The World According to

Mitzie Mee & Friends

Issue 1 • July 2014

Welcome to my world!Mitzie Mee & Friends is an informal online publica-

tion about the cities featured in Mitzie Mee Guides.

Yes, it’s all about big cities!

I was born in South Korea and adopted by Danish

parents when I was 3 months old. I have always

traveled a lot and for many years, I worked in the

airline industry. My first job was as a cabin attendant

but later on, I took a commercial pilot license and

worked for 2 years as an airline pilot.

Today, I live in Dubai with my husband, and when

I’m not busy traveling the world, I spend most of my

time working on my blog and my city guides.

I’m the primary contributor to Mitzie Mee & Friends,

but I’ve even reached out to my favorite blogger-fri-

ends from all over the world to help me put to-

gether this magazine.

Just like the rest of my online activities (my blog and

my website), this magazine primarily targets fema-

le readers, who have left their backpacking-years

behind and now prefer a more comfortable way of

traveling with an occasional dash of luxury. I think

they call us flashpackers?

I love food and I eat a lot so it would be strange to

leave out this big yummy part of my life. I’m also

addicted to skylines and multicolored cocktails so

to me, a city break isn’t complete without a visit to a

rooftop bar.

English is not my native language, so please bear

over with grammatical slipups and spelling errors.

I’ve even kept the editing of any guest writings to

an absolute minimum, as I want the unique voice of

each blogger to shine through. The casual, personal

touch is what differentiates this mag from more pro-

fessional, printed publications, and I prefer to keep

it that way.

I hope that you’ll find this magazine both entertai-

ning and informative, and if you have any feedback

please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Mitzie Mee (Sanne Overgaard Møller), July 2014

mitziemee@mitziemee.com

www.mitziemeeblog.com

www.mitziemee.com

In this issue:Bangkok 5

Copenhagen 10

Dubai 15

Las Vegas 20

Sukhumvit Soi 38: My late night street food fixTaxi!Meet the blogger: My Seoul in BangkokDining in Bangkok

Smørrebrød at AamannsGrab a bike

Go Fish!Front row views to Burj KhalifaMeet the Blogger: Pinay Flying High

Where to stay in Las VegasIndustry Nights: Party with the locals

In this issue:London 24

Los Angeles 28

New York 31

Tokyo 37

Hungry in LondonShop ’til you drop!

SKYBARThe Hollywood Sign

A day at the highlineMeet the blogger: Waz Wu from Let’s Nom NomDining in New York

Gyu-An: Kobe beef in GinzaMeet the blogger: Raipo HangaroundMeet the blogger: SimplyTokyoWhat’s hot in Tokyo right now?Dining in Tokyo

BANGKOK

> Sukhumvit Soi 38: My late night street food fix

> Taxi!

> Meet the blogger: SEOULinBKK > Dining in Bangkok

Sukhumvit Soi 38: My late-night street food fixby Mitzie Mee

During the entire flight, I was fantasizing about all the simple, yet incredibly tasty stre-et food that was awaiting me in Bangkok, so the first thing I did upon my arrival was to get on the Skytrain to Thong Lo station.

Right next to one of the exits, in the be-ginning of Sukhumvit Soi 38 (Soi is side street in Thai), there’s a cluster of food stalls, serving all sorts of delicious food.

The menus are in English and the conveni-ent location just next to Thong Lo station me-ans that there is always a rather large crowd of tourist seated at the small plastic tables.

Many locals will probably tell you that the-re are far better and less expensive stre-et food places in Bangkok, but if you’re in need of a quick fix not too far from the be-aten track, then Soi 38 is a great choice.

I had a delicious Chinese soup with seaweed and pork, and for dessert I had sticky rice with fresh mango. It all didn’t cost me more than140THB (approx. $4.5) including a Coke, so even though it might be slightly more pricey than other, less touristy clusters of street food stalls in Bangkok, it was still well worth the price.

Bangkok

TAXI!! by Mitzie Mee

One thing that really annoys me about Bangkok is how difficult, it sometimes can be to find a cabbie, who is willing to turn on the meter.

It’s especially the case for the tourist-den-se areas around the major attractions, the big shopping malls and Khao San Rd.

The kind of taxi drivers, who refuse to go by meter are often well-dressed and spe-ak a surprisingly good English compared to the ordinary Bangkok cabbie, and the price demanded to take you just a few blocks down Sukhumbvit Road is sky high.

Apparently, they are able to spot a tourist like me miles away, and I’m often comfor-table in my seat before I notice that the meter isn’t on.

When I ask for the meter to be switched on, the only answer I get is “300 Baht, fixed price”, and if I refuse, they’ll pull over immediately and ask me to get out. So frustrating!

My impression is that this phenomenon has escalated in recent years. When I vi-sited Bangkok for the first time 10 years ago, such things usually only occurred around Khao San Rd., but now I get hust-led every second time, I try to get a cab (and I look Asian!).

When deciding where to stay in Bangkok, itøs therefore cruial to me that the hotel is close to a Skytrain station, so I don’t have to waste my time negotiating taxi prices.

www.myseoulinbkk.com

Meet the blogger:

Tell me a little about yourself. Why did you end up in Bangkok? What do you like the most about the city? What is the most an-noying thing?

I was born in Korea but only spent my first seven years there. I lived in L.A. for couple of years before my parents decided to perma-nently settle in Bangkok. I can’t believe it’s already been 15 years.

There are so many aspects I love about the city. The diverse culinary culture, cheap taxi fare, warm weather, picture perfect tropical beaches, best bargain shopping, thai massa-ge.. just to name a few.

But one of my biggest pet peeves about the city is that when you expect some matters to be taken seriously often the ’mai pen rai’ (it’s okay; never mind; it doesn’t matter) and ’jai yen’ (take it easy; calm down) attitude kicks in which can be quite frustrating at times.

Oh and did I mention the horrifying Bangkok traffic? Sometimes you get stuck for hours try-ing to get from one soi (side street) to another while motorcycles try to squeeze in between

cars often driving away after knocking off one of your side mirrors. But other than that? Bang-kok is a lovely place to be.

What is your blog about, and why should people read it?

