Food for the soul II : Budapest

Budapest, Hungary, our last stop on our 8-day post exams budget tour, was everything and had everything. Its sights were amazing: Pest especially, with its vibrant culture and where old meets new. What I loved most, was not its food, but the very fact that you'd be on a rather dodgy street one moment and yet with a right turn, end up right in front of an ultra cool, glitzy art gallery opening complete with state of the art sound system playing smooth world music, enveloping the 2-storey open-concept contemporary gallery and separating it from its shoddy surroundings. Its open-aired baths were also an experience not to be missed - from embarrassing moments in the changing room (am definitely not used to that much nudity in one day) to soaking up thermal waters in a pool of retirees wearing their surgical scars showed that in this resort-like public complex, body sizes;age;ugly scars do not matter. Okay, maybe body sizes did matter, but I try to get by through denial.

Having heard a lot about the Central Market in Budapest, I badgered my travel buddies into a trip there. But expectations fell flat. Borough Market, London seemed to trump it at all levels. While I did get to try the Hungarian apple strudel, the huge complex was not so much a food market but rather a vegetable market. :( cool, but nothing different.































Lunch was at Gerloczy Kavehaz, this quaint cafe in the middle of a hidden downtown area. Apart from very reasonable prices, impeccable service, the food was also superb. Which really proves that good food does not always come with a crazy price tag. It was also here that we met fellow (almost) Singaporeans. The 4 expats asked if we were from Singapore (darn the unmistakable accent) and told us happily that 'we're from there too'. Interesting. Okay, back to food. I ordered a set lunch which cost me about 9 quid after conversion - Fried mushrooms in breadcrumbs with rice for starters, and grilled fillet mignon with pork. (dessert was so-so) Cheng had the same starter but opted for spicy sausage and creamy potatoes. Jia and Tan had local specials which all turned out really good.




















































































































On the last day, Jia and I explored Budapest on our own after the boys left for London. Finding our way to the thermal baths, loads of walking and ending the day with a slice of heaven each from Gerbeaud's (i swear we took pictures, but i can't find them now) was great fun and fact that we girls can survive without the boys' map reading skills (Cheng not included).

Food for the Soul : Vienna

Vienna- the land of the Wiener Schnitzel, the opera and of course the sachertorte.

After a whirlwind trip to Salzburg the very same day (6hours before Vienna) and hiking up 50km to see some fantabulous ice caves, food for our stomachs were in order. And what way better to experience Viennese food but by going to their local pubs and ordering 0.3l of their local beer and a Wiener Schnitzel to go along with it. For some strange reason, Viennese restaurants had the most amazing potato salad that perfectly complemented the breaded/battered schnitzel with its cold, pickled taste. The boys told me that pumpkin seed oil was used as a dressing! The said oil has been locally (or perhaps just that article) agreed to be an aphrodisiac.. interesting because a quick check with wiki did also highlight its highly beneficial medicinal purposes, more specifically, ahem, to treat irritable bowel syndrome. I don't know about you, but I would much prefer to call them aphros than the latter!
































Being the sweet tooth (or the eat-all girl) of the group, I steered our sightseeing towards the Opera, and more importantly, the hotel facing the Opera, world famous for its Sachertorte, Hotel Sacher. It was the quintessential victorian-esque tea parlour complete with chandeliers and delicate china. The Sachertorte was not as rich as I would have liked it to be, but still very much a delight. Just sitting in the parlour surrounded by pieces of history (created or preserved) made me feel that I did play part in its history, no matter how small a part, by eating the sachertorte and preserving its legacy. oui?
































































Apart from exploring the foodscape of Vienna, we spent the last day cycling around the lovely city, making it another perfect memory of the 4 days there. Watching Eurocup 2008, Turkey vs Portugal, swearing whenever Portugal scored, cycling down the streets of Vienna, being dared to ride some of the most terrible funfair nightmares (and taking them on because I wanted to prove that I was not that pathetic. Not that smart), throwing up violently after the 3 rides and lastly a complete stranger- an old lady offered me a sweet and told me how her heart ached that I was retching so violently left memories etched in my mind. For all the right reasons and wrong reasons, Vienna though not much different from any other European city, will remain special.

