Bio, Awards and Publications

Barbara Ramsay Orr

I'm a long time freelance journalist, guide book author, iPhone app creator, former writing and art educator, amateur artist and ardent photographer.  My work has appeared in most major publications in Canada and many international outlets, including Chatelaine Magazine, Canadian Living, Golf Connoisseur, NUVO, Associated Press, Christian Science Monitor, the Canadian Press, and the Globe and Mail.

I have received several awards for my writing and for photography, including the awards which I am most proud of, two Lowell Thomas Awards for Excellence in Travel Journalism.
And this one::
"The International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) Awards Committee announced the winner of its Food, Wine and Travel Writing Scholarship Award in Professional Journalism. This year, SATW member Barbara Ramsay Orr of Burlington, Ontario, earned the award for her story “Haven't You Always Wanted to Visit a Butter Museum?” originally published in The Globe and Mail.(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/the-bountiful-butter-beer-and-blarney-of-cork-city-ireland/article13857276/#dashboard/follows/)
“We receive many outstanding entries in each year's competition,” says Allen Cox, Awards Committee Chair.. “Ms. Orr's winning entry exemplifies the journalistic excellence IFWTWA looks for in its members."

I have been the food writer for Hamilton Magazine for close to twenty years, contribute regularly to our national newspaper, the Globe and Mail, and write travel, interior design and profiles for West of the City Magazine.
Right now the most enjoyable thing in my life is my dear grandchildren, ranging from ages eight months to six years.  They have given me a new insight into travel, and have added a playful level to the journeys we take together.

Recent Publications 

  Follow the links here to read some of my most recent publications, or read the stories below:

Bordeaux museum La Cité du Vin a playground for wine lovers

Niagara’s Peller Estates offers a very chill icewine experience

Where Parisians vacation

Dry spell

Haunting and uplifting: a visit to Flanders Fields

London's best tour guide? Paddington Bear, of course

Iceland: Land of Ice, Fire and The Game of Thrones

The Turkish Riviera

Shangri-La at The Shard - Hotel Review

Cruising the Turkish Riviera

New York's Smorgasburg

Ireland: Castles, Gardens and Rugged Coastline

Antwerp: an old soul reborn as edgy cool 

 A Nerd's Dream Voyage, Lectures Included

An explosion of Colour on a Dutch River Cruise

European River Cruise

GOOD TASTE | Say Kimchi!

 

West of the City Magazine (www.westofthecity.com)





I have become a believer in the luck of the Irish.

On a recent tour of the southwest of that green island, I lost a 20 euro bill, and found it stuck inside my touring map. A random choice of pubs for lunch in Glengarriff resulted in the best seafood chowder  I have ever enjoyed, and, against all odds, I snapped a photo of an Irish castle that will forever be my tangible memory of Ireland.

I had been trying to get a good photograph of historic Dromoland Castle but every time I reached for my camera, the sun disappeared and it would begin to rain. Not rain exactly, more like a light mist, what the Irish call ‘soft' weather.

So I had little hope as I headed out in the fog to tour the grounds. An hour later, returning to the castle via a curving path that wound around the famous golf course on the property, I emerged from the trees at the exact moment that the sky cleared and the sun lit up the castle. The light lasted only long enough for me to take a few pictures, before the clouds descended again.  I felt I had been in the right place at the right moment – Irish luck.

Even in the mist, Dromoland Castle Hotel is dramatic. This five star property is a short 12-kilometres from Shannon Airport and the perfect place to unwind after a long flight.  It's also an ideal starting point for a driving tour of the southwest of Ireland.

Driving the Irish roads is less intimidating than it used to be – many roads have been widened, and there are modern multi-lane highways that can get you where you want to go quickly and easily. 

But in Ireland, getting there is not the point, and the Ireland you want to experience won't be found along the freeways. You need to take the winding roads that lead you along the coastline, through the mountains, and into the villages where pubs lure you into stopping for a pint or two and lush gardens seduce you into long walks.

On a drive along the Irish coast from Shannon to Cork City, I followed the quieter roads.  With minimal planning and some Irish luck, these roads took me to seaside towns that each possessed a character and a story.



Knightstown, on Valentia Island, partway along the Ring of Kerry, is a tidy little village that borders the harbour. This is a summer holiday place, with water sports, fishing and boating. It is best known as the place where the Transatlantic Cable was completed.

You can take the ferry from Knightstown to the Skellig Islands, with Skellig Michael being particularly interesting. Rocky and forbidding, this jagged island was home at one time to a group of ascetic monks who craved the isolation and austerity that the islands promised, for their spiritual health. The remains of their monastery, abandoned in the 12th century, are a compelling and sobering vision of the monastic life that would once have been lived here, but the climb up rocky steps can be challenging, and the trip out to the islands can only be made in good weather. The island is a Unesco World Heritage site.  

After an island adventure, The Moorings in Portmagee is the place to warm up by the fire. You can spend the night in a room with a harbour view, enjoy great seafood and maybe spend a few hours in the Bridge Bar listening to the locals make music while you savour a glass or two of Guinness. You could even join in, if you know a song or can carry a tune.



Waterville is a small town further along the coast that boasts one of the best golf courses in the country. Tiger Woods comes here to golf and fish. Silent film star Charlie Chaplin lived here for years, Barack Obama has visited and Richard Nixon hid out in Waterville House after his disgrace.

“Seventeen U.S. presidents have roots in Ireland,” my Irish friend Will tells me.

I think a few Canadian Prime Ministers have had Irish connections too.

Kenmare is a serene town comprised of quiet streets lined with colourful shops and cottages. There is a stone circle and a haunting fairy tree, under which unbaptised babies were traditionally buried in the past.  Visitors still leave little tokens tied to the trees for luck, and to appease the fairies.

“Be careful to speak quietly when you are near the tree – the fairies don't like to be disturbed, and they are notoriously dangerous when they aren't happy,” Will warns me.

In the centre of town is the Park Hotel Kenmare, whose grounds are a gardener's delight, with green sloping lawns leading down to the bay and paths lined with rhododendron and azalea.

For an inland diversion, head out from Kenmare through Moll's Gap to Killarney National Park, where you can boat along the lakes and hike the McGillycuddy's Reeks, or take a jaunting car through the Gap of Dunloe.

East along the coast from Kenmare is Baltimore, where the town's castle is worth a tour, to hear the story of Barbary pirates who raided the village in 1631. If you take the local ferry out to Sherkin Island, you can tour the ruins of a Franciscan abbey, walk the island or visit one of the two pubs.

In Bantry Bay, in the sheltered harbour of Glengarriff, you'll find Garinish Island which is home to a subtropical garden property. The gardens were designed by Harold Peto and are lushly beautiful in every season. In springtime, the rhodos and azaleas are in full bloom.

A few miles from the coast, in the country near Skibbereen, is Liss Ard, another hotel gem with famous gardens. This estate, a remarkable mash-up of classic country house design and contemporary aesthetics, is known for its extensive gardens that occupy 150 acres around the hotel. The centrepiece of the gardens is James Turrell's Sky Garden Crater, a green experience that is both memorable and almost surreal. If you descend the crater and lie on your back on the stone plinth in the centre, your view of the sky and the grassy bowl of the crater's sides is otherworldly, especially at dawn or dusk.

I stopped in Kinsale to visit the wine museum in Desmond Castle and to sample the seafood and then headed for Shannagarry and Ballymaloe House.


