Archive for October 2015

The Logic of Food: Croatian Cuisine

Published on 9:04 PM By rika.C.

As we traveled around Croatia, we soon realized that the Croatian cuisine is a melting pot.

The coastal cities being a major trading port, has easy access to spices like cinnamon and nutmeg to play around to whip up new recipes. There is a Konoba around every corner of the street, serving fresh seafood like mackerel, mullet, scampi and octopus.

The Venetians has taught the locals how to make the best pasta. It is interesting to see the split (no pun intended), that Coastal regions has more Mediterranean influence using olive oil, rosemary, sage and oregano, whereas mainland cuisine uses lard for cooking instead.

The Stari Grad plain has maintained the Greek chora agricultural system for over 2000 years, raising olives and grapes, and the Greeks have passed down the secret of wine-making.

While we were having lunch at Konoba Matejuska, we met a Dalmatian grandpa who invited himself to sit down to tell us more about the history of Croatia. "When you ask a Croatian, what kind of fish should we have, the answer is not what kind of fish, but always: fresh fish!"

It was a real treat for me because being a fish lover, I had very easy access to fresh fish daily (Although to be honest they are comparatively more expensive than meat). I've had grilled milkfish, to seabass with tomato spaghetti, to grilled tuna dressed with lemon and garlic sauce.

Grilled Milk Fish and Mullet, Scampi

Fish Stew

Fresh salad

Black Squid Risotto

Croatia also has one of the most famous cheese "Cheese from Island Pag".

"You see, the vegetation on the island Pag is covered with sea salt dust, this is what gives it a unique taste to the cheese, because when the lamb drinks its mother's milk, the milk is already salted from the grass they eat", the Dalmatian grandpa explained as he guzzled down his wine.

Island Pag Cheese with olive and tomatoes

It is a delightful event of fish stew, tomato salad with Pag cheese and grilled fish and scampi.

"I can guarantee you, we have the cleanest and most fresh fish here, because the fish market here are built on top of a Sulfur spring, and flies hate the smell of it. So you will never find a fly around here!" Our grandpa laughed and gave us a wink.

As we move towards the North, there are more meat-oriented dishes. The Turkish and the Austro-Hungarian occupations have given a new option of Goulash, Pasticada and various kind of sarma (minced meat rolled in cabbages), and spitted lambs with black pepper, garlic, and paprika. Meat is considered as a special treat, particularly popular among weddings. Around the Lika area (close to Plitvice Park), it is covered with forests so deer steak and venison stew are also rather common.

Stewed lamb with green peas

Roasted lamb leg with potatoes

Venison Pasta

The sauce of these stews are often rich with herbs and what better ways to pair with red wines from region of Primosten?

"The best grapes grow on the most rugged and rocky, terraces. When the sun shines directly on the rocky mountains, the grapes grow the best. Just like people don't you think?"

It turned out our wonderfully informative grandpa is a Croatian diplomat, and has hosted ambassadors from all over the world, sharing some of the greatest stories of all times.

"There is an old phrase in Croatia: if you drink water you will get frogs in your stomach, but if you drink wine, you are a socialite."

So we toasted to another round of drinks and laughter and fijaka* from too much drinking and eating.

fijaka*- a deliciously lazy mood of utter contentment

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The Logic of Food: Best Croatian Desserts

Bistro Kod Damira

Published on 8:39 PM By rika.C.

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The word "dessert" actually comes from the meaning to desert the dining room and move to the drawing or entertainment room for some sweets and drinks.

I've tried frutele on the streets, berry strudels from bakeries, and to our amazement, these three places offered desserts that brought wonders to our eyes and tantalizing bewilderments. The cakes are ranked based on execution, look and finally taste. Being a baker myself, it is always interesting to dissect and analyze how the different ingredients string to harmony.

Here are our top recommendations:

[------Creme de la Creme-------] Split
Honestly, I've only been back to this store twice, and basically ransacked through its latest season of cake collection from Cake Opera to Tiramisu to its Charlotte. You name it.

1. Tarte od Jakube (Apple Crumble Tart)
I've had apple strudels and tarts in Austria, the city of dessert, but I have never had an apple tart as good as this. The tart shell is crusty, easily broken by fork (unlike some thick, harden shells that I could almost break the plate just to eat it). The bottom layer is coated with caramel, which balances off perfectly with the acidity of the cinnamon apples, cooked to tenderly perfection. It is then topped with almond and crumbles, giving it an additional kick of pizzazz.

