Europe Travelogue : Part 3

France : Paris

Romance + crème brulee + french wine + fashion + art & history = PARIS

But personally, I found the hype around Paris city totally blown out of proportion. Crazy traffic, dirty metro stations, snobbish and rude people is what we pretty much got.

Of course, the art and history in the city is something that artists and architects will totally love. We spent one full day at the Louvre and maybe almost 2 hours staring at the enigmatic Mona Lisa painting.  Louvre took me back in time to art history classes while in college - paintings through different periods in history, neo classical and gothic architecture, sculptures and fresco.

Louvre

The Notre Dame Cathedral was another place that took me back to art history classes - beautiful fresco on the walls and brilliant stained glass painting! 

Notre Dame Cathedral

 Notre Dame Cathedral

Stained Glass Paintings

We took a 'Discover Paris' walk with a guide in Montmartre Square. The walk was a lovely experience - from the oldest cabaret - Moulign Rouge, to the famous windmill atop the hill, to Picasso's house and the place where Van Gogh first lived and used to buy his breakfast from...loved every bit of it. 

 Montmarte Square

Last, but not the least - the Eiffel Tower. Looked lovely in the evening when it was all lit up. The place was abuzz with activity in spite of the slight drizzle and chill winds. 

 Eiffel Tower

The famous French crepes with chocolate spread is what we had by the Seine river the evening we visited the Eiffel Tower. It was just about okay, although my friends loved the ones with non-veg filling.

Crepes with cheese

Patisseries (French bakery) in France are a delight for people with a sweet tooth like moi. A treat here is the macaroons - light and crisp on the outside with soft natural flavour cream inside. Pistachio flavoured one was yumm. French croissants turned out to be my husband's favourite. He totally sweared by them and said they were the best he'd had till date. Baguette and cheese is something I tasted for the first time and pretty much liked it. The bread is a little hard though, but the cheese spread makes it very tasty. The cupcakes and pastries in general are very tasty in most Patisseries. We had a tough time restraining a friend from entering each and every patisserie we passed. :)

Louis Vuitton store on Champs Elvsee

My friend and I walked down Champs Elysee in the rain window shopping. We passed by the Louis Vuitton flagship store but dint go in as we were soaking wet and shabby! Almost every second person in Paris seemed to carry an LV bag (though most of them I suspect are fake!). I asked the Parisian guide on the walking tour about this and he said it was "a mass luxury" Parisians enjoyed given that LV was a French label. I wonder how luxury can be a mass thing.

Paris can be passed off as any Asian city. Except for parts around the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and few other well-known touristy spots, it is over hyped. Also, the city can be unsafe at times – thefts and pickpocketing are very common – mostly tourists are the target. And despite the multi-culture, a non-Parisian is treated as an outsider.

Europe Travelogue : Part 2

Switzerland

Zurich

We flew into a small town called Basel from Amsterdam. The Basel airport is real tiny and manned by the armed forces and shared between Germany, France and Switzerland. From Basel, we took a Euro rail to Zurich. 

 View from the train

Train travel in Europe, particularly Switzerland is an experience by itself. More so, because of the scenic beauty one gets to see all around. Green fields dotted with the trademark yellow buttercups, huge jersey cows grazing in the fields with the Swiss bells hanging from their necks, pretty little cottage-type houses with colourful flowered plants in window sills and snow-capped mountains in the background. A perfect setting for Bollywood movies (YFR? J)!

 View from the train

The city of Zurich is a happening tourist destination and also the biggest city in the country. Numerous art galleries and museums dot the cityscape along with modern structures and a vibrant nightlife. Clubs & restaurants by the quay, the famous station road called Bahnhofstrasse (also Zurich’s fashion mile) and the old town area are the main attractions.

 Zurich by night

The locals in Zurich are pretty cordial and polite and most people speak English, although instructions are in German and Swiss.

Luzern

From Zurich, we headed to Luzern – a city nestled in a valley of snow-capped mountains along the beautiful lake Luzern. This is easily an adventure enthusiast’s dream destination. Water sports on the lake, hiking and adventure trails in the mountains and paragliding for those who want an adrenaline rush. We took a ferry ride on the lake and trekked up to Mt. Rigis, and came down the cable car. A fun hike, with a slight drizzle, some snow and picture postcard perfect scenery.

Chapel Tower & Bridge

For history buffs, there is the old town area with the Chapel Bridge and tower, statue of the injured lion, many forts and cathedrals.