This lovely property near the end of my drive is a quiet retreat, a country manor that feels like home, or how home would feel if mommy were Lady Ballymaloe. Each room in the hotel is different and unpretentiously comfortable. I'm in the Flower Room, with a view of the walled garden. The big draw at Ballymaloe is the dining room, renowned for its cuisine and for its dedication to local products and producers.  The hotel is run by Allen family. Just down the road is the Ballymaloe Cookery School, run by more Allens, cookbook author and chef Darina and her daughter Rachel. You can take cooking classes, walk in the extensive grounds, enjoy peaceful hikes to the coastal cliffs or plan a visit to the Jameson Distillery for a whisky tasting.

For a change of pace, spend a day or two in Cork, a bustling and prosperous city with its awell known English Farmers Market. The Hayfield Manor Hotel is a serene pocket of gardens and sophistication in the middle of the city, situated next to the university where guests are welcome to walk through the quadrangle and enjoy the campus. Blarney Castle and the Titanic Museum are nearby.

If returning to Shannon, arrange to spend a night at Ballyfin, just a 90-minute drive from the airport. This 600-acre estate hotel was named best new resort of 2012 by the Robb Report. A ten-year renovation has brought the venerable property from near ruin to near perfection. It is gorgeous, authentically furnished with period antiques but possessing all the modern luxuries.


High tea in the conservatory at Ballyfin, with scones, cream and jam, is a winsome way to bid goodbye to Ireland's green gardens and stately castles.

And with a bit of Irish luck, you will come back again.

If You Go
While you could depend on Irish luck to help you find your way, the Irish Tourist Board has excellent maps and driving routes, complete with not-to-be-missed highlights, dining suggestions and available accommodation choices.
Visit ireland.com for more information.
dromoland.ie
moorings.ie
parkkenmare.com
lissardestate.com
ballymaloe.com
hayfieldmanor.ie
ballyfin.com




Antwerp: an old soul reborn as edgy cool 



 



The top of the new Museum Aan de Stroom in the dockyards gives one a comprehensive view of Antwerp. The medieval cathedrals and guild houses merge with Flemish rooftops and commercial buildings along the Scheldt, the river that brought the world to this city in the mid-15th century. This is an unconventional city that pushes Golden Age icons up against modern design and, as a result, buzzes with life. Where else would you find a Gothic church with a Madonna dressed in couture?











If Belgium’s cities were movie stars, Brussels would be Helen Mirren, sophisticated and classically beautiful, Bruges would be Angelina Jolie, gorgeous but
overexposed, and Antwerp would be Rooney Mara, an old soul reborn as edgy cool.
Take, for example, the dockyard area, the city’s once disreputable neighbourhood. Rough areas still exist, but the Eilandje district is benefiting from the Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS), which opened last year. The contrasts give off an energy. The shrinking but still vibrant red-light district nearby boasts Belgium’s largest bordello, but a few streets away is the Felix Pakhuis, a restored warehouse that houses the national archives and a high-design restaurant. The Royal Ballet of Flanders has relocated here, but you’ll also find Badboot, a swimming pool and terrace that adds a party feel.
The most distinctive (and controversial) change will come from the new Port Authority building. Architect Zaha Hadid is designing a towering, diamond addition – vaguely ship-like – to the classical lines of the original.
On a chilly, rainy Saturday, I walked the Rijnkaai riverside promenade and toured the site of the Red Star Line Museum, slated to open in September. The shipping company’s warehouses are being restored and converted into a multimedia museum that will tell the stories of millions who streamed through Antwerp on their way to the New World. (A funnel-shaped tower, echoing the outline of an ocean liner, is almost complete.) Further on, I lingered in the Het Pomphuis, a bistro set in a former dock-side pumping station. The soaring glass roof invites guest to take their time and enjoy the view.
Just a 20-minute walk away is a different world: the Meir. The pedestrian shopping street boasts the highest rents of any in Belgium. At one end is the Central Station, an architectural jewel that locals call the Cathedral of the Railway, where I met a friend for coffee in the Royal Café. After, we walked up De Keyserlei and schlepped the length of the Meir.


We stopped at Paleis op de Meir for sinful indulgence at the Chocolate Line, Antwerp headquarters of Dominique Persoone, a self-described “shock-o-latier.” We enjoyed chocolate infused with bacon, passion fruit and lime and vodka. Customers can also try out a device for sniffing cocoa that Persoone designed for a rock-star friend, or savour a treat flavoured with marijuana.
The Meir is lined with international stores, but a wander along some of the intersecting streets such as Hopland, Schuttershofstraat and Huidevetterstraat, and toward the Graanmarkt, to take you to the concept stores that make Antwerp shopping such an adventure. Graanmarkt 13 is one of the newest. In addition to a selection of finely curated fashion, decor items and a gallery, the shop is home to a popular restaurant run by newcomer chef Seppe Nobels. His dishes are gorgeously plated, with locally sourced ingredients. It’s white-linen dining with polished cement floors, natural colours and a lean elegance. Along Kloosterstraat you’ll find Yours, which features brands such as Vivienne Westwood and Marc Jacobs, and Ra, a store with lots of buzz featuring high-end fashion, books and an exhibition space.



Wander through Nationalestraat – one of the pivotal couture destinations in Europe – and you’ll mix with shoppers clad in casually elegant garb and great boots. At Maison Anne Heyden, dresses were displayed like artifacts. At Dries Van Noten’s, the windows blazed with Far East themed colours. And at Champers & Theo, an emporium/café that is a brilliant intersection of shoes and food, chatty shoppers shared drinks and waffles.

Right on the edge of this district, tucked away behind narrow streets, is the late Gothic Sint Andrieskerk. In between weddings, I slipped quietly into this busy church and saw its famous carved pulpit and appraised the centuries-old statue of the Virgin Mary, whose controversial dress was designed by Ann Demeulemeester in 2001. It didn’t strike me as sacreligious – there are echoes of the New World in the feathers and beads – but rather, somehow, respectful.

