Chewing Gum Man & Street Art – Walk from Borough Market to Millennium Bridge on 23Aug2014

Posted on September 5, 2014 by chefquak

after some street eats on a saturday morning on 23.8.2014 at borough market, my son & i took a short pleasant stroll alongside river thames to millennium bridge. this is a steel suspension pedestrian footbridge across river thames linking st paul cathedral & tate modern, located between southwark bridge & the blackfriars railway bridge.

Screen Shot 2014-09-05 at 12.34.59 am

10557212_10152629062049494_2816719108512962172_n

10606075_10152629055964494_7877963788711231202_n

what’s new & fun is the emergence of the “chewing gum man”, ben wilson, a year ago, who have created over 400 pieces of chewing gum art. 🙂

not only has he transformed the unsightly disgusting chewing gum spit stuck between the metal gratings into mini art pieces, he also paints on request when pedestrians stopped to chat with him and creates art that means something for people who ask for it, like one which is a tribute to the victims of the japanese tsunami. my son told me he & his friends stopped to chat with him once before. 🙂

several of these mini street art were included in this inspiringcity article on the chewing gum man. enjoy!

c.h.e.f andy

Exquisite Lunch @ HKK London on 26Aug2014

Posted on September 2, 2014 by chefquak

#1 crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

we had a fabulous. sublime lunch @ HKK London at worship street on 26.8.2014. to me it was par with the £36 3-course pre-theatre menu at joel robuchon no less. 🙂

it took us a while to decide. our instinct when it came to chinese food, was to go for the cheap, robust, proven good chinese eats like roast duck at goldmine & four seasons. there was this lack of faith, that fine chinese was just the same cheap chinese food repackaged to cost an arm & a leg. 😦

we went to hkk all the same. hkk is the latest addition by hakkasan group. we took the northern line from king’s cross to moorgate. had the wonderful 4-course £28.50 lunch. 🙂

2 wet days in a row. the day before was raining in cambridge, and this time rain interfered with our plans to go greenwich, well at least we had a superb lunch to make up for the dreary start.

#1 crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin, melon, dragon fruits & salad

#1 the crispy duck salad – pulled duck with crispy skin bits in plum sauce, melon & dragon fruits & beautiful salad – was a superb dish. it was substantial too, with quite a good portion of duck meat. to me it was equal to any good appetiser in a top western restaurant.

#2 truffle chicken soup

#2 the truffle chicken soup was simply sublime. it was a wonderful tasting 当归鸡汤 with julienne cordyceps strips, a blended texture yet chinese tasting soup with great truffle flavour. 🙂

#3 wagyu, japanese yam, cripsy sweet potato & egg fried rice

#3 the 3rd course was a wagyu, japanese yam, cripsy sweet potato & egg fried rice. the braised wagyu was top draw, soft tender braised texture not too sinewy & still bouncy, definitely better than the ox cheek at Joel Robuchon, and different but equal to the braised lamb shoulder at honey & co.

#4 salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbe

#4 the salted cashew nuts, milk & peanut parfait, chocolate, & lime sorbet was also a very good dessert. the parfait under the peanut crust was much like a good ice cream.

in terms of presentation, taste & quality of cooking departments, each dish & the overall experience of this 4-course hkk set lunch was equal to any set lunch or pre-theatre menu in a good fine dining restaurant. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Super £20 Whole Lobster @ Burger & Lobster on 26Aug2014

Posted on September 2, 2014 by chefquak

GBP20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

burger & lobster seems to be the the “go to” place in london. wife, son & daughter had all been there several times. and many friends too. it’s like all singaporeans visiting london go to the place. 🙂

business concept was simple – just 3 items on the menu, whole lobster steamed or grilled, lobster roll using shelled steamed lobster meat on a brioche, and a large beef burger, all at the same price £20. so import maine lobster yourself, no need celebrity chef, keep cost low& sell lots of lobsters.

i took the piccadilly line from king’s cross to leicester square & walked to burger & lobster outlet at dean street in soho. it was still raining. son was out with friends & met me at the restaurant at 6pm on 26.8.2014. we got a 2pax table w/o waiting.

£20 lobster roll

there was a choice of steamed or grilled lobster. the waitress also explained that both were first steamed, & the grilled lobster finished off with grilling.

before i ordered my whole grilled lobster, i confirmed with the waitress that the lobster roll was only served with steamed lobster meat. that made sense as the meat for the roll came from a common pool of shelled lobster meat, not that they could not still be grilled before serving but it’s just not done.

son cut me a bit of the lobster roll to try. the bread was very good. the lobster meat was fresh, bouncy & sweet. 🙂

£20 lobster (about 1.5lb or 650g)

i love my lobster grilled, with that bbq flavour. it was very good! 🙂 there was the sides of shoestring fries & mesclun salad & a garlic butter dipping sauce. i had the same grilled lobster w/o the fries for €26 at fresco & cimmino in milan on 30.8.2014. equally good. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Very Satisfying Comfort Food @ Four Seasons Chinatown London on 25Aug2014

