Travel: The Temple House Hotel, Chengdu, China

En route to Tibet, and a mere 11 hour flight away from London on British Airways, the Temple House Hotel in Chengdu opened its doors a few months ago. I landed in Chengdu in the middle of a steamy 38 degree summer.  After being jolted around like a sock in a tumble dryer, the taxi driver promptly deposited me on the sweeping entrance to the hotel, and screeched away.  From there on, everything became so, so, much better.  A friendly greeting from the doorman, bags whisked away, I was settled into the quiet, tranquil lobby - and then introduced to the gracious luxury that is the Temple House.

A noble entrance leading to an oasis of calm

The Temple House was designed by UK-based architects, Make. The focal point of the hotel is upon the restoration of a traditional Qing dynasty building, Bitieshi.

Mixing the modern with traditional

The swimming pool with a futuristic sunroof

The hotel itself combines contrasting modern elements in a minimalist fashion, which in turn enhances the natural elements of the materials used throughout (timber, bamboo, brick).

The rooms are generously appointed and provide for every possible comfort. The inclusion of a delicate Chinese teapot with a selection of Chinese teas is an elegant touch, especially given that Chengdu is a city renowned for its tea culture. A black tiled bathroom with separate shower and free-standing bath, complete with a full bath kit (loofah, bath salts, and bubbles) beckoned. A king size bed, black-out blinds and comfy bedding was enough to send me straight to la la land on the first night.

Each room with a Chinese tea set, perfect for unwinding and gazing out the window over Chengdu

Luxury bath goodies

The hotel has a range of restaurants and bars, of which I sampled the fare at the Temple Cafe. Breakfast involved tucking into a seriously perfect looking (and tasting) omelette on fresh sourdough toast.

There is a skill in making a perfect omelette. Exhibit A - perfect omelette.

The Temple Cafe

The Mi Xun Spa is run by the delightful Kelly (from England!). The spa provides a range of luxury beauty treatments of which I was invited to try a massage. After a busy day visiting pandas (I will insert random cute photo of pandas, I can't resist), the massage was incredibly relaxing and I left feeling like a newborn baby. The Mi Xun Spa, in tune with Chengdu's tea heritage, uses products from the Themae range, featuring antioxidant ingredients found in red and green teas.

the MIXUN spa

Beautiful details everywhere.

The hotel also features a Tea House, located in one of the renovated Chinese buildings. The Tea House design is beautiful. It combines the traditional apothecary environment of an old-style tea house with modern touches, including Tom Dixon-esque bronze light fittings.  It was perfect for sampling some of Chengdu's variety of delicate teas, all served in pretty porcelain cups.

The TEAHOUSE - tranquil settings

The TEAHOUSE opens into a beautiful courtyard.

Travelling alone, and feeling thoroughly lost in the hustle and bustle of China, the staff at Temple House really went out of their way to look after me, especially when I accidentally left a whole outfit in the wardrobe, which they collected, dry cleaned and saved for me to collect two weeks later. This was one of a series of thoughtful and friendly encounters that I had during my stay, something that I will remember above all else at this beautiful hotel.

The pride of Chengdu.

Food - Istanbul's best breakfasts Part 1 - Mangerie in Bebek.

Turks in general, are pretty good at the whole brunch thing. I'm sure the Ottomans had it all worked out centuries ago that lazing about on a Sunday morning with the papers, an endless supply of coffee, and little meze dishes of delicious morsels of olives, fresh vegetables, bread, honey and clotted cream was truly the only civilised way to spend one's precious leisure hours.

Here is a low-down of the our best brunch places in Istanbul, starting with:

Mangerie - Bebek

Mangerie is an über-hip place in the affluent suburb of Bebek. If coming from central Istanbul, a short bus or taxi ride down the coast will take you to this hidden oasis. It is actually really quite hidden, as Google Maps does not help. You need to walk down the high street towards the intersection and find a small flight of stairs that takes you up to the top floor. If in doubt ask the nice lady at the homewares and design store, who will point you in the right direction.

Upon arrival, we were seated on the balcony, facing directly into the view below.  After we quite got over ourselves at how cool we were for finding this place, we perused the menu and opted for the a standard Turkish meze style breakfast, or as we have now coined it, the 'full Turkish'. Out came generous portions of bread, fresh clotted cream with honey, cheeses, nutella, jams, and a bowl of fresh tomatoes with thyme. In addition we also ordered some eggs with Turkish sausage. All of this with some pretty stunning views. The restaurant itself, with long wooden communal tables, fresh flowers and bookshelves along the walls, invites its customers to stay awhile - not least because their breakfasts are so delicious.  If you're not in the mood for breakfast, Manger also serves a range of Western and Turkish style salads, sandwiches and quiche.

Breakfast with a view

Mangerie Bebe

A delectable spread at Mangerie Bebek

Trendy interiors with an assortment of mid-century furniture and George Nelson lighting

Bebek itself is interesting to have a walk around; it is clearly a suburb for the well-to-do.  Continue down the Bosphorus coastline heading back in the direction of Istanbul, as there is a footpath leading directly to the next town, Arnavutköy, whilst, being slightly less fancy than Bebek, holds its own in terms of interesting side streets and traditional architecture.

Perfect day for a stroll in Bebek

Arnavutköy

The ornate and brightly painted exteriors of homes in Arnavutköy

Art & Music - David Bowie Is - Paris exhibition

"Ultra violence in Liberty fabrics" - David Bowie (on his costume for his performance of Starman on Top of the Pops.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to see a poster for the "David Bowie Is" exhibition I when arrived at the Gare du Nord in Paris the other day. When the exhibition premiered in London in 2013 it was essentially impossible to obtain a ticket in advance. Hence the delight in logging onto the Paris Philharmonie website to find that tickets were not only available but in abundance!

