Michelin launches a Taiwanese Green Guide

From http://foreigner.tncg.gov.tw/en/home.jsp?key=null&mserno=5&serno=9&menudata=EnglishMenu&contlink=ap%2F02_4announce_view.jsp&dataserno=201102160001 (in English)

Due to the fact that Michelin has recently launched a a Green Guide Taiwan and seems to be preparing a Taiwanese Red Guide, the Tourism Bureau of Tainan City Government is organizing three "Tainan Michelin three-star rating tour" routes combining historical sites, tour spots, and the delicious local 小吃 (pinyin: xiaochi; "small food"). Sinalunya team has been in Tainan and wants to prove that the place and its food are worth a visit!

[caption id="attachment_448" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Different xiaochi dishes in a restaurant in Tainan"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="288" caption="Fish soup in a restaurant in Tainan"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_449" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chikan Tower, Tainan"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_450" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Entrance to the Tainan Confucian Temple"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_451" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tainan Confucian Temple"][/caption]

 

FC Barcelona will open shop in Beijing

From http://www.expansion.com/2011/04/14/catalunya/1302808882.html (in Spanish)

FC Barcelona is expanding beyond Europe and is currently in conversations with Nike in order to open a shop in Beijing and another one in New York City in a time frame of 2 or 3 years. Apart from China and United States, future marketing actions will be addressed to Mexico, South Korea and Turkey.

Barcelona design company Lagranja opens office in Hong Kong

From http://www.expansion.com/2011/04/07/catalunya/1302160530.html (in Spanish)

Seeking for new challenges that would keep their creativity at a high level, the Barcelona-based design company Lagranja has recently opened an office in Hong-Kong. Founding partners Gabriele Schiavon and Gerard Sanmartí have chosen the former British colony as a new market for the company, after a failed experience in Brazil. In Hong-Kong, Lagranja will soon start to do the interior design of ten suites for the Madera Hotel, commissioned by the Hip Shing Hong Group. Company's sales rose from 230,000 euros in 2009 to near 500,000 euros in 2010, with customers such as Médicos sin Fronteras, Pans & Company and Banc de Sabadell, among others.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="412" caption="Lagranja new offices at Poble Nou, Barcelona (image from http://www.lagranjadesign.com)"][/caption]

Cadaqués recreated in Xiamen bay

From http://www.catalannewsagency.com/news/life-style/costa-brava-village-cadaqu%C3%A9s-will-be-copied-china (in English)

As already published here in sinalunya.com on October 8th, 2010, under the title of "Coastal village of Cadaqués to be recreated in Xiamen, China", Catalan News Agency reports on March 31st, 2011 that the project is starting to take shape, although it will not be finished until 2018. Chinese architects are determined to capture every detail in order to reproduce the village of Cadaqués in Zhangzhou, a city in the Xiamen bay, where the figure of Salvador Dalí will also play an iconic role.

 

[caption id="attachment_400" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="General view of Cadaqués"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Closer view of the church in Cadaqués"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_402" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Street by the sea in Cadaqués"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_403" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Street of Cadaqués in bloom"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_404" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="General view of Cadaqués"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_405" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Seaside view of Cadaqués"][/caption]

Top Catalan chef Santi Santamaria dies in Singapore

From http://www.catalannewsagency.com/news/life-style/catalan-chef-santi-santamaria-7-michelin-stars-dies-53 (in English)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="440"] Santi Santamaría (Image from Adostiempos - Boletín de Cultura Gastronómica)[/caption]

7-Michelin star Catalan chef Santi Santamaria died suddenly at 53 in his restuarant in Singapore, possibly by a heart attack. A passionate supporter of traditional catalan cuisine, he started his way to stardom in 1981 when he transformed his family restaurant in Sant Celoni into the today 3-Michelin star El Racó de Can Fabes. He also got 2 stars for his restaurant Santceloni (Madrid), 1 for Tierra (Toledo) and 1 for Evo (L'Hospitalet de Llobregat). He also recently opened a restaurant in Dubai called Ossiano, and the one in Singapore, Santi, where he found his death. In the recent years he had a bitter controversy with another stellar Catalan chef, Ferran Adrià, with whom he clashed because of their opposite cooking approach. All the well-known Catalan chefs, Adrià included, have mourned his untimely death. Adrià has also scheduled a tribute to Santamaria on February 21, 2010, in the Girona's Fòrum Gastronòmic.