https://www.scmp.com/rss/147902/feed Andrea Oschetti is the founder of Hong Kong travel agency Blueflower and is writing a book that explores travel as a tool for self-flourishing. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Once people begin travelling again for pleasure, following the corona­virus lockdowns, there is likely to be a stronger emphasis on “meaningful travel”, we’re told, with people being more grateful for the privilege and perhaps more mindful of the impact their wandering has on environments and communities. With travel costs likely to rise to cover Covid-19-era protocols, Hongkongers may start to cut out long-weekend breaks to Phuket or Cebu and instead invest their money and carbon footprint in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/3090258/meaningful-travel-or-how-holiday-purpose-and-return-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/3090258/meaningful-travel-or-how-holiday-purpose-and-return-home?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jun 2020 16:00:15 +0000 Seen from an aeroplane, the Himalayas look like a fortress wall. A single line of the world’s highest peaks rises abruptly up from the plains of the Indian subcontinent, falling back into the high-altitude desert of the Tibetan plateau. For centuries, Tibetans and Hindus have seen the range as a symbol of something bigger than man; the shining white home of gods and, literally, the source of life: water. Nepalgunj, in southwest Nepal, is a hub for trade with India and the stepping stone to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2081142/snow-leopards-wintry-trail-magical-spiritual-dolpo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2081142/snow-leopards-wintry-trail-magical-spiritual-dolpo?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Mar 2017 08:00:15 +0000 Mtoto Shakwa is sitting in front of a slow-burning fire, deep in the Tanzanian bush. In his ancient click language, he tells of last night's fight with baboons on a steep ridge of the Great Rift Valley. Other men of the Hadza tribe listen attentively. They are smearing poison on arrows and tightening their bowstrings. A baboon is roasting on the fire. Shakwa leads the way into a landscape of spiked acacias and thorn bushes, hunting for birds. Each morning a few tourists get pricked and scratched... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1470956/about-bush-trekking-through-tanzania?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1470956/about-bush-trekking-through-tanzania?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Apr 2014 15:15:15 +0000 Isaac Goldstein often suffered from skin problems, but never realised that certain foods were triggering them until he started following his wife’s vegan diet and gave up animal products. “I soon realised when I dined out how much I was sensitive to certain foods,” says Goldstein, who discovered he is lactose intolerant. “It was enlightening.” As a cheese lover, he found it difficult to cut dairy from his diet. But after a period of abstinence, the taste of pizza or ricotta would make him feel... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1399126/away-dairies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1399126/away-dairies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jan 2014 18:15:30 +0000 I am a chef and I am in love with food: it has the power to make us healthy and happy. But it also has potential to make us fat. An obesity epidemic is under way. Worldwide, obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, according to the World Health Organisation. In Hong Kong, 37 per cent of those aged 18 to 64 are overweight or obese (a body mass index of 23 or greater), based on the Centre for Health Protection's Behavioural Risk Factor Survey published in April last year. Obesity is costly:... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1236885/healthy-gourmet-jamie-olivers-food-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1236885/healthy-gourmet-jamie-olivers-food-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Modern chefs use ingredients such as pectin, guar gum and soy lecithin to make their life easier in the kitchen and achieve superior results in their preparations. Those ingredients are easy to use and can be of help to chefs at home, too. The main barrier preventing their wider use at home is a resistance to anything that is perceived as chemical. If it is not natural, common sense says it is bad. But distinguishing what is natural from what is artificial is not easy. It is perhaps more of a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1226024/healthy-gourmet-not-all-additives-are-bad-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1226024/healthy-gourmet-not-all-additives-are-bad-you?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is said to have first suggested the healing power of food, when in 431BC he said: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." In the past decade, many studies have shown a relationship between what we eat and brain function. Flavanols have been associated with a decreased risk of dementia, according to the American Heart Association. Research by the Alzheimer's Association in 2009 showed that eating a "heart healthy" diet and participation in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1199492/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1199492/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A revolution is under way: the cooking rules of the past are being overthrown by a modern approach that draws on scientific insights to make food tastier and healthier. Fear not: this does not mean that Sunday's roast will be served with the consistency of jelly or that a family reunion will feature pumpkin caviar. It is about understanding what happens to food as it cooks in order to make great meals consistently. At the heart of this revolution is accurate temperature control. Home cooks have... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1158295/healthy-gourmet-slow-cooking-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1158295/healthy-gourmet-slow-cooking-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 At the end of the world, at the bottom of South America, just short of Antarctica, is Isla Navarino. This remote island looks south to Cape Horn and its fearsome sea. To the north it looks over the Beagle Channel, named after the boat Charles Darwin sailed on the voyage that led to the theory of evolution. Navarino is now a paradise for hikers and fly-fishers. Pristine rivers can still be found if you hike for a few days and spend a week in nature. My wife and I recently spent five days in the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1153155/hot-and-spicy-dish-end-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1153155/hot-and-spicy-dish-end-world?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 An important principle of health is to respect the cultural and emotional connections one has to different foods. Argentina is a meat-lover's paradise. Argentineans consume an average of 60 kilograms of beef per year; it's an important part of their identity. Pablo Rivero is the owner of Don Julio, one of the best parrillas, or steak houses, in Buenos Aires. I spent three days with him recently, learning his secrets. Rivero says meat is a family tradition: his grandfather owned a 25-hectare... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1137960/healthy-gourmet-upper-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1137960/healthy-gourmet-upper-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Although we know some things are bad for us - like hydrogenated fat or too much sugar - there is no scientific agreement that one kind of diet is better than another. Whatever you like to eat, knowing how to cook it properly makes a big difference to your health. For the next three weeks this column will look at the worlds of vegans, carnivores and piscivores, and provide some tips on how to cook in the healthiest way. My cousin Simona Ferrante has been a vegan since she discovered a few years... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1133039/healthy-gourmet-way-vegan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1133039/healthy-gourmet-way-vegan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Do you love cooking but get nervous when you invite guests for dinner? Cooking at home is an opportunity to eat healthily and a source of joy. It also has a therapeutic side: while concentrating on cutting, measuring, tasting, peeling and stirring, daily worries and troubles fade away and peace is regained. Many clients are fascinated when I cook in front of them. They tell me of their love for cooking, but confess that they would be terrified to make dinner for 20 people. Even hosting four... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1127902/healthy-gourmet-courage-her-confections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1127902/healthy-gourmet-courage-her-confections?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 I am making a commitment for the New Year. I want to run a marathon in under three hours, like I did in New York in October 2009. It's relatively easy to adopt a running plan, but I find it difficult to drop down to race weight, a fundamental component of performance. My body has a tendency to accumulate fat. For the last two months I have not raced, relaxed my eating habits and went home to Italy for the holidays, which meant eating too much of the Italian Christmas cake, Panettone. I need to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1122082/healthy-gourmet-running-lean-greens-and-beans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1122082/healthy-gourmet-running-lean-greens-and-beans?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Eating habits develop in our youth and our parents' relationship with food influences us more than what they preach. When I was a kid I did not like fish and vegetables. I went to a Catholic school run by nuns where discipline was strict. Some evenings, at home, my mother would find in the pocket of my uniform the classic Italian panino, with a hole in the top, filled with a mixture of what I did not want to eat but was forced to. "I never pushed you to eat fish nor vegetables," says my mum,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1116641/healthy-gourmet-mothers-table-influence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1116641/healthy-gourmet-mothers-table-influence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 We like energy bars because they are convenient. Bars are great for lunch hours spent working out, for a post-hike snack in a remote country park and for a bite on the bicycle when fuss-free energy is key. But as far as health is concerned, the bars we buy at the stores are not a substitute for a well-balanced meal made with real food. Even during prolonged exercise, there are better alternatives: home-baked bars, low-fat cakes, boiled rice patties, fresh and dried fruit, baked potatoes, and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1107096/healthy-gourmet-how-find-good-bar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1107096/healthy-gourmet-how-find-good-bar?