October | 2014 | thefidgetyfoodie

6 sugar highs I’ll never forget

Posted on October 30, 2014 by thefidgetyfoodie

Get to the heart of a country’s sweet spot and I think you’re well on your way to understanding the very soul of those people. The Greek sweets I’ve grown up with often come drenched in honey syrup and sprinkled liberally with cinnamon. Well we are sweet and intense people are we not?!

I have an extraordinarily strong sweet tooth. And a very robust dessert stomach. Both come in handy when travelling and eating a disproportionate amount of sweet treats.

Here is a taster of some unforgettable sweet moments; memorable as much for their provenance as their deliciousness.

Hungarian Dobos Torte

Dobos Torte: this Hungarian beauty was invented 130 years ago; that’s impressive staying power in the fickle world of dessert fads (take note cronuts). Five layers of sponge cake and chocolate buttercream are topped with a firm caramel glaze and crushed nuts. Patissier József Dobos pioneered the use of buttercream to extend the cake’s shelf life, a clever idea in the pre-refrigeration age. Pick up a slice from any patisserie or cafe throughout the country.

Europe’s first liquid nitrogen ice cream parlour

Liquid nitrogen ice cream: cooking with liquid nitrogen is not exactly an age old technique but it has revolutionised ice cream production. Leading the charge is Chin Chin Labs, tucked away in London’s Camden markets. Pick your flavour and watch as the ice cream custard mixture is whipped into a frenzy with liquid nitrogen, delivering ridiculously smooth, dense and crystal-free ice cream to order.

Saffron and seasame seed ice cream with salty caramel sauce and pistachio crumbs

A myriad of curious flavours rotates regularly; try tonka pineapple one week and pumpkin cheesecake the next. They also get creative with their toppings (white chocolate coated potato chips anyone?).

Calissons, almost too beautiful to eat (but not quite)

Calisson: you can’t take two steps in Provence without tripping over a display of these stunning beauties. Each one perfectly almond shaped, they are made from candied fruit paste and marzipan with a thin layer of royal icing. The flavours represent the beautiful produce and colours of southern France. My favourite place to buy them is La Cure Gourmande. Why L’Occitane hasn’t developed a calisson flavoured range is beyond me. Read More

How to navigate a Polish milk bar

Posted on October 25, 2014 by thefidgetyfoodie

Walk around the cosmopolitan streets of a modern Polish city and the communist era is not immediately evident.

Until you step into a Polish milk bar (bar mleczny). Offering hearty meals to the masses, these cheap cafeterias thrived during the communist era and are still popular with students, pensioners and curious travellers. And apparantely the staff liked to yell at customers (soup nazi style).

Familijny milk bar in Warsaw

My equally curious friend Maz and I walked into Warsaw’s best known milk bar, Familijny, with empty bellies and a sense of excitement. It was a no frills affair, from the formica tables to the absence of any colour. Minimalist in the way only ex soviet bloc countries can be.

The extensive menu of Polish classics

We looked at the menu on the wall. 100% Polish. I can generally navigate a foreign menu, taking cues from the layout and the few words I know. We took a stab that zupa was soup and gulasz was goulash. After that we were stumped.

Diners eat quickly and quietly

So we decided to order something from each section and hope for the best. The most expensive dish was 7.5 zlotys (AUD$2.50/£1.50) so we weren’t exactly risking our life savings. This is what we ordered

1. bulka
2. zupa gzbowa
3. kurczak pieczony
4. gulasz miesny
5. nalesniki
6. kalafior

Our experimental meal at Familijny milk bar

Which turned out to be (clockwise from the top left) Read More

Wine harvest in Alsace

Posted on October 21, 2014 by thefidgetyfoodie

Alsace is my favourite region of France and in my eyes makes the best wine (no doubt Champagne and Bordeaux would have something to say about that).
The Alsace wine route runs from Strasbourg to Mulhouse and is full of quaint villages, medieval châteaux and dozens of wineries.