SEOULinBKK is mainly about food and travels. I review restaurants I find worthy of recommen-dations and keep a photo diary of my travels. I occasionally update ”a glimpse of my life” posts where I try to capture the other side of my life apart from.. food.

Not that I think my life is interesting in any way but I personally find it more interesting and credible to read blogs that I know a little more about the bloggers.

Anyways, as a long-term expat in this beautiful City of Angels, I hope to share my insights for those looking for a place to dine or things to do in Bangkok and occasionally in other cities like Seoul.

> Visit SEOULinBKK

Dining in Bangkok by SeoulinBKK www.myseoulinbkk.com

My favourite place for brunch has to be Roast in Thonglor 13. It’s like my comfort zone where satisfaction is guaranteed - both food and ambience wise. For dinner it’s very difficult to choose just one but if I must, my current favourite has to be Above Eleven in Sukhumvit 11. It’s a rooftop restaurant/bar with Peruvian Japanese fusion cuisine over-looking Bangkok’s skyline. The unique cuisine is delicious and not too harsh on the wallet, the view is breath taking and the service is mind blowing. Most definitely a five star dining experience.

Tipping

Though it’s not customary or mandato-ry, Thailand has a big tipping culture.

Be it the security guard for calling in a cab for you or bellboy offering to carry your luggages, give them 20 Baht and you’ll see it makes the biggest difference in their attitude towards you the next time you see them - but of course expecting to be tipped again.

In a restaurant where service charge isn’t included, I normally leave 20-100 Baht depending on what kind of restaurant it is.

For nail/hair salons or massage shops we normally tip around 50-100 Baht directly to the masseur.

Food trends in Bangkok right now:

Japanese sushi bars with insect-inspired rolls and brunch cafés serving egg benedict with specialty coffee has been the most popular yet most tired and reused food trends for the past couple of years in Bangkok.

Recently many Bangkokians have been taking on a new trend to go green, opting for healthier diet options, hence the increased popularity of organic restaurants and markets. Healthy doesn’t always necessarily mean all green and raw. For instance, Simple Natural Kitchen in Sukhum-vit 31 offers large selection of my favourite brunch menus using organic ingredients. You can also go orga-nic with authentic Thai food in restaurants like Wa-tercress in K-Village.

This is my favorite Thai food!

Side dishes: ’yum woon sen’ spicy glass noodle salad; ’gaeng keow wan’ green curry soup, ’gai pad met ma muang’ stir fried chicken with cashew nuts; ’pla tod sam rod’ spicy triple flavour fish; ’pad pak bung fai daeng’ stir fried morning glory;

...and main dishes: ’khao man gai’ thai style chicken with rice; ’khao goong tod gratiem’ deep fried garlic shrimp with rice; ’pad thai’ stir fried thai noodle; ’guay tiew sukhothai’ sukhothai style thai noodle.

My favorite street food pla-ce?

Although it’s not technically ’street’ food, it’s an open air, non-air conditioned noodle shop so lets just say it can pass as one. Rung Reung, a family run Thai noodle re-staurant in Sukhumvit 26 was my favourite 15 years ago and still is.

Priced 40-50 THB per bowl you can choose from different types of noodles either with soup or without. Most people have at least 2 bowls of these noodles because one is just not enough. It’s only opened for breakfast and lunch from 8am to 3pm but make sure to avoid peak lunch hours.

Visit SEOULinBKK:www.myseoulinbkk.com

COPENHAGEN> Smørrebrød at Aamanns

> Grab a bike!

Smørrebrød at Aamanns Copenhagen

culinary excellence and mo-dern take on the classic Danish delicacy. For a long time, I’ve wanted vi-sit Aamanns, so when I was me-eting two friends for lunch the other day, Aamanns was the place to go.

The lunch menu was plain and dictated by seasonal ingredi-ents, yet it was hard to choose, as everything sounded really delicious. We therefore deci-ded to order each our different smørrebrød and share it all to-gether, so we got the chance to try as much as possible.

We had beef tartare with ven-dace roe, herb salted salmon and two different types of her-ring, before we finished off with Arborio ice cream with beetro-ot, blackcurrant and licorice.

I really liked the herring, which

Smørrebrød (open sandwiches) has always been an integral and beloved part of traditional Danish cuisine. In its most ba-sic form, it consists of rye bread with butter and different sorts of cold cuts, fish or pâtés.

Aamanns is one of the most prominent smørrebrød restau-rants in Copenhagen right now, and the place has received in-ternational recognition for its

was served with pickled pump-kin on top, but all the things

we had were really tasty. The salmon was not too salty, so the fine taste of herbs did not drown, and the dessert was exquisite.

As a restaurant guest, I want to be treated with respect, but I do not like when people bow and scrape for me.

In many countries, the restau-rant staff’s salary is either very low and/or highly based on

by Mitzie Mee

tips, resulting in an unequal rela-tionship between the guest and the personnel: There is simply too much sucking up going on. This is seldom the case in Denmark. Instead, restaurant personnel at certain places can be both arro-gant and rude.

At Aamanns the service was im-peccable. It was the same gent-leman who served us throughout the meal, and he was well versed in both the menu and the ingre-dients.

In addition, he caught my friend’s concern about having to share the plate and cutlery with my bud-ding cold sore and arranged for two separate plates and flatware for our shared dessert without us even asking.

This is Danish service at its best, and one of the reasons (in addi-tion to the excellent food) why I would not hesitate to recommend Aamanns to anyone who visits Copenhagen.

www.mitziemeeblog.com

Grab a bike by Mitzie Mee

Explore Copenhagen in the most Copenhagen-ish way: On a bike!

Public bikes - the so-called City Bikes - are available at nu-merous stations throughout the city.

You pay 25DKK per hour (by creditcard) to use the bike, and you cane return it at any of the City Bike stations.

DUBAI

> Go fish! > Front row views of Burj Khalifa

> Meet the Blogger: Pinay Flying High

> Dubai dos and dont’s

Go fish!by Mitzie Mee

I easily get seasick so guess how enthusiastic I was, when AC and my sister suggested that we went on a boat trip the other day? Not so much..

