I am a coffee addict through and through. Coffee and garlic are the main ingredients of that which runs through my veins. But with age, along with my views and beliefs, my tastes have expanded widely to an extent that very few extremes exist and the whole thing is a great big amalgamation of various sources nicely settled in a colorful pile and providing me great comfort.

The latest addition to my repertoire is ginger tea. Ginger is used a lot in different forms throughout Asia and the tea has many variations on the continent.

- Time for ginger tea, a? – Mr. Tyagi, would stand up from his chair, his head nodding sideways knowingly, because this is not a question, it’s a confirmation, or if you wish, a reminder that it is indeed time to sip on the hot, sweet and delightfully spicy drink. Just like it is the other 2 times a day.

One of those times, Mr.Tyagi, our most graceful host in Delhi, ginger tea master, agreed to show me how to prepare chai.

- Should I put apron, a? – enthusiastically he looks around and pulls the green cloth from somewhere.

- Is it your wife’s? – I laugh, infected by his excitement.

- My wife’s?…ah, yes – his grin gets bigger as he proudly puts on the apron, as a knight adorning his armor.

Ginger may have many ways of making it into a tea form, but if you end up in one of India’s houses this is most likely what you will get.

The recipe comes as is, without measurements and requirements, and if I asked, I doubt Mr.Tyagi would be able to tell me anyway, because he does it by feel, as he has for many years.

1. Put some water in a pan.
For 3 teas, about that much.

2. Add milk.
By the looks of it, the quantity is a bit less than the water, but dont quote me on it.

3.  Pound your fresh ginger in the mortar and pestle. You can also crush it, slice it thinly or whatever other option you can think of.
The chef said about half a fingernail per cup.  Mix in the pan.

3. Add tea and sugar.
The tea should be plain without a flavour of its own. The most commonly used in India is granulated looking one – for example Taj Mahal Black tea and  Brooke Bond Red Label. The quantity is up to you really, same with the sugar. This tea is supposed to be sweet though, so if you omit it dont come back to complain. About a spoon per cup is a good start.

4. Simmer
Brew all the goodies together for a few minutes, so the ginger and tea have time to release their flavour and the sugar can mix in. Watch out that it doesnt froth too much and escape your pan. The mess will be all yours to clean up.

5. Strain into cups

6. Enjoy!

Variations: you can add in clove, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper etc. to make masala tea. I have heard fresh peppermint is a great addition too, and I imagine the result will be quite refreshing. A few leaves of fresh earl gray tea has been delightful the few times we have had it up in the Himalayas.

But, if you want to stick to the basics and the way that is done day in day out in the kitchens around India, now you know how.

Thank you, Mr. Tyagi.

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Food on the road, India Post tags: delhi, recipe, tea

Airplanes suck, airports suck and we are finally in India.

Flying has to be the worst way to travel and if it was not fast, it will be out of business before we have a chance to blink. One has to arrive few hours before the flight, followed by queues to check in, where your heart skips a beat with each blink of the scales measuring your mobile possessions for a chance to squeeze another dollar out of your already tight purse.  More lines to waste your life in, this time to pass the handbags, that are now filled to the brim with your heavy stuff (yeah, do they think it evaporates magically somewhere?), through the security belts and maybe get a chance to be groped and all of this only to find yourself with an hour to spend in a place with probably the most inflated prices in town. Whooptee-dooptee-dooo!  And this is before you are stuffed in a can with other sardines and shot up thousands of kilometers up in the air where your stomach might turn with turbulence and your body will ache from the seats.

I am so glad we avoided this mode of travel for so long.

Arrival in Delhi was uneventful. Indira Gandhi International Airport is not only the biggest in South Asia, but also quite a comfortable and well organized building. Immigration was straight forward and finding a taxi not a problem at all.

…

Two days down the road, I can tell you that Delhi has not been  an easy place to take in. I have to put my thoughts in order, but I am finding it challenging on some level. We have seen poverty, so I dont think that is it. We have been to dirty, neglected places, so I doubt that is it either.

But I am taking it all in and will be back with more.

