Lovely Lunch & Dinner @ Fresco & Cimmino on 30Aug2014

Posted on September 24, 2014 by chefquak

€12 spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini & parmesan)

we took the 56mins morning train from stresa to milan on 30.8.2014, costing just €16.50 for 2pax, arriving at milano central at 10.35am, then took the metro yellow line 4 stops to duomo & checked in duomo apart hotel. 🙂

i had very good meals at fresco & cimmino last time on 21.4.2014. it was just a short walk away, so we went there for lunch.

€14 frutti di mare seafood salad

the frutti di mare seafood salad was a very generous serving & excellent just like last time.

€12 spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini & parmesan)

my version of spaghetti alls nerano with squid

my version of spaghetti alla nerano with squid

the spaghetti alla nerano (spaghetti with zucchini & parmesan), a popular serrento dish, was good as before, very flavourful from the parmesan cheese & zucchini with a great sauce.

i tried to reproduce this but was not quite successful – my version looked ok tasted good too but was far from the flavours i was trying to reproduce, so not quite spaghetti alla nerano.

€18 tagliata di manzo

the tagliata di manzo was great as always. 🙂

fresco & cimmino milan

we went back again for dinner – boring people.

€26 grilled whole lobster

we went back to fresco again for dinner on 30.8.2014.

the grilled lobster here was very good. at €26, price wise it was no different form london’s £20 lobster at burger & lobster. and it was just as good, only w/o the fries. 🙂

my son wanted to try the swordfish tube pasta which did not turn too great. it was kind of expected – the swordfish came in like a ragout sauce which was not my favourite.

c.h.e.f andy

Cheap & Authentic Italian @ la Botte Stresa on 29Aug2014

Posted on September 21, 2014 by chefquak

€9 funghi pasta

we went to villa taranto & mottarone cable car on the second day, and decided to go to la botte (which was like 50m from hotel elena) for dinner. we got our hotel to book 2pax table for us on 29.8.2014 7pm.

we were there at 6.55pm. there was a queue about 10pax including us. the others did not have reservations. the restaurant was filled up quickly.

€9 mixed cold meats (goose, wild boar, deer, beef)

la botte stresa

€9 cold meat platter (goose, wild boar, deer, beef)

€9 beef carpaccio with truffle melted cheese

we ordered the €9 cold meat platter (goose, wild boar, deer, beef) & the €9 beef carpaccio with truffle melted cheese.

the cold meat platter was a monstrous serving. the meats were good but it’s something i would like just 2 or 3 slices so it was not a good idea for 2pax unless you did not want to try other starters. also it killed the tastebuds for other more subtle dishes like the fungi pasta. it was very generous for €9 & would be great for like 4pax.

the beef carpaccio did not look great but the taste was excellent with the truffle scented melted cheese. it was better than the usual more classy looking ones with rockets & extra virgin olive oil & balsamic. 🙂

€15 tagliata di manzo

the €9 creamy fungi pasta was good, but i felt the cold meat platter aftertaste killed off my appreciation of this more subtle dish.

the tagliata di manzi was kind of ordinary but good for €15, and so much arugula. we had to cancel 1 order of lamb ravioli as we had too much food already & would not really enjoyed it.

my son was also eyeing the guy next to us who was having nice grilled lamb chops. certainly there were several items on the menu we would be happy to come again to try. for me personally it was important to bypass the cold meat next time & enjoy some of the other great dishes here.

the service was indifferent to impatient, not outright rude but they didn’t really need us…it’s no different from any nazi chefs in Singapore where people go just to have the food, in fact probably slightly better. 🙂 the table wine was undrinkable, better to pay for better wine or just pay for bottled water.

the dinner cost about €50 including a 500ml carafe of table wine.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Dinner @ il Vicoletto Stresa on 28Aug2014

Posted on September 21, 2014 by chefquak

seafood tagliatelle

leaving london for milan, my son booked a 5am cab to london gatwick south terminal. it took 1hr 10mins even w/o traffic, so we had to rush a bit to catch our flight departing at 6.55am. we scanned the boarding pass on our phones which got us through the entry gates smoothly but the security was quite thorough. flight time was 2 hrs and milan was 1 hr ahead so we arrived at malpensa terminal 2 at 10am. we were booked on the alibus departure to stresa at 1130am & arrived 1230pm at chiesa at piazza marconi stresa, which was a very short walk to our hotel elena, very conveniently located at a square with restaurants & shops.

ristaronte il vicoletto stresa

we asked the hotel to recommend some eating places, and decided to take their recommendations to try out il vicoletto on 28.8.2014. we were early at 7pm & was able to get a seat. it was full & turning away customers 1/2hr later.

bread basket

we had a bread basket which was quite ok.

very good extra virgin olive oil & balsamic

the balsamic & extra vurgin olive oil superb. wine was good too. 🙂

octopus salad

we ordered an octopus salad to share. the overall dish was quite ok except that the octopus cannot c/w the very nice grilled octopus at alle darsene in bellagio at lake como.

seafood tagliatelle

we ordered a seafood tagliatelle to share. it was excellent, nice creamy pasta with fresh mussels & prawns.

braised lamb shoulder

very tasty braised lamb shoulder though not as good as the braised lamb shoulder at honey & co.

stewed monkfish

pretty looking stewed monkfish – nice sauce, fish was bouncy but texture a bit tough, a bit like the texture of swordfish steak.

