10 Brazilian food winners at Rio Olympics

Who says that the Rio Olympics have to be all about sport? Brazilian expat Ana Lucia Ferreira gives us 10 dishes that you simply must savour if you want the full Brazilian culinary experience.

1. The cocktail – Caipirinha

This is the cocktail that you’ll see Brazilians consuming at the beach and often before meals. Made with the ubiquitous Cachaça sugarcane spirit, the caipirinha is equally delicious and refreshing, thanks to generous quantities of fresh lime and brown sugar. The cocktail is famed for “contributing to the happiness and energy" of the South American country’s population.

2. The bread – Pão de queijo

Pão de queijo is a gluten-free cheese bread found pretty much all over Brazil; at cafes, bars and even petrol stations. The essential difference between this and your average bread? The flavour comes from sweet and sour starches from the manioc root (cassava). Pão de queijo is quite literally the eat-anytime option: for breakfast, as a snack or used as dinner rolls. The kids tend to love them too.

3. The side dish – Farofa

Cassava-flour-based farofa is popular for its versatility, simplicity and taste. While there are hundreds of recipes for farofa, the dish is basically just toasted cassava flour with your favourite ingredients and spices thrown in; you can make it with eggs, ham, chorizo and/or carrots. It’s typically served as a side dish with beans.

4. The paste – Goiabada

Goiabada goes well with cheese, but the versatile flavour of this pink guava paste is most commonly used to accompany Brazilian sweets: biscuits, cakes and desserts. Not only is it delicious, it’s also 100 per cent natural.

5. The snack – Pacoquinha

Pacoquinha (sweet peanut rolls) are a divine choice of snack featuring a crumbly, fall-apart texture that melts in your mouth. Their rich and sweet flavour marries well with coffee and complements ice-cream sublimely.

6. The staple – Feijao

The black bean casserole is basically the country’s national dish, devoured by millions of Brazilians every day. You’ll find the vegetarian feijao on offer for lunch and dinner. The black beans are super nutritious and high in fibre by themselves, but meat has also been known to find its way into the dish too.

7. The barbecue – Churrasco

The South Brazilian-style barbecue secret was out long ago and it’s slowly making its way around the globe. Churrasco is a variety of meats, such as pork, chicken and beef, barbecued over natural wood charcoal, leaving them with the trademark churrasco smokiness. It’s more for a dinner party occasion than an everyday indulgence.

8. The chilli – Biquinho

The Brazilian biquinho chillies, particularly popular in the east and north of the country, don’t radiate a particularly strong heat, meaning even a person who doesn’t like chillies may enjoy them. They are eaten as a side dish or in salads, their deep red hue adding colour to the table.

9. The chips – Biscoito de polvilho

Manioc chips are an extremely moreish snack, which you’re more than likely to see being devoured en masse on the beach in Rio. The oven-baked chips are made from manioc starch, making them a gluten-free alternative.

10. The super berry – Acai

This much-hyped, antioxidant, fibre and vitamin-rich berry led the superfood revolution in the West, but they are more mainstream in their native Brazil. Brazilians normally eat or drink them as part of a healthy breakfast, in a sorbet or smoothie. In some regions of Brazil, acai is eaten as a savoury dish.

Ana Lucia Ferreira is co-founder of Brazilian Style Imports together with Jason Hill, an importer of Brazilian food, beverage and barbecue equipment products in Australia.

Wellbeing means different things to different travellers. Here’s how to pick a hotel that gets it right for you.

The best wellness holidays aren’t necessarily spent wrapped in a spa robe. Sometimes they’re found around a dinner table in Cambodia, on a hiking trail in New Zealand or after finally beating jet lag on the other side of the world. The hotel you choose is what makes them happen.

1. Easy access to good food

meals from Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20 — Taste delicious meals at Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20.

One of the quickest ways to derail healthy habits on holiday is to spend half of it working out where to eat instead of digging into the culture around you. Thankfully, Novotel has done much of the hard work already, with chefs building menus that lean into the flavours, ingredients and traditions of each destination.

In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Korkor soup – often dubbed ‘Cambodian ratatouille’ – sits alongside raw blue crab dressed with lime and chilli, best enjoyed with views across the Gulf of Thailand.

In the lovingly chaotic city of Bangkok, the presence of food cranks up the sociability. At Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20, you can settle in with mango sticky rice and stranger-turned-friends beside the pool at Sky on 20 rooftop bar, or bring them along to tackle river prawns and stir-fried crab with holy basil at the buzzing Crab Paradise Dinner Buffet.