2. Splitska Torta (Dried Fig cake)
I've been told that Pet Bunara has the best dried fig cake, but I want to highlight that the ones served at Creme de la Creme has set high bar of standard. It tastes almost like carrot cake with in-between layers of sponge cake of raisin, walnuts, dried fig, nutmeg and honey as well as buttercream. Such a festive cake, and perfectly suitable for Christmas celebration in my opinion.

[--------Pet Bunara---------] Zadar

3. Pistachio Cheesecake
I've never been a big fan of cheesecake, but this was a homerun because it broke all conventions that the crust of a cheesecake needs to be thin. In fact, the crust of this cheese cake is about 1.5cm and it did not bother me a single bit. The crust is dense and creamy at the same time, which somehow melts into your mouth instantly with its light and airy pistachio cream cheese mousse. The pistachio dressing on top is rich, but not overpowering, in fact, it accentuates the cream and marks the high tone of this dessert!

[--------Kod Damira ---------] Stari Grad

4. Marmalade Crepe
This is a commoner's food, but it is delightful nonetheless. The crepe is crispy around the edges, and soft on the inside with marmalade oozing out from the crispy edges. Egg, milk, butter and marmalade. Simple ingredients, big pleasure.

Other worth mentioning and trying:

- Forum Bakery's Marmalade roll

- Samobor Kremsnita (Custard vanilla cream cake)
- Makovnjaca Poppy seed cake

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Taipei: A City of Convenience

taiwan

Published on 7:59 PM By rika.C.

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When visitors come to Taiwan, they often marvel at the usability aspect of this sleepless city. Shopping malls are open till 10pm (regardless if it is Sunday or not), you can easily find breakfast places that open at 3am and every street corner is at least populated with a 7-11 or a Family Mart convenient store. You can find Michelin 1 star quality restaurant like Ding Tai Fung at unbelievably cheap price – Great C/P value.

MRTs are clean, efficient, and more importantly, people stand on the right side instinctively so that those in a hurry can get through quickly on an escalator.

The city is always standing by.

Regardless of how long the opening hours or the working hours of the people here, the thing that visitors remember the most is the warmth of Taiwanese people.

English fluency is very high among young people, and even if they don’t understand your language, they will use a classic Pictionary method of helping you find your way. Or they simply bring you to wherever you need to go. If they don’t know it themselves, they will find someone else who can help you. You get the idea.

Perhaps it is the lack of recognition on an international level (Taiwan is technically not regarded as a country by United Nations, despite its independent operation and governance from China), sometimes Taiwanese people are overtly humble or quiet about politics and its history and try to win people’s recognition simply by their willingness to help.

“Politics? We don’t talk about politics here in Taiwan. We have no preferences.”

“Do you know Taiwan? It’s a small island next to China. Not Thailand.”

“Oh my parents are from Taiwan, but I am from California.”

These are some of the things that I have heard when people introduce Taiwan to other foreigners.

It is as if a part of them is missing and segmented.

Lost and confounded by their roots and what they are told to know.

It is as if the world out there is always better, and sometimes, self-deprecation becomes fundamental and necessary just to be liked by others. The moon always seems to be rounder on the other side of the world.

However, a country with culture has to have its own attitude.

The Chinese invented tea drinking and yet many now regard the Japanese as the true master of tea ceremony. The Japanese have elevated the spirit of tea drinking to another level of art and philosophy. Even the notion of “Wabi-Sabi” – a sense of transience and imperfection, has become a major influence on today’s architecture and aesthetic preference.

It doesn't matter what the past is, knowing where it leads to is sufficient.

There is so much more to a country that is merely known to have invented Bubble tea.

On our national day today, what is Taiwan’s attitude?

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[Krka, CROATIA] Day 9: A lost, ancient town Skradin & Krka National Park

CROATIA

Published on 12:41 PM By rika.C.

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Don't be fooled by its quaint veneer and placid streets.

Skradin is such a small town, and most travelers are only here because it is the entrance to Krka National Park.

And yet Bill Gates said that Skradin is his favorite town.
Delve deepr and you will find that there is much marks left from history in this little, almost secluded town.