Last time I was on a boat was on the Faroe Islands and the sea was so rough, I remember myself thinking that if I leaned over the railing and puked, the whole mess would probably be blown back in my face (sorry, too much information). So I didn’t puke, but I promised myself that I wouldn’t voluntarily put my feet on a boat again, for a very long time.

Though, everybody else was keen to go on that trip, s and after a while decided to take one for the team and convinced myself that the smooth sea down here wouldn’t mess up my vestibular system. Some of Poul’s friends also wanted to join, so we were 6 persons in total heading out to sea. Beverages were included but we were sup-posed to bring our own food, so we stopped by McDonald’s and bought each our Big Mac meal. I know, not very back-to-nature-ish but hey, we’re in Dubai!

The boat departed from the fishing harbor in Umm Suqeim and the captain was waiting for us near the entrance. For the first 20 minutes, I was quite ok and busy enjoying the view and snap-ping photos of the Dubai skyline from all possible angles, but then the boat stopped, so we could start fishing and sparked by the slow, rolling mo-vements of the boat, the seasickness hit me like a sledgehammer.

I couldn’t sit, nor stand, and only when I was lying down, completely still, it became barely tolerable. I therefore spent the afternoon feeling sorry for myself from my spot under a beach towel at the bottom of the boat, while the others were drag-ging in one fish after another, drinking beer and having a great time.

When our 4 hours were up, and we returned to the harbor, I got back to life again. What a gre-at feeling to be on solid ground! Note to self: There’s a reason why I wasn’t born with web and gills…

Front row views of Burj Khalifaby Mitzie Mee

Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building and it’s located right next to the Dubai Mall, which is the world’s largest shopping center. As if it wasn’t enough, every day after 6pm, there’s even a dancing fountain show, which is also, surprise surprise, the world’s greatest.

In high season, the area around Burj Khalifa one of the most tourist-packed spots in Dubai and taking a picture without 10 Japanese tourists in the back-ground and a blond Swedish mane right where Burj Khalifa was supposed to be, can be quite a challenge.

During the summer months, the area is much less crammed, so this is when you want to bring out your SLR for some really amazing photos of this beautiful building.

Go to the small bridge that leads to Souk Al Bahar for the best views of Burj Khalifa. Enjoy!

Meet the blogger:

www.pinayflyinghigh.com

Tell me a little about yourself.. Who is that high-flying Pinay, and what brought her to Dubai?Pinay Flying High is actually just your average small town girl who wanted to break-free from the suffocating love of her closely-knit Filipino family. Being the youngest in the family, everyone’s just on to me and I didn’t like that much of attention. Can you believe that at 22 years old I still had a curfew back when I was in the Philippines? No? Well believe it!

That’s why I tried everything to break-away from it as I wanted to be independent, I wanted to live my life as I want and not as they want and I wanted to make my own decisions for myself.

So when an opportunity to go to Dubai landed on my lap, I grabbed it, packed my bags and flew to Dubai. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my family but that suffocation is going to kill the high-flying spirit that I have. What´s your blog about and why should I read it?My blog is mostly about travel and food. I guess people should read it because unlike all the other big shot travel bloggers out there who does this kind of thing for a living,

I have kept my day job.

I know a lot of people who are just like me, who won’t be able to to survive nor finance their travels if they don’t keep their day job. Who doesn’t have that online skill to get a job which allows them to work from home.

I want to be the inspiration to everyone who are unfortunate enough to be stuck in a cubicle just like I am but still be able to travel. I want to let them know that they’re not exactly alone, just like them - I don’t have the guts to just let go of my day job and travel the world.

Maybe someday it’ll come (well I hope it does) but for now, I’d like my blog to be able to send my message across to the unfortunate ones who are stuck in an office cubicle earning a small salary that they shouldn’t feel bad at all because they can still travel. If I can do it, they can too.

What do you like most about Dubai? And what´s the most annoying thing about the city?The fast pace of the city. Buildings get built overnight here. There’s always a new place to explore and something new to do. In my 7 years here in this fast-paced city, I am confident to say that I have not overturned all the stones yet and it

really is impossible to do that.

The most annoying thing about the city is its acceptance to racism. In Dubai, the color of your skin or the passport you hold defines your status and I really do hate it. The worst part is, I have learned to accept it - at some point, I got tired of being the opinionated one and having an argument with the bouncer who won’t let us in a club because we’re not white enough or with a boss who hired someone with a more senior position than I am plainly because that per-son’s passport is much better than mine.

I learned that this is how this city works and if I don’t like it, I can always just leave - I can’t make the whole city change.

None of us can so all we have to do now is to just suck it up and enjoy what it has to offer.

After not minding the blatant racism happening around me, I was able to enjoy my life here more. Every city has a flaw

and this is just one of them in Dubai. You can’t live a perfect life anywhere after all.

What´s trending in Dubai right now? Gluten-free meals, organic foods and all the healthy alterna-tives. I kind of hate it though because I’m not really a health freak although I think I should be.

How is your ideal Friday night in Dubai?My ideal Friday night is nursing a hangover from the Friday brunch that same afternoon. Well it’s not really ideal but that always seem to be the case. And oh! I should probably include Friday brunches on the previous question as to what’s trending in Dubai.

Do:• Expect to be extravagantly awed by the skyscrapers of the New Dubai

• Respect the customs and laws of this land. Just because Dubai is an open city does not mean that you can completely forget that it’s a Muslim country that you’re in.

• Visit the Old Dubai, it’s always been neglected but that’s where you can find some cheap treasures.

Don’t:• Come here during Ramadan or the summer months of June-August, unless of course you’re suicidal and won’t mind the restaurants being closed during day-light.

• Ignore the rules of the RTA Metro, I’ve seen men getting fined AED200 for choosing to stand in the women-only cabin and I’ve seen people getting fined as well for chewing gum while inside the metro. :)

• Ever miss a Dubai Fountain show.

Click the image to visitwww.pinayflyinghigh.com

LAS VEGAS

> Where to stay in Las Vegas

> Party with the locals

Las Vegas

Where to stay in Las Vegas by Mitzie Mee

Where to stay in Las Vegas? That’s one question I get all the time, so here are my recommendations:

If you are only in Vegas for a couple of days and you want to be close to where everything is happening, make sure you book a hotel on the Strip.

