Where Life Takes You

Bisco in the Oven

2012-01-20T10:11:00.002+01:00

It's been a good what... eight months since I last posted? I guess we've been busy baking.

We have a bun... or rather, a Biscottino (gingerbread man in Italian), in the oven. I'm now home on maternity leave and we're expecting the oven to go 'ding' for done anytime now. Ready or not, Bisco will be here and a new adventure will start!

Cantina Nino Negri

2011-05-29T14:22:00.006+02:00

This year we decided to visit the Nino Negri winery during the Cantine Aperte or 'open cellar' event that falls on the last Sunday of May every year.

Nino Negri makes one of our favorite wines from Valtellina - the Le Tense.

The winery is housed in a 15th century castle and we were able to visit the cellars which are up to 13 meters underground.

It was a nice way to spend Sunday morning before lunch. Most wineries in Italy do not cater for visitors so this event is a good opportunity to visit one of the many excellent winemakers in the country. We'll definitely mark it on our calendar for next year.

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Perfect Party Cake

2011-05-29T13:58:00.002+02:00

by Dorie Greenspan

Decided to try out this recipe last weekend. The layers are a lemon flavored white cake, with a raspberry jam filling and iced with a meringue lemon buttercream. The final touch - a dusting of shredded coconut all over, perfect for covering any imperfections on the icing job. Dorie's recipes may seem a little involved but so far I have yet to be disappointed.

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Birthday weekend

2011-05-29T13:20:00.002+02:00

We celebrated the occasion with a fun weekend full of good food and wine. The highlight was definitely lunch at our favorite restaurant in Piemonte followed by a lazy afternoon enjoying the views of rolling vineyards and medieval hilltop towns.

The birthday boy was happy.

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Pizza

2011-05-19T10:47:00.002+02:00

This was my pizza at dinner with friends last night.

It was at Tarantella, our new favorite pizzeria for Napoletano-style pizza. Have I mentioned that Italians don't share pizzas? Everyone orders a pie and it's all yours baby! In the early days, finishing one on my own was a near impossible feat. These days, with lots of practice, it's still a struggle but most of the time I can clean my plate (ok, I cheat a little by leaving some of the crusty edges behind).

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At the Tailors

2011-05-15T22:09:00.002+02:00

Followed the guys to the tailors on a Saturday afternoon. D was getting a couple old suits refitted while S was getting new shirts made to measure. The tailor, Tuglio, and his wife were real characters - friendly and of great humor. Almost made me wish I was getting something tailored as well. This was definitely a business that ran by word-of-mouth. The storefront has no windows, no indication of the type of business, just the name: Arcadia.

A Breath of Fresh Air

2011-02-12T17:26:00.001+01:00

What's the best part of the winter for you (if any!)? For me all that cold is only good for one thing - the snow. And let's keep the snow on the mountain for scenic and recreational purposes only. Otherwise snow just means cancelled travel plans and horrendous traffic snarls.

Today we were lucky enough to get some respite from the city smog and escape to the snow for some cross country skiing.

It was so peaceful and quiet. There was hardly anyone around while just on the other side of the mountain were the busy ski lifts and downhill slopes. It makes me question why I should go downhill skiing instead.

The view of the lake with the surrounding mountains was just beautiful. And It felt deliciously warm under the sun.

What a change from my week sitting in the office all day.

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Papassini

2011-02-12T00:12:00.001+01:00

No, we don't bake all the time. Our friend gifted us with huge bags of almonds fresh from his family's trees, so this was the least we could do in return.

The almonds, by the way, were delicious. We had to crack the shell to get to the nut. I've never tasted them this fresh before.

This is of course the recipe from Stefano's sardinian grandma. Stefo and his mom did most of the work. I just showed up in time to help with the white sugar glaze and the multicolor fun.

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Kiwi Tart

2011-02-10T09:07:00.001+01:00

So I'm not the only baker in the house. Every once in a while, inspiration (or more likely, a craving) hits and my other half will disappear into the kitchen for a little bit. And then voilà...

A crostata topped with a homemade kiwi jam from our friends Leo and Nadia.

The sweet guy even attempted to form a heart shaped piece in there. Awww...

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The Attack of the Cupcakes

2011-02-06T16:53:00.001+01:00

We are going over to a friend's baby's full moon party later so I baked some cupcakes for the occasion.

These chocolate espresso cupcakes have been making regular appearances since I first made them for a potluck last September. They are fairly easy to whip up, and are super moist and chocolatey (you don't taste the coffee at all). The recipe is from SavorySweetLife.com. Make these if you want to wow your friends.

My chief taster got a couple of his own too.

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Gong Hei Fatt Choy

2011-02-05T10:22:00.001+01:00

Happy Year of the Rabbit!

Our little dinner was lots of fun. The baked spring rolls were a hit. We tossed the homemade yeesang to ensure a good flow of luck for the new year. The steamboat worked out well, using the fondue set we got for Christmas (thanks, Valeria & family!).

Our guests were thrilled when we pulled out and handed them their angpow red packets. The first ever, for R.

In a blink of an eye, it was already almost midnight. Time flies when you're having good laughs!

We then slurped down the water chestnut and coconut dessert our guests brought - perfect for ending the night.

May the new year bring you good luck, happiness and good health!

Xin nin fai lok!

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In the Kitchen

2011-01-30T20:18:00.001+01:00

The Chinese New Year is just a few short days away, but being in Italy you cannot even tell. Instead of throwing myself the usual pity party, this year I decided to take matters in my own hand and invite some friends over to celebrate.

They were more than excited to come. Now to plan the menu.

Now I have a very embarrassing confession to make: I don't really know how to cook Chinese food.

How did this happen? Well, back home, mom always did the cooking. Then in California, there was never a need to cook Chinese when anything and everything was available just around the corner.

So I had this one weekend for a quick crash course so our guests don't go hungry. Fried glass noodles, check. Shrimp fried rice, check!

Oh, I should mention that I had to, uh, look up how to cook jasmine rice over the stove. No we don't have a rice cooker and I haven't cooked white rice once in my 2+ years here. I know, embarrassing!

And I made wontons! I was forced to. I tried to find some but there was nothing decent looking at the store in Chinatown. I did pick up the wonton skins from the tiny frozen section.

And it was surprisingly easy with the help of our mini chopper. I did a trial run boiling some up and it was tasty too.

I don't think I'll ever buy them ready-made again.

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Casa del Latte

2011-01-22T20:29:00.001+01:00

Italy is still one of those countries where most stores remain closed on Sunday, the rest day, and many close by 7:30pm on other evenings. So it takes some planning to make sure you don't run out of eggs on a Sunday, for example.

But luckily, one thing you won't run out of is milk. Today we finally visited our neighborhood 'house of milk', which dispenses fresh raw milk from a local farm.

You can bring your own bottles or buy a one-time use plastic bottle there for 20 cents. Then put in 1 euro and out pours 1L of creamy frothy milk.

The milk is raw so needs to be boiled before drinking and consumed within 3 days. Some research show that raw milk retains its natural enzymes and some people who are lactose intolerant find that they are able to digest raw milk. Also supposedly some nutrients are destroyed during the pasteurization process so drinking raw can be better for you.

Got milk?

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Spontini's

2011-01-21T21:01:00.001+01:00

Grabbed a quick Friday night dinner in Milan tonight, after visiting our friend V at the hospital.

Thick doughy slices fresh from the oven. The menu is short, only margherita slices, 'normale' or 'abbondante'.

You can't go wrong here.

Spontini
Various locations, Milano

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Cupcaked

2011-01-20T15:01:00.001+01:00

What was supposed to be something homemade to thank a coworker...

turned into this huge cupcake project that quickly got out of hand. More cupcakes than I could handle, on a weeknight no less.

A special thanks to S for fashioning out those awesome 'carrots'.

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Testing

2011-01-09T19:18:00.001+01:00

Hello world!

Does this work?

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Prosciutto Festival in Parma

2010-09-15T22:13:00.001+02:00

Last Sunday we woke up with only one agenda in mind. The Festival del Prosciutto di Parma was on, and we wanted to take this opportunity to visit one of the many prosciutto manufacturers or prosciutteria that were open for visits to the public.

We arrived in Langhirano, a small town outside the city of Parma, to find the festival in full swing. There were many booths lining the streets selling food, trinkets and of course prosciutto. Langhirano is home to one of the biggest concentration of prosciutto makers in the Parma region. At the meeting point, we left our name, and 10 minutes later our group was ready to go.

We ended up in the group visiting a prosciutteria that was just 5 mins walking distance away. For the ones further away, they had small buses arranged to drive visitors over.

It was a beautiful day with sunny blue skies. The temperature was perfect. When we arrived, we were further divided into smaller groups of 10. We were led through the facility by one of the master prosciutto makers himself. He was very friendly and explained the steps in detail, starting from the delivery of the meat from local butchers.

Here, the legs of ham are resting at one of the earlier steps.

The hams pass through several different rooms of different temperatures and humidity where they rest of a set amount of time. Although there were modern machinery especially for the initial cleaning process, and for moving the hams through different parts of the facility, what really amazed us was that many of the steps were still very much as it was traditionally hundreds of years ago.

For example, in one of the later curing steps, the windows are actually opened for several hours each day, to let the hams air out and breathe in the Langhirano valley air.

Another example is the initial salting process. A machine is used to apply salt on the legs of ham, our guide explained, but he himself will personally check each one after that and adjust the quantity of salt depending on the size, shape and fat content of each leg,

We got really excited when we entered this last room where the hams are left to age for 12 up to 36 months. There were 60000 hams hanging in that space at a time!

The sight and smell of the hanging prosciutto was just amazing. We didn't want to leave!

At the end of the tour, we were treated to a freshly sliced ham served on slices of bread. There was also a nice selection of water, beer and wine. Some of us really had a hard time tearing themselves away from the tasting table.

It really was a fun and interesting visit. This prosciutto maker produces about 3000 legs of prosciutto a week, or about 150000 annually and even exports internationally. What really surprises us was how such a producer remains family-sized with only 25 employees.

We sure enjoyed our time in Langhirano. The tours were very well organized and definitely worth a visit considering we didn't have to pay a cent. The festival is on till next weekend so it's not too late to plan a visit if you are in the area.

Potatoes... Patate...

2010-09-15T20:51:00.001+02:00

This was back in August when S had to go to work harvesting potatoes from his mom's orto, or vegetable garden.

I had no idea how potatoes were even grown. Apparently, you take the old potatoes that have sprouted (you know, the ones you've forgotten in the back of the cupboard), cut them up in chunks and throw them in the dirt. Some weeks later, voila... potatoes!

Apple Store in Italy

2010-08-16T17:48:00.002+02:00

We stopped by the Apple store in Carugate, just north of Milan, as S had to consult with the Genius Bar. Granted it may be one of the only official Apple stores in northern Italy but who knew it would be so crowded the day after Ferragosto, when the city is supposed to have cleared out? There was even a roped off area for people wanting to acquire the latest iPhone 4.

A Rainy Ferragosto

2010-08-15T15:02:00.017+02:00

Where's the sunshine?

No thanks to the unseasonably cool and rainy weather up here in northern Italy, we've had to stay indoors instead of going hiking in the mountains. The only consolation? A comforting dish of polenta, meat and potatoes by S's talented mamma.

Hope you are enjoying your Ferragosto.

Korean Food in Milan - Ginmi

2010-05-05T22:11:00.010+02:00

Milan is one of the most cosmopolitan and international cities in Italy. Walking around you will find people with different backgrounds and cultures. But one thing that's definitely lacking is the number of ethnic restaurants around. There are some Chinese and Japanese restaurants sprinkled around but anything else is pretty scarce.

This definitely takes some getting used to for me, coming from diversity-rich California, where one can find Greek, Mexican, Thai or Vietnamese food around almost any corner. I sure miss having such a variety of food choices.

So when my friend V suggested we go try out a Korean place in Milan, I was excited. The last time I'd eaten anything non-Italian was probably months ago when I broke out my stash of Maggi Mee instant noodles (yum!).

Jinmi is conveniently located just a 5 minute walk from the Piola, Loreto and the Lima Metro stations. As we stepped through the door, I caught of whiff coming from the kitchen and immediately I knew it was going to be good. I had been to enough Korean restaurants to know how the real thing was supposed to smell like.

At lunch, in addition to the ala carte items, they also offer a lunch menu that ranges between 11-13 euro, which includes a main dish, a bottle of water and the cover charge (coperto). It's definitely an affordable choice if new to Korean food or want to try a new dish.

We couldn't decide, so we decided to share our orders. The kim chi jigae stew came bubbling hot, and was accompanied by a bowl of rice. It was good and tasty, and not as spicy as it looks.

The spicy bbq pork bento box came with rice, and a soup on the side. The meat was tender and juicy, and deliciously marinated.

Both were served with a selection of Korean banchan side dishes. There was the ubiquitous kim chi or preserved cabbage, pickled cucumbers, spinach, and a side salad. Not the largest selection ever, but they graciously offered refills.

It was past 2pm when we arrived so it was rather quiet. Two out of the three other tables were Korean diners, and the two waiters were also Korean. It took me this long to find an authentic Korean restaurant in Milan, thanks to V. I'll definitely be back to try more dishes.

Ginmi
Via Paisiello 7, Milano
Tel: 02-29516394
Closed Sundays

The Holy Shroud of Turin - La Sindone di Torino

2010-05-02T21:20:00.004+02:00

We first passed by the Duomo after stumbling out of the Tre Galline with full bellies. It was practically just down the street. We hadn't realized how close we were.

The first thing we saw were the news crews. There were trucks representing all the networks, even CNN. There were a number of reporters, photographers and cameramen milling around.