Dambach-La-Ville in Alsace

I’ve drunk my fare share of Alsatian wine (pass the Gewürztraminer please) but never participated in vendage or vintage; arguably the most important step in the entire wine making process. Pick the grapes at the wrong time and you’re doomed.

My friends Agathe and Manuel from Selestat knew this when they instructed me to get into the car one Saturday.

“We’re going to a winery” they said. “It’s the perfect season to pick grapes”.

Brilliant I thought. Gewürztraminer grapes as far as the eye can see!

Half an hour later we arrived in Dambach-La-Ville and pulled up at the Pierre Arnold winery.

Henry IV knew what he was talking about

Our hosts gave us a tour of the winery facilities, including the pressing room, the storage room and the tasting room. Sylvaner grapes were being pressed that day while giant oak barrels held a variety of wines is various stages of fermentation.

The large oak barrels had quotes written elegantly in French or Alsatian (the local dialect that blends French and German). My favourite quote was from Henry IV:

‘Bonne cuisine et bon vin, c’est le paradis sur terre’.

‘Good food and wine, it’s paradise on earth’. Agreed!

The barrels must be cleaned thoroughly to prevent tartar build up. At one point our host donned a waterproof suit and contorted his elongated form through the tiny trap door to give one particular barrel a good scrub.

At this point it was nearing 1pm which meant just one thing. Déjeuner! A hoard of hungry vendage workers had just arrived for their main meal of the day and it was time for us to sit down and join them.

Hungry vendage workers

I’ve always loved the devotion and energy that the French apply to their lunch. It is still common practice for people to stop everything and either return home to prepare a meal or enjoy a meal out of the office with colleagues. A sandwich at one’s desk would be unthinkable.

We joined the ravenous workers at a long table for a welcoming round of fromage frais on crusty bread and Pierre Arnold wine. Then my nose suddenly picked up a tangy, sour scent and I knew it could only mean one thing in these parts. Choucroute!!

Choucroute – definitely not a dish for vegetarians

Alsace’s most prolific dish includes piles of sauerkraut braised with various cuts of cured pork, juniper berries and boiled potatoes. Generous serves were accompanied by Dijon mustard, fresh bread and more wine. Read More

Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium

Posted on October 19, 2014 by thefidgetyfoodie

What´s the hottest ticket in London these days?

A table by the window in The Shard? Tickets to the latest version of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch?

Wrong. That would be a booking at a certain east London cafe. This place has turned back the likes of Katy Perry in recent times and you´d be hard pressed to score a table before the year was out.

The unassuming entrance of Lady Dinah´s

And why all the fuss? Cats! Practical cats, dramatical cats, pragmatical cats, fanatical cats, oratorical cats, delphioracle cats… inside Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium you´ll find almost the full spectrum of T. S. Eliot´s cats.

Read up on each cat before you enter the cafe

Introducing the cats that live at Lady Dinah´s

This café was set up primarily to care for rescued cats so the entire space is like a feline Disneyland with every nook and cranny filled with fun wheels, toys and nesting perches.

Guests are carefully briefed, sanitised and wormed… i mean warned, before entering the emporium. Don’t even think about picking up one of the ten cats mid-snooze or feeding them your macaron crumbs. If they approach you however, it´s game on. Read More

Scotch eggs

Posted on October 16, 2014 by thefidgetyfoodie

What is Britain´s favourite snack?

A piping hot Cornish pastie, Marmite on toast, jellied eels perhaps?

Well no doubt all of the above, but certainly also high up on the list is the humble scotch egg. Consisting of a hard boiled egg encased in sausage meat, breadcrumbed and fried, it was allegedly invented by the Queen´s providore, Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly London, as a convenience food. The idea was that a scotch egg or two could fit nicely into a gentleman´s pocket or hankerchief to provide sustenance on the long carriage ride back to the manor. Well it was 1738.

