SALUBRIOUS SAPORITO

Dropped into the new Saporito Italian Deli (G/F, Sports Mansion, 161 Wong Ngai Chung Road, Happy Valley, 2895 4133, just around the corner from the new Crowne Plaza hotel) on my walk home from work a few months ago. I was just looking for a snack but found something much better - a real life food hero. On that fateful first visit I ended up sampling different types of Parma ham and a range of Italian cheeses. I left with much more food than I expected but there were no complaints back at The Valley residence.

On my second visit I could smell the lovely aroma of fresh roasted chicken. Steffeno told me they're imported from Italy and only cost HK$68. I love roast chicken so I had to buy one. It was delicious. Fresh roasted chicken flown in from Italy and only HK$68 - it has to be the deal of the century! Steffeno then mentioned he was settimg up an oven to bake fresh Ciabatta.

Last visit I had a piece of the tomato infused Ciabatta with a slice of Parma ham in the middle. Wow - it was sublime. Now you know where I'll be heading for lunch everyday. Thank you Sfeffeno for waking up my taste buds with all your wonderful food (and some well selected Italian wines) - you are a true food hero.

CROWNE PLAZA CAUSEWAY BAY

Finally nothing going on today - a great chance to pop into the new Crowne Plaza Causeway Bay to check out the lobby lounge and bar. Very funky modern decoration and a nice chilled out vibe - feels more like a club than a lobby lounge - that's a good thing. Must be the done thing to give lobby lounges a name nowadays - this one getting called "Connections". San Miguel beer on tap - can't complain about that. Wine list has all the basics covered - three whites and three reds by the glass and a good range of wines by the bottle. Not cheap but not overpriced for a hotel. Big spenders are well catered for with some high end wines, Sakes and Mao Tais (Chinese white rice liquor) on the list.

High tea deal between 3PM and 6PM looked decent and the snack menu also looked OK. Overall, a pleasant place to meet friends fora few drinks and to watch the world, and the trams, go by. Only gripe is that the waitress didn't mention the 20% opening discount until after I asked for the bill. When pressed for more details she said the discount might last until the end of November.

DE BORTOLI SERO - MARGARET RIVER?

Scanning the ParkNshop wine catalog, I was impressed to see De Bortoli have expanded into the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia. I thought they were exclusively an Australian east coast producer. A closer look at the label (click to enlarge) reveals that this wine is from the King Valley in Victoria. Only a few thousand kilometers away. Perhaps ParkNshop could employ The Valley to proof read their catalogs?

ALL CHANGE IN THE VALLEY

Arrived back in The Valley early this morning after an 11 hour direct flight from Rome. The flight wasn't as bad as anticipated mostly because of the great range of movies and tv shows provided. It's a pretty smart move by Cathay to get all the latest release movies on board. Not sure how they do it but they seem to have the movies even before the pirates get hold of them in Shenzhen - impressive! The new economy seat is growing on me and the flight is always easier when it's only half full.

Two weeks can be a long time in The Valley and it's always interesting to note the changes. Looks like the weather has finally cooled off and nice to see everybody wrapped up in their new seasons jackets and scarves. Not sure I'll be retrieving my North Face feather jacket just yet but might be time to pull out a long sleeved polo shirt or two.

The wine section at the Happy Valley ParkNshop seems to have doubled in size and nice to see full range of Yalumba Y Series wines on display. These wines are consistent winners in Quaff and have been hard to get locally - until now. Also spotted those Bud Naked 1.5 litre pouches on display. Its a McLaren Vale Shiraz Tempranillo blend that I saw, and tasted, on my last OZ trip. Think ParkNshop might me taking the piss a little with the HK$199 price tag. This is no premium wine and it retails in OZ for around half the Hong Kong price. Even my old favorite, the Hardys Shiraz 3 Litre cask, is only HK$118 and, arguably, a much better wine.

ParkNshop are even giving away a 50 page wine brochure listing all their new arrivals. Pick up a copy next to the wine display section. Looks likes its going to be another boozy Christmas.

WIND IN ITALY : PREPAID MOBILE BROADBAND

Read about Italian and Greek prepaid mobile broadband services on the web before we came over. Stopped in at a phone shop at Rome airport (Fiumicino / Leonard Di Vinci) on arrival and showed the guy my unlocked USB modem. He sold me a Wind SIM card for Euro 5 and told me to bring the SIM card to a Tabbachi shop and add Euro 25. He also gave me a sheet of paper with some SMS codes and an APN code. You have to SMS a code for the plan you want after you add the Euro 20. Did what he said and it worked perfectly. One month / 2GB of mobile broadband for Euro 25 is an awfully good deal, in my opinion.