And then we realized that it was actually the first day that the exhibition was open to the public. The press was there to cover the event since this was the 5th time in a 100 years that the original artifact has been displayed. (A copy is permanently displayed at the Museum of the Holy Shroud nearby). The first group was set to enter at 6pm, and we had tickets for the 6.30pm group. I hadn't known this when I had reserved our tickets online a couple weeks earlier. There was a buzz of excitement in the air and Stefano even spotted one or two local celebrities.

And he even had his little moment of fame when a reporter asked to interview him. He was asked where he was from, why he was there, and what the thought of the city of Turin.

Since it was still early, we decided to first take a walk and visit the city. We came back a few hours later and headed to the starting point where visitors were to congegrate. There was quite a crowd, but the timing was fairly punctual, with groups of people being let in at 15 minute intervals. Ok, there was a little bit of crowding at the entryway ala Italian style, but overall it was bearable.

The path took us through the gardens of Palazzo Reale gardens and at one point our group of probably about 300 ended up in a dark room where a short slide show explaining the Holy Shroud was shown.

The slideshow was short but impactful. It zoomed in on different markings on the shroud and explained them concisely in short titles, in ten or so different languages. It really helped us understand what we were about to see.

The Shroud is a linen cloth that shows the imprint of a man that was crucified on a cross. Many believe it was used to wrapped the crucified body of Jesus. There has been many studies done but it seems that there is still no conclusive evidence as to whether this is true or not.

After the slideshow, what was moments before the excited chatter of the crowd around us became a quiet reverential silence. Which in itself a pretty amazing thing for a group of Italians. This silence continued as we continued on the path that finally led us into the Duomo. We filed into three levels that allowed everyone to have a good view of the shroud. There an Italian recording again explained the different markings on the cloth, the face, the feet, the nail wounds... and finally finished with a prayer.

Whether a believer or not, it was hard to ignore the distinct human imprint on the cloth. The markings of a human being who had suffered It was a touching moment, and an experience I will not forget.

The Holy Shroud can be viewed until May 23, 2010. Make a free reservation for your visit here. There are still slots available especially on weekdays.

Happy Labor Day - Buon Primo Maggio

2010-05-01T23:20:00.002+02:00

I'm almost too late, but the day hasn't quite ended yet.

Happy Labor Day! Hope you enjoyed the first of May with a little bit of fresh air, even if the weather forecast hasn't been great for Northern Italy. After almost 15 years in the United States when Labor Day always marked for me the 'end of summer', now it marks for me 'spring is here-summer is coming'.

And what better way to celebrate than to share with you some spring flowers fresh from Stefano's mother's garden here in Valtellina.

Beautiful fluffy pink and gigantic peonies. How gorgeous they are!

There's plenty more on the huge bush outside where they came from. The blossoms just seemed to have magically appeared. There was no sign of them two weeks ago.

Some hot pink rhododendrum blooms.

Lots and lots of round white puffs of petals in the backyard. I'm not sure what these are called.

And some cheery tulips.

Happy first of May!

A Turin Walking Tour

2010-04-27T21:26:00.003+02:00

After lunch we had some time to kill before our time slot to see the Holy Shroud. We decided to walk around and enjoy the beautiful spring day.

We started out at the very center, the Piazza Castello, with its elegant and grand palazzi buildings.

On one side is Palazzo Madama, which also houses the Museo Civica d'Arte Antica. So if this is the Piazza Castello, then where is the castle you say?

We walked around the Palazzo Madama and saw the castle facade. It's actually connected to the Palazzo Madama. I'm not sure how that came about but it is rather interesting.

We walked along Via Po towards the Po River. Via Po is one of the most beautiful streets in the ciy, flanked with beautiful baroque style palazzis, and connected with portico walkways.

We made a left turn off of Via Po and to find the Mole Antonelliana, an impressive landmark building that towers over the city of Turin. It was originally built as a Jewish synagogue when construction started in 1863. It now houses the National Museum of Cinema and is said to be the tallest museum in the world. On a side note, Stef says 'mole' means 'big thing'. Oh.

We came across this interesting looking artwork while wandering around.

Finally we arrived at the huge PiazzaVittorio Veneto, just next to the river. Across the River Po, we could see the Chiesa della Gran Madre di Dio, which resembles the Pantheon in Rome.

On our way back to Piazza Castello on the other side of Via Po, we spotted another beautiful church that we had missed before while passing on the walkway underneath.

We took a peek inside. It was beautiful for just another 'normal' church.

We stumbled into not one but two galleria style buildings. They reminded me of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milano with the glass dome arcade that lets in lots of light.

I imagine there must be many more gallerias in this city. These were just the ones we found by accident.

And that was our walk around Turin on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. So far, we had really enjoyed the culinary and the architecture side of the city. Next up, the Holy Shroud of Turin.

Ristorante Tre Galline, Turino

2010-04-24T22:12:00.001+02:00

The first thing Stefano did after we decided to visit Turino was to find a good place for lunch. Can you see our what our priorities are?

He called up his friend who is a bank director in Turino to ask for recommendations. We wanted a good Piemontese meal and he pointed us to Tre Galline.

We parked in one of the many underground city garages near the Castello and arrived after a 10 minute walk.

We were seated and after studying and ordering from the menu, I looked around the traditionally styled dining room. The tables were almost full and most were locals. Always a good sign. The table nearby had ordered the antipasti misti, and here they roll out a cart with a selection of cured meats and slice it by hand for you on the spot.

For the appetizer, Stefano had the fonduta con cardo or cardi in fontina cheese. The cardo is a vegetable that translates to 'thistle' in English, but that doesn't sound right, does it? Anyway, it's a fibrous vegetable that looks similar to celery. We had seen it before in the supermarket but never knew how to cook it. It tasted ok, but I don't think I'd put it on my list of favorite vegetables.

Next he had a filleto di maialino con carciofi e castelmagno or piglet fillet with artichoke and local castelmagno cheese sauce. The meat wasn't the most tender but the overall dish was very tasty.

As for me, I had spied the piatto del giorno or plate of the day on the menu. It is quite common at the cafeteria type restaurants for workday lunches, but we've never seen offered at restaurants like this. And surprisingly it is offered also at lunch on Saturday.

I picked it knowing it would be the perfect portion size for me, and it turned out to be excellent. The tagliatelle con sugo di cortile or 'backyard' sauce, which is actually meat with bits of liver. I used to hate it when mum forced us kids to eat liver as kids, but this wasn't the same thing. It was really good. And then there was the anatra in acceto balsamico or duck cooked in balsamic vinegar. That was really delicious and went well with the roasted potatoes. The portion was huge too and I was throughly satisfied.

We decided to skip dessert but along with our coffees came a chocolate treat and candied orange peel. I just love when they serve coffee with a little something sweet.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience here. My piatto del giorno was only 10 euro, and cost a third of Stefano's two dishes - great value for money. We also shared a half bottle of Barbera wine that was really good.

This restaurant has been around for a long time and it's a good place to go if you want to sample the traditional Piemontese cuisine of Turin.

Ristorante Tre Galline
Via Belleza, 37
10122 Torino
Tel: 011 436 6553
Closed for lunch on Sundays/Mondays

Eataly in Turin

2010-04-23T20:50:00.002+02:00

A couple weekends ago, we decided to make a day trip to Turino, just a 1.5 hour drive from Milan. I had never been plus I had gotten us tickets to view the mysterious Shroud of Turin. That deserves a post on its own. We decided to make a day of it and started early. Well, early for us on a Saturday anyway.

Our first stop, Eataly, a clever play on the words eat and italy, is a marketplace featuring local artisanal food and wine products from all over Italy. Something food related? We definitely wanted to check it out. It took us a while to get through the city to arrive in an area called Lingotto. When we walked in our mouths just fell open.

There were rows and rows of pasta, rice, flour, oils, jars of every variation of tomato sauce you can imagine, and colorful displays of fruits and vegetables. There was an in-house bakery churning out delicious smelling fresh bread. The pastry counter had a beautiful selection of cakes and desserts. The cheese selection was huge, there was a big case just for local cheese from Piemonte. The selection of meat and fish was just as impressive.

And tucked in between the aisles and food counters, were small restaurants specializing in pasta, meat, vegetables, fish, etc. I glanced at the menus and the prices were reasonable. You could make a little food tour going from station to station. It was still early for lunch when we were there but I've heard it gets crowded with locals and tourists alike at lunch and dinner.

Downstairs, we found some climate-controlled cellars showing how cheese and cured meats are traditionally stored. The smell in the Parmesan Reggiano room was delicious.

In the wine section, in addition to the huge selection of wines, you can also purchase wine by the 2 litre bottles straight from the barrel.

And if you're a lover of beer, you have this whole wall of different beers to choose from.

And of course, a place to sit and have a meal paired with beer. There's also a similar restaurant in the wine section.

We grabbed a basket and picked up some food stuff that didn't need refrigeration since we had a whole day ahead of us. We also had fun picking out some items to make up a gourmet food basket for a friend's birthday gift. My stomach was growling but unfortunately we couldn't stop to eat. We had reservations for lunch at another place.

But we will for sure be back with more time for the whole experience. We had discovered a culinary food lovers dream. If you're in the area or passing by, it is worth a stop. It is the only place we've seen in Italy where you can find such a variety of gourmet food products, and they are surprisingly reasonably priced. They also hold special dinners, cooking lessons and tasting events.

Eataly

Via Nizza, 230 / 14
Turin Lingotto

Malaysians in Italy - Lunch in Milan

2010-04-22T20:45:00.010+02:00

When you're far from home, no matter how much fun you're having, sometimes you just can't help but feel a little homesick. And that's what drove me one day last year to google 'Malaysians in Italy', thinking surely there must be others in my shoes. My Google search didn't turn up anything, but a search on Facebook did.

I first met the Milan members of the group at an aperitivo late last summer. Since then, we've gotten together a couple times. It's such an interesting diverse group. We have among us students, housewives, people working in the fashion industry, travel industry, people from the consulate and government agencies, even a model!

There was a lunch gathering on Easter weekend a couple weeks ago. The setting was Mei Lin Restaurant right in downtown Milan just a few minutes walk from Castello Sforzesco. It is mostly a Chinese restaurant however the owner Mr Lau is Malaysian and so some Malayian dishes offered. I spied on the regular menu on the window dishes like roti canai and mee goreng.

Our group that day however had a special buffet menu prepared for us and it was quite the spread. Most were executed pretty well, considering. Well, some of my favorites are missing but beggars can't be choosers here.

- Curry Puff
- Poh Piah or Tipo Involtini Primavera
- Cucur Udang or Frittelle di Gamberi
- Baked Chicken Wings or Ali di Pollo al forno
- Asam Fish or Pesche al tamarindo
- Cereal Prawns or Gamberi impannata di cereali
- Cantonese Fried Rice or Riso alla cantonese
- Fried Mee Hun or Spaghetti di Riso
- Vegetable Curry or Verdure al curry

We spent a couple hours meeting old and new friends. It's always interesting to find out what brings people here. We met a E who has been in Milan for 27 years, N who's Australian but is moving to Milan from KL with his Malaysian wife and kids, and several others who came from as far as Genova. There aren't that many Malaysians in this country so this was a wonderful opportunity to meet each other.

Thanks to Linda for organizing this. Until the next time!

Mei Lin Restaurant

Via San Giovanni Sul Muro, 13

Milan

Where to Eat Good Steak in Milan

2010-04-11T22:10:00.000+02:00

Specifically, the fiorentina or the Florentine-style steak.

This restaurant grills up some of the best fiorentina steaks we've tasted and lucky for us, it is right in our own backyard inMilan. Incredibly, we found the steak here better than a fiorentina we once had in a well-known restaurant in theheart of Tuscany (maybe we were there on a bad day, who knows).

This was my second visit and my friend P from California was in town. I had boasted about the steak in Italy, how it tasted like real beef, and he wanted to taste it for himself. I had no objections at all. It was a great reason to revisit this spot. We started out with two appetizers for sharing. A plate of carciofi or artichokes and puntarelle or chicory. The carciofi were sliced thinly and served with parmagiano reggiano shavings. The puntarelle salad were also thinly sliced and tossed in olive oil. Both were simple but good. We cleaned the plates accompanied with their house-made foccacia.

We were sipping a fantastic red wine, a Voerzio Barbera, from the region of Piemonte. It was a perfect match for the steak that was to come. We ordered the fiorentina for two, and tagliata, which from the Italian word tagliare, literally means 'carved' or 'cut.' The meatis cut into thin slices, and drizzled with olive oil.

The fiorentina definitely lived up to its hype. It was perfectly grilled, very flavorful, juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Ourfriend declared it 'the best steak he's ever had'. It was exactly howI remembered it. I like how that although it looks veryrare and red, there's hardly any blood drippings when you cut into it.

The rest of the world calls the fiorentina T-bone or porterhouse, and that has always been one of my favorite cuts back in the States. But here the difference is really in the flavor and texture. It must be the Italian grass and sunshine.

We also had a couple sides to go with the meat. A big bowl of house-made potato chips, cannelli beans, and a plate of grilled vegetables.

We were all smiles after the meal. The food and the company was truly enjoyable.

And amazingly, the price is affordable too. Our meal, with two shared appetizers, three side dishes and three steak orders, a nice bottle of wine, without dessert, came out to be about 35 euro each. An excellent value for money in this town.

La Bistecca
Via Aureolo Filippo Paracelso, 5
20129 Milano (MI)
Tel: 0220240347

Where to Eat the Best Pizzocheri in Valtellina

2010-04-09T21:58:00.000+02:00

Or at least one of the best.

Having family and friends in Valtellina, along with the many weekends we spend here, alot of pizzoccheri gets eaten. I've written before about pizzoccheri, the national buckwheat, potato and cabbage pasta dish of Valtellina, here. Not surprising is the fact that the best pizzoccheri is found at home cooked by mum. That's where the real butter and bitto cheese is used, and in high quantities.

