Amorino – Barcelona

February 1, 2014February 1, 2014Leave a comment

The first time I learned about Amorino was actually on a fashion blogger’s Instagram. They are famous for their ice cream because they shape it into a flower! Super pretty, so it’s a must try when you find an Amorino. We had headed back to BCN, and there are around 4 Amorinos in the city. It’s weird because I think Amorino is from Italy, yet there are around 17 shops all over Spain, but only 3 in Italy… Amorino is also found in various European cities, and even in New York! The one we visited was on La Ramblas, and therefore extremely convenient for tourists.

Their gelato is known to be fresh and made daily with natural and top quality ingredients. There are no food colourings involved, which is always a plus. They have an assortment of fruit flavours as well as the typical chocolates and creamier flavours. If you want your ice cream shaped into a flower, you must get a cone. They aren’t able to shape flowers in a cup. The gelatos are quite expensive. I believe it was almost 5 euros for a medium cone. I think the best part about Amorino, is that you can choose as many flavours as you want. None of that two or three flavours only policy. This way, you can try a bit of everything!

And look at this beauty! Mango in the center, Amorino Chocolate around, Amaretto on the outside, and a petal of Raspberry! I love how they shape each petal. Your flower can turn out really nice if you use vibrant colours on the outside. Of course that means you would probably have to choose some fruit flavours! The only downside to this flower shape is that the gelato can get quite messy when it starts melting. Other than that, the gelato is excellent! Really smooth!

Laduree – Printemps Paris

January 29, 2014Leave a comment

The famous Laduree of Paris! You’ve probably seen these macarons in their little pastel green boxes. I’ve been dreading to try these because people say they are the absolute best! We had saw the Laduree store in Milan, but we knew we were going to Paris, so of course get it from it’s home city! There are several Ladurees in Paris, with the one on Champs Elysees being quite famous. That one has a sit down cafe and is always packed with tourists. We found a Laduree pop up shop inside Printemps, which is another department store situated right next to Lafayette. Other than the pop up store on the first floor, they also have a sit down cafe on the upper floor. They offered breakfast there and had a specific time for customers who wanted to just dine on desserts.

Anyways, by the end of our shopping trip, we were kind of broke again… But i insisted we had to try these little macarons! I believe they are around 1.7 euros for each, which is decent if you think about the price of macarons in Vancouver.

We ended up only getting two, since we didn’t want to carry them home. If you get less than 6, then they put them into a little bag.

I got the Rose and Orange Blossom flavour. Okay, seriously, they are so delicious! When you bite into them, the outer layer is so airy! And the other thing is that I find macarons in Vancouver to be too sweet, but these ones have just a subtle sweetness. The orange blossom is a must try! I haven’t seen this flavour elsewhere before. It’s got a hint of orange flavour and is so fresh! Absolutely love it. These little guys are a bit smaller than the macarons back in Vancouver, but I understand why people go crazy over them now!

Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki – Lafayette Paris

January 28, 2014Leave a comment

Galeries Lafayette is seriously one of the most beautiful department stores I have seen! It’s an upscale department store selling luxury brands like no other. I swear they have colours and styles that I’ve never seen in Vancouver, because…well you’re in Paris… Anyways, the cool thing about these luxury department stores is that most of them have a floor dedicated to food. And if you think it’s like a food court, think again. It’s like luxury food court! They have sections of food products like chocolate, candy, cookies, but they also have an area with luxury cooked food and pastries. Prices are quite expensive, but just imagine yourself at Thomas Haas or Thierry, and it’ll make you feel more like at home… Wandering through all the gourmet stalls, my eyes caught Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki!