Jenga mini loaves

Easter proved to be one treasure box of surprises. Being in a neighbourhood of young parents and grandparents looking after their insanely adorable grandchildren, its not surprising to hear high, chirpy voices echoing throughout the area everyday.

And, I got along really well with the bunch of them! Friends insist that it is some kind of maternal instinct developing, but I beg to differ. Being surrounded in my extended family with young cousins, nieces and newphews, hanging out with kids are the norm. So, having completed my initiation with the 7 little children in my neighbourhood, I officially became their 'badminton coach'. So, with my lazy non-rainy evenings spent playing badminton with them, we naturally became quite good friends! So much so that 6-year old leader of the bunch asked if I was in Primary Six (12 years old).

'Hanging out' with them inspired me to make the 'Jenga mini loaves'. Cheesy as it sounds, they actually reminded me of the 'Sunkist Ads'. Hence- Orange Jenga mini loaves! Their longish twiggy-like shapes made them easy for the kids to hold and eat. :)

Easter treasures are definitely for keeps.

Easter in pictures: back to basics

Easter back home was : lazy mornings, rainy/humid afternoons and evening sunsets. Even though I was technically supposed to be studying for the finals - being back home, in my own kitchen and the tiny patch of grass we call our garden, made me feel like baking all over again.

First start- the chocolate macarons. Although it didn't turn out successful (in every sense of the word), the hours spend sifting crushed almond powder and the tedious process of repeated, patience-inducing processes was sadistically satisfying. Like my 'Cheesecake workout', this was every bit as good for toning my oversized arms. :) So, with that sitting on my countertop, an experiment gone so wrong, I decided that it was time to go back to basics. Not the basic macaron that I tried and succeeded the first time round, but back to the very basics- the foundation of my entire baking life- the butter cookie.

Flipping my small collection of cookbooks to compare proportions and finding something that didn't contain too much sugar, I decided on Dorie Greenspan's 'Punitions'. Im not sure if I got the spelling right, but apparently, little kids in the olden days of Paris were punished with these cookies. I really don't know how that works- if I were to get a cookie for every wrong I ever did- I would probably be the happiest kid in the world!

But that aside, butter cookies were the order of the day. With my sister's friends coming by after school, I figured that these delectable bite size delights were probably the easiest thing to whip up.

Iced cold Lavender tea, butter cookies on our little patch of grass, what more could I ask for?

the girl turns (almost) 21 :)

2 days ago, my darling-est partner in crime turned 21! or not quite. 'Part 3' and I threw her a surprise birthday party 10 days before the actual date itself since I was going home for easter break.

our elaborate plan involved a test trial for the cake - which unfortunately, failed the taste test by the birthday girl. making the cake a week before the actual day, and presenting it to her as some cake we bought from 'the cake shop around the corner', she said it was not that fantastic. I swear, my heart literally sank. Then again, it was indeed constructive criticism, and no one is ever that perfect on first attempt. So, second attempt at the cake is the one seen above! Looks-wise, I believe this is one of my best decorated cake to date, taste-wise, it was not bad. I made a chocolate-banana cake (inspired by 'Part 3.5' nonetheless), before coating it with delish chocolate ganache. And in a bid to cover the ugly un-frostable (i ran out of frosting - big mistake) sides, I ran down to get some cadbury chocolate fingers. So, using melted chocolate as glue, 'Part 3.5' and I spent a good half an hour 'gluing' and pasting. It was great fun as we reminisced about the days where we would watch 'Dessert Circus'!

so 8 hours later, with a lot of breaks in between, the cake was done! transportation of the cake proved to be another challenge! For some strange reason, not a single cake shop in Chinatown would sell us cake boxes. And on top of the irate, resounding 'No', I would get a glare that almost rendered me helpless. So. Chinatown is definitely NOT the place to buy cake boxes sans cake. However, because I had to continue with the original plan to go shopping with the birthday girl, Part 3 had the daunting task of the logistical aspects! (doesn't this sound like a huge project?)

