travel writing Archives - Bidmead Bites

El Obrero & Pizzería Güerrin – two Buenos Aires institutions

2nd August 2018 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

The food scene in Buenos Aires has changed dramatically since I lived there in 2013. While Asian food was once limited to sushi with cream cheese (ew) and the only beer available was a watery Quilmes, it’s now not hard to get a good bowl of Ramen and a delicious pint of craft beer.

Despite the new flavours and trends that have worked their way into Buenos Aires, the real charm of the city’s restaurants lies in the ones that have been around long enough to witness the country’s history, from dictatorships to economic crashes and whatever else gets thrown at it.

Two Buenos Aires restaurants that have an impressive 150 years of business between them are Pizzería Güerrin and El Obrero. Always on my “must visit” list, I finally got the chance to try them out in my most recent trip to Argentina’s capital.

Pizza arrived in Argentina along with Italian immigration, and from the late 1800s, pizza argentina was born. Pizza al molde is the most common pizza you’ll find over here – expect a thick, doughy base with an otherworldly amount of cheese on top. Pizzería Güerrin specialises in al molde, so it was time to carb and cheese myself up.

Pizza Argentina in all its beauty @ Pizzería Güerrin

My boyfriend and I ordered two very Argentine pizza toppings; jamón y morrón (ham and red pepper) and fugazetta, basically an onion pizza with extraordinary amounts of cheese on top.

No room for tomato here. In order to eat our porciones like proper porteños, we chose to add on two pieces of fainá, a chickpea bread made to sit on top on your porción de pizza, in the unlikely event that your mammoth cheese tower on top of dough doesn’t fill you up.

Fainá is weird: spongy and oily with quite a non-distinctive taste. Still, I always order myself one. If I’m going to eat the odd beast that is pizza a la argie, I’m going to do it properly.

Pizzeria Güerrin

You should definitely visit a classic Pizzería when in Buenos Aires – they’re a slice (excuse the pun) of history and a way to sample one of the countries most loved traditions; prop yourself up on a stool, chow down on a porción and watch the city go by.

As it’s near enough impossible to write a blog post about Argentina and not touch on a least a bit of beef, I feel it’d be rude not to mention the meal I had at El Obrero, an old-school bodegón with waiters who may well have worked there since its opening in 1954. El Obrero is next to the port of La Boca, which explains the fish dishes on its menu, a rare sight in cow-crazy BsAs. While the various fish dishes looked appealing four days into a meat marathon around the city, the smell of the barbecue whispered my name, and thus my meal was chosen.

El Obrero – La Boca, Buenos Aires

I ordered an entraña (skirt steak in English), a cut that comes from next to the cow’s chest and is long and thin in shape – best cooked fast and hot to seal in all the flavour. My boyfriend showed his racial origins as he opted for a Milanesa a la Neapolitana – a veal schnitzel with cheese, ham and tomato on top. Meat on meat, which some cheese and veg to soften the blow. You can take the boy out of Buenos Aires…

Argentina…I love you.

I nip to the loo and am met with a look of horror on my boyfriends face when I return…then I see the portions. Really, really, bloody gigantic portions. We could have easily fed a family of five. Never people to be defeated by a meal, we cracked on and chowed down. The meat was excellent and cooked extremely rare, just as I had ordered it, but surprisingly not how many Argentines like their meat – it’s pretty much well done, always. While I’ll never order a milanesa to myself, preferring to deal with the proper meaty bits rather than breadcrumbed and cheese coated, this milanesa was by far one of the best I’ve ever tried.

Washed down with house red and soda water (so good, you should try it), we eventually, miraculously, managed to finish the meal.

Making headway on the ginourmous lunch…

Despite its humble beginnings, El Obrero is now in every guidebook, and while it retains its proper porteño charm, the prices definitely reflect its popularity amongst tourists. Still, I recommend you go and try some traditional Argentine dishes and soak up the ambience of the place, as it doesn’t get more Argentine than this.

Bidmead back in Barranquilla – Feb 2018

21st February 2018 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

Nearly three years have passed since I left Barranquilla, where I lived for 12 months while working as a British Council language assistant. As London’s bitter winter intensified, my thoughts wandered to the sun, salsa and downright lovely locura that is my beloved Barranquilla. It was high time I headed back.

Arriving just as carnival was about to commence, I danced, drunk and shook my stuff with the rest of the city, while also revisiting all my favourite Colombian foods.

I’ve published various Barranquilla posts while living there (fried ear and salsa dancing here, how to make your own ajiaco here – just search “Barranquilla” on the home page for more), and in fear of repetition I’ll keep this one brief. Here’s a snappy rundown of my top Barranquilla bites.

First stop was La Immaculada, one of the cities top fruteras, around since 1982. A frutera is the place to head for fresh juices and fried goodies (aptly named fritos).

Frutera Immaculada

Fruit juice and fried goods

What did I eat? A carimañola (meat filed pastry with dough made from yucca) and a dedito (cheesy finger), alongside nispero and mandarin juice, plus the obligatory ají (chilli) sauce.

Mondongo is one of my favourite typical soups and a perfect embodiment of the nose-to-tail approach within Colombian cuisine whereby no meat is left to waste. Made mainly from tripe, the slow cooking of the stomach breaks it down from chewy to smooth, with a rich meaty flavour. Accompanied by yucca, potato and plantain, the flavour is picked up by a sprinkling of coriander and a squeeze of lime.

Mmmm…Mondongo, I’ve missed you (please note my fantastic nails too)

Returning to Barranquilla I realised how things we might consider as exotic at home (huge avocados, fresh coconuts and exotic fruits) are really just everyday alimentation for the costeños. Just look at this coconut lolly I had on route back from the beach – homemade and bought from someone’s front garden, this beats a pre-packaged Twister any day.

Beach life = eating coconut lollies

Or how about this lovely lady, serving half or whole avocados to accompany people’s fish lunches by the river? The sweetness and intense flavour of this avocado has thoroughly ruined any future avo-on-toast I may be tempted to buy while out for overpriced brunches back home.

Best avocados EVER

Want to stop to quench your thirst in the mid-day sun? Why not grab an ice-cold coconut, sold on the side of the road. Sit down, sip the juice, and then ask your coconut vendor to machete open the shell for you in order to enjoy the sweet and creamy flesh.