Posted on September 1, 2014 by chefquak

roast duck (烧鸭)

coming back from cambridge, we decided to go to the regent street nespresso outlet to get some capsules for my friend in singapore. we took the piccadilly line from king’s cross to piccadilly. i bought 50each of the black ristretto (intensity 10 arabica) & the purple arpeggio (intensity 9 arabica) capsules. 🙂

as we were near to four seasons in chinatown, we decided to have another go at roast duck just for the 2 of us. 🙂

son felt that the roast duck at four seasons was better & the sauce was sweeter c/w the roast duck gold mine. i could not tell the difference & i really love the roast duck at both restaurants. really shook! 🙂 price wise there wasn’t much to compare either – £12 at gold mine and £12.50 at four seasons.

roast pork (烧肉) & char siew on rice

as there were only 2 of us & we already had 1/2duck, we decided to have a roast pork (烧肉) & char siew on rice for £7.80. i guessed it would be a smaller portion but this worked out well for us & was cheaper than getting a meat plate for £8.50 + £2.50 for rice.

the roast pork (烧肉) at gold mine was distinctly superior to this.

my last experience with four seasons was in 2011 & as expected the service was brisk & business like bordering on unfriendly or even rudeness i had come to expect in chinese restaurants (or for that matter in any restaurants like this of so many nasi chefs in singapore, & at la botte in stresa where business was so good & they were always full & so busy).

i spoke cantonese with the 40-ish lady server i mistook as from hong kong. she was fast in words & thoughts & forceful. later when she talked about high teacher’s pay in singapore (which i guessed was misinformation) i realised she not likely to be from hong kong & she told me she came to UK from malaysia 22 years ago. anyway she was very nice to us & gave 10% student discount when my son asked. we were not expecting that as my son was dining with me & not his student friends. 🙂

well, for me, gold mine & four seasons are the places i will go back every time i am in london.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Set Lunch @ Cote Brasserie Cambridge on 25Aug2014

Posted on September 1, 2014 by chefquak

mussels in white wine

set off for a 1 day trip to cambridge monday 25.8.2014.

filtered water

it was a wet day of light drizzle. we had finished a short walking route passing a few colleges & around the backs. we decided to drop in to cote brasserie for some lunch & rest. 🙂

we got tap water (no charge) like we did in london. there was a £9.95 2-course set lunch. we both picked the mussels with white wine. it was tender just like at big easy in london. the taste of the broth was better than the hot spicy one i had at big easy.

roasted seabass

minute steak with fries

i had the roasted sea bas. it was good, nicely done fish with flavours of tomatoes & olive oil.

son had the minute steak which came with £2 supplement.

overal it was a very good lunch at £22 for 2pax.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Dinner @ Joel Robuchon London on 24Aug2014

Posted on September 1, 2014 by chefquak

#3 scottish lobster sea shell pasta

i had a very good lunch at gordon ramsey at the claridge’s brook street (now closed), & not so great dinner at marco pierre white in london in 2011. had yet to try joel robuchon. i had joel robuchon in hong kong both the set lunches menu decouvert at l’ artelier & dinner degustation at la cuisine. the set lunches were pretty good & reasonably priced. the degustation was good of course but too expensive for me.

wife & son had been talking about joel robuchon in london & paris, so we decided to go for a pre-theatre at joel robuchon london on 24.8.2014.

it was really good. 🙂

bread basket=baguette, olive bread, sour dough

bread basket of baguette, olive bread, sour dough was ok for good restaurant standard.

#1 parma ham, goat cheese, melon tart

#1 parma ham, goat cheese, melon tart was lovely. my son & i were talking about that this being an assembled dish, but still the presentation was great & all the ingredients came together beautifully. 🙂

#2 crispy sous vide egg with chorizo & cheese shavings

#2 crispy sous vide egg with chorizo & cheese shavings was very good too. it’s a bit similar to the excellent 64degC 55mins sous vide egg with iberico chorizo at jaan with the combination of taste & texture – the silky yoke & the salty bits of chorizo PLUS the crispy filo. this was good. jaan’s was much better.

#2 open ravioli with clams & razor clams with a crispy top & foam

#2 the open ravioli with littleneck clams & razor clams with a crispy top & foam was again excellent. the shellfish, crispy top & foam was a wonderful combination. 🙂

#3 6hrs braised ox cheeks

#3 the 6hr braised ox cheeks was very good in terms of taste & preparation, however just for comparison of braised items i think the braised lamb shoulder at honey & co was much tastier than this, so was the braised wagyu at hkk london & for my own taste preference = my own spanish beef ribs is also better (of course the meat cuts were different & we are not comparing apples with apples). 🙂

