Ping Pong

Do you like dim sum? That is the question to make, before I start talking about my experience in this restaurant. Ping Pong is a dim sum restaurant in the heart of São Paulo – and I think I can say I have summed up this restaurant value proposition in this sentence. But the fact is this is a very nice restaurant (especially if you like this Chinese specialty) and it is not as overpriced as many of São Paulo’s places (just don’t compare it with dim sum prices in China or Macao).

Ping Pong is located in Itaim Bibi, in a small and quiet street. The room is large and clean, with black and sober walls and lines, and a big vertical garden wall in one end. Small tables and stools complete the picture that unfolds in front of your eyes. In each one of them, a small menu awaits.

And then the dim sum adventure begins. The menu is nothing more than a small piece of paper, with small boxes that you can tick – indicating your choices. There is an all you can eat menu, comprising almost all of the choices in the menu – and you can order as mucu as you want (if you still eat below the menu price, you will need to pay the price of what you have eaten – not the full price). The options are many and all of them are great – ranging from duck to shrimp, white fish, crabs, dumplings, cream, less or more spicy, no spicy at all,… all of them delicious. And, to complement all of this – just have a look at the teas menu, you will find some good choices there for an immersion in Chinese food in São Paulo.

Ping Pong is great place for a different dinner in São Paulo – a relaxed one, where conversations can be prompted by “what are we eating” questions. And enjoy your dim sums!

Where: São Paulo - Brazil

Address: Rua Lopes Neto, 15 - Itaim Bibi

Phone: +55 11 3078 5808

Website: http://www.br.pingpongdimsum.com.br

Expensive: The all you can eat menu is around €35.

Last visit: November 2011

Bar do Juarez

I have been talking too much about high end, expensive, posh restaurants! Let me now give you one where you should go with your friends, to have a beer, eat great picanha and share a few laughs, in a totally relaxed place. Let me give you Bar do Juarez!

Bar do Juarez is actually a 4 restaurant chain spread around São Paulo, in some of the hippest neighbourhoods around (Brooklyn, Itaim Bibi, Moema and Pinheiros). But in all of them you find the same relaxed atmosphere – white tiles on the floor and walls, wooden furniture around and waiters moving quickly around, carrying major trays full of beers of great things to eat. There are TV sets around, usually playing soccer matches and the cheer sound of several conversations going around. There are some tables outdoor, facing the street, but flowing the restaurant into the city. Calmly. In a few words, a relaxed atmosphere, great to end the day or to start the night.

The food is simple and good, a perfect match for the ambience in there. There are crabs and shrimps, fried squids, pork ribs, empanadas and cod fish cakes – all of it great for a relaxed meal with friends. But, actually, my preference (and the main reason why I am writing this article) goes for a seven words entrée – picanha. You can order a picanha to share – it will come raw, and you (and your friends – don’t be a fool and order one for yourself only) will have to cook it in the grill / rechaud that will come along. Believe me – with beer always flowing (the running waiters will be always replacing your empty glass by a new filled one), friends around in a great conversation, those thin pieces of excellent meat will taste like the best meal ever! Trust me!

This is my place of choice to relax with some friends in São Paulo. And it is a great restaurant to have a great meal, while running away from those over-priced places around! A... (guess) cool dinner.

Where: São Paulo - Brazil

Address: Avenida Juscelino Kubischek 1164 – Itaim Bibi

Phone: +55 11 3078 3458

Website: http://www.bardojuarez.com.br

Expensive: It will depend on how much beer and meat you will eat – but, I would estimate around €25 (that was what I paid on my last visit)

Last visit: November 2011

Adega Santiago

This small and far-from tourist agenda restaurant was born from a personal trip the owner did to Portugal and Spain. A trip in, as he says, he discovered how these two countries at the same time always suspicious and accomplices, sharing the same passion for food and wine and a relaxed attitude. And I think the restaurant captures this really well!

So, we are talking about a small restaurant off Rebouças Avenue. It has probably around 20 tables, between timber walls and roof, in a nice house. When we step inside, it is noticeable that actually the room is too small for so many people – guests are seated too close to each other and there is too much noise inside. But you breathe some intimacy never the less, and the feeling you are in great restaurant. And then you look at the menu, and any doubt melts away.

Let’s disclose it – I am Portuguese, and crazy for Iberian food. Maybe that was why I felt so good (and excited) when I looked at the menu – but, I doubt you could feel any less (even if you are not Portuguese) when reading it. The menu includes tapas, sandwiches and entrees. It includes “codfish (remember codfish is Portugal’s emblematic sea food) açorda” (a magnificent combination of cod, fried egg and bread flooded in olive oil and herbs), “rich rice” (rice with shellfish, including shrimps and clams), “Portuguese sardines”, “octopus carpaccio”, “oven cooked codfish” and several steaks. It also has a very rich assortment of Iberian wines (especially red) that ensure a perfect match with your entrée or tapas, for a perfect meal. And then you can order desserts – if your belly has not have enough. “Churros with dulce the leche” (Spanish) or “Rabanadas and icecream” (Portuguese) will live up to any expectation, showcasing the perfect combination of dry and warmish desserts with cold and sweet sides – a match that will burst in your mouth!

Adega Santiago is (in my opinion) a great restaurant. One to take your wife on a special and relaxed dinner, one to make both of you enjoy the time and the taste of a great meal, in perfect company. And 9500 kilometres away, it made me feel home!

Where: São Paulo - Brazil

Address: Rua Sampaio Vidal, 1072 – Jardim Paulista

Phone: +55 11 3081 5211

Website: http://adegasantiago.com.br/

Expensive: Watch it! Iberian delicacies are a lot more explosive this side of the Atlantic. Dinner will never be below €50.

Last visit: November 2011

Skye @ Unique

Imagine a penthouse on top of an incredibly stylish hotel, overlooking a modern and vibrant world-class city, with a park at your feet. Imagine you are surrounded all night by beautiful (and some of them famous) people who go there for dinner or to take a drink with some friends. Imagine a good and open menu, with many different options and cuisines. Did you imagine it? Then, welcome to Skye restaurant, on top of Unique Hotel, in São Paulo.

Unique hotel is the watermelon building, a landmark of São Paulo, shaped like a suspended fruit in the air. It is located in the fringes of Ibirapuera Park, the one I usually refer to as a tropical version of New York’s Central Park – a big green area, with lakes, paths to bike and run, always full of people having a good time, enjoying family or friends company. It is quite central to São Paulo, next to some of the most expensive neighbourhoods, like Jardins and Itaim-Bibi. The Penthouse of Unique is a bar-restaurant (Skye), with glass windows, long bars, nice decoration and a terrace with amazing views opening up to the city – at night it is an amazing location. And it is always full of beautiful people (disclaimer: beautiful on the looks, I can’t say anything about their “inside”) dining or going for a drink. This is the set up. Now, on the food.

Please be advised of one thing. It won’t be cheap! Skye is an expensive restaurant – quality is (often) paid and São Paulo lives up to being an expensive city. So does Skye. Now, that you have been warned, ask for a ‘caipirinha’, the lime, sugar and Brazilian spirit cachaça cocktail and relax. Enjoy the views and start the easy talk you’re your friends – the atmosphere is great for unwinding, for a light moment. Do it outside, and breathe a (precious) purer air. Then, look at the menu. São Paulo has influences from around the world, as so does Skye cuisine. You can find here Italian pasta, pizzas, sushi and French dishes. Believe me, they are all good, a variety that will please (almost) everyone group. An octopus carpaccio is always a good way to start a meal, maybe coupled with any of the other great starters (have a look at the menu and let you mouth choose it for you). If you like Italian, let me tell you the pizzas are thin and crusty and delicious – or you can head to a good pasta choice. Or a tasty risotto. Sushi and sashimi are also very good and you should try them – but, on a personal note, in São Paulo, I prefer Yabani. But, the last time I was there, I went for a different kind of entrée – I chose a delicious confit de canard, a delicious duck that melted in my mouth and still lingers in my memory. Afterwards, you can still try to make some room in your stomach for a nice petit gateau coupled with ice-cream.

Skye is a great experience to have in São Paulo. It has that good food and chic party atmosphere that combine to make you feel light headed and dizzy, and believe in a World where things are perfect and beautiful. A great place to spurge, with your future girlfriend to impress and a couple of friends, before heading out to a party hard night. Or to take your work colleagues, if you want to show them São Paulo’s fanciest side. But just a cautionary note – Skye is just a place.

Where: São Paulo - Brazil

Address: Avenida Brigadeiro Luis Antonio, 4700, Jardim Paulista

Phone: +55 11 3055 4702

Website: http://www.hotelunique.com.br/interna.php?s=skye

Expensive: Watch out for your wallet. Price will easily be over €60. Actually, my last bill was €100…

Wine: D.V. Catena

Mendonza is an amazing terroir. Nested against the always impressive Andes mountain range, at some altitude and with a dry climate, it is home of some of the best wines around. Catena Zapata winery is one of the most important ones in the region, and produces some incredible Malbecs. D.V Catena is one of them.

It is a balanced wine, bodied but on the right mix, rubi coloured and tasting of matured prums and spices, that blend together for an intense and concentrated experience in your mouth, that lings in after you drink it, in a pleasent note. It is a great wine to drink with red meat (a good "bife chorizo" in Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires?) or lamb (like a "cordero patagonico"). A good and secure option, that will not let you down.

Website: http://www.catenawines.com/

Ban Kao

My girlfriend (yes, we are back on!) loves Asian food – probably a bit of cultural heritage here. And that means Thai as well. So, yesterday, a Thai restaurant suddenly showed up in our schedule for dinner in São Paulo…

Ban Kao is right in the middle of Itaim Bibi neighbourhood, next to João Cachoeira Street, but actually in a narrower and darker street. When you cross the door you enter into a dark bur sober and modern world, into a very well decorated dining room. I personally choose the couches area…

You can actually skip the “trouble” of choosing between the many available dishes – you can opt for a “tasting” option that will allow you to share with everyone on the table a choice of 3 starters, 3 entrees and 2 desserts elected by the chef. I wanted to choose, so… starters promise a feast for your mouth if you are into Asian cuisine. You have a mix of dim sums, spicy bittersweet chicken, salmon sashimi, scallops and rice pudding delicacies combined in unique and “yummi” dishes – just remember each portion is actually for 2 persons (something a specific person forgot to notice…). When you go to the entrees, you need to pay close attention if you like spicy (like my girlfriend – again, the genetic herigate issue) or non-spicy food (my choice). The you can think about the several curry or coconut based shrimps or sea basses, the chicken Wan Gai, the steak dressed in exotic sauces, the several choices of fried rice… Believe me, the cuisine is great, mixing Thai, Vietnamese and Laos influences in a very mouth filling menu. That sets you up for desserts - especially if you went to a spicy food entrée…

Ban Kao is a very good Asian restaurant – mainly Thai, but with good influences from all Southeast Asia. It is a good place to have dinner with your spicy-food girlfriend, in a quite, charming and sophisticated place, with great tasty options.

Where: São Paulo - Brazil

Address: Rua Manuel Guedes 444 - Itaim Bibi

Phone: +55 11 3168 0662

Website: http://www.bankao.com.br/

Expensive: Around €35

Last visit: November 2011