https://www.scmp.com/rss/501826/feed Silvia Marchetti is a Rome-based freelance reporter. She covers finance, economics, travel and culture for a wide range of international media. Silvia has a master degree in journalism and has lived abroad most of her life in Switzerland, Russia, Holland and Indonesia. She’s fluent in four languages. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Travellers with a sweet tooth crossing southern Europe, the Middle East and China would probably be surprised to find they’re eating treats along the way which share a common heritage. One is halva, a whitish-brown, grain-based confection with a sandy texture which can be filled with honey, pistachio, nougat, almonds or other nuts. It’s called helva in Turkey and halwa in Arabic countries, but Chinese people know it as sutang – popular variations of which include huasheng sutang (with peanuts)... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3153860/how-halva-baklava-and-turkish-delight-were-baked-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3153860/how-halva-baklava-and-turkish-delight-were-baked-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Oct 2021 04:45:06 +0000 In Italy, people eat pasta on a daily basis. They never get tired of it, and not just because it tastes so good. It’s such a versatile ingredient. There are 300 listed pasta shapes, according to Italy’s pasta lobby, the International Pasta Organisation. And each shape has dozens of variants, depending on where exactly in Italy it is made and eaten, and which sauces and toppings are used. Pasta is a matter of territorial belonging and food identity, says chef Anna Maria Pellegrino, a member of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3150534/little-tongues-monk-chokers-and-slap-across-face-pastas-myriad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3150534/little-tongues-monk-chokers-and-slap-across-face-pastas-myriad?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Sep 2021 06:45:23 +0000 Fried dough is almost ubiquitous. Different cultures put their own spin on it, but it’s popular because it’s stomach-filling, delicious and cheap to make. In Spain and Portugal, people munch on churros – long, golden-brown knots, curls or strips of deep-fried dough, which they dip in chocolate. In China there’s something similar – fried dough sticks called youtiao, which can be eaten with congee or sandwiched in flaky pan-fried bread. Are they related, and if so to what extent? It’s been... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3147120/did-churros-beloved-spain-and-portugal-come-china-where-fried?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3147120/did-churros-beloved-spain-and-portugal-come-china-where-fried?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Sep 2021 05:31:57 +0000 At first glance the only thing that China and cheese seem to have in common are their first two letters. When one thinks of Chinese food traditions, cheese doesn’t come to mind as it would do for countries like France or Italy. Yet China has a long history of making savoury cheese products. Most are made in peripheral regions where ethnic minorities have been fermenting or culturing milk from various animals for centuries. And although cheese consumption is not mainstream in China, it is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3143737/cheese-china-has-long-history-made-buffalo-yak-goats-cows-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3143737/cheese-china-has-long-history-made-buffalo-yak-goats-cows-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Aug 2021 10:45:17 +0000 Plantations of tropical fruits – bananas, mangoes, papayas, passion fruits, finger limes, pomelo and avocados – are rising along the shores of the Mediterranean, where fig trees and olive groves have grown for centuries. Travellers visiting southern Europe are often surprised to see lychee and kiwi trees, pitaya (dragon fruit) bushes and other exotic fruit typically found in tropical or subtropical Asian and South American countries. What is going on? Thanks to climate change, a fruit revolution... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3141023/bananas-mangoes-europe-grows-tropical-fruit-and-you-can-thank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3141023/bananas-mangoes-europe-grows-tropical-fruit-and-you-can-thank?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jul 2021 04:15:08 +0000 Marco Polo wasn’t the only adventurer who returned from China with a treasure trove of tales and mesmerising accounts of the Orient. For centuries, missionaries and traders were the savvy travellers who unlocked the mysteries of the Far East, relating them to avid European scholars and readers hungry for all things exotic. In 1666, almost 400 years after Polo’s adventures, Florentine writer and scientist Lorenzo Magalotti published Relazione della China (“Report of China”), in which he... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3140186/jesuits-rich-portrait-17th-century-china-told?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3140186/jesuits-rich-portrait-17th-century-china-told?