When you can't get the homemade stuff, then the restaurant version will have to do. But not all restaurant version pizzoccheri are made equal. Some are definitely better than others. When we have friends in town and want to take them to sample pizzoccheri, we take them to Ai Tigli, in Teglio, the birthplace of pizzoccheri, not far from Sondrio.

And that's exactly where we ended up taking our friends from Milan, after they spent the night in the mountains. Well, the initial plan was to hike up the snowy trail to a Rifugio Palu and have lunch there, but it the day was just too cold. So the alternative? Go eat some more!

We started out with their affetati misti, which featured lardo that was totally melt-in-your-mouth. Why does fatty stuff always taste so good?

Then we had the other local specialty called sciatt. I also described them here and they are basically pieces of the local Casera cheese, coated in a buckwheat flour batter and deep-fried. They do it well here. Um... how to describe good sciatt? It's good when it's 'light' and not greasy even if deep-fried, with a slightly crispy outer layer and soft gooey inside? Well, I think you just have to eat them a couple times to know.

And then the pièce de résistance, pizzoccheri. The strands of buckwheat pasta deliciously coated with melted cheese and soft chunks of potatoes and cabbage. Yes, I've learnt to appreciate this rich dish. (On a side note, when my dad visited, he actually finished a whole plate of this and loved it. Totally unexpected considering how different this is from the Asian palate.)

Some others also ordered the polenta with meat, another typical dish of Northern Italy. It was good too. We had the Le Tense Sassella wine that is made from grapes grown on the slopes just across the valley from Stefano's home. A very good yet affordable wine.

Everyone was satisfied with their meal and vowed to come back.

Ristorante Ai Tigli
Via Besta, 1323036 Teglio (SO)

Full Moon at Tana Del Grillo

2010-04-07T21:57:00.009+02:00

Spring has definitely arrived, warm sun and flower-filled meadows and all, so let's make this the last snow-themed post of the season. This actually happened back in January but I never got a chance to blog about it. Just like in the winter of the previous year, our friends in Valtellina organized a dinner at Tana del Grillo, a mountain lodge in Valmalenco that specializes in wild meat. They also make sure it falls on a weekend where there is a full moon so we can also enjoy the winter wonderland effect created by the brilliant full moon reflecting off the snow. And because the lodge is set pretty high up in the mountains, it cannot be reached by car, but on foot or with a snowmobile or snowcat ride provided by the lodge.

This year we invited also some of our friends from Milan to join us for the unique experience. We decided to to drive up in the late afternoon so we could have a nice walk to the restaurant. We figured it would be nice to get some fresh air and exercise while enjoying the scenery before the big dinner.

It was cold, as cold as it looks in the pictures, maybe even more! We wrapped ourselves warmly and set out for the 6 km or 3.7 mile walk.

Some of us had backpacks. The restaurant also offers affordable rooms for lodging and our friends from Milan were going to stay overnight that night to complete the winter wonderland experience.

It was a nice walk although at one point the wind was really frosty. My face was frozen and I wondered at that point why we opted to walk rather than take the snowmobile ride. But it was worth it. I knew what was in store for us at dinner (mountain food isn't exactly low calorie cuisine) and the walk definitely helped build up an appetite and assuage some of the guilt.

Plus there were some snowballs thrown and silly pictures to be taken.

When we arrived, we had some time to kill while waiting for the rest of our party to arrive so we hung out in a sitting room upstairs and had some drinks. We ended up being a group of twenty. A hungry group of twenty.

First came a selection of appetizers. I was too busy eating and failed to take pictures of everything. This is the cotechino con vellutata di porri or cotechino in a leek cream sauce. Cotechino is a fresh sausage made of pork with lots of pork fat. Not exactly light, but very good with the leek sauce. We also had vitello tonnato or veal in a tuna and caper sauce (sounds strange but it's good and you can't really taste the tuna), pate di lepre or wild rabbit pate, and affetati misti or mixed cold cuts of prociutto, salami and the like. Let me say that it was all good and we were almost full at that point.

I don't have any pictures of the first dishes but everyone in our group pretty much ordered one of the following:
- ravioli di capriolo or ravioli with roe deer filling
- tagliatelle con ragu di cervo or tagliatelle with venison sauce
- pizzoccheri, the typical Valtelinese pasta dish
- risotto con la pernice rossa or risotto with red partridge

And because we were a large group, in addition to our own individual servings, they also offered us tastings of all the other dishes so we could taste the other ones as well. Even the 'tastings' were generous, and it felt like we had eaten four first dishes!

And then it was time for the second dish. I ordered the sella di capriolo or roe deer (not sure the technical term of the deer's back). I'd had it before and it was as perfectly tender as I remembered. Some others ordered the bistecca di cervo or steak of deer. Ok, I can't even begin to explain the difference between capriolo and cervo; the dictionary is not very descriptive. Does anyone know?

Lastly, dessert... I had a molten chocolate cake that was great. I was really stuffed by then. I don't remember what everyone else had. Finally coffee and a selection of grappa and digestif liquors including the local Braulio.

We ended the night with a snowcat ride back to our car. Our friends who stayed for the night took a short walk near the lodge, illuminated only by the moonlight. The next morning after breakfast, they got to ride out on a snowmobile. It was a fun mountain experience in the snow.

Tano del Grillo
Pian del Lupo
23023 Chiesa in Valmalenco (SO)

Company 10 Year Anniversary Dinner

2010-04-05T23:12:00.003+02:00

A couple weeks ago our Milan office reached its 10 year anniversary. To celebrate, our CEO visited and hosted an employee dinner at Bar Peck, a restaurant in downtown Milan. I must admit, there was some grumbling because of the inconvenient location (far from the office, no parking) and it being a week night. But despite that, most everyone made it to the restaurant at the appointed hour and in true Italian fashion, we were all smartly dressed. Suits and ties are definitely not the normal office attire for us engineers.

Unfortunately, our CEO's flight was delayed an hour so we passed the time mingling and eating way too many appetizers. There were all kinds of delicious finger food, cheese, breadsticks, meat balls... and the waiters were way too generous with the flow of prosecco sparkling wine. It was hard to resist the appetizers, as much as I wanted to save room for dinner. And my friend T ended up having 6-7 glasses of wine before dinner even started.

Finally our guest of honor arrived and we all proceeded to sit down for dinner. We had special menus for the event and the dishes were translated in English. Notice the wines served on the left.

For the sit-down appetizer, a primosale fresh cheese wrapped with grilled zucchini and bell peppers, with artichoke chips on the side. I liked the vegetables and the chips. The cheese was to me rather bland tasting.

The first dish was a risotto with zuchinni flowers and parmesan cheese crisp. It was good, and this is coming from someone who doesn't love eating rice in general.

For the second dish, we were served veal wrapped with speck, a ham from the Tyrol region of Italy near Austria. It looked fancy, but I found the meat a tad salty. This was served with a really good red wine - a Morellino di Scansano. It was the first time I had it and although I'm no wine expert, I can definitely recognize a good wine. It's too bad I'm such a light drinker!

The dessert creation was delicious. The presentation was lovely and I really enjoyed it, even though I was bursting at the seams at that moment. This was served with a dessert wine and followed with a selection of digestive liquors.

It turned out to be a very fun night out with our colleagues. This was a rare social event where none of the other halves were present. I think that along with the free-flowing alcohol all night helped everyone let loose a little. Can you tell which pictures were from the end of the night?

Buona Pasqua

2010-04-02T22:50:00.001+02:00

It's been a while since I last posted. What's been going on? Let's see, work has been consuming most of my time and energy during the work week. And it won't be letting up for months to come.

Then I decided enough procrastinating and enrolled myself to the local driving school. I just have to accept that neither my American nor my Malaysian driver licenses can be converted, and bite the bullet and go through the process to get an Italian license. So it's twice a week when I attend classes in the evening, and then there's the studying I need to do on my own on the weekends and evenings. I also have to practice driving stick shift again. I was 17 the last time I drove with manual gears... ugh! The most difficult part about the theoretical test is the language. I struggle during class trying to follow the instructor. Which means I really need to study on my own in order to stay afloat. And that's a struggle too. My dictionary is my new best friend. If only it can take the test for me!

Well, I'm glad it's the weekend. And not any weekend. It's Easter weekend! There's Easter Sunday followed by Pasquetta of 'little Easter' the day after. It's a holiday so I won't have to go to work, and although the weather forecast is predicting wet and dreary for Easter Sunday, the sun should be out for Monday. We don't have any big plans. Tomorrow we're having lunch in downtown Milan with the Malaysian group. I'm looking forward to meeting new friends and catching up with old ones. My expectations for the food are not too high (it's supposed to be Malaysian food) which means I just might be pleasantly surprised. And for the rest of the weekend we will be with S' family in Valtellina. We just might get one last ski run in.

Hope you have a wonderful Easter holiday filled with lots of chocolate eggs and bunnies! Buona Pasqua a tutti!

Carnivale a Venezia, Part II

2010-03-16T22:01:00.005+01:00

Venice during Carnavale is one colorful spectacle.

I tried to capture the scene as best as I could with my tiny compact. Well, it was definitely teeny tiny compared to the paparazzi type equipment around. At times, I had to elbow my way in just to get a shot. It sure left me feeling small and inadequate.

See what I mean?But it wasn't all that bad. We wandered around soaking in the atmosphere. Venice is always special with its canals and its ancient palazzi or palaces.

Even the masked revelers needed to stop for a break.

And so did we. We ended up stopping at a random restaurant and having a bad meal. We definitely need some recommendations for the next visit!

Soon it was time to head back towards the train station to catch our train back to Milan. Surprisingly, there were just as many people arriving at sundown as there were leaving. I suppose they were there for the parties that would go on long into the night. It had been a long day and we were happy to go home.

Carnival in Venice

2010-03-14T00:31:00.003+01:00

Neither of us have ever been to Venice during Carnavale, and we figured it was something to see at least once in a lifetime.

We decided to make it a day trip from Milan on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday. We caught the 8.30am train from Milano Centrale station and settled in for the 2.5 hour trip. The train was full that morning, with many of the passengers heading to Venezia.

When we arrived around 11am, Carnavale was already on in full force. I was worried that the tourists would outnumber the masks and costumes, but fortunately my fears were put to rest. There was plenty of colorful costumes to look at. I got to take alot of pictures and the crowds were actually not too bad.

Here are some of the better ones. Enjoy!

Agriturismo dei Baff, Valtellina

2010-03-09T22:27:00.000+01:00

The next day we were supposed to go for a walk in the snow up in the mountains. To, you know, try and walk off the dinner we had the night before. Unfortunately, the weather dawned foggy and rainy, so we met up with the group and did what anyone else would do in our position...

Go eat some more!

Or more specifically, what anyone in Valtellina would do... go eat pizzoccheri! Mara suggested the Agriturismo dei Baff in Ardenno, which is conveniently located on the way back for our friends who would later be returning to Milan.

The agriturismo is a real working farm where they raise their own animals. When we arrived, I spotted their horses in a pen went over to visit. There was a colt and his mother, both a pretty light brown and white color. Look at the sweet brown eyes and long eyelashes. Too bad I didn't have any carrots or apples to offer them.

This is a family run enterprise and we were greeted by one of the owners as we entered. He had a moustache, which made sense, since baffo or moustache is 'baff' in the local dialect. We were seated in the main dining room in a lovingly restored former mill. His son, a good-humored and amicable young man, took our orders. To start, we had an impressive platter of their own (from right to left) bresaola, prosciutto, salami and lardo.

Bresaola is air-dried salted beef that orignates from Valtellina. It is lean and is usually considered the healthy choice. I usually recognize it by its darker red color.

Prosciutto, a dry-cured ham we all know. There are two types, either prosciutto cotto, cooked, or prosciutto crudo, raw but because it is salt-cured, it is ready to eat. Outside of Italy, prosciutto usually refers to prosciutto crudo. I prefer prosciutto crudo that is less salty and more sweet.

Salami is air-dried cured sausage, also known as pepperoni in America. Do not make the mistake of ordering pepperoni pizza in Italy or you will end up with bell peppers or spicy peppers on your pizza.

Lardo is cured pig fat or lard. Usually white (it's all fat), soft and almost melts in your mouth.

On the side we were served a dish of pickled onions (yum) and a selection of ricotta and goat cheese accompanied by jam.

Next came taroz, another typical Valtellinese dish. Although I've heard of it, it was actually the first time I tried it. It is essentially potatoes with green beans, onion and cheese, all mashed together with a generous amount of butter. I love all things potatoes and so needless to say I'm now a fan of taroz.

We were washing down all the heavy mountain food of Valtellina with the agriturismo's own red wine.

Let me introduce you to the sciatt, pronounced 'shaat', another local specialty. They are pieces of Casera, a regional cheese, encased in a buckwheat flour batter and deep fried. In the Valtellina dialect sciatt means 'toad', recalling its irregular shape. They are usually served with a green salad, probably to offset the health implications of the deep frying. Be sure to eat them while their still warm so that the cheese filling remains nice and gooey.

We were already stuffed at this point but the main dish finally arrives. Pizzoccheri, the pasta dish that all Italians associate with Valtellina. The pasta is made with buckwheat flour and is a brownish gray color with black specks. It is cooked with a green, either cabbage or chard, and chunks of potato, and then mixed together garlic, local Bitto cheese and a very large amount of butter. This is definitely heart-stopping comfort food.

I've eaten enough sciatt and pizzoccheri to be able to distinguish the excellent from the mediocre and I would say both dishes were fairly average here. It may just have been an off day that day as according to Mara, a local whose family has frequented the place for years, it is usually better.

Here is the happy and satiated group. We were stuffed. I think most of us declined dessert.

After coffee, thanks to Mara, the owner led us down some steep steps to visit the old cantina or wine cellar. It's no longer used to store wine but was cool to see anyway.

Then he took us to see where they store and age their cheese. He is a cheese connoisseur and was very proud of their collection of cheese. The aging process also known as ripening transforms the texture of the cheese and intensify its flavor.

