Aksum Coffee House – Brussels

March 22, 2014March 21, 2014Leave a comment

C and I had done some sightseeing and since it was a rainy day, we wanted to take a rest and looked for a coffee shop. Aksum Coffee House was rated as the top coffee house in Brussels on Tripadvisor, so off we went. It’s a little hidden since their company name isn’t in vivid colours. A tiny mint green shop owned by an Ethiopian man.

The inside is filled with vintage coffee machines and African artwork on the walls. There’s only a few seats but when we were there on a weekday, there weren’t that many people. Their menu is also very limited, with some cakes from a local bakery as well.

For myself, I got the Hot Chocolate, since I’m not a big fan of coffee. When it arrived, I was surprised by the way it looked. It was very frothy at the top, and you could see glimpse of chocolate at the bottom. I mixed it up, and it became a light brown colour. Taking a sip from it, it didn’t really taste like typical hot chocolates. It was frothy, and the chocolate taste wasn’t too strong. There was a nutmeg flavour to it as well. The drink was a bit pricey, but apparently they use high quality ingredients.

C got a coffee drink. I don’t remember what it’s called, but it had a special name and the owner recommended it. However, he warned her that it might be a little bitter. There was a shot of espresso in it, which made it strong. She didn’t really like it because it was so bitter, but I believe true espresso lovers will enjoy this drink.

All in all, I wasn’t too impressed with their drinks. It might just be me, since I’m not a coffee expert, and don’t know much about coffee. Still, I find the drinks to be quite pricey.

Noordzee Mer du Nord – Brussels

March 21, 2014March 20, 20143 Comments

Following a week of school, which was also my last week of school, the weekend came and off I was to another country again! C, a foodie from Hong Kong and I had planned this trip around a month ago. We found flights for 30 euros round trip from Barcelona to Brussels and we couldn’t say no! Belgian waffles, chocolate, fries, beer, mussels… yup no foodie would say no to such a cheap flight! Obviously, it wasn’t a fancy flight with Ryanair, but we’re pretty much used to those early morning, pass out on the plane flights. When we arrived at the airport, which I believe isn’t their international one, we had to take a bus to the city center. Then once there, we took a metro and arrived at our guesthouse which I’ll talk about more in later posts. We dropped off our backpacks and off we went to explore the city. It was a shame that it was raining in Brussels most of the time we were there, but at least it wasn’t pouring rain. We walked by Noordzee Mer du Nord and C pointed out that she had read it was a must visit! With crowds eating there even in the rain, we knew it must’ve been good! The place has no seats, but only a long bar table along the kitchen, or some stand up tables pitched with tents to cover you from rain. No seats though.

Their kitchen is open, so you can watch them prepare the food.

Fish Soup

The famous item that we saw everyone getting was the Fish Soup. This was absolutely delicious since it was a chilly, rainy day and something hot was perfect! However, we did find that the soup was more like a vegetable minestrone soup. There were fish pieces inside, but the vegetable soup was so strong that it covered any fish flavour. The best part was the side of bread that had some sort of mayo and cheese on top. We asked the man how to eat this, and he said do whatever you want! He said he usually threw the whole piece in, so we did too! That was awesome because the cheese would melt right away in the soup, and the mayo gave the soup some creaminess. So good! Another two slices of just plain bread was also complimentary for each soup. A must try!

Grilled Scallops

We also decided to get another dish and chose the Grilled Scallops. Mer du Nord’s menu is basically all seafood since they are known for their fresh fish and seafood. We decided to go for the Grilled Scallops, which are by piece and quite pricey. Sadly, we were a bit disappointed in them. Not that they weren’t fresh or grilled perfectly, but that the flavour of the sauce wasn’t too appealing for us. It was more of a onion based sauce, and we had imagine something like a white wine or garlic sauce. Something was a little odd about the sauce, or we just weren’t too accustomed to this type of flavour. Nevertheless, the scallops were extremely fresh and cooked well.