Casual coco frio on the side of the street

Being back in Barranquilla, I slipped straight into my old routines and felt quite quickly that I’d never want to leave. But as my ten days flew by, London and it’s grey but homely skies were calling. I’ll always have a bit of my heart tied to Colombia’s coast, and now will aim to head back more often. In the meantime, I’ll be looking to recreate some Barranquillero recipes in my Brixton kitchen, so stay posted!

“Quien lo vive es quien lo goza” – offical phrase of Barranquilla carnival

Bidmead Bites in Barcelona

10th January 2018 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

Whether it’s fried squid in the south or a cooked suckling pig in Madrid, Spain and its cuisine have long been an interest of mine. Escaping London for the New Year, my boyfriend and I headed off for four days holiday in Barcelona, where I had more than ample opportunity to eat and drink the cities edible offerings.

No sooner had we stepped off the airport bus than we were already chowing down on some churros. Expertly fried to be crunchy rather than greasy and generously filled with creme patisserie, this street snack was just a small amuse bouche for the great things to come.

Sugar coated, deep fried things of beauty – Churros

Whoever coined the phrase less is more must have been a fan of pan con tomate, or pa amb tomaquet as it’s known in Catalan. This simple snack is my favourite Spanish breakfast and consists of, as the name might imply, bread with tomato. The addition of olive oil, salt and sometimes garlic bring it together, but all in all this dish is a simple as it gets.

Breakfasting at the beautiful cafe Mauri in the Eixample neighbourhood, I had all the pan con tomate my heart desired (three pieces no less). Washed down with a cafe cortado, I was set to start the day.

Pan con tomate at Cafe Mauri

While the Spaniards love a caña (a little less than half a pint of beer, drunk at pretty much any hour of the day), they’re also partial to a bit of vermouth. A sweet and aromatic fortified wine which was once the drink of elderly gentlemen, it’s now become extremely popular, with trendy new vermuterias popping up all over the city.

Far from modern (it’s positively ancient), you have Bar Montse, tucked away in the Barrio Gótico. Barrels of homemade vermouth sit opposite walls of spirits and liqueurs covered in cobwebs. Not so appetising to eat in, but wonderfully atmospheric for a quick drink to quench the sightseeing induced thirst, here we enjoyed a little vermouth sat on one of the tables outside.

Barrels of homemade vermouth at Bar Monste

For lunch, we headed to Bar Celta, a small pulpería in Barceloneta which specialises in, you guessed it, pulpo (squid en inglés).

Fish and seafood make up the majority of the menu, but tempting meat options such as my favourite blood sausage morcilla serve to please the fish-fearing customer amongst us. Ignoring the meat (minus some delightful ham croquettes to start with), we honed in on the seafood; grilled prawns, steamed razor clams and of course, squid.

Squid as the starring member of lunch at Bar Celta

Normally served on a bed of potatoes, at Bar Celta this came carb-free, meaning with the focus on the tender squid itself. A dusting of paprika on top served to boost its smoky flavour. The prawns and razor clams both came steamed and then grilled, topped with buttery parsley sauce. Again – sometimes, simple is best. Visit here for some fresh Spanish food and service with a smile.

Steamed razor clams (navajas) and squid at Bar Celta

Race for the squid!

Located in the San Antoni neighbourhood is vermouth bar and all round top snack joint Quimet & Quimet. Don’t expect to find a seat – this is prop yourself up on the bar and eat with your hands kind of venue, serving small tapas and high quality montaditos – rusky rounds of crunchy bread come topped with meat, fish, and often both together (you’ll find veggie options too…if you look hard enough).

Vermouth in hand, I was ready to eat.

Munching montaditos at Quimet + Quimet

The tangy artichoke mixed with the creamy cheese, sweet tomato and intensely savoury caviar was a well-thought out combination of flavours. This savoury and sweet mixture also featured in the meat montadito; a rich pâté with smoked mushrooms, drizzled with a honey dressing.

For when the midday meal calls for something more substantial, a menú del día is the perfect option. Three courses and a drink normally come in at around 10-13 euros, and if you seek them out these can be some of the best meals around.

One such restaurant offering a brilliant menu is Transatlantico restaurant. First dishes varied from traditional Catalan meat and potato soup (escudella) to cauliflower cheese; the options for the second dish range from cod right through to horse.

Eschewing all things equestrian and sticking to more familiar foods, I chose a stuffed aubergine for starter, but quickly got food envy of all the paella that was coming out of the kitchen. Wondering how greedy it’d be to convert my three-course lunch into a four plate affair, I asked about the option of adding on an extra paella. It’d cost me all of 4 euros… I was sold.

Beef ribs & chips, paella and cod and ratatouille

My boyfriend chose beef ribs and chips (because too much seafood is against an Argentine’s DNA), while I had cod with pisto, basically a Spanish ratatouille. Pudding was a wonderfully retro affair, with a flan and a sweet cheese mousse, which was so good it made me think it was probably just pure Philadelphia cheese and whipped cream. Bliss.

Sweet cheese mousse and flan to finish off our menu del dia

During our time in the city, we ate and drink like royalty for just a fraction of the price we would have in London, and were left hungry for more. My love affair with Spain will continue, which is just as well…I’m not full yet, and I’ll be back.

Bidmeads in Bratislava – stag-dos, schnitzels and stodge

7th March 2017 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

Bratislava is a popular stag-do destination, famous for its cheap booze and party atmosphere. While the allure of strip bars and gaggles of drunk British males is debatable, bargainous beer and the attraction of an entirely new country is not. Looking for a change of scenery, Bratislava seemed like the perfect destination for a weekend away with my mum and sister.

We arrived in the city shortly after lunch and headed off in search of a menu del día, Slovak style. Following a Lonely Planet recommendation we tracked down Gastro u Jakuba in the city centre for a spot of lunch.

A little rusty on our Slovak, it was a challenge to work out what was on offer. While one woman enthusiastically shouted ‘chicken!’ while pointing at each dish, we were able to decipher the difference between pork meatballs, beef stew, sausages and roast chicken. The overall conclusion? Slovak food is big on meat, and seemingly little else.

