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udarev Mikhail / Shutterstock

Words by Kevin Raub and Jessica Lee

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

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153Travel | Brazil, Beirut

View of mountains from Corcovado, Rio

de Janeiro, Brazil.

Just above the home country of Aerolíneas Argentinas, Brazil brims with diverse regional flavours. Kevin Raub reports from the land of order and progress in our culinary preview of the tastiest host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Words by Kevin Raub

BrazilIt may be Peruvian cuisine that has traditionally hogged most of the South American foodie accolades (call it savvy marketing!), but these days the continental divide is shifting.

With famed Brazilian chef Alex Atala’s D.O.M. restaurant in São Paulo rising to sixth spot on the 2013 edition of San Pellegrino’s swooned-over World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, there was a simultaneous changing of the flavours, a tipping point that resulted in both the Brazilian table being set under the world’s culinary spotlight and the ending of the tendency of Brazilian chefs to depend on all things French and Italian.

The meteoric rise of Atala’s outside-the- box cuisine has been the catalyst for Brazil’s ‘light-bulb’ moment: nowhere on the continent can match the culinary pedigree of Brazil. A treasure trove of domestic ingredients, stretching from the exotic flora and fauna of the Amazon to the unique fruits and vegetation of the cerrado (Brazil’s tropical savannah), and a collision of cultures owed both to colonisation and to waves of immigration have converged to create a gastronomic melting pot as assorted as the seating arrangements at a UN brunch. The crowds are flooding Brazil for football, but this is the country’s culinary moment.

Brazil clocks in as the world’s fifth largest country, sandwiched between the USA (fourth) and Australia (sixth). It's deceptively big to the naked eye, and its regional diversity – especially when it comes to culinary traditions – is as surprisingly varied as the real estate it occupies on a map. Rising from the rainforest in Brazil’s far north is Manaus, host to the first World Cup matches ever played in the Amazon. While football teams who unluckily drew to do battle in this sweltering jungle metropolis may be dreading game-time heat and

humidity, they won’t be complaining about dinner after the match.

Formerly overlooked bits and pieces from the Amazon, spearheaded by a foodie resurgence in its two biggest cities (here and Belém), have risen as the star ingredients in Brazil’s nova cozinha Brasileira (new Brazilian cuisine) movement. Tasty river fish – like the famed melt-off-the-bone tambaqui ribs at Banzeiro (www.restaurantebanzeiro.com.br) – and the gourmet kitchen exploitation of regional dishes such as tacacá, a soup made from jambu (a mouth-numbing indigenous herb), tucupi (a cassava broth) and dried shrimp are the new culinary kings as far south as São Paulo. Atala owes much of his success to the contemporary rebirth of these and other ingredients (edible saúva ants, pupunha hearts of palm, priprioca root) from the world’s most famous jungle.

Nearly 3,000km east, the coastal Pernambuco capital of Recife stands as the cultural cradle of Brazil’s northeast, a colonially rich region that owes much of its regional cuisine to the offerings of its drier interior landscape known as the sertão. Here, dishes such as carne-do-sol (salted sundried beef) form the foundation for hearty dishes such as baião-de-dois (a mix of rice, beans, sundried beef, and herbs and spices) and more serious recipes such as buchada de bode – seasoned and boiled innards (kidneys, liver) and viscera of a washed goat cooked with the goat’s stomach. It makes you sweat!

Speaking of perspiration, Brazilian cuisine would never be considered spicy held up against Indonesian, Thai or Mexican. But the lone exception? Salvador de Bahia, where fiery Afro-Brazilian cuisine is heavily influenced by the Brazilian slave trade of the 1500s, when legions of slaves were imported from Angola, Congo, Gabon and Mozambique. Today, this rich gastronomic

Oyster with cupuacu at D.O.M. restaurant.

Alex Atala, of D.O.M. restaurant in São Paulo, is currently enjoying his sixth place on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

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ourtesy of D.O

.M. R

estaurant

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.O.M

. Rediscovering Brazilian Ingredients

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A customer buying fruit at Municipal Market

(Mercado Municipal) in São Paulo City, Brazil.