It was interesting because I didn’t expect to see a Japanese patisserie shop in Paris. You need to remember that I’ve been away from Vancouver for some time now, and my green tea craving was really kicking in… When I saw Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki serving all these Japanese flavours, I felt like I was home again! They specialize in macarons and cakes, but with a Japanese twist. Matcha flavoured macarons? YES! I’ve always wanted the Vancouver dessert shops to make that flavour… I chose the Matcha and Redbean Cake, which is a cake with alternating layers of green tea, cream, and red bean. It’s then topped with some matcha powder and a matcha flavoured macaron! I absolutely loved this! The layers gave the cake so much texture. Some of it was crunchy, as they used something similar to rice krispies, and the red bean also gave it another texture. This pastry stall is a must try! If you enjoy Asian flavours, this will be perfect for you. They also specialize in macarons and chocolates with very interesting flavours! If only they were less pricey, I would’ve tried so many others!

I believe they also have their own boutique in Paris, but Lafayette is great as you can try other gourmet restaurants while you are there!

Brulerie Caumartin Cafe – Paris

January 27, 2014Leave a comment

The beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral! Anyways, after a day of exploring, we ended up at the shopping area on Blvd Haussmann. It was time to eat dinner, and we decided we should treat ourselves to a decent meal. We wandered into a street next to Le Printemps, which is a huge department store. The street had a few cafes, but Brulerie Caumartin Cafe caught our eyes as they featured a neon sign saying Moules et Frites for 11 euros. I’m a sucker for mussels or clams, so off we went!

Moules et Frites

I think the cafe is quite tourist friendly, as the table next to us were an American couple. The waiters also speak English quite fluently, and are extremely friendly. They joke around and such, making the experience much better. The cafe itself is quite small, but we luckily found a seat. Of course, I ordered the Moules et Frites. This dish is supposed to be popular in Paris, so definitely try it out when you’re here. I still remember having one of the best Moules et Frites in Paris back when my teacher told us where to eat. I wish I remembered where that was now… Anyways, this was the biggest bowl of mussels I’ve ever had. The picture makes it look like there isn’t much, but trust me, the size was ridiculous. I had only finished half of it, and was already getting full… Even my sister questioned if there were any empty shells, because there was so much! Nope..not one empty shell in the pile. I wouldn’t say the sauce was the best I’ve had. It was quite watery, mostly of a celery and onion white sauce. It wasn’t bad though. A white wine sauce would’ve been perfect, but I couldn’t complain with so many mussels at only 11 euros. The mussels were slightly smaller, but they were extremely fresh. Fries were also not bad as they weren’t too oily. I was very pleased overall!

Smoked Salmon Crepe

My sister said she had to have a crepe while in Paris! I mean, crepes originated from France right? It was dinner time, so she chose a Smoked Salmon Crepe. Savory crepes are always a good alternative to sweet ones if you’re not into sweets. The amount of Smoked Salmon was a little less than expected. She said it was only decent and had better before. Oh, and a funny note is that “iced tea” means “sprite” in Paris… We ordered an Iced Tea and ended up with a Sprite, and the American couple next to us laughed and said they wouldn’t have thought about that as well… Ah..love it when words have so many different meanings in different cultures!

Picnic by the Eiffel Tower!