Since this is supposed to be food week – here is yours truly tasting Gol Gappa – little hollow crunchy pastries that are filled with different sauces and then dipped in a big spicy cold soup pan and plonked in your plastic square container. You stay there and just get one after another until your order is filled.Quite a messy job, which means they have to wash up the area around from time to time.

Despite the chicken butt face that Mr.Blab captured, I enjoyed those, although maybe not the sweet filling so much.

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Food on the road, India Post tags: delhi, food

More ramen, ramen…more! Slurp them, slurp them, here they are…

Daydreaming about ramen, I followed my family to Hiroshima and further, only managing to scramble a few bowls of department store offerings, which although providing a lovely lunch, did not satisfy that internal longing for attention to detail.

After Hiroshima, we made our way in Beppu, the place where we wished we had more time in. An added bonus would have been the numerous ramen shops around every corner and all within a quick walk from the guesthouse we were staying at. Instead, we ended up there on a day when just about every restaurant was not working.

We found a place that looked like it has been there, on the main road, for yonks. The grandma and grandpa running it completed the picture. Even though the shop was somewhat cold and impersonal looking by Japanese standards, the ramen did not disappoint.

We had two types -

I went with the tonkotsu ramen, which despite the run of the mill noodles, was wonderfully flavorful and with generous toppings of seaweed, spring onions and menma (marinated bamboo shoots).

Few days of being off the city grid, meant that before we caught the train to Fukuoka, I just had to, had to, grab a serving of my now second favorite Japanese meal (sushi still has my heart 100%).

We were looking at the pictures, trying to decide who is having what and a helpful woman felt sorry for my squaking and ‘flapping wings” attempt at describing chicken (and lets not even talk about the pig impersonation), and quickly ran through the menu. Horse? Horse, you say? No, I was not surprised, Kumamoto had one unique thing as far as Japan is concerned, it has an appetite for raw horse meat – basashi.  So horse meat ramen, did not sound as weird as it might have to you right now.

I ordered it.

Yes, I look googly eyed freaked out, trying to be brave and cool about it, because that is exactly what I was feeling.

It tasted like chicken

No, it tasted like meat. No. Mr.Blab said it had a licorice flavour, but I think that came from the broth, which was not inspiring at all. A bit odd tasting, like the recipe has been thrown together and just brewed in the big pots behind the counter for years without anyone tasting it and adjusting the flavors.

The meat itself was fine – more kangaroo than beef, which in translation means ‘gamey’.

I still finished the bowl. Also gave some horse to the Dod, who ate it with pleasure.

Advice? If you are going to try this, choose the place more wisely instead of at the last moment before boarding your train.

That train took us to the home of the tonkotsu ramen noodles – Fukuoka.

What is the best way to find local favorites? Ask the people that live there.  And that is what I did. Chatted up a few people, until I stumbled upon a guy that seem to know a few spots.

- Where is a good udon spot?…Where is a good and cheap ramen? …Tonkotsu?…yeah, I want Hakata ramen…where?

- Mmm, see…here – he carefully marks my map, then writes a few lines in English and then the Japanese names – this one is good. Oh, here too..udon?…there is a shop in on this corner here, good one…sushi train…right here, yes, the 100 Yen one, actually 105 yen. You will like.

With a plan in my hand, I was ready.

First stop

Ramen shop at Hakata Deitos 2F (Second Floor) right next to the Station.

Sorry, my notes have disappeared and I cant find the name. If you get there, the place looks like this.

The place was busy and my noodles arrived quite quickly. A delightful amalgamation of flavours served with two soft boiled half eggs staring at me , generous serving of pork slices and spring onions. The soup was oily, but not unpleasantly so, still quite light in consistency.

Hakata noodles come with very thin noodles and the ones hiding in my broth were just that, slim, lively and delicious for slurping.

- Kae Dama! – a men shouts next to me.

- Kae Dama…Kae Dama – echoes through the waitress and the chef behind the curtain. And shortly after he gets what he has ordered – a fresh warm serve of top-up noodles, which he mixes up with the broth in his bowl. Another Hakata tradition, dont try it in other places, because you might be left disappointed.