While my mum opted for the huge pork meatball, my sister was less enthused with her veggie dish, a sort-of vegetable risotto in which the rice had condensed into one large starchy mass. Understanding that any hopes of great veggie mains where perhaps better pushed aside, she was able to eat the filling and flavorsome caraway spiced potato soup, which came included in the lunch.

Pork meatball with sauteed veg and boiled potatoes

The pork meatball was like a large chunk of meatloaf, sauteed with vegetables and served with some incomprehensibly buttery and soft potatoes. Arriving hungry and on a rainy day, this was just the kind of meal we needed to perk us up and fuel us for some sight-seeing. Gastro U Jakuba is a good stop for anyone (vegetarians, you not so much) looking for a proper local lunch, for less than the price of a pint (£3.90 for the soup and meal).

From low-cost canteen lunches to fancy five o’clock high tea, we paid a visit to Cafe Meyer, one of Bratislava’s classiest cafes. Lavishly decorated with dark wood and red and gold colors, the cakes are beautiful creations with intricate chocolate decorations and fancy fondant icing.

Cafe Meyer, Bratislava

A popular cake in Slovakia and its surroundings is the Esterházy torte; layers of nutty meringue sponge filled with a hazelnut buttercream. A proper British bake off technical challenge and super complex and fiddly to make, I would never dream of making this at home, but out in a cake shop it’s my first choice. The layers of nutty sponge added just a tiny bit of crunch to the cake, with the buttercream filling merging the whole thing together beautifully.

Esterházy cake

While Cafe Mayer earned top patisserie points, it was on a day trip to Vienna that we’d really find our cakey nirvana. Just an hour away from Bratislava by train, our first stop in the city was Cafe Central, where we would sample the height of Viennese patisserie.

Cafe Central, Vienna

Cafe central opened in 1876 and is steeped in history. The famous Viennese journalist Alfred Pogar once said “Central is not a coffeehouse like any other – it’s a philosophy”. A philosophy based on coffee and cakes? Now there’s a subject I’d like to study.

I choose a rhubarb and cream cake in which layers of flaky pastry served as construction shelves for lashings of patisserie creme streaked with rhubarb coulis. My mum chose the cheese strudel and my sister the pear cheesecake – together it was a veritable sweet creamy cheese fiesta.

Creamy cheese delight @ Cafe Central

After much sight-seeing and museum visiting, we stopped off at Naschmarkt, a food-cum-flea market where you can browse for second hand furniture and then dine on anything you fancy, from Schnitzels to salads and everything in between. There’s a clear middle eastern influence at this market, with the majority of food stalls offering up mezze style bites to nibble as you go.

Mezze madness at Naschmarkt

For a modern middle eastern meal with a twist, in a trendy spot with seats and table service, head to Neni right on the main strip of the market. The restaurant was swarming with a mix of locals and tourists with an attractive menu made up mainly of small plates to share. We ate homemade pillowy pitta bread accompanied by silky smooth hummus (some of the best I have ever eaten), marinated artichoke and muhamarra, a red pepper dip I had tried previously using an Ottolenghi recipe. Neni’s muhamarra was made with red peppers grown in their very own farm, blended up with walnuts to create a sweet, smoky and nutty dip.

Back in Brat for dinner, it felt time to try some more typically Slovak food. Following the number 2 top rated restaurant in Bratislava we chose to go to Zeleny Rodrigez, which despite sounding like some kind of Slovak-Spanish hybrid, turned out to be a very nice restaurant serving modern Slovakian meals (some of which even turned out to be vegetarian, hurrah!).

While my mum kind of copped out of the Slovakian dining and just went for the steak, I chose a typical dish – beef with sautéed paprika vegetables served in a potato pancake. I liked it; the beef had a soft texture due to its slow cooking, and although the pancake was a nice accompaniment after having been sat on top of the stew for some time it disintegrated into a sludge, which was less delicious.

Slow cooked beef with potato pancake

My sister’s vegetarian dish was essentially made of up pasta, cream and cheese; sheep’s cheese dumplings topped with a creamy dill sauce. The sweet licorice flavor of the dill complimented the salty sheep’s cheese very well, and it was this combo of sweet and savory that added depth to what could potentially have been an overly rich dish.

Cream on cheese with a lot of dill

I’ve not written about how cheap the beer was in order to swerve the conclusion that all we did was drink beer for three days, but…it really is very, very cheap. The craft beer scene is gaining popularity, with a couple of really cool breweries in the city centre.

Craft beer bar in the city centre

Bratislava is a long way from winning any culinary capital awards, but I enjoyed everything I tried during my time there. The old city centre is filled with beautiful buildings and it makes for a lovely weekend away, while the cities proximity to Vienna makes it a great base for exploring into Austria, where perhaps for a keen sight-seer there is a little more on offer. In short, as mini-breaks go, don’t come to Bratislava expecting the buzz of Berlin or museums and art galleries of New York. But do visit, enjoy the relaxed vibe all around the city, eat a lot of meat, get drunk on one pound pints and tick another country off your bucket list.

Munching in Milano – the Bidmeads do Italy

11th August 2016 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

Keen for a weekend away, the Bidmead girls (my mum, sister and me) snapped up a deal for three nights in the style capital of Italy – Milan. It might have not have to romance of Rome, but it’s still in Italy, and that means….food!

A friend from work is from Milan, and she sent me off with an amazingly extensive list of must-dos and mainly, must eats (see her incredible list here…thanks, Giulia!). We headed to her recommend spot for the ‘best pizza in the city’ for our first dinner, a swanky cocktail and pizza bar called Dry.

Dry is distinctly different to the traditional Italian trattorias that line the streets of the city, marking itself out as a dimly lit, minimally decorated bar that serves up proper adult cocktails (not a piña colada in sight) and thin crust pizzas, beautifully topped with finely sliced cured meats, veg and fresh herbs.

Pizzas and vermouth at Dry

My sister is a veggie so we skipped the meat options, but this was no hardship. With a fresh courgette and basil pizza and a spinach, fior di latte cheese and tomato number, our pizza cravings were more than met, albeit it meatlessly. As my mum and sister sipped their classic Italian Aperol spritz’s, I went for a short, sweet red vermouth. Similar to a jäger mister, this still had a slightly medicinal note to it, but with a lighter, sweeter aftertaste.