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heritage is Brazil’s strongest regional cuisine. The most famous dish is moqueca, a seafood stew (usually swimming with fish or shrimp or any combination thereof) made with coconut milk, dendê oil, tomatoes, onion and spices, served over rice and doused in homemade malagueta pepper sauce. If you see a World Cup match in Salvador, be on the lookout for portly Bahian women serving acarajé – black-eyed pea fritters stuffed with vatapá, a creamy paste of shrimp, peanuts, coconut milk and dendê oil – Brazil’s tastiest street treat.

Half a world away in Cuiabá, the smallest of the World Cup host cities, it’s cowboy cuisine that dominates. Here, the gateway to the wildlife-flush Pantanal, rich agricultural traditions and abundant river fish marry in hearty regional recipes, many with origins in the region’s massive cattle ranches. A meal here might mean mujica (catfish in cassava sauce), carne seca com abóbora (dried beef with pumpkin), or river fish delicacies like dourado, pacu and even the infamous piranha! Don’t worry, it doesn’t bite back.

It all comes together in São Paulo, Brazil’s gastronomic capital, where 12,500 restaurants divided between some 52 types of cuisine form a culinary fusion unparalleled in the southern hemisphere. Swarms of immigration fuel the city’s culinary traditions to this day (among the 21 million people who live here, the city boasts the highest Japanese population outside Japan, the biggest Italian population outside Italy and the most Arabs outside an Arab nation). But São Paulo’s culinary renaissance has caught the world’s attention for a different reason. Rather than lean on established Old World habits, the city’s new darlings of Brazilian cuisine – Atala at D.O.M., Helena Rizzo at Maní, Rodrigo Oliveira at Mocotó – tried a new and novel approach.

They looked in the mirror.

5 Senses – SightTHE PANTANAL

The Amazon is on just about everyone’s ‘bucket list’, but you’re likely to see more wildlife in the open-spaced Pantanal in an hour than you’ll see in a week in the Amazon, where animals tend to hide in the canopy. In the world’s largest freshwater swamp, toucan, macaw, caiman and capybara sightings are as common as the cold – and that’s just the beginning. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot a jaguar, too. www.pantanalnature.com.br

Amazon pastinya ada dalam daftar tempat-tempat yang ingin dikunjungi, tetapi Anda bisa melihat lebih banyak kehidupan liar di Pantanal dalam satu jam daripada yang bisa Anda lihat dalam satu minggu di Amazon, di mana binatang-binatangnya lebih suka bersembunyi. Di rawa terbesar di dunia ini, burung tukan, burung macaw, buaya caiman dan celeng air mudah ditemukan – dan itu belum seberapa. Jika beruntung, Anda bisa juga bertemu dengan jaguar.

Riverboats ferry passengers and cargo through the Brazilian Amazon.

A famous dish, moqueca, a seafood stew made with coconut milk, dendê oil, tomatoes, onion and spices.

It all comes together in São Paulo, Brazil’s gastronomic capital, where 12,500 restaurants divided between some 52 types of cuisine form a culinary fusion.

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Travel | Brazil, Beirut

Berada tidak jauh dari negara asal maskapai Aerolíneas Argentinas, Brasil semakin dikenal dengan kelezatan kulinernya yang beragam. Kevin Raub melaporkan perkembangan kuliner terkini dari kota-kota yang pernah menjadi tuan rumah 2014 FIFA World Cup.Kuliner dari Peruvia mungkin banyak disukai penyuka makanan di Amerika Selatan, tetapi kini daerah-daerah yang terkenal dengan kulinernya mulai mengalami pergeseran.

Sejak masuknya D.O.M Restoran di São Paulo milik Chef Alex Atala yang berdarah Brasil ke dalam deretan 6 teratas pada Majalah World's 50 Best Restaurants tahun 2013, rasa yang ada pun mengalami perubahan sehingga masakan khas Brasil menjadi sorotan dunia dan para chef tak lagi hanya berfokus pada segala hal yang berbau Perancis dan Italia.