While the dining scene in Antwerp is varied and excellent, it tends to be either classic or campy. I loved the Antwerp stew, served with a bolleke of De Koninck beer, at Appelman’s Brasserie near the old cathedral. I was especially charmed by Villa Villekulla, the Pippi Longstocking dining experience that is staged in the Ra Kitchen on Friday nights. The three-course meal is served in a room that has bunk beds, mismatched chairs and tables and overstuffed sofas. The food was good – but the light-hearted atmosphere was the highlight.
End your Antwerp evening with a flight of flavoured jenevers, the potent Belgian liquor similar to gin, in a pub such as De Vagant. And, of course, indulge in chocolate. It is always a good day if it ends with Belgian chocolate.
Where to Shop
Dries Van Noten’s Het Modepaleis This well-known designer is one of the Antwerp Six, who helped establish the city as a fashion and design centre. His elegant shop on Nationalestraat has his latest designs. Expensive, yes, but this is investment dressing. The designer is set to open a new atelier in the Eilandje District. Nationalestraat 16; driesvannoten.be
Philip’s Biscuits You see hands everywhere: It’s the symbol of Antwerp. At Philip’s Biscuits, you can get a bag of the delicious butter biscuit version of the hand, as well as their famous spekuloos cookies, honey cakes and gingerbread. Korte Gasthuisstraat 11, philipsbiscuits.be
Graanmarkt 13 This concept store has decor objects, clothing, shoes and fine art pieces, as well as a good restaurant on the lower level. Graanmarkt 13, graanmarkt13.be
Gunther Watte A chocolate and coffee shop in the Fashion District, this is a chic little place for excellent coffee or tea, single-source artisanal chocolate and decadent cakes and cookies. Steenhouwersvest 30; watte.be
Filippa K The Scandinavian fashion house specializes in urban elegance for men and women. Steenhouwersvest 65; filippa-k.com
Maison Anna Heylen Heylen’s shop is worth visiting just to enjoy the visuals. She specializes in small series and made-to-measure couture. Lombardenstraat 16; annaheylen.be
What to See
Cathedral of Our Lady This ancient Gothic cathedral is the anchor for the old part of Antwerp. It contains important paintings from Rubens – look especially at The Raising of the Cross and The Descent from the Cross to see how the artist’s style changed after he visited Italy. Groenplaats 21; dekathedraal.be
Central Station You can’t really classify the style of architecture of this railway cathedral, but it is awesomely beautiful. Have coffee in the Royal Café or just stand under the vast dome and watch the pedestrian traffic. Koning Astridplein
Rubens House Museum This beautiful museum gives a glimpse into the life and times of the great painter. The house and galleries are very attractive, but the formal garden may well be the best part. Wapperplein 9; rubenshuis.be
Plantin-Moretus Museum The former home of two printers, the Plantin-Moretus affords a look at the intellectual life of 16th-century Belgium. Ancient books, art, an architecturally special mansion and a walled garden make this an enjoyable visit. Vrijdagmarkt 22; museumplantinmoretus.be
St Andrew’s Church (Sint Andries Kerk) This small church is a hidden gem. It is home to the statue of the Virgin Mary of the Brotherhood of Succour and Victory that was dressed by designer Ann Demeulemeester, and of the 1821 carved pulpit depicting Jesus calling the fishermen to follow him. Sint-Andriesstraat 5
MAS The new Museum aan de Stroom (Museum by the River) combines the collections of four different museums, with each floor housing a different theme, including On Trade and Shipping and Of Men and Gods. The top floor provides excellent views of the city and is open until 11:30 on summer evenings and can be visited without an admission fee. Hanzestedenplaats 1; mas.be
Fashion Museum, Provence of Antwerp It’s a small museum, well-curated and intimate. Current works showing are by new designer Manon Kundig, who took her inspiration from the bowerbird, a strange creature that courts the female by building compositions using bits of things he collects – something that Kundig labels “l’art du hazard.” It’s wild and colourful. Nationalestraat 28, momu.be
Antwerp Zoo It’s one of the oldest zoos in the world, established in 1843, and sits in the centre of the city, right next to Central Station. Visit to see the animals, of course, but also to enjoy the splendid architecture. Koningin Astridplein 26; zooantwerpen.be
The Diamond District There’s a diamond museum, jewellery stores and good deli places for lunch. How romantic to pick out your engagement diamond and watch it being cut and mounted in a setting of your choice. Try Diamond Land on Appelmansstraat.
Where to Eat
Grand Café Horta Exceptional for the art nouveau architecture, this busy café is right in the middle of the shopping district. Hopland2; grandcafehorta.be

Appelmanns BrasserieThis typical Belgian restaurant is in a 19th-century building next to the Cathedral and specializes in Belgian dishes. There is also an absinth bar. Papenstraatje 1; brasserieappelmans.be
Ra Kitchen The ultracool store Ra also has a restaurant that hosts a sort of themed dinner party on Friday nights called Villa Villekulla, named after Pippi Longstocking’s fictional home. The comfortable and eclectic decor contributes to a sort of sophisticated, deconstructed dining experience. While the style and dishes change regularly, the food is generally made from local ingredients. Kloosterstraat 13, ra13.be
Flamant Dining here is a little like having dinner in a friend’s dining room, albeit a friend with great taste. The restaurant is on the second floor, above the Flamant Concept shop, and serves elegant international style dishes. Lange Gasthuisstraat 12; flamantdining.be
T’Zilte This double Michelin-starred restaurant is in the new MAS. Chef Vikki Geunes presides over the kitchen turning out classic haute cuisine. Reservations are hard to come by, so make your plans in advance. Hanzestedenplaats 1; tzilte.be
DelRey Chocolate Lounge Situated in the middle of the Diamond District, DelRey’s is the right spot for drinking chocolate. You can also indulge in its specialty handmade chocolates, including chocolate hands, or handjes. Appelmansstraat 5; delrey.be
Café de Duifkens The Duifkins is an authentic Antwerp brown café, often frequented by the actors who are performing at one of the three nearby theatres. Enjoy a Belgian beer in a bolleke , the bowl-shaped traditional Antwerp beer glass. On Sundays there is a fresh market that specializes in live birds in the Graanmarkt. Graanmarkt 5
De Vagant A jenever bar, small and cozy, where a flight of different flavoured jenevers will introduce you to the joys of this strong traditional Belgian liquor. The passion fruit is nice, but don’t miss the chocolate, raspberry or lavender. If you find a flavour you love, the café has a shop a few steps away where you can buy a bottle to take home. Reyndersstraat 25; devagant.be/cafe
Where to Stay
Radisson Blu It’s a modern and well-run hotel with the added advantage of having a magnificent view of Astridplein and the Central Station. Koningin Astridplein 7; radissonblu.com/astridhotel-antwerp
Hotel de Witte Lelie Antwerp Housed in a 17th-century building near the Fashion District, this small boutique hotel is popular with the couture establishment. There are 11 rooms and suites, contemporary in style, but with deep windows and high ceilings. Keizerstraat 16-18, dewittelelie.be



A Nerd's Dream Voyage, Lectures Included


On my first afternoon on board the Aegean Odyssey, I fell into conversation with a gentleman with enormous eyebrows and a teasing smile. We were waiting for the first on-board lecture to begin, a talk entitled Sailing From Byzantium, to be delivered by Dr. Robin Cormack, a fellow of the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.










“I’m sure you will enjoy the talk,” Mr. Eyebrows assured me. “He’s a brilliant scholar. And I think you will enjoy the second lecturer just as much.”
From the twinkle in his eye, I was not too surprised to learn that he was that second lecturer, Dr. Thomas Mannack, a Reader in Classical Iconography at Oxford.
When he told me he was an expert on ancient pots, I couldn’t suppress an amused grin.
“You think it’s funny, Barbara!” he said, in pretend offence. “But consider this: There is as much historic truth in a shard of pottery as in any literature.”
The painted pots show life as it was lived, and they were hard to destroy. They were often placed in graves, and so were protected and survived. And even if they are found in shards, they can be reconstructed and so tell their story.”
It emerged that he is The Man when it comes to old Greek pots, a universally acknowledged expert. And he was right. I did enjoy the talks.
Would everyone? I’m not sure.
This is a cruise for a particular type of traveller – a cruise for people who do not like cruising, at least, in the “big box” style that has dominated the industry of late. This is for fans of the small and intimate, for lovers of history and art, for devotees of beauty and architecture.

The Aegean Odyssey is a 350-passenger ship that conducts Voyages to Antiquity, cruises that explore historic ports of the Mediterranean and the Far East. It is well-equipped and comfortable, with everything travellers have come to expect: a pool, three restaurants, a small spa, and a bar that serves martinis and a good cappuccino. But the Odyssey boasts an added bonus: On board are some of the world’s foremost authorities on the history of the areas visited.
I am convinced that this is an important developing niche for cruising, but also for any kind of travel. Today, we want to do more than look; we want to learn and grow and explore connections.
The cruise I took, from Istanbul to Athens, was called All These Begin With Greeks and wove its way through ports from Turkey to Crete and through the Greek islands to Athens.
The ports and the excursions were carefully selected, and each tour was lead by local guides who were well-trained and authoritative.