Overall, Mer du Nord is definitely worth checking out when in Brussels. It’s sort of like a quick place to grab a bite without having to sit down. The food is fresh and of good quality, although I find that the prices are a little pricey. However, other than tourists, you find many locals here. They come here for a glass of wine with their fish soup and select a variety of other seafood dishes. Everything looked delicious!

MyLahore – Manchester

March 20, 2014April 3, 20141 Comment

On my last night in Manchester, the girls took me to Curry Mile. This one street is just full of restaurants and kebab houses specializing in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. Apparently there are at least seventy restaurants. They said that there’s so many restaurants that they never really know which one to go to. N had gone to MyLahore before, so off we went.

Both the interior and exterior are quite modern-looking. The decor is very family-style with booths on the side and everything is very colourful. Friendly service as well.

Sizzling Combo Platter – Chicken Seekh, Lamb Seekh, Lamp Chop, Chicken Pakora, and Samosa

N had been here before and suggested we get two sets of the Sizzling Combo Platter between the four us to share. This was a good platter since you get to try a variety of Indian appetizers. The Chicken Seekh was my favourite as they flavoured it really well. The Samosa was alright as I wish the wrapping was more flaky. This one was the type of samosas which had a thick outer layer that was more doughy.

Chicken Karahi

For my main, I went for the Chicken Karahi. The Karahi is a curry made with mainly onions, tomatoes and peppers. The curry was a thin consistency rather than something like butter chicken. An intersesting note is that a karahi actually means the pot or wok that they use to cook this Indian dish. Anyways, the curry wasn’t too spicy as I asked for mild I believe. There were quite a lot of pieces of chicken and I wasn’t even able to finish most of it. I ended up having to wrap it up.

Roti

None of the curries come with a side of rice so we had to order this ourselves. We ended up getting one Roti, which was huge. This was thin and crisp, but I missed the Malaysian rotis which were flakier.

Naan

We also ordered one Naan. The naan was a bit oily, but I liked how it was very fluffy inside. I preferred the naan over the roti actually. It’s unusual how you actually need to pay for the naan, since most Indian restaurants provide unlimited naan. I guess their curries were priced a little cheaper, so they didn’t offer this.

Pilaf Rice

We also got some Pilaf Rice, which we probably shouldn’t have… We had so much rice leftover and it was seriously so filling with all the roti and naan. I guess all of these sides were the right amount to the amount of curry we had, but we just weren’t able to finish most of it!

And here was our meal! S got the Biryani which is something I wasn’t so familiar with. It’s pilau rice with onions, garlic cardamom, cinnamon and this rice is dry, but already flavoured with those ingredients. Then they give you a side of curry which is very thin in consistency, and you can pour this onto your rice. Pretty good! I believe N got the Masala, which is a curry sauce made from tomatoes, garlic and ginger. This is a common curry we find at most Indian restaurants as well. As for K, she got the Vegetable Karahi, which was also really good and spicy! You can choose how spicy you want the curries, so no worries if you can’t take spice. All in all, MyLahore didn’t disappoint. It was filled with people, and of Indian ethnicity, so that’s always a good sign! A bit of a wait, but not too long. Prices are also quite reasonable.

Costa Coffee – Manchester

March 19, 2014March 18, 2014Leave a comment

Since S and N are on exchange at the University of Manchester, S decided to take me there. Funny how it was my first choice of exchange school, but I ended up in Spain. The university is definitely massive compared to ESADE. It reminds me of UBC with much more campus life. Its’ massive, but the buildings are located on a strip called Oxford St., instead of how UBC’s buildings are on a massive plot of land.

Gingerbread Latte

While on our way to N’s residence, we stopped by Costa Coffee to grab a drink. Costa Coffee is all over UK and some cities in Europe. It’s basically the Starbucks for the UK. During the holiday season, they had all these cute cups with Santa images, but sadly, the shop we were at didn’t have any of the cups… S got the Gingerbread Latte. It was topped with cream and sugar crystals shaped like stars. A gingerbread man was topped on it. Super cute!

