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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Ocean Park and Neptune's Restaurant (Hong Kong)

I mentioned in my previous post that my mother-in-law visited us last week. One of the things she really wanted to do was see the pandas, which gave us the opportunity to visit Ocean Park a second time and do the other part of the park that we didn't get to last time. The worst of the typhoonish weather had passed, but it was still a rather blustery and windy day, and the T3 weather warning was still in force when we set out to Ocean Park that morning. This meant that all the fun and thrilling rides we did last time were not operating, but it didn't matter at all because we spent most of our time at Waterfront, the more kid-friendly and cuter part of Ocean Park where the Giant pandas and sea lions were. Besides, hubby and I had already done most of the rides at Summit (the less kiddie-oriented part of the Park) last time and didn't feel like we were missing out. Despite it being a weekday combined with the bad weather, there were a lot of people at the park, and our group were grateful that we didn't have to postpone the visit until the weekend where we would no doubt be fighting a huge crowd.

I was pleased to find a marine conservation theme running all throughout this part of the park. It is a great and fun place for everyone to learn more about the marine life and how to be more environmentally aware and responsible.

One of the 2.5 y/o favourite animals: panda! This was everyone's first time seeing a live panda, and this one was sitting so primly with its hands off to one side:

I never realised how cute otters were until I saw them at their scheduled feeding time in their enclosure! I read the Redwall novels by Brian Jacques when I was a teen, and the otters were the one of the good characters. Yes, I used to be enthralled within the fantasy world about courageous mice, lordly badgers and conniving shrews:

This panda was asleep when we arrived and did not move from this spot. Must admit it looks cute even when sleeping and doing nothing!

A red panda saying cheese to my camera. The red panda was previously classed with the raccoons and bears at some point, but recently placed in its own family:

Hands on interaction with a starfish in the touch pool at the Aquarium:

We went to Neptune's Restaurant when it was time for lunch. This is a relatively new restaurant which wasn't yet operating six months ago when we were here last. It's main feature is the view of the Grand Aquarium's main tank and all the sharks and various marine creatures swimming in it. It's a fairly swish restaurant, with reasonable service (the waitstaff still seem rather new at their job and there are a few kinks to iron out) and a decent menu offering international dining. One part of the menu features seafood items that have been obtained in a sustainable manner, so it makes you feel good about eating it. The food was okay, a little pricey but that's to be expected when you want convenient dining in a park.

The aquarium from our table:

Rob ordered an Australian Scallops dish. I can't remember the specifics, only that it was pretty good, moist and tender (i.e. not overcooked):

The rest of us ordered the Lunch Bento, which came to the table in a tall bento box that opened up to reveal a second tier. On the top tier was sauteed beef with papaya salad and a few slices of melon. The beef was lovely, very moist and flavourful (and nicely marbled with fat). Behind the box is the covered bowl of miso soup:

The second tier of the bento is fried rice and teriyaki chicken. I requested the teriyaki chicken to be served separately so that the boy could eat the fried rice (he is allergic to soy amongst many other things). The fried rice didn't really seem much like the typical fried rice, and it contained only egg and rice, but I liked it, and Zak loved it too. It didn't even seem the slightest bit greasy:

After lunch, we caught the "Sea Lion Fun Time" show at Whisker's Theatre. Fairly entertaining, but not quite as spectacular as the "Sea Dreams!" production we saw last time.

This huge sea lion could easily overpower its trainer...

It is a well-trained animal and it is evident that it has a good relationship with its trainer:

It was a great day out at Ocean Park, and the 2.5 y/o had a ball! He took home a stuffed panda (a gift from MIL's friend) and it is currently his favourite toy.

