HERE MY STEPS. TAKE A LOOK!
Everyone wants to visit the UK’s busiest city, but aside from the main tourist sights, what is there to see? How do you get from one place to another in this huge place? Need an insider’s perspectiveI want to share a ‘ NON TOURISTY TOURIST’ perspective on what to see in the Big Smoke! If you want to visit the mainstream attractions like the London Eye, Tower of London and Madame Tussauds then, of course, you should go for it!
They’re lots of fun.
BUT………
There’s another fascinating side of the city that goes far beyond the usual tourist highlights. I want to share some quick tips that real Londoners enjoy to make your time there truly memorable!
Friday:
First things first, get accustomed to the TFL (Transport for London) website and buy an oyster card from your nearest station: it’s the most affordable way to travel.
You arrive early afternoon and want to see as much as possible this weekend!
Head towards Greenwich to see the Cutty Sark ship, hire a Boris bike and cycle under the Thames. At the other side, enjoy the view and take a left towards Canary Wharf to get a sneak peak of all the city’s penguins (the crowds of businessmen in suits). If shopping and city life is your thing, the Canada Water shopping centre is your new best friend. Enjoy all of the main high street shops, in addition to some more fancy brands! The restaurant ROKA in Canary Wharf has a beautiful view of the city from a great height, and serves delicious food and cocktails.
If you prefer the scenic route, continue along the river you’ll reach some cobbled streets (difficult for cycling: it’s going to be a bumpy ride!) with quaint English pubs before arriving at St Katherine Docks. Dock your Boris bike somewhere and catch your breath before the evening adventures begins. 
There aren’t many places I’d recommend more highly than Frank’s bar in Peckham on a warm evening to really appreciate the atmosphere of London. Opposite the station lies a formerly disused multi-story carpark, which now hosts Frank’s Bar on the roof! Affordable drinks (for London) and a view over the whole city!
For my first night in the city, I went exotic and choose a great restaurant in Portobello. 
Outdoor, a flashing red neon sign says Japanese Gastropub, just below a mysterious face of a mysterious woman. Is she a geisha? Is she crying or praying? Let’ s go inside. Previous doubts ended as soon as I found myself embraced by UKAI’s cosy and warm atmosphere .
A welcoming bar to the front and an open kitchen restaurant in the back. It looked loke a nice mixing of Japanese design with Italian flair and some traditional British pub features 
black and white photo portraits give an art gallery feeling, while Japanese artwork and foliage painting decorate walls and ceilings the rooms adorns the walls; furnished with causal wooden tables and filtered by an amber lighting that warms up the rooms.
The big surprise was to briefly chat in italian with the head chef Alex Verros or should I calling him Alessandro, as he’s Italian born, like me.
Alex, who previously worked at Roka and Nobu, told me about his passion of mixing different cultures and ingredients, like his native land North Italian truffles, to South Latin accents, to British influences, not afraid to combine simplicity with complexity. I started with a warm, inviting and comforting wonderful salmon miso soup, served with tofu, seaweed and spring onion. 
Then I beg Alessandro to surprise me. And he did. Between his choices, my favorite were the kampachi salad, with thin slivers of tender cobia white fish, drizzled with yuzu truffle and rocket,
a dish that Alessandro likes to pair with galapeno and the prawn tempura maki. From the menu, I would like to mention also some signatures dishes 
as the truffle white tuna tataki, the lobster tail tempura and his ceviche, where Japanese flavours meet South American tradition. 
In addition to a generous choice of sushi, sashimi and nagiri and of course the beef robata dishes that Alessandro loves to cook in person, lighted by the fire grill fireworks .
Impossible not to ask such a nice host a souvenir picture…
‘Let’ do it at my robata grill, said Alessandro, it is my favourite spot in this place’ ‘Certamente!’, I enthusiastically answered, and, both risking a fire attack, I shoot the pic.
A hot moment of an unforgettable dinner.