Switzerland is synonyms with chocolates and cheese. We decided to try some of the “real’ home-made Swiss chocolates from what are called “Chocolatiers” – chocolate shops basically – as opposed to the packed branded ones easily available in retail stores world over. 

 Fresh home-made chocolate slabs

 Truffles

There are milk chocolate slabs, roasted nutty ones, truffles, liquor chocolates and fancy decorated ones. We sampled a bit of each variety before buying them and I must say they were delicious!

There are many different types of Swiss cheese in the market. Typically, Swiss cheese is pale yellow with holes. I was immediately reminded of Tom and Jerry type animated blocks of cheese. However, not all Swiss cheese is with holes. Gouda, hard, semi-hard and cream cheese are some of the popular varieties.

My cheese fondue experience was a bit of damp squib. Firstly, I had to literally hunt for a restaurant serving fondue in the old town area of Luzern. After finding one, no one attended to us even after waiting for twenty minutes in a half-full diner. While not blatantly racist, we realised we were being given the jibes and undertones. In a country that thrives on tourism, more so from South-East Asia and India in particular, it was shocking to note that these things still happen. We finally had to walkout, and it seems like that is what they wanted. Ended up having a decent margarita pizza and yummy tiramisu at an Italian restaurant. 

Tiramisu

Next evening, we discovered another joint. Pretty much the same treatment, but for some reason, they decided to serve us just when we were about to walk out. Although the fondue was creamy and rich in texture, it lacked distinct flavour and after a point, even for a cheese lover like me, the cheese smell became sickening. To say the least, the entire experience left a bad taste in the mouth.

Engelberg & Mount Titlis

A quick and picturesque train ride from Luzern to Engelberg brought us to the base of Mount Titlis – Switzerland’s highest peak in the Urner Alps. A typical touristy destination, we were pretty taken aback at the number of country cousins getting off the ‘coach tours’ and “organized tour groups”! Aunties in silk saris, red mouthed paan chewing uncles in safari suits, newlyweds holding mehendi decorated hands – phew! Added to this, at the entrance to the ticket counter is an Indian food stall selling “Indian Masala tea, Vada Pav, Paav Bhaaji” and other savouries! 

Engelberg

From here, a ride in the revolving Rotair, an aerial cable car that provides an awesome 360-degree panoramic view of the snow-covered valleys, glaciers, lakes, and mountains delivered us to the mountain top. It was truly an exhilarating experience! Once on top, there are loads of adventure activities such as snowboarding and skiing.

But the noisy crowds, endless queues to use the bathroom, to click filmy photographs in certain places and even grab a quick bite were a total putt-off.  The artificial snow cave is rather silly, the resort is not well maintained and the restaurant serves pretty bad food – including cold and stale Indian food! 

However, the beautiful mountains and the cable car ride make-up for everything else that is not great at Mt. Titlis. Switzerland is a beautiful country with one of the best country sides, clean cities, great infrastructure and no visible poverty. The only sore point of our stay here was the racial undertone we experienced at the fondu place.

Europe Travelogue : Part 1

Traveling in a train from Paris to Amsterdam via beautiful Belgium is what I am doing as I chronicle my two week Western Europe vacation covering the Netherlands/Holland, Switzerland and France in a three-part series.

Netherlands/Holland: Maastricht, Utrecht & Amsterdam

Maastricht: 

The culture capital of the Netherlands, this is one of the oldest cities in the country. Centuries of German, French & Roman influence has added a lively cultural overtone to the little city. Museums, forts and cathedrals dot the romantic city, as do the famous picturesque squares & cobbled streets.

Dutch Wooden Clogs

Utrecht: 

My favourite city in the Netherlands, this is a university town that houses the biggest university in the heart of Holland. Again, although Utrecht is a very old city, the modern cityscape reflects the old world architecture and manages to preserve the local character. The compact city centre, numerous canals, waterfront restaurants and the hustle-bustle of the student population cycling away or studying under the trees in parks gives Utrecht an almost village-like feel.

The landmark of the city - the Dom Tower, is a church tower standing 112.32 meters tall on a huge square, now called the Dom square. Shopping streets, bars and restaurants surround this landmark.

Dom Tower

Dom Square Canal

While we stayed at the Grand Karl V in Utretch, the chef in the restaurant was very friendly and obligingly whipped up a decent vegetarian pasta in white sauce garnished with rocket leaves (a popular green herb used all over Europe). I dint particularly warm up to the taste of rocket leaves as it has a very weird after taste that I’m unable to describe.