The Paris Philharmie

David Bowie Is - is a retrospective spanning the length of Bowie's career (in both music and film) and which started in his birthplace in Brixton, south London.  I loved the super-techy audio guides because the music and commentary automatically switches when one moves to a different part of the exhibition space.  The audio guides helps to put us younger Bowie fans into the sounds of the 1960s, setting the scene for Bowie's musical influences as he grew up.  The visual feast continued as we move into the 1980s, with throw-back TV performances of Bowie on 'Top of the Pops'. True Bowie fans spent hours poring over Bowie's handwritten lyrics and sketches.

David Bowie costumes

I'm coming to the Bowie party late - when I grew up, my first encounter with Bowie was his performance of the Goblin King in Labryinth. I was a rather sensitive child and the film scared the bejeezus out of me and he's been largely banished from my memory since.  However seeing the collection of Bowie's work in one place has ignited an interest in his genius; it brings home how brilliant, elegant, chameleonic he was and still is.

David Bowie Is exhibition

David Bowie costume design

If you didn't manage to catch the exhibition in London....Go! Go! Go! The Paris Philharmonie is immediately in front of the Porte Pantin metro station, and as it is only a few stops away from the Eurostar station so you'll be there quicker than you can say Ziggy Stardust.

David Bowie Is, Paris Philharmonie - exhibition in Paris until May 31 2015. The exhibition then tours to Melbourne, Australia from 16 July 2015.

Food - Kebab hunting in Istanbul - search for the city's tastiest kebabs.

For the food-obsessed it is practically an impossible task within the confines of a 3 day city break, to figure out where/when/and how much to eat. Having said that, we made it our mission not to waste precious calories on tourist-trap kebabs but to seek out the best and finest of what Istanbul could offer. After scrupulous research of all the Istanbul foodie blogs, we settled on two very different, but equally terrific establishments.

Karadeniz Pide ve Döner Salonu

The Karadeniz Pide ve Döner Salonu is located within the hustle and bustle of the Beşiktaş shopping district. Without really trying we managed to stumble upon the restaurant as our attention was drawn to the customers sitting at the tables spilling onto the street, the GINORMOUS beef and lamb kebab rotating around the spit, the delicious smells wafting into the air, and a small army of waiters making sure that a constant stream of food was dispatched to the hungry lunchtime crowd. As we approached the restaurant we were warmly greeted by its owner, and given a table upstairs. A Turkish-only menu listed about half a dozen items (none of which we could read except for the eponymous 'kebap'), but on inspection of what everyone else had on their plates clearly the most popular items were the kebab in pide bread and kebab meat on a plate with salad. After an initial negotiation between us on whether to order kebab on a fresh crusty bread roll, or in a pide, I was overruled and we went with a pide filled with kebab meat. It’s difficult to describe the elegant simplicity arrived on our plate a few minutes later - a fluffy pide, better than anything I’ve ever had in London, which served as a means to contain slivers of fresh kebab meat, tomato slices, cucumber pickle, and green chilli. There is no secret to it other than fresh ingredients, presented simply.

The Karadeniz restaurant is located in the Besiktas district which is within walking distance from Taksim Square, with the added bonus of having the Dolmabahçe Palace en route. Alternatively, there are numerous buses from Taksim square and taxis are cheap (except in our case when we were taken on an extended scenic route version). We had a great time absorbing the frenetic activity of the Saturday shopping trade, which gave us a little insight of what real life is like in Istanbul outside of the main tourist areas.

Address: Sinanpasa Mah. Mumcu bakkal Sokak No 6, Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey

Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabi

"When you eat once, you have to come back to it. It's addictive." - owner of Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabi.

Later in the day, we continued our quest for meat on sticks, by visiting Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabi is located in the Old Town area of Sirkeci. The restaurant specialises in cağ kebab, which means that the lamb is roasted on a horizontal rather than vertical spit. From our table we had a great vantage point of the kebab master at work. In one hand, he wielded a large carving knife, which was deftly used to cut slivers of lamb, which in turn were transferred onto smaller wooden skewers. The smaller skewers handed to his sous chef, who gives the individual skewers a final sear over the charcoal grill. These skewers are served directly on a piece of thin, crepe-like flatbread called 'lavash bread'. After the fluffy pide I had in the morning at Karadeniz, I was initially skeptical as to whether the lavash bread would equal my expectations. In fact, it was a nice accompaniment in that it was fresh, soaked up all of the lamb juices.

Address: Hocapaşa Sokak 3/A, Sirkeci

Thanks to Istanbul Food blog for the recommendations!

Travel - Istanbul

A brief sojourn to Istanbul over Easter. A mere 3 or so hour flight from London and then we are transplanted in a beautiful chaotic city. It is also a great place in which to force the uptight, road safety geek that I am, to relax over the fact that the taxi driver from the airport spent the entire journey simultaneously yelling animatedly on his mobile phone and smoking.

I've been reading the Museum of Innocence, by Orhan Pamuk. The book's main character is Kemal, a privileged young man from Istanbul's cultural and wealthy elite. He describes the fixation of his generation in adopting the latest of the fashions in Paris and Italy, keenly adopting a Western outlook and gently mocking the headscarf-wearing housewives of the more traditional Turkish working classes.

Subconsciously or not, as we pottered around the backstreets of Beyoglu, I paused occasionally.  I wanted to see if I could catch a glimpse of Kemal's past, maybe by gazing through an open windowpane, or stopping to see who would come out of the next doorway. Maybe it was in the spring breeze if I gazed upwards to the top floors of the apartment buildings.  The feeling was there but rather it was reflected in the rich diversity of urban coolness that emanates from the creative industries we saw springing up all over the city.

The Ortaköy Mosque