The Strip is the long stretch of road also known as Las Vegas Blvd. South, and this is where you find the large majority of the giant casino resorts and shopping malls. On the Strip, I sug-gest that you stay somewhere between Wynn/Encore to the north and Mandalay Bay to the south. Further south and further north will be too far from all the action.

During the summer, Las Vegas is hot (literally speaking) so forget everything about walking

outside for any longer distances. Even though taxis are plentiful, they are expensive, and it also really sucks spending too much time in taxi-lines.

Taxis are only allowed to pick up passengers at the designated taxi stands in front of the ca-sinos, so you can’t just hail a taxi on the Strip, when your feet start to hurt.

Regarding room rates, you’ll find some real bargains during the weekdays, but Friday-Sun-day and holidays the prices go up significantly.

However, hotel rooms are generally very cheap in Las Vegas as most casinos have other sour-ces of income, so grab the opportunity and stay in luxury for the same price as what you pay for a budget hotel room in a shady part of Copenhagen.

Resort fees

Most hotels on the Strip charge a resort fee, which is typically $15-25/night per room. The resort fee usually does not include anything else than wi-fi and local phone calls, so it is in fact just an extra mandatory charge. If you are in Las Vegas for a week and more resort fees really mount up, so make sure to check whether the fees are included when you book you’re your hotel, so you get a fair idea of the actual price.

Visit my blog:

www.mitziemeeblog.com

If you like pool parties:

..and you are in Las Vegas during the summer, make sure to pick one of the hotels with day-clubs. Some of the most well known dayclubs, which often have famous DJs or artists per-forming, are found at MGM (Wet Republic), Marquee (Marquee Dayclub) and Encore (Enco-re Beach Club). If you don’t want to dress up to go to the pool, but prefer to tan in peace and quiet, while reading a book or knitting a swea-ter, choose Palazzo, Venetian, Caesar’s Palace or Bellagio, which all got beautiful pool areas without the unga-bunga ambience.

If you’re into clubbing:

Some of Las Vegas’ hottest clubs right now are Marquee at Cosmopolitan, Hakkasan at MGM and XS at Wynn/Encore, so if you’re planning on partying all night long, consider one of those locations. None of the really big (and oh-so-trendy) clubs are on the southern part of the Strip (from New York New York and further south), but the dining opportunities are fabulous and the room rates usually a tad lower than the rest of the Strip.

If you love shopping:

The Palazzo, The Venetian, Wynn and Encore are just opposite Fashion Show Mall, which is the biggest mall in Las Vegas. You are also only just a short bus trip from a big Ross store and Las Vegas Premium Outlets North.

If you’d rather spend your money on something else than hotel rooms:

Then Excalibur, Luxor, and Travelodge on the Strip all offer great location at a budget friend-ly price. Spend a little more, and you can get yourself a much nicer room at New York New York, Planet Hollywood or MGM.

Las Vegas

Industry Nights:

PARTY WITH THE LOCALSby Mitzie Mee

by Mitzie Meewww.mitziemee.com

Usually I prefer sleek cocktail bars to loud music and big nightclubs, but in Las Ve-gas, it’s a different case. The nightclubs in Sin City are so beautifully decorated and so convincingly cool that some of them easily outshine more traditional tourist attractions.

Even though most stuff in Las Vegas is open 24/7, somebody must have figured out that since most visitors only come to Vegas for the weekend, it would eventu-ally lead to significant overcapacity, if all the clubs were open on weekdays.

On less busy nights, only a few of the large clubs are therefore open, and this is also the nights where you can join the locals for some awesome Industry Night-partying.

At Industry Nights, locals and people working at other nightclubs usually get free admission and discounted drinks. The crowd is therefore significantly dif-ferent from the “I-just-flew-in from-LAX/SFO/…CPH- and-I’m-desperately-rea-dy-to-PAAARTTTYYY”- characters that

fill the dance floors at weekends. The atmosphere is more tongue-in-cheek/been-there-done-that, and it takes more than a couple of acrobats and a cocktail with a sparkler to impress these guys.

PURE’s Industry Nights on Tuesdays are legendary and never disappoint. Another cool Industry Night I like is the Wednes-days at LAX. LAX might not be the hottest club in Vegas, but they always play lots of rap music (=Jay-Z) and the dance floor usually gets really crowded.

The new it-club Marquee has made Mon-day their Industry Night, and this giant venue, with a larger and hipper crowd than you see on other clubs on most Sa-turdays, is my new Vegas favorite.

Hakkasan is also one of the new and trendy clubs in Las Vegas and most of my friends, who have been there love it. Personally I find the place a bit too cram-ped, but the music is good. Haven’t been there? Go see for yourself and let me know what you think:)

Industry Nights in Las VegasSunday: The Bank (Bellagio), Hakkasan (MGM), Lavo (Palazzo) Monday: Marquee (Cosmopolitan), XS (Wynn) Tuesday: 1OAK (Mirage), Lavo (Palazzo), PURE (Caesar’s Palace) Wednesday: LAX (Luxor), Ghostbar (Palms) Thursday: TAO (The Venetian), Tryst (Wynn), Haze (Aria)

LONDON> Hungry in London

> Shop ’til you drop!

British cuisine may not have the best repu-tation. I mean, what would you expect from a cuisine with foods named “Spotted dick,” “Bangers and mash” and “Toad in the hole”?

When I was 15, I went on a language course in England. My host family was a typical British fa-mily and the meals served mostly consisted of variations of baked beans, peanut butter sand-wiches and microwaved kidney pie.

I ended up spending most of my allowance on McDonald’s. Though, Britain seems determined to wash off that “inedible” stamp, which tar-nished the British cuisine for ages, and the last decades’ master chefs, Michelin stars and a new updated versions of pub food has placed London on the European foodie map.

Here are 3 restaurants you shouldn’t miss:

Hungry in London by Mitzie Mee

Hawksmoor Air Street5a Air Street PiccadillyLondon, W1J 0AD

Raw food diets and chickpea salads in all honor, but sometimes a girl just needs a steak, and one of the best places to go on a carnivore spree in London is Hawks-moor on Air Street.