Maria, our guide for Nauplia and Athens was a perfect example. She was feisty, funny and informed. She was also devotedly Greek. When we toured the new Acropolis Museum she pointed out the caryatids, the supporting columns shaped like young women, one of which was taken away to England by Lord Elgin. “I visited the one that is in the British Museum,” she told us. “I thought she was crying out of loneliness.”
At Mycenae, as we walked through the Lion Gate, Europe’s oldest monumental structure, she showed us the shaft graves from which Heinrich Schliemann excavated 19 graves, each body festooned with gold. “He thought he had found Troy. He wrote to his benefactor, after he unearthed the golden mask, ‘I have kissed the lips of Agamemnon!’ He was wrong, but he had made a momentous discovery.”
Later, we saw the golden mask in all its glory in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens – no wonder he was thrilled.
In Pergamon, we saw the barren space on the side of a mountain where the Altar of Zeus originally stood. In Ephesus, we saw the famous library of Celsus and the beautiful Temple of Hadrian. Both lecturers came along on all of the tours and were happy to answer questions or expand on information.
In Santorini, Mannack convinced me I should eschew the souvenir shops and cafés of Fira and instead visit the Museum of Prehistoric Thera. “Just give it 10 minutes and then go and have coffee in a café,” he said. Of course I spent the afternoon in this small jewel of a museum, and saw the frescos of Akrotiri, including one haunting mural famous for its early portrayal of a full frontal face on one blue monkey. Before this, faces were consistently presented in profile. It is awesome to be able to see a point in history where art took a new turn, where perception and depiction began to change.
But the trip was not stuck in the past. In Izmir we toured the bustling grand bazaar, tasting powdered squares of jewel-like Turkish delight and enjoying chilled pomegranate juice.
In Skiathos we went swimming at Koukounaries Beach, one of Greece’s best, and visited the church where the wedding scene from Mamma Mia! was filmed. We sailed close to the lonely and hermit-like monasteries of Mount Athos, where only men are permitted and where Cormack has spent time studying the ancient manuscripts.
“Prince Charles comes to the island by helicopter for a week every year,” he informed us.
We drank wine on the back deck and lingered in the lounge.
There was so much I enjoyed about this small-ship sailing that I did not miss photographers snapping my picture in the dining room each evening, as you often find on large cruise ships. Ditto the on-board shops with designer dresses, or the obligatory perfume store. (One discrete shop on the Odyssey stocks things like toothpaste or makeup, plus a small selection of luxury items.) I did not miss the baked Alaska parade at the closing dinner – and I certainly did not miss the magic acts offered as evening filler. The Odyssey does have a trio, a piano player and a singer, the lovely Babette, who perform in the small lounge.
On the Odyssey, dinner-table conversations are not about the odds in the casino or the sale in the jewellery store or the challenges of the rock-climbing wall – these things simply don’t exist. Rather, people get to know each other, and the discussions are wide-ranging. But short lived. The itinerary is a busy one, with early morning starting times and long days filled with walking and climbing. By the time the sun sets over the Aegean, most of us are nodding in our chairs.


I also did not miss the towel sculptures on my bed, though the little chocolates on the pillow were nice.
IF YOU GO
Voyages to Antiquity conducts cruises to the Mediterranean and the Far East for travellers who want to explore the culture of the ancient world. Most shore excursions are included, as well as hotel stays, lecture programs, gratuities and beer and wine with meals.
A 17-day cruise to Burma and the Malay Peninsula, leaving Nov. 24, is $6,850 (U.S.) a person for a deluxe stateroom with balcony.
The company’s fee includes round-trip airfare for any Grand Voyages, and discounted flights for other tours. voyagestoantiquity.com
The writer travelled courtesy of Voyages to Antiquity.




If you love cruising as much as I do, perhaps you also enjoy reading about cruises that might be in your future.  Here's an article that ran in the Globe and Mail ( published Feb 24, 2012) for which I received the Lowell Thomas Award, Silver, for Cruise Writing:


An explosion of Colour on a Dutch River Cruise

Globe and Mail, 

 Take Panache, a European Waterways barge, to explore Floriade 2012.

I spent the night in a room that was once full of sugar beets.
Drifting in through the small open window above my bed is the sound of ducks circling in search of breakfast. Soon, little white furry legs will scuttle past the window – Teddy, the barge dog, out for his constitutional – and the smell of fresh coffee will seep under the door from the galley. I know I can scramble up on deck with my camera and notebook, take some shots and a quick sketch of the mist on the river before the sun burns it off, but the bed is warm, and we were up late last night, lingering over a bottle of premier cu wine from nearby Chablis, lovely stinky local cheese and old stories from school days.














This is morning on the Nooit Volmaakt, a restored Dutch barge that once transported sugar beets along the waterways and is now owned by two Canadians from Victoria, Mary Koyl and Marc Pakenham, and their dog, Teddy. Over our first bottle of wine, we discovered that the skipper, my husband and I were undergrads at the same university at the same time long ago.
Together, we drifted along the canals and rivers southwest of Paris.
Touring on a barge is one of the most personal and intimate ways to explore Europe. The Nooit Voolmakt is only one of many barges that offer trips through the less populous areas of England, France, Germany, Italy and other countries. The small size allows passengers to indulge in their own personal interests while sailing through historic routes that are still navigable – canals that once served as the superhighways for commerce, opening trade routes that would become the foundation on which the Industrial Revolution would be built. Those canals and waterways still wind past villages, under stone bridges and straight through the bucolic farmlands of old Europe.
Barge cruises allow guests time to do what they love best. I am a food writer and an amateur artist, so the twin pleasures of time spent on deck with a mug of hot tea, continually replenished by Mary, and daily visits to markets, food shops and fine restaurants, were perfect for me.
In Moret, we moored just below the town bridge that French impressionist painter Alfred Sisley painted in the early 1890s, little changed today. I walked and cycled where Sisley and his friends did, ogled his house and sat in the main square in front of a pretty storefront that was signed, “Les Amis D'Alfred Sisley.” Perhaps he had no friends left as no one was ever there to open the shop. But no matter. This town, this itinerary, was ideally matched to my interests.
Barge tours travel through the canals of Nemours, France. (Barbara Ramsay Orr)
Other barge itineraries can inspire the photographer, the cyclist, the wine lover or the historian. Antiquarians can troll through a vide-grenier, French for empty attic, the Gallic version of a garage sale.
For the travelling gardener, this spring is perfect for a barge trip: to witness one of the more spectacular floral displays in the world. Holland will explode with tulips, hyacinths, irises, scillas, crocuses, muscari – it is visual fireworks that everyone must see at least once in a lifetime, and one of the best seats for this show is on a barge. The canals snake through fields that in spring are striated with bands of vivid colour created by thousands and thousands of flowers. The expanses of intense colour, in fields that unfold like well designed quilts, is a wonder unlike any other.
Many of the barge cruises include bike tours, as the terrain is flat and the scenery compact. If you bike along the paths through fields of flowers, expect to be ambushed by the perfumes of narcissus or hyacinth.
Some of the tulip barge tours stop at Aalsmeer for the flower auction and almost all of them, in April and May, include a visit to the Keukenhof, Holland's famous spring gardens in the town of Lisse, the centre of Holland's bollenstreek (bulb district). In this 32-hectare garden, bulb growers display their best and newest along pathways lined with acres of manicured gardens. There are more than seven million tulip bulbs planted here each year and the growers strive to outdo each other in the originality and impact of their displays. Blue muscari spill like rivers, daffodils grow in geometric designs, blue and white flowers mimic Delft pottery. I spent a happy afternoon drawing the antique tulips in one small historic garden, bulbs whose history stretched back to the early 1500s and whose story is the precursor to Europe's bourse (stock exchange) and North America's stock market.
While the Netherlands in spring is always a pleasure, this year is special: Floriade is on. It's the world's largest international floral show and gardening exposition, held once every 10 years. It's the Olympic Games of flowers for gardeners around the world and runs from April to October.
Ten years ago, I wandered Floriade for a whole day and didn't see it all. From landscaped display gardens to flower features to environmental innovations, there was something to beguile or inspire every few steps. You can even buy the latest hybrid bulbs for your garden. (I bought an amaryllis bulb the size of a large grapefruit, which produced eye-popping blooms that summer.)
For this sixth Floriade, held in Venlo, near the Belgian border, several barge cruises are scheduling shore excursions. Sure, visitors can do independent trips from several centres in Europe, but one of the best ways, leisurely and easily, is as a day trip from your barge.
Teddy lives on the Nooit Volmaakt, a resorted Dutch barge. (Robert Orr)
For, instead of design details, the emphasis on a barge cruise is on the quality of the experiences, the interaction between guests and crew, and the food, which is often larded with local specialties. It is, essentially, a slow meander down a lovely waterway with many seductive reasons to stop along the way.
There are still mornings when I wake up and imagine I can hear Teddy and the ducks. I can almost see the reflections in the water, and I wonder where Mary is with my tea.
IF YOU GO
Dutch flower cruises
European Waterways runs barge tours in several countries. Spring flower tours in Holland aboard the 12-passenger Panache, above, will include trips to Floriade. Prices start at $4,690 a person and include all meals, wines, excursions and local transfers. 877-879-8808; gobarging.com
The Barge Company runs the Magna Carta, an eight-passenger barge that cruises the Thames, including Hampton Court and stops at the Chelsea Flower Show. From $3,000 a person for six nights. www.bargecompany.com
River cruise lines such as Avalon Waterways, Azamara Cruises, Scenic Tours and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises have added excursions to Floriade.
Bike and Barge
Bike & Barge Holland offers 13-night cruises with bike excursions, including tours to Keukenhof Garden and the tulip fields, for $3,195. bikebarge.com
Van Gogh tours include six days of barging and cycling from Amsterdam to Bruges, Belgium, from $1,14. vangoghtours.com
Tulip time
Timing is everything if you want to see the tulips at their best. A late winter or early spring can shift the blooming time. The most dependable time to see the flower display in full flush is mid to late April. Head to the Keukenhof Gardens from March 22 to May 20 for a concentrated floral hit. keukenhof.nl
Floriade runs from April 5 to Oct. 7. Full-day tickets are $33 (€25) and can be ordered online. floriade.com
For more information, visit Holland.com.


