If you go to Hong Kong around December the place is awash with hairy crabs - not an outbreak of unpleasantness, but a gastronomic opportunity. The ones I had were steamed and once one worked out how to get inside them, the ovaries were something between scrambled egg and mashed potato.

In every market, on every street. If your local restaurant doesn't have it on the menu, then buy a couple and ask them to cook them for you - you'll want other dishes too, as they weren't very filling.

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When in Hong Kong - check out the Haagan Daz in Lan Kwai Fong, Central, for an Ice Cream fondue. I haven't found this available anywhere outside Asia (although I may be proved wrong). The dish features different flavours of ice cream, fresh fruit and a warm chocolate fondue dip. Perhaps for those with a sweet tooth.

www.haagen-dazs.com
Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong Island

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Partake of this for €25 at the Villa Leonhardi – a superb Italian restaurant in an old villa just outside the old city; and once a month they do a seasonal tasting menu for €80‚ which is well worth making the journey for.

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Best restaurant in town. Try the salmon carbonara and tiramisu. Superb service too.

Da Vinci's restaurant, airport hotel

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My tip for a hotel is the Marriott in Deira. Away from the glitz so that you can concentrate but close enough to everything that you want, first class business facilities and a rooftop pool. The best restaurants are the Sphinx at the Pyramids and Shabestani Iranian restaurant at the Hyatt.

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Oriental, seafood restaurant at the Grand Hyatt in Deira. The restaurant location and setting are ideal for meetings, the staff are quietly efficient and knowledgeable about the food, they have a great selection of wines while the signature dish, Pepper Crab, is truly outstanding.

Grand Hyatt, Deira

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This restaurant situated on the Chicago River serves great sushi and modern Japanese cuisine. It’s very smart and tends to attract a rather beautiful crowd. You can choose between the red room or the green room, depending on what mood you’re in; or there’s also a wonderful river-front patio.

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If you’ve got something to celebrate and feel like splashing out, the 23-course tasting menu at Alinea in the Lincoln Park area is a must. It’s an eye-popping $195 at first glance, but with the exchange rate as it is, it does represent excellent value. Everything is exquisitely presented and tastes wonderful.

www.alinea-restaurant.com/index.html

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If you’re after old-world charm, I can strongly recommend The Peninsula or the Four Seasons. The Peninsula is located in the middle of Chicago’s magnificent mile of department stores and designer boutiques, has a fabulously grand lobby and is home to Shanghai Terrace – arguably Chicago’s finest Chinese restaurant. The lobby lounge is lit by twenty-foot-high windows, and the bar, in contrast, is intimate and low-lit, with a roaring fireplace and a surprisingly hip crowd. Despite its excessively grand décor, I’ve always found it very difficult to leave the Four Seasons – the CEO hotel of choice. The service is friendly, super-competent and never intrusive; the views spectacular – of the Michigans (Avenue and Lake); and the pampering genuinely top-notch.

The New American food at Seasons is delicious and you can easily lose a week at the extraordinary spa and pool. Every bit as impressive as its New York sibling, the Chicago Seasons happens to be cheaper, too.

The Peninsula Chicago 108 East Superior Street (at North Michigan Avenue), Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA Tel: (1-312) 337 2888Fax: (1-312) 751 2888 chicago.peninsula.com

Four Seasons120 East Delaware Place, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 60611-1428 Tel: 1 (312) 280-8800 Fax: 1 (312) 280-1748
Website: fourseasons.com/chicagofs

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Charlie Trotter’s on West Armitage is very expensive but also worth it: the epitome of New American gastronomy, punters are consistently dazzled by the freshness of the ingredients, the innovation of the daily changing menu, the exceptional wine cellar and the courteous and knowledgeable staff. It’s a touch over-formal but, after a few bottles, you’ll forget the stuffiness.

A tip: for the ultimate, sublime experience, get a reservation at the kitchen table. Also formal but utterly magical is TRU in Streeterville. A rather unique combination of gallery and eatery, this hip establishment houses two of Chicago’s most eminent chefs (Rick Tramanto and Gale Gand), sommelier Scott Tyree’s 1,400-bottle wine selection and an original Andy Warhol. From the moment you enter through the deliciously decadent black drapes, you’ll be stunned. Try the caviar, kobe beef and truffle-garnished scallops for a lasting memory. And don’t forget to wear a (louche) jacket.