#3 scottish lobster sea shell pasta

#3 the scottish lobster sea shell pasta, a substantial portion (i think 1/2 a 600g lobster), was tops! the foam & broth like a very good lobster bisque, and the lobster was very sweet & tasty. the pasta too. an excellent pasta dish! 🙂

the price for 3-course was £36 + 13% = S$73++ & there was a £7 supplement for the lobster. at S$73++ for a set lunch/pre theatre menu it was very much more expensive than the fabulous les amis S$45++ 4-course set lunch. both were excellent & JR was more inventive but quality+value wise, les amis would beat this hands down. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Street Eats @ Borough Market on 23Aug2014

Posted on September 1, 2014 by chefquak

duck confit sandwich

son & i went to london’s most famous market, borough market, on morning of 23.8.2014. took northern line from king’s cross to london bridge.

we were planning to try out the several famous street eats here. 🙂

borough market started in the current location from 1755, though records from 1014 listed it as a market for fish, grain, livestocks, fruits & vegetables.

the wholesale market opens weekdays 2am-8am. the retail market opens wednesday to thursday 10am to 5pm, fridays from 10am to 6pm, and saturdays from 8 am to 5 pm

duck confit sandwich

1 of the famous eats is the £5 duck confit sandwich, and that was also the first we tried. it was pretty good. the confit duck rillette was tasty & tender & did not disappoint. the ciabatta bread though was not very exciting, kind of tougher to the bite.

roast selling beef, crispy pork belly & bacon sandwich

beef, crispy pork belly & bacon

crispy pork belly sandwich

the next we tried was the £6.50 belly pork sandwich at roast. a queue built up rather quickly! it came with ok pork belly & a sheet of crispy skin. sad to say, for me the “crackling skin” was about the standard of my failed belly pork attempts & quite unedible. 😦 the bread was softer & better than the ciabatta of the duck confit sandwich. we didn’t try the beef sandwich, perhaps that would be better, 🙂

brindisa chorizo buns

we had the single chorisa bun at brindisia. though a blogger mentioned it was more worthwhile to have the double chorizo for £4.95 instead of the single £3.95, my son disagreed, he thought it would be too salty with 2 chorizos, and i had to agree with him after trying it. 🙂

of the 3 my preference would be (1) duck confit sandwich (2) chorizo bun (3) belly pork sandwich. 🙂

salt beef (corn beef) sandwich

we found the salt beef (corn beef) sandwich shortly. it looked really good. my son thought it looked better than it tasted. in any case we did not have space for it. nor the other food.

paella

seller was offering free tasting with a small plastic spoon. the taste was ok but this was like a mass cooking & well below my own seafood risotto, so held no attraction for us.

seafood, calamari, cajun chicken etc.

they also served other dishes like calamari, cajun chicken etc.

prawns, jellied eels, whelks, crayfish salad

dorset crab

1 stall was selling fresh cooked seafood, from prawns, jellied eels, whelks, crayfish salad to dorset crab.

excellent mushroom pate=GBP4 tub

the homemade mushroom pate was very flavourful. my son bought 1 tub for £4.

borough market

exotic stuff – kangaroo, crocodile, zebra, elk, ostrich

there were exotic burgers including kangaroo, crocodile, zebra, elk, ostrich.

famous olive & cheese sticks at bread ahead

and the olive & cheese sticks at bread ahead was another famous stall at borough market.

borough market

quite crowded close to noon on a saturday.

whole roast pig

they had whole roast pig too!

free wifi at borough market

& there was free wifi at the market.

overall, the few famous dishes were pretty ok though nothing really caught my fancy (too much bread/carb for me anyway). it was still better by miles than the very poor poppies fish & chip at camden which we had on 24.8.2014.

c.h.e.f andy

Interesting Mid-Eastern Lunch @ Honey & Co on 22Aug2014

Posted on August 26, 2014 by chefquak

messe for 2pax

had a very interesting mid-eastern lunch at honey & co on 22.8.2014. 🙂

place was recommended by son. i knew little about mid-eastern food and didn’t think its the kind of food i would like much. but i googled about honey & co, and the reviews were all very good.

honey & co wareen street

it’s a small restaurant by a husband & wife team, aarit packer and itamar srulovich. we were greeted by very friendly & cheerful staff. 🙂

messe for 2pax

we enjoyed a very nice GBP15.5 2-course lunch, which came with a messe appetiser dish & a choice of main course. as the main courses on the menu were like GBP14.50, it made sense to do the set. 🙂

the messe for 2pax included warm feta bread, chickpea hummus, beetroot with mint, kalamata olives & another dip with pomegranate & grilled corn on the cob. every item was very nice. i especially liked the beetroot with mint, and the pomegranate dip. the regular chickpea humus was good too. 🙂

roasted sardines

braised lamb shoulder

we had 2 mains recommended by the server. the roast sardines was excellent, very fresh & flavourful & not liked the fishy stuff i usually associated with sardines, something i would take again. the braised lamb shoulder with cous cous was truly superb, a braised dish that was tender & very tasty & not so sinewy. just purely for comparison of a braised item, i would put this as better than the ox cheek at joel robuchon and about par with the wagyu at hkklondon.

