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La Salsa, Dempsey Hill – Singapore

Hubby and I found ourselves with a couple of child-free hours as both junior travel freaks had birthday parties to go to. Not wanting to miss an opportunity for cocktails and lunch, we headed to Dempsey for some Mexican.

We have been to the much more widely know Margaritas before and, despite hearing many ravings about it, we found it to be a little impersonal, busy and had offering a pretty bog standard menu. We also got thrown out at the end of ‘lunch time’. We therefore thought we would try the lesser-known ‘La Salsa’, which is a few doors along. Continue Reading…

Café Tabac – Stockholm, Sweden

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It had been raining all day in Stockholm. After a visit to the magnificent Grand Palace we wandered the streets until we were soaked through. My jeans were so wet that they started to fall down. Worried that I may scare innocent bystanders, we sought the sanctuary of our hotel for a while, dried out, made a cuppa, and watched the news. But now we were hungry, and could not agree on a restaurant or even a style of cuisine. Armed with umbrellas, we ventured out once more. Tempers soon began to fray as we stopped outside every restaurant on our route, read the menu, and bickered over its suitability. Then finally, we found a haven in Café Tabac.

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Michelangelo Restaurant – Stockholm, Sweden

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Situated in Stockholm’s picturesque Old Town, this family-run trattoria claims to be one of the city’s most respected Italian restaurants. It was opened in 1973 by Sicilian-born Nick Nicastro and his brother Salvatore, and these gentlemen are still running the business today.

The interior of this popular eatery is typically Italian, reminiscent of those little trattorias I used to visit with my folks in rural Italy. The walls and ceiling are decorated with reproductions of Michelangelo’s paintings. Vying for space between scenes from the Sistine Chapel are many photographs of the Nicastro family posing with famous visitors, including Luciano Pavarotti. Tables are tucked into every nook and cranny, but the atmosphere is relaxed and the staff are very friendly.

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Polpette Restaurant – Stockholm, Sweden

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In Italian, the word ‘polpette’ means ‘meatballs’ – a dish Italy and Sweden have in common. Situated on a busy pedestrianised shopping street, this restaurant offers both Swedish and Italian cuisine, as well as some fusion dishes.

The interior of the restaurant is elegantly furnished; soft lighting creates a cosy ambience. The tables are closely packed together, and it seems the Swedes are even more avid in their people watching than I am, so I felt a bit like a goldfish in a bowl at first. But the amiable staff and enticing menu soon made me forget about the nosy folk at the next table.

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For Sale – Budapest, Hungary

SawdustThis restaurant is located right opposite the Central Market Place in Budapest, so it is probably popular with tourists.

Usually we try to avoid eateries that could be described as tourist traps but this one got mixed reviews on TripAdvisor and we were in the market place with two hungry JuniorTravelFreaks (JTF’s) so we thought we may as well give it a go.

The interior is basically cavern style with sawdust on the floor. The walls are adorned with pictures and messages written on the reverse of the paper placemats by previous guests and then pinned to the walls.

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Trattoria Pomo D’oro, Budapest – Hungary

After Dinner Drinks at Pomo D'oroI had been in Budapest for a weekend with MrsTravelFreak and the 2 youngest JuniorTravelFreaks (JTF’s). As our flight home was late evening, we had planned for a late lunch. It was a bit later than ‘late’ and much later than both the JTF’s and myself would have liked, however MrsTravelFreak had her heart set on visiting Trattoria Pomo D’oro that she had read about online. I was thinking of the best possible method of inflicting pain upon her as we had had been walking for what seemed like an age, when luckily for us all, we turned the corner and could make out the flag for Pomo D’oro.

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Jute Cafe Bar, Dundee – United Kingdom

Toberlone Martini - yummy!Having arrived back from Singapore recently (with jet-lag killing me much more than usual this trip) I managed to bag a precious night out with MrsTravelFreak while calling on granny to entertain the JuniorTravelFreaks.

We were all set for an afternoon of shopping (MrsTravelFreak’s idea) and drinking (my idea) along with a fancy meal out in Auld Reekie (Edinburgh for the uneducated), when we discovered that there was engineering works on the railway line and that a bus replacement service was in operation.  I despise travelling by bus and I despise the fact that ‘they’ had to pick this weekend to perform the engineering works.  I mean, well really!  After some discussion with Mrs TravelFreak we agreed that Dundee was the only real option available to us.

I don’t know a lot about Dundee really other than:

  • It’s cold
  • Dundonians (people from Dundee) call roundabouts ‘circles’ which is a little weird
  • There are always, always roadworks happening right in the middle of the city

We left the train station and found ourselves in the middle of a building site.  Having eventually found somewhere for MrsTravelFreak to shop, I decided it was time for an afternoon libation.  A quick Google search for ‘cocktails Dundee’ came up with very few results; Jute it seemed, was the best option.

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Piedra Negra, Singapore

Chilli PepperExamining the stamps on my passport recently, I concluded that, for a man who lives in Scotland, I I travel to Singapore a lot.  Luckily for me, when travelling to Singapore I always fly in Business, with either Air France or Emirates.  If I fly with Air France, I have flown from Edinburgh to Paris, had a 3-hour layover in the (completely unremarkable and boring) lounge at CDG and then boarded a 14-hour flight to Singapore.  If I travel with Emirates, I have travelled 8 hours to Dubai, stopped off at the (much better) Emirates lounge for a few hours, and then had another 8-hour flight to Singapore.  Either way, I always arrive sweaty, dazed, confused and generally a bit broken.

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The Bridge Inn, Ratho – United Kingdom

PiggyI was invited out for a not-often-enough midweek dinner with a friend and she suggested this venue. Despite being an Edinburgh born and bred lass, I didn’t know this place existed.

I arrived in the dark so the pub appeared to be nestled by the waterside. Although not in use on a freezing night in November, there was an outside seating area which I imagine would be very pretty on a summers day.

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Pix Pintxos, London – UK

Cocktail SticksThis is an original idea for UK soil and sells a varied selection of Barcelona style Pintxos. These are served buffet style at the front bar. Every item has its own cocktail stick and you are charged based on how many cocktails sticks you have used at the end of the night.
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