Friday 24 June 2011

Yum Cha @ Federal Palace (Citygate), Hong Kong

My mother-in-law and her friend are visiting Hong Kong for a few days, and we had grand plans to spend a day each at Disneyland and Ocean Park. Unfortunately, being the not-so-lovely rainy season in Hong Kong, we also had TC Haima dropping by and ruining our plans for outdoors. So we spent Wednesday indoors, shopping at Citygate Outlet and then visiting the HK Museum of History. Really, what else can you do on a rainy day but shop and check out the museum? (Actually, I can think of many things I could do, but that wouldn't be very sociable of me when we have overseas guests.)

The large interior of Federal Palace, as viewed from the window tables on a slightly raised platform. The high ceiling was quite lavishly decked with glass chandeliers, and it looks like this restaurant is multi-level:

We'd previously been to Citygate Outlet only twice previously, and both times we saw long lines of people waiting for a table at the entrance to Federal Palace, a Cantonese restaurant on the second floor that serves dim sum during the day. Rob's aunt said that the dim sum at Federal Palace was pretty good (she has been a HK resident for many years, and have brought overseas guests to Citygate for shopping), and we were hungry for lunch, so we stopped for lunch there. While no line had formed yet when we entered the restaurant around 12:30pm, the large dining hall was already almost full of lunchers. By the time we were done with lunch about an hour later, there was that long queue of Chinese people waiting for a table outside the restaurant. The food was pretty good, quite the standard quality you'd expect from a restaurant like this. I didn't hear any complaints from hubby who can be quite critical when it comes to dim sum. The restaurant also does a-la-carte and banquet-style courses, and had aquariums near the restaurant's entrance displaying the live seafood doomed for the kitchen. The 2.5-year-old was fascinated by the large lobsters in the tanks. Dim sum dishes are ordered off the menu, the norm for most yum cha restaurants in HK these days (I only know of one that still serves dim sum from the traditional carts, but it is a touristy place and the dim sum quality is not that great for the expensive price). Being the only Chinese in the group, the responsibility of ordering fell upon me. I got the standard dim sum items, starting out with six savoury items, which surprisingly turned out to be sufficient for five adults. Mind you, the other ladies are tiny eaters, and Rob is on the cutting phase of his fitness regime, otherwise you'd be seeing more food photos in this post.

First set of dishes to arrive - Har gow (shrimp dumpling), Lor mai gai (glutinous rice with chicken in lotus leaf) and Charsiu bao (bbq pork buns):

Fried radish cake, which more closely resembled chai tau kueh than the radish cake typically found in yum cha meals. This plate was really good, and highlighted just how much I miss eating chai tau kueh:

Yau yu sou aka crispy fried squid. Lovely but evil at the same time (for both health and the waistline!):

Rob's all-time favourite dim sum, Har cheong (shrimp rice noodle roll). This one was delicious, and I didn't hear Rob criticise it, so it must've been good:

Usually we end a yum cha meal with several sweet dishes, including the yummy egg tart, but unfortunately most didn't want sweets (Rob is very disciplined when he puts his mind to restricting his food intake, unlike me). Rob's aunt has a weakness for Sesame Balls, and was dismayed when she saw there were three in one order because she clearly wasn't going to be able to eat all three. In the end everyone had a taste, except for the diabetic (MIL's friend) and the allergic (the toddler) in our group so not much was wasted.

Jin dui aka Sesame balls - delicious with a sweet black sesame filling. Usually the sesame balls are filled with either lotus paste or bean paste, but it was nice having black sesame filling and white sesame coating:

It was an enjoyable experience, with great company!

Federal Palace
Shop 226, 2/F Citygate Outlets
20 Tat Tung Road
Lantau, Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 2626 0181

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Thai @ Koh Thai, Hong Kong

I can't remember the last time I went to a Thai restaurant - could have been more than a year ago when we were visiting Sydney. I don't go out of my way to eat Thai food, nor do I miss it when I haven't eaten Thai for a long time, mostly due to its similarity to Malaysian food, and my preference for the latter. Every weekend we are near the Lan Kwai Fong area for Zak's Tinytots soccer class, and I discovered that there are quite a number of choice dining spots in this area. (Lan Kwai Fong is a very popular night spot for the Hong Kong expats with many clubs and bars, but the area looks quite different - almost unrecognisably civil - during the daytime. There's no escaping the broken beer glass bottles on the roads and pavements though.) Last weekend we took the opportunity to have lunch at this hip-looking Thai restaurant called Koh Thai on Wyndham Street. The ceiling fans are spinning flowers, as our fascinated 2.5 y/o son kept pointing out all during lunch.