In another cellar, they store their cured meats made in-house. Here D tries to smuggle some in his coat pocket.

To end our tour, the owner presented us with a platter of different cheese so we could taste the cheese we had just seen. We could hardly eat anymore, but we couldn't refuse this opportunity to taste some exquisite selection of cheese. It was really generous of him.

It was already late afternoon by the time we left. Not before saying goodbye to the farm's new puppy dog. This little guy was so lucky with all the attention he was getting from everyone throughout the day.

If you're ever in the Valtellina area and would like a taste of some of the regional specialties, this is a good place to experience both good food and the genuine hospitality of the Cerasa family. In addition to the dishes I mentioned above, they also serve costine al lavecc or pork chops cooked in stone pot that many other tables were ordering.

Agriturismo Le Case dei Baff

Ardenno (Sondrio)

Ristorante Fracia, Valtellina

2010-03-07T22:23:00.000+01:00

Back in January our friend Daniele organized a gathering in Valtellina for the Italians who traveled with us to Malaysia for our wedding in November. It was a chance for the group from Milan to meet up with the group from Valtellina after the trip.

Dinner was organized at Ristorante Fracia, about 10km or 6 miles after Sondrio. The restaurant is housed in a converted farmhouse on a mountain slope surrounded by wineyards. In the summer, there is outdoor sitting with a view of the valley below. Inside the ambiance was warm and inviting.

For starters most of us had the salumi misti or selection of cold cuts. If I remember correctly, S had something with la lingua or tongue (beef, I think). It wasn't bad.

Instead of a first dish I had a second dish, filleto di manzo or beef filet that was good.

S had the guanciale di vitello con purea di patata or cheek of veal with mashed potatoes.

M ordered the risotto with foie gras which she said was great.

Although I enjoyed my meal, I thought the real star was dessert. There was a selection that included creme brulee, panna cotta, gelato, etc, and a pallina di cioccolato or a chocolate ball. The waiter described a truffle filling encased in a chocolate shell and well, it just sounded intriguing. Many of us just couldn't resist ordering it. The pallina arrived resting on a cachi or persimmon sauce.

It looked like a Kinder Surprise for adults. But wait, that wasn't all. The waiter then came round with a sauce or gravy boat filled with warm chocolate sauce. As soon as he spooned the warm sauce over, the ball would immediately start melting revealing the dark chocolate truffle filling.

It was a luscious chocolate dessert. Needless to say, I licked my bowl clean.

Ristorante Fracia
Teglio (Sondrio)

Sicilian Sweets and Where to Buy Them in Catania

2010-03-05T22:19:00.000+01:00

Ahhh... i dolci siciliani... the Sicilian sure love their sweets!

The pasticcerie are everywhere and even small bars will have a selection of cakes and pastries to soothe your sweet tooth. Many of the desserts are filled with ricotta, or made with almond paste.

And then there's the selection of chocolate covered nuts, chocolate truffles, and chocolate covered candied fruit.

Since it was citrus season, we had the mandarini sorbetto at two different places and found them really refreshing and delicious.

Sicily is also famous for its granita, a semi-frozen dessert of sugar, water and flavoring. The almond and pistacchio granita are my favorite. To me, a good almond/pistacchio granita is where you can taste real crushed nuts in the granita. No fake flavors for me! I can never decide which to have so I usually ask for half and half of each flavor. If only I had more time there, I'd surely have one of these every day.

On my last evening, I bought a selection of Sicilian cookies and pastries to share with colleagues at work.

And who can forget the famous Sicilian cannoli? The ones that S picked up from the pasticceria I Dolci di Nonna Vicenza or Grandma Vicenza's Sweets in Catania were fantastic. They have several locations but the branch at the airport in Catania is really convenient for travellers looking to bring home a local treat. There was a line while waiting for them to bring in another fresh delivery of cannoli at 7pm - that's how fresh they are. They pack it up for you to bring on the plane and some people were buying huge trays to take with them.

One might think, 'Pastries from the airport? They can't be any good!'.

But we, with the help of my colleagues, did a taste test with the pasta di mandorle, the ubiquitous Sicilian treat made of almond paste, bought from a few different bakeries. The ones from Nonna Vicenza, bought from the airport, won hands down. So do your friends and family a favor and bring home some of these treats the next time you're in Catania.

I Dolci di Nonna Vicenza

Catania Airport, past security, across from Gate 9

La Cambusa Del Capitano, Acitrezza, Sicily

2010-03-03T22:49:00.000+01:00

This was the restaurant we ended up eating at our first night in Catania. It was one that S had been to before, dieci anni fa (ten years ago) and it had been decent.

Only perhaps his tastes have changed since, or that the kitchen had deteriorated...

Anyway, in case you think that we always eat well whenever we go out, or that all restaurants here serve good food...

This is an example of when that is certainly not the case.

Our order of la pepate di cozze or mussels with pepper was a dissapointment. The mussels were fresh but the broth or lack of was not that great.

We also ordered a serving of involtini di pesce spada or swordfish rolls, a Sicilian specialty. The rolls were tiny, and came swimming in a dish of oil. It certainly did not taste fresh, or barely even like fish for that matter.

We both ordered pasta. I had a seafood spaghetti, and the pasta turned out to be non cotto or undercooked. If there's one thing that makes a pasta dish inedible, it's the raw taste of undercooked pasta. This was the first time this has ever happened to me, and as much as I tried I could not eat it.

S's pasta nero di seppia or pasta with squid ink was also slightly undercooked.

We certainly didn't stick around for dessert. The last straw was the bill which was definitely not cheap even by Milan standards. I had such high hopes for a good Sicilian seafood meal. We should've been tipped off by the fact that the restaurant was practically empty on a Saturday night.

Noto, Sicily

2010-03-01T22:21:00.000+01:00

After our late lunch, we decided to visit the town of Noto, which was also recommended by the restaurant owners. But first we made a stop at a pasticceria in another small town in the middle of nowhere to pick up some chocolates that we had tasted at the restaurant. That's how crazy we are when it comes to food but that's another story.

The roads through the country side were small and winding. By the time we arrived in Noto it was dark. But we were able to see the Baroque-style buildings all lit up.

The old Noto was destroyed in a violent earthquake in 1693, and was then completely rebuilt from scratch in an almost entirely Baroque style. We walked down the main street, Corso Vittoria Emanuele, from where we could see many of the crumbling Baroque palaces, churches and houses.

The restoration of the Duomo was recently completed and stands grandly on top of staircase. All the buildings were really grand and impressive.

At the time we were there, we were the only tourists around, probably because it was getting late and it was low season. I didn't see anyone else with a camera. The locals were definitely looking at us strange.

S recalled his last visit here with a colleague from Milan who was also there for work. They decided to pay Noto a visit one evening after work. Imagine the scene: two young clean cut men who were clearly from the North, strolling the streets of Noto. They had fit the perfect image of two new carabinieri (a special branch of the armed forces with police functions) in town and the locals were all looking at them with suspicion and distrust. This time around, we were feeling rather conspicuous, but probably nothing like S' last visit.

I Papassini Sardi

2010-02-27T00:39:00.006+01:00

Ahhh... the annual papassini project...

We missed this last year as we were busy with the wedding stuff. And I blogged about the process in detail when we made the last batch here. Wow, was that really in 2007?

Actually, this time Stefano and his mum did most of the work. He had taken the day off to go skiing and by the time I arrived by train from Milan on Friday night, the papassini were already baking in the oven. He smelt yummy, like vanilla and anise when he came to pick me up from the station.

But I got to help out with, in my opinion, the best part. The sugar glaze topping.

What's not to love about the shiny and creamy sugary topping? I had to hold myself back from licking clean the entire bowl of leftover glaze.

And the colorful dragees are just wonderful.

Trattoria La Foglia, Ortigia, Siracusa

2010-02-25T22:16:00.000+01:00

We were hungry after all that walking. Ortigia, with its plentiful restaurants, was the perfect place to stop. Unfortunately, many of the recommended restaurants that we found online were closed on Sundays. We wandered around and found the Trattoria La Foglia on a side street. S had a vague memory of having eaten here once.

The restaurant is decorated in a charming and eclectic way with antique furniture, handmade linens and mismatched plates and glasses. I would've called it an elegant shabby chic style. S simply described it as 'messy'. haha.

I ordered the sarde beccafico which came with a side of caponata which I absolutely adored. Caponata is a Sicilian dish using eggplant, red peppers, capers and celery, and depending on the local variation, pine nuts and raisins, in a sweet and sour sauce. The owner explained that the eggplant is first deep-fried. Ah hah! No wonder it tasted so good. Aren't all things deep-fried?

The sarde beccafico is also another typical Sicilian dish, where sardines are filled with breadcrumbs, pine nuts, breadcrumbs and sometimes raisins. Some lemon juice and sugar give it a sour-sweet taste. Of course, there are variations depending on which part of Sicily you're in. The rendition here, in my mind, paled in comparison to the version I had on the island of Favignana two summers ago.

S had the pasta con le sarde or pasta with sardines, which in Sicilian style is prepared with sardines, fennel, pinenuts and breadcrumbs. It was good, but not as good as S remembered.

We finished the meal with homemade desserts. Their granita with mandarini was fabulous with bright citrus flavors. I had the torta della ricotta wich was really good as well. The bill came up to around 50 euro which was rather pricey for what we had (no wine), but Ortigia itself seemed like an expensive/touristy area. The family-owned restaurant had character though. The owner was rather eccentric and at times brusque, while his wife was really soft-spoken and sweet. Their daughter is the cook in the kitchen.

Trattoria La Foglia
Via Giuseppe Maria Capodieci 21
96100 Siracusa

Ortigia, Siracusa

2010-02-24T23:11:00.001+01:00

The town of Siracusa itself was nothing special. As we drove around (we were lost) we saw some parts of town that looked very ghetto and run-down. The nice part of town is in Sirucasa's old city which is just across a bridge on the island of Ortigia.

Ortigia is full of narrow streets, buildings with historical facades and crumbling palazzos. It is as usual closed to traffic which makes for a very nice place to walk and explore. The Duomo is an impressive sight, built in a cream colored stone.

The Piazza Duomo is also paved with the smooth stone and there were a number of children around on their roller blades. In the late afternoon, there were locals and tourists alike taking part in the daily passagiata ritual.

Another church on the other side of the piazza. It's a little hard to see from the picture but there were orange and lemon trees hanging off the terrace on the left.

Walking along the city walls, we could hear the sound of waves crashing on the waves. I can only imagine the scene in the warm summer months when the many cafes and restaurants spill out into the sidewalks.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that these historical towns are not just tourist attractions but places where actual people live.

This is the town where the scientist Archimedes once ran through the streets shouting 'Eureka!', and where the Arabs, Byzantines, Swabs and Spanish have all called home. With its rich history and Siracusa is definitely worth a stop on your Sicilian itinerary.

DMB in Milan

2010-02-23T23:22:00.001+01:00

Last night we caught the Dave Matthews Band at the Palasharp stadium in Milan. It was my first time at this venue and from outside, it looked pretty ugly - a big ol' slab of concrete. But my excitement grew after we entered. It was small! We didn't have any problems finding seats that were close to the stage, around 10th row to the right of the stage. The view was fantastic compared to the last time I saw them at Shoreline in Mountain View. I could see their faces, no screens required.

And as usual, they did not dissapoint and played a fantastic show. In addition to the core band members, they also had Jeff Coffin, an amazing saxophone player and Rashawn Ross, a talented trumpet player. All together, DMB sounded as good I remembered, probably even better.

Dave was in a good mood, joking with the crowd about Italian food, wine and women. I really had a great time. Now being in Europe, I'm missing out on concerts in general but getting to see DMB in such a small venue? Priceless.

Proudest Monkey
Satellite
You Might Die Trying
Funny The Way It Is
Seven
Squirm
Crash (Into Me)
So Damn Lucky
Lying In the Hands of God
Why I Am
Dancing Nancies
Shake Me Like a Monkey
Jimi Thing
Burning Down The House
You and Me
Don't Drink the Water
__________________
Baby Blue
Everyday
Ants Marching

Orecchio di Dionisio, Siracusa, Sicily

2010-02-21T23:18:00.002+01:00

Our admission ticket to the Teatro Greco also included a visit to the Orecchio di Dionisio, or the Ear of Dionysius.

Right next to the theater is the Latomia del Paradiso or the Paradise Quarry. It is filled with lush green vegetation and lemon trees. The lemon trees were weighed down with fruit and Stef was tempted to pick some lemons.

A short walk and we arrived at the famous cave called the Orecchio di Dionisio. The cave was most likely formed out of an old limestone quarry. It is a large cave and you can see that from the perspective of this picture.

The shape is like that of a ear, hence the name. And because of this shape, the accoustics is really good so even a small whisper will resonate through the cave.

In one legend, the tyrant Dionysius used the cave as a prisonfor political dissidents where the acoustics allowed him to eavesdrop on the prisoners. Another legend claims that Dionysius carved the cave in order to amplify the tortured screams of the prisoners.

And finally there's the possibility that the cave was formed naturally by rainwater run-off due to its position. That seems plausible. Why would someone go through the trouble of carving out such a huge cave for no apparent practical reason? I guess this answer will remain a mystery.

Teatro Greco, Siracusa, Sicily

2010-02-20T11:58:00.003+01:00

The next day was Sunday, my second and last full day in Sicily. We didn't think we'd actually have been able to see so much the day before, but we did and we were playing it by ear and going at a leisurely pace. So after breakfast (they make a mean cappuccino at the hotel, mmm) we decided to drive south to visit Siracusa.