The next day, we hit all the sights and after a morning moseying around the city, the strong midday sun beamed upon us and it was time for a pit stop. On my friend’s suggestion, we found the little side street behind the city’s impressive Duomo cathedral, on which the equally famous Milan landmark Luini is located.

Luini is a Milanese institution, serving up panzerotti; filled pockets of bread, sealed up and deep fried. A quick and cheap lunch option, I tried two panzerotti: one baked with anchovies, cheese and tomato and one deep fried, filled with spinach and ricotta.

Baked anchovy, cheese & tomato panzerotti

The baked panzerotti had a strong fishy flavour which verged on overwhelming, but was toned down by the melted cheese and tomato accompaniments inside the fresh warm bread. The fried ricotta cheese option, however, was a combination of sweet bread and savoury filling, which I didn’t like at all – if I wanted a sweet option, I would have chosen the Nutella one.

For Saturday’s dinner we headed to the traditional Italian trattoria Damn Atra’, another one of my friend’s suggestions. Located in the buzzing canalside area of Navigli, this restaurant is worlds (and decades) away from the hip, young joints that surround it, serving nothing but traditional Milanese dishes.

Saving all potential ordering doubts and distress, it seemed like the ‘done thing’ was to order the menu degustazione, a three-course meal with proper, Milanese classics. Very meat heavy, my mum and I opted for the menu, while my sister had tortellini di zucca for primi plati and a mixed vegetable and cheese grill for main.

Tortellini di zucca – pumpkin ravoli with sage

Tortelli is just another name for ravioli, and my sister’s first dish consisted of pumpkin filled pasta parcels, coated in a buttery, sage sauce. The sweetness of the pumpkin was brought out against the intense savoury taste of the sage, and the rich buttery sauce brought the flavours together perfectly.

The starter for the degustazione was mammoth; cured meats, fried bread, soft cheese dip, Russian salad, fried potato skins, crispy onions, and…nervetti.

A starter for two, or a small county

What’s nervetti, you might ask? Looking deceptively like pickles, I probed them and knew something was not quite kosher. I asked the waitress what these curious jellied little nibbles were, and with a smile on her face she replied “nervetti!”.

Upon studying them closer, I saw their resemblance to bacon lardons, made the phonetical link and asked “nerves?”. “Yes! Nerve endings“.

Suspecting a translation fault, I later looked this up – nervetti are actually gelatinous cubes of pressed calf’s foot. Not the veins, but the extremities of the animal instead. Even for an offal enthusiast such as myself, this was an animal part too far. There’s a clear reason the Italians exported pizza and pasta and jellied animal feet stayed home.

Starter over and done with, and nerves safely off the table, what landed in front of me next can only be described as a real contender for an eating challenge, of professional standard. What could be more Milanese than it’s namesake dish? Presenting, my milanesa main.

Cotoletta alla milanese, hand added for scale

Full name going as Cotoletta alla Milanese, this is a thinly sliced fillet of veal, breaded and fried. Actually hugely popular in Argentina too, I’ve tried many a milanesa in my time, and despite loving my meat, this bashed and breaded beige beast has never been my dish of choice.

This milanesa was the size of a steamrolled baby bear, breaded and fried. My mum had gone for the far more manageable mondeghili , Milanese meatballs, although with the two dishes combined we had enough food to feed a family for a week.

Like a thinner, pork filled chicken nugget, my opinion on milanesas was not swayed by this version. With no sauce, it’s extremely bland as a dish. Although the meat wasn’t dry I found myself aggressively squeezing more lemon on top in search of some extra taste. I much preferred the Milanese meatballs, which had the crunch of the breadcrumbs on the outside and the soft, herb filled mincemeat on the inside.

Milanese meatballs, the ‘lighter’ option

However, Damn-Altra was exactly what I wanted for a Saturday night in Milan. As traditional as an upmarket trattoria could come, it was a definite education in traditional Milanese food, even if the end result may be that this just isn’t my favourite kind of meal.

Having learnt I wasn’t mad for a milanesa, more room was freed for pasta and pizza – no bad thing at all. On Sunday we headed out to visit Lake Maggiore, an hour away from Milan city. We took a boat trip to visit Isola Bella, after arriving at Isola dei Pescatore – our lunch spot.

The tiny island is filled with restaurants, all serving up fresh catches of the day as well as the classic and much loved Italian dishes – please no more veal milanesa, though. We sat down at a restaurant right on the lake’s front and started our lunch with a mix of grilled vegetables served with salsa verde and burrata.

Beautiful burrata cheese and freshly grilled veg, served with salsa verde

Burrata is made from mozzarella and then filled with a curd cheese and fresh cream, and in this dish it was firm and perfectly rounded, yet under the weight of a fork the cheese oozed out its dense, dairy sustenance. Ignoring the Italian status quo and power ordering three first course primi plati dishes as mains, after our burrata we asked for mussels, spaghetti alla vongole (clam spaghetti) and linguine pescatore (seafood linguine).

Seafood spaghetti

Seafood linguine has long been a favourite of mine – it’s simple, not much more than tomato, garlic and fresh seafood. But when the seafood contingency of the dish is made up of whopper king prawns and meaty mussels, these simple flavours totally shine.

My sister had chosen the spaghetti alla vongole, which I never normally go for. Literally just a sauce of clams, garlic, white wine and olive oil, the clams were tiny yet bursting with flavour, happily swimming in their garlicy liquid. The mussels shared a similar sauce to the linguine, but in this dish it seemed slightly thicker and richer in flavour. All together this was a standout meal of the holiday, and the joy was…we still had room for dessert!

Many people associate tiramisu with overly boozy, soggy bottoms, although when properly done it can be light and soft, with subtle hints of alcohol and shavings of chocolate. Opting for this potted pick me up to round off our lunch, my mum and sister converted themselves into tiramisu fans with this rendition, which was distinctly booze-free but heavy on the chocolate, and topped with creme-brulee style shards of burnt sugar, which added a nice crunch to the whipped creamy filling.