The travelers come and go, but its history is unforgotten.

I love to get local's opinion when I travel, in the hope of finding some less touristy sites, and I asked one of the ladies by the boat office, she answers with a yawn, "Oh, the Krka park of course, but other than that then maybe the Fortress. There's nothing much here".

Indeed, it does not have the actions of roaming about sandy beach and night bars, but there is something unique about its mundaneness.

Quaint Church of Virgin Mary, the baroque design and painting is actually somewhat remarkable considering this is such a small town.

Along the walk, we can see remnants of bullet holes on walls, as this place was heavily hit during the Yugoslav War in the early 90s.

Abandoned buildings still waiting to be restored.

It seems like the people didn't mind the bullet holes, because life goes on. Children still get off from school after the school bells and there are turkeys running in the backyard garden, unattended.

Turkeys running around

I love the design of this door and with a horseshoe,
a lucky charm perhaps?

The Orthodox Church of St. Spiridon is no longer in use, and it is a pity that this church has been abandoned, as you can still see some of its former glories with delicate features of its iron gates, and broken paintings on walls.

Apart from the town it self, The Krka National Park is definitely worth a two day visit. The water glints under the vast skies, reflecting shades of green and blue.

People can always jump in for an afternoon swim under its glittering waterfall.

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[Plitvice Park, CROATIA] Day 8: The sweet scent of Plitvice

EUROPE

Published on 12:12 PM By rika.C.

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The mist is sweet. The cold air brushes against our skin. As we walk down the muddy trails. the forest dazzles in splashes of cobalt blue and green.

The Plitvice Park feels like such a mystic place. It transcends all seasons, capturing a distinct view at different times of the day.

We can hear the waterfall from far away, and yet we can hardly see our fingers through the mist.

The raindrops gather on spiderwebs, and along the path we see huge fungus attached firmly on tree trunks and green-head ducks wobbling through the meadow grass.

They took no attention of us, and we are more like intruders to this wonderfuland.

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[Zadar, CROATIA]Day 7: Greek forum, pillar of shame, Museum of Ancient Glass, Sea Organ & Greeting to the Sun, Cafe Bruschetta

CROATIA

Published on 10:11 PM By rika.C.

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The funny thing about Croatia is that all the attractions (including churches) have the weirdest opening hours. They are usually open for a short window of time (i.e 12-1300 and 17-1900) and because it is a small city that every place can be done by foot, we often have to detour and go back to places as when they are open.

Zadar is very famous for its glasswork, and we decided to stop by the Museum of Ancient Glass. Museum of Ancient Glass, is housed in Cosmacendi Palace, overlooking Jazine habour. The permanent exhibition displays goblets, jars, vassels that are used to store perfume, essentials oils in the Middle Ages. The discovery of blowpipe for glass-making really increased production and it is amazing how glasses made in the 1st or 2nd century in Zadar has such variety in shape. Many of them comes with Art Nouveau like features, or motifs of fruits and fish. We also got a VIP view of the actual glass making process!

The St Donatus Church is built on the ruin of an ancient Greek forum, and inside it you can still see inscriptions and altars It is constructed on early Byzantine architectural traditions with a round rotunda, and although no longer used as a church anymore, lots of music concerts are held here due to its marvelous acoustics.

Pillar of Shame and Greek Forum

So apparently for any evildoers, they are chained under the pillar of shame for public display, to instill guilt and shame to never do any bad doings again. This actually reminds me of the exhibition we saw at the Fortress in Salzburg, where people have to wear these masks of shame with crazy animal faces or monster faces.

In 1st BC when the Roman started to settle here, the colony was probably found by Julius Caesar himself at the end of the civil war with Pompeius. The city is constructed according to principles of Roman urban planning. It consists of 5 longitudinal (Decumanus) and 8 transversal (cardo streets), which interesects at 90 degrees. The intersection of 2 main streets, so here you will find the city square (forum) and a piazza. The Zadar city has essentially kept this layout and hence the Greek Forum is right at the intersection of the two main streets: Kalelarga and Simuna K. Benje.

Sea Organ

The sea organ is designed with 35 pipes ending with whistles with opening on quayside floor. Depending on the size and velocity of the wave, the movement of the sea pushes air through the whistles to form a continuous chord. It plays 7 accords of 5 tones.

