Milano ITA: La Ricetta di Mame

During my recent Swiss Trip, Rhea and I are deciding to spend a day out of Switzerland. We were deciding between Munich and Milan as I have not been to those places yet and are both drive-able from Bern. As there's a good weather forecast in Milan, we opted for Milan instead. Being food enthusiasts, our ultimate goal is to enjoy good food in the city. We searched through Trip Advisor trying to find a local Italian food. Our criteria is simple: no gourmet, no fuzz, and no fusion restaurant, just plain authentic Italian food. We discovered a recently opened restaurant, 15 minutes away from the city center, ranked 17 out of 2000+ restaurants and with good food reviews. I was a bit hesitant at first, I'm imagining a type of small restaurant run by Italian family instead of a chic restaurant like this. Little did I know that it will leave such a good impression of Milan's food.

La Ricetta di Mame is owned by 3 good-looking, warm, and friendly Italians: Luca, Luca, and Enrico. They speak good English which made it very easy for us to order. All throughout lunch time, they ensured we are well taken cared off and are very sensitive to what we need. 

It was not difficult to find the restaurant. There are also parking spots in the streets and we were lucky to get a spot at once. The restaurant is well lit and has a chic modern ambiance with Italian wines hanging in the walls as their main accents. It has a homey feeling and high ceiling walls.

Hello, Goodbye. Visiting San Francisco.

Recently, I got to visit the west coast for the first time! Enjoyed the sunny and windy weather... I think it was too much sun for me! It was a very short trip but nevertheless enjoyed the city and definitely the company of friends and my lovely aunt. Here are the top 5 highlights in SF Downtown.

Brussels BE: Mesa Eurasian Filipino Restaurant

One of my Filipino friends in Brussels informed us that there is a new Filipino restaurant which opened recently. The Filipino restaurant is located in Ixelles. We went to visit one Friday night and I was just stunned to see a place fully packed with Filipinos. They have a live band playing ballads during Fridays and Saturday.  The food is not exceptionally great but is good enough to be enjoyed for a dinner. The service is quite slow as we had to wait for 1 hour for the food to be served but I heard that they are trying to improve it. Price of food is very affordable with huge serving.

Do be prepared for a dinner with sound-surround noise just like in Manila with all the Filipinos chattering and a good music in the background.

Lisbon PT: Bonjardim Restaurant

As promised with my previous blog entry, I wanted to share the food adventures I had in Lisbon. The first meal I spent together with HT Couple in Lisbon is at Bonjardim Restaurant. It is a tavern restaurant that serves Portuguese restaurant and HT wifey found the place as one of the recommended restaurants from her research.We went into an alley with a number of restaurants and it was not that easy to find the place, especially at night. After 10 minutes of walking back and forth, my friends and I were able to find the place and I was quickly excited of the food about to be served.

We had Pasteis de Bacalhau, Portuguese cheese and bread as our starters while waiting for our orders. It is common for Portugese restaurant to serve cheese, bread, and bacalhau on the table. They do not come free and will need to be paid when the bill arrives. No worries though as they are not expensive too.

The City of Explorers: Lisbon! (Feb 2012)

My friends and Ihave planned for our 1st 2012 getaway at sunny Lisbon. Lisbon did notdisappoint us at all. The people are warm and always helpful though they maysound intimidating; food is superdelicious and cheap; and a perfect vacation to relax with this laid-back city.

Here are the top 10highlights of my Lisbon Trip!

Viva Espanya! Viva Barcelona! (Dec 2011)

Welcome to Barcelona! We wanted to spend a friend's birthday in a warmer place compared to where we are at now and voila a Barcelona trip seems not a bad choice.

Here are the top 10 highlights of my Barcelona trip!

Christmas Market in Germany 2011

Christmas market in Europe is a tradition that has been there for hundreds of years. Last 2011, I had the opportunity to go to Dusseldorf, Aachen, and Monschau's Christmas market. It is one of the events packed with people and if you live in Europe, you know this seldom happens. In Manila, you would find Christmas markets too but these are often shops that sells cheaper gift items located in big halls or convention centers. So, how are Christmas markets in Europe?

@ Dusseldorf. Look at the  people!

Welcoming 2-0-1-2!

Happy New Year to everyone who reads my blog! My new year although away from my family and friends in Manila has been an unforgettable experience. I drove 2 hours to spend New Year in Utrecht with HT Couple. The New Year's Eve dinner was simply a celebration of really good food with amazing company. So here's the tale of the food we have...

Some light snacks to serve the guest. Japanese mixed nuts served in Gaudi inspired bowl. HT Couple was crazy with these designs when we were in Barcelona.

Round 1: TAPAS

Some tapas were served as starters to everyone. We had chorizo with chicken in tomato sauce, crispy adobo flakes, gambas, and baked mushrooms with garlic cheese served together with some bread. I cooked the crispy adobo flakes and chorizo with chicken in tomato sauce. HT Wifey liked my chicken with chorizo. Yay! I'll be sharing recipes soon. HT wifey made the delicious gambas cooked in garlic and white wine. The baked mushroom is my favorite and this was prepared by HT Hubby.

Konichiwa Dusseldorf! Takumi Japanese Kitchen

Konichiwa! Hungry-Trotting Wifey invited me to take an adventure with them to Dusseldorf. The main goal: Japanese Food! okay and... Christmas Market. See, Hungry-Trotting Hubby loves ramen and wifey found the best place for ramen - TAKUMI!

So, off we went last December 17 for an overnight trip to Dusseldorf. I stayed in Dusseldorf for 2 weeks for a business trip before and noted down this city as one with good food and good shopping area.... but Japanese food?!?

I have to tell you though, it was with no disappointment. Located in Immermannstr, it's a small place full of Japanese crowd. The ambiance is good and the food is even better! At 4pm, there are already people lining up the cue to be able to get some ramen. I wonder how it is at dinner time. 

Night at Paris

Last August 15 was a holiday in Belgium (and in most parts of Europe) to celebrate the Assumption of Mary. My friend has invited me to come with them to Paris and this marked my 3rd visit. I'm not a fan of Paris. I might probably be the only girl who felt that it was too overrated. Dirty streets, rowdy crowd, freaky subway, and attractions packed with tourists from all over the world, how can one enjoy a supposedly romantic place?