Monthly Archives: December 2008

The Cuisines of New York

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New York is famous for many things: theater, art, performing arts, history, landmarks, immigration, fashion, television and film, skyscrapers, shopping. One of the greatest thing about the Big Apple is its food. The top chefs in the world come here to prove themselves to the refined New York palates. Immigrants from around the world have brought the traditional flavors and techniques of their homeland to this melting pot city. The result is nearly 30,000 different eateries to entice diners of all sorts. From the thousands of New York restaurants to the hot dog vendors that seem to be on every corner, there is an abundance of culinary choices in this incredible metropolis.

Many of the neighborhoods throughout New York are known for a specific cuisine. This is usually a reflection of the immigrants who settled in the area and built neighborhoods that reminded them of home. In some neighborhoods, cuisines from different regions meet and blend, resulting in amazing fusions of flavor.

Manhattan is a food mecca. It is home to Chinatown, Koreatown, and Little Italy, with their eponymous cuisines. (Chinatown also has a number of Vietnamese restaurants and Little Italy is home to Chinese food as well as Italian). Harlem is known for its African-American eateries as well as west Indian and Latin American foods. East Harlem and Spanish Harlem offer Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, and West Indian restaurant, while Murray Hill is known for Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi foods. Other cuisines associated with Manhattan include Kosher, Hungarian, German, Latin American, Indian, Czech, Ukrainian, Korean, and Japanese.

Queens is another New York borough with distinct neighborhood cuisines. The Jamaica neighborhood is a great place to find African, Creole, and African-American eateries. Forest Hills offers Russian and Kosher meals while Astoria is known for Arab and Greek dishes. Both Little Neck and Richmond Hill have Indian and Pakistani restaurants, with the latter also known for Guyanese, Bangladeshi, and West Indian eateries. Irish food can be found in Woodside, Sunnyside, and Woodlawn while Corona is home to Mexican, Cominican, Ecuadorean, and Colombian meals.

Brooklyn’s neighborhoods are also a melting pot. Kosher, Russian, Chinese and Italian restaurants can be found in Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Borough Park. Flatbush is known for Creole, Haitian, and Jamaican fare while Greenpoint offers Ukrainian and Polish foods. Staten Island’s neighborhoods are home to Arab, Russian, Polish, and Italian cuisines.

Hong Kong: Where Past Meets Present

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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region holds the distinction of being mostly autonomous even though it was transfered from Great Britian back to China in 1997. Hong Kong was allowed to retain its capitalist economy under the famous “one country, two systems” policy. The area will continue to self-govern until at leat 2047. this has been a boon for tourism over the last decade.

Hong Kong is a natural blend of East and West. A financial and business capital of Asia, it is also known for its diverse culture as reflected in its musics, cinema, traditions and food. Hong Kong also brings together the natural beauty of the area with the comforts of a modern city. Whether visiting for business or pleasure or a mixture of both, travelers will find a variety of 5 star hotels in Hong Kong to make their stay memorable or they can investigate any of the other lodging options in this unique metropolis.

Those wishing to get a sense of the rich culture of Hong Kong can follow the Ping Shan Heritage Trail or visit the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Other traditional attractions include the stilt houses of Tai O and the Fu Shin Street Traditional Bazaar. A number of museums offer glimpses into the culture of the region as well. The Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Hong Kong Museums of Art and History are joined by museums featuring Coastal Defence, Medical Sciences, Science, Space, Railways, and Police.

Hong Kong is also home to several amusement parks including Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened in September 2005. Ocean Park merges amusement park with aquariums and is home to Hong Kong’s pandas. Hong Kong has its own version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Avenue of Stars is a seaside promenade with incredible views of Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong skyline. It also honors the stars of Hong Kongs famous cinema.

Mumbai, India

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As Mumbai begins to recover from the terrorists attacks of November, it is important to remember that this city has survived riots, bombings, and other attacks in its long history. Mumbai will survive to flourish again, as the entertainment and commercial center of India. The second most populous city in the world, Mumbai was formerly known as Bombay and is one of the world’s top centers of commerce. Perhaps its most well known industry is Bollywood, the home of Hindu film and television. However, the city’s port handles over half of India’s maritime cargo and the city home to financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India and the National Stock Exchange.

Visitors to the city will be drawn to the mixture of colonial and modern architecture, the omnipresent bazaars, the temples and historic sites and the incredible food. They’ll also enjoy the modern conveniences of shopping malls, swank bars, and five star hotels Mumbai. The shopping in Mumbai ranges from street vendors and bazaars to family-run shops and designer boutiques.

Other attractions that call to travelers include museums, galleries, zoos, parks, gardens, and beaches. Mumbai is home to the Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maaraj Vastu Sangrahalaya is home to rare exhibits of ancient Indian History and the National Gallery of Modern Art is another “must see” along with the Gateway of India. Water Kingdom, the largest water park in Asia is also located in the city.

Attractions in Kolkata (Calcutta)

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Kolkata was known as Calcutta until 2001. The city served as the capital of India until 1911 and remains the capital of the state of Bangla (formerly West Bengal). These name changes are part of a reorganization of Indian states that began when India gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Most of India’s largest cities have undergone a name change in the last decade.

The nation’s second largest city (and the 12th most populous in the world) is known as the cultural and intellectual capital of India. Kolkata has been home to writers, poets, artists, philosophers, and Nobel Prize winners. As the birthplace of modern Indian artistic and literary thought, Kolkata is a showcase of Bengali dance, music, film, theatre, poetry, and art.

Visitors to this bustling metropolis can find accomodations to suit their wallets and their personal style, including a variety of five star Kolkata hotels. There is an abundance of markets, malls, and bazars to occupy shoppers. And every visitor must take time to sample some of the best restaurants in India, some of which have been in business for more than a century and offer a range of local flavors and international cuisines.

Other attractions include the Marble Palace, the Indian Museum, and Government House which is the residence of the Governor of Bangla but once served as the seat of the Viceroys of India. There’s also the Victoria Memorial, Fort William, the National Library, and a number of monuments, palaces, and galleries to keep entrall visitors to the enchanting city of Kolkatta.

Finding Hotels in Mallorca

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Mallorca has a population of 781,600 people.  It also boasts approximately 10 million visitors every year. These visitors are mostly tourists, many from the northern parts of Europe who are looking for a vacation in the sun.  Since the 1960s the tourism industry has boomed on the island.

Palma is the main city on the island and includes almost half of the islands population.  It has many attractions of a cosmopolitan area including museums, art galleries, great shopping as well as fine bars and restaurants.

Around the island there is a mountain range on the northern coast called the Serra de Tramuntana.  This is a spectacular area with pine forests, olive trees and rural villages.  The northern coast has two large bays, the Badia de Pollença and the Badia d’Alcúdia.  The center of the island is the Es Pla which is mostly agricultural land.

Many of the beaches on Mallorca are found on the East and North coasts.  These areas are also home to many of the major resorts and five star Mallorca hotels.  People head to these resorts and hotels in droves to enjoy the sand, sea and sun.

The east coast has many bays and beaches and is popular with tourists.  On the south coast you will find rugged cliffs as well as many coves and beaches.