Flowers for ceiling fans:

We'd arrived just after the restaurant had opened its doors for lunch at 11am (because that's when the soccer class finishes), so the restaurant was still empty. However I have seen it filled to the brim on other days, so it is a popular place, and for good reasons. The pretty Thai waitresses are friendly, and they greet you with the wai and a pleasant "Sawadee Ka" (translates to "Hello"). There's a good variety of food on the menu, and the curries we got were pretty good. Pricing was quite average for the expats' pockets, but probably would be considered expensive by the locals who can get noodles or a rice dish for less than a tenth of the price at Koh Thai.

The boy mesmerised by the overhead spinning flowers:

We started out with Som Tum Thai, a salad of shredded green papaya with lemon dressing. There's nothing subtle about this salad (in a good way, of course!) - pungently salty with fish sauce and dried shrimps, piquantly sour with the lemon juice, and very crunchy with just the right amount of spiciness! I felt that the sweet dimension was somewhat lacking, which would have made this salad perfect.

Som Tum Thai:

Rob ordered Gaeng Massamun Ka Gae, a slow-roasted lamb shank 'fall off the bone' meat in massaman curry, baby pumpkin and okra. He's not very keen on okra (aka lady's finger or gumbo) so I happily polished off both that were sitting in the hollowed baby pumpkin. The lamb meat was very tender, and the massaman curry went very well with the red meat. It was a novelty eating lamb shank in a Thai dish.

Gaeng Massamun Ka Gae:

I also went for a curry dish, Gaeng Phed Ped Yang, a roasted duck breast with lychee, cherry tomato and kaffir lime leaves in a red curry sauce. I was curious about the lychee, but it had been blended into the curry so it just lent a sweetness which was barely detectable, but noticeable when compared with Rob's curry. The duck breast was lovely, and the curry was delicious.

Gaeng Phed Ped Yang:

It was a lovely meal, good enough for revisits to try the other dishes, but to be honest, with the number of restaurants in the area, we probably would opt for to go to another restaurant for the sake of trying somewhere different.

Koh Thai
G/F, 57 Wyndham Street
Lan Kwai Fong
Central, Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 2840 0041

Friday 17 June 2011

Spiced Mince and Chickpeas with Fruity Couscous

Once every couple of weeks, on a day when I am not so pressed for time, I like to cook a big pot of one-pot dish with enough left over for an easy meal for another busy day. My criteria for a nutritious one-pot meal is quite simple: there should be a nice variety of vegetables of at least the white, red, orange and green colours, and sufficient protein for everyone. I aim for at least 200g of vegetables and 100g of meat or other protein sources per adult per meal. The little one is only about a quarter of my size, so obviously he doesn't need that much - in fact he would eat only about a quarter of the numbers above plus some carbs (e.g. rice, pasta, potatoes etc) to fill up his tum. Minced meat is great for one-pot dishes, and it's also an easy way to get some haem iron into the boy without having to fuss about the fact that red meat is tougher to chew than chicken and fish.