Charlie Trotter's, 816 West Armitage Chicago, Illinois 60614 Tel: 773 248-6228
charlietrotters.com/restaurant

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If you’re looking for food with a view, try The Signature Room at the John Hancock Centre. With better views than the building’s observation deck, this is Chicago’s brunch centre. The prices are reasonable and you’re guaranteed to wow your colleagues/clients. The service can be a little variable – it took the waitress 15 minutes to find me a fork – but the weekend live jazz more than makes up for the occasional shoddiness.

The Signature Room at the 95th® 875 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60611 Tel: 312.787.9596
signatureroom.com

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For something completely different, try X/O in Boys Town. This ultra cool spot dishes a delightful variety of creative eclectic small plates – including tapas with a twist – and offers some of the city’s best cocktails. The champagne concoctions and martinis are as spectacular as the atmosphere – fuelled by a DJ with a Hoxton haircut at weekends. If you can, try to sit on the patio.

3441 N Halsted Street Chicago, IL 60613 Tel:(773) 348-9696

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Le Bier Circus - fantastic beer list (look at the vintage beers) and typical hearty Belgian food.

www.bier-circus.be/
Rue de l'Enseignement, 57 Brussels, 1000 Belgium

Google map: tinyurl.com/nppzrp

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Aux Armes De Bruxelles is a long-established restaurant near the Grand Place with an excellent menu and good beer and wine list. The moules are to die for. I ate there every evening on my last trip.

Address: 13, Rue des Bouchers - 1000 Bruxelles; Phone: +32 2 511.55.50; Website: www.armebrux.be/

Google map: tinyurl.com/mhoh6p

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Place Saint-Géry is a great place to grab a drink in the evening in Brussels. There are also great restaurants around this area.

Place Saint-Géry

Google map: tinyurl.com/kta7uf

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La Quincaillerie (if you can pronounce it) is the place to go for upmarket Belgian dining in the atmospheric, bustling setting of an old ironmonger's store. It's a really memorable experience for visitors to Brussels and has fantastic seafood.

45 rue du Page, Brussels
www.quincaillerie.be
+32 2 533 9833

Google map: tinyurl.com/myn6vs

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At the Nanxincang branch of Da Dong Roast Duck they have 22 private rooms, making it a great restaurant to do business – it is also the best Peking duck in Beijing. You have to reserve, though, because it is a popular place and the queues can be horrendous.

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Yunnan food that people from Yunnan actually eat. Serving the Yunnan Provincial Government Office, Yunteng Shifu offers authentic Yunnan cuisine made with ingredients which are flown in direct from the southern province. The restaurant is open all day and the somewhat kitsch, jungle interior can feel like a breath of fresh air after dusty Beijing.

Yunnan specialities include goat's cheese (rubing), pineapple rice (bolo fan), 'crossing the bridge' noodles (guo qiao mixian), proscuitto-like cuts of ham and the hot, fresh wonderfulness which is Dai mint salad.

There's no English menu but everything is illustrated with photos. Yunnan food is very trendy in Beijing and can be hugely overpriced, but a meal here for two with Yunnan beer or tea shouldn't cost more than £10. Highly, highly recommended.

Set back from the road, Yunteng Shifu looks to be part of a posh housing estate. Look for the building with large gold characters down the side of it and stone steps leading up to the entrance.

Yunteng Hotel, 7 Donghuashi Beili Dongqu (bet. Chongwenmen Dongdajie & Donghuashi Dajie) Beijing, China 100019
Tel: 010-6713-6439
Nearest metro stations: Chongwenmen (line 5) or Beijing Train Station (line 2).

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A website in which local restaurants, bars, clubs, activities, tours and anything else people care to comment on are reviewed by ordinary people living in the city.

www.localnoodles.com

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It is a website about Krakow that has loads of useful information - restaurants, pubs, clubs, accomodation etc.

www.krakow-poland.com

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