With the completion of the brand spanking new highway connecting Catania and Siracusa, it took only a little over an hour to get there. Our first stop, the Greek Theatre just outside the town center. If you visit, do not ignore the signs to buy tickets at the bus station across the street, even if you do not see anyone collecting tickets at the entrance to the archaelogical park. They ask for your ticket inside by the Greek Theatre, at which point you have to walk all the way back out and across the street to buy your entry ticket. It escapes logic why they don't sell the tickets by the theater, and we weren't the only ones who made this mistake.

Anyway, the theater is one of the largest of its kind. Cut directly into the rock, it is still in use even today for plays performed in the summer.

From the top you can catch a glimpse of the sparkling blue bay in the distance.

We also visited the Anfiteatro Romano of Roman Amphitheater located near the main entrance to the park. It's a little more overgrown and unkempt but worth a look just the same.

Taormina, Sicily

2010-02-17T22:56:00.001+01:00

After our little snack break, we hopped in the car and drove back down towards Taormina. Taormina is another town where they do not allow cars of non-residents to enter. We parked in a lot outside and walked towards the city walls.

I've heard of Taormina, and that it was a beautiful town to visit.

And it was, with the well-preserved historical buildings and the narrow streets lined with stores and restaurants, many of them high end.

One of the pasticcerie or bakeries had this enticing display of frutta martorana, which are made of marzipan, a typical Sicilian specialty. Don't they look so realistic? They look almost too pretty to eat. This is one dolce or sweet that I have yet to try.

There were various piazzas that opened up into terraces with sweeping views of the coast. At sunset, it was easy to see why so many people were enchanted with this town.

A church on one of the piazzas.

And the charming stone stairways were lined with citrus trees.

And I loved seeing Mount Etna towering in the backdrop.

The town was fairly quiet in the off-season and I liked it that way. I can only imagine the bustling crowds of tourists in the summer.

Bar Turrisi, Castelmola

2010-02-16T22:37:00.000+01:00

*Warning - this post may contain some graphical content of sensitive nature. Proceed at your own risk.

S discovered Bar Turrisi during his last trip to Catania, 10 years ago. The town of Castelmola is small and the bar just off of Piazza Duomo is hard to miss.

From the outside it looks like a regular bar. But as soon as you step inside, the theme is apparent. Can you guess what it is?

All three floors were filled with an eclectic array of antiques, all following the theme of course. It was a little hard to ignore while I looked the menu over.

It is depicted in an exaggerated manner on everything from the table lamps to the chairs and the bathroom faucets.

This is probably not the place for you if you're one to be easily offended.

But if you're up for some good laughs, this is definitely a unique spot and a must-do if you're ever in the area. They serve appetizers, pizza, pasta, paninos, alcoholic beverages and of course coffee.

We had a coffee and a granita and it was pretty good. :-)

Castelmola, Sicily

2010-02-15T23:07:00.001+01:00

After we visited the 'Aci'-towns (Aci Castello and Acireale) we continued our drive up the Sicilian coast towards the famous town of Taormina.

We passed more trucks selling oranges. At this point, I had a real craving for one of those juicy-looking fruits.

We stopped at a road-side store and bought some mandaranci, which are essentially a cross between mandarins and oranges. We ate them in the car and they were so good. Sweet, juicy and tasty, fresh from the source.

And the scenery along the drive was not bad at all.

After about 40 minutes, Taormina and Castelmola, perched on the cliffs, came into view.

We decided to first visit Castelmola, which lay high above Taormina. The road up was windy. We had to park in a lot near the top as the road into town is open only to residents. This was our ride while in Sicily - the Fiat Panda.

We walked up into the charming little town, and then climbed the steps to the very top where the ruins of the thirteenth-century castle remain. I realize I didn't really take any pictures of the castle. But the 360-degree views were spectacular.

Looking down towards Taormina and Isola Bella.

And to the southwest, my first view of Mount Etna. It had been covered up by clouds and fog all day and I had been on the wrong side of the plane when we landed. It is the largest active volcano in Europe at 3,329 metres (10,922 ft) high. I was overwhelmed by how big it was. It towers over Catania and its surroundings.

One last look at the beautiful views and then we headed back down towards the town. There was an interesting bar that S visited 10 years ago that he wanted to take me to.

Looking down towards the main piazza. Isn't the mosaic pattern pretty?

Gong Hei Fat Choy!

2010-02-14T14:25:00.001+01:00

That is the greeting that is heard through out the Chinese New Year festivities. This year the first day of the Year of the Tiger falls on February 14, 2010. It will be a quiet one for us this year, compared to last year when we were back home for the holidays.

It had been years and years (10, I think) since the last time I had celebrated CNY back home. For some reason, my trips back never coincided with the holiday, or was I fearing the relatives' inevitable and relentless questions about my single status...

Anyway, it was just as I remembered. The festive gathering of relatives, new clothes, lots of eating, the many rounds of loh sang*, and the angpow red packets. Us 'kids' also had to make sure we greeted each relative nice and loud with their correct title, like tai ku ma, sei ku jeong, sam suk, yi sum, sai yi or dad's oldest sister, husband of dad's fourth sister, dad's third younger brother, wife of dad's second younger brother, mom's youngest sister.

And the best part, getting to spend time with family, many of whom you'd only get to see once a year.

Wishing you a healthy and prosperous Year of the Tiger!

* yee sang - It is a tradition in Singapore and Malaysia to loh sang during the Chinese New Year. It is supposed to kick start an auspicious new year by collectively mixing the raw fish salad ingredients with chopsticks while saying phrases like "prosperity in the new year" "good health" "to a healthy stock market" and all that. ;-)

Aci Castello and Acireale, Sicily

2010-02-08T22:58:00.001+01:00

After fueling ourselves up, we continued walking around downtown Catania and then decided to drive up the coast north of Catania. Along the road, we passed by more oranges and other produce being sold off the back of trucks.

We passed the Ognina area, where S used to stay when he came for work ten years ago. Soon we arrived in Aci Castello. (Isn't it a funny sounding name? Like... ahhhh chooo! ...castello).

What's there to see here? Well, the Castello di Aci was hard to miss.

It's perched high up on a rocky outcropping. Luckily it was closed, so I didn't have to walk up to the top. I was feeling rather lethargic from lunch and the early morning. As we got closer, we could see how the castle forms a really sharp edge on one side. Makes it that much harder for intruders, I suppose.

Back in the car we continued our way past Aci Trezza and end up in Acireale. This seemingly normal town in fact is home to a pretty grand-looking cathedral.

At right next to it is the Piazza del Duomo with more beautiful looking buildings.

It was early afternoon and rather dead while we were there. I imagine the piazza would come alive later on with the locals taking part in their ritual passagiata or 'little walk'.

Arancini and more

2010-02-05T23:34:00.001+01:00

After wandering around the market, I realized I was ravenous. I hadn't eaten anything since waking up at 5 that morning! We set off looking for food, and decided to stop at one of the many pasticceria/tavola calda or bakery/'hot table' places that abound in Sicily. In places like these, you can get coffee, a brioche or croissant for breakfast, or choose from the many snack foods that are either kept warm or heated up.

A typical Sicilian snack that I did not want to go home without eating was the arancino. These are fried balls of rice filled with a variety of fillings, such as ragu or meat sauce, tomato sauce, or prosciutto and mozarella. The name arancino comes from the size and shape of the snack that is reminiscent of an orange, called arancia in Italian.

In the Catania area, we noticed they were more of a cone shape (bottom left on the dish) while in other parts of Sicily they are more round like an orange. Also, my Sicilian colleague Tony explained that in Agrigento where his family is from, they are called arancine, the feminine form of the orange, which makes sense since arancia is feminine. And because of this, he deduced that the arancine must have originated come from his part of Sicily. Ahh... makes sense!

My arancino hit the spot. S had a pastry that were filled with a mushroom filling that he really enjoyed. And for dessert, these mushroom shaped cupcake-like pastries that the man at the counter called simply 'ricotta'.

Yes, the filling was ricotta and it was delicious. A good, cheap and filling lunch.

Going to the Market in Catania

2010-02-04T22:56:00.002+01:00

I had heard of Catania's markets and wanted to see it. Only S had never been and we didn't have a map. So just outside the duomo, S spotted an older couple with shopping bags and stopped them to ask about the market. They were locals and were really friendly, proudly telling us about their city and the sights to see.

Turns out the market was just around the corner from the piazza. And around that corner, behind the Fontana dell' Amenano, there was a whole different scene.

It was alive with people, the many stalls, the colorful chaos of the fishmongers who were definitely not shy about shouting out their catch of the day.

It sure doesn't get any fresher than this. Shrimp, octopus, squid, sea urchin, and countless varieties of fish and shellfish were being sold.

And the prices were so reasonable. We saw big fresh shrimp that were going for 20euros/kg, while in Milan would surely have been twice the price.

Look at the giant swordfish that is widely used in Sicilian cooking.

The fish market definitely reminded me of the markets in Asia. Wet floors, slightky stinky, chaotic.

One does not live on fish alone so there were also the macellerie or the butchers.

They sure have no qualms about displaying their wares 'whole'.

The sign says 'castrato' or castrated. We had no idea what meat exactly they were selling. There were many stores selling meat and the butchers were hard at work cutting and slicing the meat in clear view.

This guy was churning out fresh sausages.

Business was good and there were throngs of people lining up and getting their orders. Um... 'cavallo' or horse meat anyone?

And further on, the ortolani or vegetable vendors. The selection of vegetables were bountiful.

I was in awe of these cavoli or cauliflower. I've never seen the purple variety. I was so tempted to buy one to try but these things were huge and they would've taken up too much luggage space.

I wonder what they taste like?

By now our tummies were rumbling and we went off in search of food. More on my weekend in Sicily coming up!

Catania, Sicily

2010-02-03T22:33:00.000+01:00

We had taken the early morning flight from Malpensa. That had meant waking up before 5am and heading out to the airport at an ungodly hour. But the good thing was after an hour and a half flight, it was still early by the time we touched down in Catania, picked up our rental car (a Panda!) and checked in to our hotel room.

After a short rest, we headed out to visit downtown Catania. It was a beautiful sunny day. The temperature was about 10C or 50F warmer than Milan.

Right away, I spotted the brightly colored oranges that were being sold on the road side. The citrus season was in full swing and they were plentiful.

And they didn't cost very much either!

We parked and walked along Via Aetna, a historical main street that led to the centro or center of town.

At one point, the street is closed to pedestrians only. There were some polizia here patroling on horses

We ended up at the Piazza del Duomo. At the very center stands the symbol of Catania, a lava stone statue portraying an elephant that is also known as 'liotru'.

And across from the elephant was the very grand St Agatha cathedral. It is dedicated of course to St Agatha, the patroness saint of the city.

It was just as beautiful inside as it was outside.

And on the south side of the piazza was the Fontana dell' Amenano fountain. The interesting thing is that the water from the fountain falls into a river that flows underneath the city.

The last time S was here, it was ten years ago for work. He spent several months in the area at that time so this trip brought back some memories.

Next up, a fish market just behind this fountain.

One Last Pit Stop - Fontanellato, Parma

2010-01-30T21:49:00.076+01:00

After a coffee with N, it was time to get back on the road. We hooked up the gps and gawked at the number of kilometers: 591 or 367 miles. It seemed like a long way home, at least by Italian standards. Back in my American days, we used to do that many miles with barely a blink of an eye.

Our car was now laden with the fresh cheese, and snacks from N. A Pugliese olive and onion torta or pie and a bag of taralli, a twisted breadstick type snack found in Puglia. These were deliciously seasoned with fennel and helped make our trip go by faster.

Along the way, the iPhones were whipped out and our next stop was selected. The choice was based entirely on restaurant reviews. The winner? The town of Fontanellato in Parma, perfectly situated so we could have dinner and be home an hour or so later.

It was dark by the time we arrived. It wasn't quite dinner time yet so we killed some time visiting the small town's landmark castle. The Rocca Sanvitale castle is one straight out of a fairytale. It is surrounded by a water-filled moat, and connected with a drawbridge.

Then it was time to eat. The restaurant was Trattoria Teatro, just a stones throw away from the castle. For starters, we had their own house mixed salumi plate, served with crispy fried polenta bits.

Then we had tortelli, the pasta that the Parma region is most known for. I had the tortelli di erbetta or herbed filled tortelli that was good. The boys had a tortelli in brodo or tortelli in broth that they enjoyed. However the consensus was that it wasn't as good as the dish S had at Trattoria Petito in Forli at the very beginning of our road trip.

I don't remember if we had dessert. Did we have dessert? A semifreddo perhaps?

Soon we were speeding back towards Milan. Our road trip had finally come to an end. New Year's 2010 has indeed been a memorable one!

Trattoria Teatro

Piazza Giuseppe Verdi 5, Fontanellato 43012 (PR)

Burrata from Andria, Puglia

2010-01-29T21:40:00.003+01:00

Only a short drive inland from Trani lays the town of Andria. We were excited to meet N in her hometown, but the real reason we had to stop here before heading back to Milan?

The burrata.

You see, Andria is the birthplace of the burrata, the rich and creamy cousin of the mozzarella.

I first met the burrata during my very first visit to Italy some years ago. S knew of a shop that made them fresh in Milan. It was sweet and creamy, a sort of mozzarella inside a mozzarella, and it left a indelible inprint in my memory. Not all mozarella is created equal and a good burrata outside of Puglia is even harder to find. Now here we were where the burrata was invented. And if there's one thing I've learnt in Italy, it's that nothing is ever as good than at its source. There's something about the air, the ingredients, the craftsmanship that is impossible to replicate elsewhere.

We picked up N outside her home and she led us to her favorite caseificio or dairy store. As we drove through the town, we saw countless of caseificio's, many of them packed with people. But we were excited and confident that N was taking us to the best of the best.

We arrived at the store to find this. The locals sure love their cheese.

While waiting, I looked at the price list of their offerings.

And studied the contents of the glass cases.