For more info
UKAI
240 Portobello Rd, London W11
Phone: +44 20 7792 2444
Saturday: Grab brunch or food from every country you could think of at Borough Market (get off at London Bridge station) and wander around the stalls and old backstreets. Head down the steps on London Bridge and walk left along the river, passing lots of cute English pubs, the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern gallery (many free exhibitions for lovers of the creative).
Stop by the National Theatre mid-afternoon for any last-minute discount tickets, or sit and enjoy the view of Big Ben or the London Eye from the South Bank. There are often pop-up bars or street performers there too!
Now you can carry on over the Jubilee Bridge towards Trafalgar Square and the West End. On sunny days I would highly recommend taking a left turn before Covent Garden and checking out St James’s Park, where you can find most people in London enjoying the weather and nature. If rainy England is sticking to its infamous title, head towards the National Gallery: free entrance and some of the most breath-taking paintings and sculptures you’ve ever seen!
Covent Garden is the perfect place for an evening out. From Sushi to Greek, Burgers to Quinoa, the choices are endless. There is also the option of trying out an old English pub or one of the trendy new bars the city is popular for. If you’re planning a late night, Oxford Circus is only twenty minutes away by foot, where you can party until your heart is content!
DINNER TIME!
I choose Tredwells, a Marcus Wareing restaurant and winner of AA’s London Restaurant of the Year.
Great location, excellent service and a breathtaking menu signed by the charming Chef Chantelle Nicholson, Tredwells showcases the very best in British seasonal produce 
Located in the trendy Seven Dials area, right in the heart of Covent Garden, the venue boasts two bar areas serving seasonally inspired cocktails, cementing Tredwells’ reputation as one of the best drinks venues in Seven Dials. the restaurant sets over three floors, while the mezzanine and lower ground floors are available for exclusive hire.
I went for lunch, tried several of Chantelle proposals and found them all perfectly cooked and pleasantly tasting, starting from the beginning with a great potato and rosemary bread with salted whey butter till the end, indulging in a delicious fig mousse.
I noted, and photographed my choices and my recommendations.
After lunch, I meet with Chef Chantelle, obviously in her kingdom,the kitchen, and chatted oh her life, her love for cooking and her first solo cook book Planted.
Where your passion for food comes from?
It’s all because of the love of my New Zealand garden, so rich of herbs and vegetables and my two aunties who were great cooks Probably since that tender age I wanted to be a Chef, but…story of my life, I went to university to become a lawyer.
So you forgot your culinary passion?
Not really , while studying, I got a job at the local café, waking up at 6am on Saturday mornings to bake muffins, then proudly becoming a kitchen hand in the restaurant of a small hotel that also had a garden…
A garden? Here you go…
Yes, my passion for fruits and vegetables was there again, learning about seasonal food, how they grow, and the ecosystem of the garden. I remember picking up herbs super early in the morning…
What happened to the lawyer?
Well, I passed the bar in my law exams and ready to become a layer , but the still enchantment of the kitchen was always in my head…Coincidentally I enrolled the amateur cooking competition Chef Search, run by Gordon Ramsay. I made it to the final six, and was offered to work at The Savoy, London.
After that?
I have co-authored Marcus’s cookery books and in 2015 worked with him consulting on the movie Burnt. Then Marcus Wareing asked if she’d join Pétrus, his two-starred restaurant, as a junior sous chef in 2006, followed by The Gilbert Scott in 2011 and from 2014 I was in charge of as group operations director of the entire range of Marcus Wareing restaurants. Now I am back to my passion: cooking! I am proudly the chef patron at Tredwells created by the genius of Marcus Wareing.
Your new book ‘Planted’
Is not a book about veganism, it is about tasty dishes, made without animal products. You will find recipes for a plant-based cooking, focusing on plant based cuisine that deliver taste and creativity. I like to celebrate produce, seasonality and food that taste good.
Chantelle, what will I always find in your fridge?
Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables and a bottle of a great New Zealand Chardonnay!
for more info
www.tredwells.com
Sunday:
The perfect day for a relaxing walk around the local parks. Check out Dulwich’s Horniman Museum, a small childhood favourite of mine with beautiful botanical gardens, before riding on the banana bikes through the peaceful Dulwich Park. Then take a well needed rest and sit in the garden of the Woodhouse pub, sipping your ale (if you dare) and enjoying your roast dinner. If you still have time after doing all of this, then firstly, congratulations; you’re super efficient! Brick Lane, Camden and Liverpool Street would be my next recommendations. If there’s a day to spare, you can’t pass up the opportunity to go to the Harry Potter Studios cast some spells!
SUNDAY IS …. Brunch time!!!!
I discovered Trangallán.
It’s a word from Galicia, Spain for a kind of bohemian artist.
This so called ‘gastro-cultural space’ certainly has that bohemian feel, with its shabby chic-flea market furniture contrasting with rich glass chandeliers and vintage objects all around. 
The menu changes frequently boasting imaginative dishes revealing a good deal of skill and creativity. Add an easy-going welcome from the stuff and the super cool owner–chef, who came at my table to say hello while sipping a delicious 2016 Albarino Igrexario de Salar and snacking some succulent Manzanilla olives.
I followed his suggestions and went for a very traditional tortilla made of eggs and potatoes. Perfectly browned on the outside, still tender within and served at room temperature. I asked if that is the way that tortilla should be served, medium warm not hot. They told me that is a Spanish tradition to cook tortillas in the morning and let them rest till the meal so, yes, the temperature should be room temperature, Good to know. 
Then I tasted a more winterish dish of judion, a butter beans & piparras, followed by a
perfectly roasted octopus with saffron potatoes and wilde samphire. 
If you’re looking for a ‘not so commun’ tapas restaurants in North London, or Spanish food in Stoke Newington then you must try this cool venue.
For more info
Trangallán
61 Newington Green, Mildmay Ward, London N16
Monday
Smart move. I took a day off from work and reserved a late afternoon flight!
Yes I wanted to enjoy London and … I had London at my feet!
London. I happily experimented the OXO TOWER restaurant located at the eight floor of the OXO Tower. Relaxed atmosphere, good service and … the view. The menu boasts dishes so-called ‘contemporary British’ with European accents spanning from Spain with a gazpacho with sardine paté, to Italy with bresaola paired to a watermelon carpaccio. I tried a rich yet delicate soup of Scottish langoustines, spaghetti style chopped squids, tomatoes, fennel, and lobster- It tasted rich yet delicate, not too spicy or garlicky (I hate too much garlic…) 
Notably the langoustines were nicely straight, not curvy at all, My very nice Italian born waiter, told me that the secret is simply to put them in the freezer for about 40 minutes.When you take them out, the shell will be solidified, you would easily break it and extract the langoustine in all its fullness and horizontality. As a main dish, I followed Guido’s suggestion and opted for a John Dory fish, served with lobster, celery puré, oil and herb sauce with little white beans.
I must say all the ingredients were in perfect fusion and the broth maintained its freshness thanks to the acidity of the vegetables. I paired with a very fruity Albarino Atlantico white wine from Galicias, excellent!
As a side dish, a kale salad, sprinkled with a powder of beets and pumpkin seeds and seasoned with a Caesar dressing.
Delicious finale: English strawberry and basil mousse.
Not to mention the spectacular sunset view that made my dinner unforgettable.
For more info
https://www.harveynichols.com/restaurant/the-oxo-tower/
For reservations
Call 020 7803 3888 or
email oxo.reservations@harveynichols.com
Finally ….. here the best list of the two M I am crazy about …
MUSEUMS …AND MARKETS!
British Museum
Imperial War Museum
Bank of England Museum
Science Museum
Design Museum
Maritime Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Natural History Museum
Queen’s House, Greenwich
Victoria & Albert Museum THE BEST!!!!!!
MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC
Royal Academy of Music Museum
YOU WANT MORE ???