White Chocolate Mocha, Christmas Yule Log

For myself, I got the White Chocolate Mocha, which was only topped with the star shaped crystal sugars. I also found it to be very bland and lacked any chocolate taste. Definitely not as good as the ones at Starbucks. I also got a Christmas Yule Log. It was a chocolate cake with a chocolate cream filling inside. On top, there was a piece of chocolate toffee and icing sugar on top of everything. Surprisingly, I didn’t find it too sweet. Not bad!

Teacup Kitchen – Manchester

March 17, 2014April 3, 2014Leave a comment

The next day, S and N took me around Manchester to do some sightseeing. There isn’t that much sightseeing though, and compared to other cities I’ve visited, I would say that the city is mostly locals. I felt sort of silly taking pictures and acting all touristy. One of the more significant attractions was the Manchester Cathedral which is a medieval church located in the city center. It’s a Gothic style church and has undergone restorations various times. The inside was being restored I think, so we weren’t able to go inside. Other than that, we just did some shopping at the huge Primark at Piccadilly Garden!

After shopping, we met up with their friend C and we went to the Teacup Kitchen. They told me it was for afternoon tea…since we’re in the UK and you have to have a British-style afternoon tea! However, the Teacup Kitchen was quite different from what I had imagined. Most of the afternoon tea spots in Vancouver are all decked out and quiet, but Teacup Kitchen was more like a cafe and very casual.

They offered a large variety of different cakes. It was more like a cake cafe where people could just lounge and chill here with tea and cakes. Some people were on laptops and working away. I actually really liked this casual environment and the waitress was extremely nice and friendly.

Although I found most people ordering just a cake and a tea, or some of their lunch menu, which included sandwiches, we still went for the Teacup Special Afternoon Tea. This came with a choice of any loose leaf tea and a selection of savory and sweet snacks. It’s available from 2:30 pm. At first, we were each going to order a set, since that’s what normally happens in Vancouver, but our waitress was a little shocked and suggested us to just order 2 sets between the 4 of us. She said there was quite a lot of food, and good thing we stuck with her on that. However, each of us still got our own individual teapots. I chose the Blue Sky Earl Grey since it seemed to be the most British… The description was “a quality blend of black teas, infused with bergamot but then given a hugely aromatic boost of grapefruit”. I liked how the tea separator was on top of the pot, rather than inside, since it really avoided the tea leaves getting in the tea. They were also very attentive in providing us with hot water refills.

This was one set of the Teacup Special Afternoon Tea. Instead of having the sweets at the top, like I normally see, they had the savory sandwiches at the top, then moved into some sweets in the middle, and then some sweeter cakes and scones at the bottom layer. This was beyond filling between two people. The only problem was it was a little difficult sharing some of the items.

The top layer was filled with all savory items. It’s been a while, so I don’t remember exactly what each item was called. There were two Egg Salad Sandwiches, a Cheese Quiche, and a Sausage Roll. There was also this Cheese Twist type of pastry.

The second layer was already filled with sweets. I believe the cupcake was a Flourless Chocolate Cake. It was a dark chocolate ganache and was gluten-free. Surprisingly not too sweet too. Next was a Lemon Meringue Tart. The pastry case was crisp and sweet, and was filled with lemon curd. On top, it had peaks of meringue. The last was a Flapjack. It was very dense and extremely healthy. It was made with rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, mixed fruit, cinnamon, crunchy pecans, and put together with honey and syrup. It was a little chewy but I really liked the texture and flavours.

At the very bottom were the sweetest treats! The Hearty Scone is their famous classic English scone but with a twist. It’s baked in a heart shape! They slice it in half and fill it with a raspberry jam and clotted cream. I liked how the scone wasn’t as dense as the typical ones, and the top was crispy. The yellow baked good was a Lemon-Licious. Its a lemon sponge cake with a zesty flavour to it and topped with citrus icing and white chocolate curls. This one was a little too sweet for my liking. Lastly, it came with two mini Battenbergs. Battenberg cake is a light sponge cake and is covered with marzipan. When cut, they show a checkered pattern. This one was a red velvet and vanilla sponge cake.