Tiramisu on fisherman’s island

Despite such a huge lunch with a tiramisu on top, with an hour left in the lakeside town of Stresa before our train back to the city, I saw a pasticcicceria that looked like something out of a 1950’s Italian film, and just had to peak inside. Drawn into a tardis, taking me back in time, not only was I surrounded by red velvet cushioned chairs and old fashioned tablecloths, but I also found myself spoilt for Italian pastries. Torn over what to order and tempted by it all, it was the ricotta-filled, chocolate-lined shell of this cannolo which most caught my eye.

Cannolo (singular of cannolini) in Stresa

The rich ricotta cheese, sweetened and stuffed into the shell, was as light as a cloud, yet also densely rich with a texture that happily covered the whole inside of my mouth. This, mixed with the crunchy outer cone, was pure,= pastry bliss.

Getting back into Milan, after such a hard day’s work eating and drinking, it was time for an aperitivo, or pre dinner drink. Typical tipples for an aperitivo include bitter beverages, such as campari, vermouth or fernet. You could go for the all-out alcoholic negroni, a dangerous combo of gin, vermouth and campari, or opt for the more drinkable sbagliato.

A goblet of negroni? I think I will

Sbagliato means “mistaken” in Italian, and this drink supposedly originated from a busy bartender using sparkling wine instead of gin in a Negroni. The prosecco lightens the alcoholic load, and I had no problem sipping my way through a goblet of bitters.

Post potent-cocktails, we stumbled down the street and found what looked to be a classic neighbourhood pizzeria – Portabello. So old-school I’ve now realised it doesn’t even have a website, it’s down the road from Bar Basso at Via Plinio, 29.

Margherita pizza at Portabello

The pizzas came fresh, thin and crispy, with a whole host of toppings, from the classic quarto formaggio to the distinctly less traditional ham and pineapple. This margherita with basil was nibbled along with a caper and anchovy pizza, washed down with an €8 litre of red wine. If that’s not value, well I don’t know what is! The whole of this pizzeria was miles away from the fancy, cocktail and pizza joint Dry we had visited on our first night, but both served up exceptionally good food. This is perhaps my main reason for loving Italy as much as I do. Go to a fancy restaurant, and you’re sure to eat well. But find a local little place, where the food and wine is cheap as chips, and you know what? It’s also delicious! Lord praise good, Italian food.

Sad to leave what I’ve now know to be my the home of my gluttonous heart, I said ciao for now to this beautiful (and delicious) country. Italia…ti amo!

Elba Island; posh prawns and Nutella tarts

30th June 2016 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

Leaving the romance of Rome, the next stop on my Italian tour was Elba island, where I met up with an old friend for a few days. Napolean was famously exiled to Elba, and despite it being popular among Italian tourists, the island had an air of secret about it, an undiscovered holiday gem. Crystal clear waters and sandy beaches seemed like such a contrast to the grand buildings and historical sights of Rome, and I was excited to explore.

We stayed in Capoliveri, about 30 minutes away from the main port right at the top of the islands highest peak. Winding little streets opened up onto beautiful squares, sprinkled with shops, cafes and restaurants. We rented a motorbike so could easily whizz down and around the island, and ventured into the larger area of Porto Ferraio looking for a spot of lunch.

The Italians, much like the Spanish, take lunchtime seriously, and so emerges the menu del giorno, typically a two-course lunch with wine included and a coffee as dessert (or a pud too, if your lucky). All the restaurants on the water’s front in Porto Ferraio had a lunch meal going, with everything from lasagna to lobster. We particularly fancied getting stuck into a plate of pasta and were drawn to a sweet little place with a couple of locals lunching away, where the menu offered a main dish of tagliatelle, a starter, water, wine and coffee all for €15.

Seafood starter with smoke swordfish, prawn cocktail and squid

Seafood starter with smoked swordfish, prawn cocktail and squid

Due to an embarrassing lack of Italian language skills, I was not entirely sure on what dishes to expect, but I was pleased to be greeted with a cold seafood starter for main, featuring a good old fashioned prawn cocktail, sliced squid and smoked swordfish. The stand out item on the plate was the swordfish. The strong smoked flavor on top of the thinly slice silky flesh was delightful, and something I had never eaten before.

The main was an all out winner; soft strands of tagliatelle retained their bite under the creamy seafood sauce, with chunks of white fish, mussels and prawns. The dish was topped with crushed pistachio which added a pleasant crunch against the pillowy pasta.

Seafood pasta for mains

The portion was enormous, particularly given that I was already a starter down, but the fresh seafood mingled in with the pasta, swimming in its own creamy sauce meant I couldn’t leave my plate alone, continuing to eat well past the point of being pleasantly full. But then, what’s one to do when on holiday in Italy if not eat excessive amounts of pasta while sipping a bit of wine? So I sat back, thanking my elasticated waistband for its comfort and my cup of coffee for its digestive properties while I soaked up the beauty of the port.

Cacciucco is a typical Tuscan fish stew, local to Elba island. Traditionally made with scrap bits of fish not grand enough to stand alone on a plate, this was a dish I had read about prior to my visit and was eager to try. Again, my lack of Italian lead me to a version of the dish probably quite far removed from its original humble beginnings.

Cacciucco (ish…)

My cacciucco came al vapore, and was certainly not a chuck-it-all-in fish dish; posh, proud prawns lay delicately in the wooden steamer, alongside meaty squid tentacles and a delicate fillet of cod. Not what I expected, this dish was a simplistic stripped back version of what I imagine to be a rich and multi-flavoured stew dish. Steaming the fish and seafood meant it’s flavor stood alone, and while it was undeniably delicious and some of the freshest seafood I have had, I would have rather it be accompanied by a tomato and saffron stew, as is the dish is traditionally served.

After such a light dinner, I was certain breakfast would be more substantial. L’Orchidea Pasticceria had caught my eye from the first drive up into Capoliveri, and on our last day on the island we broke our night’s fast and satisfied out sweet teeth with some of their fine pastries for brekkie.

Breakfast with a view

I normally don’t fancy a pastry for breakfast, but after my cream filled cornetto encounter in Rome, I had come to realise that perhaps Italian pastries were what I needed – for those mornings when only something sweet and buttery will start the day right.

