Recent posts

Johannesburg by night

Why I moved from the world’s most liveable city to Johanneburg

I was never an Australian in the first place despite citizenship and a passport. I moved to Australia from London in 1995. Why on earth would I do that on the cusp of Cool Britannia? Well, the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. Including in South Africa, specifically Jozi as I like to call my new home. I’ve written a post on Medium about this. you can take a look here.

Where and what to eat in Lisbon

One month in Lisbon. That’s some 90 meals. Quite a few I prepared at home. What is remarkable is how cheap fruit, vegetables, meat and fish are in Lisbon compared with Australia. Peppers and onions are sweet and cost pennies. Tuna and Swordfish are about €12-€13 a kilo. It’s a shock to the system. With cheaper ingredients, property and labour costs it is understandable that Portugal has plenty of quite cheap eats. I say quite cheap as Lisbon isn’t as […]

The real balsamic vinegar discovered

There’s no rushing balsamic vinegar. It’s a slow process that takes between 12 and 25 years and there are only some 48 accredited families that do it in Modena. Last year I was lucky enough to visit one of the local producers Acetae di Gorgio, in the attic of their family home. Yes, I know it seems weird but since the middle ages balsamic vinegar is made in the warm attics of family homes in small quantities. Acetae di Gorgio produces only a […]

Where to drink in Lisbon

Where and what to drink in Lisbon

There’s a lot to love about drinking in Lisbon. First are the rooftop bars and goldfish bowl gin & tonics infused with spices (usually cinnamon) and some fruit and citrus. The wines of the Duoro are amazing. The much maligned green wine – vinho verdhi – which isn’t actually green but sharp and refreshing is perfect for a summer’s evening. Everyone loves port but do you really want to drink a rich aged deep red port mid-summer? I became addicted […]

Portuguese custard tarts

And the best Portuguese custard tarts are…

Custard tarts – pastel de nata – are deeply embedded in Portuguese culture. They are everywhere. Bakeries around the world try and replicate them. And even home cooks have a shot. I’ve eaten them in Melbourne but they never enchanted me like they did in Portugal. Spending a month chilling out in Lisbon, barely a day went by when I didn’t have one or two of these tarts. It became my personal mission to find the best in town. These […]

Everything you need to know about eating out in Joburg

It’s like I’m a Martian in a strange land where, if I want a coffee, I drive 6.4km with the help of a GPS though the sprawl of Johannesburg, the world’s largest urban forest. Roads twist, turn, rise and drop through the rocky outcrops and ravines that make the landscape of this town. While there are a few urban villages in the suburbs of one of the top ten most dangerous cities in the world, most people rely of shopping […]

Matcha Milk Bar St Kilda burger

Matcha Mylkbar gives St Kilda the green finger

There’s a new trend in restaurants and cafes. Design it for Instagram sharability. Pidapipo on Chapel Street has done a reasonable job strategically placing its neon so it can be photographed with Hawker Hall’s neon in the background. Match Mylkbar takes it to the extreme, from the neon green finger in its window to… well pretty much everything about the place. The lattes come in all colours of the rainbow from regular to mushroom, pink (beetroot), green (matcha) an golden […]

Uber Eats takeaway food deliveries

On the web the winner takes all and I believe that in the takeaway food delivery business there will be one service that survives, Uber Eats. It launched today at 11am today in a limited area of Melbourne inner city suburbs. But who knows, as both Deliveroo or Foodora are worthy challengers. But Australian market is too small to support three upmarket food takeaway businesses. The fact is the biggest wins. Look at Facebook versus Twitter. AirBNB versus the other […]