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jul 2021 06:15:09 +0000 For Italians, pasta is their daily bread – some even eat it twice a day. It is a communal dish – one that families enjoy while talking over the dinner table. However, unless they have a traditional granny at home making fresh egg pasta, most rely on packaged pastasciutta – dry pasta. Not all packaged pasta is created equal. At the supermarket, you’ll find mass-produced brands such as Barilla and De Cecco. You need to go to a high-end store or restaurant to get a taste of real artisan-made... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3137460/spaghetti-fusilli-why-artisan-pasta-made-love-italian-family?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3137460/spaghetti-fusilli-why-artisan-pasta-made-love-italian-family?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jun 2021 04:15:00 +0000 The coronavirus pandemic is likely to create a “new normal” when it comes to travel and tourism. But when the borders have all reopened, what might that look like? We asked experts to share their views on what Chinese and East Asian travellers will be looking for in a post-Covid-19 world, and how the West could again woo such visitors.  Tourism will probably make a significant recovery before the coronavirus has been fully tamed, however, so John Ap, director of the Global Centre for Tourism... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3136911/travel-after-coronavirus-pandemic-chinese-tourists-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3136911/travel-after-coronavirus-pandemic-chinese-tourists-will?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jun 2021 02:45:00 +0000 Top-quality extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) evokes images of sunny Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Greece and Italy – places where olive trees have been grown for millennia for their precious essence. However, thanks to a number of Chinese and Japanese producers who are making olive oil whose quality is on par with or better than that of their Italian and Spanish counterparts, t his picture is changing . EVOO does not tend to rank highly in Asian diets, where soy sauce and sesame oil rule... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3134905/chinese-and-japanese-extra-virgin-olive-oil-producers-beating?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3134905/chinese-and-japanese-extra-virgin-olive-oil-producers-beating?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 May 2021 04:37:14 +0000 In Japan, the road to becoming a sushi chef is long and slow. Apprentices spend years doing small tasks for their master before they’re allowed to start making the shari (vinegared rice). Creativity behind the sushi counter is subtle, and aficionados will speak with reverence about a specific chef’s lineage – under which master he worked for and how long it took before he was allowed, with the master’s blessing, to set up his own sushi restaurant. Outside Japan and a few other countries, though,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3131426/sushi-around-world-california-rolls-and-philadelphia-rolls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3131426/sushi-around-world-california-rolls-and-philadelphia-rolls?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Apr 2021 20:15:05 +0000 Silence, seclusion and surroundings that consist of nothing but water and pristine nature – have you ever dreamed of owning a private island, or wondered what the people who do rule over their own little universe get up to while they’re there? Here, five island owners provide us a glimpse of their exclusive paradises. IT businessman Grammy Leung, 41, is a Taoist who has picked a 1.6-hectare (4-acre), water-drop-shaped island in a lake amid the wilderness of Nova Scotia, Canada, on which to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3130451/five-private-island-owners-talk-about-getting-away-it-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3130451/five-private-island-owners-talk-about-getting-away-it-all?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Apr 2021 09:15:09 +0000 In Italy, people with a craving for wonton refer to them as ravioli cinesi, or “Chinese ravioli”, which is also how they are listed on the menus of Chinese restaurants in the country. And yet in Hong Kong, tortellini and ravioli are often described as Italian wonton. Is this just because the stuffed dumplings look alike, or is there an ancient link and a common ground that straddles the line between history and myth? There are infinite varieties of stuffed dough across the world, from Russian... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3126761/history-dumpling-ravioli-wonton-gyoza-why-they-all-belong-same?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3126761/history-dumpling-ravioli-wonton-gyoza-why-they-all-belong-same?