Food wise, the Italian’s have got it pretty much spot on. Simple recipes, quality ingredients and a real appreciation for seasonal cooking. Oh, and Nutella. Sod the exquisite veal dishes, creamy carbonaras and crispy pizzas baked in wood ovens, it’s the Italian obsession with this chocolate hazelnut spread that attracts me most to their cuisine. What sweet item isn’t improved with a hearty spread or delicate dollop of Nutella? It’s never too early for this nut-chocolate delight to make an appearance; see exhibited in the photo below.

Can’t decide what pastry to choose? How about all of them?

The chocolate hazelnut tart topped with pine nuts was essentially Nutella baked on a pastry crust, and it was wonderful. How about a chocolate hazelnut croissant? Also delicious. Almost in fear of too much of this divine chocco spread, I balanced it all out (flavor wise, most certainly not nutritionally) with a custard raisin roll and some amaretti biscuits.

I’ll clarify that I was not hitting the hard liquor prior to midday, and what appears to be an espresso martini is actually just an iced americano. Far less fun, but definitely more socially acceptable.

The very gorgeous Isola de Elba

Elba island was beautiful in every sense; the scenery, the people, the food and its overall atmosphere make it one of the most special places I have ever visited. When your only complaint about a holiday is that the fish stew you anticipated came steamed instead of slow cooked, I think that’s the sign of a great trip!

Roaming around in Rome – a whirlwind food tour

18th June 2016 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

Rome is a city that I’ve always wanted to visit; the romance, the history and overall Italian-ness of it all made it next on my list of city breaks. While in Colombia I lived with my very own Roman called Chiara, and after a year and a half apart I decided to pay her a visit in her hometown.

Chiara, a born and bred Romana, shares my interest in all things edible and exciting, and she took me on a food-filled tour of the city. After being welcomed to the city with a fantastic three-course meal at home, we started the next day with an amble around her local area of Tor Pignattara. Taking rest from Rome’s strong midday sun, we grabbed some lunch at Necci.

Necci, opened in 1924, was a favourite haunt of the famous Italian poet and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini, and today serves up a menu that is focused on classic Italian recipes with a slight twist. We shared two plates, a Panzanella salad and a black rice dish with anchovies and an asparagus cream.

Posh Panzanella bread salad

The traditional Panzanella salad had undergone a modern makeover, turning up perfectly shaped and formed into a cube. Breaking into this building of bread, the soft and chewy carby bites absorbed the flavours of the vegetables and oil perfectly. The creamy ricotta was delicious in mouthfuls on its own or smeared across the deconstructed bread tower.

For the rice dish I expected a risotto-like recipe, but was pleasantly surprised with a lighter plate of al dente grains with crunchy anchovy breadcrumbs and a smooth green asparagus purée. A more flavoursome, Italian touch on the health food power bowl craze, I liked it a lot.

Black rice salad with crumbled anchovies and asparagus cream

Having practically eaten a salad for lunch (discounting the fact it was made of bread and rice), plenty of room was left for dessert. Gelato, to be more specific.

Although Rome is filled with gelaterias, finding the very best could prove a tough task for the average tourist. Luckily, my local guide took me to what she guaranteed to be some of the best the city has to offer. “But how do you know?”, I asked. Apparently it has a lot to do with the flavours. Really good ice cream parlours here will choose their flavours according to the seasons. Il Come Latte, Chiara’s gelateria of choice, not only had all the fruits of the season but many more creamy, nutty and chocolatey flavours too.

Ever eaten a cornetto ice cream cone and thought how good that little bit of chocolate is at the end? Clearly the owners at Il Come Latte have too, as they offer the option of drizzling hot melted white or dark chocolate into your cone before the ice cream is scooped in. This chocolate solidifies and becomes like a mini chocolate bar, hidden inside the wafer holding up your mound of ice cream. As well as this, they top the gelato with freshly whipped cream flavoured with vanilla, cinnamon, lemon or left plain. Oh, and then just an extra drizzle of chocolate on top too.

Ice-cream heaven has been reached

Opting for a combination of blueberry, salted caramel and hazelnut, this gelato was a thing of beauty. The three generous heaps of ice cream stacked onto of each other formed an orgy of nutty, fruity and sweet flavours with just a touch of salt. The texture was perfect – the bite and satisfaction of a quality ice cream, with a hint of the ever so moreish smoothness that the Carte D’ors and McFlurrys of the ice cream world possess.

Chiara’s love of food is clearly a family trait, as her brother is a professional chef who works at Baccano, an upmarket wine bar/restaurant in the city centre. We went to visit him to sample the drinks menu and were treated to some of the kitchens produce; mini sandwich bites with freshly baked brioche bread and hand made sausage inside. I opted for an amber spritz to drink, a sourer twist on the classic bright orange Aperol classic. Chiara enjoyed a peach Bellini – her first ever, it turned out, and it got a thorough thumbs up.

The very lovely Chiara, and our drinks and panini bites

Pizza is everywhere in Italy. But without a Dominos or Pizza Express in sight, on almost every corner you’re able to find genuine Italian pizzerias, baking in wood ovens and lacing the streets with the warm, wafting smell of thin crusts and tomato toppings. For dinner, Chiara took me to a little place called La Focaccia, where pizza options were plentiful.

You had the choice of pizza al taglio, where smaller slices are cut a larger rectangular pizza, a wafer thin larger pizza romana, or focacciotti, small individual round pizzas with puffed crusts and various toppings. Between three people, we each chose one of the smaller focacciotti pizzas; a classic margarita, one ‘alla norma‘ (with aubergine, basil and ricotta) and one with radicchio, gorgonzola and spec.

Our mini focacciotti pizzas

The charred, airy crust crumbled in my enthusiasm to tear into my mini pizza, a wonderful trio of flavours – the strong gorgonzola cheese, salty ham and tart radicchio leaves. Beer is the perfect pairing for pizza, and as I sipped a pint of freshly pulled local pale ale, I wondered why on earth I hadn’t visited Rome sooner.

Yet sadly, after just a day it was nearly time to leave to start the next leg of my Italian tour. But of course, I wasn’t going to set off without a proper breakfast in my belly. Chiara’s local neighbourhood of Torpignattara is filled with little local gems, from the freshest fruit and veg in the shop on her corner to top-notch take-out pizza and pasta joints. She took me to her favourite bakery Pasticceria Zampilli, which serves up the classic Roman breakfast: cornettos and coffee.