I was tempted to do the same, as the soup was so enjoyable, but refrained, as I was feeling quite full already. Instead, I slurped the warm juice on its own.

We had one more day in Fukuoka, so armed with my map decorated in hand-written notes, I approached the local guy in the living room and asked for his recommendations. He said that even though he likes the place I went yesterday, he prefers Hide Chan. Hakata noodles have varieties and some are thicker, others oilier and so forth. That was it. The ramen I had yesterday didnt quiiiite make me dizzy with pleasure, so I was going for different.

For their second last meal in Japan, the rest of the family wanted udon noodles, so I dropped them at the character shops on the lower level  of Canal City and headed up the escalator to Ramen Stadium level.

Hungry crowds were spilling in front of the various restaurants and I was walking through them trying to match up the names to the one I was after. And there is was, my last attempt to complete my ramen nirvana. Full to the brim, with a promisingly large queue and buzzing kitchen.

Hide Chan Ramen in Canal City’s Ramen Stadium, Fukuoka

See that man sitting on the first table on the left? With the glasses? He kindly assisted me in ordering, when he saw I was taking my time at the vending machine. There were a few options and I was thinking of going for the 750 Yen one, which was kind of middle of the road price.

- Which one do you prefer? – I asked him, hoping he is a regular and will know what is good.

- Oh, me? This one…this one best – he pointed with a big grin to button delivering the cheapest, basic ramen available.

- Ooooh, domo arrigato gozaimas – I bowed back, now with a big excited grin of my own.

With my goofy smile on and grasping my ticket lovingly, I joined the snake of waiting diners and awaited my turn.

You can order the hardness of your Hakata noodles to your liking, that is if you speak Japanese. If its something you would like to do, be prepared with a translation or know your key words. I was not, as my expertise in the field is none, so regular style was fine by me.

One of the bars was free and a group of us were welcomed to our tall seats by the gentle woman in the front and then the loud shouts that seem to come from every which end (love that!), refreshing water appeared in a small glass in front of me and my excitement was peaking. The kitchen was right in front of me and I could see the cooks in action. The aromas were very promising. Mmmm..

A few minutes later…

In a black bowl was sitting my last ramen serving in Japan – smooth milky broth, simple toppings of spring onions, slightly steamed bean sprouts and deliciously looking pork (chāshū).

The loud slurping had began around me, while I was still just trying to take it all in. My expectations on this poor little bowl were so high, that I was taking my time discovering what it had to offer.

I slurped at my soup and all the worries I had melted into its comforting flavor. It was like a warm bear hug – as smooth as it looked, but rich in delicate porky goodness with nothing else fighting for my attention, because everything was there to serve the main character.  I could taste a very slight sweetness, not from sugar, but a delight that comes through when you roast meat.

As I purred eating those thin noodles dripping with porky juice, I noticed something. My heart skipped a beat.

Garlic!

A little tub of peeled garlic was awaiting me and then I saw the shiny metal garlic press calling my name.

A few squirts later, I was in heaven. Because ramen may be my new love, but garlic, oh, garlic is as we say in my family running through my veins.

And now the picture was perfect.

Smelling like a vampire warrior ready for battle, I left with my lips still smooth and glistening from the wonderfully luscious soup.

And a big smile.

So ends my adventure with ramen in Japan, but this is only the beginning of our relationship.

____________

Finishing bundle of information for other ramen explorers:

Websites from the places I talked about:  Ramen Stadium (translated) ; Hakata Deitos Noodle floor (translated); Kyoto Ramen Alley (translated)

Best toppings: garlic, toasted sesame seeds, spicy sesame and the burnt garlic oil

Helpful websites to start with: Rameniac, Ramenate; An introduction to Ramen by I am a Viking;

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Food on the road, Japan Post tags: food, ramen

This saga starts quite simple actually, as most addictions do I suppose.