Next to the Sea Organ is Greeting to the Sun by Nikola Basic, a solar powered floor panel that illuminates at night. The biggest panel represents the sun, and the smaller circles represent the solar systems and is inscribed with names of Zadar's saints.

This is the perfect place to see the beautiful sunset of Zadar, and listening to music composed by nature. The melody has such a calming effect that I could take a nap on the sea organ stairs!

As we walk down the Riva promenade, we notice Cafe Bruchetta, cafe which is famous for local Croatian Cuisine.

[-------Our Order----]

- Mixed Salad

- Filet Mignon with mushroom

- Braised leg of lamb with rosemary and potatoes

- Meat Lagsagna

We didn't order any dessert since the menu isn't really attractive, but the braised leg of lamb is very tender and sweet, and the roasted potatoes are one of the best that I've had so far! The potatoes is crisy on the outside, and still moist on the inside, without it being overly oily.

The view of the seaside, is wonderful, and it is a good place for people watching as many would just sit by the small park right in front of us.

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[Split, CROATIA] Day 6: Marjan Hill, Pizzeria Portas

CROATIA

Published on 3:58 PM By rika.C.

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The Marjan Hill has existed for as long as the city of Split has been around. When the Diocletian Palace was built, the Marjan Hill was reserved to serve as a recreational spot for the Greek colonists.

When the sky is clear you can see the Pakleni islands, and even Vis Island.

After coming down hill, we had planned to go to Konoba Matesjuska (which is fairly close by) but it happened to be closed so we decided to go back to the Palace area to try our luck. Sometimes, a little mishap gives one an opportunity to stumble on a gem instead.

So we came across Pizzeria Portas, hidden in one of the narrow pebblestone streets, with a beautiful vineyard garden porch. Since Split was dominated by Venice during the 15th century, there have been a lot of Italian influence and immigrants since then.

What I love about Italian tratterias /pizzerias is that it often have a small window to the kitchen, no just for serving the dishes, but often the chef would peek to see if these food diggers are enjoying the food! It has such a homey atmosphere, and we are instantly attracted by the scent of a rosemary or tomatoes stew.

[-----Our Order -----]
- Mozzarella Cheese and tomatoes platter
- Mushroom, rocket, tomatoes pizza
- Carbonara
- Spaghetti Tomatoes (Pomodoro)

The pizza is very authentic with thin, soft crusts and very fresh mushrooms and tomatoes. People say the best way to test an Italian restaurant, is to see how they cook their Pomodoro sauce. It has to use fresh sage, onions and tomatoes that must be slowly stewed to churn out the natural aroma.

Both the Carbonara and the Tomatoes Spaghetti were heavenly. In particular, the Carbonara is not overtly creamy, but it gives a buttery accent that melts in your mouth with the cheese and smoked ham.

A very satisfying meal after a long day of hiking!

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[RECIPE]: Paprenjoki and the Hektorovic family

CROATIA

Published on 2:21 PM By rika.C.

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When we first heard that one of Paprenjck's ingredient is "Papor", we thought maybe it is made of Pepper? Quite different.

The Paprenjck, is a traditional cake made from honey, oliver oil, prosek and different spices. The world Papor, is an all-inclusive term for "cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves",

Each family comes with their own individual recipes, and the taste is something between a gingerbread cookie (without the gingertaste) and an English shortcake.

The dessert has a rustic charm to it, although the key ingredients are not exactly cheap.

The earliest memory of this cake is mentioned in Petar Hektorovic's poem, where the fishermen brought him: good wine muškatil, sweet wine (prošek), turta (cake), honeycomb, kaškaval cheese, fruit and paprenakov.

In his Tvdalj Castle he cultivated his own poultry, silkworms, bees and vegetables. The family also cultivated wheat in the Stari Grad Plain, and made prosek wines in their own tavern inside the Castle. The Hektorovic is pretty much self-sufficient, and althought they don't cultivated exotic herbs like cinnamon and nutmeg, the Stari Grad is is popular transfer point for trading, as it is conveniently located in between ports like Venice and Dubronvik.