Special to The Globe and Mail

The Rhine is not like other rivers. There is a dignity and purpose about this blue ribbon of water that weaves its way through some of the most beautiful cities of Europe. It has served as the avenue for commerce since the Middle Ages and, hundreds of years later, it is still a vital link for the transportation of goods.

This river, and others, like the Moselle, and the Danube, also provides one of the most scenic and accessible pathways to tour Europe. River cruising has become one of the fastest growing segments of the cruise industry, particularly for regular seafarers who have done most of the popular routes – like the Mediterranean and
The Caribbean – and are looking for something different.

While river cruising has a long history, the pleasure ships that sail the rivers of Europe have undergone a transformation in the last few years. 

To meet the increasing demand for river cruises, and to satisfy the expectations of an increasingly sophisticated cruising clientele, new ships, like the Avalon Panorama, have been designed with all the upscale luxury and comfort of the larger cruise ships, but on a small and manageable scale. They have evolved from utilitarian and sparse to luxurious and spacious.

When I took my first river cruise in the early '90s, on the Danube Princess, I fell in love with the experience of the river cruise, but found the ship had its limitations. The cabins were small and a bit austere, and the public rooms didn't allow for great viewing of the passing scenery. 

It was still one of the best ways to see Europe, in spite of that. To be able to go up on deck as the dawn mist was rising off the river and watch the captain sail us into the heart of a great city like Budapest or Vienna was very special. And then you just stepped off the deck and into the very centre of an historic capital.

Today's river ships are a new breed, although still constrained by the technical requirements of sailing on a river. They must be narrow and low enough to pass under the many bridges on the different rivers. Thus, design wise, they remain long, slim and low slung but within those parameters, the designers have performed miracles.

I was fortunate to be a passenger on the christening cruise of the Avalon Panorama in May, to participate in the christening celebrations and to be one of the first to enjoy the brand new boat.


A christening is always a joyful celebration – and christening a boat is in many ways more fun than christening a baby. There is no burping involved, no crying, no diapers to change, just a really happy welcome of a beautiful new ship into service. And, of course, a party.

The ubiquitous Champagne bottle smashed on the bow perfectly, aimed with a sharp eye by the ship's glamorous godmother, Australian media star Lisa Wilkinson. Then, accompanied by more Champagne, nibbles and music, the spanking new ship began its first foray, a six day exploration of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers, ending in Amsterdam.

What struck me most about the new ship was the sense of space. The cabins have French balconies where the entire riverside wall is composed of windows that slide open to provide over seven feet of open views of the river and the passing scenery. You can sit in bed in your pajamas with a cup of coffee and watch the castles slide by, if you want to. Or sit on comfortable sofas with friends in your cabin and enjoy a glass of wine as the sun sets over the water before dinner.

The rooms have the feel of a boutique hotel. Beds are king sized with high quality linens and the marble clad bathrooms, supplied with L'Occitane toiletries, are both beautiful and surprisingly spacious.

The public rooms are designed for maximum views of the landscape. Windows are large, floor to ceiling, and omnipresent and the interiors are unobstructed. On the top deck, there is complete visibility, along with comfortable deck lounge chairs, a hot tub and a casual dining area for al fresco lunches.

With only 168 passengers and 45 crew, the ship runs like clockwork, and dining is held in one sitting. As on most cruises, dining is an important element of each day. The chef on the Panorama is a Czech, Michael Zambersky, who cooks classic sophisticated cuisine with an emphasis on the local food style. We dine on perfectly grilled scallops, lobster and caviar to start, followed by roast lamb with white asparagus and German style potatoes. The pastry chef is an artist, turning out gorgeous trios of chocolate or strawberry creations that were as much pleasure to look at as to eat.  There's a good wine list, with a nice selection of German wines, of course, especially Rieslings, but other countries are represented too, and there is good German beer available. As a reminder that Avalon has thought of all the details, a bottle of lemon infused olive oil and good balsamic vinegar sit on each table every day, ready to be used as a dip for the fresh bread or to dress a salad.


For anyone with accessibility problems, there is an elevator and for those who need more exercise after the daily walking tours, there is a good though small gym. The main lobby is flooded with light from overhead skylights  It is a very pretty ship, although the exterior, like all river ships, is a bit homely in shape.

There will never be Broadway shows or flashy casinos on these river ships. It doesn't fit the space or suit the style. River cruising is somehow more aesthetic, a bit intellectual. The on-board entertainment reflects that character.

Take La Strada, for instance.

There are times when things fall perfectly into place, when you are in the right place at the right time, and everything is as it should be. It had been a very good day. Early coffee on the upper deck had been followed by a leisurely breakfast, a walking tour of historic Rudesheim and an after noon of sailing past castles and churches.

Dinner was excellent, but the night was not finished. Up in the club room on the main deck, there was moonlight outside the windows on the Moselle, chilled German Riesling in the glass, little cups of espresso and tiny frosted cakes for nibbling. 

