The Difficulties Facing the Small Restaurants in Mauritius

Restaurant owners who have their business along the coast depend mostly on the tourism sector. And yet, although arrivals to Mauritius have increase since last year, the situation has remained the same in the restaurants. There is a waiter at La Cravache D’or Restaurant says that even with the increase in tourists in the country but it does not mean that they eat in their restaurant. Most of them like to stay in the hotel for breakfast, lunch and dinner; especially those who only want to relax by the beach or poolside of their hotel. As for the local customers, the owner of the restaurant says that there are less Mauritians because of the rise in the cost of living. There are many factors influencing the decrease in the number of Mauritians in the restaurants. The main reason being everything is getting more and more expensive and so people became choosier in what they eat. They do not just want quality but they would think twice about the cost of what they would eat.

As for the restaurant Au Fin Bec, the Manager says that the number of tourist customers is low at the moment because it is the low season. They usually receive more customers from other countries in the summer, but right now customers coming to eat in their restaurant is rather few because it is the low season. They are waiting for the usual inflow of tourists at the end of July. Whereas the Director of Sakura Restaurant at Grand Baie says that when the low season ends and with the coming of August, tourist from Reunion Island come to visit Mauritius. Before the month of July, they usually have a low season, but during the next few weeks visitors for Reunion Island come to their restaurant to give them a boost.

Rising Competition

However, whether it is low or high season, businessmen who own restaurants have to encounter a high level of competition. It does not matter whether you specialize in Japanese or European or Indian food because people will always seek a place where they can get value for money. There are several Japanese restaurants in Mauritius and they will find the one that gives the best quality for a moderate price. The Director of Sakura also reminds us that though they have increase the variety of menus to give their customer a wider choice, yet the competition has become more and more tough. At the hotels where they have come to stay, the tourists are having whatever they want as food so they is no need for them to move outside the hotels to find some other things else.

Another problem facing the owners of the restaurants is the lack of manpower. Most of the restaurants based in small coastal villages can hardly find people to work for them because the inhabitants in the surrounding area prefer to work in a big hotel. The hotel management can import labor, whereas the small restaurant cannot do so. Most of the chefs are not prepared to work for small restaurants because they are tempted to work for the hotel where they are paid with better remuneration package. The Sakura Restaurant has trained many chefs during the past 21 years, but many of them have left to work for the hotels. As soon as the hotels spot a good chef, they offer them a job in their institution, so the owners of the restaurant have to restart the training of another chef.

Dining out and understanding your restaurant billing in Italy – Part 1

When you eat out in Italy, you might discover that you are not told the price of the menu items up front or beforehand, and the bill you receive might in turn be surprising. To keep yourself from being caught off-guard, just remember these few pointers on dining.

When you eat out, add the bread and cover charge and a ten percent service charge to your bill. This might be included in the bill (reading servizio compreso’) or it might not, meaning that you’ll have to do your own arithmetic and add the appropriate value to your cost. Additional tipping is at your own discretion, but never do it in family owned and family run places because it is bad etiquette. Plus, it’s a dead giveaway that you’re a tourist, and who wants to be thought of as one of those?

A very expensive restaurant will run you over L80,000, while an inexpensive restaurant will charge less then L30,000. The moderate and expensive fall between these two and are separated by the L50,000 mark.

If you’ve visited Italy before, you might remember being able to get a full meal for less than a pound. Sadly, those days are over due in part to inflation, unstable economies, the rise of the Euro, and the fall of the dollar. However, dining out in Italy can still be seen as a bargain, especially if you order wine and then calculate how much the same amount of wine would have cost you at home.

Some restaurants have special menus for tourists, and these can be a surprisingly good deal. A menu turistico’ is a full meal (usually nothing special) for a fixed price of between L20-25,000. More imaginative and creative chefs offer a menu degustazione, which is a set-price gourmet meal that lets you taste the daily specialties and seasonal dishes. Of course, both options are cheaper than the same a la carte.

When you leave a restaurant, you will be given a receipt. According to Italian law, you must carry this with you out the door and for a distance of at least 300 meters. If you aren’t given one, authorities see that as a sign that the establishment might be fudging its taxes and thus offering you lower prices. Even though it’s unlikely that the tax police are watching the restaurant and all its exiting patrons, you might still be charged with a heavy fine if you are stopped without a receipt less than 300 meters away.

Should restaurants be required to list calories and fat grams on their menus?

Such an idea is nothing more than yet another example of our silly government’s attempts to control every aspect of our lives, including the way we think.

Forcing restaurants to supply this information on menus would only increase costs in the production of those menus which, in turn would be passed on to every customer.

Of course, government doesn’t want us to be intelligent enough to think for ourselves, to get off our chairs and go and ask the chef what is in the food. That would smack of an independence of spirit and consciousness which comes dangerously close to enabling our country to be reckoned with.

No, if we are spoon-fed every little piece of information truth and lies together the powers-that-be no doubt hope that we will be unable to tell the difference, either in the content of food or in any other of the drivel we are expected to assimilate. Then they can sell our country down whichever European river makes them the most profit. It’s not Americanisation. Even the Yanks aren’t that stupid. It is pseudo-Americanisation, which our so-called senior politicians are using in their usual discreditable way.

Barcelona – Eating Out Cheaply In Barcelona

Barcelona is one of the world’s great cities.

If you’re planning a trip to this part of Spain then you’ll never be short of things to do or see – but here’s a great tip – make sure you set aside some time to explore the city’s culinary delights. The styles and range of available food is vast and so tempting that you won’t find it easy to stick to your food budget. Barcelona is a food lovers paradise!

So – can you eat cheaply in the Catalan capital city? Of course but you need some insider knowledge. Read on for great tips and some pointers on how to eat cheaply in Barcelona without missing out on the fantastic food selection.

There really is no better place than the Catalan capital if you are a bit of a foodie. In fact, it would be oh so easy to spend your entire stay in restaurants, bars and cafes.

Your Barcelona dining experience can be as fun or as serious as you want to make it. Seafood is the traditional choice for most of the locals, but the range of menu options is always wide and appealing.

Try to beg, borrow or buy a city guidebook before you travel. These are regularly updated and of course contain extensive listings of restaurants – with something to meet all tastes and budgets. The guides are usually written by locals and the advice is current and up to date.

I always recommend that you take a look in your local library for different types of guide book before you travel. If you’re like me then you’ll be tempted to cheat a little and photocopy the pages you really need. Oops – did I say that! Why not try to travel light and then leave the heavy books at home!

Tapas of course are Spain’s great culinary gift to the world – and are a very good way to keep your budget down. Go for Tapas as a quick and easy snack type meal or order a banquet and tuck in. There are literally thousands of tapas bars and cafes around Barcelona.

It’s also worth watching out for restaurants that offer Tourist Menu’s – specially adapted and specially priced selections that are often to be found posted outside. The range is not as extensive as it might be but the value is great and the food usually decent enough.

My personal favorites? I recommend that you try these:

Can Majo

Fish dishes galore. Can Majo is one of the greatest fish restaurants in Barcelona. Tuck into a huge locally caught lobster or the most spectacular range of seafood tapas that you’re ever likely to see. If you pick carefully from the menu you won’t find it too expensive

Cal Pep

Tapas tapas tapas! Cal Pep is one of the most famous tapas restaurants in the city while still being reasonably affordable. The staff are famous for the buzz they create and the food is quite simply spectacular. Give it a go – it will certainly be an eating experience you won’t forget any time soon.

If you love food then you’ll love Barcelona. Go book your flight – my tummy is rumbling already !