DUBLIN is one of the world's great cities, steeped in thousands of years of history but still uniquely vibrant, exciting and friendly. It is recognised as much as a tourist city as is London. And a gourmet city as well. For Dublin is witnessing a culinary renaissance in restaurants and pubs and the variety of cuisines on offer.

Irish dairy products are celebrated worldwide, its vegetables are outstanding, and Irish beef, pork, and lamb are among the best in the world. However, seafood is often the best choice in Dublin. I have never had Smoked Salmon as good as the best Irish restaurants serve in Dublin. Among the milder fish, monkfish is served in many delicious guises as is hake and plaice. Some regional specialities are the Dublin Bay Prawns, Galway Oysters and Wexford Mussels.

The herds of cows and sheep you see in the countryside grazing on the greenest of grass provide full creamy milk and thick cream which is put to ravishing use in the many local cheeses. These include Cashel Blue and Cooleeney cheese from County Tipperary, Gubeen and Ardahan cheese from County Cork and Croghan cheese from County Wexford.

There are a few traditional Irish dishes you should try at least once. Bacon and Cabbage is a common dish, Boxty, which is a filled pancake, and Champ, consisting of mashed potatoes and onions. The legendary stew of sausages and bacon - Dublin Coddle, and the lavish and rich Dublin Lawyer, a creamy meld of lobster and whiskey. There are also several traditional dishes based on seaweed such as Carrigeen. Irish stew traditionally made with lamb is standard pub grub fare. Soda bread is one of the delights of Irish cooking.

For decades Dublin pubs remained the same � small, smoky, intimate. Then all of a sudden glitzy new mega pubs which can accommodate zillions of drinkers, mushroomed all over. The opening of brew pubs is growing gradually. These are pubs where locally brewed beers are sampled by people who are serious about the business of drinking. Dublin pubs have their own special kind of entertainment. With 1,000 pubs to choose from, every Dubliner you ask will come up with a different favourite.

It makes no difference if you wander into one for its conversation, its music, its pint or food. The most famous of these is Johnnie Fox's Pub, which is the highest pub in Ireland, in the Dublin Mountains with its award winning seafood kitchen of lobster, crabs, prawns, smoked salmon, oysters, mussels, fresh salmon and caviar. With the Irish economy booming this Celtic Tiger has spawned a more affluent consumer. Some of the restaurants springing up about the city to cater to this palate follow.

Aya

Ireland's first conveyer belt sushi bar, located in the rear of Brown Thomas (the Dublin Harrods), has become one of the city's most irresistible and hip eating places. My husband and I were quite surprised at the super efficient and quick service in the restaurant on a busy Friday afternoon. As a starter we had the Nigiri Sushi of Moriawase, a six-piece chef's selection; Miso Soup, a traditional soy bean soup with tofu and wakame.

For main course, we had a Vegetable Tempura (a traditional Japanese icon, served complete with rice) of crunchy Asian mixed vegetables in light batter, with a light soy dip. The owner, Yoichi Hoashi, who describes this eatery as a fun eating and serious food experience, has got a winner with Aya. The average price per person for breakfast is from pound 3, lunch from pound 8 and dinner from pound 25. A Twilite meal akin to an Early Bird Menu is available Monday to Saturday 5.30 p.m. till 7 p.m. A three-course meal plus drink costs pound 12.90. They have a separate lunch and dinner menu and of course the recommended Sake menu.

Butler's Chocolate Cafe

Like the slogan goes, "Invented in Ireland, but made in Heaven", the hand-made chocolates on sale here were invented by Mrs. Bailey-Butler in 1932 at a time when the Irish were more given to frugality than frivolity. She developed a range of chocolates that were rich, luxurious and utterly sensual and they still use her secret recipes today with the purest of ingredients, the finest Irish cream, butter and eggs.

The uniquely Irish flavours of Baileys Irish Cream, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Irish Mist Liqueur and Guinness Extra Stout are indeed heaven. The most famous are the Butler's Irish Truffle range which include Irish Truffles, Irish Cream Truffles, Jameson Truffles and Butlers Irish Fudge. All can be indulged with freshly ground coffee at this very exclusive and unique Butlers Chocolate Cafe.

Recipe for Irish Coffee

1. Fill a large stemmed glass with hot water, then empty when glass is warm.
2. Pour in one full jigger (peg) of Irish whiskey and add at least one teaspoon brown sugar (the more the sugar the more the cream rises to the top).
3. Add hot black coffee (the hotter the better) to about an inch from the top and stir.
4. Top it off with lightly whipped cream -- there is an art to doing this. Pour the cream over the back of a spoon and just float it off over the sides into the glass.

The Tea Rooms

Dublin's first boutique hotel boasts one of the capital's great restaurants - The Tea Rooms. This restaurant is located in the Irish pop group U2's exclusive Clarence Hotel and offers some of the finest food and service to be experienced in Ireland. Chef Michael Martin has one of the most beautiful rooms in the city to work in and he congratulates his setting with cooking that is measured, thoughtful and hugely enjoyable.

They have an interesting a la carte menu, from pound 5, with starters like Grilled Onion Bread, Salad of Aubergine Crisps, Salad of Lamb and Pecorino. Main courses of Baked Aubergine and Goat's Cheese, Roast Salmon or Roast Salted Cod. The Tea Rooms are a hot destination today and the gin martinis are easily the best in the city. A set lunch menu is available at pound 17.50. Dinner offers an a la carte menu ranging from pound 5 to 10 for starters and pound 15 to 20 for main courses. The restaurant also stocks an excellent wine list. U2's other stylish and popular restaurant is the QV2 just off the fashionable area of Grafton Street in the city centre.

Irish Restaurants

When in Ireland, you must eat some Irish food... and Dublin has quite a few Irish restaurants to cater to this philosophy. They are traditionally Irish - Druids Restaurant, Rumm's; contemporary Irish - Morningtons Brasserie, Nancy Hands, Icon, and Black Tulip; and modern Irish - Francesca's, Mange Tout, The Mercantile, No. 10, Rubicon, Satchels, and The Winter Garden.

Dublin's Irish restaurants have made a name for themselves in modern dining circles. Most of them have excellent a la carte menus with fine wine lists to accompany them. Their ambience is unique: either it is all magnificent decor with sweeping staircases and intricate designs, or it is history on display. And their USPs are a perfect mix of warm ambience, superb cuisine and friendly service.

The ingredients used in Irish cooking in these restaurants are the finest, and they produce simple, but exciting, fare. Typical Irish menus must have Brochette of Monkfish and Lemongrass in Chilli Butter, or Pan-fried Liver with Mashed Potato, Crispy Bacon and Sage Bernaise Sauce. Other Dublins are more innovative and offer imaginative Irish cuisine combined with an array of international dishes.