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!

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!

Bits and Pieces of Milan

January 22, 2014January 22, 2014Leave a comment

Blogging while traveling proved to be a huge challenge. It’s even harder to remember what the name of the restaurant was 4 months later. I didn’t do my work as a food blogger to take down the names of the places I ate at, but there’s some worthy meals I had that I think should be recognized! I hope anyone reading this and planning to travel to Milan can hopefully find the places! So here are some of the random meals I had while in Milan:

Mignon! Yes I believe this is what these cute mini pizzas are called. I call them pizzas since they are really a squished down bun filled with ingredients on the top. This one was ham and cheese, except sometimes they surprise you with an olive right in the middle. This place was near my hotel, which is near the Lambrate metro station. It’s called Pizzeria Mundial and after doing a quick search, I realized that it’s actually quite popular! They are known for their warm and soft dough and they offer a variety of other products, including pizzas. This place is very busy most of the day, especially in the mornings, so you need to be quick before what you see is sold out!

For dinner one of the nights, we were tired and strolled around the luxury shopping area to look for food. Of course that’s a bad idea because everything is expensive in that area! We wandered into this mini square which had a few cafes and bars that looked more affordable. We saw the sign saying Free Wi-Fi and we immediately fell for it since we were desperate for some Internet. Not sure what the place is called, but it is a cafe. We sat outside and ordered a few dishes to share. This is the Caprese Salad which is very typical in Italy. However, this one came on bread! It is essentially fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese with tomatoes, basil and olive oil. The cheese isn’t strong and it has a rubbery texture to it which I really like. I’m not a fan of tomatoes, but this whole dish really goes well if you eat everything together!

We also got a Ravioli with Ham. When in Italy, you eat pasta. But honestly, I don’t think this place was great for pasta. Their pastas are not handmade nor fresh, so it was quite a disappointment. Price-wise, yes – they are definitely cheaper, hence what we get.

We also shared a Carbonara, which again was just alright. If you have the chance, be sure to try some good carbonara though, as it is famous in Italy, especially in Rome. It is an egg based pasta dish and can be quite filling.

Pretty much when we have nothing to do and are thirsty, we end up going to a gelato shop. They are everywhere and these were mostly around the Duomo area. On our first day, we literally went to three gelato shops in the day. One time, it was one after another. Literally gelato shop hopping… Anyways, I think the coolest thing about some of the shops I saw in Milan were that their gelato are filled with fruits or the actual product of the flavour itself. For instance, I was addicted to their melon gelato, because you would actually get bits of melon in it and it was a thirst quencher on a hot day. If you really prefer creamier gelatos, then those will also have ingredients in it such as the bueno chocolate wafers.

I got the Melon and Tiramisu I believe. If the shop has banana, you should also give it a try! It’s pretty good! I became addicted to trying a bunch of fruit gelatos as they are much more light.

One morning, we wanted to go to Luini again, but it was unfortunately closed. We settled at a cafe where we saw Italians taking espresso shots in their tiny Illy cups! They would literally stand at the bar, take their coffee and head off to work. My sister wanted to try that, so we headed in, but after looking around to figure out how the system really worked, the server told us to just take a seat. I guess we looked too touristy to know what we were doing. I guess standing to take an espresso in Italy remains on her checklist now. Anyways, we tried to figure out the menu, and they had some sort of special about a coffee and croissant for a set price. Keep in mind this is all in Italian and we don’t know any other than “cafe”. So we each got a cafe with a croissant. I chose a cappuccino, and I don’t normally even drink any type of coffee. The closest thing is a Starbucks white chocolate mocha, but that’s about it. But heck, I was in Italy, so why not. Illy is known for their high quality of coffee, and seriously, after this coffee, I have begun to enjoy my cappuccinos. Not sure if that’s a good thing since I’m afraid of being caffeine-addicted, but that was seriously some good cafe! As for the croissant, it was more than a typical plain croissant. They had a sticky jam in the middle which made it ten times better. It was so flaky! Absolutely one of my favourite croissants I’ve had in Europe. Sad news was our Italian had failed on us. Our bill ended up being twice what we had imagined. We didn’t bother questioning since we didn’t want to cause a fuss and we probably wouldn’t have understood what they said. However, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure the deal was for people who stand at the bar only. It’s kind of a weird system in Europe, but most places charge you less if you take your coffee standing at a bar. If you require a seat, then the item becomes double the price. Kind of silly, but I guess Europeans who usually sit down will literally just order a coffee and sit there for half a day. Turnover is then very low and hence they charge you more. I guess it only makes sense in Europe!

