The long-awaited school holidays are here again, when food-loving families can escape the equatorial heat and enjoy a change of taste. And which restaurants would suit your family better than the Bib Gourmand recipients in your destination city? Michelin inspectors have done the legwork for you, to maximise your time and help you dodge the tasteless tourist traps.
Barcelona
La Boqueria market in Barcelona
Undoubtedly one of the key dining capitals of Europe, Barcelona is the city with the densest concentration of Michelin-awarded restaurants. You’ll see the locals out and about with their own children, both on the streets and in restaurants. Summer is the best time for foodies to visit. There’s no better time to stroll down touristy La Rambla than during the Tast a la Rambla, Barcelona’s Gastronomy Week happening from 9 to 12 June, which features live cooking demonstrations and workshops, many led by the chefs of starred restaurants around the city.
If you're staying for a week longer, don't miss the Benvinguts a Pagès from 17 to 19 June, a weekend-long event when farms throughout Catalunya throw their gates open to the public. Rent a car for a day trip to the neighbouring coastal county of Maresme, where you'll find farms specialising in vegetables, fruits, cheese or olives. Be sure to grab a chocolate croissant or longaniza sandwich at Bib Gourmand-rated Olmosgourmet on the way there (they open at 5.30am!). On the way back to Barcelona, make a pitstop for dinner at Ca n'Armengol. There’s plenty on the menu to please the youngsters at this family-run business, from ham and chicken croquettes to a roast chicken cannelloni which has been on the menu since 1923.
Want to keep stomachs filled for a day of art appreciation? Just a few streets down from Gaudi’s Casa Batlló is Casa Calvet, located in a lesser-known Gaudi building. Their seasonal menus expertly combine Catalan cuisine with Asian influences, like monkfish and clams with nori, or lamb with coconut couscous. A children’s menu is available on weekdays. For a more traditional taste, order the Catalan stockpot or Grilled Saltcod at Senyor Parellada, nestled in a charming colonial-styled courtyard close to the Picasso Museum in fashionable El Born. They also make an excellent Paella Parellada, served with prawns pre-peeled to guarantee a hassle-free meal.
It’s not Spain without Iberico ham! Ogle at the glorious, waxy legs of ham at La Boqueria, the city’s oldest market (and a favourite hang out of Ferran Adria), which has been running since 1217. Two blocks down, you’ll find Fonda España. Burgers, fries and macaroni are listed on the kids menu, but look in the snacks section of the à la carte menu for a kid-pleasing lineup with a more local flavour, including croquettes, Iberian ham shavings on ciabatta, and the traditional pà amb tomàquet.
Round out your foodie-in-training's culinary education by learning about prehistoric utensils, cooking equipment and even food remains at the Archaeological Museum of Catalunya’s El Geni Culinari exhibition, which traces the evolution of present-day cooking. Afterwards, take a slow stroll down to the French-influenced Silvestre, where you can order half-sizes of everything, perfect for small appetites or curious ones. Opt for their Tastets menu to get three half sizes of your choice and one dessert for 35€. The cod fritters are a crowd favourite, and kids will love the breaded rabbit cutlet (just don’t tell them what it is). Their dessert selection is every child’s dream, with ice creams, yoghurts, caramelised apple pie, and molten chocolate cake.
Tokyo
Tokyo's Tsukiji market
While Tokyo restaurants aren’t known for their child-friendliness, the city is certainly Asia’s Michelin capital, with 51 starred restaurants and a whopping 339 Bib Gourmand awards in 2016. Give the smoky izakayas a miss and dine well before the crowds arrive, and school-aged children will do just fine. Taking the subway is unavoidable in such a massive city, but you can cut down on travel time by choosing a hotel as close as possible to the culinary heart of Tokyo: Tsukiji market.
It’s the final countdown for Japan's most famous market, which will be vacating its iconic current premises this November. See it one last time before everything moves to a climate-controlled multi-storey that won’t be as welcoming to visitors. After the tuna auctions, divide and conquer by taking turns to queue up for the chef’s daily selections at Sushi Dai and explore the sprawling market.
Nothing cultivates food appreciation like having to make it yourself. Learn about the subtle art of soba-making at the Tsukiji Soba Academy, or the finer points of sushi compositions at the Tokyo Sushi Academy just opposite the market. As a reward for the hard work, head a few streets down to the Miyagawa Honten for a satisfying meal of grilled Eel. Nearby Akomeya is a supermarket, lifestyle store and Bib Gourmand restaurant all rolled into one - children will love their Tempura lunch set and brightly-coloured selection of teatime sweets.
More time on your hands? Learn how to make your own senbei, the Japanese rice cracker that's a recess-time staple, on the traditional grill at Soka Senbei Garden, just a short train ride out from Tokyo. Stop on the way back for a set menu of seasonal French dishes at Le Comptoir des Régions (note that admission is restricted to primary school-aged children and older). If you prefer donburi/donmono to French food, switch to the Akihabara line to Asakusa Station to lunch at Dozeuiidaya instead. Post-lunch, stroll down Kappabashi Dori to shop for kitchen equipment and highly realistic replica food (just watch out the younger ones don't end up nibbling on the wrong one), before continuing a few more streets South to Sugita for their finely-breaded and tender tonkatsu.