But the real action was happening behind the counter in the laboratory. There were several cheesemakers hard at work making the various fresh cheeses. The burratas were definitely being made fresh to order. Hence the long wait. We watched as one cheesemaker painstakingly forms each ball of mozzarella with his hands, and then stretches it to form a small pouch. He then fills it with cream and stracciatella, which is basically shredded mozarella strands left to soak in cream. Finally, he closes the pouch with a knot on top.

We picked up a selection of burrata, stracciatella and ricotta cheese. We told them we were traveling and they packaged it all neatly with some ice in a styrofoam box. I suppose it is not such an uncommon request. It took 45 minutes to get out the door with our purchases but we were happy campers. Here we are outside the store with our friend N, proudly holding the prized goods.

And here's a picture of the lovely milky burrata on our kitchen table the day after.

It was definitely worth the trouble.

Caseificio Domenic Asseliti E De Fato

Andria, Puglia

Trani, Puglia

2010-01-28T21:36:00.040+01:00

The next morning was a Saturday and it was the day we were going to head back to Milan. We wanted to avoid any possibility of running into traffic on the highways from other holiday travelers. We had a leisurely breakfast and then packed up the car with our luggage.

We had the whole day ahead of us and what's a road trip without some impromptu stops? We actually only had one planned stop, and that was to stop and say ciao to our friend N who was home for the holidays in her town of Andrea. As we exited the highway, we spotted a sign for Trani and decided to check it out.

Trani was one of the most important trading port in the Adriatic Sea in the Middle Ages. The landmark is the breathtaking cathedral by the seaside, built in local white limestone.

Even the inside is of white limestone. It's hard to imagine that such a building was built in the 1200s.

We admired the cathedral and the harbor view, breathed in the salty air and continued on our way.

I Sassi di Matera, Basilicata

2010-01-27T21:19:00.004+01:00

We had just spent our entire afternoon on the first day of the New Year eating and visiting our friend's hometown of Palo del Colle. It was already dark and a frosty wind had picked up. My belly was full and I would've been perfectly happy to call it a day, but S and D had other ambitious plans. They wanted to visit one more town, Matera, which was supposed to be less than an hour away. And even better, Matera's location in Basilicata, a region neighboring Puglia. Perfect for checking off another region on our roadtrip.

So we arrived after an unecessary detour on a deserted country road. Our gps unit desperately needs a map update. We wandered around trying to find what we were looking for. The air was cool and crisp and the moon shone brightly in the clear sky.

We ended up having to ask some locals. Finally we found what we really came to see: the famous 'sassi di Matera' or the stones of Matera. A UNESCO world heritage site, these are houses that are dug into the rock itself, and believed to be the first signs of human settlement in Italy.

We had this beautiful night view of the sassi. The area is actually larger than the picture depicts. It's hard to imagine people living in homes that are over 9,000 years old. This was just a quick stop. Soon we were speeding back towards our hotel outside of Giovinazzo. We need to come back to see it in daylight.

Hello, Catania!

2010-01-22T20:21:00.000+01:00

Finally, my weekend can start! I'm about to leave the office after another long day. Tomorrow we're hopping on a low-cost flight that will take us to the city of Catania in Sicily. S has to work there next week and we decided to go and make a weekend of it. I'll be back on Monday morning and going straight to the office though, so it'll be a short trip for me. I've never been there and I'm hoping for some warm sunny weather and most of all, some good eats. ;-)

Have a great weekend!

New Year's Day Lunch in Palo del Colle

2010-01-19T22:31:00.011+01:00

Back to our trip to Puglia.

It was the first day of the New Year and we had just visited Santo Spirito and Giovinazzo. Now it was time for lunch with M's family again. This time his older brother E, his wife F, as well as V's mother joined us.

source: DB

We again had lots to eat. I don't know how his mother does it. We were just there till way past midnight the night before and the very next day she had managed to prepare another huge feast for over ten people.

We started eating around 2.30pm. D commented that he'd never eaten lunch that late. Not that we were hungry... we were still full from last night's meal. There was a fresh cheese selection, olives and smoked salmon to start. Then homemade oriecchiete pasta with the tomato sauce of the famous Pugliese braciole or meat roll dish. First we had the pasta with the sauce that the meat rolls are cooked in, then the meat rolls themselves are served. If you recall, we had it once in Milan prepared by V herself. Now this was her future mother-in-law's version.

source: DB

This was a dish made with years and years of experience and tradition. It seemed like every family has their own 'trade secret'... that little tweak to the recipe or an addition of a special ingredient to make theirs better. It was delicious of course!

Then we had some sausages made from veal from a local macelleria or butcher. These were cooked on a grill right in the camino or fireplace in the corner of their kitchen.

source: DB

They were really really good. And that's coming from me who's not a huge fan of sausages in general.

For dessert, there was a cake, sort of the local version of the St Honore, and this traditional dessert which I absolutely cannot remember the name of. Anyone? Basically it is a pastry topped with a warm sugary syrup. And of course, another bottle of spumante was opened to toast the New Year.

By the time we finished all that, it was almost 6pm. The 'kids' decided to go for a walk and get coffee at a neighborhood bar. We got a walking tour of their lovely town, Palo del Colle. I was impressed with the many beautiful churches and historical buildings in this relatively unknown town of 20k inhabitants.

When we got back, the family dog, Laika, was there to greet us. Isn't she the sweetest thing?

I really enjoyed the warm welcome and hospitality of M's family and the peek into the local life. Thank you so much and we hope to be back for a visit soon!

More Skiing

2010-01-18T22:09:00.004+01:00

We had to take advantage of the beautiful sunny weather. So the next day we headed outdoors again, this time for cross-country skiing.

Look at the beautiful view driving up. We were headed to our usual cross-country spot in San Giuseppe in the Valmalenco valley.

They must've had some fresh snowfall because there was an amazing layer of clean and powdery soft snow all over.

What I like about cross-country skiing:
1) Light equipment - skis, boots and poles that weigh much much less compared to downhill gear. So much easier to get from parking lot to starting point
2) 'Soft' boots - you can actually walk around in them unlike the stiff clunky downhill boots
3) Lower cost - where we go, the course is free. Elsewhere, it's usually only 3-4 euro per entry. And the gear generally costs less than downhill equipment.
4) Good workout - you can work up a good sweat in two hours or less. Great, if you're short on time. And it uses muscles in the shoulders, back, abs, butt, legs - an excellent all-around aerobic exercise.
5) Lower risk - there's less risk of serious injury compared to downhill skiing. Fewer steep slope = slower speeds.
6) Nature - all that and you get to enjoy the snow and the beautiful outdoors.

That's a good number of reasons!

I'm still practicing my skating technique. I think I'm very slowly getting the hang of it. It's tough teaching an old dog new tricks!

Skiing at Oga, Bormio

2010-01-17T17:03:00.003+01:00

It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day!

This was one of many ski areas in the area. I was amazed how quiet it was on a Saturday afternoon. Here, the month of January is usually considered low season, as people are generally recovering from the holidays, and apparently it's too cold.

I am happy to report that there's nothing broken, and that I haven't forgotten how to ski downhill. Of course, I'm still nowhere near expert (there were some hairy moments when confronted with some steep slopes... I blame my scaredy-cat tendencies!) but overall I'm decent enough where I can still have fun.

My favorite was at the very top where there was lots of fresh snow and wide open trails.

Wasn't it just a gorgeous day?

This was at Oga, in the Bormio ski area. I rented my ski equipment and got some nice gear at 13 euros for a half day rental. Much nicer stuff than the standard rentalsat Tahoe. We did the pomeridiano, or the afternoon session, and the lift ticket cost us ~19 euro. The prices are higher for the bigger resorts but overall are really not that bad, especially if you have your own skis.

Buon Weekend!

2010-01-16T00:20:00.004+01:00

Wow, the week just flew by. Work kept my days long and busy. And then there was our tree that had to go back for recycling, which was the only reason we could be found wandering the aisles of Ikea on a Monday night. But we made it in and out in record time. We were home by 9pm. Phew!

Then on Wednesday night we had some family and friends over for dinner. F lives and works in Milan, but is home in the valley most weekends. He lives just upstairs from Stef, and when we were there last weekend, he mentioned he'd never even been to our home in Milan. So we said, come on over this Wednesday! We also invited our friends D and N to join us.

We had the Calabrian spreads that we bought at the Fiera in Dec, pasta with smoked salmon, and artichoke pastry, all washed down with the red and white wines that N and F brought.

And to finish off the night, these gelato dessert cups that D brought. They tasted as good as they looked. Stefo also pulled out his latest batch of limoncello and limoncello cream.

Nothing like good food and good company to make the week go by even faster.

We're back in the mountains for the weekend. Tomorrow will be my first time downhill skiing in the Italian Alps. I hope to keep my klutziness to a minimum. Let's not even talk about me running smack into a door while going to the kitchen for water in the night. Yes, it looked like I got beat up, no thanks to the swollen lip.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Giovinazzo, Puglia

2010-01-11T23:11:00.001+01:00

We still had a little time to kill before heading over to M's house for lunch. Yes, we were invited to eat with the family again. So we decided to drive to the next seaside town nearby called Giovinazzo.

We were quite impressed. All the locals spoke highly of this town and rightly so.

We wandered around the historical part of town that was beautiful and very well restored.

I loved the green shutters on many of the buildings.

I wondered how they got all the residents to agree to paint their shutters green. I guessed, free green paint? I mean, we can't even get our apartment complex to agree on installing road bumps, not to mention a whole town.

I was quite amazed with how clean it was in all the towns we had visited in the region thus far. I had expected different, but I suppose I've been influenced by the preconceptions of the Italians from the north.

Santo Spirito, Puglia

2010-01-10T22:09:00.002+01:00

After the festivities the night before, we woke up and had a leisure breakfast at the hotel before driving over to Santo Spirito, a town just a few minutes away from where we were staying. Santo Spirito is a fishing village, and there were a number of colorful fishing boats in the harbor.

The first day of the new year was another beautiful and sunny day in Puglia. We walked to the main piazza where there were many locals enjoying the day.

We knew that this was the hometown of one of our coworkers, R, and that he was home for the holidays. Stef decided to surprise him and gave him a call. He was surprised alright and it took him only a few minutes for him to leave his house to join us.

We also got to meet his dad. His father is a fisherman and happened to be nearby in the piazza. He was smartly dressed in his Sunday best, in a suit, tie and hat, as were the other gentlemen meeting in the piazza.

It was really nice seeing R in his own hometown.

Capodanno in Puglia

2010-01-09T23:30:00.001+01:00

Now where did we leave off? Yes, it was capodanno or New Year's Eve and we were in Puglia. Most of the restaurants were offering il cenone or 'big dinner' for the occasion, which usually meant big crowds, mediocre food, silly hats, entertainment and well, high prices. We weren't really interested. Instead, M invited us to his family home for dinner. We were honored and thrilled.

His parents and younger brother warmly welcomed us to their beautiful home. His mother in typical Pugliese tradition really outdid herself in the kitchen.

We started off with homemade foccaccia with tomatoes and a Pugliese torta filled with olives, onions and anchovies.

An assortment of local fresh cheeses: mozarella, ricotta, stracciatella and I can't remember what else.

Oriecchiete con cime di rape, or 'little ears' pasta with rapa, a local vegetable. This pasta dish is synonymous with the region of Puglia. The pasta was handmade by mum herself.

Dario could not resist a second helping.

Too.much.food...

A second primo or first dish of spaghetti with scampi. Really good. I was already full from the appetizer but this was impossible to resist. Plus, I wouldn't want to offend our hosts!

We were so lucky to be there!

Picture with the family. The stove and sink is actually in a little corner behind the wall on the right of the warm fireplace. It's tiny but obviously works as M's mom kept bringing out delicious food.

We looked up at the clock and realized it was almost midnight! M jumped to action bringing out the firecrackers.

The last couple minutes was a frenzy as the guys tried to figure out how the firecrackers worked while running around trying to decide which terrace to set them off from. The volume on the TV was turned up high so we could hear the countdown.

At the stroke of midnight, the explosion of fireworks went off all around us. It seemed like every family had their own set of fireworks. Some were really LOUD and others quite elaborate and colorful exploding high up in the sky. In the distance we could see the fireworks going off in the neighboring town of Bitonto. I was quite amazed by the display and noise. This went on for quite a bit. Buon anno! Auguri!

We also all had a plate of lenticche or lentils, an Italian tradition to usher in good luck in the new year. Their round shape is reminiscent of coins, so bring in the wealth!

A champagne toast for the new year!

And last but not least, M pulled out his stash of cigars and for a celebratory puff. What a night!

Fields of Olive in Puglia

2010-01-08T22:35:00.001+01:00

This was the common landscape while we were driving around Puglia. Beautiful fields of olive trees, stretching far as the eye can see, some so old and gnarly that they must surely be hundreds of years old.

Polignano al Mare

2010-01-07T23:28:00.000+01:00

Our tummies were rumbling so we headed from Alberobello over to Polignano al Mare, where M knew of a good restaurant.

We were greeted by a statue of Domenico Modugno, singer, songwriter and actor, most known for his hit song Volare (Nel Blu di Pinto di Blu). This was his beautiful hometown.

Lunch was at Il Bastione, a seafront restaurant at the Covo dei Saraceni hotel.

The food and the service was excellent. We shared two appetizers to start. Gamberi crudi or prawns that were fresh and sweet to taste.

Impepata di cozze or mussels with pepper, in a fragrant celery and onion broth. We just couldn't resist mopping up the broth with the Pugliese bread on the table.

What a great start. We admired the view of the town outside while waiting for our main dishes. This fishing village is built on limestone rock perched above the sea.

My fritto misto or fried seafood was delicious. The lightly battered fish, calamari and shrimp was some of the best I've ever tasted.

S had the zuppa di pesce or 'fish soup', mixed seafood and tomato stew. Also very good, thanks to the fresh ingredients.

