Tag Archives: food

Piazza di Trevi, Spanish Steps and Dinner: Rome, Italy

Posted on October 19, 2012 | 6 comments

On our first day in Rome, we went to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps and then ended in Italian restaurant.

The Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy. Standing 26 metres (85.3 feet) high and 20 metres (65.6 feet) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world.

The fountain gets its name from the fact that it sits at the junction of three roads or in Italian “tre vie”. Traditionally Romans built rather elaborate fountains at the terminal point of their aqueducts.

Supplied by water from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct and a triumph of the baroque style, it was based on the design of Nicolo Salvi and was completed in 1762. The design centres on the triumphant figure of Neptunus Rex, standing on a shell chariot drawn by winged steeds and led by a pair of tritons. Two allegorical figures in the side niches represent good health and fertility.

The legend has it that if you throw a coin into this fountain it guarantees your return to Rome. An estimated 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome’s needy; however, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

The Trevi Fountain is beautiful, but it can also be overwhelmingly crowded, so keep an eye out while you take pictures and hold on tight to your bags. We were told by our guide again and again to beware of pickpocket so we were very careful when we were in the crowd.

Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The monumental stairway of 138 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi, in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy, and the Trinità dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, both located above — to the Holy See in Palazzo Monaldeschi located below.

The Spanish Steps are the longest and widest staircase in Europe.

We stopped there on the way to the restaurant for our dinner. There were lots and lots of people everywhere; basically it is a set of steps with the church on the top and fountain at the bottom. But it had the vibe like the Times Square in New York with lots of people on the steps or around the fountains taking pictures, having their lunch or just reading a book.

We climbed the stairs and went to the top of the stair and it was amazing to see so many people from the top.

The streets nearby are full of up-market designer shops likes of Gucci, Max Mara, Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani and Louis Vuitton as well as bars and restaurants and are enjoyable to stroll around in.

If you are tired and want to rest for a while it is a good place to stop while you are in Rome but for us we had around an hour there and it was time for us to meet our guide to go for our dinner.

Disappointing Italian dinner

After our mini tour of Rome, we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. I have to say this was one of the places where I was disappointed with the food as well as the restaurant itself.

We went to this restaurant and they served us a four course meal.  They started with salad and Bruschetta, followed by Pasta. Then the main was Chicken or Beef and dessert was ice cream with fruits.  Even with so much food, it was just an average experience. There were two musicians playing music during the whole time and a waiter was giving red roses to all the ladies. I found the food bland and the place too crowded.

Inspite of the dinner, overall we had a great day.

Please click here for more photos.

6 Comments

Posted in Italy, Travel

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Aloo Tama bodi (Potato with Bamboo Shoot and black eye beans)

Posted on October 12, 2012 | 18 comments

This is one of the popular dishes in Nepali/ Newari cuisine. In Newari style Bhoj (feast) you will always find this dish.

Aloo Tama is a classic Nepali soup prepared with black eyed beans, potatoes, bamboo shoots and spices. Tama is a non-fermented bamboo shoot product. Aloo tama is well-loved comfort food cooked almost in every household throughout Nepal. The enduring popularity of this dish is that, it is extremely tasty and very appetizing mainly for its slightly sour and pungent taste. There are different way to cook this and today I am sharing my style using pressure cooker.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup bamboo shoots (preferably sour one)
  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled, and cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 1 cup black-eyed peas (soaked overnight)
  • 1 teaspoon dry cumin seeds (jira)
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 red dry chilies
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 medium chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Lemon juice to taste

Steps

  • First of all let the black eyed beans shock in water for overnight. If you forget to soak it overnight, you can soak in hot water for few hours and it will be fine.

  • Heat oil in a pan. I used pressure cooker.
  • Add turmeric, dry cumin seeds and red chilli and fry until it is dark.

  • Then add garlic and ginger.

  • Add chopped onion and cook few minutes on low heat.

  • Add potatoes to the onion and sauté for at least 5 minutes in medium heat.

  • Add little water so that it doesn’t stick on the pan.
  • Add soaked beans, tomatoes and fry for few minutes.

  • Add 2 cup of water, salt, chilli powder and cover the pressure cooker and press for 6-10 whistle or until potatoes is cooked.
  • Take off the pressure cooker and let it cool down.

  • Now add bamboo shoots and 1 cup water ,cover it and let it simmer for another 10 minute or until desired consistency is reached.

  •  Taste and add lemon juice as required to make it bit sour.
  • Sever with roti or rice.

You may also like :

*Aloo dum *Aloo ko achar *Aloo chop

18 Comments

Posted in Nepali food, Newari Food, Recipe

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Aloo ko achar (Nepali style potato salad)

Posted on September 12, 2012 | 17 comments

Aloo ko achar is a very popular Nepali potato salad which is used in most bhoj in Nepal. There are many different ways that it can be prepared. I am sharing my recipe here.

Ingredients

  • 3 medium potatoes (200gm)
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 Spanish onion
  • 2 Teaspoon of mustard oil
  • 1 Teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 Teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
  • 1/2 Teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi)
  • 1/2 cup white sesame seeds (teel)
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 3 green chillies
  • A few leaves of fresh Coriander
  • Salt to taste
Fenugreek seeds (Methi)

 Steps

  • Boil potatoes, peel and chop into quarters. I use pressure cooker as it is quick and easy.

