blog italia

hong kong

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:23:31 +0930

...its been quite a transition - from the tranquility of toscana to the bustle of hong kong, that sea of humanity, bursting at the seams, loud, busy, polluted and so much the opposite of what our lives have been for the past 2 months!

its really taken us 3 days to get over the jet lag and then adjust to the 21st century in a busy city! the heat has been nice though - and a welcome step in acclimatisation for the trip home.

we have discovered kowloon park this time, also a big playground above the train station a block or two from the hotel, we have caught the ferry to the island and done a blind trip around in a double decker bus, we went back to the island today and walked through the zoo and botanical gardens - which gave the old calves a good work out!

spent a day shopping at city gate plaza, well mostly window shopping in luxury boutiques - the crashing aussie peso rather put a dent in any plans to go wild with the shopping in honkers!

homeward bound

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:40:36 +0930

well tomorrow morning we head off to drive to rome and catch our plane to hong kong on the first leg of our trip home, its been a pretty full on week of catching up with everyone before we leave and saying our goodbyes.

monday night sal and i went for dinner at borgo santo pietro - the luxury resort where thomas is the head chef, we arrived and were seated in the room above by the fire and presented with a glass of champagne, after which we were ushered into the dining room and embarked on a 4 hour gastronomic delight, eating our way through a 7 course chef’s tasting menu accompanied by an amazing wine selection. the original building dates back to the 13th century as the stone below shows.

it was truly dining at the highest level, i made some notes at the time to record my impressions of the meal, there are few photos because it would have been a distraction to the experience, so you will have to use your imagination!

here are my notes, “creamy blue mussel soup with saffron piccante, delicate balance. lobster with orange and fennel, delicate balance, fantastic texture. scampi with hazelnut, inspired texture of nuts and oven roasted sage leaves, ravioli of langoustine, cinta senese lombo and sage - delicate is the impression that comes through most, a brave choice because it risks being bland.

superb white to accompany the scampi, martingana moscarto passito ‘do pantelleria 2001

step up in flavour and intensity with the turbot, pinenuts, emulsion of vanilla, onion and explosion of oven roasted tomatoes balancing fish and texture of crispy skin and potato, perfect step up .

harmony - that is perhaps the word best suited to this cuisine - a rare quality encompassing flavour, balance, companion taste, texture, temperature and presentation.

the wine choice was fascinating too, we worked our way through whites that perfectly matched the delicate and subtle flavours of the early dishes and then with the foie gras pates we switched to a dessert wine! a superb sweet sauternes - i would never have imagined presenting this wine at this point but it matched the intensity of the dish and was the perfect transition to the red wines.

...and now with the foie gras, pan fried and terrine, pickled armagnac prunes, rye bread & 25 yo balsamic vinegar i understand it , the vertical menu, the symphony of wine - inspired - and why letting the chef walk you through the menu works so well - his passion and vision.

a crescendo! the oven roasted pigeon with morels, confit of pigeon leg and pigeon glaze - maybe simply the single best dish i have ever enjoyed - the definition of harmony - perfectly complimented by the wine, a Gaja Domagi 2001.

second to last - amazing range of cheeses, just about reached the limit!

finally, warm chocolate fondue with yogurt sorbet and creme anglaise with liquorice, on a bed of stewed fruit.”

here is the website - CLICK

style

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:23:28 +0930

so, what is it about style and italians? ever since arriving I have been fascinated by the amount of style italians exhibit - its hard to put your finger on but when i walk around or sit in a cafe i cant help but notice just how damn stylish the italian people look.

at first i thought it was because they have such great fashion, and such a tradition of fashion houses designing amazing clothes - but then i realised people in the street are not wearing versace or gucci - they are often just wearing jeans and a shirt, maybe some jewellery or nice accessories, but not expensive designer clothes.

it was then that i realised that its not about what they wear, but how they wear it and how they carry themselves.

italians have a self confidence and self image that allows them to look great whatever they wear, its a noticeable contrast to people watching in australia for instance.

i dont really have the answer to the question of what creates this cultural difference but it has certainly struck a note with me.

so i present this photo essay capturing some of the style so evident on the streets of italy!

bliss

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:53:38 +0930

mie offered to look after kai while sal & i went for lunch today, so we jumped in the car and drove over to cicana to our favourite restaurant, bistro dai gallo. we had a huge lunch with many courses and a nice bottle of red, followed by dessert with a liquor called mirto.

after a slow drive home through the autumn forests we arrived at mie’s apartment and flopped on the couch - the picture doesnt quite paint the scene - nina simone on the stereo and the frescoes on the wall combined with the post lunch sating to provide a state of blissful peace and tranquility!

these boots were.....

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:26:38 +0930

....made for walkin’, and thats just what they’re gonna do....

two months of looking in every shoe shop we passed, checking every vintage clothing shop, countless discussions with female friends, and we finally have blast off, houston!

sal & mie went shopping for boots in siena today and finally sal has one of the major items of a trip to italy checked off!

we can go home now.