Bargains Milan

A good cheap way to checkout fashion conscious Italians & foreigners alike is happy hour at Nobu which is located inside the Armani department store.

Order a drink or two and help yourself to free food (sushi, tempura, squid salad, etc). There is a more quiet dining area upstairs from the music thumping lounge area. You can definitely see Armani's clean and simple dark wooded interior design. Even with the sexy dim lights and crowds of waiting patrons, you don't feel like you’re on top of each other. If you’re lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of Giorgio Armani himself, who makes his way to the restaurant every so often to hang out.

Who would have thought about eating at the Hare Krishna Temple? They had good food at a set price and prepared with lots of love.

It’s located off a side street. Once when we entered, we were led to a round table with another couple seated and already eating. They like to fill up their tables one at a time. So wherever there's an empty seat they'll stick you in, but keeping in mind your party size. It’s nicely decorated with wooden chairs and white tablecloths. It had a very relaxed atmosphere.

The food was tasty. You get six little dishes of food prepared for the day. It's all vegetarian, from a fresh salad to a tasty stew. You’re allowed to ask for seconds on any or all the little dishes. The only beverage was water, tea or organic coffee. As small as it looks, even my male friend was stuffed to the end.

One of the best things about Milan is the many street markets all around town. There are Fiera di Senigallia, Mercato di Viale Papiniano, and Via Fiori Chiari, just to name a few. Here you can find designer labels to well-made fakes, fresh vegetables to old antiques, an espresso maker to Italian-made shoes, and all at a fraction of department store cost. But if you want to go bargain shopping during the week, there are a few large outlets to browse, like Salvagente. Here you can go through racks and racks of mostly women’s clothes, some men’s, and some shoes. Most of the items are considered past season but if you can wear it well as it is fashionable anytime. But if you really want to shop at the boutiques and department stores, the time to go is January and early July with the big "Saldi" signs.

In the daytime, it’s fine dining, but at night it’s a whole different thing. It’s kind of a hard place to find in the dark but you just need to hear follow the discotheque thump. Once at the entrance, the bouncer basically pick out certain looks and gender. After you get the okay, you walk across a stone laid lawn which leads into a glass enclosed Cafe Cavalli, where there is a lot of illuminating blue light and model type crowds. Some tables had a huge fishbowl shaped like a wine glass. The tables are covered in fashion designer Roberto Cavalli's signature silk fabrics. Lots of animal skin covered chairs and a big white Great Dane roams around the tables. Surprisingly, he's very mellow to all the ruckus. Since we didn't have a cover charge, we spent it on some good martini drinks. It’s really loud but a great people-watching place.