Coffee Shops

• Anderson & Maillard: a bright airy cafe, roastery and freelance workspace – try the ultra-flaky and light koign amann, the espresso soft serve in summer, or the coffee brushed croissants.
• Juno the Bakery: tucked down an unassuming street well away from tourists, we were greeted by the smell of cardamom and a line out the door of locals grabbing boxes of baking for the weekend. Cardamom buns emerged from the oven about as fast as they were bought, and it was definitely the best of the trip (the best I’ve had ever, actually). I also grabbed a loaf of the densest rye bread I’ve tried and a gorgeous pistachio and raspberry frangipane tart.
• The Corner at 108: a casual off-shoot of Noma comprising a small plates restaurant and a relaxed cafe and bakery. The latter is where we found coffee and berry kombucha multi-layered pastries, and the best sourdough, sliced cheese and whipped cream/butter combination of the trip.
• Democratic Coffee: coffee, workspace backing onto a library and the best almond croissants being made in full view of the counter.
• Coffee Collective: located in a few different areas of the city , this was the best coffee of the trip – and watch out for the espresso soft serve if you’re here in summer.
• Atelier September: another cafe to people watch (or be watched, who knows) and dive into their thick greek yogurt with zucchini jam, pecan granola and basil, or the ultimate avocado toast. It’s very central, so perfect for breakfast before heading to the Round Tower, a museum or castle.
• Meyers Bageri: one of the more famous (and now a chain) bakeries in Copenhagen, it’s hard to beat the warm, flaky cinnamon scrolls topped with chocolate ganache if you’re walking past.
• Sankt Peters Bageri: the oldest bakery in the city (it opened in 1652), and especially worth a visit on a Wednesday for their infamous extra large cinnamon scroll (otherwise known as snails, or onsdagssnegle)
• Grod: though most famed for its hearty morning porridge offerings, the meaning of Grod goes further than the sweet breakfast oats we might imagine, including everything from rice puddings, dahl, risotto and congee. Savoury or sweet, warm or cold, there’s something here for everyone. Try to make it to the original store in Norrebro, but if not there’s also a stall in the Torrehalvane market.

Lunches and dinners

• Slurp Ramen: I’ve never been to Japan, so I can safely say this was the best bowl of miso ramen I’ve tried. Line up at a fluorescent bar elbow to elbow with strangers for fast service, loud music and house-made noodles.
• Baest: the ultimate farm-to-table sourdough pizza joint – almost everything, cheeses and charcuterie included, comes from their farm. We ate two pizzas and plates of fresh ricotta and stracciatella between the two of us, and staggered home via Nice Cream.
• Mirabelle: situated in the same little precinct as Baest, Mirabelle’s highlights are its morning pastries – get a sourdough croissant – and daily specials of hearty house-made pasta plates.
• Brus: a craft brewery next to Baest and Mirabelle, this is the place for as lazy sunny afternoon with a crowd – the food is just as good as the beer. They had me at fermented fries.
• Manfreds: a local, seasonal and relaxed restaurant serving up vegetable focused small plates (though ironically the steak tartare with rye is probably the most hyped dish on the menu). Also reasonably priced, for Copenhagen and this quality of food.
• Apollo Kantine: by the owners of Atelier September, this is more of a lunch/drinks version. The slab of sourdough topped with fresh ricotta stained with the mound of juicy seasonal blackberries above was epic.
• Hija de Sanchez: opened by Rosio Sanchez, former Noma pastry chef, this taqueria was everything I’ve wanted since I ate tacos on the streets of Mexico two years ago. Small and packed with flavour – think fresh corn tortillas, fried eggs, slabs of avocado, bursts of lime juice and liberal coriander and tender pulled pork (it also avoids the oily cheesiness that haunts many Mexican joints).
• Nice Cream: the best vegan ice cream I’ve ever tried. You wouldn’t guess it was vegan – and it comes in flavours full of brownie chunks, salted caramel, and peanut butter swirls.
• A few more that I didn’t quite make it to:
  • Mahalle Cafe: for affordable Lebanese. Make sure to book ahead- we missed out.
  • Nordisk Falafel: for cheap and cheerful falafel and silky hummus that apparently won the best falafel of 2018.

