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5.4.13 Sabores do Sichuan

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Two branches, Rua Oliveira Martins 9C (location HERE ), and Avenida São João de Deus 41F (location HERE ). Open 1200 to 1445 or 1500 hours (best to check first), and from 1830 to 2200 hours, closed Sundays. Not all Chinese restaurants are the same. Soup with noodles, Gyozas (including the chilli oil ones), Sichuan-style burgers, and the now legendary Sichuan-style spicy boiled pork (no, I haven’t tried that one yet) are all present and correct. The stir-fried chicken with Hunan Chilli was rather good, too. Enjoy dishes as they are, or accompany them with a choice of rice, or one of the salad offerings. Service is good and prices reasonable. The outlet on Avenida São João de Deus - just across the road from the western entrance to Roma-Areeiro station - takes both cash and card payments. HOWEVER The outlet on Rua Oliveira Martins may not. These outlets are becoming increasingly popular, and deservedly so. Buses 49B, 722, 727, 735, 756 and 767 nearby; Metro Roma (Linha Verde); heavy rail...
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7.2.32 November 2026

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Still no funiculars, and so we start, once more, with the alternatives to using funiculars. Don’t slog up those hills just because the funiculars have been suspended. Minibus 51E gives an alternative to the Santa Justa lift, and an alternative to the Glória funicular; Bairrobus 19B gives an alternative to the Lavra funicular; Bairrobus 22B gives an alternative to the Bica funicular. WEATHER CHANGING The Lisbon area has enjoyed a mainly dry and warm October, but later this week will see cooler conditions, and then showery rain. Enjoy the dry days while you can. METRO NEWS Santa Apolónia station (Linha Azul) will close from November for several months. This allows work to proceed on the Drainage Plan, part of which runs very close to the Metro tunnels near Santa Apolónia. As a result, services will be cut back to Terreiro do Paço, with Carris promising more bus services between the two locations. That means longer journey times, so if you have to connect with main line rail services a...
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4.7.9 In The Footsteps of 007

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This is a half day out for dry and not too windy days. Back in 1968, the then owners of the Bond franchise faced two problems: their lead actor, Sean Connery, had decided not to participate in the next instalment in that franchise, and once the decision had been made to use Ian Fleming’s novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as the basis of that next film, location scouts were having difficulty finding suitable spots for shooting. The beach ... As we now know, Connery was replaced - for one film only - by former male model George Lazenby, and the Channel coast of France was replaced by the Lisbon Coast. So cinema-goers’ first view of the new 007 happened around Cascais, Estoril, The Bridge now called Ponte 25 de Abril, and other Lisbon area locations. But the most dramatic view of New Bond happened at Praia do Guincho, west of Cascais. 007 drives his Aston Martin DBS down to the beach, then runs into the sea to rescue a mystery woman who was walking into the freezing cold Atlantic wat...
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5.1.28 Zé dos Cornos

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Beco dos Surradores 5 Location HERE . Open 1200 to 1600 hours Tuesday to Saturday; 1900 to 2200 hours Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday. On the eastern fringe of the Mouraria. Not so far up the hill of Beco Surradores, so not much climbing. A small space inside with no outside tables, and only open for two evenings each week. CAUTION Get there in good time, preferably before it’s due to open, as the restaurant can get busy, so if you’re not close to the front of the queue when the restaurant opens, you’ll be waiting a while. The menu is mainly grilled Portuguese staples, with that grill on the go from opening time. And right before opening time, the queue is interrogated to find out how many are in each waiting group. That helps the staff best allocate seating in order to get the most people into the limited space. Tables have bread, olives and a pastel de bacalhau per person plus, perhaps, cheese, already laid out. As ever, if you don’t want any of these, say so: I enjoyed...
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4.3.13 Miradouro de Santo Amaro

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Rua Academia Recreativa de Santo Amaro Location HERE . A not too high up but surprisingly enjoyable viewpoint, giving views across the river and a close-up of Ponte 25 de Abril. Also a pleasantly quiet location. It’s either a climb up from Rua Primeiro de Maio along Calçada Santo Amaro, which is quite steep, or a walk down from buses and trams on Rua João Barros, or Rua Jau, along Rua Gil Vicente. If you’re stopping in Santo Amaro for a while, walk back down the hill where there are lots of cafés and restaurants. The viewpoint has at its centre the Capela de Santo Amaro, a small chapel. In front of the chapel is the viewpoint proper, and behind it there is seating, with shading trees. Tram 18, Buses 720, 738, 742 and 760 up in Santo Amaro; Tram 15, Buses 714, 727, 732, 751 and 756 down at the foot of Calçada Santo Amaro. [ HOME ]
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7.2.30 October 2026

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Still no funiculars, and so we start, once more, with the alternatives to using funiculars. Don’t slog up those hills just because the funiculars have been suspended. Minibus 51E gives an alternative to the Santa Justa lift, and an alternative to the Glória funicular; Bairrobus 19B gives an alternative to the Lavra funicular; Bairrobus 22B gives an alternative to the Bica funicular. PASTEL DE NATA NEWS Pastelaria Aloma has won best Pastel de Nata for the third year running. The opposition included Castro, but it’s worth pointing out that all contenders were not sampled straight from the oven and warm. TAXI AND TVDE NEWS TVDE can now include taxis. Uber and Bolt opposed this change, but it makes the playing field a little more level. So your ride may turn out to be a taxi. ALSO Taxis are now offering a fixed fare from the Airport to central Lisbon, following a series of complaints and revelations concerning less than totally ethical behaviour by some drivers. TUK-TUK NEWS A Tuk-Tuk w...
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6.1.15 Quiosque dos Sabores

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Avenida Dom João II 40 Location HERE . It’s in Centro Comercial Vasco da Gama! On Level 2, which is one floor above street level, at the eastern (river) side of the complex. Self-service and payment when ordering. For those occasions where the summer weather means heading for somewhere with air con, or winter weather means finding somewhere dry, and still with the option of using the outside terrace, a quiosque inside one of the city’s largest and busiest shopping centres. It’s also a good example of a coffee stop and pastelaria inside a large commercial centre not being expensive: a Galão and two Pastéis de Nata , at September 2026 prices, came out at just under €4. At these prices, you’re not going to get waited on, but the self-service and pre-payment is not difficult to understand and navigate. Card payment is accepted, even for small amounts. Service is prompt; you use the shared seating in that part of Level 2. The coffee is good, and the pastéis de nata better than might be exp...
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