The friendly chef at Grand Karl V

Pasta in White Sauce

Strawberry Cheesecake

Grand Karl V is a heritage hotel and the building is more than 500 years old. The dining area, the kitchen and the restaurant have preserved some of the old dungeons.

Dungeon

One of the many canals

I fell in love with this city as tradition & history blend beautifully to offer a unique big-city life with an old world feel.  The student population lend a young, energetic and dynamic feel to the growing city.

Amsterdam:

The capital of Netherlands and the biggest city in the country, it was named after a dam was built in the river Amstel that flows through the city. A bustling and lively city, there are loads of touristy places such as the Ann Frank house, red light district, Van Gogh Museum, Keukenhof Tulip Gardens and historic canals.

This is one country that is very tolerant towards the use and sale of marijuana and it is actually legal. It is interesting to note that such drugs are available in “coffee shops” and if one is in need of caffeine, then head to a “café”.

Most Dutch food is predominantly non-vegetarian. Therefore, my choices were pretty limited to regular fare such as sandwiches and salads. However, we gorged on hot Dutch waffles with maple cream – absolutely yumm.  One evening, we decided to try something different from the breads and walked into a Turkish restaurant. Baked aubergine with tomato and cheese, and some sweet Turkish wine – a nice hot dinner on a cold windy evening!

Dutch Waffles

A chance discovery near the Ann Frank house was a lovely little bakery selling cake-pops – round balls of cake on a stick – much like the lollipops. It was absolutely delicious and rich with different attractive frosting and decoration. Some of them looked so pretty we hesitated to bite into them! 

Cake Pops

Amsterdam

Beauty. brilliant colours, bulbs and flowers of various sizes, shades of green I’d never seen before -  that is the famed Kuekenhof  Tulip Gardens of Holland. A fantastic visual treat!

People make a country – and this is so true of beautiful Netherlands/Holland. The Dutch are such a warm and friendly lot. From personal experience I can say that they do not hesitate to help tourists, always have a smile and ever ready to chit-chat!

Another thing I loved about this country is that it is very pet friendly. Being a pet owner myself, I was delighted to see dogs pottering all over with their owners – on the trains, in buses, in cafes, in malls and supermarkets…just about everywhere!

Also, it is an English speaking country, so for people who do not know a foreign language, it is an added advantage. Would love to come back here!

Jij Bin Mooi Netherlands.

Turquoise Restaurants, Koramangala : Restaurant Review

Hello people, I'm back to the blog world after a small hiatus! Blame it on work, some travel and a little bit of laziness :) The scorching Bangalore heat has jolted me out of my slumber and here I am - back to doing the rounds of Bangalore restaurants.

One Saturday evening, twelve of us friends landed up at Turquoise Restaurants in Koramangala quite by chance. The restaurant has two sections, The European and The Indian. With majority in the mood for cheesy delectables and pasta, the group headed to The European.

The vegetarians started with Messe - Cold Starters and Salads served with Pita Bread. The Pita bread tasted like under cooked set dosa. Some of the dips were just about fine - hummus was average and salsa tasted flat - no zing or punch. Rest of the dips are not even worth a mention.

Crostini Misti

The non-vegetarians chose Ali di Pollo - Baked Chicken wings marinated in herbs and Barbequed Shrimps. My sibling and hard core foodie Shashank says – “The chicken was definitely leftovers. Tasted like rubber. We even told the bearer. In any other place, they would have immediately made amends by asking to choose something else. But nothing remotely close to that here. The Shrimps were bland, tasteless and well, I can say I’ve tasted better. We then ordered more chicken from their Indian menu and I must say that was quite okay”.

Another veggie starter, Crostini Misti with an assortment of toppings was passable. The herb ricotta cheese topping was decent and the bread was grilled just right. The rest of the toppings were pretty bland and insipid. I understand that European food cannot have Andhra spice, but - the flavour has to be wholesome and tasty. The only starter that really had any taste/flavour and was actually passable was the Baked Auberguine with Tomato Confit, Cheese.

Mozzarella Fritta con Balsamico

The ball started rolling, and quite literally (in the stomachs), when the Mozzarella Fritta con Balsamico (cheese balls) came to the table. On the first bite, we thought the taste was rather odd (maybe stale cheese?), but we dint make a fuss about it as we were a big group of friends bonding and having fun after ages... After about 15-20 minutes, my friend and husband both complained of a queasy stomach and uneasiness. By then, it was pretty late for us to move out to another restaurant. With two friends who are expectant mothers, we decided to play safe and switch to Indian food.