Last but not least, another gelato! This was lemon and mango. Extremely refreshing! We literally ate gelato everyday in Milan! Now off to the next city…”city of water”… can you guess where?

Luini Panzerotti (Milan)

January 20, 2014December 10, 2014Leave a comment

Milan is a fairly expensive city to travel in as food and accommodation can be said to be more expensive relative to some other European cities. Therefore, finding food was a struggle, especially when we had all emptied our wallets after a long day of shopping at the outlet. We hadn’t researched which restaurants were good and local before arriving, and with no data on our phones, it definitely wasn’t the best idea. I’m someone who doesn’t want to be trapped in a tourist restaurant, or eat somewhere that is only mediocre while being expensive. I should’ve totally done my research, but I got lazy. However, my sister had done a quick search and remembered that people had recommended Luini Panzerotti for a cheap snack. Desperate for food that was cheap and filling, we headed off to look for it. It actually took us quite a while to find it as we walked into many alleys and made lots of turns. However, we realized that it was actually really close to the Duomo…So if you are looking for it, do not make the same mistake we did! It’s super easy to access as a tourist! When we got there at around dinner time, there was a huge line out the door. And everyone who had just bought their panzerotti were also eating outside, as they do not have sit in tables.

Baked Luini – Mozzarella and Tomato

The line moved fairly quickly, and although their menu was huge with tons of different flavours, there were only two choices left at that time. I believe they were just trying to sell the last few batches, but luckily they were the most popular and typical fillings that a first-timer should try anyways. I chose to get the Baked Luini filled with Mozzarella and Tomato. This is their original and classic panzerotti. So what exactly is this panzerotti? Well, if you’re from North America, I’d compare it to a pizza pop or calzone, since we ate tons of those as a child. However, panzerottis actually originated from central and southern Italy, where it is said to have way better ones than the ones at Luini in Milan. But unless you are prepared to go there, then this will do! They really do remind me of pizza pops or calzones, but the dough is much more soft. It almost has a bread dough texture, whereas the pizza pops we eat in North America are harder. Sadly, I have to say I love the texture of an Italian panzerotti much more! When you bite in, the dough is soft, and the cheesiness of the mozzarella just makes everything so much better! However, I do find that the flavour is a little bland, but it’s perhaps due to the fact that there are only two fillings and both are not salty flavoured. I’m guessing ones that were filled with ham or another meat would be much more flavourful.

As well, Luini Panzerotti has fried luinis and sweet luinis! Kind of cool, but sad that I wasn’t able to try as they sold out. The next day, I tried to grab lunch with my sister there again, and they were renovating! Either they were closed on that day, or they were taking a break. So we were extremely lucky to have tried it out! Definitely check out their opening hours, as I don’t believe they are always open. It’s worth a try, and it will definitely fill you up for cheap!

Bar Duomo (Milano)

January 19, 2014December 10, 2014Leave a comment

Since classes in Spain are fairly chill during exchange, I took advantage of the cheap flights and easy access of traveling to other countries on my weekends. My sister had came to visit me, so off we went to Milan. It was fashion week as well, so it was the perfect time! K joined us as well, and when we arrived in the city centre, we were amazed by the Duomo. It is a Gothic Cathedral in the heart of Milan and is the 5th largest cathedral in the world! I can honestly say I can stare at this church all day. We wanted to take pictures, but honestly, we were starving. We told ourselves our mission would be to look for food first! Since we’re students and on a budget, eating at fancy restaurants isn’t something we can do all the time. So we headed outwards of this square in hopes that cafes would be cheaper since it wasn’t facing this beautiful church. Funny enough, after 30 minutes of looking for food and believing that the prices were still too expensive, we ended up back at this spot in front of the Duomo. Tired of walking and by now starving, we settled for Bar Duomo, which was literally facing the Duomo. Yea…what were we thinking? I’m not sure if we even looked at the menu before sitting down… But anyways, if you want to eat with a magnificent view, I guess this is the place to eat at.

Your utensils even come in this fancy paper bag. We chose to sit outside as we obviously wanted a great view of the cathedral and the weather was quite nice that day.

Mushroom, Ham, and Cheese Pizza

After looking at the menu, we realized the items weren’t that cheap. Well honestly, they aren’t extremely expensive, but for a student on budget, it’s a little more than we were budgeting. We ended up sharing two items between the three of us, and decided we would grab snacks on our way when we explored. First, we had to try some Italian pizza! This was the funghi pizza, which mushrooms, ham and cheese. I must’ve been starving, because this tasted really good. But I have to say, this isn’t the traditional types of Italian pizzas I’ve had in Rome, where there is only tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil leaves. Well, really, the classic Margherita. This was still made with fresh tomatoes and there were an abundance of toppings.