  • Cut cucumber and carrot in half moon shapes as shown in photos.

  • Finely chop Spanish onion, green chillies and coriander leaves.

  • Roast sesame seeds (Teel) on a pan until it turns light brown and starts crackling. Make sure to stir regularly so it doesn’t burn.

  • Place it in the blender with half a cup of water to make a fine paste. Alternatively grind it into a fine powder in the grinder and mix with half cup of water.

  • Put the potatoes, cumber, carrot, onion, coriander and green chilli into a big bow. Add the sesame paste, lemon juice and salt.

  • Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add mustard oil. When the oil gets heated and you start to see smoke add the fenugreek seeds. Wait till it goes dark brown and add chilli flakes, turmeric powder and take off from the heat straight away.

  • Pour this into the bowl with the potatoes.

  • Mix it well and it is ready to be served.

It tastes best if you leave the Aloo ko achar in the fridge for half an hour before serving.

You may also like :

*Aloo dum *Aloo Tama bodi *Aloo chop

17 Comments

Posted in Newari Food, Recipe

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Pan fried pork belly

Posted on September 9, 2012 | 6 comments

My husband has wanted to eat pork belly for a while but we couldn’t find pan-fried pork belly in any restaurant. Pork belly is a boneless cut of fatty meat derived from the belly of a pig. I know it is very fatty but it taste yummy as well. We did try one Taiwanese restaurant but it was a bit too sweet for his liking so I decided to make my own pan-fried pork belly. It is quite simple and I am sharing it with you all.

Ingredient

  • 250 gm. Pork belly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons grated ginger
  • 5 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon of coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon chill power (optional)
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • Olive oil for frying

 Steps

  • Mix ginger, soy sauce, salt, chilli, turmeric,  cumin, coriander, pepper with pork belly and marinade in a bowl and leave for at least an hour.

  • Heat up a wok with oil enough so the pork slices are half submerged in oil. Once one side turns golden brown, turn the piece over and fry the pork slices until both sides turn golden brown.

  • Line a plate with kitchen paper towel and put the pork on it to soak excess oil.
  • Serve it hot with rice or any other dish.

I had mine with roti and potato curry and it was yummy. 🙂

6 Comments

Posted in Recipe

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Welcoming Spring with Cherry blossom festival

Posted on September 4, 2012 | 9 comments

Last weekend we went to a Cherry blossom festival to welcome spring.

I always wanted to attend the Cherry blossom festival in Japan and imagine my surprise and excitement when I found out that one of the councils (Auburn) in Sydney has organised a Cherry blossom festival in their botanical garden.

Japanese Sakura, Cherry Blossoms, bloom once a year for about two weeks, providing a beautiful spectacle. Cherry blossom viewing parties (Hanamis) are very significant events in Japan and having a picnic lunch under a blossoming cherry tree is a popular Japanese tradition.

It was nice and sunny afternoon and we got there after driving for more than 40 minutes. There was a guy at a roundabout who instructed us toward a mostly empty parking lot. We parked our car and walked toward the entrance of the garden. We had to pay $4 to enter. As soon as we entered, I could see so many people already there, next to the Japanese garden where there were rows of cherry blossom trees. The path looked really beautiful but we had to wait for a while to take our photos as there were so many people already.

Once we took our photos there we entered the Japanese garden via the moon gate.   We waked around the Japanese garden and got to see more cherry blossom trees. It has a big beautiful lake in the middle with ducks and swans playing in the water. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t gone to such a beautiful place before.  Also at one corner, there were two Japanese musicians playing beautiful music. Inside the garden there was also the Tea House Garden, the five traditional mountains, the main waterfall, the central island, the bridges, the Ryoan-ji style Garden, the pines and the Azaleas.

From there we went and visit Scented Garden and sunken Rose garden. As it was too early in Spring, there were no roses but still there were other flowers that made the garden look really lovely.

After a while we got hungry. I regretted that we hadn’t packed a picnic as I saw so many people were enjoying their lunch in the garden. There was a cart selling coffee and cakes and another one was a Japanese cart at the entrance to the gardens selling Takoyaki, a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion. We waited in a long line for more than 40 minutes and bought mixed large pack. They weren’t the best and we regretted again that we didn’t bring anything from home. Normally I love them but that day we couldn’t finish 16 balls between the two of us.

After lunch we continued our trip toward Australian Native and Rainforest Garden. The rainforest area of the Garden sits between the billabong and the adjacent Duck River. There is a thick canopy of foliage over the area with a large amount of vegetation which produces a moist, deep leaf littered, mouldy floor.

From there we made our way to Fauna Reserve and Aviary. We saw Swamp Wallabies, Red Necked Wallabies, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Emus, Rufous Bettong and the Common Wombat as well as beautiful peacocks.

The best part of the trip was, it was a perfect sunny day to walk in the garden and enjoy natural beauty and the worst part of the trip was the garden had only one toilet for women so there was a really long queue. To make it worse, the toilet had no lock and there was no toilet paper or soap either. Please Auburn council, you could make everyone’s trip there nicer with proper toilets.

9 Comments

Posted in Australia

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