We finished up with a refreshing lemon sorbetto that absolutely hit the spot. Then to help digest all the goodness, we took a walk around the town.

All too soon the sun was setting and it was time to go get ready for the upcoming capodanno or new year's eve festivities.

La Befana

2010-01-06T23:08:00.004+01:00

Don't hate us, but today was a holiday.

It was a really nice way to ease into the new year at work.

Italy celebrated epifania or epiphany, commemorating the visit of the tre magi or the three wise men to the baby Jesus.

Now what does this have to do with the old witch-like woman figure below?

She is La Befana, who delivers gifts to the Italian children on the night before Epihany, similar to Santa's job. She shows up in the night riding a broomstick and covered in soot from entering through the chimney, and then fills their stockings with caramelle or candy and gifts, or a lump of coal if they've been bad.

One legend has it that the wise men had knocked on her door asking for directions to baby Jesus. They invited her to join them in the search, but she declined. Later, she changed her mind and tried to find the baby, but could not find him. She continues searching till this day, leaving candy and gifts to children.

I'm thinking I deserved a visit. I may no longer be a child but shouldn't there be a credit for all the la befana candy I didn't get? ;-)

The Trullis of Alberobello

2010-01-05T22:15:00.000+01:00

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast and walked over to check out the beach at our hotel. Not bad at all. Best of all, it was warm and sunny at 20C or 68F compared to the freezing temperatures in Milano.

M joined us and we set off on our agenda of the day. Destination: Alberello, the home of the trulli.

As we got closer I started getting excited: I could see the white roofs of the trullis dotting the landscape.

And in the town of Alberobello itself, the trullis looked like part of a fairy tale.

The cone-shaped stone homes were originally built with any cement or mortar.

Apparently when inspectors were in the area the homes would be disassembled in order to avoid taxation.

Many of the trullis remain inhabited even today. I took a peek into one of the trullos that had been restored and converted into a bed and breakfast. Very cute. It would definitely be a fun place to stay another time.

And if you want, you could even buy your own little trullo.

Milan -> Forli -> Bologna -> Forli -> Bari

2010-01-04T18:27:00.010+01:00

It was the morning of the 30th, and S had gotten up early to do an oil change before the start of our big road trip. We left slightly after ten, excited and in high spirits.

Our planned lunch stop was Forli, a three hour drive away. We were getting out of the car when D realized his wallet was missing. Was it lost or left at home? What ensued would surely be a tale to be retold for years to come.

Lunch at Trattoria Petito was amazing by the way. It was the warmest little trattoria. My pasta dish of parpadelle with faraona or guinea fowl was so tasty, and I can't say I'm a fan of fowl in general. The guys ordered the cappelletti in brodo or 'small hats' in broth, which is a meat-filled pasta similar to ravioli but smaller, native to the Emilia Romagna region that we were in.

Oh, and they served coffee with hazelnut mousse and a cookie too. A very nice touch.

D decided he had to turn back to find out for sure the fate of his portafolio or wallet. The I-phones were whipped out to find the best solution. We decided to drop him off at the Forli station to take a train back to Milan. We also found flights that he could take early the next morning to Bari. Perfect! Only when we got to the station, it turns out the trains have been cancelled due to a sciopero or strike. Not surprising at all. The next alternative was to hightail it over to Bologna, to catch the high speed Frecia Rossa train. Only we had to backtrack one hour the other way.

In the end, our route went something like this:

Milan->Forli->Bologna->Forli->Bari

While D's looked like this:

Milan->Forli->Bologna->Milan->Malpensa->Bari

Amazingly, he actually ended up recovering his wallet at home, finding an evening flight from Malpensa and then arriving in Bari 10 minutes before us! Our welcome party in Bari presented him with a silver cup to commemorate his achievement. And after all that traveling, an estimated 1028 km or 638 miles of driving for S, we still managed to go out for dinner and visit downtown Bari before calling it a day.

Welcome to Bari!

2009 Year in Pictures

2010-01-03T14:35:00.011+01:00

Happy New Year! It feels like 2009 has passed by quickly but at the same time so much has happened. I thought it might be fun to look back on the year with a picture for each month.

January

We rang in 2009 sitting on the floor of our new but empty home. We had just received the keys a few days prior and had spent the day moving. Homeowners at last! Although the apartment was mostly in move-in condition, there was still work to be done. One of the things we enjoyed was the new proximity to the city and our very short daily commute to work.

February

My dad was celebrating his 60th and we wanted to be there. Our time in Malaysia also coincided with the lunar Chinese New Year so we got to meet my all my family even my far flung cousins. Stef even collected his first angpow red packets, witnessed lion dances and ate yee sang. Unfortunately it was the last time that I would see my dear popo or grandmother.

March

I was attending Italian classes offered by the city of Milan since September the year before. While it was difficult to get to class twice a week in the evenings after work, it was still a really great experience. I got to meet a wonderful group of friends and we would every so often go out together after class. We were all foreigners trying to learn the language and the fact that Italian was our only common language made for some hilarious moments.

April

The annual Salone de Mobile furniture fair in Milan meant also many interesting design exhibitions and events in the city. We visited the Tortona area several times and soaked in all the creativity and young energy. We also went to the actual fair, lucked out with free extra tickets from a passerby and walked till we were ready to drop.

May

My sis had a business trip to Copenhagen and I decided to take the opportunity to visit the city and spend some quality sister time together. I really enjoyed seeing the sights and there were even a couple of late nights where we stayed up chatting. On the last day I had half a day to spare after my sis' flight back to Chicago departed so I decided to take the train over to Malmo, Sweden. I loved experiencing how different the two cities were despite their proximity.

June

We were invited to our friend's rustic family mountain cabin in the Val de Aosta region. We grilled local meat and sausages on the outdoor grill but unfortunately it was unseasonably cool so we had to eat inside. It was my first time in this region and we also visited his hometown of Pont St Martin.

July

We had decided on a wedding venue two months prior and now it was time to really get to work since in August most of the stores would be closed. We worked hard on our bombiniere wedding favor project but managed to take time out to for my first concert at the San Siro stadium. U2's 360 set was pretty amazing but unfortunately the band lacked rapport with the audience.

August

While Milan emptied out for the annual summer holidays, we stayed put keeping busy with the many preparations for our upcoming wedding. My sis and M also decided to get married, so I quickly bought a ticket to fly out to Chicago for a quick 5 day trip. It was beautiful and I'm glad I didn't miss this important moment in their lives.

September

We tied the knot! I was blessed to have my sister, new brother-in-law, parents, uncle R, and friends fly out from different parts of the world to be with us. It was my parent's first visit to Italy and we got to spend time them on the weekends, between visits of Rome, Venice and Florence. For the wedding weekend, we stayed at a rental on the Lake Como near Varenna. Our wedding in Varenna was everything I had hoped it would be. Later we left for a short but relaxing 6 day honeymoon in the beautiful islands of Mykonos and Santorini.

October

October was all about relaxing and taking a break from all the wedding stress. We caught up with work, chores and had the occasional dinner party at home with friends. One memorable one was when our Pugliese girl friends cooked up a delicious meal with handmade oriecchete pasta, sauce with meat rolls and a bavarese dessert. Little did we know we would ourselves head down to Puglia for the first time.

November

It was time for our second wedding reception in my hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We thrilled to have our friends from join us all the way from Milan, Valtellina and California. My sister and M made the long trek from Chicago too. It was a whirlwind week that started off with a Chinese dinner banquet for 280, and ended with a short retreat on a tropical island and a tree-top jungle adventure.

December

We capped the year off with a spur of the moment road trip to Puglia, where we where we soaked in the warm sunshine and the even warmer hospitality of our friend M and his family. We ate too much, visited many sights and marveled at the beauty of the people, food and landscape of Puglia.

Wow, what a year. Although we ended up spending more time than we liked on house and wedding related tasks, there were still alot of highlights. For 2010, my resolutions are to study and obtain my Italian drivers license, and to travel more! What are your resolutions?

xoxo

On the Road Again

2009-12-29T21:29:00.008+01:00

We're off on a road trip! It's been awhile since the last road trip but we decided on our destination today. We're driving down to Bari in the Puglia region to ring in the new year with some friends there.

At first I balked at the distance. It just seemed so far. But a quick google search showed that it's only an 8 hour drive and closer than the Bay Area - Las Vegas route that I've done countless times. Alright then!

We leave tomorrow morning and will be back after the new year. Hope you have a fun and safe New Year!

xoxo

The Day After Christmas

2009-12-26T19:46:00.003+01:00

Hope you all had a good Christmas filled with lots of love and laughter. Mine involved lots of eating and of course presents. The kids were really excited. Can you tell from the picture?

The day after Christmas is la festa di Santo Stefano or St. Stephen's day. It marks the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the Three Wise Men. We all wished Stefano and his cousin Stefania "auguri" or best wishes. One thing I learned here... when in doubt, say auguri. It fits all occasions including birthdays, Christmas, weddings, baby births, etc.

It is also Stefano's nonna or grandmother's birthday. This year she celebrates a whopping 96. Auguri, nonna!

Here she is with her four nipoti or great-grandchildren.

Yes, more sweets to be eaten for the holiday season. Good thing we did some cross-country skiing this morning. The fresh air was great and I was happy to find out that what little technique I picked up last year is not lost.

This Christmas

2009-12-24T12:09:00.004+01:00

This is a sweet poem of a little boy and his tiger friend.

Click to view larger.

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas with your loved ones. Stay warm and safe. And don't forget to give a hug to your favorite person.

Holiday Party

2009-12-21T23:09:00.002+01:00

We had our annual company holiday party on Sunday. This year it was held at an agriturismo farm called La Barcella, in the outskirts of Milan, about 1/2 hour from where we live. It was surrounded by farmland so it really felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

The food was good, which is not always the case at events like these. The appetizers included a very tasty selection of affetati or cold cuts, pancetta or bacon wrapped asparagus, various little savoury pastries and many more. I quickly lost count, but there were supposed to be 6 appetizers. Needless to say, I was already full before the primi or first dishes arrived. I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the food but they were all surprisingly good.

As always, there was an animatore or entertainer who kept the kids busy with fun games. But this year, there was one also for the adults. She called people up to participate in various contests and games like, guess the different sounds. It reminded me of the variety shows that I'd see on tv on Sundays. I found it all rather annoying but I might have been in the minority. There was also a lucky draw with several buoni or gift certificates up for grabs, but lady luck wasn't on my side this time.

One of the highlights was meeting the triplets again. See their proud father, S, being super-dad with two in his arms? The last time I saw them, they were newborns at the hospital two summers ago. How they've grown.

There were lots of children around, and amazingly, quite a number more on their way in the early part of the new year. Everyone was excited of course when Babbo Natale or Santa showed up to hand out gifts.

Let It Snow - Gridlocked

2009-12-21T16:44:00.004+01:00

It's Monday afternoon and the snow has started falling again. The temperature in the last few days have been as low as -8C (17F). Looking out the window at work, we can see the gridlock caused by the white stuff. The office is rather quiet now as people have left early in order to actually make it home at a decent time tonight. I remember when we used to live in Abbiategrasso and it took us over 3 hours to get to work one morning because of the snow. There's a good chance we're walking home this evening.

December Birthdays

2009-12-18T23:30:00.001+01:00

Is it just me or are there alot of birthdays in the December time frame? We've been surrounded with friends' birthdays in this past two weeks. Mine included!

Yesterday we celebrated M's birthday. He's also my next door cubicle neighbor at work. Since I was in the holiday baking mood, I decided to whip up a batch of chocolate cupcakes the night before. For some reason, cupcakes are not that well-known here. Strange! They were very well received even if esthetically, there was much room for improvement. The reason for that being it was getting late, and between dinner, washing up, a long work day, and more washing up... well, I was getting a little tired and grumpy. S can attest to that. At the end of the night, I was ready to throw the chocolate icing on the wall. But luckily he was sweet enough to offer to wash the last bowl so the wall was spared. Phew.

I used chocolate cupcake recipe from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook (thanks YL!) and they turned out exactly as described: a chocolatey, closed-crumb cupcake that was just delicious. I want to try one of her cakes next.

M had invited us for aperitivo to celebrate that evening. Now I must have mentioned this before, but in Italy, birthday celebrations are done a little differently. Everywhere else I've lived the birthday day boy/girl is treated to yummy meals/dessert/cakes/etc on their special day. And why not?! It's your birthday, and it only happens once a year. In Italy however, the birthday celebrant is expected to treat his friends to the yummy meals/cakes/etc. Huh? Yes, that right, the person pulling out his wallet is the birthday boy/girl. How wrong is that?!

(I'm still not totally on board with this by the way... I made S pay for my birthday dinner, haha) In return said friends usually bring a gift for the celebrant, so all's well that ends well. But I think this custom tends to make people shy away from announcing their birthdays. And where's the fun in that?

Anyway, back to aperitivo. We had a blast as usual. The place was hopping and I enjoyed the Christmas deco. I got to see V, whom I've not seen for over a year.

And I think M secretly enjoyed our gift, even if his reaction might have suggested otherwise. Tanti auguri, M!

Let It Snow... Part II

2009-12-18T21:44:00.004+01:00

It's snowing again! On our way back to the office from lunch, there were a few stray snowflakes were drifting down. This is how it looked like when we got home.

And it's still snowing...

Let It Snow...

2009-12-17T11:17:00.002+01:00

It snowed last night! The first snowfall of the season in Milan. Just a nice dusting of white all over. Pretty to look at, but not enough to stop traffic. That's the way I like it. ;-)

Io e Luna

2009-12-12T11:19:00.002+01:00

(or The Moon and I)

So after filling our tummies in Recco, you didn't think we were just going to stop there, right?

Of course not, because we had reservations for dinner that night at Io e Luna, the restaurant in Piemonte that we first visited with Uncle R back in May. The memory of that meal we had was so firmly imprinted our memories that we just had to return, and introduce it to D as well.