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Mar 2021 04:45:18 +0000 Indulging in small dishes, nibbles and appetisers set in the centre of the table is a communal eating tradition around the world. Friends, relatives and colleagues get together to share from the same plates, often while enjoying a drink. From the numerous colourful meze dishes of North Africa and the Middle East to Spain’s tapas, with small portions of grilled prawns and expensive jamón, to the bowls of prime black Kalamata olives enjoyed in Greece, and Italy’s appetisers of mozzarella finger... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3119700/how-sharing-snacks-tapas-dim-sum-and-meze-feeds-primal-need-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3119700/how-sharing-snacks-tapas-dim-sum-and-meze-feeds-primal-need-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Jan 2021 18:30:12 +0000 Spanish paella, nowadays usually an aromatic combination of mussels, prawns, clams, squid, vegetables and chicken with saffron rice, cooked in a large pan, is a dish popular dish around the world, but finding an example of the original recipe isn’t so easy. It’s probably not “the real thing” unless the recipe comes from a specific region of Spain, and if it includes seafood – as most popular paellas do – it’s definitely just another variant. The birthplace of paella is the autonomous Valencian... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3118874/spanish-paella-humble-peasant-meal-rice-dish-famous-around?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3118874/spanish-paella-humble-peasant-meal-rice-dish-famous-around?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Jan 2021 09:15:12 +0000 Sweet or savoury, enjoyed as appetisers or snacks, tiny puffs with a variety of fillings are a delicacy across Southeast Asia. From Malaysia and Singapore to Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, various types of puff are based on a popular colonial import. Curry puffs – called epok-epok and karipap in Singapore and Malaysia and a street-food staple – comprise curried potato, chicken and other ingredients stuffed in fried or baked pastry. British colonialists in Asia came up with the name “curry... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3117240/curry-puffs-how-portuguese-snack-arrived-southeast-asia-1500s?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3117240/curry-puffs-how-portuguese-snack-arrived-southeast-asia-1500s?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Jan 2021 02:45:07 +0000 From a breakfast treat wrapped in banana leaves to marinated beef and sweet breads, a range of mouth-watering delicacies in the Philippines can trace their origins to Spain and beyond. With distinctive Spanish flavours, and indirect influences from the Americas, the dishes are the legacy of the colonial era from 1565 to 1898, when the archipelago was ruled by the former European power. Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, a veteran food historian in the Philippines, is a cultural heritage advocate and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3116334/tamales-adobo-leche-flan-spanish-mexican-dishes-filipinos-took?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3116334/tamales-adobo-leche-flan-spanish-mexican-dishes-filipinos-took?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jan 2021 04:45:05 +0000 As people around the world gather (most likely virtually) to bid farewell to a year we’d rather forget, there will be a lot of toasting. In Germany, you might hear prost as the glasses clink. In Spanish, the word is salud. In France and Italy, the toast of choice is cin cin. Earlier this year, a video of a man raising a glass to himself while under coronavirus lockdown in northern Italy racked up millions of views. His toast: cin cin.   Every time I feel despair creep up on me, i watch the ‘chin... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chin-chin-how-chinese-phrase-became-italys-favorite-drinking-toast/article/3115019?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chin-chin-how-chinese-phrase-became-italys-favorite-drinking-toast/article/3115019?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Dec 2020 04:00:08 +0000 An overloaded table in a restaurant in the Dutch capital Amsterdam is covered with plates of succulent Indonesian food: gado-gado (a cooked vegetable salad in peanut sauce), rice, pickled vegetables, satay skewers of fish and chicken, prawn crackers, spicy beef rendang, curries, and of course, the ever-present sambal, or chilli sauce. This feast is called rijsttafel, or rice table. Devised by the Dutch colonisers of Indonesia, it is based on a variety of dining styles primarily from the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3113988/indonesian-food-colonial-twist-how-feast-rijsttafel-or-rice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3113988/indonesian-food-colonial-twist-how-feast-rijsttafel-or-rice?