Hawksmoor is a 3-course long tribute to carnivores. The aged, British bred steaks are the size of what you’ll expect to find in a Midwestern steakhouse in the US and combined with British, some might say rather ob-sessive, attention to detail, you’ve got a concept second to none. Even though just a steak will be more than enough food for most people, don’t miss out on the side dishes. I’ll say just 3 words: Beef Dripping Fries. The interior comes off a bit testosterone-ish, and I must admit that the green leather/black marble/dark wood combo didn’t really appeal to me, but it’s cozy and the large bar area calls for both pre- and post-dinner cock-tails. The dining area is huge, but in the weekends it fills up quickly, so a table reservation is highly recom-mended.

Polpo41 Beak StreetSohoLondon W1F 9SBTel: 02077344479

Polpo is a so-called bàcaro, an Italian eatery ser-ving simple food and good wine and ever since the opening in 2009, Polpo on Beak Street has been a favorite among locals as well as inter-national foodies. All dishes at Polpo are served as small plates, and costs 3-14GBP. Depending on what you order, you will probably need 2-3 plates, if you are hungry. Many of the wines are served by the glass and start at 6GBP for a glass of house grapes.

Polpo is located down a quiet street and the restaurant is small and intimate. Polpo accepts reservations for lunch, but in the evening, the restaurant has a first-come, first-served policy.

If the restaurant is full, the staff will usually be able to give you an estimate on when a table will be ready, so you can come back later.

Yauatcha15-17 Broadwick StreetSoho, London, W1F0DLTel: 020-74948888

Yauatcha is a modern version of the traditional Chinese teahouse. Here you can enjoy tea and world class dim sum world in sleek surroun-dings in the middle of trendy Soho. You can either dine upstairs in the less informal café or downstairs in the dark, but really nice dining room. In addition to dim sum, Yauatcha also serves various soups, desserts and cocktails. The choice of tea is also impressive and includes white, blue, green and black teas of very high quality. Most dim sum at Yauatcha consists of 3 pieces, and cost between 5-10 GBP. Expect at least 2-3 portions per person.Yauatcha has one Michelin star.

Liberty Liberty is more than 100 years old and the beautiful half-timbered building is packed with fine goods and exclusive brands. In addition to home décor and garments, you can also buy yarn, fabric and embroi-dery items.

Fortnum & MasonClassic and exclusive with an impressive selection of home décor items and delicacies. This is where you go if you have a weakness for expensive wine gums and marmalades. You can also enjoy your afternoon tea in the beautiful Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, which was opened in 2012 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

PrimarkWonder where all the tourists are hiding? In Primark! People from all over the world go bargain hunting among the huge selection of clothing and shoes. Everything is VERY cheap, so you have the opportuni-ty to experiment with trends, you otherwise wouldn’t have considered.

Selfridges: Selfridges has all the brands, I would fill my wardro-be with if I won a million. Their deli department is also outstanding and includes an oyster bar. There’s a silence room, where you can go and have a quiet break from the shopping.

SHOP ’TIL YOU DROP! by Mitzie Mee

LOS ANGELES

> Skybar

> The Hollywood Sign

SKYBAR

Beautiful Skybar at Mondrian Hotel was where we spent most of the nights on my recent trip to Los Angeles. Skybar might not be as überhip as it was a couple of years ago, but it is still one of West Hollywood’s best spots for peop-le-watching and breathtaking views of LA.

Skybar used to have some of the hardest doors in LA, but after passing on the title as Hollywood’s celebrity spot no. 1, getting by those velvet ropes isn’t mission impossible anymore. The surroundings are still nice and sleek and even though Skybar is not a rooftop bar (as the name might suggest), the view of the city is among the best in LA.

During weekdays, the ambience is relaxed and stylish and people chill in the sunbeds around the pool while sipping some of the tasty and well-mixed cocktails. In the weekend, Skybar enters party mode with louder music and longer lines at the doors.

Come early (before midnight) and leave your male friends at home to maximize your chances to get in. • There is a separate entrance to Skybar to the right of the hotel’s main entrance (with a “Skybar” sign above). • In spite of the name, Skybar is not a rooftop bar, but a pool bar, one stair up. • The dress code is smart casual (with an emphasize on SMART)

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by Mitzie Mee

I’m not much of a sightseeing person, but I always visit the Hollywood Sign, whenever I’m in Los Angeles. The area around the sign is not accessible, so you cannot go all the way up and climb the letters, should you wish to do so, but from the dog park at Canyon Lake Dr., you have excellent views of the sign.

On the way to the park, you drive through the posh residential area Hollywood Hills, and my experience is that the residents aren’t too happy about the steady flow of tourists making their way through the narrow and winding roads. I therefore try to be as respectful as possible, and I never park outside the assigned areas, nor do I stop and take photos of people’s homes.

The sign is the main attraction, but from the area next to the dog park, you also have a splendid view of the Hollywood Reservoir with the LA skyline in the background.

by Mitzie Meewww.mitziemeeblog.com

NEW YORK

> A day at the highline

> Meet the blogger: Let’s Nom Nom

> Dining in New York

A Day at the Highline by Mitzie Mee

A couple of years ago, The High Line was the place to go for that unspoiled, real, New York feeling. Though, it didn’t take long before the tourists (including me) arrived, and today, the park gets more packed than an L train during rush hour.

Talking about trains, The High Line Park itself, is as a matter of fact an old, ele-vated segment of rail line. This explains the long and narrow run of the park, which is 1.6km long and runs from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street.

The stretch around The Standard hotel in Meatpacking District is usually the most crowded one, as most people apparently en-ter and exit the park in this area.

In the summer, there are food vendors and ice cream stalls, ma-king sure that nobody has to walk the rails hungry or thirsty.

When I visited The High Line last Mon-day, it was the first sunny day after

almost a week of heavy rain, so not sur-prisingly, I wasn’t the only one, who had decided to take an elevated walk in the sun. I wanted to take some photos, but it was almost impossible to get some good shots without someone’s hand, backpack or funny haircut getting in the frame.