Neighbourhoods and sights to see

• A Foods of Copenhagen tour: an afternoon accompanied by a local with inside knowledge of the best mix of boutique, up-and-coming and  historic eateries that Copenhagen has to offer – I’d done extensive research on where to eat before this trip, and the tour still managed to surprise me.
• Norrebro for some of the best food in the city, craft beer, boutique shopping and the Assistens cemetery (the burial place of Hans Christian Anderson, and also a popular place to cycle through and picnic).
• The city centre for Torrehalvane market, shopping, a trip up the Round Tower and a peek into the white and gold interiors of the church next door, a visit to Rosenburg castle and Amelianborg, a wander through the Botanical Gardens. In summer, spend an evening at the glittering, old school Tivoli Gardens and theme park.
• Vesterbro for the red light district turned hipster hangout – graffiti and flat whites included.
• Osterbro for the best cardamom buns at Juno and a more family friendly suburb.
• Nyhavn for that iconic colourful strip of townhouses on the water – an entertainment district since the 17th century. Wander over the bridge to the Broens Gadekøkken street food precinct if you’re in need of fuel.
• Cycle along the river fronts, ducking into the Black Diamond Royal Library, a swim at the Islands Brygge Harbour Baths, taking in the boats from the Inderhavnsbroen bridge and the tourists posing with the very famous and underwhelming Little Mermaid statue, and doing a lap of the pentagonal Kastellet Miliary Fortress.
• Freetown Christiania for a unique look at an alternative way of living – a social experiment of sorts, a suburb completely out on its own since being occupied by hippies in the seventies. There’s a lot of pot, but also their own rules and laws separate from the Danish government, with a very different working and political system and concepts of ownership and currency.

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My first morning in Lisbon was not ideal. I woke up early, ready to be productive; I scrambled up the cobbled, slippery and steep streets up to a cafe straight out of a magazine, Hello Kristof; I plonked myself down on a communal table with the best flat white I’d had in a while and a bowl of thick greek yogurt and homemade granola – and I desperately rushed to finish my thesis, six months in the making. I vowed not to leave the cafe until it was submitted, a goal that was tested when I realised I’d miscalculated and still had another few hundred words to cull, and tested again when my battery read 5%. Luckily the girl next to me with her laptop charger saved the day. I was not going to let editing and re-editing these 15,000 words take over the rest of my time in Lisbon. So, taunted by the sunlight on the teal tiled buildings outside the window and the yellow trams rattling past, I pressed submit. I left that cafe about about 100kg lighter – ready to take on whatever Lisbon had to offer.

Lisbon more than lived up to expectations. It wasn’t until a year or so ago that it was even on my radar, without the force of reputation of Rome, Paris or Barcelona. It is only in recent years that it has undertaken some kind of culinary resurgence – labeled the next “it destination” by every other magazine, the “most underrated dining city”, the “hottest place to visit next” and coupled with glamorous instagram shots of multicoloured tiles, a hilly red roof-ed city overlooking the river, and the classic Australian inspired brunches (you know, the flat whites and acai bowls on asymmetric plates and a marble bench-top). Cue all the travel bloggers (ok, me included). Well, it was justified. It was that night in one of Lisbon’s most talked about cevicherias, a tiny sunlit place known by the huge octopus hanging from the ceiling, seated at the bar next to another freelancer living in Lisbon, greeted with house-made cornbread and seaweed butter, eating the freshest salmon ceviche topped with mango foam. It was the evening trek we made up the hill just to eat warm pastel de nata fresh from the oven at Mantegaria, crisp and flaky and dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar. It was the graffitied and slightly dilapidated sloping streets, where the higher you go the better the view. It was the gem around every corner – the stores trading solely in tinned fish (it’s big business here, and I came home with a bagful of my own), the traditional Portuguese eateries serving up cod and potato, ribs and rice next to more diverse and immigrant driven restaurants, particularly Africa and Asia – a different spectrum of flavour to other European cities.

