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- Spanish cuisine: Best food in the world right now?
- Inside India's first 'international' theme park
- Visitors to Sri Lanka, the police are watching you. Do you feel safer?
- Travels with music: How vinyl changed my life
| Spanish cuisine: Best food in the world right now? Posted: 19 Apr 2013 01:00 AM PDT
Garlic shrimp? Stuffed mussels? Ham croquettes? Bravas potatoes? Chances are even if you don't have a single fave, you know exactly what we're talking about and why we're asking. And, no, it's not because it's your turn to decide where to eat dinner. You don't have to be the director of a gastronomic trade organization to see that Spanish cuisine is on the rise. But since we happen to have one handy, why not let her tell the story? "Spanish food exports to the rest of the world in 2012 recorded an increase of 11.9% and a total value of over €30 billion -- which in turn represents 16% of Spain's total exports," says Ines Menendez de Luarca, director of Gastronomy of Spanish Trade and Investment (ICEX). "These figures certainly indicate a significant growth." Where Spanish food thrives ... besides everywhereGiven its world-city reputation, it's little surprise that Hong Kong has become a hotbed of Spanish cuisine. With the highly anticipated Catalunya Hong Kong opening earlier this week, local foodies have yet another reason to fiesta. Catalunya Hong Kong joins a fierce competition with fellow Spanish places in the city -- popular Spanish places include 22 Ships by Maze former executive chef Jason Atherton, View 62 by Ferran Adria disciple Paco Roncero, Boqueria (you might know its sister tapas bar from New York) and Vi Cool from Michelin-starred chef Sergi Arola. Despite the boom in supply, the demand for Spanish food appears limitless. After a soft opening earlier this week, Catalunya says its tables are fully booked into May.
Headed by Barcelona chef Alain Devahive Tolosa, an elBulli veteran, Catalunya serves authentic Spanish cuisine with a modern twist. Hong Kong isn't the only city with an insatiable demand for Spanish food made by Spanish chefs. "Countries ranging from Brazil to Hong Kong, Poland and the United Kingdom have seen Spanish chefs opening restaurants in the last five years, along with foreign investors in different countries -- London, New York, Melbourne -- opening Spanish restaurants," says Menendez de Luarca. According to Menendez de Luarca, Spanish chefs have opened more than 30 restaurants abroad in recent years and a few Spanish companies have opened worldwide franchise tapas bars, such as Lizarran, which operates in the United States, from New York to Florida to California. More on CNN: Best new restaurants in Hong Kong Evolving cuisine
"When we were sourcing and researching the trend before the opening of Catalunya Singapore, we could see a big trend of Spanish cuisine also in Hong Kong," says Tolosa. "That's why we opened Catalunya Hong Kong (shortly) after Catalunya Singapore." "From the traditional tapas scene when we opened the city's first Spanish restaurant 21 years ago, we've seen a big change in the Spanish food scene," says Anna Chau, CEO of King Parrot Group in Hong Kong. "Now people are expecting great presentation, new cooking methods and skillful details instead of just straightforward Spanish cuisine." King Parrot Group owns four Spanish restaurants in Hong Kong, including View 62 by Paco Roncero, which opened in 2012, and its 21-year-old Spanish flagship, El Cid. In gastronomic capitals of London and New York, critics are also reporting on the evolution of modern Spanish cuisine. The New York Times has called Spanish cuisine a major trend, thanks to its intense flavors and the technical skills of its leading chefs. New restaurants keep opening in the States, as well. Owned by Boqueria founder Yann de Rochefort and led by acclaimed Spanish chef Dani Garcia, modern Spanish restaurant Manzanilla opened last month in New York to great excitement. Often credited with bringing the tapas concept to the United States, awarding-winning chef José Andrés operates his four Jaleo restaurants in the Washington, D.C. area and Las Vegas -- each continues to do brisk business. London's luxury Halkin hotel recently opened its own Basque restaurant, Ametsa with Arzak Instruction (that's a bigger mouthful than you'll get on some tapas plates). "The Spanish food scene [in London] is evolving -- foodies continue to expect innovative cuisine but with top quality and locally sourced produce," said a hotel spokesperson, explaining the decision to go Spanish. More on CNN: Small plates, big appeal: Tapas craze hits Singapore Surpassing French and Italian cuisines?
