Tag Archives: Discovery

Croatia: Le Mandrac, The Gourmet Restaurant in Opatijia

Posted on March 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

After my long visit of Opatija

with Zé under a blazing sun, we follow Lungumare (a paved path along the sea with a beautiful view) to Le Mandrac, a gourmet restaurant. We are in a small cove with a backdrop worthy of the golden age of the Italian cinema. It feels like home… and also reminded me of the Marseille’s Calanques and a distant dinner at Chez Fonfon (a famous restaurant in Marseille).

I love the scenery, I’m blown away! The view from our table is just WOW (picture 1)! Impeccable service. The black bread looks like the one I tasted in South Tyrol (picture 4). Excellent starters (pictures 2 & 3), followed by a perfectly grilled fish with olive oil (pictures 6 & 7) and a chocolate cake, with in the middle some hot chocolate and garnished with a lemon sorbet … OMG and beleive me, I am not at all a dessert person (pictures 8 & 9). After the second starter, I wasn’t hungry!

The chef Denis Zembo

Honestly, I think it must be a nightmare to have lunch with me. Each dish is carefully photographed before and sometimes even after, as below, LOL! Here everything is so flavorful and tasty that between the main course and dessert, I improvise a quick meeting with the talented chef and owner of Le Mandrac, Denis Zembo (picture above):

– How would you describe your cooking? – Mediterranean cuisine with a twist. Unpredictable and surprising.

– What kind of ingredients inspire you? – Only some Mediterranean herbs and garlic found in the mountains. I like to use different techniques, such as caramelize. The presentation is half of the dish too.

– What traditional Croatian dish would you recommend to someone who comes for the first time in Croatia? – The risotto, all made pasta, scampi. My avant-garde interpretation of traditional fritaja (fritaya), with scrambled eggs and local ingredients: wild asparagus, truffles and mushrooms.

Thank you Denis Zembo.

Informations

Le Mandrac : Obala F. Supila 10, Volosko, 51410 Opatija – Tel +385 51 701 357. Opatija Tourist Board & www.visitcroatia.be

Follow my whole trip in the CROATIA section. ENJOY! I was hosted by the Office National Croate du Tourisme and as usual all my opinions are mine.

Related posts : DESTINATIONS, LIFESTYLE & HOTEL REVIEWS

Costa de Prata, Portugal: Cliffs and Pristine Beaches

Posted on October 12, 2014 | Leave a comment

The nature, sea and light of late afternoon.

We cross the garden of the romantic beautiful Areias do Seixo to have a walk in the cliffs of the Costa de Prata. An organic chicken coop, where “real” chicken run outdoors and are fed grain, near an organic kitchen garden (picture below). The promiscuity of dunes gives a surreal touch to the landscape. The air is crisp.

We head towards the dunes

following the crafted signs of the hotel (above, pictures 3 & 4). As we move forward, we discover a wild part of the magnificent Costa de Prata. What a setting! Dunes shaped by the wind, short vegetation, porous high cliffs and the incredible light and sunset!

Nature, the eternal provider of wellness…

until we completely destroy it. Our species is so good at destroying all that is beautiful and rare … But that’s another story. While the light changes, we find the stairs leading to the beach, like a pirate treasure!

Motionless shape of a single fisherman

with his long cane in front of the ocean. Waves that break on the rocks, we silently walk. We try to avoid the darkness on the way back to the hotel and get lost in a field. A dog barks and gets closer.

The race to find the hotel before dark night, crazy giggles arriving up to the chicken coop. On the terrace of the hotel, a fire waits for us. I go to my room to shower before dinner.

Informations

Areias do Seixo – Charme Hotel

Areias do Seixo: Awesome Eco-luxury Hotel in Portugal

Portugal: Comporta, Miles of Pristine Beaches

DESTINATIONS, HOTEL REVIEWS & LIFESTYLE

The Vogue Fashion’s Night Out in Lisbon: More Than Fashion

Posted on September 12, 2014 | Leave a comment

My First Vogue Fashion’s Night Out in Lisbon!

Where were you last night? It started wrong for me. The day before the event, we were 4 highly motivated! Then yesterday, everyone canceled. Urban temper! Never mind, I decided to go with my faithful companion, my Canon and a little newcomer, my new phone ; )

Already three years ago, I attended the Paris Vogue Fashion’s Night Out, Avenue Montaigne, more formal and … Much less relaxed than the Lisbon one which was very festive and friendly! It’s funny because it rained all day long (today too!), but the night was pretty hot!

From Principe Real To Barrio Alto: Everything Is More Beautiful At Night!

First stop in a great neighborhood, Principe Real full of people last night! Pictures 1 and 4: Embaixiada and picture 2: the coffee, bar and restaurant in Embaixiada, Le Jardin which overlooks a bohemian garden. Picture 3: Big up to the Carolina at 21 PR Concept Store, the coolest girl that night!

Picture 5 (below): nice projection on the facade of the CS Vintage Lisboa Hotel. Picture 6: the traffic! Picture 7: live music in Bairro Alto, apparently the audience enjoyed it. The music was outdated and the MC pretty bad (80s hits such as “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life”). Picture 8: the famous tram! And picture 9: the beautiful Museu de São Roque where I spent a long time.

The Great Surprise of The Evening: A Visit To The Museu de São Roque

When I told you that here the Vogue Fashion’s Night Out is more than just a fashion event, thankfully otherwise I couldn’t stay for long! I took the opportunity to discover this rich religious art of the museum and the magnificent church, Igreja de São Roque Museum.

I enjoyed a private tour of the museum with the curators and guides. Picture 11 (below): the Igreja de São Roque and picture 12: one of the chapels of the church dating from the eighteenth century. Picture 10: the lovely courtyard with a soothing atmosphere, where a DJ played good eletro music.

In Chiado: Too Many People!

Unable to move in this dense crowd (picture 13)! And I couldn’t stand people to walk on my new Skechers Go Walk! Honestly I’m not a big fan of the look of these shoes (and I can’t understand why they are the big trend of this fall/winter)! But I love their incredible comfort: the soleplate takes the shape of the foot! A bless for this kind of night out (review in a future post)!

Bravely I went down to Santini, but looking at the line, I quickly forgot to have an ice cream! A nightmare to walk back to Bairro Alto, some great live Cuban music (picture 14) … How can people go shopping in these conditions?