Spiced Mince and Chickpeas with Fruity Couscous on the 2.5 year old's plate:

One day I had bought minced pork intended for a one-pot meal, but I really didn't feel like doing another spag bol. A look in the pantry showed that I had a can each of chickpeas and tomatoes, so it was off to google to find some yummy recipes. The search result turned up mostly Moroccan-style dishes, and this particular blogger shared a mince-and-chickpeas recipe that used apples. Middle eastern cuisine often feature fruits in their spicy dishes, but I'm used to seeing stone fruit like peach and apricot. Apple seems like an unusual fruit ingredient for a seemingly Moroccan dish, but since apples go very well with pork, it worked in perfectly with the minced pork I had bought. My recipe is quite different to the one I found, tweaked to the spices and ingredients I had in my pantry, and I included a lot more vegetables in it. This recipe was pretty easy to do, but it does require a bit of prep time with chopping, slicing and dicing the vegetables. I see it as an investment because the leftovers saves me the time from prepping and cooking a meal on another time-poor day.

Spiced Mince and Chickpeas with Fruity Couscous

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium green capsicum, diced
200g white mushrooms, sliced
500g minced pork
2 teaspoons of mixed ground spices (I used paprika, cayenne, curry powder and nutmeg)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1x400g can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup of chicken stock
2 medium apples, peeled and diced
1x400g can of chickpeas, drained
3/4 cup (~100g) frozen peas
2 tablespoons tomato sauce/ketchup
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat some oil in a pot and sauté the onion, garlic and carrots on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the capsicum, mushrooms, minced pork and ground spices. If necessary, break any large meat clumps apart, and cook until the meat is cooked and the mushrooms have shrunk.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock and apples. Stir well, and bring to a gentle simmer. Turn down the heat to low and simmer until the apples have softened, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the drained chickpeas, peas and tomato sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Season to taste, keeping in mind that the chicken stock and chickpeas already contain a fair amount of sodium.
7. Lovely when served with fruity couscous. [Prepare couscous according to packet instructions, substituting the water with fruit juice of your choice (preferably one that complements apples - like mango, orange and pear). Stir a handful of raisins/sultanas through the couscous.]

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Birthday lunch with French @ Caprice (Four Seasons), Hong Kong

We celebrated my husband's birthday this past weekend with a lovely lunch experience at Caprice, a 3 Michelin-star restaurant. Actually, up until the night before Rob's birthday, we didn't have a table at Caprice. I had rung the restaurant a few weeks prior only to find out that I was not early enough to secure a booking - not surprising for a Michelin-starred restaurant. Nevertheless, the restaurant put my name down on the waiting list, and I made a booking at another 2-starred restaurant. We had well and truly accepted the apparent fact that we weren't going to eat at our first restaurant choice, when lo and behold, Caprice rang me the night before to inform me that a spot had been freed up, and would I like to take the table? To be honest, I did hesitate a little while before accepting, because it meant that I would have to make a last minute cancellation at this other restaurant, and I hate to impose last minute changes on anyone. But it was only a moment's hesitation. The call came through while Rob was still at the office, so I managed to keep it as a little birthday surprise. The poor guy was confused when, once we got off the MTR in Central, I led him in a direction opposite to where he thought we were going to eat at. Rob was pretty pleased when he finally found out that we did get a table at Caprice after all.

The view of the restaurant from our comfortable corner. Straight ahead is the open kitchen where the chefs are hard at work (closer shot of the kitchen below). The bright windows to the right boast gorgeous views of Victoria Harbour, similar to the view from Inagiku, also in the same hotel:

Unlike most of the other Michelin-starred restaurants we have dined at, we brought our boy along with us. I was pleased to find out that both Caprice and the other restaurant welcomed children aged from 3 upwards, because some parents want to celebrate special occasions with our little ones. Okay, maybe that's a little lie and we'd rather have been kid-free, but it's still nice to know that we have the option to fine dine with our almost-3 boy. We were thoughtfully seated at a table with sofa seating in a corner where our son can be his boisterous self without bothering other diners (credit should be given to the boy because he did at times conscientiously lowered his volume to his "quiet voice"). The room was well designed so that we didn't feel like we had been put in a corner and forgotten. Our waiters looked after us very well but in an unobtrusive manner. It really is lovely to be served by well-trained waitstaff, especially in a city where manners are often forgotten and the idea of service and hospitality leaves a lot to be desired.