Hidangan karya Atala yang tak biasa ini menjadi katalis bagi Brasil: kini, tak ada tempat yang dapat menyaingi kuliner khas Brasil yang sedang naik daun. Mulai dari bahan-bahan lokal yang berasal dari flora dan fauna khas Amazon hingga buah dan sayuran dari cerrado (padang savana Brasil), dan beragam budaya akibat kolonisasi dan gelombang imigran, yang mengakibatkan keragaman kuliner. Walaupun banyak pengunjung datang ke Brasil untuk menonton sepak bola, namun kini saatnya untuk berwisata kuliner.

Brasil merupakan negara terbesar kelima, berada di antara AS (keempat) dan Australia (keenam). Luas negaranya yang besar dengan banyak daerah – khususnya ketika

menyangkut kuliner – sangat beragam. Berkembang dari hutan di utara Brasil bernama Manaus, kota ini merupakan tuan rumah pertandingan Piala Dunia pertama yang pernah diselenggarakan di Amazon. Walaupun tim sepak bola yang berlaga di kota metropolis ini mungkin mengeluhkan soal suhu udara yang panas dan lembab, yang jelas mereka tak pernah mengeluh soal santapan setelah berlaga.

Sebagai tempat di Amazon yang pernah terabaikan, dengan bangkitnya kuliner dari dua kota terbesar di tempat ini (di sini dan Belem), kini naik daun seiring naiknya popularitas bahan makanan dalam gerakan nova cozinha brasileira (Kuliner Brasil Baru). Ikan segar dari sungai – seperti ikan tambaqui yang bertulang lunak di Banzeiro (restaurantebanzeiro.com.br) – dan hidangan dari beberapa daerah seperti tacacá, sup yang terbuat dari jambu (tanaman asli Brasil yang dapat menyembuhkan sakit gigi), tucupi (singkong) dan udang kering, adalah kuliner baru yang sangat populer di São Paulo. Kesuksesan Atala tak lepas dari kuliner baru ini dan juga bahan-bahan yang menyertainya seperti saúva ants, pupunha hearts of palm, priprioca root yang berasal dari rimba paling terkenal di dunia.

Hampir 3000km ke arah timur, pesisir Pernambuco, Ibu kota Recife di timur laut Brasil, merupakan sebuah daerah kolonial yang memiliki kuliner khas karena faktor tekstur lanskapnya yang kering dikenal dengan nama sertão. Di tempat ini hidangan seperti carne-do-sol (dendeng daging sapi) merupakan bahan utama untuk masakan seperti baião-de-dois (campuran nasi, kacang, dendeng daging sapi, sayuran dan rempah-rempah).

Berbicara soal pedas, kepedasan masakan khas Brasil tak terlalu tajam dibandingkan dengan Indonesia, Thailand atau Meksiko, kecuali satu tempat; Salvador de Bahia. Kota

Festas Juninas is a popular festival in Brazil's northeast, celebrating the countryside lifestyle and the saints of June.

Several varieties of hot chilli peppers at the market, including Brazil's most widely used, malagueta.

Tacacá, a soup made from jambu (a mouth-numbing indigenous herb), tucupi (a manioc broth) and dried shrimp, is a popular Amazon speciality.

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Throw yourself into the heart of a Brazilian torcida (cheering section) at a big football match and your ears will ring for a week. The constant barrage of chants, screaming and cheering maintains a high-decibel rumble of oncoming-freight-train proportions throughout big matches. It's so loud, it inspired an exhibition at São Paulo’s excellent Museu do Futebol (Football Museum), where the sensation is recreated under the bleachers of the city’s Pacaembu Stadium with eardrum-bursting accuracy. www.museudofutebol.org.br

Kunjungi torcida (tempat duduk penonton) saat pertandingan sepak bola dan telinga Anda akan berdenging selama seminggu karena suara-suara sorakan dan kehebohan yang terdengar keras sepanjang pertandingan. Keramaian ini menginspirasi pameran di Museu do Futebol (Museum Sepak bola) di São Paulo, di mana sensasi tersebut direka ulang berdasarkan suasana bangku penonton yang berada di Pacaembu Stadium.