cheese cake

& the GBP6.50 cheesecake with blueberries, almonds & a crispy fill like base was almost out-of-this-world. liked it a lot, so much that i had another order to take away. 🙂

love the food & the service. there was no service charge so we gave a like 15% tip. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Excellent Roast Duck (烧鸭) & Roast Pork (烧肉) in London @ Goldmine on 23Aug2014

Posted on August 24, 2014 by chefquak

1 whole boneless roast duck

goldmine is 1 of the favourite places my son & his friends go to for roast duck in london.

i came here once with my son 2 years back & wanted to try the place again. 🙂

the reviews were mostly good. we took the hammersmith line from king’s cross to edgeware road & changed to circle line to bayswater. goldmine was just 100m from the station & the street was lined with chinese restaurants including four seasons. i will probably try four seasons if i come again this trip, though not likely.

stepping into goldmine & seeing the 师傅 deboning the roast duck, one can see straight away that it was good. the roast pork looked amazing too. char siew looked ok. 🙂

son booked table of 5. only 2 of us were there. a son’s friend came shortly. the rule though was that only when all 5pax arrived then they would seat us. i spoke cantonese with the server & managed to get seated but they said we had to vacate by 750pm (we booked 630pm). i supposed it was fair enough under the circumstances. anyway we didn’t need to when the time arrived though restaurant continued to be quite full, but not overflowing.

watercress lie tong (例汤)

roast pork (烧肉)

char siew (叉烧)

hotplate braised tofu (铁棒豆腐)

fried kai lan

i ordered 1 roast duck deboned, 1 order each of roast pork (烧肉) & char siew (叉烧), and the watercress lie tong (例汤) which son wanted. son ordered the hotplate braised tofu (铁棒豆腐) & fried kai lan. 🙂

we were not disappointed. roast duck was very good. to me it was like hong kong standard. & 1 roast duck for GBP22 is cheaper than most restaurant prices in singapore. i thought the roast pork (烧肉) was really excellent, looked amazing & tasted incredible, so tender & the skin crisp. i can do this again. the char siew (叉烧) was quite average, not poor but no comparison with (say) imperial treasure teochew’s charcoal broiled pork collar or char siew.

son & friends loved the hotplate braised tofu (铁棒豆腐). it was very average though, the coffeeshop zi char standard & no comparison with (say) braised tofu at a good zi char like kok seng.

overall cost for 5pax came to GBP80. for me it was an enjoyable meal & i would be happy to come back again. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Cheap & Good 2-course Dinner + Drink @ Big Easy Covent Gardens on 22Aug2014

Posted on August 24, 2014 by chefquak

wood roasted mussels (hot & spicy)

son knew his place around london. 🙂

he booked this big easy place in king’s road covent gardens & we went there for late dinner at 10.30pm after watching a play “the curious incident of the dog in night time” at gielgud theatre on 22.8.2014. 🙂

restaurant had 2 levels & was crowded almost full, looked quite happening. we sat in the basement level, nice & roomy place. & they serve this cheap & good GBP9.95 lunch (till 6pm) & late night menu. 🙂

wood roasted mussels (garlic sauce)

we ordered the 2-course with free brew, slushy or wine menu.

we had the wood roasted mussels. son had garlic sauce & i had hot & spicy. mussels were good, sweet, succulent & tasty. garlic sauce was the better sauce. there were around 15+ to 20 mussels.

margarita

i tried the margarita. it was good though not my thing. will take a red if i come again.

bbq 1/2 chicken

prawn fritters & chips (fries)

i had the 1/2 bbq chicken. it was done beautifully. chicken was very tender, moist & flavourful, though i am not a fan of the american styled bbq sauce flavour. i took about 1/2 the chicken, and had nothing to complain about.

son took the prawn fritters with the fries. they were large & plump, batter was light enough & all said, again very well done really.

best thing of course was the price. really i mean a walk around borough market would cost more than this & not 1/2 as good. 🙂

it was a bit of the hearty & robust type of food for me, so not something i would really do again in a short while during the same trip (also for equally robust food, my preference would be to go for roast duck & roast pork at goldmine OR at four seasons chinatown etc), but i would certainly do this my next visit to london. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Watch A Play in London=Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (on 22Aug2014)

Posted on August 23, 2014 by chefquak

went to watch the play “the curious incident of the dog in the night time” at geilgud theatre on shaftesbury avenue with son yesterday on 22.8.2014.

timing wise was great as we had morning walk along victoria embankment, house of parliament (big ben), westminster abbey to buckingham palace etc then late lunch 1.30pm at honey & co.

so we had some rest in the afternoon before theatre at 730pm & went for cheap GBP9.95 2-course dinner at big easy at king’s road covent garden at 10.30pm, & returned to apartment as zombies.