A rough estimate is that 90% of the people at The High Line that day were tourists, and tourists take A LOT of pho-tos, so I had wait for quite a while, be-fore it was my turn to step forward and take that picture below of 10th Avenue..

No doubt, some might say The High Line has lost some of its coolness. Even though it will never (at least I don’t hope so) be as tacky as Times Square, all the tourists, the pulled pork sandwiches and the über expensive popsicles means that you’ll have to look long and hard to find the last traces of that super hip ambience that cha-racterized The High Line in its early days.

That being said, The High Line is still a wonderful place. The views of Hudson River on one side and the city on the

other side are amazing at times, and even though you are only a coup-le of meters above the ground, you still get the feeling of escaping the hustle and bustle of the city below.

In addition, the entire concept of a park built on, and around, a rail line is quite awesome, so if you are plan-ning a trip to New York, I can only recommend that you make sure to in-clude The High Line in your schedule.

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Tell me a little about yourself. How did you end up in end up in New York? I’m an architect turned graphic designer with a love for design, food, wine, and cats. I grew up in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, before moving to Pittsburgh for school.

I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for a few years, before moving to New York City for my husband’s job. I’ve always wanted to live in NYC, but I knew that I couldn’t do it right out of school. There’s a time and place for everything, and my timing with NYC has worked out very well.

What’s your blog about? When did you start blogging? My blog, Let’s Nom Nom, is all about food. We all gotta eat, right? ;) My blog been around since the summer of 2011, but is actually a spinoff of an older food blog of mine on Tumblr.

I’ve been blogging since high school, way back in the Open Diary and Live Journal days. Writing is such an important skill to practice, and I find the process to be very enjoyable.

Living in New York must be amazing! What do you like the most about the city?

NYC is always full of surprises -- there’s ne-ver a boring moment, and there’s something for everyone.

I love how almost everyone I know passes through the city at some point! It’s a great place for connecting with people. Also, as urban as it is, there are all these wonderful green spaces scattered throughout.

Paleo, traditional Nordic food etc. is trending in Scandinavia these days. What do you consider to be the most important food or dining trend in New York right now?

Food mash ups like the ramen burger and cronut are still very popular. Another trend is restaurants that serve only one dish, but many variations of it.

I’m not sure if it’s the most important foodie trend, but they’re fun and seem to be popu-lar. There are a number of mac and cheese places that are quite good. I’d like to visit the Meatball Shop sometime, as well as Potatopia, a place that specializes in potatoes!

Meet the blogger:

Let’s nom nomwww.letsnomnom.wordpress.com

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www.letsnomnom.wordpress.com

You have so many scrumptious reci-pes on your blog. Which one is your signature dish and why?

Thank you! I asked my husband what my signature dish is, and his ideas were very different from mine.

I make a lot of vegetarian pasta dishes and poached eggs have been my thing lately, but I would say that my signature dish is noodle soups.

I enjoy taking something simple like wheat or rice noodles (or even instant ramen!) and dressing it up with a homemade vegetable broth and healthy, colorful toppings.

My latest version includes marinated tofu, Napa cabbage, scallions, and black sesame seeds

Click the image below to see the recipe:

My favorite neighborhood in New York is West Village, without a doubt. Plenty of di-ning, shopping, and nightlife, but it’s also laid back with a charming European flair. The hustle and bustle is balanced by quiet, tree-lined that are absolutely stunning. It’s almost like a cute European town in the middle of NYC. I love esca-ping to West Village on a sun-ny afternoon

Right now, my favorite re-staurant is Sacred Chow.. Tucked away in Greenwich Vil-lage, it’s a cute place that serves organic, vegan, Kos-her, and ethically produced foods.

It’s very tasty, good for you, and the prices are gre-at, too.

http://letsnomnom.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/noodles-with-marina-ted-tofu-napa-cabbage

5 Tips to dining out in New York

by Waz Wu www.letsnomnom.wordpress.com

It has been almost 3 years ago since I packed my bags and moved from San Francisco to The Big Apple, and it’s been quite the foodie adventure ever since! New York City is the ul-timate foodie playground, where even the pickiest eaters are spoiled for choice. As I began eating my way through the Big Apple, I soon discovered that the limitless choices can be overwhelming and hungry can easily turn to hangry if you don’t have a game plan.

There 5 basic tips may seem like no-brainers, but I wish someone gave me the run down as soon as I moved here. I hope you’ll find these helpful, whether you’re visiting NYC for the first time or a local looking to explore a new neighborhood!

Scoring a Table

Back in SF, I would have baulked at a 30-minute wait at most restaurants. Little did I know that 30 minutes is a gloriously short wait at many popular spots in NYC. That brings us to my number one rule: make a reservation and get there on time. Unlike other cities, they’re serious about the 15-minute hold. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve arrived literally 16 minutes after the reservation time and almost lost my table.

For restaurants that don’t take reservations, place your name on the waiting list and grab a drink nearby. Catch up with friends while working up an appetite, and you can even bring a snack in your purse, just in case. That’s how a friend and I survived the two and a half hour wait at Totto Ramen in the middle of January!

Back Up Plan

It’s not uncommon for your favorite no wait restaurant to suddenly have a long line because they were recently featured on Serious Eats. Whenever I’m out with friends, especially out of town guests, I always have a backup restaurant in mind. This isn’t always necessary as many neighborhoods have an abundan-ce of good eats, but taking note of a backup ramen joint just around the corner has always served me well.

Go For Lunch

Unless you have your heart set on the dinner menu, consider going for lunch instead. Lunch menus typically offer dinner dishes in smaller portions and at a lower cost, and NYC is the land of amazing weekday lunch specials, even at upscale restaurants. Wait times are shorter during lunch hours, and if you’re willing to do a late 3pm lunch, you may even get the entire restaurant to yourself.

Be a Savvy Diner

I consider myself a savvy shopper. You know, the kind that holds out until a big sale to splurge on whatever I’ve been eyeing. That said, I take full advantage of flash sale sites, like Groupon and Gilt City, as I’ve been exploring the NYC food scene. No access to a printer? No worries, just flash your waiter the coupon on your smartphone. ScoutMob even offers freebie coupons. For last minute re-servations and discounts, check out Savored. And let’s not forget Restaurant Week’s 3-course lunch and dinners!