JAKARTA TO SÃO PAULO, VIA AMSTERDAM AND BUENOS AIRES

Brazil •

5 Senses – SoundFOOTBALL FANS

itu adalah tempat di mana masakan dari masyarakat Brasil keturunan Afrika banyak mendapatkan pengaruh dari perdagangan budak asal Angola, Kongo, Gabon dan Mozambique di tahun 1500-an. Kini, daerah tersebut terkenal akan kulinernya. Masakan yang populer adalah moqueca, makanan laut (biasanya berupa kuah isi ikan atau udang atau campuran lainnya) dibuat dari santan, minyak dendê, tomat, bawang dan rempah-rempah, serta disajikan bersama nasi dan lumuran saus merica malagueta. Jika Anda menonton pertandingan Piala Dunia di Salvador, Anda bisa melihat para wanita dari Bahia menjual acarajé – gorengan dari kacang tunggak isi vatapá, pasta campuran dari udang, kacang, santan dan minyak dendê – jajanan khas Brasil yang lezat.

Di Cuiabá, kota terkecil dari tuan rumah Piala Dunia, masakan ala koboinya cukup mendominasi. Di tempat inilah, pintu gerbang kehidupan liar Pantanal, perpaduan antara tradisi agraris dan ikan air tawar dalam masakan berpadu, banyak juga resep masakan yang berasal dari daerah peternakan sapi. Hidangan utamanya adalah mujica (lele dalam saus yuka), carne seca com abóbora (dendeng dengan labu) atau ikan air tawar seperti dourado, pacu dan bahkan piranha! Jangan khawatir, ikan ini tak akan menggigit.

Kesemuanya itu dapat ditemui di São Paulo, kota gastronomi yang besar di Brasil, di mana 12.500 restoran menyajikan 52 macam jenis makanan yang tak ada duanya di belahan bumi bagian selatan. Gelombang imigrasi menghidupkan tradisi kuliner hingga kini (di antara 21 juta orang yang tinggal di tempat ini, kota ini memiliki populasi masyarakat Jepang terbesar di luar Jepang, populasi masyarakat Italia terbanyak di luar Italia, dan populasi Arab paling besar). Tetapi kebangkitan kuliner baru khas Brasil di São Paulo seperti Atala di D.O.M., Helena Rizzo di Maní, serta Rodrigo Oliveira di Mocotó lah yang justru berhasil menarik perhatian dunia.

Recife •

Manaus •Belém •

Salvadore •

São Paulo •

• Cuiabá

Brazil clocks in as the world’s fifth largest country, sandwiched between the USA (fourth) and Australia (sixth).

Brasil merupakan negara terbesar kelima, berada di antara AS (keempat) dan Australia (keenam).

Land Comparison

USA

Brazil

Australia

9.827 million km²

8.516 million km²

7.692 million km²

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owan / Shutterstock

Words by Jessica Lee

BeirutJessica Lee digs beneath the

shiny veneer of this Lebanese capital and home to Middle Eastern Airlines to discover a socially conscious culinary landscape bursting with flavours, heart and soul.

For first-time visitors Beirut can seem a jazz-hands city, intent on blinding you with fast cars, glamorous dining and fancy boutiques. As I walk through the rejuvenated downtown district, the construction cranes are busy grinding up above, adding another high-rise to the city’s evolving skyline. The arcaded pavements radiating out from Place d’Etoile are full of shoppers toting designer bags. It’s the kind of scene I’d come to expect in a city that markets itself as a glitzy nightlife and restaurant destination. Look beyond the glossy veneer, however, and you find Lebanon’s capital has layers that are easily missed.

Visitors can be forgiven for seeing Beirut as a thoroughly modern Middle Eastern city. After all, the downtown district was completely obliterated by 15 years of civil war and was rebuilt from scratch. Yet there are tiers of history under the pristine façade. Below the restored Greek Orthodox Saint George Cathedral, the crypt hides Beirut’s most surprising museum where archaeologists uncovered a necropolis and the foundations of the original fifth-century church. Between the cathedral and the slender minarets of the new Al-Amine Mosque, the remnants of Roman Beirut’s Cardo Maximus lay strewn out in rubble piles of hefty marble blocks across an unkempt plot of land. Down the road, the modern entrance to Al-Omari Mosque contrasts with its beautiful prayer hall boasting the distinct gothic architecture of its Crusader church origins. Beirut is a city where you have to dig a little deeper to find what’s happening underneath.