The window tables at Caprice are highly coveted, but we weren't terribly fussed about getting a view as we already enjoy daily harbour views from the comfort of our own apartment. In fact, we could see our apartment building from our table through this window:

Freshly baked bread at these sort of restaurants are bottomless, offered until you say a polite "No, thank you". The olive bread, whole wheat roll and sesame brioche were all lovely. Yes, I tried all the bread in the basket except for the baguette - low carb diets will never work on me!

Herb Foccacia served while we were poring over the menu - slightly sweet and very herby. Yum!

Hand-churned French butter to go with the bread - salted (the one with the sharp cone top on the right) and unsalted (the shorter flatter one on the left). Very creamy and buttery:

We both opted for the Weekend Brunch, which is an excellent value for a Michelin 3-star venue. For HK$480, we could choose from several options for all three courses, and wine and coffee/tea were also included. We also ordered an additional appetiser dish instead of a kids' meal so that Zak could share our food and join in on the dining experience. I think it's important to start 'em young on food appreciation, from cooking to dining.

The wines were selected by the sommelier. I chose white wine, and was given a French sauvignon blanc, which was fruity and easy to drink. Rob chose red and got a merlot from New Zealand. The merlot was also quite fruity as far as reds go, and a little dry:

Appetisers

Rob's - Alaskan King Crab, Scallops and Vegetable Jelly, Cocktail Sauce and Avocado Coulis. Light and cool - perfect for summer-time:

Mine - Smoked Ratte Potato Velouté, Wild Mushroom Croquettes and Chicken Oyster. A sophisticated potato soup. Beautiful smoked flavour, tasty chicken "oyster" morsels in the soup, and delicious fried mushroom packets:

This appetiser was ordered off the a-la-carte menu and I didn't take note of what it was called. Rob said the dish was called something like "Sautéed Foie Gras on top of Chocolate Rice Crispies". It tasted better and more sophisticated than it sounded, and I loved the presentation of the brightly coloured vegetable spheres. The foie gras was a tad overcooked, but still tasted quite fine:

We took a little break from the eating to have a look at the kitchen action. I love watching the chefs in action - it will always be a novelty for me:

Main Courses

Rob - Barbarie Duck Breast, Leg Confit and French Bean Roll, Gizzard Potato Dauphine in Rosemary Scent. The French certainly knows how to cook duck optimally. The breast was done medium and had a lovely tender texture. We both particularly liked the green rolls because the leg confit was excellent in both taste and texture. The potato dauphine was very cute and very tasty:

Mine - Wild Corvina, Crushed Violon Zucchini, Ratatouille and Sweet Black Olives. I was told by our waiter that corvina is similar to the sea bass, and he was right. Beautiful sweet flesh contrasted with the crispy skin. The ratatouille (left of fish) and zucchini (green mound to the right of fish) were very nicely done and even the strongest of meat eaters wouldn't object eating these vegetables. The black strip of tapenade-like sweet olives was very pleasant on the tongue, slightly sweet with a mild olive flavour:

Desserts

More than half our lunch calorie intake must have come from the desserts. French desserts are so exquisite, both in presentation and taste.

First up, we were served the Petit Fours. The tiny bite-sized pieces of sweet heaven included Dark Chocolate Cups with Pineapple and Coconut, nutty Caramels, delicate Carrot Cake, and Strawberry Marshmallows. After we finished, we were asked if we wanted more!

We were then shown the dessert tray. We could choose three each, so between the two of us, we sampled all of them!

A little candle and birthday message just for Rob:

They were all good, with the coffee eclair and apple tart being particularly good. We both agreed that the macaron was our favourite, with the lightly crispy shell contrasting quite nicely with the slightly chewy chocolaty filling.