"The way that tapas allows sharing among a group of friends helps boost its popularity," says King Parrot Group CEO Chau. "In recent years, people are looking for ambiance more than just the food. We often see people coming to eat in groups of eight or 10." More on CNN: Insider Guide: What to do in Barcelona Menendez de Luarca attributes the rise of Spanish cuisine around the world to a culinary revolution that began in Spain. "The evolution of the restaurant sector in Spain -- the rise of a modern cuisine built on tradition and prime fresh produce -- and the international fame of Ferran Adrià and many others after him, all contributed to the success of Spanish food in the last 10 years," says Menendez de Luarca. "Spanish food has been the leader of world cuisine for the last 15 years," says Tolosa. "Spanish and Catalan cuisines have advanced to a much higher level than other cuisines, like French and Italian. Just look at the list of the top 10 restaurants in the world ... three of them are Spanish." Tolosa's former employer, elBulli, a five-time winner on San Pellegrino's World's Best 50 Restaurants list, may be the most obvious example. The temporarily closed restaurant in Roses, Catalonia, was the leader of a culinary revolution, known for its molecular gastronomy. "A culinary revolution is not just creating 100 new dishes, but a new way of cooking," says Tolosa. "It began in Spain and has given Spanish cuisine very good marketing." As long as those marketing efforts continue to pay off, we'll continue trying our luck booking a table. Anyone got the number for Catalunya Hong Kong? Oh, yeah, right here. During its soft opening (now through the end of April), Catalunya Hong Kong will serve dinner only; G/F, Guardian House, Morrison Hill, 32 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; +852 2866 7900; reservations@catalunya.hk; catalunya.hk      |
| Inside India's first 'international' theme park Posted: 18 Apr 2013 11:00 PM PDT Billing itself as India's first and only theme park of an "international" standard, the $294 million AdLabs Imagica opened its doors to thrill seekers this week.
There's no hiding who the target audience is -- Indians. Many of the attractions have a Hindu or Bollywood theme, the latter of which will go over the heads of those unfamiliar with India's cinema scene. More on CNN: Grab the popcorn. Paramount's first movie-themed resort to open in Dubai For instance, the "Mr. India" motion simulator is based on the popular Bollywood film of the same name. The "Curse of Salimgarh" is a haunted fortress filled with dungeons, torture rooms and a princess trapped for eternity.
"I think we have succeeded in doing that." Spread over 80 acres, the park is big enough to hold 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a day. Planned additions include a water park and hotel. "We have started with 21 attractions," said Shetty, who's credited with bringing India its first IMAX dome. "We plan to add one attraction every year. If people like it, this will encourage us more." More on CNN: Joyland: China's 'Disneyland' for the digital masses    |
| Visitors to Sri Lanka, the police are watching you. Do you feel safer? Posted: 18 Apr 2013 07:00 PM PDT As tourism arrivals increase, Sri Lanka is upping security -- perhaps to an uncomfortable degree. A new nationwide security plan will force all hotels in the country to submit information about their foreign guests to the police. Each week, hotels must hand over passport numbers and visa details of foreigners. While this may perturb some tourists, police say the measures are being taken in order to better protect visitors. "It's not about monitoring the tourists at all, but more to know who to protect," a marketing representative for a top hotel in Colombo told CNN. The hotel was notified of the new plan earlier this week. Huge growthTourism has played a significant role in Sri Lanka's economic growth since the end of the country's 26-year civil war in 2009. Last year, the island country saw a 17% growth in arrivals and welcomed its millionth tourist of 2012 (she was Chinese). Total tourism revenues also exceeded $1 billion for the first time. The new plan is a response to concerns about safety. Despite increasing numbers of tourists, the country's image as a safe destination took a blow after British national Khuram Shaikh was killed at a Tangalle resort in 2011 and two European travelers were attacked last month. Neverthess, British Airways resumed flights to Colombo this week after 15 years. The reopening of the Gatwick-Colombo route made headlines throughout Sri Lanka and the inaugural flight was met by high-ranking dignitaries and a flurry of local TV crews and journalists. More on CNN: The Gathering: Sri Lanka's great elephant migration    |
| Travels with music: How vinyl changed my life Posted: 18 Apr 2013 03:00 PM PDT There's probably never been a time in history when so much music is accessible to so many. The digital download has created a "printing press" step change in how we consume notes and lyrics. But it's also, for my money, sabotaged that experience. Nothing beats the personal interaction, as well as the potential for the unexpected, than a visit to a record store. So, with Record Store Day upon us (April 20), I want to highlight how my quest to dig out records in some of the world's dustiest, most faraway stores has also opened to me that other life-changing and lifelong hobby: travel. I've discovered James Brown LPs in a local home in Myanmar, turned up a much sought reggae 45 in a specialist shop in Osaka and have spent literally hundreds of sweaty hours discovering Thailand through its records and record shops.
London's All Tones, possibly my favorite store of all time, had, at its peak, more the feel of a casino than a record shop. Specializing in reggae (its owner, Dean, was the son of famed singer Alton Ellis), part of the fun was taking a punt on an unknown disc or overhearing a killer track blasting through the shop sound system. On a Saturday, you'd line up in front of the counter as Dean took a record from everyone's pile in turn, playing a few precious seconds from which you had to decide to buy or not. It was loud, raucous, sociable and fun. I heard and experienced music at All Tones (now closed down) I'd never come across before, nor, in some cases, since. Somehow the buzz isn't quite the same scanning through Amazon. Social, not lonesomeDigging for vinyl is sometimes lampooned as a loner's pastime, but it's possible to replicate this social experience in almost any town. "When you visit the local record store you find local reflections, local music and local people," says Sebastian Reier, an employee at Groove City in Hamburg. "Original vinyl records breathe history, mentality and environment. If you're looking for 'real local' instead of 'tourist local,' you should start picking up records." "Record stores should be the first thing to check when you're in a new place," adds owner Marga Glanz. This notion has been borne out by my own experiences.