Fascinated by its unique taste and aroma, I searched for it's recipe:

The night before, boil a kilogram of honey. When the honey boils and forms froth, remove it with a spoon. Grind the cloves on a board with a wooden hammer and put them into the heated prošek. Fry the saffron, crumble it and put this into the heated prošek as well.
Add a quarter of a litre of olive oil into the honey. Filter the prošek with saffron together with the prošek with cloves. The total amount of prošek added should be a quarter of a litre.
Add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and at the end flour with a bit of baking soda to this paste. The quantity of flour is determined by the softness of the paste. Leave to stand for half an hour. Place part of the paste onto a board and add more flour. Cut it into equal pieces. Knead each piece by hand and form small balls.
Place the paste into a greased baking tray and form the paprenjok by hand. Bake at 200 ̊C until it darkens.
It can be decorated as soon as it is cool. Add 150 g of icing sugar to one egg yolk to create icing and then decorate the paprenjoki.

The proedure looks very much like how you would bake a cookie, except they've used olive oil instead of beating air into butter for that creamy texture. Saffron isn't exactly an inexpensive ingredient, and I wonder how people could afford it back then?

Perhaps the value of saffron is very different from now.

Looking at an age-old recipe is always fascinating to me, and perhaps gives a glimpse to how the maritime trade has larlgely increased the variety in tastes and aroma in daily culinary.

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[Pakleni, CROATIA] Day 5: Sailing & Snorkeling

CROATIA

Published on 6:15 AM By rika.C.

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I have not been on a sail boat since 16, and the memories seem to be framed in time, trying to retrace the key concepts of sailing.

There is something very surreal about sailing, it is all about controlling the right timing for tacking and jibing, and yet very much of it is controlled by nature. Man can never beat nature, no matter how omnipotent we think we are with our technologies.

As we sail around the Paleni islands, we stopped by one of the bays for a quick swim and some snorkeling. We are too far from open water to see big flocks of fish, but the water is of an iridiscent blue, which is absolutely gorgeous to swim.

We are also very luck to see some tiny flying fishes!

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[Bisevo, Vis, CROATIA] Day 4: Green Cave, Blue Cave, Bisevo, Monk SealCave, Secret Undertunnel Cave, Komiza Vis, Stiniva Bay

Beach

Published on 5:39 AM By rika.C.

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What do you do if you are at sea diving but there is a tsunami?

"You stay down, it's safe there", says our speedboat guide, Paul, originally from Zagreb, is a professional diver but decided to stay in Hvar because of the sea. "The sea is my little pond", he says, and knows quite a few of the shipwreck and planewreck areas around the Vis island.

We departed from Hvar town around 10am and our speedboat sped through the open water like a unchained horse, and this isn't metaphorically, because we are going at such high speed that it really does feel like we are galloping across a field of blue and white waves.

Our first stop is the Green cave, and like its name, the cave baths in an aquamarine light of emerald green, pure and austere. We are free to jump off the boat for a short swim.

The Blue Cave, is a sister twin to the Blue cave in Capri, Italy, that around noon time the sunlight reflects through the water that illuminates the cave in azure light.

After the Blue cave, we stopped at Bisevo Island for a lunch break and some swimming by the Porat Beach. The restaurant is the only restaurant open now, and there are rarely any inhabitants on the island. Even the waiter jokes, "The most dangerous thing on this island ? -- is human".

The sandbeach is small, but empty, as if we have been dropped at some abandoned island. What's unique about this beach is that it has "seasons". In summer, it is sand beach and because of the tides, this changes around winter, that it bring in the pebbles and it becomes a pebble beach in winter.

We got the best of worlds, half sand beach and half pebblestone beach.

We also explored the Monk Seal cave, a cave where Mediterreanean monk seals used to reside, but they are now nearly extinct. Nobody really wants to jump in to swim in this cave because it is dark and eery.

Two of my favorite exploration sites are the Undertunnel Cave and Natural Jacuzzi.

"You have to hold your breath for a minute and you will be in an illuminated cave, this is our secret hideout", our guide says. For a minute I was anxious if I could hold my breath long enough to go underneath, but it turns out to be pretty easy. The cave is well-lit with an amazing underwater view.

Then there is the natural jacuzzi, as I call it, because the water here are at least 2-10 degree higher than other places!

The Komiza fisherman village, Island Vis, is also a common place for people to stop by for a short afternoon stroll or take a nap under its glittering sun.

There is also the Stiniva Bay, as if a scene from Pirates of the Carribean, where the water is clear, and view is breathtaking.