Lisbon

Lisbon’s Best Wine Bars

The numbers don’t lie: the Portuguese drink the most wine per capita of any nationality. Not surprisingly, you don’t have to look far to find the drink in Lisbon, a city where a glass of wine is sometimes cheaper than a bottle of water. But if you’re looking for a unique wine – perhaps something made by a small producer, a long-lost grape, or a bottle from an obscure region – in a comfortable or perhaps even stylish atmosphere, poured by someone who can tell you a bit about what you’re drinking, things get a little more complicated.

Lisbon

O Primo do Queijo: Cheese Champions

The original idea was simple enough. “The plan was to make really good ham and cheese sandwiches,” explains Bruno Ribeiro of O Primo do Queijo, the Lisbon restaurant he owns with Francisco Nuno Silveira Bernardo. But rarely are things so easy.

Lisbon

Belmiro: Game Time

“This restaurant is different,” says Belmiro de Jesus. He’s describing his own establishment, Belmiro, which he opened in 2020. And, we have to admit, it’s true. From the menu, with its emphasis on game dishes, to the unique wines – quirky labels that won’t break the bank – the chef has created a restaurant that stands out. If there’s anything we’d add to his descriptor, it would be that Belmiro is also very delicious and very Portuguese.

Lisbon

Recipe: Açorda de Gambas, Portuguese Bread Porridge with Prawns

Start with stale, leftover bread. Add to this some of Portugal’s most decadent, richest ingredients, and you have açorda de gambas, a dish that manages to bridge the gap between poverty and indulgence. The Portuguese are masters at transforming leftover or stale bread into new dishes. In the north, leftover slices of bread are dipped in eggs, fried in oil and sprinkled with sugar in the dessert known as rabanadas. In the south, açorda is a soup made from slices of day-old bread topped with hot water, garlic, herbs, and a poached egg. The south is also home to migas, bits of stale bread and fat that are cooked into an almost omelet-like form.

Bangkok

Neighborhoods to Visit: Thonburi, Bangkok’s Little Brother

Mention Thonburi to Bangkok people, and they’re likely to picture a distant, suburban – perhaps even rural – enclave. But the neighborhood is located just across the Chao Phraya River from Bangkok, imminently accessible via river-crossing ferries, bridges, and the Skytrain, and is home to a less-publicized yet visit-worthy, vibrant food scene. In particular, one Thonburi street, Thanon Tha Din Daeng, in the Khlong San area, is home to a huge variety of excellent legacy restaurants and stalls, not to mention a decent market, all of which can be visited on foot – a rarity in Bangkok.

Bangkok

Khun-Yah Cuisine: Wat Traimit’s Real Hidden Treasure

It’s said that the massive gold Buddha statue at Bangkok temple Wat Traimit was once hidden away – its value concealed from an approaching army under a thick layer of plaster. It was only when workers were relocating it in the 1950s that the statue fell and the plaster exterior cracked, revealing a core of solid gold. If Wat Traimit has another hidden treasure, we’d argue that it’s Khun-Yah Cuisine. Enter one of Bangkok’s most visited temples and wind through tour buses and rows of tourists, guides, and Buddhist monks to the eastern edge of the compound; keep your eyes peeled, and you’ll see an almost garage-like space and a sign. This is Khun-Yah Cuisine.

Bangkok

Ban Wannakovit: Bangkok’s Culinary Time Capsule

Walk down a narrow, unmarked lane in Ko Ratanakosin, the artificial island that’s the birthplace of Bangkok, and keep your eyes peeled for a wooden, gingerbread-style mansion not far from the Democracy Monument – there is no sign here. If the gate is open, Ban Wannakovit is in operation. Walk past a traditional Thai spirit house to the front porch, which is lined with a few tables, or continue inside the house, where dining tables mingle with family portraits, antique furniture, and other heirlooms. If there’s any homier dining experience in Bangkok, we haven’t found it.