Zan Rowe has built a career on talking about music. She’s a regular voice on the music radio station Double J and also hosts the ABC program Take 5, where she asks the world’s biggest names about the songs that have shaped them.
The TV and radio presenter is a self-described music nerd. But her other big passion is food – in fact, it’s what she bases every trip abroad around. Here she tells us about the hole-in-the-wall Italian establishment where she had her best meal, as well as the famed culinary region she’s keen to visit but hasn’t quite made it to – yet.
Who makes an excellent travel companion?
Someone who doesn’t sweat the small stuff and can roll with whatever adventure throws at you. A curious spirit who embraces the moments they’re in (and the food in front of them). A companion whose habits roughly match or complement your own.
Being an early riser with someone who sleeps till midday can make it challenging to explore together. But also, see: roll with whatever adventure throws at you!
My earliest childhood holiday memory is …
Camping at Balnarring on the south-eastern tip of the Mornington Peninsula. I remember our canvas family tent, hot days and nights, but most of all it’s probably seared into my memory because I tripped over a tent peg and cut my leg while playing tiggy [tag] with my brothers. I still have the scar.
Describe your most memorable travel meal – good, bad or completely out there.
This is hard, because food is what I base all my travel around. I once had a simple seafood pasta in Trastevere, Rome, at a little place called Le Mani in Pasta. A tiny hole-in-the-wall joint where the house wine is served in goblets and the decor is nothing fancy. It was the greatest pasta dish I have ever eaten. Italy proved to me that it’s all about simple, good ingredients. And a rule of three. There’s a pic of me post-meal and let’s just say I look post-something else. Heaven.
What’s the most relaxing place you’ve ever visited?
Milos, Greece. I was travelling alone and beach hopped for four days around the island. The water is so blue and mild, surrounded by rock formations that looked as though we were on another planet. Small villages dot the island, but for much of it I was solo, it was so quiet. I floated in the salty water every day. I also cried every day, it was that beautiful.
And the most stressful?
Sa Pa, Vietnam. Largely because I had to abandon a multi-day hike due to bad weather, and getting down the Hoàng Liên Son Mountains on a single-lane road with no barriers and metre-thick soft mud was an hour-long near-death experience I’ll never forget.
What is your holiday ritual?
Jump in the water. Nothing connects you to a place, grounds you and resets you like a good dunk.
What’s your strategy for enduring long-haul flights?
Water not booze, fresh food if you can, but don’t eat too much, and try to sleep even if you’re not tired.
What’s your biggest travel regret?
Not visiting Oaxaca – the heart of traditional Mexican cuisine – when I spent three months in Mexico. Ah well, guess I’ll just have to return.
Take 5 with Zan Rowe is streaming on ABC iView.