Risotto Milanese

We were in Italy, and so why not a classic Risotto? My sister had heard that when in Milan, you must try the Risotto Milanese, so why not? I did find that it was a bit bland though because it did not have any other toppings. It was still extremely good with a good creamy base and cheesiness to it. What’s special about the Risotto Milanese is that the ingredients are simple, but still bring flavour. I guess I just wanted some other ingredients to change it up a bit as I was really just eating all rice. The creaminess is created by butter and Parmesan cheese, and the yellow colour is created by the hint of saffron.

It’s interesting to note that we did not end up getting any drinks. We assumed that the prices would be quite ridiculous and we knew we could get cheaper drinks elsewhere. But as I write this post today, I had taken a look at what other diners had said about Bar Duomo. I am amazed that they had charged diners such high prices for drinks! It’s ridiculous! So before you head here, definitely check out other diner’s reviews as the ridiculous price of drinks is definitely an issue. Unless you’re ready to just eat, then I probably wouldn’t recommend coming here.

And lastly, I had to finish this post with the Milano Duomo. It’s so breathtaking and although Milan could be said to be a city full of luxury and shopping, this Duomo is definitely worth the visit.

The Refinery (Dine Out)

February 10, 2013April 28, 20133 Comments

Last Thursday, I went to my last Dine Out! It was a spontaneous one, and we pretty much planned it the night before. We wanted a girls night out, and was looking for somewhere on Granville and was from the fixed price of either $18 or $28. SP suggested we go to The Refinery and off we went! A poor picture of the place, but The Refinery is basically next to Sip Resto Lounge, and you have to go up a flight of stairs. So really, it is on top of Sip Resto Lounge! It was a Thursday night, and the place was around 3/4 full. Not bad I guess.

Complementary Amuse Bouche – Salted Cucumber Sorbet

Shortly after placing our orders, our server brought us a complementary amuse bouche. She explained a bunch of stuff, but from what I remember, it was basically a cucumber sorbet that was salted. When I took a little nibble of it, I thought it was really salty! But I decided to take the whole spoon, and it became a mixture of salty and sour. It was supposed to cleanse our palettes before we ate, but we all felt that it just left our palettes salty and sour! It was definitely refreshing though, since it was an ice cold sorbet. Let’s just say it was interesting…

Albacore Tuna – confit tomato sauce, cannellini beans, basil oil, parsley

For my appetizer, I chose the Albacore Tuna. The portions were actually quite generous. There were probably around 7 slices, and each slice was quite thick. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the sauces. I’m not a parsley person, so the flavours didn’t really work for me. I have to say that the tuna was fresh, and seared well though. The cannellini beans reminded me of chickpeas, which also aren’t my favourite. I guess I’m just a picky eater…

Poached Pear Salad – white wine poached, arugula, goat cheese, walnuts, yellow beets, honey-dijon vinaigrette

SP and SK got the Poached Pear Salad. It was a large plate of arugula, and they felt that it was way too much. There was also parsley in it, which they weren’t too fond of.

Sablefish – roasted red pepper and potato stew

For their entree, they both got the Sablefish. I was tempted to get it too, but I wanted to try their other dishes too. I tried some of the fish, and it was delicious. Cooked perfectly and the fish was smooth. It’s definitely a small piece of fish though!

Stuffed Mushroom – a refinery classic, stuffed with our special house mixture

For myself, I decided to try the Stuffed Mushroom. I’m glad I got this since it was full of surprises! It was one large mushroom filled with their special house stuffing mixture. The top was something that I believe was similar to bread crumbs, but the inside had cashews in it! At first, I found it weird, but for some reason, when you keep eating it, it becomes highly addictive. The nutty flavour just worked so well with the rest of the mixture.On the side, there was also some pesto sauce which added some flavour to the mushroom. On the right was more salad, which was similar to the appetizer. Lots of arugula and parsley! So I didn’t really eat much of it.

Tiramisu – espresso soaked lady fingers, whipped marscapone, cocoa dust

My favourite part of the meal were the desserts! I got the Tiramisu which came with a biscotti. This was extremely delicious! They had a thick layer of whipped marscapone, and it was dusted with cocoa powder on the top. The lady fingers weren’t soaked with a lot of alcohol, or I barely even tasted it, but I didn’t mind it. Because of that, it ended up being on the sweeter side, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Flourless Chocolate Cake – chocolate ganache, raspberry compote, balsamic reduction coconut cream

The girls got the Flourless Chocolate Cake which had a raspberry compote underneath. It was full of chocolate goodness and my one bite satisfied my sudden chocolate cravings. The girls both agreed that it was way too much chocolate and therefore very sweet, but that’s how a flourless chocolate cake is supposed to be like!

