PERSONAL | cozy sunday out

Berlin has been very wet and cold lately (and the sun starts setting at 4pm nowadays), making it very hard for me to find the motivation to go out after work to do something interesting. Luckily there are some day-time events on the weekends for me to check out.

Today there was a special Dia de los Muetos themed breakfast market happening in Markthalle Neun, which I had been really looking forward to visiting. The decor was really festive and colourful and most of the regular Street Food Thursday vendors added a little Mexican twist to their menus.

I visited the market with my friend Ira, and we split a breakfast of buttermilk pancakes
and chicken & mole tacos. Odd combination.. but it was almost noon so it was basically lunch
and a dessert ok? :P

Later in the afternoon, I dropped by my friend Stanley's apartment in Charlottenberg.
He's been here two months already and this was the first time I was visiting. His roommate
really loves plants so their flat was filled with all sorts of lovely green things. They had a
massive Monstera hanging above the sink in the kitchen that I really wanted to take home with me.

Stanley made soup for our late lunch. I've been really into soups this past week--probably due
to the weather. Anyways, Stanley had some leftover beets lying in his fridge so he decided to
make { coconut beet soup }. The warmth from the soup really hit the spot especially since I got
caught in the rain on the way over to his. We even added this Radicchio filled pasta to the soup,
turning it into a really hearty stew. I want to try making this at home sometime when Roman
gets back from his trip.

FOOD | mido café

Hong Kong is literally packed with hidden gems. One of such is Mido Cafe, a traditional [ cha chaan teng ], literally translating to 'tea restaurant'. Some of the classic cha chaan teng dishes include: pineapple bun with a slice of cold butter in the middle, peanut butter french toast, ham and egg sandwich, and a piping hot cup of Hong Kong style milk tea to wash it all down.

While I've read/heard that Mido has taken a turn for the worse due to its growing popularity with tourists I was actually pleasantly surprised to find packed with locals with an occasional sprinkle of foreigners. Another thing I cannot complain about is the fact that they offer an english menu for their non-Chinese speaking/reading patrons. Which, in my case, came in mighty handy*.

Anyways, what I loved about my visit to Mido Cafe is that it was cultural experience as well as a dining one. The owners opened the restaurant in the 1950's and not much has changed since then. They've kept everything from the tiles to the wall hangings. And I'm pretty sure I saw an antique cash register on the first floor (or was it the second?). Talk about a blast from the past!

As you can tell from the photos Kelly and I stuffed ourselves silly that afternoon, but we couldn't help but order everything that sounded good on the menu. Given that I'm practically illiterate when it comes to the Chinese language, cha chaan tengs are not one of my usual haunts, and I needed to take advantage of every opportunity.

*In my defence, I stopped learning how to read and write in Chinese when I was 10, and also it's a friggin' difficult language! :P

FOOD | urban bakery

Outside-of-the-office work days are the best best work days! On this particular day the Spottly team (whatever's left of us in Hong Kong haha) stopped by { Urban Bakery Works } in The Landmark for a quick pow wow about the best big project. But shhh...It's a secret for now, but I assure you we're all really excited about this!



As I've mentioned before, it has been a good 6 months since my arrival in Hong Kong and since that time I've taken it upon myself to scope out the best places in the city for a good cup o' joe. I've narrowed it down to a few favourites at this point and I have to say I'm so happy to see that Hong Kong has stepped up it's coffee game in the last several years (shoutout to them Aussies!!!). Anyways, Urban Bakery might not necessarily be the best of the best but it is a heck of a lot better than your average Starbucks/Pacific Coffee. Their lunch options also look pretty tasty - hey, I'm lookin' at YOU beet and goat cheese salad - and I've heard good things about their brûlée croissant. I suppose this warrants another visit in the near near future. ;)

Great. It's closing in on 12am and I'm feelin' the midnight munchies kicking in. Time for bed!