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Dec 2020 04:15:07 +0000 As Christmas and the New Year draw close, people around the world are preparing to clink glasses and toast to a hopefully brighter, happier and post-pandemic future. In France, Italy and sometimes Britain, the word for “cheers” has Chinese origins. “Cin-cin!” (pronounced chin-chin) is uttered by Italians when they raise and clink their glasses together in a toast before sipping from a flute of spumante sparkling wine as they look each other directly in the eye. Being superstitious, Italians... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3113025/chin-chin-how-chinese-drinking-toast-became-popular-europe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3113025/chin-chin-how-chinese-drinking-toast-became-popular-europe?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Dec 2020 04:45:08 +0000 Pizza is more than just a famous Italian flatbread. Making the savoury dish is an art form and there’s only one original pizza: the “veracious”, or true, Neapolitan, made according to strict regulations. Forget Pizza Hut and other commercial chains. Authentic pizza was born in the city of Naples, has a distinctive flavour and crust, and is generally topped with tomatoes and mozzarella. The traditional recipe is protected by a consortium – the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, or Association... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3111895/how-asia-fell-love-real-neapolitan-pizza-and-disciples-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3111895/how-asia-fell-love-real-neapolitan-pizza-and-disciples-who?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Dec 2020 09:15:09 +0000 Excitement has rippled through a small settlement in Sicily, southern Italy, with the news that Jill Jacobs Biden, a descendant of an immigrant from the village, is almost certain to become the first Italian-American US first lady. Local amateur historian Antonio Federico says Jill Biden’s Italian great-grandfather was a native of the village of Gesso in Messina, in northeast Sicily, and emigrated to the United States in 1900, where he changed his family’s surname from Giacoppo to the more... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3109975/how-jill-biden-could-lead-recovery-sicilian-village?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3109975/how-jill-biden-could-lead-recovery-sicilian-village?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:30:17 +0000 Sicily’s premium pistachios are so coveted that local police use helicopter patrols to guard the harvest. Long known for its connections to the mafia, Italy’s southernmost province also has to contend with pistachio hijacking. Dubbed “green gold”, or just “the emerald”, this choice pistachio variety is grown in the countryside around the town of Bronte, where the black volcanic soil of Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has made the terrain particularly fertile. The most... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3108713/story-pistachio-nuts-origins-middle-east-and-how-italy-grows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3108713/story-pistachio-nuts-origins-middle-east-and-how-italy-grows?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Nov 2020 10:15:18 +0000 Refreshing anise-flavoured drinks that turn cloudy white with the addition of water are savoured in warm countries of the Mediterranean region. From southern Europe to the Arab world, each nation has its own anise beverage, usually enjoyed as an after-meal digestif or in the late afternoon, and over the centuries they have become iconic drinks reflecting national identity. There’s sambuca and anisetta in Italy, pastis in France, ouzo in Greece, raki in Turkey, and arak in Lebanon and other parts... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3106225/how-anise-went-medicinal-plant-raki-sambuca-ouzo-and-pastis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3106225/how-anise-went-medicinal-plant-raki-sambuca-ouzo-and-pastis?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Oct 2020 04:45:13 +0000 There is a stretch of land reaching across the northern Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy that has become known throughout the country as “Little China”. Rice paddies that seasonally become a watery checkerboard spread across fertile meadows once covered in marshlands. Here, old farms called cascine produce the country’s famed rice varieties. Italy’s rice triangle, where 92 per cent of the rice production is concentrated, lies between the cities of Novara, Vercelli and Pavia, in the hills... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3098295/crunchy-outside-soft-inside-secrets-italian-rice-used-risotto?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3098295/crunchy-outside-soft-inside-secrets-italian-rice-used-risotto?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2020 04:45:17 +0000 The idea of feasting on blood may conjure visions of vampires for anyone with a delicate stomach, but from China’s consumption of fresh cobra’s blood as an aphrodisiac to the European taste for blood sausages, animal blood is popular around the world. Both Asian and Western culinary cultures feature blood recipes deeply rooted in local traditions that have become gourmet delicacies or sought-after for supposed medicinal purposes. In China, for instance, deer’s blood is thought to boost... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3096096/foods-made-blood-around-world-dishes-recipes-and-why-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3096096/foods-made-blood-around-world-dishes-recipes-and-why-people?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Aug 2020 20:30:10 +0000 A wide variety of fish sauces and condiments can be found throughout Asia, adapted to local cooking traditions. According to experts, they are intriguingly similar to an ancient Roman dressing known as garum. One in particular, Vietnam’s iconic nuoc mam – made with fermented fish, usually anchovies, and salt – bears a resemblance in taste, composition and texture to the garum fish sauce first produced around 100BC, according to food historian Giorgio Franchetti. He is a scholar of ancient Roman... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3094604/did-fish-sauce-vietnam-come-ancient-rome-silk-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3094604/did-fish-sauce-vietnam-come-ancient-rome-silk-road?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jul 2020 23:15:14 +0000 From sticky cones of vanilla and chocolate to elegant scoops of exotic fruit sorbet, the globally relished treat of ice cream has origins that can be traced to Mesopotamia – an ancient region that corresponds to today’s Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey – as far back as 1200BC. It is believed that ice cream as the world knows it now was an Italian creation – yet a 12th century Chinese ode, written by poet Yang Wanli in praise of an icy, crunchy refreshment that “appears congealed and yet it seems to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3089279/history-ice-cream-iced-slush-vanilla-cone-was-it-invented?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3089279/history-ice-cream-iced-slush-vanilla-cone-was-it-invented?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jun 2020 20:30:05 +0000 Ever thought of buying an island in the Atlantic Ocean, in places that usually don’t come to mind like Scandinavia or Great Britain? Now might be the right time to secure a green slice of untouched northern paradise for the cost of a city apartment. While tropical isles, of course, may have their own special allure and dreamy vibe, prices in North Europe can be much more affordable and it is possible to snatch a corner of Nordic peace at costs usually unimaginable when it comes to owning private... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3088398/island-less-cost-tiny-city-apartment-escape-scandinavia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3088398/island-less-cost-tiny-city-apartment-escape-scandinavia?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jun 2020 12:00:14 +0000 How many times have you sprayed eau de cologne on your wrist or neck and assumed it was invented by a French or German perfumer? Although it translates from French as “water from Cologne”, a city in Germany, eau de cologne has Italian roots that have remained largely hidden over the centuries. The iconic citrus, herby scent was created in the late 1600s by an Italian apothecary named Giovanni Paolo Feminis, who moved to Cologne to seek his fortune. It was not originally intended to be a perfume... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3085613/real-story-eau-de-cologne-neither-french-nor-german?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3085613/real-story-eau-de-cologne-neither-french-nor-german?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 May 2020 06:30:14 +0000 They may be lacking in the white powdery sand and swaying palm trees of tropical Asia and the Caribbean, but private islands in temperate Europe are blessed with treasures of their own. An island-lover could spend years exploring a constellation of water-bound properties for sale in the region, including forested havens in seas, lakes or rivers, with views of mountain ranges or rolling green hills. Among them are rocky Scottish islets, home to seabirds and buffeted by crashing waves, and Italian... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3082948/private-islands-sale-europe-italy-finland-ireland-birds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3082948/private-islands-sale-europe-italy-finland-ireland-birds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2020 07:00:17 +0000 Pasta is Italy’s staple food, but it’s not only Italians who indulge in platefuls of the doughy concoction every day. People all over the world adore it. It comes in more than 300 shapes: long, as in spaghetti; flat, as in fettuccine; hollow (bucatini); short, as in penne; the butterfly-shaped farfalle and ear-shaped orecchiette; tubular (rigatoni); and stuffed, in varieties such as tortellini and ravioli. It can be bought dry or freshly made from egg-based dough. World Pasta Day, held each... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3080891/chinese-noodles-not-inspiration-pasta-historians-say-its-roots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3080891/chinese-noodles-not-inspiration-pasta-historians-say-its-roots?