It was an hour and a half drive to Piemonte from the coast. And we still had a couple hours to kill, so we stopped at winery to pick up some wine, took a stroll in downtown Alba and browsed in a bookstore. Finally, it was almost eight and we could go have our highly anticipated meal. Yes, I was excited.

The restaurant is about 15 minutes outside of Alba, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We quickly studied the menu and ordered our food.

First came the 'pre-appetizer', if there is such a thing. The appetizer offered by the chef as a prelude to our meal. I can't exactly identify all the tasty morsels but there was insalata russa, russian salad. Not sure why they call it that but it's a kind of creamy potato salad with tuna. Needless to say, we licked the spoons and plates cleaned.

Oh, and then out came the second 'pre-appetizer'. I almost forgot about this but good thing I took pictures. This was cotechino, a fresh sausage, topped with a fried potato (I think) chip with a sweet sauce. Yummmm..

Then the brought out the bread basket, filled with an assortment of breads made in-house. There were grissini breadsticks, mini croissants, focaccia, and other breads. I had to stop myself from filling myself up!

All this while, we were washing everything down with this excellent barbaresco wine. Full-bodied, pricey but what an aroma and most importantly it tasted great with a good finish. Thanks to D for treating us to this.

Look at our happy faces. And we weren't even officially into our meal yet.

Then our appetizers came. My plate had from the left, some kind of tomato relish, then some quiche/frittata strips, followed by a mound of delicious steak tartare perfectly seasoned with (I think) some olive oil and parmesan cheese. Next, some pickled mushrooms and finally a quail egg topped with a truffle shaving. Mmmmmm...

S and D had the same appetizer. Not sure what was on the left but on the right was a roll filled with a leek cream and a poached (I think) egg, topped more truffle shavings. I had a taste and I was in heaven. At that moment, I understood the hype surrounding the truffle. I would've been perfectly happy to end my meal right then.

But then came my first dish, and it was a homemade gnocchi with a meat sauce. Simple, homey and satisfying.

S had the plin, which is a type of ravioli typical to the region of Piemonte. Also handmade and good.

In my mind, the real first dish star was the tajarin with foie gras that D had. This is another pasta found in the Piemonte region, similar to tagliatelle but cut really thin. I really liked the springy texture, much like the Asian noodles I know and love. This dish was just divine.

Another thing I like about this restaurant is the leisurely pace that the food is served. It is just right. Enough time to take it all in, but not so you start looking at your watch. And the service is just impeccable.

D and I had the same second dish: the guanciale or pork cheek. Served on a bed of mashed potatoes with sweet pickled onions, it is tender and melt-in-your-mouth. Not to be missed.

S had the pork ribs (?) and that too was tender and falling off the bone. There was some kind of sweet (pumpkin?) puree in the onion skins that was good too.

D really appreciated the food. It was just funny watching him ooh and ahh with pleasure over each bite.

What comes after the end of the meal? Dessert! We were all stuffed by then, but of course could not pass up the dessert menu.

S and I shared the chocolate plin ravioli, in a cachi or persimmon sauce, with chestnut gelato. Firstly, the plin just looks chocolatey, right? But when we put one in our mouth, the insides were melted - the best surprise ever! And the persimmon sauce and chestnut ice cream complemented it perfectly.

D's torta ciocolata calda, hot chocolate cake, was warm and melted inside. So good. The plate was licked clean.

And if all that wasn't enough, they had to bring out the 'post-dessert', the piccola pastecceria, or small bakery. There was literally an assortment of 11 different miniature desserts. You could tell the chef had assembled them just minutes before. The white ones on the bottom left were creamy panna cotta set on a crispy cookie. There were mini tiramisu, creme caramel, cream filled cookies... we ate everything but unfortunately had to leave four pieces behind. There was just no more room.

So three hours later, we head out the door with full and very satisified tummies. We actually stopped and got to personally convey our compliments to the chef. He was young, couldn't have been much over 30, and painfully shy. What talent. Our second visit and we remain very impressed.

Goodbye dear girl

2009-12-12T01:10:00.003+01:00

Today I heard the shocking news. The details are vague but she was in Africa on vacation and there was an accident. I did not know her well, but I will always remember her as the daring and adventurous girl who always lived life to the fullest. She was always off exploring exotic places. One day Tibet, another Alaska. My heart goes out to her parents, her family and her loved ones.

A life so full of promise cut short. We're only a month apart in age, and I'm reminded that our time here doesn't last forever. Must cut out the negativity, and be thankful for and cherish all the things I have. Live each day to the fullest.

Goodbye dear HN. You are an inspiration to many of us.

Focaccia di Recco: Ristorante Alfredo

2009-12-08T11:24:00.010+01:00

Sunday lunch time, we found ourselves together with D in front of Ristorante Alfredo in Recco, the birthplace of the famous focaccia col formaggio or focaccia with cheese.

Wait a minute, Recco? Isn't that on the Ligurian seaside? How did we end up there?

Well, the day actually started pretty early that morning, as we set out to the Serravalle factory outlet, about 1 hour from Milan. It was time for us to finally pick up some 'real' dishes, and there was a Villeroy & Boch outlet there. It's a good thing we got there around opening time. Apparently, a long weekend plus the coming holiday season means only one thing: shopping crowds. There was a short queue getting off the highway but we found parking easily and there weren't too many people around. Two hours later we were done shopping and ready to leave. If there's one thing I don't like, it's trying to shop when there are too many people around and it's a huge effort just to see what's on the shelves. By noon, the parking lots were full and there were people running around in the parking lots trying to reserve a spot from people that were leaving. It was that crazy.

We were congratulating ourselves for leaving the crowds behind and for a productive shopping trip. Nice dishes, check. Plus a couple other things. Birthday boots for me, check. Cast iron grill pan, check. Shoes and jeans for S, check. Shirt that D needed to change into, check.

And lunch? Well, we had these famous leftover paninos from the day before (they'd made a trip to the car show in Bologna with the guys and came back uneaten). Not very exciting, especially when someone suggested, why don't we go to Recco for some focaccia? It's only an hour away.

(And I thought only Malaysians were willing to go the distance for good food).

D had been here before with a friend and this was supposedly one of the best in town. First came the pizzata, a focaccia with tomato sauce and the famous formaggio, cheese. Not sure why it's called that, as it really has nothing to do with pizza.

Yum! The thin and light layers of dough with delicious but not over-powering layer of tomato sauce, and then the melted cheese hidden in the layers. Mmm... This was a local dish not found anywhere else.

Then we had the original focaccia col formaggio. Again, the thin layers of dough with melted cheese inside. It is made with crescenza, a mild tasting rich creamy fresh cheese, very similar to cream cheese.

Now I know what the real thing tastes like. It's actually quite commonly found even in Milan, labeled as focaccia di Recco. The pizzata was a nice added bonus.

To finish off, we shared a plate of fritto misto. The seafood was fresh and the batter was tasty.

We were quite satisfied with lunch! Then we hopped in the car for a short drive so they could give me a peek at the next town over, Camogli.

What a pretty town. It was cold and drizzly that day so S promised to bring me back on a sunny day.

Our day was far from ending at this point. Stay tuned for more.

Oh Christmas Tree!

2009-12-07T22:39:00.001+01:00

Another thing we accomplished on our busy Saturday was to put up our first Christmas tree together. Remember the tree we picked up at Ikea a few nights back? Well, a real tree is such a romantic idea! The smell of the pine, ahhh... But in reality...

1) It started raining just when we were going to pick it up from the lot, so S got wet while loading it in the car and all that.

2) We leave it in the garage because of the said rain until one day later when S lugs it up to our apartment after we get home. It was oh, around 1.30 a.m.

3) Two days later he lugs up the huge bag of dirt. Apparently here they don't do the tree stands with the water container.

4) We pot the tree and make a small mess of dirt on our terrace.

5) When we cut open the plastic wrapping the branches, we notice that our 'perfect' tree is actually two trees. There's a siamese twin growing out one side. Oops.

See what I mean about how it's a nice idea? And the imperfect shape adds to the charm, right? I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a fake tree next year, but we'll see.

So Saturday evening after dinner, I threw a Christmas cd in the player to get the mood going and the end result was this:

Aww... not bad for our amateur effort, right? The lights are actually red sparkling LEDs. The lights took us only two different visits to Carrefour and at least one combined hour of dazed wandering in the Christmas light aisle. We tested countless sets of lights to see how they would look like and of course by then the ones we wanted were out in 'clear'. We're crazy like that. Actually by then the only lights left were red or blue. So red it was and actually they're not bad.

And I found my nativity set. It sure was a nice feeling... us, our tree, and Jingle Bells in the background. :-)

p.s. Can I add to the above?

5) At one point in the night, I went over to admire the tree and started shrieking. S came over to see what was up. There was a big worm wringling on the floor under the tree. I guess it had decided to get out to check out the new digs. Ugh!

Still a Work In Progress

2009-12-05T23:12:00.006+01:00

Saturday was dedicated to all the house-related chores that had piled up over the past weeks. I spent the day vaccumming and mopping and scrubbing the bathrooms. For S, there was alot of drilling involved. Part of the alarm system that has been sitting in boxes for over 3 months has now been installed and verified working. Yay. I say part, because it's not all done. Sigh.

And the dining room light fixture that we got as a wedding gift is finally up. To be honest, I was initially doubtful as to whether I would like it. I mean, we didn't pick it. But it actually turned out pretty nice.

It fits our modern style of furnishing. And oh, that's the new dining table that arrived a couple weeks back. We had ordered it sight unseen from the Internet, and luckily it turned out pretty nice (plus it didn't cost a bomb). My favorite thing about it is the thin wooden table top, and the fact that it extends to easily seat 10-12 people. Perfect for the swinging dinner parties we'll be throwing. Um... ok, that does sound like alot of work, but it's a nice idea, right?

What's missing now are the chairs, a rug to 'define the space' (yes, I've been reading decorating websites) and some kind of buffet to store glasses and the 'nice' dishes that we don't yet have. Yeah, our kitchen cabinets are already maxed out and we're only still using the hand-me-down dishes.

About the chairs, we really love how the clear chairs look with the table, but I have to remind myself how uncomfortable they really are. It's not so much the plastic, but the fact that the seat is really narrow. Trust me, not that comfortable, and not practical at all. So while it would be so much easier to run out to Kartell 10 mins away and stock up on the Ghost chairs, we'll actually have to go shopping for chairs instead... arghh! Where to go? How not to spend an arm and two legs? I'd like to keep the look 'light' to keep the area looking spacious.

Friday Night

2009-12-05T23:03:00.006+01:00

Kicked off the long weekend with Friday night aperitivo with some friends at Cafe Milano.

Things started to get a little wild towards the end of the night. hahaha

:)

Il Ponte dell'Immacolata

2009-12-04T17:58:00.007+01:00

Next will be a short work week and we're all looking forward to it.

Monday, Dec. 7, is St Ambrogio Day, celebrating Milan's patron saint - Saint Ambrogio, of course.

Tuesday, Dec. 8, is the Feast of Immaculate Conception, a national holiday.

And that's about all I know about that. Which isn't much. But what I do know is that I don't have to go to work. La la la!

At first we thought of making use of the glorious 4 day weekend and going off on a trip somewhere. It's only a few hours drive to the Italian Riviera, or what about visitng the Christmas markets in Switzerland or Austria?

But the reality is that we have lots of chores to take care off around the house. Like cleaning. And organizing. And going shopping to complete the living room, chairs for the dining room, etc, etc... And for S, there is the alarm system to finish putting up, the lighting fixture to install... And that tree we got last night at Ikea? We still need to rescue it from the garage where we left it, and then it needs decorating.

And so this long weekend/ponte (bridge, as Italians love to call their long weekends) we will be in the neighborhood.

Oh, and the Fiera Artigiana makes its annual appearance starting this weekend. I first visited it during my first visit to Milan back in 2005 (wow, has it really been 4 years already?) and it's always fun. Lots and lots of booths in halls divided by the different regions in Italy, and then there's also the 'Mondo' (world) region. It's always fun to wander around looking at different crafts and products, sample delicacies, and not forgetting a stop at the Sicilia area for my favorite arancinis. Word of advice, try to visit in the morning or on weekdays to avoid the crazy crowds.

Let me leave you with a picture from our island getaway just a few weeks ago. These two were my friends' 4-year-old kids - they were so cute playing together hand-in-hand the whole time. The beach, sand, and the waves... it's the opposite of the weather here but doesn't that just conjure up the beautiful image of holiday?

Have a great weekend everyone!

What's Up Doc?

2009-12-03T21:33:00.000+01:00

So today I made it to the doctor's office for the first time here.

The nice thing was that it was exactly 2 minutes drive from our home. And the visit was free. I didn't spend a dime.

S accompanied me since this was my first time. We rang the door bell, was buzzed inside, and found ourselves in an empty waiting room. After a couple minutes, the doctor opens the door to his visiting room and beckons us inside. He entered my details into a computer and asked a couple questions such as any major illness, medications, allergies, etc. No receptionist, nurse or any other staff that I could see.

We tell him about my persistent cough and then I hear him say, "spogliarsi", which literally means undress. I was a little taken aback. What? Here? Right now? And what exactly do I have to take off? Yeah, it was a rather awkward and embarrassing moment. I was used to the privacy curtain, gown, etc... I mean, I was still sitting on the chair in front of his desk. And anyway, don't they usually just stick the stethoscope under your shirt and that's that?

Anyway, long story short, I'm there with my top off, while S and the doc start chatting about the differences between the American and Italian medical systems. I cleared my throat a couple times. Hello, it's starting to get a little chilly over here. :-o

He does his stethoscope thing, looks down my throat, some more chit chat and finally then I'm out the door with a printed prescription for antibiotics from the doc. It was ok but I can't say I like visiting the doctor. Hopefully my cough will go away real quick!