I read somewhere about a ramen noodle alley in Kyoto Station and figured it will be a good place to chose how to taste this local favorite. It turned out to not be an alley at all, rather the 10th floor of the Isetan department store, which is located right in the station.

We walked around, tried to peak through the windows and settled into a comfortable looking little shop. After making our choices from the vending machine in the front, we entered and awaited the arrival of our food. One of the numerous things I love about Japan is the free cold drinks that come with every meal – sometimes green tea, others barley tea and even water is not uncommon.

First arrived the “dunking noodles”, which in a novice language means the variety which comes not in the broth already, but separate, and you are meant to dunk them yourself in the soup, which is usually stronger in flavour.

The broth looked…split, wrong, greasy and scary frankly, but the smell was promising.

I clasped some of the noodles with my chopsticks and dipped them generously in the broth and then I slurped…

The warm noodles were slightly al dente, full of vigour and they felt like youth compared to the deep, settled porky flavour of the soup, which suddenly looked like gold to my taste buds. An amazing combination that almost forced me to grab the bowls and run far away to enjoy on my own, instead I had to share, as we bought only two dishes since we were not hungry. Luckily the other ramen order arrived and it proved to be more to their liking, so I took my time to savor my new discovery.

What was the other ramen? It was pleasant…and that is all I remember of it.

It simply faded into comparison to my decadent slow-cooked pig juice and lively noddles.

And that is the day when it all started.

Ramen, becoming one of Japan’s food icons during the last 30-40 years, originated in China. Like many of the influences that crossed the ocean, the Japanese managed to make it better. That is of course my own not so humble opinion. It is simple at a first glance – soup and noodles, but that would be deceptive and couldnt do justice to the dish that has now stole my heart. Instant noodles this is not. It is an art form that has attracted connoisseurs and offerings with a different spin come from each end of the country.

The soup takes a long time to extract the flavours of pork or chicken, with bones or not, and depending on the other ingredients it can be divided into four categories – Shōyu (soy sauce based) and most traditional version; Shio (salt), being the oldest, lightest and considered healthiest option with the broth remaining clear;  Tonkotsu (pork bone) produces a milky white soup much revered in the South of the country; and Miso based version being the newcomer to the line up, but uniquely Japanese one – coming from the cold North its rich, nutty and fatty, often hard to appreciate by foreign taste buds.

This is not an all encompassing list though, there are even newer adventures into the field with curry ramen, gelled pork ramen, upside-down fish stock and whatever ramen…And then, there are the carefully crafted variations brewed at individual establishments, which complete the immense world of ramen, where one can get lost for years and years.

Enough of all of this, though. After getting a quick education in the field, I was ready for explorations and having fallen in love with the dipping (tsukemen) noodles, I discovered that there is a well-known restaurant in Ramen Alley and headed there again. To my disappointment, Tetsu Ramen was not there anymore, so I decided on another place.

Ramen Todai(ラーメン東大)

from Tokushima

I paid my $10 and sat down awaiting my order. I chose this place as the previous time we visited, it was so full, people were lining up in front and none of the other shops had that ‘problem’. Since it was not lunch and definitely not dinner, there were only a few more people around.

I quickly checked what I had to work with – white pepper, spicy sesame , soy and gyoza dipping sauces.  A bowl of raw eggs to the side, as this is one of the features of this type of ramen – instead of soft boiled egg, you are supposed to crack a fresh one on top of the steaming liquid and stir a bit.

Then I tried the salty plums, which were…salty.

I ordered preserved egg on my noodles and the whole set looked quite promising.  The broth was thick , almost pasty not greasy at all. Tokushima ramen are based on tonkotsu and  shoyu and taste very rich with a certain sweetness to them – hence the overly salty small plums.

They were delicious with the spring onions and pork mixed through them. Still, not quite what I was hoping for.

The search continues.

Our time in Kyoto was coming to an end, so I decided to try and find a good place to try the local, Kyoto style ramen. Too much reading other people’s reviews, a lot of salivating and raising expectations led me to Pontocho, amongst the hiding geisha and into:

Takaraya Ramen Pontocho (宝屋ラーメン)

It was close to lunch time and a restaurant nearby was enjoying the long queue of eager diners. Takaraya, to my delight, was quiet and waiting for me.