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2020 20:00:11 +0000 While more than half the world is in partial or total lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, with streets deserted and people forced to self-isolate at home, there’s one man whose life hasn’t changed at all. And he has a few survival tips to share with people who are having trouble coping with endless days and nights spent under the same roof. Fausto Mottalini, 69, is the only inhabitant of a medieval Alpine “ghost hamlet” called Sostila in northern Italy. He has lived as a hermit for the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3079840/self-isolation-tips-21st-century-hermit-ghost-village-alps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3079840/self-isolation-tips-21st-century-hermit-ghost-village-alps?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Apr 2020 09:00:16 +0000 When we stuff ourselves with yummy chocolate eggs and bunnies at Easter, do we ever stop to think about why we actually eat them? Many religious celebrations come with a great dose of delicious goodies, all with a highly nutritional – and sacred – value. The egg represents life itself, and its key symbolism predates the rise of religion. As with many holidays, the origins of Easter traditions are rooted in paganism. The Ancient Romans were among the first to paint red freshly hatched eggs to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3079190/easter-traditions-why-we-eat-chocolate-and-why-all-eggs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3079190/easter-traditions-why-we-eat-chocolate-and-why-all-eggs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2020 07:00:13 +0000 Rustic Easter baskets, playful bunnies, huge chocolate eggs … but also nasty bonfires, skeletons and spanking girls – playfully, of course. For Christians, Easter is the most important religious event of all, even more than Christmas, but everyone around the world has taken to celebrate the consumerist, yummy and fun part of it. This year, coronavirus lockdowns and calls for social distancing mean that, in many countries, traditional street-staged Easter events will be called off, but – from the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3079220/death-dances-water-fights-6-wacky-ways-easter-would?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3079220/death-dances-water-fights-6-wacky-ways-easter-would?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2020 05:00:13 +0000 When it comes to coffee, Italians are dead serious. They love straight, pure caffeine injections, and many are addicted to espresso or the sharper-still ristretto (an intense, 15 millimetre dose). Forget long coffee. A small round coffee cup – not a mug – is gulped down on the run while standing at a bar counter, like a tequila shot. No sitting down at tables, no lingering. The traditional Italian coffee culture is drink and go. Coffee is an infusion of black adrenaline that is often tasted... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3075791/coffee-wars-italians-adore-espresso-what-about-matcha?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3075791/coffee-wars-italians-adore-espresso-what-about-matcha?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2020 01:00:19 +0000 One of the worst mistakes tourists make in Italy is ordering a dish of macaroni and cheese, thinking they’re in for the treat of an authentic take on their favourite pasta dish, only to find the waiter frowning and eyebrows raised. “Eh?” Origins series: the stories behind our favourite dishes View this post on Instagram A post shared by MŌPA • VEGGIE FOOD • PARIS (@mopa_restaurant) on Mar 5, 2020 at 1:13am PST Mac and cheese doesn’t even exist in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3075719/mac-and-cheese-can-classic-comfort-food-be-considered?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3075719/mac-and-cheese-can-classic-comfort-food-be-considered?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2020 04:00:24 +0000 The finest Earl Grey tea and the luxury oils and essences used in stress-killing aromatherapy have one thing in common. They’re made with the pure essence of bergamot, a pricey citrus hybrid shaped like an orange but yellow like a lemon, which grows in a restricted patch of land in the far south of Italy. Few are aware that 95 per cent of the world’s bergamot comes from the tip of Calabria, an area stretching just 140km (87 miles) along the rugged Ionian Sea coast. Dubbed Calabria’s “green... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3064697/bergamot-perfume-oil-and-tea-food-and-juices-how-fruits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3064697/bergamot-perfume-oil-and-tea-food-and-juices-how-fruits?