(Left to right) Macaron with Chocolate Raspberry centre, Pineapple Cheesecake with Dragonfruit, Chocolate Brownie Slice:

(Left to right) Pannacotta with Frambois and Raspberries, Apple Tart, Coffee Eclair with Toffee:

We had a lovely dining experience at Caprice, and I can't fault anything. Everything was done well in the restaurant, from the service to the food. I particularly loved how kid-friendly the restaurant is, even providing crayons and a colouring book to occupy the little ones. Caprice deserves all three stars from Michelin.

Caprice
6F, Four Seasons Hotel
8 Finance Street
Central, Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 3196 8860

Rare family shot:

Friday 10 June 2011

Revisit: the food court @ Food Republic (Citygate), Hong Kong

Malaysian and Korean food - these are two of my favourite cuisines that I haven't eaten much of since we moved to Hong Kong. The last time we ate both was almost 4 months ago, and it wasn't even at a proper restaurant (but it was very good dolsot bibimbap!). On a recent rainy weekend morning, we decided to head into the Citygate Outlet again to endure some clothes shopping because the boy needed clothes for the hot season that actually fitted him. (Yes, we live above a very nice shopping mall with plenty of clothing stores, but unfortunately most of them are brand names and prohibitively priced, especially for a toddler who outgrows clothes and shoes every season!) I guess it's a good thing that we only need to do this once every 4 months, because clothes shopping isn't our favourite family pastimes for everyone involved, but even I have to admit that it is one way to productively spend a rainy morning.

Like the last time we were at Citygate, we opted for a quick lunch at the Food Republic food court, and once again we ate from the same stalls (only because those were the kind of food that we don't get much opportunity to eat). I really liked the Dolsot Bibimbap from the Korean stall, and after 4 months of going without Korean food, I had a serious hankering for a good hot bowl of dolsot bibimbap. And that bowl of bibimbap was pretty awesome - Rob and I were both fighting for the crispy burnt rice at the bottom. Wouldn't it be great if dolsot bibimbap was prepared on a hot plate to give a bigger surface area for more rice to be burnt? Perhaps not many people share my love for the crunchy burnt rice, but that would make me a happy gal.

Super hot Dolsot Bibimbap:

Rob ordered the Singaporean Laksa from the Singaporean stall, and he thought it was pretty decent except for the type of noodles used (thick rice vermicelli, which he also thought was a bit mushy and overcooked). He prefers his laksa with yellow mee or kuay teow. I thought that the laksa gravy tasted authentic enough (with tofu puff, prawns, egg and beansprouts), but perhaps not spicy enough (easily fixed with the additional chilli powder provided at the condiments section of the stall). I am with Rob on the noodles though - I personally prefer kuay teow or bee hoon (thin rice vermicelli) in my laksa.

Curry Laksa:

The boy had to settle for a packed meal from home because we couldn't take any chances with his multiple food allergies, especially more so at a food court that offers food of various Asian cuisines (we all know how much Asians love to use soy, sesame and peanuts in their food). We want our son joining in on the dining experience whenever we go out to eat, and that's why we have been purposely avoiding the Asian cuisine when we dine out. I really hope he will outgrow his food allergies so that he can enjoy the pleasure of eating all kinds of food without those sort of limitations.

Food Republic (Citygate)
2/F, Citygate Outlets
20 Tat Tung Road
Tung Chung, Hong Kong

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Our Cooking Project #8: Toddler making Improbable Quiche

I can't believe it's been ten months since we last did a cooking project! Hubby and I actually started this "cooking project" almost two years ago as a couple thing, but last year we included our then 21-month-old boy in on the project with Choco-Banana Muffins (we made the move to Hong Kong shortly after that, and I guess the cooking project took a back seat since). Two weekends ago my son cooked dinner using my Improbable Quiche. For safety reason, he obviously needed a lot of help, especially with chopping up the ingredients and cooking at the hot stove, but he was involved in every step from picking up the ingredients at the supermarket to eating the finished product. He had a ball making the quiche, and especially loved getting to hold a knife for the first time and cooking at the stove. We basically followed the recipe very closely, except for the chopped spinach, which was added to up the vege content for an easy one-dish meal. It was tough fitting all three of us in our tiny Hong Kong kitchen, but we got the job done and thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of our labour!