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 I can run six marathons in six days in the Arabian Desert, and cycle thousands of kilometres along the ancient Silk Road. But after one evening of cooking for my guests at home, my back is incredibly sore. Good posture is a critical aspect of well-being. Back and neck pains can be reduced if we learn how to stand tall, sit properly in front of the computer, and go about our everyday movements with the proper posture. Alas, bad habits coupled with weak core muscles make us arch our back... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1102236/healthy-gourmet-straighten-and-fry-right?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1102236/healthy-gourmet-straighten-and-fry-right?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Vegetables have an unfair reputation for being boring and bland. Foie gras, tenderloin, salmon and caviar are often seen as the stars that make great dinners. Carrots, fennel, rocket and pumpkin only play supporting roles. Not any more. The most exciting contemporary chefs in the world are bringing vegetables into the spotlight of gourmet cuisine. Today, heavy cookery is not what gourmet is about. Instead, light dishes with delicate but decisive and unique flavours are the best. Chef Luca Fantin... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1098571/back-garden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1098571/back-garden?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:13:08 +0000 Occasional indulgences such as desserts are important to our well-being. But how can desserts be made healthier? To find out, I met Gregoire Michaud, pastry chef at the Four Seasons Hong Kong Hotel, who creates breads and desserts for three-star Michelin restaurant Caprice and Lung King Heen. He's also an avid food blogger gregoiremichaud.com and an advocate for healthy eating. "If there is a secret to eating well, it is to cook and bake with real ingredients," says Michaud. Processed food... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1086160/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1086160/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Obesity and malnutrition may be at opposite ends of the nutrition spectrum, but they're both pressing problems in today's world. About one billion people in the world are hungry, while roughly an equal number suffer from obesity, diabetes, and other health-related issues of overconsumption. Centre for Health Protection statistics published last year showed that 41.1 per cent of people aged 18 to 64 in Hong Kong were overweight or obese. Four in five people fail to meet the recommendation of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1080825/initiative-aims-redress-global-food-imbalance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1080825/initiative-aims-redress-global-food-imbalance?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 I am disappointed with the Hong Kong dining scene. Food has always been a prominent feature in the city's culture. The best ingredients from around the globe arrive fresh here, thanks to an efficient supply chain and no duty on imports. Hongkongers spend lavishly on dining for both personal pleasure and corporate entertaining. But in my opinion, many restaurants serve mediocre food that's poor value for money. Compare Hong Kong with New York, Tokyo, Milan, or London; in those cities, for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1075378/grassroots-pantry-puts-quality-over-location?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1075378/grassroots-pantry-puts-quality-over-location?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 More than a decade ago, when organic farming was given little attention in Hong Kong, chef Margaret Xu started championing the from-farm-to-table process at her vegetable garden and secluded kitchen in Yuen Long. "Organic is not a business opportunity, it is a life choice," says Xu. "Organic farms take longer to grow crops, they require more labour, and their output is not reliable. [But it] improves the environment, gives us healthier food and, possibly because of the higher cost, helps us to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1072491/healthy-gourmet-straight-earth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1072491/healthy-gourmet-straight-earth?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Forget dieting: it slows your metabolism, reduces your lean mass and accumulates toxins. Soon enough, you will put back what have you lost. Forget counting calories: quality calories are full of nutrients, while poor calories increase our appetite. Cooking techniques are much more important than the calorie count; a chef can heal or poison by the way he cooks. Cook your food simply and quickly. Forget the complexity of the commercially driven diet industry. The key principles for healthiness are... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1067224/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1067224/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 When Hippocrates proffered the sage advice "let food be thy medicine", we had not yet been confronted with preservative-laden pre-packaged meals and a microwave oven to cook them in. We are constantly exposed to environmental toxins, found in everything from plastic containers to dry-cleaned clothes to skin and hair care products. Toxins are also produced as a by-product of our digestive and metabolic processes. And we may even unknowingly be eating toxic food. I believe our bodies produce and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1061685/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1061685/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 "What you do is memorable, when you put your heart in it," grandmother Elda used to tell me. As a young boy, I spent long afternoons amid the warmth of her stoves, waiting in anticipation for the week when she prepared the family's tomato sauce supply for the whole year. Her home was full of tomato baskets, empty bottles that needed to be sterilised in boiling water, and the pots where the precious sauce was cooked for long hours. My help was much in demand and I was excused for having tomato... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1056416/healthy-gourmet-joy-home-made-pasta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1056416/healthy-gourmet-joy-home-made-pasta?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 French poet Charles Baudelaire liked to walk by Honfleur harbour in France. What he saw there inspired him. He noted in his diary: "Those large and beautiful ships, invisibly balanced on tranquil waters, those hardy ships that look dreamy and idle, don't they seem to whisper to us in silent tongues: 'When shall we set sail for happiness?' '' Today, if travels are to be a way to act out our dreams, my advice is that you get off the beaten track. Put away the guide books and do away with tour... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1051629/healthy-gourmet-mauros-sardines-toast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1051629/healthy-gourmet-mauros-sardines-toast?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1046093/beat-those-triathlon-blues-timely-carb-fix?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1046093/beat-those-triathlon-blues-timely-carb-fix?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Eating on an aircraft is a dreadful prospect. Especially in economy class, airlines provide a poorer version than what is on display at frozen aisles at a supermarket. We, the passengers, are guilty too: our behaviour towards food changes on planes. We lower the standard of what we allow ourselves to eat because it is difficult to say no to free food. However, we can eat better when we fly and we can have hope for the future, as airlines are recognising that better food might help them win more... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1039122/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1039122/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Don't trust a fat chef. The gourmand who ate dishes swimming in butter is a hero of the past. Today we know better: we know the impact of food on our bodies and have discovered new cooking techniques to achieve higher levels of sensory pleasures without compromising our health. Trust someone who looks healthy to do the cooking for you. As with all skilled chefs, he will have the same goal of serving a feast for your palate. But his personal practice of healthy eating will make him realise the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1033452/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1033452/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Two months ago, I cycled 2,000 kilometres on ancient Roman roads from Sicily to Istanbul, crossing Italy, Albania, Macedonia, northern Greece and Turkey. As a chef, I wanted to explore my Italian culinary heritage and see how it connects with other cultures in the Mediterranean basin. In the past few columns I shared my culinary journey through southern Italy; today I will take you across the Adriatic, heading east. "Our food culture constantly changes. What our grandparents ate is different to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1028760/healthy-gourmet-adriatic-fare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1028760/healthy-gourmet-adriatic-fare?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 "Cooking brings joy to life," says Benedetta Rossi, who works at Hotel Approdo in Salento, the fourth stop on my culinary tour of southern Italy. "The colours and the perfumes of our land make me happy and draw me to the stoves." Rossi graduated from law school, but left city life behind to work in the family's hotel and restaurant. At Hotel Approdo hotelapprodo.com she is in charge of pastries: "I'm very happy here. Cooking fills my life with joy," she says. Food can be therapeutic. When I... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1023578/colourful-cooking-helps-improve-mood-chef-and-diners-alike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1023578/colourful-cooking-helps-improve-mood-chef-and-diners-alike?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Altomonte is a beautiful village in the Calabria region of southern Italy, and while its people may be poor they are also wise. "We make good food out of necessity, not by will; we cannot but follow the principles of simplicity and seasonality," says Vincenzo Barbieri, owner of Barbieri (barbierigroup.it), a restaurant and hotel perched on a hill with amazing views of the countryside. "We don't give industrial food to our animals, but our leftovers. We do not have the money to invest in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1019313/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1019313/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A few weeks ago, I wrote about how healthy food can and should be tasty. This is contrary to a common perception that healthy food is unexciting and antisocial. Fresh, quality ingredients, cooked well, balanced in flavour and combined with herbs are far better than dishes that try to be tasty by using sauces and fats, which mask the real flavour of the main ingredients. This week, continuing on our tour of Italy, I share with you some principles for constructing the flavour of dishes, so you can... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1011417/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1011417/healthy-gourmet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000