A warm and smiling woman quickly brought me cold tea and took my order – Sumashi ramen.

This is a small and cosy setup, with the chefs working intensely, but quietly in the kitchen. Sipping on my tea, my anticipation was growing higher than I wanted it to.

A young couple was whispering across from me and a few men in suits were finishing their lunchs, while I was taking it all in. The place didn’t seem to have air-conditioning, so I wondered if it gets too hot in the middle of summer.

And then, I saw my bowl, making its short way from the kitchen. It has taken it quite awhile to make its appearance, so it must be good…

The bowl clanks gently in front of me, and I am faced with one of the most beautiful soups I have ever seen.

The soothing scent of chicken broth engulfed me, the bright yellow soft yolk sitting comfortably next to plump meat balls, crispy deep-fried burbock root, small bacon bits sprinkled on top amongst the toasted sesame seeds and my mouth was watering. Seriously.

From the first sip, I knew I had made the right choice. The broth was perfection – deep chicken flavour, while still being fresh and light on the tongue; the meatballs were juicy and willingly melted in my mouth without any resistance, the noddles, oh the noodles, where soft and smooth, al dente, as I like them, and I could taste, ever so slightly, the wheat that was contained within them. And the random crunch and sweetness provided by the toasted bacon and root slivers completed this masterpiece. One of the best $9 I have ever spent.

Full of golden juice, I left with a spring in my walk and looked forward to exploring more as we moved South – the home of tonkotsu – rich pork ramen.

Read more about my adventures with ramen in Japan in part 2.

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Food on the road, Japan Post tags: food, japan, ramen

We have spent a lot of time in Japan’s cheap sushi restaurants. Some are better than others, but all quite a good value – 105Yen per plate ($1.20).

Bellow are pictures for my One Minute project in the place we visited quite often while staying in Kyoto. The setup should be quite familiar to everyone that loves to go to sushi train all over the world. The difference in the Japanese ones from those in Australia has been the touch monitor ordering, which delivers beeping plates on the conveyor belt especially for you, as well as the thick soy sauce alternative along side the normal one. That, and the variety of sushi that rolls on by, which is quite impressive – for example pork, ham, eel, preserved eggplant, bonito, toasted salmon/tuna or with melted cheese and mayo.

Welcome along.

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Food on the road, Japan Post tags: japan, kyoto, one minute

A quick play with HDR from the restaurant where we have been eating dinner every day we have been here.  I have never really ventured into this type of photography before, because often results look cartoon -ike or painterly, but it turns out that is not necessary to achieve a more pleasant and realistic dynamic range in an image.

But enough about unimportant things, in this place you can enjoy smooth coconut flavoured  red and green curries, crispy spring rolls, deliciously fragrant soups with a hint of sweetness and a most divine unassuming dish of fried pork with baby corn, that makes me instantly happy when I eat it.

Add in the smiling people that work there and you have Poo restaurant. In a very, very good way though.

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | Still a monologue | Add to del.icio.us
Food on the road, Thailand, The Big Trip Now Post tags: food, sukhothai, thailand

Since then I have been discovering and discovering this never ending cave of taste adventure, because if someone can say they know all that there is to know about Asian cuisine, I can assure you they are lying or writing a book. The variety, the tastes, the combinations know no end.

I present to you my latest discovery – glutinous rice. No, it has no gluten, its stickier than the usual rice, hence its also called sticky or sweet rice. It has a very appealing look – opaque white, like little white stones.

I had no other rice to show you the difference, but Blazing Hot Wok, has a great image of this rice next to the more familiar to us varieties.

Glutinous rice is used all around SE Asia and is the main type used and grown in Laos. It can be used by itself, as a side dish, usually eaten by hand with an incredible dexterity – a process I can look at for a long time. Usually food is eaten with the right hand (considered clean) and everything is done with it, be it breaking up roti bread, picking up juicy sauce with a rice ball fashioned scoop. It may sound easy and messy, but it is none of those, I assure you. Only the tips of the fingers are touching the food and the grace, speed and precision have to be seen to be believed.