PERSONAL | birthday soirée

 

Every summer my friends and I like to break out the bbq equipment and throw a big potluck at my place. This year we thought a BBQ would be the perfect way to celebrate { Kelly's } 19th birthday (her actual birthday is on the 22nd, but I got something special planned for her next week. Stay tuned). So as the biggest foodie of our group, it was only natural that { Moises } handled all things food. I on the other hand planned everything else (and dessert).

Anyways, the party turned out great! Moises was a wonderful co-host and cook for us this evening, and the food everyone brought was delicious. But I think tonight's winner was the fig margarita cocktail Moises put together. I thought it was the perfect summer drink, sweet and refreshing. Just mash some figs, add tequila, grapefruit juice and limeade and mix it altogether. Original recipe and inspiration from { Beatrice Valenzuela }.

My contribution to the potluck was a watermelon granita. It's a sort of Italian ice dessert. I had made one last summer and it was a hit! Traditional granita flavors are  lemon, orange, jasmine, coffee, almond, or mint but watermelons are in season right now so I picked up a medium sized one yesterday and got to blending! What's great about this dessert is that it takes little to no time to make (as long as you don't mind the mess) and it's super light (hardly any sugar at all)!

Watermelon Granita//

watermelon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
lemon zest
mint leaves (optional)

001_In a pan combine sugar and water and set it over low heat. Stir until sugar has melted and let the syrup cool
002_Cube a whole watermelon (about 5-6 cups worth) and blend in batches in a food processor until smooth and pour into a wide baking dish
003_Mix in half the simple syrup to the pureed fruit. Taste and add more syrup if needed. Then add the zest of one lemon to the mixture
004_Place baking dish in the freezer for an hour. Remove and using a fork, rake over the mixture creating flaky crystals. Replace it in the freezer and take it out again after another hour to rake it over again. Rake once more just before serving
005_Garnish granita with mint leaves and serve immediately.

read more on Kelly's blog { here } + on Moises's blog { here }

FOOD | vitaly

Beautiful entrance. The cafe has a very modern, loft-y feel to it. And lots of natural light always gets a thumbs up from me.

I'm always on the lookout for great cafes in the OC. Sometimes I wonder if it's too much to ask for place that provides a good atmosphere while serving a decent cup of coffee that costs less that $5?! I mean, come oooon... is Starbucks (are there tutorials out there that teach people how to order from Starbucks that I am not aware of?) and Coffee Bean really the best we can do??? But maybe thats our fault. Coffee culture in America has always been a { fast paced } one. When I was in Paris last October, I learned that the French always liked to end a meal with a small cup of coffee. I thought it was quite wonderful and just so intimate, seeing people bond over something that is so seemingly insignificant. I loved watching them share stories, reading on the daily news, or enjoying a nice smoke with a cup of espresso at hand. HA I sound creepy, but I swear I don't mean to be.

Anyways, I'm rambling. Let's get back to { Vitaly }, my new go-to spot for a good cup of caffè. They offer a modest selection of beverages to select from, and as a bonus you can also choose from either locally sourced beans or (and only for a couple cents more) their Italian imported blends. They also have indoor seating for the sun shy as well as an outdoor patio for people who want to soak up some vitamin D (dogs welcome by the way!!). I've only found this place yesterday and I can already say it fits almost all of the criteria I listed above (haven't been there enough to tell for sure). However, as much as it pains me to say it, only time will tell whether I'll be sticking to this place long term, as I fear that I'll soon be forced out by the hordes of teens and hipsters that frequent { The Camp }--to keep it safe, I think I'll keep to my "weekday mornings" and "after-lunch rushes" routine for now. 

FOOD | handsome coffee roasters

Urgh, I know, I can't shut up about this place. Every time I go out to the city I tell myself to quit sticking with the same old cafes and restaurants, but I can't help it, I love Handsome Coffee Roasters!!! They always serve a mean espresso + milk (choose from 3oz, 5oz or 10oz) and the atmosphere is great. If only I lived in Los Angeles--you can guarantee I would be there everyday.