Museum of London Docklands
RAF Museum
Horniman Museum & Gardens
Science Gallery London
Grant Museum of Zoology
YUMMY….
The Chocolate Museum
MARKETS, MY PASSION!
Borough Marketk ( my fav…)
Leadenhall Market.
Brick Lane Market.
Columbia Road Flower Market.
Camden Market.
Greenwich Market.
Portobello Road Market.
Brixton Village and Market
Old Spitalfields Market.
Mercato Metropolitano
LJUBLJANA FOOD TOUR: A MUST TASTE! by Philip Sinsheimer
The nearby medieval town of Figline Valdarno was known as the “barn of Florence” for its abundant corn supplies. Grains, wine, oil, sugar beets, peaches, apricots and cherries have long been grown here. Not only…Palagio has been the summer retreat for
Named after Sting’s song “Sister Moon”
It was 1979 when the single Message in a Bottle came out and today, with hindsight, one could say after 30 years that the title was in reality a prevision. The modern fairy tale of a rich and famous singer who retires to private life in a country villa “under a Tuscan sun” can be almost perfectly applied to the Tuscan experience of Sting and his wife Trudie Styler. It came true at the Il Palagio estate in Figline Valdarno, Florence’s historic breadbasket with its rich earth and slew of producers.
Rose, Beppe Rosato is a blend of Sangiovese and other red grapes of the Tuscany tradition. It is a pink peony colour, fresh perfume with notes of pineapple and peach. Fresh smell at palate, sapid with good persistence.
Il Palagio also collects a wide variety of flavoured honeys, each with their own distinct taste and floral notes. Chestnut is dark and robust. Acacia is mild and delicate. Thousand Flowers has a rich caramel and buttery taste. Erica is runny and intense, perfect for spooning. Forest is complex and aromatic. All of our honeys are bursting with the health-giving properties for which honey has historically been renowned, notably vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
The olive trees which grace Il Palagio’s landscape date back for many hundreds of years and have been sensitively restored to full productivity. This is largely thanks to the care and dedication of Estate Manager Paolo Rossi, who insists that the orchards are not irrigated, a system which is labour-intensive but which greatly improves quality. 
Italy, the National Association Donne del Vino, established in 1988, aims to promote the knowledge and culture of wine, through the contribution of experiences and knowledge of women engaged in different but complementary sectors.
Welcome to Turin, Capital of taste!
Shall we lunch ?
‘We are a vegetale–integrale restaurant’, told me Antonio Chiodi Latini, the quite bizarre owner and creator of this minuscule venue in the center of Turin. ‘No meat, no fish, no derivates, not at all those sad unflavored vegan dishes. We don’t want to be a trendy place, We like to research , experiment and have the right knowledge of raw materials, their benefit, their taste. We propose a new approach to healthy food, whole foods, paying attention to plant-based ingredients, placing them at the center of our dishes in all their simplicity’.
and ending with the ‘chilly’ sorbet Freddoloso (90% fennel, cardamom, cream of parsley.) As drinks a healthy kombucha (fermented tea , pine needles and cones) and a delicate smoothy with fennel extract, celery. green apple, lemon, ginger and zucchini squash.
Languorini 
C
Do not miss 
Check out 
The menu is a fanny mix between Italian and Piedmontese dialect, b
Then a Turin must: Fritto Misto Piemontese. A fried mix of salty to sweet. Enjoy 9 different ingredients: sweetbreads, anchovies with green sauce, tomino cheese with green sauce (parsley, garlic, olive oil)) Vegetable flan with Parmesan creamy sauce, amaretto, fruits and more. Perfectly fried, crunchy, not greasy and super tasty
Then I had the opportunity to taste the Finanziera, a real Piedmont treat. Apparently it was born in the eighteenth century and offered by the peasants to the revenue officers, whose jacket inspired the name. y. It’s an old poor recipe that used the less noble parts of slaughtered animals and the entrails, such as brain, 
Where to stay?