Back to sticky rice. I learned how to do the most wonderful desert from a Indian-Malay woman in Amed.

You will need:

Glutinous rice
Coconut milk (fresh if possible)
Meat of the coconut (easy if you made your own milk)
Coconut sugar
Cinnamon
Fruit of your choice

First wash and leave your rice to soak for at least 3 hours.
Glutinous rice is less dense than normal rice and soaks up a lot of liquid, which makes the next step possible and successful.

Drain the rice and steam it.
Its not possible to steam normal rice, but because glutinous rice can hold a lot of liquid, this sort of cooking works. I had a simple pan with a little steamer insert on to which I put the rice.

This step didnt take long at all. Maybe 10-15 min. Try the rice from time to time, it should be firm, but not crunchy. It also gets more translucent when cooked.

Add coconut milk.
Get the rice out into a bowl and while its hot add your coconut milk. I used the one I made a bit earlier and basically kept on adding until it became glistening. The rice absorbs the liquid, so keep an eye on it, because you dont want it to be a soup. In the picture it looks gluggy, but the grains are whole and kept their shape very well.

Put the rice aside, or in the fridge, if you want your sticky rice cold.

Melt the coconut sugar
This is yet another ingredient I had not explored before, but after seeing it in the market, a pile of dark brown half ovals, I was excited to see what it can do. There seems to be a little bit of a confusion as to whether coconut sugar is the same as palm sugar. Some sources say it is, while others say differently. All I can tell you is that coconut sugar is delicious. It has a deep caramel taste with a bit of maple honey hints.

Take a little pan and put a few blocks of your sugar with some water. You are basically making a syrup.

Once melted, simmer it for a few minutes until it looks syrupy.

Add in the coconut meat and spices
The white of the meat gets lost in the brown bubbles and before long, you have yourself a lip smacking topping for anything you desire – pikelets (yum, tried it), toasts, crepes, you name it. Or sticky rice.

I had mine cold for breakfast, accompanied by bananas and a fresh brew of Bali coffee (I fell in love with that one too). Mango will be, and is the usual, topping for the desert.

I made this desert with pandan rice as well – whizzed a few leaves of pandan with some milk and used that on the rice when it was hot. Turned out even better.

Ok, so who is trying this?

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Bali, Food on the road Post tags: discovery, food, recipe

For those on a regular holiday with money to spare, Ubud has on offer a plethora of cafes, restaurants and bars. Big, small, fancy, comfy, loud and romantic, whatever your heart desires its there, or so it seems to those of us on a strict starve-the-monk budget.

My sharp researching skills and luck in getting a smidgen of internet lead us to what became our place in Ubud.

Dewa Warung

Hidden in a dark street off Dewi Sita (road running between Monkey Forest and Hanoman) is the most unpretentious, yet surprisingly comforting warung offering a few floor sitting tables and two big sharing ones with benches. The walls and ceiling are covered in weaved bamboo and fans are the only cooling relief on offer.

We prefer to lounge on floors, so we did just that whenever possible. We like it so much, we made a firm decision to chop off the legs of our solid wood table when we have a home again.

What is there not to like about this setup?

Two thumbs up.

Ms Fab enjoying some light reading on one of our visits

The two big tables upstairs

The atmosphere is important, but its the food that people come for and what does Dewa Warung has to offer to its hungry penny pinching patrons?

They have a down to business, short and sweet menu with just enough choice for everybody.

The wait for food is never too long and always long enough so you know the food is being prepared now, not yesterday and remodeled as you sip your drinks, and it always arrives hot.

Here are some of our favorites.

Mihun Noodles:

Big crisp spring rolls, which never cool down fast enough for us to eat..

..and actually have veggies inside, instead of that floury mush stuffing found in a lot of the cheap options.

And one of the absolute, hands down we eat it every single time offerings:  Tofu Curry.