By the end of our afternoon tea, we were thoroughly full even though we only ordered two sets. I can’t imagine having the whole set alone! I wish I could try some of their other cakes. It seemed like such a cool place to chill after school or on the weekend if the weather isn’t so great.

Rosso Restaurant and Bar – Manchester

March 16, 2014April 3, 20144 Comments

A week later, I was off on the plane again. This time, I was traveling alone, and it felt sort of weird. At least I was traveling to Manchester where people spoke English, so I wasn’t as worried about getting lost. My plane had delayed, so by the time I got into the city, it was already getting dark. I took a bus from the airport into the city and it took roughly an hour. Luckily, N somehow magically hopped on the same bus I was on, or else I’d probably have some trouble meeting up with them. After meeting up with S, they took me to Rosso Restaurant and Bar.

The inside is really decked out and I would categorize it as fine-dining. I felt sort of shabby in my backpack and jeans, but they still let us in. It’s an Italian restaurant, and also offers a bar.

They even had a wall full of pictures of celebrities who have dined here.

Garlic Bread – Half Tomato, Half Cheese

The waiter suggested the Garlic Bread for us to share and start. When it came, we were sort of confused. Not exactly the garlic bread we were imagining. It was more like a pizza. You can choose tomato sauce or cheese, or half of each, which the latter we chose. The bread was really fluffy and surprisingly was really good. It was a bit plain though since it was only lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. To be honest, I couldn’t really taste any garlic taste to it. It tasted more like a pizza dough with cheese and tomato toppings.

Risotto Al Funghi Selvatici – Arborio rice cooked with mixed wild mushrooms and fresh cream, finished with a drizzle of truffle oil

For our mains, we all went for pasta. However, their pastas come in two sizes. You can get it as a antipasti or the regular entree size. The waiter said that assuming we didn’t eat too much, the starter size would be enough to get us filled. The plates were definitely a starter size, but by the end of the meal, I was pretty full. I guess if you order an appetizer like bread, you’ll get filled up already. I chose the Risotto al Funghi Selvatici. The rice was cooked perfectly so it was al dente and the mix of mushrooms with cream was really good. It was topped with some Parmesan cheese. The menu says there’s truffle oil, but I didn’t really taste it. It must’ve been a small drizzle!

Ravioli Con Melanzane – Fresh pasta parcels filled with aubergine, buffalo ricotta and mozzarella, cooked with cherry tomato and basil sauce

N got the Ravioli con Melanzane. There were only 4 or 5 raviolis, but because they were filled with cheese, she said she was quite full by the end. I tried a bit of it, and it was quite good! The sauce really made it tasty, and the pasta was really fresh.

Gnocchi Al Gorgonzola E Noci – Potato gnocchi with blue cheese and walnuts

S got the Gnocchi al Gorgonzola e Noci. The gnocchi were made well so it wasn’t a bunch of sticky flour. I hate it when gnocchi just tastes like you’re eating dough. I did find the Gorgonzola to be a little powerful, since it’s a blue cheese. However, that’s just because I’m not a fan of blue cheese.

Overall, Rosso was a decent Italian restaurant. I think it would be a great place to have celebrations at, such as birthdays or holidays. The atmosphere is classy so it’s definitely not a casual dining restaurant. Prices were a little expensive, but I guess it would be reasonable when you take into account the whole ambiance. Also, everything in the UK is just expensive in general compared to Spain. The soaring pounds really make everything more expensive than it appears! Lastly, some of the waiters here were extremely friendly, but there was this one waitress who we found really rude. She would continually ask if we were done with our food and when we told her we’re still working on it, she would give us some attitude. Other than her, the other staff gave us good service. Also, a reminder that in the UK, you need to tip!

