Stuff To Do This Summer, When You're Not On A Beach Holiday

I hope this is going to be a long and hot summer, so let's make some plans. I'll try to give few international suggestions, so no friends of mine are left off.

Art, for example:

• Green Architecture for the Future 29/5-4/10 - Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen
• Super Contemporary 3/7-4/10 - Design Museum, London
• RA Summer Exhibition/Venice Biennale, Italy
• The Tates: Tate Modern,Tate Britain & Tate Liverpool, UK
• Picasso museum in Barcelona, Spain

Classical, for example:

• Salzburg Music Festival 25/7-30/8 - Austria
• Maggio Musicale Fiorentino 21/4-2/7 - Florence, Italy
• Stars of the White Nights at Mariinsky Theatre 21/5-19/7 - St. Petersburg, Russia
• Drottningholms Opera Festival 30/5-23/8 - Stockholm, Sweden
• Savonlinna Opera Festival 3/7-1/8 - Finland

Clubbing, Dance & Concert, for example:

• Space, Ibiza, Spain
• Docken, Nordhavn, Copenhagen
• Depeche Mode - live in Copenhagen (30 Jun)
• Find and visit a Beach Party

Around Town, for example:

• Visit Formula 1 race, like Valencia (21 - 23 Aug) or Monza (11 - 13 Sep)
• Copenhagen Cooking (21 - 30 Aug)
• Weekend Escape, see what Berlin can deliver over a weekend
• Visit Portobello flea market in London

Outdoor, for example:

• Grilling on the beach
• Outdoor movie screenings
• Go diving in Kullaberg, Sweden
• Catch a free outdoor concert like performance by the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera in Central Park, NYC

Of course, the best element during summer, by far, is the company around you... So, go for it and enjoy!

Sushinho, an Japanese restaurant with a subtle Brazilian twist

Surprisingly, Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, and Sushinho is all about celebrating exactly this fact.

In short, contemporary Japanese cuisine with a subtle Brazilian twist, but also some... well... funny creations like for example the cocktail sakerinha: caipirinha with a saké base :-/


Outside...


Inside... darkish and exciting decor forms and sexy lounge bar downstairs.

What we had:


Up: Hijiki sashimi pizza, anchovy aioli, jalapeno
Down: Sweet potato gyoza, shitake & oyster mushrooms, shaved truffle


Wagyu beef, wasabi mash, romesco sauce


Same dish, different perspective...


Crispy sea bass, avocado puree, sushinho salsa, confit tomatoes

The starters ware delicious and main courses, especially the wagyu beef just perfect. Fairly priced, about 60€ per person, including wine. Don't miss it when in London as it is a real fun. Advance reservations are essential.

Rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)

Sushinho
312-314 King's Road
London SW3 5UH

Quilion Restaurant, an Indian restoran awarded with a Michelin star

Quilon Restaurant in Victoria has been awarded their first Michelin star in the 2008. It is one of the only five Indian restaurant in London to win a Michelin star, and more over, the only South Indian restaurant in the UK to achieve this and it is also a wonderful delight.

The southern Indian coastal cuisine is a unique cuisine and it main ingredients are rice and sea food, especially shellfish. An interesting trivia; the Indian cuisine has had a remarkable influence on cuisines across the world, especially those from South Indian.

What we had:


Crispy Potato and Smoked Mushroom Chop with plum and mint sauce
(we thought it's lotus roots, but it's said "mushroom" on the menu...)


Quilon Salad, chef’s creation: mixed greens with patty pan dressed in lavender and kokum infusion


Spiced Stir-fried Oysters - rock oysters tossed in mildly spiced coconut paste


Up: Lemon Rice; Basmati rice tossed in lime juice, roasted cashew nut, curry leaves, split bengal gram and pure ghee

Down: Squid and Shrimps Allepy style; Squid batons and shrimps stir-fried with spices with touch of coconut


Upper left: Coconut Rice basmati rice tossed with grated fresh coconut, mustard and chilly

Upper right: Mixed vegies

Down: Goan Chicken chicken supreme cooked with Goan spices, vinegar and chilly


Jackfruit pudding (a mixture of ripe jackfruit, jaggery, milk and egg baked on a layer of crispy bread served with jackfruit and mango sauce)


Bibinca (a multi-layered goan specialty made with coconut milk, refined flour, egg yolk, nutmeg and sugar, served warm with vanilla ice cream)

One can taste the Chef Sriram Aylur passion and love for cooking, he is obviously a master in his kitchen, and these dishes had been one of the freshest ingredients I've tasted for a while.

It cost us about 75€ per person, including aperitifs and wine. It is absolute must when around London, as to my knowledge, this is the best place to taste Indian cuisine.

Rating: 8.8 (out of 10.0)

Quilon Restaurant
41 Buckingham Gate
London SW1E 6AF

My thoughts on Osterys

Same as for example wine and cheese, the flavor of oysters is tightly dependent to terroir, that is, the environment in which they grow.

There are at least a thousand of unique oyster terroir. Having on mind that I've tasted just a few different oyster "appellation", makes me an absolute beginner, but I'm willing to learn ;-)


Swedish delight from Grebbestad, town north of Gothenburg, known for superb Norway lobster and natural oyster banks in the Bohuslän archipelago.


My fancy metal oysters glove.


Of course you don't need fancy gloves and you don't even need fancy knives, but you absolutely need a clam/oyster knife and that will not not break your wallet.


Ready to satisfy my oyster craving

If you have tried once and you are not enthusiastic about it, give it another shot as you may tasted the wrong ones. There so much different flavors from salty to super sweet and from lemony high-acid finish to a petite oysters best for Champagne.

Make sure oysters are still alive (their shells must be tightly closed), scrub oysters with a stiff brush under running water, and use a towel as a protection. Always try to catch the oyster's juices by positioning shell cup-side down so its flatter side faces up.

Enjoy.