January 26, 2014Leave a comment

A trip to Paris is not the same without a picnic by the Eiffel Tower. For those of you who are traveling in Paris during the warmer months, this is a must! It’s just nice to take a break from intense traveling and get a feel of how the Parisians relax. And with a view so spectacular, this is the perfect place to do so. I would suggest bringing pastries and sandwiches from cafes near your hotel if you see them, since it can be quite difficult to look for food after you arrive at the Eiffel Tower. The park itself is huge and therefore requires a lot of walking to get to the other side. Anyways, we did not think of ahead, and ended up having to wander around looking for pastry shops. Luckily, we found Boulangerie Pâtisserie Felice Lapelosa. It is on Avenue Rapp, and offers a wide selection of pastries, sandwiches, and bread. There is always a constant in and out of customers, and most are locals. We ended up getting a chestnut eclair, which was so fluffy and delicious! It wasn’t too sweet too! Then we got a quiche, which is pictured on the bottom right. This was alright as it wasn’t heated up enough. Lastly, we got a pineapple tart. This was quite good! The custard was smooth, and the hint of sweet and sour from the pineapple made it appetizing. We also wandered around and found a shop called Les Paris Gourmands. They have lots of chocolates, jams, and other sweets. We chose a mango macaron, which was a large size. This wasn’t the best macaron I’ve had, but the flavour was definitely interesting. My sister also picked up a jar of jam with rose petals. Unfortunately, this was confiscated in her carry on, and months later, I would have to head back here to purchase her jam again. Anyways, that happened, and now we currently have the jar in our fridge half full. It was definitely worth it as it surprisingly isn’t too sweet, and there are actually rose petals in it! The brand is called Favols, for those of you who enjoy jams, and apparently it can be found in many other stores that sell jam in Paris. Lastly, we picked up a bottle of rose in the grocery store. It was extremely cheap, and probably why it tasted pretty bad… Yea, maybe pick up a nice bottle of wine next time ; )

Look at that view! We were lucky enough for it to be sunny that day, since it was rainy all the other days. After having a picnic, take a stroll in the park. Such a relaxing environment. Oh, but do beware that there are lots of people who are trying to scam you in this park. They ask if you would like to donate for some sort of cause, and they will ask you to sign a piece of paper. If you see these people around, just ignore them. They’ll ask if you speak English, so just pretend you don’t or else they will continue approaching you! Many are young adults or even children. I’m not sure exactly how they will scam you, but just beware! Better to be safe than sorry. Don’t let these people ruin your picnic! Enjoy 🙂

Coup d’Etat – Paris

January 25, 2014Leave a comment

After a few days back in Barcelona, we were off again to our next destination: Paris! I’ve been to Paris when I was in high school for a penpal exchange, so it was great to be back after several years. I guess Paris didn’t change much, but it was weird that we were off to wander the streets ourselves this time. On my last trip to Paris, I had an Italian teacher who taught us French and knew Paris by heart. She was able to recommend us food at cheap prices, but of good quality. I found it to be a struggle this time without a local. Anyways, we had finished checking out the Louvre and we needed lunch so we wandered the area and ended up near the Rivoli metro stop. Many people were eating outside at Coup d’Etat, but we found it a little chilly and headed inside. The atmosphere is pretty hip and cool.

French Onion Soup

We decided to share two appetizers and one entree. First, we got the French Onion Soup, since we were in France! This was so delicious and filling! Their appetizers are huge! The soup was really thick, with loads of onions, bread soaked in the soup and topped off with lots and lots of cheese. If you love cheesy food, this is the perfect item for you.

Caprese Salad

My sister was still craving her Caprese Salads, so of course we ordered one. This was presented beautifully with tomatoes layered at the bottom. A few greens on top, and the buffalo mozzarella in the middle. It was topped with a chip that seemed to be a vegetable. Not quite sure what it was, but not bad! The mozzarella was fresh and another cheese dish meant we were completely filled up!

Croque Madame

Last but not least, when in France, order a Croque Madame (or Monsieur). It took us a while to figure out what the difference was between a madame and monsieur, but apparently a madame is the same as a monsieur but topped with a sunny side up egg. Both sandwiches have ham and cheese. There was so much cheese on this that we didn’t end up finishing it. Three dishes of cheese. Not exactly sure what we were thinking. However, it tasted wonderful and came with a side of salad to lighten things up.

And here was our lunch! Overloaded with cheesiness! Also to note is that in Paris, tap water is quite drinkable. Therefore, when you ask for water, just let them know you want tap water. Finally a city where water is free again!

And we’ll finish the post with a view of the Louvre!