Kaiku – Barcelona

March 15, 2014March 14, 2014Leave a comment

On another day off back in Barcelona, S, A, and I decided to go try out a new restaurant. It’s amazing how beautiful the weather is, even when it’s mid November. Surfers were out at the Barcelonetta beach, and this was the view we had from the restaurant! Such a nice change from typical rainy Novembers back in Vancouver…

Anyways, our professor had compiled a list of his recommended resturants, and Kaiku was one of them. At first, we weren’t able to find it since their name on the banner is quite faded… We had to double check a few times to make sure we were at the right restaurant! It was a pretty nice day with some wind, so we decided to sit outside. We grabbed our seat ourselves (you find your own seat at most European restaurants), and a waitress came by right away with menus. The menu was in Catalan, and although we could make out most of the translations, she still gave us some help. Good service!

Green Salad with Honey Vinaigrette, Rosemary and Red Pepper

At Kaiku, they have a regular menu, but also a daily 3 course menu (like most Spanish restaurants). Since the regular menu is quite pricey, we went for the 3 course lunch menu. It was 11,50 euros, with VAT included. It included a drink of your choice, and I went for a glass of white wine. The choices are limited, but we still managed to choose some items. A and S both went for the Green Salad. I tried some of it, and to my surprise the honey vinaigrette was so delicious! The salad was a bit sweet and sour, and the red peppers were also a nice addition.

Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil and Parmesan

For myself, I got the Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup, which I really enjoyed. It was creamy, but not too thick and filling. A nice consistency, and the hint of basil and Parmesan gave it great flavour.

Bake Sea Bream with Tomato Sauce and Parsley

For our entree, we all went for the Sea Bream. The other choice was a Veal Hamburger, and since Kaiku is known for their seafood dishes, we automatically went for the fish. I’m not a big fish eater, but when I go out to eat, I do like to order fish dishes. However, when I saw the dish come, I was shocked. I didn’t know it would be the whole fish… This is extremely common for sea bream though, and I found that most European restaurants present their fish as a whole. Well, it’s not surprising, since most fish at Chinese restaurants are as a whole too… I guess I was just imagining a nice piece of fish fillet.. Anyways, I didn’t really know how to eat the fish, since I’ve never really ate a whole fish, so I just watched my friends skillfully skin off the meat. It’s pretty cool actually! The bones are really just in the middle, so once you skin off the top layer of meat, you’ll see the bones, and you can detach the whole skeleton. The sea bream was just topped with tomatoes and a green vegetable, along with a green sauce. However, this simplicity was perfect as the fish was extremely fresh. Also, the skin was baked to perfection so it was crispy. I normally hate eating fish skin, especially if I can see the scales, but I devoured this fish with satisfaction.

Coffee Flan

For dessert, the choices were not listed on the menu, so the waitress told us the choices verbally. I went for the Coffee Flan. It was sort of like a caramel flan, but infused with coffee flavour. I really liked this since I enjoy flans, and mixed with the whipped cream, it wasn’t too sweet!

Banana Pudding

A went for the Banana Pudding. At first, we thought it looked like the Coffee Flan, but this was much more dense. She said it was pretty good!

Fruit Cake

As for S, he went for the Fruit Cake. It wasn’t exactly what we had imagined, but was more like a berry mousse on a tart like base. It was fruity and a mix of sour and sweet. He enjoyed this a lot as well.

All in all, Kaiku is worth checking out if you’re near Barcelonetta. The 3 course lunch menu is a good deal and will fill you up just right. Also, the view you get from sitting outside is just perfect! What better way to enjoy the weather with quality food!

Bits and Pieces of Amsterdam

March 14, 2014March 13, 2014Leave a comment

During my visit in Amsterdam, I also snacked on some food that I think are worth mentioning. After the Burger Bar, we walked a few steps and smelt some freshly baked goods! It was coming out of the Metropolitan, which offers a variety of pastries and sweets, including waffles, ice cream, and chocolate.

For myself, I chose this Chocolate Crispy Ball. It wasn’t something I had seen before, so I decided to give it a try. It’s sort of like corn flakes but coated with chocolate and all stuck together. Not bad, but it got a little too sweet after a while!