No, the Roman locals don’t start their day with a Wall’s ice-cream – a cornetto is a traditional Italian pastry, similar to a French croissant. They can be semplice (plain) or ripieni (filled), with popular fillings such as crema marmellata (jam) or cioccolato (Nutella). As my friend Chiara is on friendly first-name terms with the owner, we got a very special breakfast treat; a freshly baked cornetto semplice, taken into the bakery and returned with an injection of sweetened ricotta and chocolate inside.

What a way to start the day

To balance the sugar overload I choose a dark, strong espresso, but when learning I had the option to add a sweet hazelnut drizzle to it, I couldn’t refuse. This is called crema, and apparently a very popular way to sweeten coffee. As someone who never adds sugar to coffee, but absolutely passionate about hazelnuts, I think I have been converted to the sweet side.

Although the cornetto was incredibly sweet as a whole, actually the pastry itself is not, which allows for the rich filling to provide a sugar-rush to start the day. The bakery itself was filled with cakes and tarts, and I got a chance to admire the traditional roman treat of maritozzi – a cream-filled bun, that looked brilliant yet beastly.

Can anybody say cream?

Rome treated me well; beautiful buildings throughout the city, a sense of romance and fun in every area I went, fantastic company and some of the best food I’ve had in a long time mean I will most certainly return. Leaving the city though, I was headed to Pisa for a night, and then onto the Island of Elba, off the Tuscan coast. More food filled posts to come!

Kandy’s culinary and cultural offerings

24th April 2016 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

Moving away from the small town of Ella and onto Sri Lanka’s second largest city, we reached Kandy, the capital of culture. The city centers around a large lake and on the lake’s edges stands the impressive Temple of the Sacred Tooth temple, home to a molar from the mouth of the very Buddha himself.

Eager to get our own teeth into some of Kandy’s culinary offerings, we hunted down the central market. A mix of meat, spices and more teas than I had ever seen before, friendly stall owners invited us to smell and sample their goods, with many enticing Ayurvedic beauty products too. We stocked up on spices, buying sweet cinnamon bark in bulk and sniffing our way around the huge array of curry mixes on offer.

Spices at Kandy market

After spending what felt like hours in the whirlwind of smells and sights within the market, we moved onto a popular local spot for lunch. The Kandy Muslim Hotel is not a place offering accommodation and is not particularly Islamic either. No religion, or lodging, but instead, some of the best food in Kandy, eaten in a busy café right on the main road.

Serving buttery, pillowy roti breads with sweet and creamy cinnamon dahl, customers quenched their thirst slurping down avocado lassis and fresh lime juice while selecting from a pick and mix of savoury pasties and bread being brought round to each table. Famous for its kottu, a dish of day-old roti, finely chopped and cooked with vegetables and meat on a hot plate, we ordered three portions.

Kottu for three?

Three portions were enough to feed a family of six, and despite all the willing in the world, I was defeated. Not too quickly, though…I still made an impressive dent in this dish, which was a textural mix of soft and crispy roti strips, combined with golden roasted chicken and vegetables.

One of my favourite things about Sri Lankan food is their style of eating. I envision the ‘one pot dish’ to be a crime in their eyes, as each meal I ate came with at least three dishes, all made to be mixed and eaten together, shared amongst your other dining companions. This culture of mixing various plates comes to its absolute peak at the almighty curry buffet. In truth, with a tendency to cook large amounts and such a variety of dishes, almost every meal in Sri Lanka was like a buffet. It’s really just the difference between a Sri Lankan and a greedy Brit that earns these meals their ‘buffet’ title.

Being the aforementioned greedy Brit, I reached a true glutton’s paradise at the infamous Sharon Inn dinner buffet. Contradicting the age-old buffet mantra ‘quantity over quality’, every single dish on offer was delicious in its own way, a feast of flavours, textures and food types. Smooth, velvety chard with desiccated coconut sat next to a slow-cooked and richly spiced dish of jackfruit, a fruit that when cooked takes on an almost disconcertingly lamb-like appearance, soaking up the intense curry flavours of turmeric, chilli, cinnamon and cumin flavours like a greedy, fruity sponge.

Jackfruit curry

Aubergine came cut into fine julienne strips, cooked in a sweet and sour style sauce which was sticky and dark, contrasting with a bright yellow mango curry which was light and tangy. Radish and banana leaves featured in curry dishes too, as well as green beans and yellow peppers. Fresh naan and hoppers were brought out throughout the meal, and I made a sterling effort to squeeze them in alongside the other twelve dishes on offer.

Sharon Inn curry buffet

Vegetable curries completely stole the show, leaving little need for the one token meat (chicken) dish on offer. This is a point that bears repeating; Sri Lankan cuisine is a dream for vegetarians. With such inventive use of all fruits and vegetables, Sri Lankan food is bursting with options for a meat-free diet.

Yet despite an abundance of meat-free meals throughout the trip, we ended our holiday with a seafood feast. Back in Colombo for our final night before the flight home, we paid a visit to The Ministry of Crab. Highly regarded as one of the best restaurants in Colombo, there’ll be no prize given for guessing their speciality.

Crab is, of course, their dish of the day, with customers choosing the desired size of their crustacean for consumption. You are then a given the option of which sauce you’d like it cooked in. Having eaten a fair amount of spice over our trip, we veered towards a garlic sauce without chilli. Garlicky enough to keep vampires at bay but not a touch too much, the garlic flavour melted in with mounds of extra virgin olive oil and together this mix of flavours sat perfectly on top of the crab.

Sri Lankan prawn curry

With an enormous crab to share, naturally, we felt the need to order yet another dish. The prawn curry came with impressive, almost lobster-like king prawns, cooked in a coconut curry sauce and served with freshly baked slices of bread. The prawns had a perfect, firm texture, yet for my very last meal on this earth, I may well just request a load of bread and the sauce these prawns were cooked in. A mix of coconut, large amounts of oil, gentle curry spices combined with lots of garlic and soft onions made for an all-around blow-out of a dish.