Improbable Quiche

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1 small brown onion, chopped
3 rashers of bacon (~75g), roughly chopped
4 slices of ham (~40g), roughly chopped
A bundle (~100g) baby spinach, washed and chopped
1 small red capsicum, diced
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups of milk
1/2 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup (80g) grated cheese
1/2 cup frozen corn
1-2 tablespoons herbs (I used basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley, thyme and sage)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180degC and grease a 24cm diameter ovenproof dish

Chop, chop, chop:

2. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, and cook the onion, bacon, ham and capsicum for a few minutes, stirring often, until the bacon is lightly crisp, the onion is slightly caramelised and the capsicum is cooked. Add the chopped spinach to the pan and cook briefly (less than a minute) until wilted. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes

Pour the milk into a bowl:

3. Whisk the eggs, milk, flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl until well combined.

Add the eggs to the mixing bowl:

4. Stir in the bacon mixture, grated cheese, frozen corn and herbs into the mixing bowl. Season with pepper (and salt, if desired, but keep in mind that bacon and ham are salty already).

Mix, mix, mix:

5. Pour mixture into your greased dish, and bake for 45 minutes or until set in the centre.
6. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Et voila - the Improbable Quiche (or half of it anyway, at the dinner table):

Friday 3 June 2011

Italy: Venice Part II - the food!

It is no secret that Venice is not a foodie destination. In fact, this city has a rather shady reputation for food - overpriced, overhyped and doesn't taste all that great. However, when I was planning our Venice itinerary, I recalled coming across a really handy dining guide of Venice that had been put together by a well-known food blogger more than 3 years ago, and thankfully it was still there for me to download and print! I am ever so grateful for fellow food bloggers who provide an invaluable source of information on the internet for everyone else. This guide helped us avoid the bad food, but unfortunately everything is expensive in Venice (they have to boat supplies in) so all our meals were pricey. All three meals we ate in Venice (other than breakfast which was provided at the B&B) were from the guide, and they were all good eats. You will notice that we ordered tiramisu for all three meals, which is quite unusual for us because neither of us are great fans of this dessert due to its alcoholic nature. However, we'd really enjoyed the first tiramisu we had at Trattoria da Arturo - which was not like any tiramisu we've ever had before or since - that we decided to try the tiramisu at the other two restaurants too. We figured it couldn't hurt us much to eat tiramisu in Venice, where it is widely accepted that tiramisu was first created.

Dinner at Trattoria da Arturo

This is a tiny restaurant that didn't scream out "Eat Here" like most of the restaurants we encountered in Venice. In fact, I'm quite certain that most people would walk by without even noticing it's there. The restaurant's location far from the crowd provides a quiet sanctuary for a peaceful meal. This trattoria has a small menu that specialises in meat and no seafood, which is unique in a city famous for seafood. The menu is in Italian, but the waiter speaks English very well. The food is simple and rustic, perfect for those who wants a no-frills meal. The vegetables here are worth a mention as they were prepared very well and delicious, which made it easy to enjoy eating our veggies for the day. Be aware that credit cards are not accepted (we weren't the only ones caught out as another diner had to head back to her hotel for more euros), and reservations are highly recommended as this small restaurant is pretty popular.

A bowl of Spaghetti Bolognese for the 2.5-year-old. Simple, but tasty and satisfying:

Rob got the Scaloppine (thin slices of veal) in a mustard and cream sauce. It doesn't look great in the photo, but it was yummy:

I ordered one of the steaks, but I cannot recall exactly which one. I do remember that I'd enjoyed it, even though I am not much of a red meat person:

The plate of vegetables - such a colourful mix that tasted as good as it looked:

Arturo's tiramisu, which was so good that if all tiramisu was like this one, I would be a tiramisu convert. It didn't have the usual ladyfinger biscuits, and it looked like a bowl of pudding, but it was the best tiramisu I've ever eaten (I don't like using superlatives unless I actually mean it!):

A little trivia: I've heard that this restaurant is liked so much by Joel Silver (the producer of The Matrix movies) that he flies the restaurant's team to Hollywood every year to cook for him and his friends.

