Spanish Tapas in Bloomsbury: Cigala

Had a lovely dinner with friends at this Spanish Tapas place, Cigala, in Bloomsbury. Their cheese platter (Quesos) is especially good. This is the second time I tried. And the three of us shared a delicious paella. The creme brûlée nicely wrapped up a beautiful evening. I simply love the overall atmosphere of Lamb's Conduit Street, cozy and subtly vibrant.

54 Lamb's Conduit Street

London WC1N 3LW

Tel: 0207 405 1717

http://www.cigala.co.uk

Quick eats in NYC

Here are some of the great restaurants I tried in NYC, thanks very much to my dear friend Fi:

Brunch: Sarabeth (40 Central Park South)

Chinese: Mister Hotpot (5806 8th Ave, Brooklyn)  

Japanese: Totoya (1144 1st Ave, Manhattan) 

Seafood: Grand Central Oyster Bar Restaurant (Central Station)

Korean: Kunjip (9 W 32nd St)

Dessert: La Pepita (Barcelona)

One tapas I tried and really liked in Barcelona is La Pepita. I like the ambience of this place a lot. The decor of the restaurant is chic and cosy.  As the name suggests, the restaurant specializes in pepita. We ordered it and it's quite nice.

What amazes me the most is their innovative desserts. We had corn ice-cream topped with popcorn and raspberry. The other is a pumpkin mesh topped with cottage cheese and pumpkin seeds. They are light in texture and go really well with the sangria.

Address:  Carrer Còrsega, 343 (close to metro stations Diagonal or Verdaguer)

Phone: 93 238 48 93

Favorite French Toast: Eric Kayser (NYC)

This week I invited my dear friend Fi who lives in NYC to write about one of her favorite brunch places:

"It has been a long time since I am writing something that is not about science. It is very difficult to find the favorite restaurant in New York city as there are too many good ones. Eric Kayser is one of them that I tried recently that serves excellent breakfast and pastries. It is located at the corner of 74^th street and 3^rd avenue. Like most restaurants on the upper eastside, it is busy yet classy. 

I ordered French toast with apple maple syrup and fresh fruits. It is the best French toast I have ever had. The toast was glazed with brown sugar on both sides to make it crispy. Apple maple syrup was really light and served on the side. Most French toast that I had before are saggy but this is dry and not buttery. There was sour instead of regular whipped cream too. Nice combination with the sweet toast, syrup and berries. I also tried oeufs brouilles saucisses which was scramble egg, sweet sausage and red pepper on toast. Scramble egg was extraordinarily soft but overall I like that French toast more!"

Address: 1294 3rd Avenue at 74th Street, New York, NY 10021
Phone: 212.744.3100
Website: http://www.maison-kayser-usa.com/

See also: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2012/08/maison-kayser-eric-kaysers-bakery-boulangerie-patisserie-baguette-french-nyc-opening.html

Sydney Fish Market (Sydney, Australia)

A visit to the Sydney Fish Market (SFM) is a definite must for all tourists and locals who consider themselves seafood lovers.  Aubergine can agree with me that I went crazy over the Sydney Fish Market.  It was one of my favourite places; been there 5 times during my 2 weeks’ stay there.  I must admit though, once I stepped into the vicinity, my eyes went straight to the food, without really noticing what’s around there.  It is not until now that I realized they offered seafood cooking classes as well as tours of the market.  I would have loved to go behind the scenes and explored its operations.

There are over 15 retails/restaurants at SFM.  You have the option of buying seafood home or enjoying it there.  However, I do find that sharing a table with complete strangers, digging into the food with your hands, and making a huge mess are part of the wholesome experience.  If you are looking for a fine dining experience, this certainly isn’t the place for you.  It might be a bit exaggerated to say this, but they probably sell every living eatable creature you would find in the sea – lobsters, prawns, crabs, oysters, mussels, scallops, abalones, squids, and octopus, etc.  You name it, they probably have it, maybe with the exception of shark fin.  Regardless, you would be engulfed with the large selection of seafood.

It would be difficult to try every single kiosk, but if you are there at the right timing, you would be able to sample some goodies here and there.  Among the varieties, I would recommend Christie’s Kitchen (which is now called Christie's Seafood Excellence).  If you like your seafood fried or grilled, they offer a great selection including snapper fillet, barramundi fillet, salmon fillet, tuna steak, calamari, etc., all served with chips.  If you prefer your seafood raw, they also have a great variety of freshly shucked oysters and sashimi grade tuna, prawns, scallops, sea urchin and abalone.  You might think, this is pretty normal, don’t other kiosks offer the same?  What sets Christie’s apart from other kiosks is the opportunity for customers to pick out anything from their live tanks, and have it freshly cooked any way you like.  Steamed mussels? Too easy.  Lobster mornay? No problem!  Salt and pepper mud crab?  Consider that done! 

It was a bit of a pity that I was not able the try the live abalone.  They were huge, about the size of a personal size pan pizza, still in its shell.  It simply was too big for me to finish alone.  If I had a sixth visit, I’m willing to take that challenge.      

Address: Bank St, Pyrmont New South Wales 2009, Australia

Website: www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au

Cafe with the best view - Astro Cafe (Lake Tekapo, New Zealand)

In terms of the view one can get, it is hard to beat Astro cafe. The cafe is a glass house situated on the top of Mt. John, next to the observatory. It provides a stunning view overlooking Lake Tekapo, which itself is one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. The spectacular blue colour of the lake is given by "rock flour," which are rocks from nearby mountains ground into dust and became suspended particles in the lake. The coffee at Astro cafe is very good. To be honest, I forgot what the food tasted like because I was too carried away by the view. 

Address: Mount John Observatory, Godley Peaks Rd, Lake Tekapo 7945, New Zealand

Phone:+64 3-680 6007

Website: http://earthandskynz.com/earthandsky/astro_cafe/astro_cafe.html

Cafe with the best view - Cafe Pho Co (Hanoi, Vietnam)

Cafe Pho Co in Hanoi serves egg white coffee. My friends and I were very sceptical at first but turned out it was just a thick layer of custard on top. It was actually good. 

It took us a while to find the cafe because it was tucked inside an alley. We only saw the sign of the cafe but couldn't see the entrance. There was a very narrow opening like a gap in the wall which suddenly spilled out a motorcycle. It was then we realised there might be something inside and we ventured in. After walking through a dark, mysterious, and winding alley, an old charming four-storey house appeared in front of us. It feels a little bit like Alice stumbling into wonderland. The waitress greeted us and took our orders immediately. 

We had to climb up a steep spiral staircase to reach to the top of the cafe and we were stunned by the beautiful night view of the city and the lake at night. Since we were there in the evening, the quality of the pictures is not that great. But the view is really gorgeous and since it was very breezy on the rooftop, it's a wonderful spot to hang out till late.

This is one of the coolest cafes I've ever been

The egg white coffee

Address: 11 P Hang Gai

Phone: 04 3928 8153