Then Novotel Dubai Al Barsha welcomes you with a laidback twist on the level of indulgence the Middle Eastern city is best known for up on Deck Se7en. Looking towards Burj Al Arab, the rooftop lounge has everything from Mediterranean-style dishes like seabass ceviche to Italian prosecco sundowners.

At the other end of the scale, in the hills that surround the Novotel Bali Ubud Resort, calm comes from nature. At Siralada restaurant, Balinese traditions shape the menu while thunder rumbles over the surrounding jungle – proving the setting is as nourishing as the food itself.

While at Novotel Nha Trang, chef Kieu Thi My Hanh and her team showcase Vietnam’s knack for balancing freshness, texture and fragrant herbs. Pho remains a favourite, while seafood salad with pomelo and mango brings those flavours together in one bright dish.

It’s all an approach backed by partnerships with expert food creators such as Alfie Steiner, whose plant-forward recipes prove healthy food should never taste plain.

2. Better sleep options

Novotel Bali Ubud Resort room — Sleep deeply with Novotel.

There are few travel experiences more disappointing than arriving in a new country, determined to seize the day, only to fall asleep fully clothed by 3pm.

For Australian travellers, jet lag is often an unavoidable part of the journey. That’s one reason Novotel runs sleep-focused initiatives that help guests adjust quickly without compromising on health. We’re talking partnerships with Sydney-based sleep specialist Olivia Arezzolo, known for her advice on everything from better sleep habits to beating jet lag, alongside features like pillow menus, in-room yoga content and tailored sleep guidance.

The sooner you’re operating on local time, the sooner you can get back to more pressing matters – like deciding which spa treatment to book.

3. More ways to move

woman hiking around queenstown new zealand — Stay at Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and explore local hiking trails. (Credit: GettyI mages/ naruedom)

Every place in the world has its own way of getting you moving: whether that’s hiking up ice-bitten mountains before a sauna or gentle stretching by the pool before a facial. From fitness centres to spas, Novotel recognises that wellbeing rarely looks the same.

At Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, activity is inescapable. Here, hiking trails, ski fields, bungee jumps, and white-water rafting have made the region famous. The hotel’s location on the shores of Lake Wakatipu means less time spent organising yourself and more time out there experiencing them. To top it all off, you can book a private hot tub for the evening before heading back into the wilderness tomorrow.

Bali, of course, takes a softer approach. At Novotel Bali Ubud Resort or Novotel Bali Nusa Dua, movement is less about conquering a mountain and more about a dance class between the tropical gardens and lagoon pools. Afterwards, the spa takes over, with traditional treatments like a Lulur body scrub: a combination of rice, turmeric, sandalwood, ginger and jasmine that’ll soothe muscles already relaxed by the Balinese heat.

4. Better connections

Kids will love a stay at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh.

One of the best things about travel is that it gives your family stories you’ll be telling for years. Novotel helps create them with activities that bring everyone together, whether that’s trying something new, learning a local skill, or simply spending more time together.

Go for a distinctly Thai twist at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, where many of the family activities draw on local culture. Kids can try everything from beginner Thai boxing and language lessons to umbrella painting and – a pastime beloved by children the world over – pool foam parties. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether that’s getting splashed, covered in paint, or simply watching their children discover a new side of Thailand during the dedicated Family & Kids Day.

A different adventure awaits at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh. Kids could be perfectly content with discos, drawing classes and new holiday friends, but the Red Sea has other ideas. Sitting on the edge of Naama Bay, days here might involve snorkelling colourful reefs, taking a boat trip to Ras Mohammed National Park or heading into the desert by quad bike or camel for a Bedouin-style dinner beneath the stars.

5. Location is everything

Surin Beach, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket, Thaiföld — Explore Phuket’s gorgeous beaches. (Credit: Bence Biczo)

Everyone’s idea of wellness looks a little different. With more than 600 hotels across 65 countries, Novotel gives guests the freedom to choose the destination that suits them best. Whether that’s a beachside escape in Phuket, an alpine expedition in Queenstown or a city break in Bangkok, there’s a good chance a Novotel isn’t far away.

All that’s left? Choosing your version of wellbeing.

Discover stays to inspire your everyday at novotel.accor.com.