Trattoria da Arturo (aka Vini da Arturo)
San Marco, 3656
Calle degli Assassini
30124 Venezia, Italy
Tel. +39 041 52 86 974

Lunch at Ostaria Boccadoro

This is another unknown restaurant situated in a quiet area away from the main tourist areas. Seafood is the specialty at Ostaria Boccadoro, and the menu is highly dependent on what is available at the market. Our hostess was very friendly and accommodating, and had a good command of English. It was a lovely day with plenty of sunshine, and we had an enjoyable lunch outside in front of a quiet square.

Gnocchetti con granseola (gnocchi-like dumplings with crab), ordered for the toddler. The gnocchetti were made from mostly potatoes, and the sauce was rich in seafood flavours. I really liked this one:

We got a pasta plate to share - Tagliolini neri con capesante e carciofini (black homemade pasta with scallops and artichokes). Only one word needed to describe this dish: Yum!

Verdure miste alla griglia (mixed grilled vegetables). Simply grilled and perfectly seasoned, this veg plate was delicious:

Rob got the Filetto di rombo con patate e carciofini (turbot fillet with potatoes and artichokes), and he found a strand of hair in it shortly after digging into it. Our hostess was very apologetic and wanted to dispose of the dish, but Rob insisted he didn't mind the hair and rather not have the food get thrown out. The hair was removed, and the dish got eaten but was not included in our bill (it was yum, by the way):

A beautifully presented chocolate molten cake for dessert. Very chocolatey and rich:

Boccadoro's tiramisu, which was nice as far as tiramisu goes, but not as nice as Arturo's tiramisu:

Ostaria Boccadoro
Cannareggio, 5405/a
Campo Widmann
30131 Venezia, Italy
Tel. +39 041 52 11 021

Dinner at Osteria Enoteca San Marco

Unlike the first two restaurants, Osteria Enoteca San Marco is located in a prime location very close to San Marco Square on a well-pedestrianised street. If it hadn't been recommended, I probably would have totally ignored it simply based on the fact that it is in the middle of touristville. It's a cool and chic wine bar with charming waitstaff. This place caters well for tourists, and there's English on the menu (and their website). There's an extensive wine list, and we enjoyed the white wine and dessert wine recommended by our waiter. The food was good, but I do prefer the dining experiences at Arturo and Boccadoro. This place is very popular, so reservations are recommended unless you arrive early before the dinner rush like we did (no later than 6pm).

Taglierini with asparagus, for the boy. This trip to Italy has convinced me that simple is best when it comes to pasta:

Rob got the Mixed Fried Seafood, which was a bit too much grease on one plate even for Rob. It was perfectly fried with a thin crispy batter, and the seafood was tender and not overcooked. The 2.5-year-old enjoyed eating the vegetable fries:

Rob and I actually wanted the same main: the pan-fried cod with a spiced herb crust and spinach, but he graciously ordered another item for variety's sake (we share our plates). We both agreed that this was a better choice than the fried seafood. Juicy cod encased inside a tasty crust, on a bed of wilted spinach with sultanas and pine nuts. Simple goodness:

This third version of the tiramisu is the one that most closely resembled the ones we are accustomed to seeing abroad. Unfortunately it was also our least favourite of the three, however I am sure that tiramisu fans would love this one:

Osteria Enoteca San Marco
San Marco, 1610
Frezzeria
30124 Venezia, Italy
Tel. +39 041 528 52 42

That, my friends, marks the end of my account of our trip to Italy. We loved Rome, Florence and Venice, and I would jump at any chance to go back to Italy to explore the Tuscan countryside.