Lebanese food is the perfect example of this. Levantine cuisine is one of Beirut’s great

drawcards for visitors, but the dishes offered in most of the capital’s restaurants are only the tip of the iceberg.

“There are two entirely different cuisines in Lebanon,” Kamal Mouzawak explained to me. “In restaurants there is mezze and grilled meat, and then there’s our private cuisine – the food we cook at home has traditionally been secret. The only way you could access it was by getting an invite to someone’s house.” Kamal is the founder of Souk el Tayeb – a food enterprise turning Beirut’s dining on its head. They run a farmers’ market every Saturday right in the heart of downtown, bringing Lebanon’s small-scale food producers to the city to sell their produce direct. And on weekdays they run Tawlet restaurant, offering diners that family soul food in a restaurant setting, fuelled by a roster of Lebanon’s best home cooks who serve up their regional specialities in the Tawlet kitchen.

I had come to Tawlet for lunch. Their cheeky motto ‘Make Food Not War’ is a reminder of the not too distant past. “What we set out to do,” Kamal told me, “is to try to connect the Lebanese through food and celebrate our diversity.” Today, with neighbouring Syria mired in war, they’re now going one step further: starting up a food project with some of Beirut’s ever-expanding population of Syrian refugees.

Syrian women are now serving up their home cooking every weekend at the Souk el Tayeb farmers’ market, and this lunchtime they were in the Tawlet kitchen creating

Shoppers and café-hoppers throng the arcaded streets of downtown Beirut in the evening.

Fully restored after the civil war, downtown Beirut's Greek Orthodox Saint George Cathedral has a fascinating museum of archaeological finds in its crypt.

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Beirut's Al-Amine Mosque is a triumphant symbol of

the city's rebirth after 15 years of civil war.

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The centre of Beirut's rejuvenated downtown district is café-strewn Place d’Etoile.

The country’s name ‘Lebanon’ is known to be the oldest in the world and has remained unchanged for over 4,000 years.

Nama negara Lebanon dikenal sebagai yang tertua di dunia dan tak pernah berubah selama lebih dari 4000 tahun.

Qurnat as Sawda is the highest point in Lebanon at 3,088 metres above sea level. It has cold weather and frequent snowfall.

Qurnat as Sawda adalah puncak tertinggi di Lebanon setinggi 3.088m di atas laut yang memiliki cuaca dingin dan salju sering turun di sini.

Beirut has been destroyed and built from scratch seven times and is known as the ‘Phoenix’.

Beirut hancur dan dibangun dari awal sebanyak tujuh kali hingga kota ini dikenal dengan nama 'Phoenix'

The world’s first ever law school was founded in the city of Beirut in Lebanon.

Fakultas hukum tertua di dunia berada di Beirut, Lebanon.

4,000

3,088

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Beirut in numbers

their spicy Syrian cuisine. It’s a way of not just helping to generate income for the refugee community but also preserving Syria’s distinct food heritage. Ibtissam Nesto was one of the cooks in the kitchen. “Cooking is our way of showing affection. If I’m not cooking from my heart, you won’t like my food,” she told me as she set down a tray of kibbeh (fried meatballs) smothered in a pomegranate and chilli paste sauce. You can taste the love.

Cooking from the heart was definitely what was going on. Everything that Ibtissam and her fellow cooks produced for lunch sang with the flavours of Syria.

As I head back on to the street, a beautifully coiffed woman saunters past on skyscraper heels, leading a tiny dog bedecked in a diamanté-encrusted jacket. Beirut’s penchant for over-the-top glamour is well deserved. The city has become adept at creating a shiny façade, but with local initiatives like Souk el Tayeb and Tawlet, savvy travellers can find plenty of soul underneath.

A vendor displays the skill of markook making (Arabic flatbread) at Souk el Tayeb.

Flying the flag for Lebanon's wine industry at Tawlet restaurant, where home cooks from across the country come to serve up their regional specialities.