When we got our bill, we were also given complementary Chili Truffles, which I forgot to snap a picture of. The truffles were not spicy at first, but once the outer cocoa powder dissolved, the spice hit! It was acutally quite spicy and the server explained that she felt that this batch was a lot spicier.

Overall, The Refinery was average. I don’t know if I would come here again, but this is soley based on their dine out menu. Service was great when our server checked up on us, but where we were seated was difficult to get her attention. It literally took us 10 minutes to get a different servers attention when we wanted a picture because our own server still didn’t notice us. I don’t think the food is bad, but it might be just a personal taste preference and the ingredients aren’t items I normally enjoy. However, I enjoyed their desserts, and the place also seems like a cool place to grab some drinks. Their bar looks really nice!

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. (Kitsilano)

February 1, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve heard good things about Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. and I finally got the chance to try it out. J and I went on the least busiest time ever. A weekday at around 2pm, and we were literally the only ones there.

The place has a bar so I’m guessing it might get lively on weekend nights.

We got to sit in the room with the oven! They literally put the pizza in that oven in the back, so it’s pretty neat. I got to see the pizza getting baked.

Chicken Noodle Soup – Housemade chicken broth loaded with organic pasta, shredded carrots, chicken & topped with three herb pesto

I already ate, so I wasn’t too hungry. I chose to get the Chicken Noodle Soup. I didn’t think it was anything amazing. It was basically just broth with pasta, chicken and some veggies. I thought that the pesto on the top actually threw the soup off a bit. The soup also came with something like pita bread. It was pretty tough, so I had to dip it in the soup, except the soup was really just broth, so it didn’t work so well together.

All Beef Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza – Organic tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, organic beef pepperoni, crimini mushrooms, shaved red onion & sliced roma tomatoes; Topped with fresh chopped herbs

J got the All Beef Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza. They are basically famous for their flatbreads, and they are actually really good! Thin crust and full of toppings. We did find that they were a little burnt at the bottom, but it wasn’t too bad.

I also found out that they were having a special dine out event that night, but we totally missed it! You could make your own pizza and put it in the oven. Sounds so neat! Hopefully, they’ll have these events again even after dine out.

Water St. Cafe

February 9, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Beautiful Gastown at night!

Complementary Bread

Caesar Salad – romaine lettuce, fresh grated parmesan, anchovies and garlic

Sunshine Coast Seafood and Corn Chowder

Fanny Bay Oysters – sautéed with smoked chipotle peppers, cream, sundried tomatoes and parmesan gratinée

Baked Portobello Mushroom – topped with grilled vegetables, cream cheese and parmesan gratinée

West Coast Crab Cakes – Dungeness and blue crab, Pacific shrimp with a roasted corn salsa and garlic aioli

Potato Gnocchi – hand rolled potato dumplings, prosciutto, fresh Pacific shrimp and a butternut squash with sage sauce

Duck Confit – with a balsamic and pineapple chutney glaze on garlic mashed potatoes

Tiramisu – classic Italian trifle

Flourless Double Chocolate Espresso Cake – Served with a black cherry compote

Gastown is so gorgeous at night! I love the historic brick buildings and flooring! Makes me feel as if I’m walking in Europe or something! During the weekend, I went to Water St. Cafe for Dine Out with my girlfriends for a girls night out dinner. We each chose a different appetizer and I had the fanny bay oysters. I have to say they didn’t look too appetizing but it tasted really good! The sundried tomatoes were a great complement to it. I also took a bite from my friend’s stuffed portabello mushroom and it was delicious too! Next, I had the duck confit for my entree. I kind of wanted to try the crab cakes too but I wanted to see what everything else looked like! The duck confit was quite tender, and the pineapple chuntney glaze gave it a nice flavour. I took some of my friend’s crab cake and it was delicious! I really liked the bread crumb coating and you could taste a lot of the crab and shrimp in it. The gnocchi was also quite good, with a very nice sauce and was the right chewiness. Last but not least, the desserts! The tiramisu was very good! One of my favourites. It was quite strong in alcohol, but something about the right amount of cream and all was perfect. The chocolate cake was also pretty good, but I found it a little too fudge-like. But I guess that’s why it’s flourless! Overall, this dine out was quite delicious! It was only $28 and it was actually very filling! Service was okay, but not superb or anything. The ambiance is quite nice though. It’s a very cozy place; a very nice place to talk and to enjoy some food. It’s also directly in front of the steam clock which is beautiful to look at at night while enjoying dinner.