Amazingly, jia did not for a single moment suspect anything. Not when we bumped into almost every single person that we invited to the dinner over the course of the day. And, not even when Part 3 and flat boarded the same train AND the same carriage as the one we were in- carrying both the cake and the present. Imagine my sheer horror and thought bubbles going 'Ok. This is IT'. But, my dearest kitchen partner STILL failed to detect any conspiracy.

While we successfully surprised her with both the dinner with close friends, and 'the present of the year- DS lite (in Pink, no less)', the best part, for me at least, was seeing her face when I brought out the cake. The look on her face, when she realised that I had not been spending the past 10 hours watching Korean dramas, but baking the cake for her, was priceless.

If you are reading this hun, I hope you enjoyed the night. And even though you are turning 21 soon, you will be, always and forever, 18!

Rome II

As promised in an earlier blog post - more of Rome in pictures. The food, that is.

Following our little guidebook on the best eats in Rome, we started our hunt for the elusive hangouts. The trail included pizza at Baffeto, pasta at Isodoro, gelato at San Crispino's (mentioned earlier), and of course, 2 of the best recommended places: Panella and San Eustachio's.






























Panella is almost like a neighbourhood bakery, except, when you take your first step in, it seems almost too-cool to be like the old fashioned ones back home. Being an institution on its own for a gazillion varieties of bread, Panella seemed to attract the yuppie crowd- and random tourists like us! With trays and trays of delectable eats everywhere, I spent close to an hour simply just picking what I wanted to eat. They had everything - from middle eastern sweet bread to sachertortes and of course, bread :) Just looking at the baker carrying that surfboard-full of crusty bread made me want to live there forever. Carbs? what Carbs?












































And of course, there was San Eustachio. The renowned establishment located just behind the Pantheon was rather difficult to locate, unless of course, you were a local. Everyone seemed to know the place. San Eustachio is famous for its Coffee - and it apparently has been accoladed with the coveted Best Coffee in Europe title! So, despite not being a coffee fan (i get headaches just by the mere whiff), I decided that I simply had to try it. And I did. We got a shot of some of their good-stuff(I can't remember the name of it), and Boy! was it good! But with the jostling crowd, I won't be surprised if people just ordered, collected, gulped and left. While I did get a slight headache after (which I insist was a result of the crowd. Okay, I am also claustrophobic), it was well worth it! yumm.

lemons make the world go round

Lemons, I feel, win hands-down the award for best ingredient. I am always in a 'let's-make-something-lemony' mood. be it tarte au citron, or lemon pound cake, or even in its supporting 'role' for my banana cake recipe- lemons never fail to make me happy. maybe its the colour, an amazing Mr Happy yellow together with its smell of summer permeating my/jia's kitchen, that leaves me in a good mood all day.

We had 5 organic lemons leftover from our banana muffin experiments and we decided to make the first thing that came to our minds- the lemon meringue pie! I mentioned it earlier in the blog that i really wanted to try my hand at it, and voila! several months later, we did it! While we didn't have a proper pie dish (we are poor students, what extravagance!), we substituted for a rectangular-ish 1 inch deep cookie tray which worked just as well. With the remainding dough and lemon curd, we made mini lemon meringue tarts.

I've never tried lemon meringue pies before, and after we made this, I wonder why. The soft, fluffly and sweet meringue perfectly complemented the tart lemon curd - just about the best pairing since roti prata and curry met (that's a completely different issue, but you get my drift). The buttery tart shell acted as the perfect denominator, allowing the explosion of flavours to come together. And while the pie-top was browner than usual, it actually was a very nice golden-sand like brown which up-ed its wow-factor.

so, lemons lemons lemons- perfect for every season, every month, and every day baking!