Baked Auberguine

Another round of starters included the basic Tandoori Fish and Tandoori Ghobi. Decent enough, but nothing to write home about. While the queasy stomachs continued, we requested the bearer to organize some basic curd rice to settle the stomachs. It was flatly refused. We requested to speak to the owner, who again sent word with his man Friday that curd rice was not happening. Since requesting politely to speak to the owner did not work, a firm holler did the trick (really - does it take such a lot to get the owner to a guest’s table???) We told the owner about the queasy stomachs and requested for some curd rice with tadka. This is what the owner said - "We don’t have curd rice on our menu. We don’t do curd rice. Or let me put it this way - my cooks are not South Indian." He told us this with an arrogant sarcastic tone - not at all becoming of a restaurant owner talking to his guests!

It’s not like his cooks are from Europe or something? Any cook worth his salt who makes all sorts of North Indian dishes should be able to put curd and rice with a dash of tadka. It’s not rocket science and nor do you have to be a South Indian to do so. And probably because the European cook was away, the starters were so tasteless!

We were so disgusted by this attitude that we skipped dessert although I was pretty tempted to try their Baklava (but who knows, probably the Greek cook was in Athens or something!).

Bad Food with an Attitude + A total rip off + Arrogant Owner = Turquoise Restaurants.

Verdict : 1/5 (only for the Indian)

Birthday Cakes by Reva Garde

All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.

George Harrison

But how can you resist and not take too much when someone painstakingly bakes two yummy birthday cakes with a lot of love and care? And if that someone happens to be my dear friend, super cook and master baker Reva Garde, then God help those who try and resist!

It was her husband Vish's birthday last weekend and some of us friends trooped in to their place for a party. And like always, Reva had made some very delicious dinner. But the highlight of the party (apart from being Vish's birthday of course) were the two cakes she baked. A moist chocolate cake with yummy butter cream icing for the kids, and a heavenly brandy soaked Tiramisu cake for the adults.

The kiddy cake had an awesome texture - soft, moist and coarse topped off with swirls of vanilla butter cream icing. Dont miss the tourquise swirl....quite a beauty of a cake! The kids could just not resist digging-in and licking off their fingers.

The tiramisu cake - now where do I begin? A gourmet, sweet and creamy indulgence. Lightly washed with coffee, layered with mascorpone cheese and soaked in brandy. A dusting of cocoa used cleverly for decoration. Just one word to describe it - DELICIOUS

Reva shares the tiramisu cake recipe:

For the cake layers:

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

For the espresso extract:

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

2 tablespoons boiling water

For the espresso syrup:

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy (I used brandy)

For the filling and frosting:

1 8-ounce container mascarpone

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy ( I used brandy)

1 cup cold heavy cream

2 1/2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, or about 1/2 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Chocolate-covered espresso beans, for decoration (optional)

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Getting ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9×2 inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess, and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To make the cake:

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will

come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them, and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right-side up.

To make the extract:

Stir the espresso powder and boiling water together in a small cup until blended. Set aside.

To make the syrup:

Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the syrup into a small heatproof bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the espresso extract and the

liqueur or brandy; set aside.

To make the filling and frosting:

Put the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, and liqueur in a large bowl and whisk just until blended and smooth.

Working with the stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir about one quarter of the whipped cream into the mascarpone. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a light touch.

To assemble the cake:

If the tops of the cake layers have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. Place one layer right-side up on a cardboard round or a cake plate protected with strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a pastry brush or a small spoon, soak the layer with about one third of the espresso syrup. Smooth some of the mascarpone cream over the layer – user about 1 1/4 cups – and gently press the chopped chocolate into the filling. Put the second cake layer on the counter and soak the top of it with half the remaining espresso syrup, then turn the layer over and position it, soaked side down, over the filling. Soak the top of the cake with the remaining syrup.

For the frosting, whisk 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining espresso extract into the remaining mascarpone filling. Taste the frosting as you go to decide how much extract you want to add. If the frosting looks as if it might be a little too soft to spread over the cake, press a piece of plastic wrap against its surface and refrigerate it for 15 minutes or so.

Refrigerate the cake too.

With a long metal icing spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top. If you want to decorate the cake with chocolate-covered espresso beans, press them into the filling, making concentric circles of beans or just putting some beans in the center of the cake.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours (or for up to 1 day) before serving – the elements need time to meld.

Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with cocoa.

Thanks Reva, for the lovely party, dinner and the cakes :)

Spaghetti Kitchen, Koramangala : Restaurant Review

Cheerful, tastefully done up (lavish) restaurant in Italian ceramics and glass +

Stylish cutlery +

Assortment of wine bottles +

A yummy-looking dessert counter +

A menu with exorbitant prices it make holes in your wallet just looking at it +

A name like Spaghetti Kitchen = ??

Good Italian cuisine worth the money spent? Well, yes. Spaghetti Kitchen in Koramangala Bangalore does serve good Italian food, however with some sore points.

My husband and I dined there last night after high recommendations from cousin A*.

Every table is served a complimentary bread basket comprising bread sticks, a couple of rolls and some focaccia with a dip. Started with some beer and moved onto shooters. We ordered shots of Sleazy Kamikaze (tequila, blue curacao, and lime). Turned out to be a pretty mild shot, but refreshing never-the-less.

French fries with Aglio dip is what we ordered as an appetizer. The fries turned out to regular fare, but what made a difference was the dip - simply delicious - creamy and yummy!

After sinfully deep fried fires, we wanted to go healthy and try a salad that we've never had before. So we zeroed in on the Insalata Tabouleh Di Quinoa. At this point, we asked the waiter what exactly this salad was. He could not explain and dint know what to say. My take is that people here are still discovering Italian food and it helps to have knowledgeable staff - specially if you have fancy names straight of the streets of Italy and prices to match. A foodie like me would definitely want to know in detail about what I'm eating. We anyway ordered it and discovered that it is a vegetarian salad with toasted quinoa grain (a gluten free grain ), tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans. Healthy veggies all the way - and a tasty salad too!

This was followed by their signature dish - Penne Vodka (penne tossed in a light pomodoro tomato-cream sauce with sweet onion and flamed with vodka, finished with shavings of parmesan and Italian parsley) for the main course. On the whole, this dish was very tasty. However, there was hardly any trace of vodka. Also, the menu gives the impression of the dish being flamed at the table, but nothing as dramatic happened. When we asked the waiter first and then the manager, both said it was already flamed in kitchen, if you please!

Also, no parmesan shavings, and I spotted exactly one parsley leaf. We had to order garlic bread as a separate accompaniment. Served cold I might add.

We were pretty full after the penne dish, but with my sweet tooth, I had to end the Italian meal with Tiramisu. And I'm glad I did so - as this was the star of the meal. The dessert serving was pretty big as compared to the main course and salad. Creamy, with juicy layers of cake and coffee on top.

Would recommend this place for an Italian meal albeit with a HUGE hole in the pocket. Tiny portions= big price tag. Overall, a decent dining experience, quick service and polite staff who know absolutely nothing about Italian food.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Hotel Original Mylari, Mysore : Restaurant Review

For me, a visit or drive through Mysore is incomplete without a visit to Mylari - the famous masal dose joint situated off Nazarbad main road. I cant call what they serve mysore masal dose

or anything else - it is just Mylari dose - a league of its own.

Mylari has been serving dose to Mysoreans and Bangaloreans (some who even drive down all the way just to eat the dose and get back - like my friend P) for at least four decades.

The narrow lane is Nazarbad houses two Mylaris. One that says Hotel Original Mylari, and another across the road that is called Mylari. A "we have no other branches" sign board is displayed in both the Mylaris. Interestingly, both the Mylari doses taste almost the same. A chat with one of the managers revealed some interesting family history between the two.

Hotel Original Mylari is a small narrow room with tiny tables and benches. The waiting to get a place to sit can really get annoying at times. This is not to say their service is bad - on the contrary they serve real quick, just that almost everyone who goes inside to eat wants to down at least two doses at a time.

The Mylari dose is fluffy, soft and light brown in colour, coated with a layer of ghee and an additional blob of benne (butter) thrown on top. You can ask for regular masal dose - which has a dry palya (potato preparation) inside or the saagu masala, which is a semi-gravy type mixed vegetable preparation. The chutney is a coarsely ground coconut chutney of medium spice. The chutney, dose and saagu combination is heavenly. Absolutely delicious! However, do note that Mylari doses can leave you feeling very heavy and lethargic - to the extent of skipping meals rest of the day.

Easy on the pocket, tasty and very different.

A must visit for dosa lovers.

Verdict : 4.8/5