Get It To Go

NYC is packed with restaurants, and as you might expect, many of them don’t offer much sit down space. Get your order to go! One of my favorite activities is people watching along the High Line or in Central Park with a tasty snack in hand. This is the perfect way for out of town guests to experi-ence what the city has to offer.

Stop by the Eataly marketplace if you fancy a little Italian or stop by Shake Shack if you’re craving a good burger. Chinatown also offers many delicious takeout only options too. For dessert, Mo-mofuku Milk Bar is guaranteed to satisfy any sweet tooth. (You can never too full for their Compost Cookie!)

Chelsea Market is a bit touristy, but there are some good eats hidden in there. During the summer, ride the East River Ferry to Williamsburg and check out Smorgasburg. Or keep it simple and just grab a slice of classic New York style pizza. They’re only available on every other corner!

TOKYO

> Gyu-An: Kobe beef in Ginza

> Meet the blogger: Raipo Hangaround

> Meet the blogger: SimplyTokyo

> Dining in Tokyo

> What’s hot in Tokyo right now?

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Gyu-An: Kobe beef in Ginza

The Japanese cuisine is exten-sive, and some of the stuff re-quires more than just ordinary curiosity to sink your teeth into. How about the deadly poiso-nous fish fugu? Or natto, which is fermented soybeans, which smell like cheese?

Kobe beef is one of the more appealing Japanese delicacies and one of the things we had set ourselves to try while we were in Tokyo. Since Kobe beef is very expensive, I had done some research on the internet and checked out lots of food blogs in order to get an idea of what to expect.

Even though I really, really wan-ted to try eating Kobe beef, I did not want to blow the enti-re travel budget on one single piece of meat, so I was happy to find that several food blog-gers talked very warmly about a Kobe beef restaurant called Gyu-An, which, in addition to outstanding service, also was

very reasonably priced (in Kobe beef terms, this means around $100/person). Therefore, it was not hard to decide that Gyu-An should have the honor of intro-ducing us to the world of fat marbling wonders.

We did not book a table in ad-vance, but took the chance and the subway to Higashi-Ginza station, from where we walked a few hundred meters to the re-staurant. Gyu-An was one stair down and located in a cozy, tra-ditional room, and luckily, there was a table available for us.

After we had taken off our sho-es, a lovely, kimono-dressed Ja-panese lady showed us to our table. We were then shown the menu, which both included in-dividual steaks as well as “set-menus,” where a starter, side dishes and dessert were inclu-ded.

After careful consideration, we decided on a Kobe sirloin set

and a Kobe sukiyaki set. Kobe beef is best enjoyed with a cold Japanese beer, so we also or-dered two Asahi beers to down it all with.

After the mandatory oshibo-ris (hot towels) came a small snack consisting of beef mixed with soy sauce. Then followed some fish sashimi and beef sus-hi along with slices of smoked beef before we finally got to the climax; Kobe beef.

I had the sukiyaki and so, a small bowl with a raw egg was placed in front of me. I did not know quite what to do with it, but before I followed Poul’s ad-vice to drink it raw, one of the kind Japanese waiters showed how I should stir the egg with my chopsticks, so it could la-ter be used as a sauce for the sukiyaki.

Poul’s steak was served piping hot, medium rare and with de-licious garniture consisting of

fried onions and different kinds of sauces. I tried some of it, and it literally melted in my mouth.

It is without a doubt the best pie-ce of meat that I have ever had. Because of the high fat content, the texture was more like fish than meat, and the meat fibers were al-most nonexistent.

The Asahi beer was a perfect part-ner to the meat and accentuated all the different flavors in the best possible way. My sukiyaki was pre-pared at the table, one small por-tion at a time, and it tasted great. However, the Kobe beef taste did not come out as clean as in Poul’s steak.

All the other guests in the restau-rant were Japanese so in additi-on to a great meal, we also got a unique experience of genuine Ja-panese culture.

There was an English menu and the waiters also spoke some Eng-lish and they were incredibly fri-endly and helpful. At Gyu-An I thus got one of the best meals I have ever had and also one of the most memorable dining experi-ences ever in Japan.

www.mitziemeeblog.com

Toky

o

Hello from Tokyo!Tokyo-based blogger Ryoko Nakamura eats out several days a week and. This is her suggestions on what to eat, when in Tokyo.

www.raipohangaround.wordpress.com

Tell me a little about your blog?

I eat out frequently, mainly in Tokyo. I eat sus-hi, seafood, ramen, yakiniku, parfait, cake and so on and my blog is a record of all my dining experiences. Sometimes I also blog about tra-vel and beauty.

Which is your favorite restaurant in Tokyo and why?

Kashigashira in Tsukiji. They serve amazing, fresh seafood at really low prices along with many different kinds of Japanese sake. And the shopkeeper is good-looking:)

Most foreigners only think of sushi as Japanese food. What is your favorite Japanese dish?

Yakitori. The smell of grilled chicken is aweso-me. I prefer the liver and heart, -it’s so delicious.

Any other Japanese food you will re-commend tourists in Japan to try?

Tempura. There are special tempura restaurants, which only serve tempura, but I would recom-mend that you go for one of the soba (noodle) restaurants, as most of them also serve decent tempura. Take the chance to try both!

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Meet the blogger:

www.simplytokyo.wordpress.com

Tell me a little about yourself. What is your relation to Tokyo?

I am born and raised in Tokyo how-ever I used to live in the US (Ann Ar-bor, Michigan) since when I was from 4 - 9 years old. After working at a US base financial firm - Goldman Sa-chs, I had to relocate many times for work and that started back in 2008. From 2008-2009 I was in Singapore office, did a short working stint for a year but after the financial crisis, I went back to the Tokyo office and was there from 2009-2011.

Later on, I was relocated to Hong Kong and was from 2011-2013 and loved working and living there. My husband and I was lucky enough to be relocating in the same location for work all these years, however fi-nally in 2014, my husband was relo-cated to Singapore and I decided to leave HK to be with my husband in Singapore.

I used to visit Tokyo every month for business trips, and now I go there once in 2 months. I really miss the local authentic food and the four seasons as Singapore only has one season (summer). And mostly miss my friends and family.

Tokyo and Singapore is very dif-ferent in terms of lifestyle. Tokyo

being a very vibrant city where everyone is rushing to somewhe-re or working hours are very long, Singapore is so much of a family oriented place and everyone here is relaxed, having more family and qu-ality time. Probably because the day feels longer where the sun sets at 7:30pm everyday, after work people will enjoy playing sports or going to the pool and have dinner after that.

When in Tokyo, we would probably be working until 8-9pm and have dinner after. Not much of a family quality time after work in Tokyo. Also Singapore is very mixed culture with diverse race and religion where in Tokyo (or Japan) not so much.

What is your blog about?

My blog is mostly about fashion, li-festyle and travel. I started this life-style blog ’simplytokyo’ in midst of moving to Singapore as a way to document the things I love and the little & simple things in life. I find pleasure in fashion, food, tra-vel and living a simple lifestyle. I wanted to create this blog to share my take on real lifestyle on a real life budget.

I also share the places I visited du-

ring my travel and mostly where I love to go in Tokyo. I know more and more people visit Tokyo and a lot of my friends who do not want to go to a touristy place and wants to go to a place where it is not in a tour guide book are asking me where does the local go to eat and shop.

So a lot of my Tokyo trip blogs write about recommendations of where to eat and shop.. I hope to be the bridge of Japan and other countri-es and introduce many great things in Japan and our culture. Especially our craftsman’s ship (including food, Japanese lifestyle goods etc.).

Click the image to visit:www.simplytokyo.wordpress.com

When it comes to Japanese food, most people think ”Sushi, tempura, ramen... ” and I noticed a lot of restaurants in other countri-es, such as Hong Kong or Singapore, have all these things served in the same restaurant.

However this is never the case in Japan. We all specialize in one thing. Good sushi re-staurants will just serve sushi and same with ramen and tempura. The chefs take pride in what they make so especially when it comes to these three traditional Japanese food, they just serve what they specialize. A Sushi chef will never serve Ramen.

There are so many other Japanese dishes I recommend. Yakitori (what’s on my blog), Teppan yaki (beef steak), Sukiyaki, Soba, Udon, Kyoto Kaiseki.

Even Italian and French restaurants I will recommend trying as we Japanese always try to take these cuisines out and serve it in a Japanese style food. Japanese Italian and Japanese French cuisines is what we call it.

My Favorite restaurants in Tokyo?Ah, very difficult to answer because there are so many in different cuisines and part of me is selfish enough that I don’t really what to share one of my most favorite hide out places (what we call in Japanese ’’Kakureya”) haha. But of course I will share the places with you. You can keep a secret right? I have been to every one of them and they all have great food, service and atmosphere. The chefs take so much pride in what they serve, every plate/ dish is a perfection.

Here’s my very own Michelin guide restaurant list:

Sushi: Sushitsu @Roppongi (http://www.sushitsu.jp/pdf/sushitsu_map.pdf)

Yakitori: Ganchan @Roppongi

Wagyu: Okahan @Ginza (〒104-0061 Tokyo, Chūō, Ginza, 7−6−16)Teppanyaki: Ukai @Ginza (http://www.ukai.co.jp/english/ginza/index.html)

Japanese Kaiseki: Ryugin @Roppongi

Japanese Traditional: Seisouka @Minami Azabu (1F, 4-2-34, Tengenji Square, Minami Azabu, Minatoku, Tokyo)

Tempura: Tenichi @Ginza Main Branch (6-6-5, Chuoku, Ginza)

French: Aimee Vibert @Kojimachi (14-1, Niban cho, Chiyodaku)

L’Osier @Ginza (http://losier.shiseido.co.jp/e/information.html)

Dining in Tokyo by SimplyTokyo www.simplytokyo.wordpress.com

Click the image to visit:www.simplytokyo.wordpress.com

What’s hot in Tokyo right now?by SimplyTokyo www.simplytokyo.wordpress.com

In terms of Fashion, now more people like to enjoy simple casual look. And also sneaker is very trending now. Especially New Balance, Converse and Vans. Fast fashion is a trend so more people like to buy from ZARA, H&M and Forever 21. If you buy the Japanese Fashion magazine called ”CLASSY” or ”MARISOL”, you would know instantly what the trend is in Tokyo. We tend to be very cautious in trend.

Since I am in my mid 30s, I prefer to wear something that is not a trend throw away but something that is chic, classic and something that will be in my closet for a very long time. And I like to go to places that is not too crowded so I can have a rela-xing time to shop. I like to go to Midtown Roppongi, Roppongi Hills, Marunouchi area and Ginza Mitsukoshi (for the basement food).

Favorite shops areUnited Arrows, My Secret Closet, ADORE, Tomorrow Land, Esti-nation, Dressterrior, Drawer, Strasburgo, PLST, BEAMS HOUSE and Ron Herman.

Right now, Shiokoji and pancakes are popular. For pancakes, they are mostly coming from Hawaii trend so I wouldn’t exactly call this something original from Tokyo but last month I went back to Tokyo, any pancake shop was lined up for hours just to get in and have a slice of it.

However Shiokoji is something original. It is a traditional condiment made from fermented malted rice, salt and water.

We use it for fish, chicken actually any kind of meat to make is soft and tender. This is used not only in famous restaurants but normal fa-mily kitchen would have this like how we have soy sauce. I also buy tons of Shiokoji back from Japan.

Another very popular thing is a simple soup stock used in Japanese cooking what we call Dashi that is from a brand called Kayanoya. This is also introduced in my blog but a lot of families and celebrities use this.

We use it for simple Japanese soup of Miso soup to get the soup stock out. I buy back 5 packs of these every time I go back to Tokyo. This shop is sold at Midtown Roppongi.

Visit:www.simplytokyo.wordpress.com

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#LowerEastSide #TheBackRoom#NewYork

#love #NewYork#Dubai #peoplebycrystal#djbliss

Thank you for reading! Next issue will be out in September 2014

Are you a female blogger from one of the featured cities? Do you want to share your knowledge within dining, nightlife or shopping? Send me an email!

mitziemee@mitziemee.com

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