overall it was a good & enjoyable dinner. we were seated outside (our own choice as we were early & could have seated inside) & getting quite a bit of mosquito bites that went through the jeans & socks so we had to quit the place soon after finishing our food & wine.

vicoletto is a good standard restaurant & not too expensive (our dinner about €71) & sure looked like one of the better places to have dinner. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Walk Regent’s Canal, Primrose Hill & Regent Park on 24Aug2014

Posted on September 16, 2014 by chefquak

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regent’s canal from bridge along york way

this marks my last entry for the enjoyable time in london with my son 22aug to 27aug. we took easyjet to milan malpensa airport & took alibus to stresa at lake maggiore (a €12 55mins journey) on 28.8.2014. 🙂

we were staying at kings quarters apartment along copenhagen street, a short walk from york way & regent canal, which is right by king’s cross saint pancras station.

regent’s canal is 13.8km long linking paddington to limehouse basin in east london, running through the north end of regent’s park before the 78m primrose hill. there is pleasure cruising & a regular waterbus service operating between Maida Vale and Camden, running hourly during the summer months.

with increase in cycle commuting and increasing environmental awareness, the canal’s towpath has become a busy cycle route for commuters.

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regent’s canal from bridge along york way (evening)

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Arthouse apartment along york way, looking over regent’s canal

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king’s cross station from along regent canal access

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along regent’s canal outside central saint martins

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regent’s canal

we started from the terrace in front of central saint martins, university of arts london.

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regent’s canal

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regent’s canal

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camden lock

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camden lock

camden lock is located by the camden market. it allows the water crafts to traverse the canal across a change of water level.

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camden market refers to a number of adjoining large retail markets, including camden lock market & horse tunnel market (stables market). it’s a treasure trove of new & old collectibles, arts & crafts, artefacts and daily use items.

gyros – greek kebab

we had a greek gyros (pronounced yee ro). it was really good for just £3, so much better & satisfying c/w the very poor £15.90+ cod fish & chips at poppies. my son ordered the chicken. i would have preferred lamb. still the chicken was very tasty & tender & the pita bread was good. even the potato chips were much better than poppies’. 🙂

after an unfulfilled lunch at poppies, we walked along the canal & came to the signage showing the direction of primrose hill.

we came onto gloucester avenue & stopped for a cuppa at melrose & morgan. it was really good. my son though tit was better than monmouth, but he was probably just having coffee withdrawal. anyway coffee was good! 🙂

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primrose hill

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primrose hill

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primrose hill

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primrose hill

primrose hill sits north of regent’s park. it’s only 78m. weather was good today about 22degC & the children, frisbees, dogs were all out & enjoying the sun, breeze, green fields, wide expanse of sceneries or activities. there was a board showing the various buildings on the skyline, from BT Tower to the Shard to Canary Wharf. 🙂

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regent’s park

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regent’s park

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regent’s park

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regent’s park

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regent’s park

after primrose hill, we walked through regent’s park, & took a bus back to our kings quarters apartment, had some nice nespresso, did some internet & then got ready for the pre-theatre dinner at joel robuchon. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Royal Walk (London for Free) on 22Aug2014

Posted on September 7, 2014 by chefquak

view of 10 downing street

last time i came to london was in oct2011. that time my wife & i & our son walked around saint james park.

this time as we had more time, we decided to follow the london for free/royal walk route. we took the victoria line from kings cross to green park & changed to jubilee line to westminster on 22.8.2014.

we started with 10 downing street, but the street was closed with security post and not accessible to tourist. 😦

victoria embankment view of london eye

from there we walked along richmond terrace towards river thames, crossed the road to victoria embankment next to the battle of britain memorial. 🙂

the london eye was opposite. i had not taken the london eye nor indeed the singapore flyer. i did not pay much attention earlier as the initial thought was paying £18 (S$33 for singapore flyer) to spend 30mins (32mins for singapore flyer) with 20+ strangers (25 in 1 capsule for london eye & 28 for singapore flyer). but in a way it is like paying to go up eiffel tower or empire state building to view the city. i may try them some time….

the appreciative & the critical, from wiki on london eye–

Sir Richard Rogers, winner of the 2007 Pritzker Architecture Prize, wrote of the London Eye in a book about the project:

The Eye has done for London what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris, which is to give it a symbol and to let people climb above the city and look back down on it. Not just specialists or rich people, but everybody. That’s the beauty of it: it is public and accessible, and it is in a great position at the heart of London.

Writing for G2 in an article from August 2007, Steve Rose described the Eye as follows:

The Eye… exists in a category of its own…. It essentially has to fulfil only one function, and what a brilliantly inessential function it is: to lift people up from the ground, take them round a giant loop in the sky, then put them back down where they started. That is all it needs to do, and thankfully, that is all it does.

view from victoria embankment

victoria embankment view of flyer

never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few - winston churchill

never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few – winston churchill

we walked along the embankment towards house of parliament aka palace of westminster.

there was winston churchill’s famous quote – “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” by the memorial.

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big ben @ house of parliament aka palace of westminster

big ben was right ahead. we crossed the road to the house of parliament aka palace of westminster.

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statue of winston churchill at the parliament square

there was the statue of winston churchill at the parliament square.

apparently one cannot find any pigeon resting on the head as it is wired & will give the poor creature an electric shock.