Throwing a dinner party? Having guests and want to surprise them?
made of a mix of fruit puree and semolina 
Here come the juicy Pineapple. I made a semi-cold dish with hot sausages, saffron and greens, quite an exciting combo of sweet and spicy.
With Kiwi I went a little exotic. I made a cold pasta salad with lemon, pomegranate, black radish to which I add Greek yogurt previously warmed up. 
The hit of the night? the Berries pasta. I simply followed Rustichella’s suggestions written on the box and made a very successful veggie carbonara, with a zucchini julienne, eggs, pecorino cheese.
Let’ s start with the history. Many venues to visit, so I choose two of them and I adventured myself in a fascinating journey through the Royal Palace and the Savoy dynasty. The breathtaking apartments, the Royal Library, the Royal Armoury, the Savoy Gallery, the Archaeological Museum and the close Guarini’s Chapel of the Holy Shroud recently reopened to public.
The venue hosts several great exhibits, including Easy Rider, a glamorous exhibit that celebrate the magical world of motorbikes, evergreen symbol of “leaving the world behind”, “freedom”, and “speeding into the unknown”. and a great photo gallery showcasing the amazing work of Elliott Erwitt. 
Soundframes that investigates the complex relationship between music and moving images. 
: 
HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY!
That’s the secret recipe of the annual CHEF SOTTO IL PORTICO event on Saturday July 13, 2019 with a yummy encore today, Sunday 14, starting at 12 pm.
The event is big time celebrating its 10 anniversary, see you next year !
The refined and elegant space was set up with the aim of giving maximum visibility to Bottega Gold, the Prosecco Doc with its unmistakable bottle with golden livery, which has become in the world the incomparable standard-bearer and the reference point of the Treviso winery. The lounge bar card features, along with a selection of Bottega wines, also the Lemon Spritz cocktail that combines Prosecco and Limoncino, in the sign of Made in Italy and the contamination between Veneto and Sicily. Ginza, synonymous with sober elegance, is an area rich in history that dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867),
The company is based in Bibano di Godega (TV), 50 km north of Venice, and has two other production facilities in Valpolicella and Montalcino.
The range Today, along the main street there are many of the most well-known department stores in Tokyo that, along with high quality products, offer customers an equally appreciated service. Ginza is a kind of
cultural laboratory of the whole of Japan, which continues to renew itself by transmitting in symbiotic connection with the evolution of deeds, the enthusiasm and ageless charm of Tokyo.
Bottega S.p.A.Bottega S.p.A. it is at the same time a cellar and a distillery, which has a close-knit team of wine experts both in vinification and distillation. of products includes Prosecco and other well-known sparkling wines, the great red wines of Veneto and Tuscany, including Amarone and Brunello di Montalcino, the prized single-variety grappas, the distillates aged in barrique, the fruit-based liqueurs and cream. 
Founded in 1977 by Aldo Bottega, who had inherited from his grandfather the passion for the wine world, Bottega is a solid reality, which distributes its products in over 140 countries and is present in the most prestigious airport duty free shops in the world.
Chef Stefano Maddalin, cadorino by birth, after 5 years of hotel school and various experiences around Italy, he is currently taking care of the restaurant 
A local dish to pair porcini ?
Canederli as a dessert. Canederli are bread dumplings and can be considered part of ‘cucina povera’ (cuisine of the poor), as they are made of simple and inexpensive ingredients: stale bread moistened with milk and bound with eggs and a small amount of flour. I sweeten them and topped with berries jam and elevated them to a tasty dessert.
Preparation
Welcome to Tredwells, a Marcus Wareing restaurant and winner of AA’s London Restaurant of the Year. Great location, excellent service and a breathtaking menu signed by the charming Chef Chantelle Nicholson, Tredwells showcases the very best in British seasonal produce Located in the trendy Seven Dials area, right in the heart of Covent Garden, the venue boasts two bar areas serving seasonally inspired cocktails, cementing Tredwells’ reputation as one of the best drinks venues in Seven Dials. the restaurant sets over three floors, while the mezzanine and lower ground floors are available for exclusive hire. I went for lunch, tried several of Chantelle proposals and found them all perfectly cooked and pleasantly tasting, starting from the beginning with a great potato and rosemary bread with salted whey butter till the end, indulging in a delicious fig mousse.