FOOD | café medina

Nothing is more inviting after walking around the city on a cold rainy morning than delicious, piping hot food. Since we're staying downtown, all the good eats and the best stores is only a short walk away. { Café Medina } was the first restaurant I bookmarked on yelp when I was planning my trip to Vancouver--after reading all the raving reviews I couldn't wait to make a visit. Breakfast was a Tagine for me ( 2 poached eggs, merguez sausage, and sundried black olives swimming in a spicy tomato stew). Kelly had the Paella (1 baked egg, curried orzo, Hungarian chorizo, zucchini, red pepper, roasted corn, grano padano, watercress, tomatoes, and avocado)The skinny? Food was good and interior was comfortable. Unfortunately I got tired of my Tagine rather quickly since I'm not the biggest fan of tomatoes--I only recommend it for hardcore tomato lovers. Kelly's paella on the other hand was amazing. I had to keep myself from reaching over for a bite of her dish for every one of mine.

Tips:001_Come early. We waited 45 mins (arrived at 11am on a Friday morning).
002_Maybe hold off on the waffle. $3+ for a not-so-fresh piece of belgium waffle smaller than the size of my palm was kind of off putting.
003_Lavendar latte was pretty tasty

PERSONAL | los angeles outing

Spring has gone and summer is here! For the past several weeks, we from the west coast have been getting a small taste of what this summer has to offer. To be honest, I'm not a fan of hot weather--my skin disagrees with it, my hair disagrees with it, and frankly, my wardrobe disagrees with it as well (pants, boots, scarves all the way!). This in turn makes me a total oddball amongst most Californians, for I rather stay in during the summer while others find any excuse to soak up some sun.

However, the best thing about this summer is that my sister, { Kelly }, has finally moved home and started her summer vacation. Having stuck in a dorm room for the last 9 months, Kelly really needed to get out there and live a little. Which is why { Moises } and I planned a full LA trip--complete with good eats!

First stop was { Proof Bakery }. I've had this place bookmarked for months now but never found a good time to go. This time I was determined to make it there to try their popular chocolate croissants. However, by the time we arrived (11am), the bakery had already sold out. I wasn't too surprised since it's common knowledge that pastries sell out--FAST but still, I was extremely disappointed. In the end I settled for a blackberry tart. It was delicious--it almost made up for my depressing croissant-less morning.

 

Next door was the lovely { Individual Medley Store } (which I've also been meaning to visit). Such a great place to shop for gifts. They also had a rad decorative motorcycle parked right up in front.

After exploring Silverlake a bit we swung by { Forage }. If you like organic, sustainable, delicious food, Forage is the place for you. I always pass by this place whenever I'm in Silverlake but never went in for lunch. I'm so glad we decided to try it out this time. Both Kelly and Moises ordered their pork belly sandwiches. I wasn't really feeling sandwiches that day so I got their protein + 2 sides option. Tri-tip steak with a side of barely, rice, kale, and roasted tomatoes, and roasted carrots, cauliflower and harissa. Hands down, best lunch I've had in a while. This place is totally going to make it to my  { LA favorites } list. I highly recommend it if you're in the Silverlake area. 

Also, I'll be flying off to Vancouver tomorrow night and staying for 5 days. Still not sure what I'll be up to but I figure I'll just wing it and take it easy for the first time. I always stress out way too much before a trip. I'll be bringing my laptop, so hopefully I'll be able to get some blogging done over there!

GUIDE | los angeles

If you know me personally or follow me on { Instagram } you know that I am always in Los Angeles. I've had several friends ask me where I like to hangout when in the city so I thought I'd put together a quick list of my favorites haunts, stores, and cafes.

This post is a collaborative effort between me and my partner in crime and fellow food enthusiast, Moises Martinez, who runs the blog { Gastro-Site } on blogger.