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        <title>Been there | Tips</title>
        
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            Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love,
            live in or have just visited - are what make this guide.
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                <title>Beige Tokyo</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19922</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Beige Tokyo, the creation of Chanel and Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, is so achingly hip it’ll make you take off your suit the moment you get in. Located in the Chanel Ginza Building, it is the perfect fusion of high fashion and impeccable cuisine: try the frog’s legs and akagegyu beef for orgasmic culinary pleasure.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Faster than a speeding bullet...</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19921</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Take the remarkable bullet train to Kyoto and sample the wonders of ancient Japan. Kyoto’s city centre may not seem like much, but you’ll be charmed by the extraordinarily preserved Buddhist temples and the warm, simple hospitality of the traditional ryokan (an old-school Japanese inn).]]></description>
                
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                <title>The best view in town</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19890</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[For 360-degree views of the city, go to the Pavillion Rooms at the China Club, which has 10 private rooms.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Quality accommodation at The Fullerton</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19885</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Its exterior – an iconic colonial relic, designed in the style of such classical Greek structures as the Parthenon – may be exquisitely preserved, but there's nothing colonial within the walls of the present-day Fullerton. The interiors are clean, bold, and contemporary. Its infinity pool is bang up-to-date, its bathrooms stocked with custom-made Bulgari products, its restaurant delicious and its service impeccable (they even sent me a birthday card last year – remarkable). Choose one of its suites on the 5th floor for maximum luxury – having breakfast overlooking the harbour on a palatial terrace is one of Singapore’s great delights.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Where to go for great Chinese food</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19880</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Two great Chinese restaurants are Hua Ting – in the Orchard Hotel – and Iggy’s – inside the Regent Hotel. Both have won a host of international awards. The former specialises in rare Cantonese dishes - bird's nest, preserved egg, fish maw and other dried seafood may sound hideous but they’re actually delicious. The latter has a German chef and his mastery of the art of Chinese cooking is impressive – his sea scallop topped with foie gras purée and yuzu juice is divine.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Sketch Gallery - great cocktails</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19677</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Sketch Gallery, on Conduit Street, is highly recommended. The modern British/French food is divine (the beef tartare is astoundingly tasty) but it’s the interior design, walls adorned by electronic projections instead of wallpaper, that takes your breath away.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Arts, crafts and antiques shopping</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19555</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The Chinese Arts and Crafts Shop in the China Resources building on Harbour Road in Wan Chai is a fantastic place for antique Chinese silk dresses, high quality authentic antiques and artefacts. They also stock a huge range of Chinese medicines. For ease - it's worth making this your first port of call for gifts.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Caprice</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19553</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[For dining, Caprice is a sure-fire winner. The chef here is Vincent Thierry who used to run the famous Le Cinq in Paris and the food is always excellent. You also have pretty harbour views. It’s quite formal so is a good place to go with clients, but if you want somewhere a bit more laid-back, then try Di Vino on Wyndham Street, which also has an excellent wine list.]]></description>
                
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                <title>The best hotel in town - the new Peninsula Hotel</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19481</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[If you’ve got a substantial budget, this is where you should be staying. The service is impeccable and they have a team of administrative assistants in the business centre that will take dictation, research things for you, organise your diary – in fact, anything you might need while in the city can be sorted out from this hotel. You also get to use their amazing spa facilities, which cover the top two floors of the building.]]></description>
                
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                <title>For old-world charm, try The Peninsula or Four Seasons</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19474</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[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. <br><br>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.]]></description>
                
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                <title>The Signature Room: food with a view</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19472</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[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.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Tapas with a twist and Chicago's best cocktails</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19471</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[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.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Super-cool clubs in Chicago</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19468</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Fancy a boogie? Sound Bar and Enclave are your passes to the best late-night hedonism Chicago has to offer. The former has two levels and is invariably packed: downstairs plays hip-hop music and upstairs grooves to an unrelenting house beat. You can engineer your very own oasis of calm, though, by booking a table in the VIP room. The drinks are phenomenally cheap, you get waitress service and the chance to retreat if the music becomes too much or the people too raucous. Not the best club in the world, but a good laugh nonetheless. Altogether better is Enclave. This upscale location has undergone a full year of renovation: new floors, new (clean) bathrooms, new furnishings, impeccably styled bar areas, etc. And it’s been worth it. This is now the premier dance spot in Illinois, with beautiful people to match. Get a table in the circular, curtain-swathed VIP area and forget all about work.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Post-dinner drinks at the J Bar</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19469</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[If you’re looking for a post-dinner drink or two, the J Bar at The James is a good place to start. In harmony with the rest of the hotel, it’s sleek, sophisticated and very cool. The barmen fashion martinis with olive lollipops (so you can look like Kojak for the night) and the waiters provide appetizers from David Burke’s in-house restaurant. If you get there early enough, you might also get a seat on the attractive low-slung banquettes.]]></description>
                
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