gielgud was home to yes prime minister & avenue q, now “the curious incident of the dog in the night time” after national theatre & apollo (where the ceiling collapse-not intended- at the ending some months back)

book by mark haddon was award winning so was the play & current christopher is played by mike noble.

usually we watch musicals (not so intellectually challenging.. haha). the play (& book) was about a 15 yr old boy christopher with what was described as high functioning autism or savant syndrome, a mathematician with behavioural difficulties, finding the neighbour’s dog dead with a garden fork. police was called & he reacted violently when touched, was arrested then released & later found out his father’s been lying to him about his mother’s death 2 years ago after he found his mother’s unopened letters to him dated few months back in his father’s room…etc…

the synopsis did not quite excite me but i guess the acclaimed play (& book) must be quite good.

anyway the performance by christopher was quite captivating. remarkable how stage actors can memorise all these lines, there is no “NG” & reshoot on stage. he was able to portray a brilliant mind who receive constant overdose of factual & emotional stimuli & emotionally unable to relate to people etc..

production was great & innovative (with technology as well) with 3rd person narrative by christopher’s teacher as he wrote the incident & his investigations in a book & the past & present scenes were acted out as the teacher narrated the “book”…

christopher was assembling a toy train railway track on stage in real time in the midst of frantic dialogue & later the train actually moved representing his journey to london to look for his mother…

still we fell asleep during parts of the second half after a 20mins interval.

overall i quite enjoyed the play, but probably would not go out to get the book to read. not sure maybe my son have the book with him.

c.h.e.f andy

OK Lunch @ Farinella Ristorante Pizzeria Milan on 23Apr2014

Posted on August 13, 2014 by chefquak

Euro16 scampi with capellini – outstanding

went to sforzesco castle & decided to have lunch at farinella ristorante pizzeria at piazza del castello

my daughter ordered a euro16 scampi with capellini (above photo) which was very good. i tried the angel hair pasta & it was very tasty. 🙂

Euro12 set – seafood risotto (good, tasty)

Euro12 set – squid (poor)

they had this set lunch or quick business lunch set costing euro12 which had seafood risotto (good, tasty, not much ingredient), and squid (poor, tasted nothing) & coke.

by comparison with the scampi past, the set was just ok & to me not worth trying. might as well pay for a good nice tasty pasta.

Euro16 scampi with capellini – outstanding

i would certainly come back for the scampi pasta if i am around the area & maybe give some other dishes a try. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Good Lunch @ Papermoon Milan on 22Apr2014

Posted on August 12, 2014 by chefquak

fungi papardelle – good

paper moon at via bagutta was just a short walk from our duomo apartments, past piazza san babila fountain. it was also recommended by Giuseppe. well he did recommend us the excellent fresco & cimmino, so we had to try this paper moon. 🙂

clam & mussels pasta

veal with asparagus – ok

veal with asparagus ok

we were early. paper moon opened at 12noon, so we went around wandering a bit window shopping etc & back at the restaurant 12pm on the dot.

lunch was good (but fresco was still better!)

the veal with asparagus was pretty ok. the clam & mussels pasta was good & creamy fungi papardelle look plain but was tasty. well almost all pasta in all the places we dined in italy were good, with little exception.

we couldn’t be eating lunch & dinner for 3 days at fresco, so i would consider this a pretty good alternative.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Lunch @ Ristaronte Pizzeria da T Levanto on 20Apr2014

Posted on August 7, 2014 by chefquak

frutti di mare – seafood salad

we decided to trek to levanto on 20.4.2014. 🙂

many parts of the sentiero azzurro (blue path) coastal route no. 2 were still closed. anyway we walked the incredibly scenic route to vernazza on 19.4.2014. the route to levanto was longer & took us 3.5hrs. the view was marvellous though looking back at monterosso beach was not quite the same as looking at the postcard picture perfect vernazza town when approaching from moneterosso. 🙂

frutti di mare – seafood salad

we were strolling along the streets close to the sea on arrival at levanto around 1.30pm. the ristaronte pizzeria da T levanto was filled with locals & looked quite exciting.

grilled prawns

we ordered the seafood salad (around 11euro) & the grilled large prawns (around 15 euro) which we saw many tables were taking. both were very good, fresh & tasty. 🙂

mussels pasta

prawn pasta

we ordered 2 pastas, one with prawns the other with mussels. both were very tasty too, but there was a negative part – both were much too salty. if we could eat more pasta, maybe we could have asked them to toss in more plain pasta – just a thought. haha! 🙂

panna cotta

complimentary sweet cake

the panna cotta was poor though. my daughter & i were still thinking of the fantastic panna cotta at pizzeria balognett at tremezzo lake como, but this was a far cry, no better or worse than the ones in singapore, the reason i hardly ever ordered panna cotta.

surprising we were offered a huge helping of complimentary sweet cake. it looked very sweet & it was, but it was much better than the panna cotta.