That by itself was enough to make an evening on the river ship enjoyable. But then three young gentlemen dressed in black walked to the centre of the room and began to play – a violin, a guitar and a cello. This was the classical string trio La Strada. Shostakovich drifted out over the water, then Chopin, followed by haunting gypsy mazurkas. That was when the evening became perfect, a memorable time that I can't imagine could have been any better.

It is these moments that make travel irresistible for me. So often, especially in today's troubling times, travelling can be irritating, predictable or exhausting. But moments like these make all those frustrations unimportant. It is an experience that could only have had its impact in this precise place.

Shore excursions are personal and locally anchored. In each of the historic towns we stopped, it was local guides who took us on two and three hour walking tours, supplying the flavour of their area in their commentary. Panorama has individual wireless earphones for each member of the tour so you can linger to take a picture without missing the commentary or loosing your group. One of the best things about this kind of cruising is that you seldom end up on buses and the excursions feel more grounded in the locale.  Bike trips can also be arranged for those who want to cover more ground more actively.


Such is the popularity of the new ships like the Panorama that Avalon will be launching two more in the Spring of 2012. Similar ships sail on the Mekong, along the Nile, and along other busy waterways.

It is an attractive way to travel, one that is winning over converts who see the appeal of a floating boutique hotel that sails you into the heart of history, and where a guest need unpack only once.


GOOD TASTE | Say Kimchi!

Summer's upon us, patio days are here, and it's time to try a new al fresco menu. Forget burgers and ribs — say hello to banchan and galbi!

By Barbara Ramsay Orr Photography By Harry Gils & Dana Cowie Gils

Sakai's Whe Dup Bap is a delicious mix of chopped assorted sashimi on lettuce and spring mix, served with chojang (Korean hot sauce) for mixing.
  • Sakai's Whe Dup Bap is a delicious mix of chopped assorted sashimi on lettuce and spring mix, served with chojang (Korean hot sauce) for mixing.

Put on some Psy tunes, get out the Sujeo (Korean eating utensils, comprised of stainless chopsticks and a long spoon) and crack open a cold bottle of Hite beer.
Korean food has been slow to infiltrate North American tables, but recently it has assumed more prominence as Korean restaurants and grocery stores increase in number and knowledge of this exotic cuisine has spread.
We're lucky in this area to have a good sprinkling of authentic Korean places where we can sample the cuisine or buy the ingredients to make our own bibimbap.
And a fine cuisine it is — healthy, highly varied, fresh and flavourful. Its flavours are created from various combinations of sesame oil, soybean paste, soy sauce, garlic and, most importantly, chili pepper, which gives it its distinctive spicy taste.
John Kim, who manages Sakai Japanese and Korean Restaurant in Burlington, explained some of the fine points of Korean dining. "The surprising thing about Korean food is the amazing diversity, when you consider how small the country is. But each region has developed its own specialties. Mountainous regions developed methods of marinating and pickling ingredients, while regions close to the sea incorporated fresh seafood, fish and seaweed into their dishes. Because of the geography, farming on any large scale has always been difficult, but Koreans live with the seasons, harvesting mushrooms, herbs, vegetables and greens at their peak."
Kimchi, a fermented condiment made with cabbage, radish, scallions or cucumbers and red chilli peppers, is a staple at every meal. "Each region has its own kimchi," Kim tells me. "Some bury it in clay pots to mature, while others like it fresh and crispy. Some like it fermented until it is sour and clear. It varies a great deal. Every Korean cook has their own style, but it is an omnipresent and tasty accompaniment to almost every meal."
It's so ubiquitous that Koreans say 'kimchi' instead of 'cheese' for photographs!
At Sakai, the most popular Korean dish is Dol Shot Beebimbap — a dish of five types of blanched vegetables like carrots, daikon radish, spinach, and big head bean sprouts with marinated beef, topped with a fried egg and sesame oil and a house-made sauce. "It comes to the table in a sizzling stone bowl and everyone in the restaurant watches and decides they will order that next time," says Kim.
While the bibimbap is more of a cold weather dish, there is the Whe Du Bap for hot summer dining — chopped sashimi with salad greens and shredded daikon, topped with seaweed and served cold with a spicy sauce and steamed rice. "This is a great warm weather dish," says Kim. "It has a spicy kick with a bit of acidic sweetness to it and different textures with the crispy salad and fish. Very healthy. It is great served with a glass of soju — the distilled vodka-like drink so popular in Korea, it is the world's top-selling alcohol."
At Alirang, at the corner of Main and Locke in Hamilton, Bobby Cho presides over an unpretentious, but pleasantly relaxed, restaurant that serves authentic and delicious Korean specialties. It is the sister restaurant to Alirang in Ottawa.
" Sometimes customers who are not familiar with Korean dishes worry that the food will be too spicy. But we will always vary the level of spicyness," says Cho.
"We have been welcomed here by many Hamiltonians since we opened," Cho adds. "They keep coming back – that's a good sign!" The chef, Sil Kim, trained at culinary college in Korea and has practiced his craft in Korea and Ireland for 15 years.
The restaurant greets you with hot tea – in my case, it was a tasty cup of corn tea.
Cho explains that many of his customers like to start with panzeon, a savoury seafood pancake, or miso soup.
Banchan comes with most of the main dishes and is an assortment of little side dishes and sauces served with white rice as an accompaniment to the main meal. While Alirang's banchan is simple, the side dishes can be quite diverse, with little bowls of kimchi, sliced radish, seaweed, spinach or bean sprouts, along with red pepper sauce and rice serving as the side story to many main dishes in Korean cuisine.
Alirang has a good representative list of main dishes. My favourite and new go-to for a quick lunch is naengmyun — cold Korean noodles in a spicy sauce, which is delicious, refreshing and light.
There's bibimbap and bulgogi — sliced marinated beef with mushrooms and onions — as well as galbi, grilled marinated short ribs, and oribokum — a duck and vegetable stir-fry. The pork bone stew is excellent, flavourful and hearty.
Dessert is not a big thing in Korean cuisine, but Alirang offers green tea ice cream as an elegant finish.
If you are enterprising enough to make your own Korean dishes, head to Grace Food Market, gracefoodmarket.com, on York Blvd. Owners Jongar and Hyun Hye Chung have run this intriguing supermarket for 16 years. The shelves are stocked with Jongar's homemade kimchi, Korean marinated short ribs for barbequing, rice, noodles, sauces and condiments. It's a place where you could spend hours discovering new and interesting products and getting ideas for a Korean feast. You can even pick up your sujeo here.
Try out a Korean summer feast to add zip to the same-old, same-old. Try dining Gangnam Style. You may well fall victim to kimchi addiction!

GOOD TASTE | Say Kimchi!

Summer's upon us, patio days are here, and it's time to try a new al fresco menu. Forget burgers and ribs — say hello to banchan and galbi!

By Barbara Ramsay Orr Photography By Harry Gils & Dana Cowie Gils

Sakai's Whe Dup Bap is a delicious mix of chopped assorted sashimi on lettuce and spring mix, served with chojang (Korean hot sauce) for mixing.
  • Sakai's Whe Dup Bap is a delicious mix of chopped assorted sashimi on lettuce and spring mix, served with chojang (Korean hot sauce) for mixing.