A vendor displays her wares at Souk el Tayeb, Beirut's weekly farmers’ market where food producers from the countryside can sell direct to the public.

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iacomo Perasti

Jessica Lee menjelajahi kemewahan penjuru Ibu Kota Lebanon yang juga negara asal Middle Eastern Airlines untuk menemukan daerah yang menawarkan kelezatan kuliner, lengkap dengan keramahan penduduknya.Pertama kali menginjakkan kaki di Beirut, wisatawan dapat melihat niat kota mewah ini dalam memikat para pengunjungnya, lewat kemewahan restoran dan butik-butiknya. Saat berjalan di pusat kota yang sedang berdandan, saya melihat mesin-mesin pemasang tiang pancang tengah sibuk membangun, menambah jumlah pencakar langit dan mengubah bentuk cakrawala kota. Jalanan penuh pertokoan di Place d’Etoile dipenuhi para pecinta belanja yang menenteng tas-tas belanja produk desainer terkenal, sebuah pemandangan biasa di kota yang mempromosikan dirinya dengan kehidupan malam yang gemebyar dengan beragam restoran mewah. Namun coba lirik apa yang sering terlewatkan di balik gemerlapnya Ibu Kota Lebanon ini.

Wajar jika para wisatawan menganggap Beirut sebagai kota modern di Timur Tengah. Pusat kotanya yang hancur akibat berlangsungnya perang sipil selama 15 tahun telah dibangun ulang dari awal. Namun ada hal bersejarah di balik bangunannya yang glamor. Di bawah Greek Orthodox Saint George Cathedral terdapat sebuah museum yang paling mengejutkan di Kota Beirut, di mana para arkeolog menemukan makam kuno dan fondasi asli sebuah gereja yang

berasal dari abad kelima. Di antara katedral dan menara-menara Masjid Al-Amine yang baru terdapat puing-puing besar reruntuhan Roman Beirut’s Cardo Maximus yang tergeletak begitu saja di tanah tak bertuan. Di ujung jalan, pintu masuk Mesjid Al-Omari yang modern tampil berlawanan dengan arsitektur bergaya gotik di ruang ibadahnya, yang mencerminkan suasana asli bangunan sebelumnya, sebuah gereja Crusader. Beirut adalah sebuah kota di mana Anda harus menggali lebih dalam untuk menemukan apa yang terpendam di dalamnya.

Contoh yang paling tepat untuk menggambarkannya adalah kuliner Lebanon. Levantin adalah salah satu hidangan yang banyak diminati turis yang mengunjungi Beirut, namun hidangan yang disajikan banyak restoran di Ibu Kota ini hanyalah satu dari sekian banyak menu makanan yang dimiliki negara ini.

“Ada dua jenis hidangan yang sangat berbeda di Lebanon,” kata Kamal Mouzawak. “Di restoran terdapat mezze dan daging panggang, kemudian ada makanan rumahan yang hanya dimasak untuk dihidangkan pada keluarga saja. Satu-satunya cara menikmatinya adalah menunggu undangan dari sebuah keluarga yang mengajak Anda bergabung dengan mereka.” Kamal adalah pendiri Souk el Tayeb – sebuah perusahaan makanan yang membawa perubahan untuk Beirut. Mereka menyelenggarakan pasar petani setiap hari Sabtu tepat di pusat kota, membawa serta para produsen makanan Lebanon berskala kecil untuk dapat

A must for all foodie visitors to Beirut, Souk el Tayeb is a one-stop shop of local flavours.

Kibbeh, one of Lebanon's national dishes and a staple of the mezze spread.

Beirut's famous Corniche at sunset.

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JAKARTA TO BEIRUT, VIA JEDDAH

Beirut •

langsung menjual hasil produksinya kepada para pembeli. Dan pada hari lainnya, mereka mengelola restoran Tawlet, yang menawarkan masakan rumahan dalam suasana restoran, hasil olahan beberapa tukang masak rumahan jempolan yang menyajikan makanan khas daerah masing-masing.