During a two-month stint in Yemen, I spent every hour I could trawling through the old city in Sana'a and turned up unique Arabic music. It was played with a funky precision, as much influenced by the East African coast as the Arab Peninsula. A series of Bollywood EPs in a shop in Aden illustrated the connections between this port town and the Indian subcontinent -- Britain had seized it as a fueling station to aid the then regular voyages undertaken by the East India Company. Southern Yemen remained a British colony until 1967. The local stringed lute, the qanbus, provided other clues. Finding "gambus" LPs in Jakarta (which are heavily influenced by music from the Middle East) led to research into the strong links between the western part of Indonesia and Yemen, through trade, religion and cultural exchange. All these curious undercurrents opened up to me purely through my vinyl curiosity. Still plenty not online"Not everything is on the Internet," says Maft Sai, owner of the ZudRangMa HQ store in Bangkok. "Digging for records might be the only way to rediscover an old tune, which was too obscure at the time [to get digitized] because it wasn't a hit." A case in point is "Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng," by Sroeng Santi, a rock pioneer from Thailand's musical yesteryear. I found it in a pile of terrible ballads in a place in Bangkok's Chinatown, but as soon as the needle hit the groove I knew I was hearing something special.
Based on the riff from Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," the song is a witty commentary on the cost of living. Drop it at any party and it's a guaranteed head turner. After hearing another obscure track, "Ashsha Beywe," by Ethiopian singer Abebe Tessema, I knew I'd found my Moby Dick, a record that would sit at the top of my wish list. The singer's passionate, crazy delivery comes from the gut. After fruitless searching for the record, I resigned myself to simply never owning this 45, until I finally found a copy at a London dealer's house. My happiness was replaced by disbelief when, much later, I was looking through a box in my house to discover I already owned a copy. I'd made a trip to Addis Ababa years before, and had forgotten I'd already picked it up. Music takes us on journeys, but it always brings us home. Be it a focus on community, independence from corporations or just a celebration of music, Record Store Day serves as a reminder that this isn't merely about rose-tinted memories. The art of physically looking for music is as relevant as ever. "People gravitate to something they can relate to," says James Thornington, co-owner of Kristina Records in London. "We do in-store performances as a way of promoting the shop as well as experiencing music we like, but also to give something back to customers. "That's really important to us. You're not going to get that personal touch from a chain store." 10 of the best record stores for travelersAll Tones, London: For years my favorite store of all time and the place that effectively taught me about reggae music. It sadly closed a few years ago, but its spirit lives on in The Music Temple; Brixton Village, London, SW9 8PR. Dusty Groove, Chicago: Vintage vinyl heavyweight; +1 773 342 5800; www.dustygroove.com Passa Disco, Recife, Brazil: Representing all things northeast and beyond; ; +55 81 3268 0888; www.passadisco.com.br ZudRangMa, Bangkok: Only one of its kind in Southeast Asia, specializing in rare Thai vinyl, as well as regional obscurities; 7/1 Sukhumvit, Soi 51, Bangkok; +66 (0) 88 891 1314; www.zudrangmarecords.com Lian's, Jakarta, Indonesia: Found about halfway down Jakarta's infamous flea market, the knowledgeable Lian can lay his hands on Indonesian, English and American rarities without drawing breath; Jalan Surabaya, Jakarta (no number, ask around. Everyone knows Lian) Other Music, New York: New York's finest, for alternative and underground sounds; +1 212 477 8150; www.othermusic.com Drum & Bass, Osaka, Japan: There are some insanely good reggae shops in Japan, and this is one of the best. Regular shipments from Jamaica guarantee you'll never leave this place empty-handed; 2-11-1 Nambanaka Naniwa-ku, Osaka; +81 6 6634 4141; www.drumandbass-rec.com Groove City, Hamburg, Germany: Whether it's brand new music, or secondhand wax, this is the place to check for vintage jazz to bang up to date hip-hop; Marktstraße 114, 20357, Hamburg; +49 (0)40 430 21 49; www.groove-city.com Minton's, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Jazz specialist with its own wine range; +54 11 4371 2216; www.minton-s.blogspot.com.ar Kristina Records, London: One of London's newest. Friendly vibes and an across the board selection from brand new dance 12s to obscure punk 45s; 44 Stoke Newington Road, London; +44 (0)20 7254 2130 Got your own favorite record stores, or have stories about hunting for tunes? Tell us about them below    |
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