Put on some Psy tunes, get out the Sujeo (Korean eating utensils, comprised of stainless chopsticks and a long spoon) and crack open a cold bottle of Hite beer.
Korean food has been slow to infiltrate North American tables, but recently it has assumed more prominence as Korean restaurants and grocery stores increase in number and knowledge of this exotic cuisine has spread.
We're lucky in this area to have a good sprinkling of authentic Korean places where we can sample the cuisine or buy the ingredients to make our own bibimbap.
And a fine cuisine it is — healthy, highly varied, fresh and flavourful. Its flavours are created from various combinations of sesame oil, soybean paste, soy sauce, garlic and, most importantly, chili pepper, which gives it its distinctive spicy taste.
John Kim, who manages Sakai Japanese and Korean Restaurant in Burlington, explained some of the fine points of Korean dining. "The surprising thing about Korean food is the amazing diversity, when you consider how small the country is. But each region has developed its own specialties. Mountainous regions developed methods of marinating and pickling ingredients, while regions close to the sea incorporated fresh seafood, fish and seaweed into their dishes. Because of the geography, farming on any large scale has always been difficult, but Koreans live with the seasons, harvesting mushrooms, herbs, vegetables and greens at their peak."
Kimchi, a fermented condiment made with cabbage, radish, scallions or cucumbers and red chilli peppers, is a staple at every meal. "Each region has its own kimchi," Kim tells me. "Some bury it in clay pots to mature, while others like it fresh and crispy. Some like it fermented until it is sour and clear. It varies a great deal. Every Korean cook has their own style, but it is an omnipresent and tasty accompaniment to almost every meal."
It's so ubiquitous that Koreans say 'kimchi' instead of 'cheese' for photographs!
At Sakai, the most popular Korean dish is Dol Shot Beebimbap — a dish of five types of blanched vegetables like carrots, daikon radish, spinach, and big head bean sprouts with marinated beef, topped with a fried egg and sesame oil and a house-made sauce. "It comes to the table in a sizzling stone bowl and everyone in the restaurant watches and decides they will order that next time," says Kim.
While the bibimbap is more of a cold weather dish, there is the Whe Du Bap for hot summer dining — chopped sashimi with salad greens and shredded daikon, topped with seaweed and served cold with a spicy sauce and steamed rice. "This is a great warm weather dish," says Kim. "It has a spicy kick with a bit of acidic sweetness to it and different textures with the crispy salad and fish. Very healthy. It is great served with a glass of soju — the distilled vodka-like drink so popular in Korea, it is the world's top-selling alcohol."
At Alirang, at the corner of Main and Locke in Hamilton, Bobby Cho presides over an unpretentious, but pleasantly relaxed, restaurant that serves authentic and delicious Korean specialties. It is the sister restaurant to Alirang in Ottawa.
" Sometimes customers who are not familiar with Korean dishes worry that the food will be too spicy. But we will always vary the level of spicyness," says Cho.
"We have been welcomed here by many Hamiltonians since we opened," Cho adds. "They keep coming back – that's a good sign!" The chef, Sil Kim, trained at culinary college in Korea and has practiced his craft in Korea and Ireland for 15 years.
The restaurant greets you with hot tea – in my case, it was a tasty cup of corn tea.
Cho explains that many of his customers like to start with panzeon, a savoury seafood pancake, or miso soup.
Banchan comes with most of the main dishes and is an assortment of little side dishes and sauces served with white rice as an accompaniment to the main meal. While Alirang's banchan is simple, the side dishes can be quite diverse, with little bowls of kimchi, sliced radish, seaweed, spinach or bean sprouts, along with red pepper sauce and rice serving as the side story to many main dishes in Korean cuisine.
Alirang has a good representative list of main dishes. My favourite and new go-to for a quick lunch is naengmyun — cold Korean noodles in a spicy sauce, which is delicious, refreshing and light.
There's bibimbap and bulgogi — sliced marinated beef with mushrooms and onions — as well as galbi, grilled marinated short ribs, and oribokum — a duck and vegetable stir-fry. The pork bone stew is excellent, flavourful and hearty.
Dessert is not a big thing in Korean cuisine, but Alirang offers green tea ice cream as an elegant finish.
If you are enterprising enough to make your own Korean dishes, head to Grace Food Market, gracefoodmarket.com, on York Blvd. Owners Jongar and Hyun Hye Chung have run this intriguing supermarket for 16 years. The shelves are stocked with Jongar's homemade kimchi, Korean marinated short ribs for barbequing, rice, noodles, sauces and condiments. It's a place where you could spend hours discovering new and interesting products and getting ideas for a Korean feast. You can even pick up your sujeo here.
Try out a Korean summer feast to add zip to the same-old, same-old. Try dining Gangnam Style. You may well fall victim to kimchi addiction!

GOOD TASTE | Say Kimchi!

Summer's upon us, patio days are here, and it's time to try a new al fresco menu. Forget burgers and ribs — say hello to banchan and galbi!

By Barbara Ramsay Orr Photography By Harry Gils & Dana Cowie Gils

Sakai's Whe Dup Bap is a delicious mix of chopped assorted sashimi on lettuce and spring mix, served with chojang (Korean hot sauce) for mixing.
  • Sakai's Whe Dup Bap is a delicious mix of chopped assorted sashimi on lettuce and spring mix, served with chojang (Korean hot sauce) for mixing.

Put on some Psy tunes, get out the Sujeo (Korean eating utensils, comprised of stainless chopsticks and a long spoon) and crack open a cold bottle of Hite beer.
Korean food has been slow to infiltrate North American tables, but recently it has assumed more prominence as Korean restaurants and grocery stores increase in number and knowledge of this exotic cuisine has spread.
We're lucky in this area to have a good sprinkling of authentic Korean places where we can sample the cuisine or buy the ingredients to make our own bibimbap.
And a fine cuisine it is — healthy, highly varied, fresh and flavourful. Its flavours are created from various combinations of sesame oil, soybean paste, soy sauce, garlic and, most importantly, chili pepper, which gives it its distinctive spicy taste.
John Kim, who manages Sakai Japanese and Korean Restaurant in Burlington, explained some of the fine points of Korean dining. "The surprising thing about Korean food is the amazing diversity, when you consider how small the country is. But each region has developed its own specialties. Mountainous regions developed methods of marinating and pickling ingredients, while regions close to the sea incorporated fresh seafood, fish and seaweed into their dishes. Because of the geography, farming on any large scale has always been difficult, but Koreans live with the seasons, harvesting mushrooms, herbs, vegetables and greens at their peak."
Kimchi, a fermented condiment made with cabbage, radish, scallions or cucumbers and red chilli peppers, is a staple at every meal. "Each region has its own kimchi," Kim tells me. "Some bury it in clay pots to mature, while others like it fresh and crispy. Some like it fermented until it is sour and clear. It varies a great deal. Every Korean cook has their own style, but it is an omnipresent and tasty accompaniment to almost every meal."
It's so ubiquitous that Koreans say 'kimchi' instead of 'cheese' for photographs!
At Sakai, the most popular Korean dish is Dol Shot Beebimbap — a dish of five types of blanched vegetables like carrots, daikon radish, spinach, and big head bean sprouts with marinated beef, topped with a fried egg and sesame oil and a house-made sauce. "It comes to the table in a sizzling stone bowl and everyone in the restaurant watches and decides they will order that next time," says Kim.
While the bibimbap is more of a cold weather dish, there is the Whe Du Bap for hot summer dining — chopped sashimi with salad greens and shredded daikon, topped with seaweed and served cold with a spicy sauce and steamed rice. "This is a great warm weather dish," says Kim. "It has a spicy kick with a bit of acidic sweetness to it and different textures with the crispy salad and fish. Very healthy. It is great served with a glass of soju — the distilled vodka-like drink so popular in Korea, it is the world's top-selling alcohol."
At Alirang, at the corner of Main and Locke in Hamilton, Bobby Cho presides over an unpretentious, but pleasantly relaxed, restaurant that serves authentic and delicious Korean specialties. It is the sister restaurant to Alirang in Ottawa.
" Sometimes customers who are not familiar with Korean dishes worry that the food will be too spicy. But we will always vary the level of spicyness," says Cho.
"We have been welcomed here by many Hamiltonians since we opened," Cho adds. "They keep coming back – that's a good sign!" The chef, Sil Kim, trained at culinary college in Korea and has practiced his craft in Korea and Ireland for 15 years.
The restaurant greets you with hot tea – in my case, it was a tasty cup of corn tea.
Cho explains that many of his customers like to start with panzeon, a savoury seafood pancake, or miso soup.
Banchan comes with most of the main dishes and is an assortment of little side dishes and sauces served with white rice as an accompaniment to the main meal. While Alirang's banchan is simple, the side dishes can be quite diverse, with little bowls of kimchi, sliced radish, seaweed, spinach or bean sprouts, along with red pepper sauce and rice serving as the side story to many main dishes in Korean cuisine.
Alirang has a good representative list of main dishes. My favourite and new go-to for a quick lunch is naengmyun — cold Korean noodles in a spicy sauce, which is delicious, refreshing and light.
There's bibimbap and bulgogi — sliced marinated beef with mushrooms and onions — as well as galbi, grilled marinated short ribs, and oribokum — a duck and vegetable stir-fry. The pork bone stew is excellent, flavourful and hearty.
Dessert is not a big thing in Korean cuisine, but Alirang offers green tea ice cream as an elegant finish.
If you are enterprising enough to make your own Korean dishes, head to Grace Food Market, gracefoodmarket.com, on York Blvd. Owners Jongar and Hyun Hye Chung have run this intriguing supermarket for 16 years. The shelves are stocked with Jongar's homemade kimchi, Korean marinated short ribs for barbequing, rice, noodles, sauces and condiments. It's a place where you could spend hours discovering new and interesting products and getting ideas for a Korean feast. You can even pick up your sujeo here.
Try out a Korean summer feast to add zip to the same-old, same-old. Try dining Gangnam Style. You may well fall victim to kimchi addiction!

