Category Archives: Publication

Luscious ice wines, sticky maple syrup and a marshmallow to top it off: Why Niagara is the sweetest place on Earth

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on MailOnline on 27th February 2016:

Minus 10 degrees Celsius is a feeling that’s difficult to explain until you’ve felt it.

It’s the moment your face begins to feel the chill and then moments later, almost nothing at all. Until, that is, the wind lowers the temperature just a few degrees further and it becomes colder than you knew possible.

Those were the bracing conditions I faced when I travelled to Canada for the first time – to Ontario’s Niagara-on-the-Lake for the ice wine festival.

Read more at MailOnline

Now THAT’S getting away from it all: The most remote places in Britain to stay include a sea fort in the Solent, a Highland castle and a cottage hidden in Snowdonia’s forest

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on MailOnline on 14th February 2016:

Getting away from it all might be the throwaway phrase for travelling, but it’s often far from reality.

Many of us end up thrown in with hoards of other tourists, despite travelling for hours to reach exotic locales.

If you look in the right places though, a few of the most remote locations can be found right here in Britain.

Read more at MailOnline

Chinese New Year is a celebration of feast and family

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on Matching Food & Wine on 7th February 2016:

Food, drink and travel writer Qin Xie explains what the Chinese drink with the most important feast of the year and what goes down well in her own family.

Like Christmas, missing the familial gatherings during this fifteen-day festival is, in a word, unthinkable. That’s why each year, millions of Chinese battle the impossible crowds to return for that reunion.

Typically, a feast on New Year’s Eve is a table loaded with dishes and surrounded by multiple generations. It will start at lunch, which might be lighter, with a break for snacks, tea and games like mahjong or cards, before continuing onto dinner. Several members of the family will have invaded the kitchen at some point to lend a hand or to create their signature dishes.

Read more at Matching Food & Wine

Are infusions the next big thing in drink pairing?

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on Matching Food & Wine on 20th January 2016:

Every time I’ve been to Azurmendi, it’s been a journey. The three Michelin-starred restaurant is situated half way up a very steep hill, about 15 minutes drive from Bilbao. In the evenings, almost every inch of the palatial structure is lit up like a glittering crystal; and as you drive up the winding road to reach the restaurant, it illuminates the darkness like a beacon.

Before you begin the meal, you always take a tour through the rooftop greenhouse. In the midst of its herbaceous tomato vines and faintly perfumed herbs, you take your first courses – the snacks. This time, my journey began with wisps of cotton candy made with white asparagus; jellied tomato water; spiralised, pickled courgette; and crisp, fragile mushroom leaves.

Inside the lobby, you have the picnic – baskets filled with bites of salted anchovy millefeuille, roe and dill topped cracker and a CaipiriTxa. The forest-green bonbons of CaipiriTxa are filled with citrusy juices that exploded onto the palate when you sucked away the shell. In Eneko Atxa’s twist on the Caiprinha, the secret weapon is the Txakoli wine produced on-site by Atxa’s cousins at Gorka Izagirre.

Read more at Matching Food & Wine

Are solo travellers getting a raw deal? Why singles holidays with zero supplement might not be as good a deal as you think

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on MailOnline on 15th December 2015:

Travelling to an unknown destination can be daunting but it can be even more off putting if you face the prospect of holidaying alone.

A decade ago, solo travellers incurred a hefty singles supplement that seemed to penalise them for holidaying on their own. But as a growing number of people are travelling alone, an increasing number of singles tours have sprung up.

MailOnline Travel asked are these promises of solo travel really good value for money or are single travellers getting ripped off?

Read more at MailOnline