Below are some of my favourite spots during my week in Lisbon – where to find the darkest chocolate gelato, the back (free) entrances to popular viewpoints, the flaky pastel de nata and fresh seafood. And yes, the flat whites too.

Coffee and Cafes

• Comoba: a modern, plant-filled cafe just around the corner from the hostel I stayed at – the best coffee I found and a gorgeous breakfast and lunch menu.
• Hello Kristof: the aforementioned location where I scrambled to finish my thesis : great coffee, a great place for breakfast or to freelance, great breakfast food if you’re leaning towards something a little healthier – an acai bowl, greek yogurt, and the scrambled eggs on sourdough were met with rave reviews by my neighbours.
• Copenhagen Coffee Lab: if you’re looking for a bit of hygge, a quality coffee and a cardamom bun or avocado on rye, this is your place. They also do breakfast plates with a little bit of everything – perfect for the indecisive. There are 2 or 3 across the city.
• Bettina & Niccolò Corallo: a little pink hued chocolate shop and roastery – sample some housemade chocolate with your espresso, order the halfway to molten brownie if they’re there, and don’t leave without trying their made-to-order dark chocolate sorbet- it’s just dark chocolate, water and a bit of brown sugar. For those who love their chocolate intense.
• The Mill: an Australian owned cafe filled with blue speckled plates and instagrammers, but also a good feed too, and reliable coffee.
• Others that I didn’t get a chance to visit but have heard good things about: Zenith, Bowls & Bar, Fauna & Flora and Talk to Me. All very pretty brunch spots involving coffee.

Sweets, Bakeries and Pastel de Nata

• Manteigaria: known as the best pastel de nata in town, this place was worth seeking out. You can watch the pastry being made and tins being lined by hand, and the turnover is so high you’ll be eating your’s warm from the oven. Try the cinnamon and icing sugar on top, and a take a few for later! Or just drop back past- they’re only a euro each, after all, and open until midnight.
• Pastels de Belem: the main rival of Manteigaria for best pastel de nata. They were a different beast entirely and I’m not sure I could pick a favourite – these were certainly more crisp and flaky, more pastry dominant, and perhaps had a little longer in the oven. You’ll just have to try both! Make a morning trip out to Belem and couple it with a visit to the Jeronimo’s Monastery (get tickets next door at the museum if the line is too long) and a wander past the Belem Tower.
• Landeau chocolate cake at the LX factory: a very famous chocolate cake. Google it. Even the New York Times had a rave. If you’re a chocolate cake person and you’re at the LX market, I’d recommend giving it a try – it’s rich but light and almost mousse like, and comes dusted with cocoa.
• Pastelaria Alcoa and Confeitaria Nacional: the top spots for more traditional Portuguese baked goods (a little warning – you may feel a little sugar overloaded by the end of your visit).
• Mu – gelato italiano: so so good. By far the best gelato I had in Lisbon. Caramelised banana and dark chocolate? Salted pistachio? It almost rivalled Italy. I also heard great things about Nannarella Gelateria but didn’t quite manage to try it out. Gelados Santini, though ubiquitous, was nowhere near as good (though if you must, get the coconut).