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2020 21:00:17 +0000 Pizza is disputably one of the world’s best-loved dishes, exported and appropriated across the globe. The word pizza is one of the most clicked Italian words online in China, according to Italy’s linguistic academy Crusca. But how did this world-beating combination of dough, cheese and tomato come to be? “Pizza is the symbol of the Neapolitan lifestyle, part of our soul,” says Guglielmo Vuolo, pizza master chef at the True Neapolitan Pizza Association, who tours the world to train chefs in the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3052876/pizza-origins-how-did-beloved-dish-come-be-and-what-do?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3052876/pizza-origins-how-did-beloved-dish-come-be-and-what-do?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Feb 2020 04:00:16 +0000 Nutella and mozzarella are two iconic Italian foods. The heavenly chocolate and nut spread is famous and popular, as is the soft cheese that oozes milk, making a perfect pizza topping when melted. But would you ever taste mozzarella that oozes out chocolate? Well, you now can – if you want to. A dairy shop in the Italian southern region of Puglia has launched a Nutella-filled mozzarella. The chocolate and hazelnut spread is folded inside the cow cheese mozzarella balls, and the sweet filling is... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3051112/nutella-filled-mozzarella-really-what-nutzzarella-and-why?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3051112/nutella-filled-mozzarella-really-what-nutzzarella-and-why?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Feb 2020 12:00:18 +0000 Who would ever indulge in garlic soup, unless of course it turns out to be a potent sex booster? Bagna càuda (aka “the hot broth” in Italian) is an iconic dish hailing from Italy’s northern region of Piedmont. It's a creamy sauce made with boiled and crushed garlic, anchovies, olive oil and in some towns even milk. It is served in a heated ceramic pot and placed at the centre of the table where family members and friends gather for a warm meal. Once the soup is ready, fresh veggies, mainly... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3050206/does-garlic-really-work-viagra-and-would-you-take-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3050206/does-garlic-really-work-viagra-and-would-you-take-it?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2020 18:00:05 +0000 Since the birth of man, seduction and a sated stomach have always been a perfect match. But some cultures have historically gone to extreme lengths to concoct the most extravagant, kinky dishes that are said to boost libido. Often the more gruesome the dish, the better the sex. Or so the legends say. Columbia: roasted leafcutter ants How about receiving a nice skewer of roasted ants on the day you tie the knot to wish you good luck for the first night of passion? Considered a potent sexual... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3049986/bulls-testicles-balut-birds-mucus-5-weird-edible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3049986/bulls-testicles-balut-birds-mucus-5-weird-edible?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2020 08:00:15 +0000 Silvia Marchetti Silvia Marchetti A romantic photo of an elaborately gowned bride posing in front of Rome’s Coliseum. A multi-course traditional wedding banquet in a medieval manor. An intimate wedding journey on a Venetian gondola. These are all scenes from carefully organised Chinese wedding galas in Italy, which has become an increasingly popular destination for Chinese nuptial celebrations. It’s a trend that could become a big earner for the Mediterranean nation, with the cost of an average Chinese wedding totalling about... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3048899/destination-weddings-why-chinas-millennials-love?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3048899/destination-weddings-why-chinas-millennials-love?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Feb 2020 04:30:10 +0000 When one thinks of carnivals, Venice’s bright, picturesque masked festival is likely to pop into mind. First celebrated in the 11th century, it used to start on December 26 and ran for six whole weeks. Now it takes place in February and March. Carnival however predates Venice. The origin of the term “carnival” stems from the Latin “carnem levare” – aka “farewell to meat” – to refer to Fat Tuesday, the last day when eating meat, considered an elite food, was still allowed before the start of the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3048029/how-did-italys-venice-carnival-start-and-why-all-scary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3048029/how-did-italys-venice-carnival-start-and-why-all-scary?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jan 2020 23:00:10 +0000 Averaging €300 for 100 grams (about $1,350 per pound) – but with the largest specimens selling for substantially more – highly sought-after white truffles from Italy’s northern Piedmont region are commonly called “white gold.” The Chinese love affair with these musky-tasting truffles has given rise to a niche industry of cooks, businessmen and millionaires from Shanghai to Singapore. They have become the main buyers of the expensive delicacy and the major protagonists in the annual truffle drama... https://www.scmp.com/food/why-wealthy-chinese-love-italys-white-truffles/article/3047288?