Saya datang ke Tawlet untuk menikmati makan siang. Moto mereka ‘Mari Memasak Jangan Berperang’ mengingatkan kita akan masa lalu kota ini yang belum lama berselang. “Yang ingin kami lakukan,” kata Kamal, “adalah mempersatukan para penduduk Lebanon melalui makanan dan merayakan keberagaman kami”. Walaupun negara tetangga mereka Suriah tengah dilanda perang, saat ini mereka telah mengambil satu langkah lebih jauh; memulai proyek makanan dengan para pendatang baru Beirut, yaitu pengungsi dari Suriah.

Para wanita Suriah saat ini memasak makanan rumahan mereka di pasar petani Souk el Tayeb pada setiap akhir pekan. Dengan cara ini, pengungsi Suriah tak hanya dapat terbantu untuk memperoleh penghasilan, namun juga dapat melestarikan warisan kuliner khas Suriah yang berbeda dengan Lebanon. Ibtissam Nesto adalah salah satu dari mereka. “Memasak adalah cara kami menunjukkan kasih sayang. Jika saya tidak memasak dari hati, Anda mungkin tidak akan menyukai makanan saya,” kata wanita itu sambil meletakkan senampan kibbeh (bakso goreng) yang dilumuri saus cabai dan delima. Anda dapat merasakan kasih sayangnya.

Mereka benar-benar memasak dengan penuh cinta. Semua yang dimasak Ibtissam dan teman-temannya untuk makan siang dipenuhi cita rasa khas Suriah. Saat saya kembali melanjutkan perjalanan, seorang wanita dengan tatanan rambut yang trendi berjalan penuh gaya dengan menggunakan sepatu berhak tinggi bersama anjing mungilnya yang mengenakan jaket kerlap-kerlip. Beirut memang layak mendapatkan sentuhan kemewahan. Kota ini memang telah berusaha untuk terlihat lebih bersinar, tapi dengan inisiatif masyarakatnya seperti Souk el Tayeb and Tawlet, para pecinta jalan-jalan dapat menikmati semangat di balik itu semua.

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5 Senses – SightBEIRUT NATIONAL MUSEUM

Beirut’s National Museum offers an incredible collection of objects spanning Lebanon’s rich history from the Phoenician age up to the Arab era. The intricately crafted sarcophagi and delicate bronze figurines on display are some of the ancient world’s great artistic treasures. The collection is even more extraordinary for having been saved from destruction by dedicated museum staff during the civil war when the museum found itself on the frontline of the fighting. www.beirutnationalmuseum.com

Museum Nasional Beirut memiliki berbagai koleksi luar biasa yang dapat menceritakan sejarah kota ini dari masa Phoenician hingga era Arab. Beberapa contoh harta karun artistik dunia yang luar biasa ini adalah sarkofagus yang diukir dengan indahnya dan juga patung perunggu. Yang lebih luar biasa lagi adalah koleksi museum ini bisa selamat dari kehancuran saat perang sipil karena dedikasi para pegawainya yang luar biasa yang menyelamatkan koleksinya saat museum sedang diserang.

In the evening Beirutis love to promenade, and there’s no better way to feel this city’s beat than by taking a stroll on the seashore Corniche. As dusk sets, the ocean breeze casts a salty scent, which mingles with the aromas from the snack-food carts selling kaak (thyme-stuffed bread) and ahwa (coffee) to the crowds. Join the locals and take a sunset walk downhill, starting from where the city’s famous Pigeon Rocks rise dramatically out of the ocean just offshore.

Sore hari adalah waktu yang tepat untuk menyusuri pantai di Beirut, dan tak ada yang lebih cocok menggambarkan suasana kota selain berjalan di pinggir Pantai Corniche. Saat senja menjemput, angin laut menghembuskan aromanya yang bercampur wangi kaak (roti yang diisi thyme) dan ahwa (kopi) yang ditawarkan kepada para pejalan kaki. Bergabunglah dengan masyarakat lokal dan nikmati perjalanan menuruni bukit waktu senja di Pigeon Rocks, yang kala matahari terbenam terlihat menjulang dari tepi pantai, sangat dramatis dan indah.

5 Senses – ScentTHE CORNICHE

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