GOOD TASTE | Say Kimchi!

Summer's upon us, patio days are here, and it's time to try a new al fresco menu. Forget burgers and ribs — say hello to banchan and galbi!

By Barbara Ramsay Orr Photography By Harry Gils & Dana Cowie Gils

Sakai's Whe Dup Bap is a delicious mix of chopped assorted sashimi on lettuce and spring mix, served with chojang (Korean hot sauce) for mixing.
  • Sakai's Whe Dup Bap is a delicious mix of chopped assorted sashimi on lettuce and spring mix, served with chojang (Korean hot sauce) for mixing.

Put on some Psy tunes, get out the Sujeo (Korean eating utensils, comprised of stainless chopsticks and a long spoon) and crack open a cold bottle of Hite beer.
Korean food has been slow to infiltrate North American tables, but recently it has assumed more prominence as Korean restaurants and grocery stores increase in number and knowledge of this exotic cuisine has spread.
We're lucky in this area to have a good sprinkling of authentic Korean places where we can sample the cuisine or buy the ingredients to make our own bibimbap.
And a fine cuisine it is — healthy, highly varied, fresh and flavourful. Its flavours are created from various combinations of sesame oil, soybean paste, soy sauce, garlic and, most importantly, chili pepper, which gives it its distinctive spicy taste.
John Kim, who manages Sakai Japanese and Korean Restaurant in Burlington, explained some of the fine points of Korean dining. "The surprising thing about Korean food is the amazing diversity, when you consider how small the country is. But each region has developed its own specialties. Mountainous regions developed methods of marinating and pickling ingredients, while regions close to the sea incorporated fresh seafood, fish and seaweed into their dishes. Because of the geography, farming on any large scale has always been difficult, but Koreans live with the seasons, harvesting mushrooms, herbs, vegetables and greens at their peak."
Kimchi, a fermented condiment made with cabbage, radish, scallions or cucumbers and red chilli peppers, is a staple at every meal. "Each region has its own kimchi," Kim tells me. "Some bury it in clay pots to mature, while others like it fresh and crispy. Some like it fermented until it is sour and clear. It varies a great deal. Every Korean cook has their own style, but it is an omnipresent and tasty accompaniment to almost every meal."
It's so ubiquitous that Koreans say 'kimchi' instead of 'cheese' for photographs!
At Sakai, the most popular Korean dish is Dol Shot Beebimbap — a dish of five types of blanched vegetables like carrots, daikon radish, spinach, and big head bean sprouts with marinated beef, topped with a fried egg and sesame oil and a house-made sauce. "It comes to the table in a sizzling stone bowl and everyone in the restaurant watches and decides they will order that next time," says Kim.
While the bibimbap is more of a cold weather dish, there is the Whe Du Bap for hot summer dining — chopped sashimi with salad greens and shredded daikon, topped with seaweed and served cold with a spicy sauce and steamed rice. "This is a great warm weather dish," says Kim. "It has a spicy kick with a bit of acidic sweetness to it and different textures with the crispy salad and fish. Very healthy. It is great served with a glass of soju — the distilled vodka-like drink so popular in Korea, it is the world's top-selling alcohol."
At Alirang, at the corner of Main and Locke in Hamilton, Bobby Cho presides over an unpretentious, but pleasantly relaxed, restaurant that serves authentic and delicious Korean specialties. It is the sister restaurant to Alirang in Ottawa.
" Sometimes customers who are not familiar with Korean dishes worry that the food will be too spicy. But we will always vary the level of spicyness," says Cho.
"We have been welcomed here by many Hamiltonians since we opened," Cho adds. "They keep coming back – that's a good sign!" The chef, Sil Kim, trained at culinary college in Korea and has practiced his craft in Korea and Ireland for 15 years.
The restaurant greets you with hot tea – in my case, it was a tasty cup of corn tea.
Cho explains that many of his customers like to start with panzeon, a savoury seafood pancake, or miso soup.
Banchan comes with most of the main dishes and is an assortment of little side dishes and sauces served with white rice as an accompaniment to the main meal. While Alirang's banchan is simple, the side dishes can be quite diverse, with little bowls of kimchi, sliced radish, seaweed, spinach or bean sprouts, along with red pepper sauce and rice serving as the side story to many main dishes in Korean cuisine.
Alirang has a good representative list of main dishes. My favourite and new go-to for a quick lunch is naengmyun — cold Korean noodles in a spicy sauce, which is delicious, refreshing and light.
There's bibimbap and bulgogi — sliced marinated beef with mushrooms and onions — as well as galbi, grilled marinated short ribs, and oribokum — a duck and vegetable stir-fry. The pork bone stew is excellent, flavourful and hearty.
Dessert is not a big thing in Korean cuisine, but Alirang offers green tea ice cream as an elegant finish.
If you are enterprising enough to make your own Korean dishes, head to Grace Food Market, gracefoodmarket.com, on York Blvd. Owners Jongar and Hyun Hye Chung have run this intriguing supermarket for 16 years. The shelves are stocked with Jongar's homemade kimchi, Korean marinated short ribs for barbequing, rice, noodles, sauces and condiments. It's a place where you could spend hours discovering new and interesting products and getting ideas for a Korean feast. You can even pick up your sujeo here.
Try out a Korean summer feast to add zip to the same-old, same-old. Try dining Gangnam Style. You may well fall victim to kimchi addiction!

1 comment:

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