c.h.e.f andy

Tak Shiok! (No Thrill) Dinner @ il Ciliegio Monterosso on 19Apr2014

Posted on August 7, 2014 by chefquak

scampi pasta

we arrived at monterosso about 3.50pm on 18.4.2014 after returning the car (we drove from tremezzo lake como) at malpenssa airport & taking the malpenssa express to milano centrale to connect the train to monterosso.

we were booked at the very nice ballembra hotel in the old part of town & walked about 700m from the station. it was very pleasant as monterosso has a nice beach & there were lots of shops & gelato stalls.

for the first evening we had earlier made reservations & enjoyed a super dinner at miky, after strolling around.

the friendly proprietor of ballembra recommended & arranged for us to have dinner at il ciliegio, 200m up the hills the next day on 19.4.2014.

gianni, il ciliegio’s owner, came in his MPV to fetch us from the town centre. he stopped near the top for us to take photos of the monterosso coastline in the sunset. 🙂

the service was excellent. the view was actually quite limited as surrounded with trees, mostly ciliegio. afterall the whole cinque terre & monterosso offered awesome vista everywhere.

regrettably, dinner @ il ciliegio monterosso = tak shiok leh…NO THRILL! 😦

grilled zicchini

swordfish steak

scampi pasta

food was quite mediocre & would be poorest if c/w miky OR even the cheap & very good trattoria scogliera at manarola.

scampi pasta was skimpy, 4 tiny scampis for 2pax portions (mike’s seafood risotto while 50% more ex had like 5times the ingredients so much greater value & of course superior taste & dining experience), trofie (a risotto like pasta that looked like our chinese “beetaimak”) pesto was totally plain, swordfish was ok, vege was actually good, very sweet.

il ciliegio has a nice setting, but almost no customers. only 1 other table was occupied.

the outside was pleasant. it was cold so more comfortable to dine indoors.

we took some photos of the monterosso coastline & also in the direction of vernazza in the sunset. 🙂

owners gianni & rosanna are very nice people. after dinner, gianni drove us back to town below. he turned & reversed his MPV like >50m in one fluid movement on the narrow path like in car chase movies, but he drove safely & not fast.

food was ok, & i am sure if you speak italian, the company & conversation would be most pleasant. just on food however monterosso was filled with nice restaurants, so regrettably i would not recommend this. 😦

c.h.e.f andy

Great Value Wholesome Lunch @ Ristorante La Scogliera Manarola on 19Apr2014

Posted on July 29, 2014 by chefquak

seafood spaghetti

was raining in the morning & mid day on 19.4.2014. we were not able to take the sentiero azzurro (blue path) which is the coastal route no. 2 trek from monterosso to vernazza.

we were early in apr so not quite the peak. there was still some crowd, and later commotion when someone was apparently pick pocketed. some friends went later in may & commented that the cinque terre trains were late but our experience with it was good, fortunately.

we took the train to manarola. the views were excellent but again the sentiero azzurro (blue path)trek between manarola & vernazza was closed.

manarola was a tiny place so we had lots of time & decided to take lunch there. ristorante la scogliera manarola prominently displayed its 4 trip advisor stars. must say we were not disappointed. indeed cheap & good! 🙂

Ristorante La Scogliera Manarola

restaurant was pretty crowded. we were early so we were able to get a table after few minutes before the queue formed up.

seafood spaghetti

the lunch specials were all about 10euros & 11 euros, and the menu dishes not far off. my seafood spaghetti was about 11 euros, and it was really good very tasty dish. 🙂

grilled octopus

al the grilled octopus we had at lake como restaurants & at miky monterosso were all good, and so was this & it’s just 10 euros.

plate of mussels

this my idea of eating mussels – wholesome, hearty, a large pot or plate & very reasonable prices (& not the meagre 4 stuffed mussels at miky). haha. i think also around 10 euros. 🙂

scampi pasta in tomato sauce

my daughter ordered the scampi pasta in tomato sauce. and they really do their tomato sauce pastas very well in all the restaurants we’ve been, very flavourful & great taste of tomatoes. 🙂

this definitely a lunch place i would recommend for all visitors to manarola. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Most Unforgettable Dinner @ Miky at Monterosso on 18 & 20Apr2014

Posted on July 29, 2014 by chefquak

monterosso restaurant miky’s famous flamed seafood risotto

had been lazy to continue my posting on the cinque terre trip in apr2014.

did a number of posts on amsterdam and lake como after the trip & ran out of steam after a while..haha. time to pick up & write about the best restaurant & the best meals we had in italy. the best meal we had at amsterdam was at beulings. 🙂

we picked monterosso as our base for cinque terre (the “five lands” -comprising 5 towns – italian riviera along the lingurian coast) as it is the largest town, has a nice beach front, and of course good gathering of restaurants & shops. we managed to do the very nice trekking from monterosso to vernazza & also monterosso to levanto, both with incredible views.

monterosso restaurant miky

miky is located near monterosso station, at fegina in the new part of town.

i read a bit about restaurant miky at monterosso & their famous flamed pasta dishes, and i made a prior booking on 18.4.2014. we enjoyed the dinner so much we decided to go again on 20.4.2014.