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/food/why-wealthy-chinese-love-italys-white-truffles/article/3047288?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jan 2020 11:09:30 +0000 Elite Chinese chefs and gourmands can’t get enough of a famous fungus that sells for sky-high prices. Averaging €300 for 100 grams (about US$1,350 per pound) – but with the largest specimens selling for substantially more – highly sought-after white truffles from Italy’s northern Piedmont region are commonly called “white gold”. The Chinese love affair with these musky-tasting truffles has given rise to a niche industry of cooks, businessmen and millionaires from Shanghai to Singapore. They have... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3047122/why-wealthy-chinese-love-italys-white-truffles-so-much?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3047122/why-wealthy-chinese-love-italys-white-truffles-so-much?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2020 21:00:09 +0000 The boob cake cult is flourishing in the south of Italy, where the locals are deeply religious and superstitious. They are mouthwatering, handmade half-sphere sponge cup cakes that recall the small, firm breasts of a teenage girl (practically a D bra size). Filled with oozing cream or fresh ricotta sheep’s cheese mixed with cinnamon, lemon juice and dark chocolate crumbs, they’re covered in a thick crunchy layer and topped with a tiny sugary ball resembling a nipple. “Making and indulging in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3044256/what-are-boob-cakes-and-why-do-italians-love-them-so-much?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3044256/what-are-boob-cakes-and-why-do-italians-love-them-so-much?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jan 2020 04:00:11 +0000 Something smells funny in China. Cheese and other dairy products are not part of the traditional Chinese diet, yet there has been a surge in dairy imports. According to European Commission data, the volume of Europe’s cheese exports to China in the first 11 months of this year was 24% higher than for the whole of 2018, amounting to more than 20,000 tons. Exports of European butter to the country have grown at an even greater pace this year – by 36%. Cheese has historically been alien to the diet... https://www.scmp.com/chinas-demand-cheese-rises/article/3044079?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/chinas-demand-cheese-rises/article/3044079?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Dec 2019 09:50:34 +0000 Hong Kong has cancelled its annual New Year’s Eve fireworks because of the ongoing pro-democracy protests which have engulfed the city since June. Elsewhere in the world, people will be toasting the end of 2019 and the arrival of 2020, often joyfully and sometimes, weirdly. Here are some countries with the most bizarre celebrations. 1. Thailand A bit dark, yet coffins make the party. Death and rebirth are on opposite sides of the same coin. Anchored to the belief that a dying year allows for a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3043922/which-country-has-strangest-new-years-eve-tradition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3043922/which-country-has-strangest-new-years-eve-tradition?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Dec 2019 06:00:08 +0000 Something smells funny in China. Cheese and other dairy products are not part of the traditional Chinese diet, yet there has been a surge in dairy imports. According to European Commission data, the volume of Europe’s cheese exports to China in the first 11 months of this year was 24 per cent higher than for the whole of 2018, amounting to more than 18,600 tonnes. Exports of European butter to the country have grown at an even greater pace this year – by 36 per cent. Cheese has historically been... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3043889/china-develops-appetite-cheese-surge-imports-eu-elites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3043889/china-develops-appetite-cheese-surge-imports-eu-elites?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2019 21:00:09 +0000 Forget about France, Germany or Greece – Italy is now the most popular European destination for Chinese tourists. Numbers are expected to continue growing in 2020, which has been designated the “Italy-China Year of Culture and Tourism”, and next year will also mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. According to Italian tourism authorities, roughly 3.5 million Chinese travellers had visited Italy this year by the end of October, and these tourists are increasingly... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3041561/why-chinese-tourists-love-italys-quaint-rural-villages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3041561/why-chinese-tourists-love-italys-quaint-rural-villages?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Dec 2019 04:40:14 +0000