Lunch and Dinner

• A Cevechieria: some of the best ceviche I’ve had. Go early as it’s tiny and there’ll be a queue, though there is some outside space to wait with a drink if it’s a nice evening. Identifiable by the octopus hanging from the ceiling. The pisco sours are also A++
• Ramiro: launched into superstardom and insane wait times by it’s feature on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. So yes, it’s touristville, packed and probably a little overpriced- but the seafood was **incredible**. So worth it. Tiger prawns as big as my forearm, clams swimming in a fragrant white wine and coriander sauce, garlic shrimp sizzling straight in the pan accompanied by piles of buttered white bread. If you’re up for it, get the steak sandwich for dessert – it brings new meaning to surf and turf. Get a reservation (you can before 730pm!) or go very early.
• Taberna da rua das flores: tiny tables are crammed into this narrow space in the city centre, where the lunch menu is scrawled outside on a blackboard and no reservations are taken. Go for lunch for a more traditional Portuguese meal, or for dinner for a seasonal menu of more creative dishes, still using Portuguese ingredients. Expect to wait, or visit off-peak time.
• Sol e pesca: a tiny rod and net adorned bar born out of a fishing shop down by the waterfront, almost solely selling canned seafood – which, being in Portugal, is probably the best in the world. It’s a good chance to test out what fish you might like to bring home – sardines, tuna, cod, mackerel, octopus, eel.. Get a few drinks and sit outside on a warm evening.
• Time Out Food Court: I’m sure you’ve already heard all about this – I thought it was great for a quick lunch or dinner with the myriad of different stalls (and thus also great if you have a group of people with different tastes as you can get anything from tuna tartare to traditional Portuguese rice to pad thai to burgers), but it wouldn’t make top of the list for me. It’s fairly crowded, pricy and touristy. Manteigaria and Bettina and Niccolo Coralli are also located here in mini-form if you didn’t get a chance to visit, but I’d highly recommend dropping past their original stores. However, the morning produce market IS worth a stop by before the crowds arrive.
• Other places I didn’t get to but came highly recommended:
  • Cantinho do Aziz: a casual and acclaimed Mozambican restaurant – think lamb ribs, coconut crab curry and samosas.
  • Pistola y Corazon Taqueria: a casual Mexican taco stop with rave reviews.

To see and shop:

• Conserveira de Lisboa and Loja da Conservas: walls of hundreds and hundreds of brightly hued tins of fish. The former was established in 1930 and maintains the traditional shop style and countertops. At a few dollars each, they make the perfect memento.
• Prada Mercearia: a turqoise painted specialty grocer with a particularly photo friendly wall of jarred dry goods. Pick up some bread, vegetables and a few cans of fish, or sit with the newspaper and a coffee.
• Rua Augusta Arch: towering over the main pedestrian shopping strip one way and the plaza and the river the other, you can head up to the top of the arch for a unique view over the city. It was built to commemorate the reconstruction of the city following the devastating earthquake of 1755.
• Explore the different neighbourhoods: the winding steps of Alfama with the Tues/Sat flea market, tiny homes and artisan shops and the view from Portas Do Sol; the backstreets of Barrio Alto with its night life and restaurants spilling onto the pavement (make sure to walk up Ascensor Da Bica and to the Santa Caterina Miradoura); peer down Ascensor da Gloria and wander past the towering front of Rossio station; up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge, built by the Moors in the 11th century.
• Sintra: (in my opinion) worth a day trip, but only if you have more than 3 days in Lisbon itself. Otherwise, I’d stick to Lisbon. All I can say is GO EARLY (as in, get there at or before opening time) and buy tickets online ahead to avoid the crowds. My favourites were Pena Palace and Quinta da Regeilara.
• Spend a morning in Belem: wander through the Jeronimos Monastery (get a ticket from the museum next door if there is a line), walk past the Tower of Belem and tuck into morning tea at Pastels de Belem. Wander back towards Lisbon via the LX factory for window shopping, coffee at Wish Concept Store or browsing the floor to ceiling lined bookstore.

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It started with the strangest international flight I’d ever been on: a two hour interrogation and full baggage search in Portugal before boarding a military-esque, extreme utilitarian plane, complete with narrow, thread-bare seats without so much as a recline or headrest, no service (no food or drink, screens, pillows or blankets), and more than one heated argument above my head in Hebrew between passengers and crew. Little sleep ensued. Then came a 6am scramble through the airport, crook neck and all (less security on this side, thank goodness), only to dive into an taxi that clearly was a rally car driver in another life (I quickly realised this was the norm – not one car was unscathed). This is Tel Aviv.