The scotch egg was bastardised for a while there in the 90´s and taken advantage of by service stations and the like but now seems to be going through a renaissance. In the interests of presenting a well-rounded (no pun intended) case, I recently sampled a selection and bring you my findings:

A Fortnum & Mason scotch egg

Fortnum & Mason scotch egg: Whether or not you believe their ´traveller´s snack´ tale matters not a jot. Bite into one of these beauties to reveal succulent organic mince and a perfectly cooked soft yolk egg. Read More

8 things you simply must eat in Iceland

Posted on October 15, 2014 by thefidgetyfoodie

Considering how isolated Iceland has been for most of its history, it´s no wonder the island´s tiny population (320,000!) has developed a unique cuisine based on whatever raw materials were available. Many traditional ingredients and dishes remain popular to this day and you would be crazy not to try these delicious delicacies when you go.

Skyr (pronounced skeer) is practically the national food and until recently was only available in Iceland. This high protein, low fat creation is technically a cheese, but looks and tastes like yoghurt and is delicious. It comes in a range of flavours and also in a drink form. My favourite flavour was vanilla but they are all tasty, you can´t go wrong. Skyr is available everywhere, even at the airport, which is handy for smuggling a few tubs home.

While staying on an Icelandic farm, the skyr came out for every meal. My adopted family often added cream or milk. Yes, it was a dairy overload but it somehow it worked!

Barbequed horse steak

Icelandic horses are revered for their beauty and strength (not to mention their unique ´five-gaits´) and have always been an essential prop of the economy. Eating horse meat has kept Icelanders from starvation over the years and it´s prized for its strong flavour. Throw a horse steak on the barbie if you get the chance! Read More

And the cosiest airport award goes to…

Posted on October 15, 2014 by thefidgetyfoodie

You´re thinking Singapore´s Changi because it has a pool and a butterfly garden. Or Bangkok because you can get a massage 24 hours a day. Maybe Munich for its brewery?

No.

Not for me anyway. Airports these days seem to offer everything the so called modern traveller needs but the one thing I´ve always found distinctly absent from every airport I´ve visited is a personality, or god forbid a sense of humour.

Which is why my recent visit to Tallinn airport, en route to Paris, was such a surprise. Estonia´s capital is not usually setting international style benchmarks, but I found myself delighted and surprised several times while waiting for my flight. And not by the kids play area, unlimited free wifi and Skype video booths (although they were cool too).

The help-yourself library at Tallinn airport

First up was the the airport library where you can read and even borrow a book at your leisure, with the idea that you´ll return it on your way back or replace it with a book you no longer need. A genius idea that fosters a sense of community and environmental awareness.

Book in hand, I walked into the nearby Kohver Café and was bowled over by the fact that this was not a chain café. Independent businesses are rarely, if ever, courted by airports. It was teeming with vintage décor and quirky styling, including coffee tables made out of antique suitcases (an idea I am totally going to copy). This café would look perfectly at home in Sydney´s Surry Hills or London´s Soho. Read More

Jeu de boules French-style… in the Netherlands

Posted on October 15, 2014 by thefidgetyfoodie

Jeu de boules (also known as pétanque, bocce or just plain boules) is a popular game in quite a few European countries, but seems to be approached with particular zeal by the French. That includes Frenchies living elsewhere like my lovely half French friend Corine who lives in the charming Dutch city of Utrecht.

Everything you need for French boules, under the shadow of a Dutch windmill

We spent a day playing this addictive (and surprisingly strategic) game, right in front of a traditional windmill for a nice Dutch touch.

A couple of rounds of lawn bowls back in Sydney is not exactly solid training for this sport, especially when up against enthusiasts who have practically been playing since birth. I was happy just to be playing though, on a previous weekend trip to Lyon with local friends, only the men were permitted to play!

Ricard and poulet to accompany the game

I´ve also learnt that drinking Ricard is essential when playing jeu de boules. The French wouldn´t consider playing without it. I found that the more I drank, the better my game became (or at least the better I think my game became). Other essential accoutrements included saucisson, pain frais and a dish of wonderfully lemony poulet. Read More