Eyescream and Friends – Barcelona

January 24, 2014Leave a comment

I realized I hadn’t posted a lot of pictures of Barcelona, so these pictures are slowly going to creep into my posts. I call this city my second home now, because it is seriously one of my top cities in Europe. Who can say no to a city where going to beach in the end of September is totally normal? This is Barcelonetta by the way, which is one of the most popular beaches for tourists. It’s pretty cool since there are clubs, bars, and restaurants just lining up along the beach. Barcelona has other beaches further away from the city center which are more clean and much more quiet. Oh, just looking at these pictures make me sad… At least Vancouver hasn’t been raining the past few days…

I was in love with the palm trees when I first came. It makes it feel like you’re on vacation all the time. Almost like you’re at a resort in Mexico! However, they were actually imported for the Olympics. Anyways, this is the boardwalk along Barcelonetta. Taking a stroll down here is amazing!

Anyways, if you get off at the Barcelonetta metro stop, it actually takes around 10 minutes to get the beach itself. It’s quite a far walk, but it’s a pleasant walk because there are lots of restaurants along the way to entertain your eyes. If you keep walking towards the beach, just a little before the actual beach, there is a store called Eyescream and Friends. The graphics are so cute that it lured us in.

I feel like not enough people know about this place! It’s actually a little hidden, perhaps because it doesn’t have the flashiest signs. I still can’t get over how cute and simple their advertising is.

They claim that they sell gelato, but I find it to taste more like shaved ice. Perhaps shaved ice isn’t a common word for them there. The place is half self-served, which makes everything a bit more fun! First, you decide if you want the complete pack or just the gelato. Of course we wanted to get the whole deal. It’s pretty expensive for gelato as it’s 4.30 euros for the whole package. Well worth it to try though!

Next, you grab their little trays. The design is seriously so cute. I love how everything is cardboard or wood, so totally environmental friendly! They seriously win for such a cool design concept.

Then you can choose two toppings. There’s a section of chocolates, chocolate sauces, jams, condensed milk, caramels, graham cookies etc…

Or you can opt for gummy bears, pistachio sauce, chocolate chips, etc…

Now that you have popped your two toppings into the right spots in the tray, you hand over the tray to the employee, and he/she will head over to the machine to squeeze out your gelato (or shaved ice). You can choose from 7 flavours: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, yoghurt, cheesecake, wildberry yoghurt, and mango. They also have some daily flavours sometimes. Then they will add two sugar googly eyes to your eyescream!

And voila! Is this not the cutest dessert ever? I chose Mango, with white chocolate chips and gummy bears. Absolutely tasty and amazing to look at. I almost didn’t want to dig in because it looked so cute! The texture is like ice cream and sorbet. So refreshing on a hot day! I would highly recommend checking eyescream and friends out if you’re near the beach! It’s pricier than a typical gelato, but how often can you have so much fun with gelato?

Bits and Pieces of Venice

January 23, 2014Leave a comment

City of water…If you guessed Venice, you’re correct! I don’t normally post pictures of myself, but I took so many pictures while traveling, I might as well share some of the scenery with you all! During our stay in Milan, we actually took a day trip to Venice by train. The train was pretty fast and we were there in less than 2 hours. Maybe even less! We decided on a one day trip, since we found that the hotels in Venice were extremely expensive! We basically had half the day to explore and hoped it would be enough. If you’re planning to go to Venice, I can assure you that a day trip is enough. The city is beautiful, but it’s honestly quite small. If you want to really take it slow, then a maximum of two days will give you enough time to literally explore the whole city. First off, we hadn’t done any research of this place. We were hoping there would be a tourist center where we could get some maps and such. Yea, there was a tourist booth, but all the maps cost money! We ended up wandering without a map and actually hit all the tourist spots! So no need to really buy a map…To be honest, I found Venice one of the most touristy cities I visited. I felt like everyone around me was a tourist, and I couldn’t really figure out if locals even lived here (well, of course they do). Plus, be warned that everything is expensive! They really know how to get the most out of us tourists…