anchovies seafood platter 1

we had wonderful pickled herrings in the streets of amsterdam & also nice lake fishes platter at lake como restaurants. so we thought we would start with the fantasia of anchovies.

anchovies seafood platter 2

anchovies seafood platter 3

it looked wonderful & came with the 2 smaller platters i.e. 3 platters in a single order.

i would say it was something worth ordering for the first time. it was competent above average i guess but by comparison with alle darsene 7-lake fish platter or even street herrings in amsterdam, it was not as tasty & flavourful. for me the left & bottom 2 cured ones in anchovies seafood platter 1 though salty were the more flavourful.

roasted octopus tentacles

the roasted octopus with asparagus was good! very tender.

it was a different preparation but quite comparable with alle darsene octopus appetiser. both i considered very good dishes. 🙂

1534472_10152332460454494_9185848348949093432_n

stuffed mussles

the stuffed mussels not my thing, but wife & daughter liked it. i preferred sweet fresh & plentiful pot of mussels like the ones we had at la scogliera at manarola the next day, not 4 stuffed one..lol. the tomato base soup was very good though. 🙂

the flamed pasta covered pot of seafood risotto was the best outstanding dish. minimum order was 2pax @ 18euros pax so 36euros. the portions were good for 4pax & more seafood than risotto almost. the stock base i figured was chicken stock with prawn shells & heads & very flavourful.

the above photo was 1 of 3 servings for 3pax, and there was enough left in the pot for 2 more similar size servings including the seafood. 🙂

monterosso restaurant miky’s famous flamed seafood risotto

we went back again on 20.4.2014, the evening before our departure to milan the following day, and ordered the same risotto. just could not have enough! 🙂

this inspired me so much i came back & recreated the seafood risotto dish, and served it to my buddies for my lake como, cinque terre, milan grand tour tasting menu on 2.7.2014. they all absolutely loved it, though of course it was no comparison with the real thing at miky! lol! 🙂

monterosso restaurant miky

lobster, langoustine, prawns seafood platter

lobster, scampis, prawns seafood platter

the other excellent dish not to be missed was the 35euros lobster, scampis, prawns seafood platter. 🙂

the 1/2lobster was a large 1kg size not the usual 600g maine lobster in singapore, very sweet & tasty, but the scampis were even better. & the prawns were large & very good.

grilled seafood platter

when we returned there on 20.4.2014, we decided to try the grilled seafood platter instead. this was good too with grilled scampi, prawn, razor clams, scallop & fish on a bed of mesclun salad. in a way it was kind of different dish to the cold seafood platter but really in terms of quantity, taste, value the cold platter was lots better. 🙂

1909425_10152332459749494_4789065529276771600_o

monterosso restaurant miky

they were truly unforgettable meals we had, 2 times in a space of just 3 days. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Romantic Villa del Balbainello Lake Como Italy on 17Apr2014

Posted on June 14, 2014 by chefquak

10245566_10152329567194494_4237261702328639434_n

villa balbainello

our next visit was to villa balbainello on 17.4.2014. it is a beautiful and romantic attractions at lenno on lake como, at the tip of a small wooded peninsula with beautiful terraced gardens. it was also the filming location for star wars episode 2 – attack of the clones (2002) & casino royale (2006). 🙂

we spent the morning taking the lake shuttle from villa carlotta to varenna, had lunch at alle darsene, strolls through villa melzi & did some fast shopping at bellagio (& earlier at varenna) before picking up our car at villa carlotta jetty, and drove 30mins to villa balbainello at lenno.

10153206_10152329567604494_8257920336317990056_n

route accès to villa balbainello

10176099_10152329568204494_5491345535208022511_n

route accès to villa balbainello

954757_10152329568964494_160127820129844391_n

river taxi to villa balbainello

it was possible to trek/walk to villa balbainello, but it was late afternoon, so we decided to take the private river taxi. the round trip fare including access to the gardens was euro13pax. 🙂

we strolled around the terraced gardens overlooking the lake.

10014710_10152329581169494_5894756570717708366_n

loggia at top of the hill

10174873_10152329581884494_4695054890244021565_n

loggia at top of the hill

the loggia with the famous sunset scene, the kiss (anekin & padme) & the secret marriange. 🙂

a charming & romantic garden setting, perched on the hill & overlooking the lake. villa carlotta was also facing the lake & had a lot more trees, flowers & plants to admire while you strolled. here at villa balbainello the space were more expansive living space & you could sit in the lawn (as in 007 recuperating in casino royale), rest on the verandah etc.

on the return journey, the river taxi took us on a short cruise further south, and we had a good view of villa balbainello & another villa further south of the lake & also lenno from the craft.

it was past 5pm when we got back to our hotel la perla. we liked the panna cotta at pizza balognett so much that we stopped by & ta pao (take-out). la perla has a sprawling scenic terrace patio overlooking the lake. we had couple of macchiatos to go with the panna cotta while enjoying the great views. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