Having mobile broadband helped me fill in the hours of waiting while Mrs. V was getting ready to be photographed. Also saved me from being held hostage by hotels trying to charge Euro 20 a day for wifi. If you're a frequent traveller it might be a good idea to get hold of an unlocked USB modem, if you don't have one already.

WHEN IN ROME....

Wednesday is our last full day in Rome and Mrs. V decides we have enough photographs and that we should go shopping. Ever noticed how holidays seemed to have morphed into extra long shopping trips? I refuse to shop at home and get agitated when we have to shop on holidays. Mrs. V is no dummy, though, and she suggests I buy a magazine and find a nice cozy wine bar to try out a few local wines. Space constraints thankfully mean that there are no ugly mega malls in downtown Rome but we find the next best thing - Galleria Colona Rome. A beautiful old building discreetly packed with shops inside. The Illy TreviTritone coffee shop has a pretty decent "wine by the glass" list as well.

Read somewhere that Montepulciano D'Abruzzo is a very "approachable" wine, so my first choice is the Cabiria. Wow, delicious! Euro 5.60 per glass or Euro 14.00 per bottle makes the bottle sound very inexpensive. I hold back, though, as I'd feel the full force of Mrs. V's wrath if I started guzzling bottles. Next glass was the Primitivo IGT Terra De Vulcano from Puglia. Read somewhere that Primitivo and Zinfandel are the same thing. This Primitivo not quite as sweet as the Zinfandel I drank on the boat but still very fragrant and drinkable. Last glass and I'm feeling adventurous. I try the most expensive wine on the list (Euro 6.60). It's something I've never heard of before - Grigolino (pronounced grin-yo-lee-no) Aldo Giardino from Piemonte. Bit of a disappointment really. Thin with with a bit of a Port taste. Should have just stuck with the Montepulciano D'Abruzzo but I guess it's important to try a few others while I'm here.

TRASTERVERE TUESDAY

Tuesday and time to get photographed countless times in front of all the "famous" sites. First up is the Colosseum. Amazing and we have the dozen or so photos to prove we've visited. Next stop - the Trevi Fountain. Also very impressive but not sure I want to toss money into a public watering hole. Third stop is the Spanish Steps. Another popular tourist spot and photo op must. By this time Mrs V has been distracted by streets full of designer shops and I can take a rest. Time to participate in my favorite travel pastime - soaking up history (not soaking up booze, but it's a close second). Plenty of history here to soak up and I'm enjoying the cool sunny weather of the fast approaching European winter - just can't get this same feeling back in Australia or Hong Kong.

After a bit of a siesta, I decide we should head over to Trastervere for dinner. I spotted some cool looking wine bars when we drove through the other day - perhaps we can find them again? Place looks completely different at night, of course, but still plenty of other dining and drinking options. Mrs V spots a restaurant called Il Duca and we sit down for some good food. Service a bit wacky but can't complain too much as they're struggling with translation nearly as much as us. A couple of wines in Enoteca Trastervere and we're ready to call it a night. Cab driver back seemed to be agitated for some reason and drove like a demon. Not even close to as scary as some Hong Kong taxi drivers but at least he was trying.

REALITY BITES?

The transition from cruise holiday to regular hotel holiday wasn't as tough as I had imagined. I expected to be pick pocketed at the station and then overcharged in the taxis and then harassed at restaurants and bars. When did I become so negative? The train station was orderly and there were plenty of police around. Taxi to the hotel was clean and comfortable and surprisingly good value. Every meal and glass of wine has been really good and around every corner is another amazing historical monument - just wish I'd come to Rome earlier.

Monday afternoon we cabbed it down to St. Peters and walked around the Vatican city. Impressive! Temperature plummeted so we found refuge in an exhibition hall - Matteo Ricci (1552 -1610). Lots of display items about his travels to China in the very early days. I especially liked his Chinese character lesson books - just like what I've been struggling with these past ten years or so. Next stop was lunch in a nice ristorante (http://www.perdincibacco.com/). Quattro frommagio pasta and a nice glass of Malvasia Puntinata from Lazio. Especially liked the wines by the glass list - modern local choices at good prices. Last stop was a shop where Mrs V found me a nice purple pullover - size was XXXL - sizes here even wackier than Hong Kong or maybe the cruise buffet effect was more pronounced than I realised?