Spritz Veneziano

So we were warned ahead of time that food would be expensive, so we tried to settle at average looking cafes and restaurants. After exploring the city, we decided we would grab an early dinner since we would be on the train around dinner time. We walked back towards where we arrived by train as we remembered there were a line up of restaurants. At this point, it didn’t even matter if they were tourist traps – honestly the city was catered to tourists. During our exploration, we realized everyone was drinking this orange drink in a glass. They often came in a wine glass, and my sister insisted that we had to try this. According to her, it must be the drink all the locals drink here… Alright, after doing some research on it, I can tell you that it’s so popular here because the Spritz Veneziano is actually originated in Venice! A-ha. Anyways, it is a drink prepared with prosecco wine, which is an Italian white sparkling wine. It is then combined with a dash of a bitter liqueur such as Aperol, Campari, or in Venice, Select. It is then topped off with sparkling mineral water. Sometimes it is also garnished with a slice of orange or olive. Sadly, all three of us hated this drink. I guess it was the bitter liqueur that they used, that really turned us off. Even worse, was this drink cost a lot, and the three of us had each ordered one. Just when we thought it would be a delicious, fruity cocktail…

Spaghetti with Clams in a White Wine Sauce

We had settled at this restaurant that had what was called a “tourist menu”. Now most of the restaurants in Venice basically have this. They also have something called a cover charge. Cover charge is essentially a charge per person for just sitting outside. Actually, I’m not sure if you need to pay a charge just for sitting. But we sat outside, and this was added to our bill. Not to mention that service was just terrible. And they expect you to tip here… Service like that really does not deserve any tip. Anyways, K and my sister order the tourist menu. If I remember correctly, it came with a salad, pasta and another dish, which I wish I could remember. This was their pasta dish which was Spaghetti with Clams in a White Wine Sauce. This was actually pretty good! It had a lot of clams and the pasta was cooked to al dente.

Seafood Risotto

For myself, I ordered the Seafood Risotto, which was off the regular menu. I absolutely loved this. It was a bit pricey, but I think it was still under 20 euros. It was really good though! The rice was cooked to perfection, not too chewy and not too soft. The sauce was amazing. There were bits of clams and shrimps inside and it came with three more mussels. The seafood was surprisingly quite fresh. Not the freshest I’ve had, but quite decent! Loved this dish.

And now let me show you some of the shops around the city! Venice is basically filled with narrow streets which are really pedestrian walking only. Every once in a while, you would see the canal, and then you would enter just a street with buildings on both sides. It’s almost like a maze. Along these streets, you will find shops from bakeries, to pasta shops to mask shops and etc. It’s extremely popular to see these shops that sell almond cookies and these gigantic meringues. If you’ve been to Macau in Asia, my friends told me that is what Venice really reminds them of.

There are also tons of pasta shops! Well Italy is famous for pasta, so it’s no surprise. They claim they are handmade, and I was just drawn into their colours and detailed patterns. I love how they are shaped into Venice infrastructure, gondolas, hearts and much more! The colouring is also natural as they are made from vegetables or spices, which is pretty cool.

More pasta! I thought these were pretty cool since it was curry flavoured. They also had some truffle flavoured ones. Mmm!

And yea…we ended up getting some gelato again. This was amazing because it was pear flavoured! I love how the Italians use every fruit they can think of. Super refreshing. Underneath is a scoop of pistachio. I can never get enough of that.

And my sister decided to buy one of those gigantic meringues. It’s literally the size of two fists put together. This one was pistachio flavoured. However, all we could taste was sugar. Well meringues are made of egg whites and sugar… It was so sweet that we both took a few bites and threw the rest out… You need ten people to finish this! It was pretty expensive too…

And last but not least, I’ll finish this post with a picture of gondolas! I didn’t get a chance to take one since they are quite pricey and wasn’t worth it when we only had three people. Also note that these guys don’t actually sing… Thought it would be all romantic like in those movies…Nope! Oh well, Venice is still a beautiful city to visit! Jealous of anyone who is heading there! Next post: we head back home to Barcelona!