Then, another night we were wandering the streets and ended up in Chinatown. We were starving and M suddenly disappeared into Nam Kee. Nam Kee specializes in Chinese BBQ meats, and the ironic thing is that I usually hate it when my mom buys this back in Vancouver.

However, a few of us girls decided to share a box of mixed meat and the weirdest thing was I thought it was so delicious! I guess when you don’t eat something for 3 months, it tastes really good to you. I used to eat this pretty much every week when my mom was lazy to cook and I just got sick of it… And never had I thought soy sauce on rice could be so delicious… The meats were lean and you got a lot for the price you paid for. Nam Kee also has 2 other restaurants in Amsterdam, one of which we visited on a different night. However, I didn’t’ think the other restaurant was as good as this one. Or perhaps I was just really hungry and standing on the street eating this take out box was so satisfying…

Duvel beer is a Belgian beer owned by a Flemish family. It’s a strong golden pale ale, which M said was really good. Although it is supposed to be a little bitter, I found it quite easy to drink. I enjoy my beers to be light and easy to drink.

Our hostel had a bunch of coupons for activities in Amsterdam, and one that caught our eyes was the XtraCold Ice Bar. Honestly, we were all quite disappointed in this. It cost around 16 euros and to make things worse, S and I had split up from the group. We also got a bit lost trying to find the bar, and by the time we got there, we were told that we only had 15 minutes left of the “experience”. When we bought our tickets, we had “reserved” a time for the experience… Apparently, the whole experience only lasts around 50 minutes. We asked if we should still go in, and the guy at the till said it was up to us, but that we wouldn’t be getting the full experience. Since we didn’t want to split up from the group, we quickly got put into these parka jackets and gloves that were supposed to keep us warm. They also gave us some 3D glasses. When we got in, all our friends were freezing. Apparently the experience was watching some penguin cartoon show… which I definitely did not understand for the last 15 minutes. The ice room was extremely small with “fake glass”. I’m pretty sure it’s not real but more like clear plastic since I took off my gloves and touched it. They also did not have enough seats, so many people ended up having to stand in the back for the entire show. They have a mini bar in there with one bartender and you receive 2 complimentary shots in these ice shot glasses. Honestly, I did not think it was worth our money and our friends were freezing for the whole hour and said we hadn’t missed out much and would’ve rather came in late so they didn’t have to suffer the cold. They also didn’t allow photography inside, but only with their camera which of course, you needed to pay for the photos after. Outside of the room, there is an actual bar with more normal temperatures, and I thought the setting seemed pretty nice. I’m pretty sure the drinks were really expensive though, and it seemed more like a tourist attraction since the bar was pretty much empty.

On a different morning, we got up early and went to look for some breakfast. And…we ended up at a Donair shop and ordered some chicken nuggets and fries. The chicken nuggets actually reminded me of Mcnuggets and they were extremely crispy on the outside. The fries were also quite different from American and Spanish fries. They were very crisp, and my friends said they were Belgian fries. Belgian fries are fried twice, hence they are much crispier.

During our sightseeing, we found the famous I am Amsterdam sign!

Another cool attraction we discovered was the Amsterdam Cheese Museum. It’s not exactly a museum because it’s more like a cheese shop. Inside, they have literally all types of cheese. Cheese with flavours such as truffles, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, sausage and much more. My favourite was the pesto cheese and the hickory cheese which literally tasted like sausage! The shop is quite small, but it’s filled with such a large variety of cheese, and almost every type of cheese has samples for you to try. The staff are also really friendly and don’t really force you to buy anything. I wish I took some cheese back, but my backpack traveling really limited how much space I had… Downstairs, there is an extremely mini museum. They have a few boards with some cheese history, and then they have outfits and props like traditional Dutch wear and clogs for you to dress up in to take pictures. Other than that, it’s really more of a cheese shop than a museum. Worth checking out if you’re a cheese lover and won’t take up too much of your time!

Every Day is a Food Day

Category: Location