Though sleep was now the first thing on my mind, I had priorities: and first was my 9am Delicious Israel tour. Let’s just say my tour guide had a masters on hummus and Israeli nationalism – it was hands down the best food tour I’ve ever done. We began with bowls of creamy hummus topped with liberal olive oil, parsley, ful (a dark, rich fava bean puree) and paprika, scooped up with hot falafel, freshly baked pita and sharp onion wedges (yes you read that right), and my new favourite-  masabacha. Same ingredients as hummus, but deconstructed – all cooked together rather than blitzed – for a lumpy, broken chickpea texture. The next six hours were a blur of food: malabi, a creamy milk pudding topped with pomegranate raspberry syrup and sweet coconut peanut crumble; boureka, crispy and flaky and filled with spinach and cheese; lamb shawarma straight from the spit; market-stall flatbread, spread with tahini sauce, parsley-heavy tabouli, chilli, za’tar and grilled eggplant then folded like an envelope and placed straight into my hot hands. More and more – but I can’t give up all their secrets. Suffice to say I ate, and ate, and ate – and learnt so much more about Tel Aviv and Israeli food, culture and history than I ever would have on my own. 

It’s a sun-drenched, golden-hued city, dry and sand baked. There’s palm trees and the Mediterranean, the odd skyscraper but mainly crumbled bauhaus buildings – one renovated and glowing for every abandoned and windowless version. We walked and ate. Buttery, dense dark chocolate babka, or a white chocolate halva iteration in the morning. Soft and charred whole roast cauliflower served up in a paper bag, smoky grilled eggplant on a bed of creamy tahini sauce with spicy grated tomato for lunch. Market smoothie stands piled high with the biggest pomegranates I’ve ever seen, frequented by both machine-gun toting IDF teens and head-scarfed orthodox women. Restaurants are crowded and lively – expect to do shots with the bartenders – and Israelis eat LATE (we felt like nanna’s rocking up at 730pm). Though the streets are empty on Saturday mornings with Shabbat, the waterfront was packed with joggers and cyclists getting in their weekend exercise pre-coffee – not unlike home. There was no real modern retailing – no mega strip of Zara, Topshop and Nike – but if Tel Aviv was a culture shock, then Jerusalem was that on steroids. 

More about that in another blog post, but below are some of my favourite coffee stops, bakeries, markets, bars and restaurants in Tel Aviv. I loved it. (I have also included a few from Jerusalem down the bottom, but as we only spent a day and half there, I was much less thorough in exploring!)

Cafes & Bakeries

• Nahat Cafe: hands down the best coffee we tried, and a great spot to sit on the sidewalk and people watch. Make sure to order one of their house-made croissants with a pot of salted pistachio butter on the side.
• Dallal Bakery: tucked away in Neve Tzedek, Dallal does a gorgeous, brioche-like babka – one dark chocolate, the other halva- and great coffee. Sit outside in the sun along the marble bar. Also try their poppy-seed tart.
• Lehahim Bakery: you might have already heard of the legendary Bread’s Bakery in NYC – this is the original. It’s a confluence of Israeli, Jewish and Danish sweets: the chocolate babka, rich and buttery with croissant dough, is the best I’ve tried, and we also loved the almond-crusted croissants and dark chocolate rugelach. I’d recommend the larger cafe located in HaHashmonaim St.  
• Cafelix: Cafelix has three or so locations in Tel Aviv, all of which serve up great coffee and sweets. 
• Cafe Levinsky 41: a tiny hold-in-the-wall in Florentine, Levinsky are masters of fermentation: kombucha, kefir and all manner of jars of various fruits, syrups and spices. Order a kombucha and watch as they individually flavour-profile each drink and adorn your glass with herbs and flowers. 
• Little Prince Bookshop and cafe: perfect for free-lance work or brunch, the walls are lined with books and there’s plenty of seating. An impressive food menu too – try their cherry tomato shakshuka. 
• Bucke cafe: one that I was recommended and didn’t quite manage to get to. Go for brunch and order the breakfast tray, filled with dollops of labneh, hummus, eggs, roast vegetables and various salads. 
• Uzi-Eli: a little health food store near Carmel market, this is the place for your smoothies, acai bowls and refreshing juice stops. You can also find them in Jerusalem in the Mahane Yehuda market. 