COLOMBA RUSTICHELLA , SWEET DOVE OR CHIC JEWEL?
The elegant decorative silky foulard and the jewel pin give an exclusive and unique look to this confectionery speciality by Rustichella d’Abruzzo. The colomba Gioiello is an exclusive proposal to taste in family and is perfect for an original Easter gift. Available in pink, yellow and light blue package.
Typical Easter confectionery speciality, symbol of peace and purity, the colomba is a naturally leavened cake, enriched with candied fruits and a crispy coating of glaze and almonds. Originally from Northern Italy, well-known and loved throughout all Italy, the colomba is the delicious dessert that ends an Easter lunch with family, soft and perfumed from the very first taste. 
Made with a soft “Pasta Madre” (sourdough) obtained through a controlled artisan production process, in order to have its natural leavening, Rustichella d’Abruzzo colomba is presented with a pink, yellow or light blue flower-themed package, warm-looking and appealing, with really unique fragrance, lightness and taste.
INFO
Ingredients
by Cesare Zucca
Cooks in: 25 minutes. Serves: 2
to read full article click 
article
I met with Mauro Uliassi, the Chef who won 3 Michelin stars, 5 Cappelli Espresso, 3 Gambero Rosso Forks. Mauro opened the Uliassi Restaurant in Senigallia in 1990, creating a cuisine full of contamination, variations, sensations and memories.
Vincenzo Guarino from the luxurious 5-star 
Mimmo di Gregorio from
Grand finale with the iconic Salsa di Pomodoro, tomato sauce made from the youngest Chef of the Congress: Maicol Izzo from Michelin star 
Escorted and supported by his dad Michele (that ‘s so Italian…) Maicol created a new kind of bread whose dough has been prepared using the acidula water springing out from the local source. 
The bread must be dipped down into the traditional tomato sauce (more than 6 hours of preparation) and then you’ll taste this heaven…Bravo Maicol!
The unstoppable Mediterranean Cooking Congress will travel soon to Greece, Venice and Sicily, featuring Chefs from 10 different countries!
Capperi… che Pizza!
The info says ‘Nuovo format di pizzeria con pizza gourmet della famiglia Acciaio’.
This pizza is easily digestible, s
Throughout the years, the selections have been enriched and expanded to include the new era of gourmet pizza. They offer the highest level of product, bursting with freshness and aroma which translates into positive health benefits and heightened digestibility for the consumer. Each recipe includes detailed information about each ingredient highlighting both origins and methods of preparation.
The result is equilibrated and delicious in every aspect such as the selection of Piennolo DOP cherry tomatoes, preserved in water and salt, torzelle seeds, capers from Salina, tuna and anchovies from Cetara, broccoli rabe from Vesuvius and figs from the Cilento area, 
They cultivate this high quality by working directly with local farmers who are encouraged to grow and harvest their products with extreme respect for nature.
“I realized that the pizza was getting ruined”, says Giuseppe Acciaio, “for the quality not always adequate of the ingredients, but sometimes also for the inability of the pizza makers to manage them at best”. Precisely for this reason, alongside the project of “redevelopment” of pizza, Giovanni Acciaio puts up Pizza Neapolitan Gourmet, a training school for gourmet pizza chefs, in Moncalieri, of which his son Luigi Acciaio is president.
“A pizza maker is not only technical, he must know the products and who produces them, he must study,” says Acciaio. A choice, that of the pizza-maker profession, no longer as a refuge in the face of failures in other fields, but which, on the contrary, becomes a true vocation.
tellammare, Naples
.png&d=2019-03-09T06%3A44%3A06.160Z "Image")
INFO
nontouristytourist.com 