Whether you're for or against it, learn about how mono-sodium glutamate - and its quintessentially Japanese umami taste - became an undeniable feature of Asian cooking on the Aji No Moto Factory tour in Kawasaki, then pop out at Omori train station on the way back to lunch at Mikokoroya just a few steps away.
Chicago
Let’s face it - the cuisine on most children's menus is essentially American, so you can’t go wrong in America. A great walking city with outstanding museums, parks and restaurants clustered handily together, Chicago delivers the best of American melting pot cuisine.
Plenty of Bib Gourmand restaurants lie a stone's throw from Millennium Park. After checking out Cloud Gate or Maggie Daley Park, skip the snack kiosk and head down West Randolph Street to get your fix. Avec serves a Mediterranean-inspired menu and in true American style, their “small plates” aren’t all that tiny, so ask for half portions if you’d like to sample more of their dishes. If kids turn up their noses at their signature chorizo-stuffed medjool dates, fall back on their Deluxe Foccacia baked with taleggio and ricotta - which because which kid doesn’t love a cheese toastie?
Au Cheval stays true to its Midwestern roots with posh renditions of down-home diner favourites. Kids will go gaga for their menu headliners: the Fried Bologna Sandwich containing house-made mortadella, and the “Single" Cheeseburger with two patties that consistently tops the country’s best burger leaderboards.
At the Museum of Science and Industry, an ongoing Farm Tech exhibit is a 101 course on how engineering, chemistry and genetics are transforming modern agriculture. Make a post-museum pit-stop at A10,only a five minute drive or twenty minute walk away, where kids won’t be able to resist the sophisticated renditions of their all-time favourite pastas - beef heart bolognese and carbonara made with ramps and guanciale. For a lighter, healthier choice, continue a little further north to Nana Organic, where children under ten eat free from Wednesdays to Fridays between 5-7pm. Avocado fries, anyone?
After exploring the Green City Farmer’s market in Lincoln Park, walk over to the Chicago Old Town, where the kids will be stoked to order from Jean-Georges Vongerichten's specially created kids menu (Michelin-worthy fried chicken!) at The Pump Room. Then head to the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Farm-in-the-zZoo, a great opportunity for city kids to see where milk, eggs, meat and vegetables come from. End off the evening with wild boar sausage orechiette and handmade gnocchi at Riccardo Trattoria.
If your little ones are not all that little, visit Kendall College for a crash course in Basic Knife Skills or a two-day Culinary Bootcamp condensed from their Culinary Arts Programme. Then reward yourselves with a meal at Mott Street, where a clever combination of Chinese, Korean, and North and Latin American influences will hit the spot for every Singaporean. Our top picks for kids are the potato and onion bread and a chocolate-dipped banana (not Cavendish but pisang emas). Hawker fans will want to try their version of Hainanese chicken rice made with Cornish hens. How's that for multi-culturalism?
Macau
If a long weekend is all you can spare, jet off to Macau for a change of pace. Picturesque, pedestrian-friendly areas and beautiful beaches lie less than twenty minutes’ drive away from extravagant luxury hotels and their world-class entertainment. The Macanese are famous for their pastries, so kids will be well supplied with snacks all day long. Make sure they save their stomachs for these standout restaurants that snagged the 2016 Bibs.
Less than five minutes from the Iconic Senado Square are Tou Tou Koi's roast duck and deep fried crab, and Cheung Kei's simple but satisfying noodles with wonton and deep fried fish balls. Walk off your lunch with a stroll past the Ruins of St Paul, to the Church of St Anthony. Tucked away on the ground floor of an unassuming residential block next door, Hou Kong Chi Kei is well worth the search. Young and old will fall hard for their breaded and deep-fried taro fish ball, with fresh fish meat encased in a thick smooth layer of mashed taro. They won't look at fish the same way again after tasting the shatteringly crisp skin and creamy soft flesh of the barbecued red bigeye.
Din Tai Fung in City of Dreams is your best bet in the main casino cluster. The Taiwanese chain is well known for xiao long bao, it's the delicate and fresh rendition of the classic siu mai that steals the spotlight at this outlet.
A 15 minute walk brings you to Café Leon in picturesque Taipa Village, the local all-time favourite where the suckling pig and tomato-coated African rice are raved about. Kids will love their pork chop baked rice. Spend the afternoon wandering the amongst the graceful waterfront houses, then onward to Manuel Cozinha Portuguesa for authentic Portuguese cuisine. The deep fried codfish and potato cakes will be a guaranteed hit.
No visit to the charming and sleepy town of Coloane will be complete without a meal at Chan Seng Kei, just next door to the Church of St Francis Xavier. Arrive early so you won't miss out on their signature duck braised with tangerine peel - only ten are available every day.