A delightful, mellow, yet spicy amalgamation of coconut milk and soft tofu, served with rice. There is always plenty of sauce left, so do offer extra plain rice and get even more food.

So there is atmosphere, hot yummy food there, but WAIT, there is more. It will leave not only your stomachs, but your pockets full too. For five of us, after four visits, some involving beer and a bit of hyper ordering, we never paid more than $8 total. Need I say more. I didnt think so.

Right there, in the middle of Ubud one can still eat simple, but delicious food, for next to nothing.

We miss you, Dewa Warung, our place in Ubud. The toilet, on the other hand, that is better to be avoided

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Bali, Food on the road Post tags: Bali, review, trip food, ubud

A short walk down the main street in Ubud will take you to the Kue Bakery and Cafe, an unassuming building promising not much at all. That is until you enter and go up the stairs where a cosy, welcoming atmosphere raises your expectations a little bit.

We chose to sit on the balcony, where soft pillows lined up the benches and offered us view of the street.

The view is not spectacular, but interesting and happening for sure.

The menu gives a lot of options. We hovered around the sandwiches and wraps section.

Prices were a bit high for our budget, but pretty average for Ubud. $1 was about Rp.8,500 when we were there.

We got complimentary bread with butter and a vegetarian dip, I assume. It was green and not a pesto. Both were delicious.

The Food

After not that long, the food started to arrive.

First the chips, which were disappointingly few, but very tasty and accompanied with a very good dip. Gone in about 60 seconds.

The rest of the orders came with either chips or salad, the latter being extra fresh and with wonderful vinaigrette, which is served separate and ready to pour.

Cheese, ham and tomato toastie with salad

Avocado wrap with chips

Falafel wrap with salad

The food was delicious and fresh. The sauces and dips were all just the right additions to what was served. Gone in 120 sec and appreciated a lot. In the background of quite average food in Ubud, this was a breath of fresh air.

Downstairs is the bakery part, which has a selection of sweets, breads, muffins and croissants. We had breads and croissants and both did not disappoint.

This meal has stayed as one of our favorites so far on the trip.

A place well worth visiting if you find yourself in Ubud. Bring your laptop and take advantage of the free Wi-Fi offered as well.

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Bali, Food on the road Post tags: Bali, review, trip food, ubud

Here is what I did.

Step 1

Go to the market and bargain for a lovely fresh and ripe coconut. I paid $0.30 for mine.

Step 2

Crack the nut around the outside by banging it with your heavy knife (to get a nice clean crack, you have to…oh, forget it, I cant explain it without a picture, just crack the thing) and collect the water. Chill it for a refreshing drink later.

Step 3

Now its time to clean the coconut halves. Its important to do so to avoid dirtying your meat as you grind. I had help.

Wash and give it for safe keeping to a boy nearby.

Step 4

Grate the meat.

This step can be approached many different ways. From laborious hand grating, through cutting and blending, all the way into industrial mechanical ways.

We were lucky to get to use a traditional Asian coconut grating stool/seat.

This is what great design is all about. Full stop.

Easy, practical, doesnt need electricity and does the job wonderfully.

I was quite surprised that this tool is not more widely spread across Asia, but even in Bali they hand grate their coconuts, which is a hard and finger-hurting job, as the boy that works in the homestay assured me.

We loved this so much, we want one for ourselves.

Step 5

Collect, soak and stir your brightly white  coconut meat.

If you want a thick milk, use one cup of warm water for each coconut. If you are happy with a more watery first milk, add more as I did.

Have a helper nearby to stir.

Then put your hands in and mix, mix, squeeze and mix.

Step 6

Strain.

And you are left with coconut milk and quite dry coconut meat, which is still good for more milk making, be it a more watery one.

After a few hours, separation is expected. If you want cream, grab that top fatty milk and use it as required.

I made sticky rice, but for that recipe later.

Enjoy.

P.S. Dont forget to rub all the smooth coconut goodness from your hands onto your face before washing them. Consider it a bonus for your hard labor. Mmmm…

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Bali, Food on the road Post tags: Bali, discovery, recipe