Restaurants and Cheap Eats

• North Abraxus: you may have heard of the casual Israeli eatery Miznon, which has been steadily taking over the world (Tel Aviv, Vienna, Paris, Melbourne, NYC) one whole roast cauliflower at a time. This is Eyal Shani’s slightly more upscale version, where you can book a table rather than standing at a bar and there are no pitas in sight. Pile in for the torch whole roast, blackened sweet potato ‘that you eat with your hands’, served with creme fraiche and smoked salt, the “white lines of aubergine lined up on tahini”, and so much more. It’s a new menu every day. Call to book. 
• Miznon, if you haven’t been already, for said whole roast cauliflower and pita (pita on the bone, and the falafel pita, are my favourites). 
• Port Sa’id: this the more lively, bar version of North Abraxus. We went to both. Definitely worth it. Try the arab cabbage cake, slow cooked and melting in butter. It’s opposite a synagogue with outdoor seating sprawling out over the steps, and is the ideal place for a lazy sunny lunch with friends. 
• HaBasta: a little place tucked in off a side street of the Carmel Market with a handwritten daily changing menu. Sit outside on the street with eclectic red checked tableclothes, and book if you can. A bit pricy, but probably worth it if market-to-table, local ingredients, wines and interesting flavour combinations are your thing. 
• Hummus Abu Hassan: the OG hummus joint in Jaffa since 1966. Pro tip: the original spot is tiny and you might have trouble getting in at peak hour if there’s more than two of you, but they’ve opened a bigger place about 1km away where you can sit outside in the shade and be dished up plates of hummus, masabacha, falafel and warm pita. 
• Falafel Hakosem and Falafel Gabai: the best falafel I tried in Tel Aviv. Grab a shakshuka and bowl of chopped tomato cucumber salad to go with it.  
• Sabich: maybe the ultimate Israeli fusion food, some of the best street-side sabich can be found opposite the Carmel Market: think fresh pita piled up with grilled eggplant, hard-hard-boiled egg, golden potato. all freshened up with herbs and greens and dolled up with tahini sauce. Filling, delicious AND cheap. 

Markets

• Carmel market: an absolute must walk through in Tel Aviv, but try to avoid Friday afternoon (and it is closed on Saturdays), when it becomes frantic with everyone loading up on shopping for Shabbat meals. Stop for a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice or smoothie, buy spices like za’atar to take home, and feast on all the colours, smells and sounds around you. This is another place included on the Delicious Israel tour- so much to learn here!
• Levinsky market: more of a street with open front stores than a market as such, this is the place for your dried herbs, fruit, pulses and spices. Stop at Cafe Levinsky for a floral kombucha, snack on some dates and buy a bunch of different halva flavours (my favourite was the pistachio). 

Jerusalem favourites

• Mahane Yehuda Market: even bigger and better than the markets in Tel Aviv. Stop by in the morning to watch the bakeries churn out hundreds of pita, the fishmongers and spice-sellers hawk their wares, and the piles of produce and sweets around every corner. Grab a coffee from the Cafelix Roasters and a smoothie from Uzi-Eli while you people-watch. 
• Machneyuda: be warned – it’s extremely loud, in a club-y kind of way. It’s also one of the most renowned restaurants in Israel, by the same chefs that own the Palomar and the Barbary in London. If you like those, you’ll like this. If you like the sound of modern, innovative Israeli food, you’ll like this. Must book online –  and book on the early side if you’re noise-averse. 
• Azura: a more traditional market restaurant. In Ottolenghi’s words, “it tells the story of Jewish immigrants and how their food has manifested itself since grandma’s time”. That famous eggplant dish stuffed with ground beef and pinenuts from Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook? Inspired by the very dish at Azura. 
• Lina Hummus & Falafel (old Jerusalem): if you are doing a day tour of Jerusalem (which I would highly recommend, we loved ours and learnt SO much) then head here for lunch, deep in the Arab quarter. Bowls of creamy hummus topped with chickpeas, pinenuts and herbs, crisp falafel and vibrant Jerusalem chopped salad. 
• Kadosh Cafe Patisserie: second to the market, a great spot for a pastry or breakfast before starting your day exploring the old city. 

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