All in all, I could not have asked for a better holiday. Two weeks was a wonderful amount of time to travel around, and while we by no means covered the whole country, we managed a relaxing and fascinating mix of city, culture, beach and nature. To anyone thinking of going to Sri Lanka, this is a country with so much to offer. So go travel, eat and cook, and try for yourself all the incredible tastes of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s tea towns: cuppas and curd

19th April 2016 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

Sat high up in Sri Lankan’s hill country, the air in Ella feels different to the warm breeze on the south beaches, and a world away from the thick hot smog of the capital Colombo. A cooler climate and rolling green hills make Ella a popular stop for tourists, keen to sample the country’s finest tea and hike up into mountains where it is grown.

The rolling hills of Ella

Home stays are popular all over Sri Lanka and in Ella, staying with a family is the perfect way to explore and taste the town. Friendly families arrange everything from your climbs to your meals, and the whole experience feels far more personal than that in larger hotels or guest houses.

We stayed at Restful Inn and were the sole occupants – it has only one room! Upon arrival our host family helped us head straight out to a green tea plantation, where we learnt about the process of making green tea – did you know it comes from the same leaf as your regular cup of builders? Both green and black tea originate from the same plant, but what differentiates them is the process used to obtain the tea we drink.

Tea tasting at the green tea plantation

As well as trips around the town, the family catered our evening meals for us and served up a typical Sri Lankan breakfast. As seen in my previous post, hoppers are thin, bowl-shaped pancakes which are often eaten alongside lentil dahl in the mornings. The hoppers at our home stay were by far the best of the trip. The came either plain, wafer thin with a sweet, coconut flavour, or with egg, a combination of the perfectly cooked egg inside this thin delicate pancake.

Like a perfect poached egg, inside a pancake – oh, yes.

Beautiful breakfasts

Eating al fresco, staring out into the wild greenery and nature that surrounded the house, I’ve certainly had breakfast in far uglier places. First meal of the day down, surely in a few hours it’d be time for a snack?

When elevensies called, we took a stop at The Curd Shop. An uninspired name but doing exactly what it says on the packet, this was supposedly the best place to sample the Sri Lankan sweet of choice – curd and treacle.

Curd and treacle at The Curd Shop, Ella

Much like Greek yogurt and honey but with a tarter yogurt and sweeter honey, I ate a lot of curd in the two weeks away. Some of it veered dangerously towards a distinctly savory feta-tasting cheese, with a questionable, slightly clumpy texture, although on the whole the thick creamy curd was a favourite dessert or morning snack of our holiday.

Another culinary highlight of Ella town was our lunchtime stop at The Downtown Roti Shop. Roti is a soft, buttery thin bread similar to a flatbread. Pol roti, made from coconut flour, is a popular breakfast item, yet the larger and thinner pancake-type rotis are seen more commonly; perfect for scooping up curry or for wrapping around a whole array of fillings.

The roti station – where the magic happens

At the Roti hut, you could see the dough being stretched out and made right in front of you. This would be the rotis used for all the wraps, with a variety of fillings, from beef and prawn all the way to veg-friendly avocado and cheese. As well as roti wraps, another popular plate here was kottu; day-old roti, cut up into thin strips and cooked on a hot plate with vegetables and eggs, with the option to add in meat. My sister chose a vegetable kottu while I went for a chicken roti – a doughy yet crispy roti, filled with slightly mashed curried potato, mixed in with strips of chicken.

My sister’s vegetable kottu

A chicken roti wrap

Essentially a chicken wrap, I think this could well have been up in my favourite eats of the entire holiday. Filled to the brim with a mix of textures and flavours, this roti, once wrapped, was placed back on the hot plate to seal and cement all the flavours together. With Sri Lankan food becoming more popular in the UK, I predict a big roti trend coming our way soon (and I will be the first to tuck in!).

Coconuts and curry for Breakfast

11th April 2016 by Eve Bidmead Leave a Comment

From one beach to the next, the Bidmead tour of Sri Lanka continued down the coast to another small beach town – Tangalle. Less developed than the small but touristy town of Unawatuna, Tangalle is the perfect spot to spend a couple of days, doing absolutely nothing.

Beaching in Tangalle, Sri Lanka

Nothing, of course, still consists of consuming some truly fabulous Sri Lankan food. Our guest house included breakfast, and although we opted for a continental one morning (sometimes, you just want a dippy egg), on our second day it was time to sample our first Sri Lankan breakfast.

Popular breakfast dishes in Sri Lankan include lentil dahl, spicy but cooled down by the coconut milk it’s cooked in, eaten on top of buttery soft roti bread. Hoppers, eaten either for breakfast or lunch, are bowl shaped pancakes made from rice flour and coconut milk. Sturdy enough to stay erect in the shape of the specially shaped pan used to make them, these pancakes are actually paper thin and delicate to eat.

A typical Sri Lankan breakfast. To the left, lentil dahl (top) and below, chilli coconut sambol. On the plate (clockwise): hopper, string hopper, egg hopper & roti

The breakfast at our guest house consisted of not only hoppers, but egg hoppers too – the same dish, but with an egg cracked in the middle. Alongside out hoppers we were given a lentil dahl and pol sambol (shredded coconut, lime juice, red onions, chilli and spices). There was also freshly baked roti bread and string hoppers, which are plain cooked noodles made to be eaten along the dahl.

Don’t judge a book by its cover – Saliya restauran

After one long morning of beaching, we took a break from the sand and sun and headed towards Tangalle town for a spot of lunch. We followed a Lonely Planet recommendation and ended up at Saliya, a large wooden hut off the main road. Although its rustic setting and squat toilet would not suggest it, the food was of a very high standard. We shared a large mullet fish and fresh jumbo prawns between us. Both dishes were grilled in a sweetly spiced ginger glaze, with much more of a Japanese flavour than the spicier Sri Lankan flavours we were becoming accustomed to eating.

Grilled king prawns and mullet, served with a fruity salad

The salad was a mix of pineapple, mango, tomato, cabbage and red onion. The sweet fruit mixed with the strong and acidic onions made for a tangy culmination of flavours, with lime juice on top to help them all blend together. It was the perfect light lunch, leaving just enough room for some soft, eggy and sweet coconut pancakes for dessert.

And with a fresh coconut on the beach, it was goodbye to the sea and up into the hills, for our next stop in Ella.

Keep reading for the next Sri Lanka post, where I explore more of the wondrous dish that is roti bread, while sipping lots of tea in the cool and mountainous tea region.