The Enchanting Villa Carlotta on 16Apr2014

Posted on May 13, 2014 by chefquak

the enchanting villa carlotta is located in tremezzo just past the grand hotel tremezzo palace. there is an open carpark free parking area next to it, and the jetty for the lake shuttle for bellagio & varenna ia also located nearby. 🙂

we had sometime before dinner after returning from pigra cable car at argegno, & villa carlotta fits in the schedule well.

the villa sat on hilly terrain at the lakefront. there was a massive gate & a beautiful fountain area with pruned hedges that were 6m tall! little bit like a maze. looked beautiful especially from the lake view balcony on level 3.

the enchanting villa was built in the late 17th century, and bought in 1843 by Princess Marianne of Nassau, Albert’s of Prussia wife, who gave it as a present to her daughter Carlotta in occasion of her wedding with Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen. Hence the name Villa Carlotta. Georg II was fond of botany, & the fascinating romantic gardens were well known for its century old cedars and sequoias, rock garden, ferns valley and bamboos garden, and the many varieties of azeleas & rhododendrons. 🙂

my wife & daughter felt that villa carlotta gardens were more attractive than keukenhof gardens. in the sense that there were 100 year old cedars & sequoias & bamboo patches spread over rolling knolls in an outdoor natural landscape setting extending over 7hectares, it did have its unique beauty. keukenhof though was 4times in size about 32hactares. 🙂

we were looking forward to dinner, quite expecting a delightful evening at la darsena, the dinner recommendations by our b&b proprietress. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Pigra Cable Car at Argegno Lake Como on 16Apr2014

Posted on May 11, 2014 by chefquak

after a wonderful lunch at pizza balognett, we took a short 15mins drive to argegno & managed to park right below the pigra cable car entrance on 16.4.2014. 🙂

pigra cable car, 1 of the steepest in europe, was opened in 1971. it took you from 200m to 850m in less than 5 minutes, or about 8km/hr. it is actually capable of 5m/s or about 18km/hr. of course if you c/w taipei 101 just regards speed, that lift goes up at 60km/hr! 🙂

the adult return fare was 3.90euros. see the tariff & schedule here. 🙂

the view at the top was awesome, such a beauty to behold. 🙂

it was like a top-of-the-world feeling. you could see the small town of argegno populating the shoreline. 🙂

a wonderful liberated feeling! 🙂

we did not have time to do the trails to belvedere. so we took the 4pm cable car down & drove back to tremezzo & made a short tour of villa carlotta before a nice dinner at la darsena. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

	Rosemary on 50% Discounts for 2pax Excelle…
	Braised Pig Intestin… on Teochew Light Braised Large…
	edmundc38 on 赠我 Gift to Me
	David Ong on 咖喱鸡面 Curry Chicken Noodles
	10 Must-Try Michelin… on Oyster Omelette (蚝烙) Starchy O…
	chefquak on SCG Bought Hill Street CKT and…
	Elli on SCG Bought Hill Street CKT and…
	chefquak on 思永恒 Contemplate Eternity
	niamcl on 思永恒 Contemplate Eternity
	chefquak on 思永恒 Contemplate Eternity

c.h.e.f

cook.hangout.eat.fun

Category Archives: Andy’s Travelogue

Chewing Gum Man & Street Art – Walk from Borough Market to Millennium Bridge on 23Aug2014

Exquisite Lunch @ HKK London on 26Aug2014

Super £20 Whole Lobster @ Burger & Lobster on 26Aug2014

Very Satisfying Comfort Food @ Four Seasons Chinatown London on 25Aug2014

Good Set Lunch @ Cote Brasserie Cambridge on 25Aug2014

Great Dinner @ Joel Robuchon London on 24Aug2014

Street Eats @ Borough Market on 23Aug2014

Interesting Mid-Eastern Lunch @ Honey & Co on 22Aug2014

Excellent Roast Duck (烧鸭) & Roast Pork (烧肉) in London @ Goldmine on 23Aug2014

Cheap & Good 2-course Dinner + Drink @ Big Easy Covent Gardens on 22Aug2014

Watch A Play in London=Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (on 22Aug2014)

OK Lunch @ Farinella Ristorante Pizzeria Milan on 23Apr2014

Good Lunch @ Papermoon Milan on 22Apr2014

Great Lunch @ Ristaronte Pizzeria da T Levanto on 20Apr2014

Tak Shiok! (No Thrill) Dinner @ il Ciliegio Monterosso on 19Apr2014

Great Value Wholesome Lunch @ Ristorante La Scogliera Manarola on 19Apr2014

Most Unforgettable Dinner @ Miky at Monterosso on 18 & 20Apr2014

Romantic Villa del Balbainello Lake Como Italy on 17Apr2014

The Enchanting Villa Carlotta on 16Apr2014

Pigra Cable Car at Argegno Lake Como on 16Apr2014

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: