If you are planning to try sushi, a few words of caution first—it is not what the Japanese eat on regular basis. However, the sheer experience of eating sushi is entertainment at its best where one can sip Saki (rice wine) and ‘aah’ over the skilled chefs who dice, slice, roll and tuck flavourful tuna, salmon, eel, veggies etc. into flavourful concoctions. In Japan, Tokyo’s fast food Izakaya’s are buzzy, yummy and pocket-friendly bars that serve food and follow a formula of an open counter where the chefs’ work.

From a Sushi menu, one can pick Hosomaki (traditional sushi rolls with seaweed (Nori) on the outside) rolled with a variety of fillings. The Salmon Roll, Prawn Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll make for the perfect options to sample this delicious treat. The vegetarians too have many choices with the pickled radish roll, shitake mushroom roll and cucumber and avocado roll. The Uramaki which is believed to have originated in America is prepared by rolling the rice inside out. The more popular rolls like the California roll, the Philadelphia roll and the Prawn Tempura roll are all featured on menus of most Japanese restaurants here, and are an inviting yet not-original-Japanese options as these are prepared with fish that are well-done.  The Uramaki menu features veg options like the Midori, a heady mix of asparagus, cucumber and avocado.

Celebrated Korean chef Akira Back whose celebrity clientele includes Taylor Swift and Eva Longoria, at his restaurant at the JW Marriott in Delhi has created dishes such as, Tuna Pizza, seared Foie gras and wasabi pepper tenderloin. Chef Vikramjit Roy at the Pan Asian in ITC Chennai has worked on creating food that his patrons can connect with without compromising on authenticity. It’s hard to go wrong at Megu at The Leela Palace in Delhi—fresh sushi and sashimi, tempura delivered to your table crackling and wagyu that melts in your mouth like butter. Another highlight includes the Ishiyaki where bite-sized meat or fish is cooked on Lava stones from Mt Fuji.

Katsuya Honda, leading chef at En’s, which overlooks the stunning Qutub Minar in Delhi, has over a 15 year experience in Japanese Washoku food, an art that has been awarded UNESCO Heritage Status. The menu bears witness of the rich epicurean roots of Japan, breaking down the diverse styles that highlight Japanese people and their culture. Sakura at the Nikko Hotel in the capital has adopted a new look as well as a new menu by celebrated Japanese Master Chef Tetsu Akahira. How’s that for starters!

It’s hard to believe that the chestnut-hued beverage that inspires passion, opinion and addiction is perhaps something that slips unnoticed every day by most of us. When you sip from light to dark, the taste gets ramped up in bitterness and effervescence. And that’s how the alchemy of coffee works its magic. If you take your cup of java seriously, you may as well not think twice before spending anywhere between Rs 30,000-60,000 for the world’s most expensive coffee cup by Deviehl, so that you wake up to nothing less than velvety greatness every morning. But coffee most certainly plays a memorable role in your travels, as true luxury involves travelling to new and extraordinary places for a great cup of coffee.

We bring you a list of five most beautiful cafés in the world, which used to be the preferred hangouts of the city’s intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With sumptuous café interiors, Old World grandiosity and unblemished cultural heritage intact, these bistros offer a perfect balance between charm and authenticity.

Caffé Greco, Rome

When in Rome, even if you don’t know what the Romans do, make sure you are familiar with the unspoken rule of drinking coffee: cappuccino in the morning, and an espresso after a meal. Sip a caffé corretto in Rome’s oldest café that’s located on the city’s most luxurious shopping street while watching the sun go down. The dreamy atmosphere and period furnishings inspire you to practise your new-found caffeine vocabulary where the likes of Goethe, Gogol and Keats met to exchange ideas. Stellario Baccellieri, the café’s painter famous for his frescoes, can’t get enough of the place. “Having at least four espressos from the tuxedo-clad servers makes my day,” he says.

Anecdote has it that on the day the New York Café opened, writer Ferenc Molnar and his friends threw the keys into the Danube River to convey their desire that the remains open to all forever.

New York Café, Budapest

The city that is summed up by long and tumultuous political history has a secret in every corner. So, sipping a delectable cup of coffee along with consuming some Hungarian literary history is what takes this grand café’s experience to a brand new level of elegance. Anecdote has it that on the day the New York Café opened, writer Ferenc Molnar and his friends threw the keys into the Danube River to convey their desire that the remains open to all forever. Marble columns and gilded ornaments that make up its interior are testimony to this century-old beauty’s enduring charm.

Caffè Florian, Venice

Robert De Laroche, in his book ‘Florian, Venezia 1720’ writes about the Venetian coffeehouse, “Sweet, but also lively; suave, yet with a sharp tang; both exciting and vital. In fact, just like coffee itself, with its Oriental origins—a plant which has become inseparably intertwined with the history of the Caffè Florian.” There is no other way to describe the opulence of this café that has been the coffee temple to worshippers like Casanova, Charles Dickens, and Marcel Proust. Enter Florian through doors encrusted with heavy marble plaques, leading into the most exquisite monument ever to be erected to the glory of a Venice immortalised by Goldoni, Vivaldi, Tiepolo, Longhi, Canaletto and Guardi. The Old World charm beautifully merges with contemporary radical-chic settings, while the orchestra strikes up a tango.

Café Central, Vienna

If you retrace Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy from ‘Before Sunrise’ in Vienna, you will know why the coffee capital’s Kaffeehäuser are not ordinary. Other than great coffee, you are sure to find a couple of things more here—soul and inspiration. Some of the world’s greatest minds second our opinion about this palatial coffee house: Leon Trotsky came here to play chess, while Sigmund Freud delved deeper into his soul to answer the complex. Its impressive interior of marble pillars, arched ceilings and glittering chandeliers encouraged Peter Altenberg to spend days writing poetry and love-letters. The live classical music in the evening is complimentary!

Café de la Paix, Paris

Legend has it that you are bound to run into a friend because of this café’s popularity and reputation. We suggest you spend some time catching up over a cup of coffee at this French capital’s most stunning café. The florid interior in an opulent Neo-Baroque style is the work of the same architect who created the famous Opera House across the street. The rococo stucco ceiling and the historic terrace bear testimony to the times when Oscar Wilde, Josephine Baker, Emile Zola, and the likes soaked in the best of times in this Belle Époque magnificence.