Lemonade as Our Teacher

Coming down the jetway trying to catch one of our flights in Hong Kong, I caught a glimpse of this poster and had to stop to take a picture of it. It summarized so many things we were trying to accomplish in our trip with Avinash. 1. We wanted him to be aware of the world we live in. To be mindful that we do have cultural and regional differences, but that everyone still loves lemonade. 2. Isn’t a lemon by any other name just as sour? Whether it’s called lemon, limone, limbu, chanh, or anything else, a lemon is[…]

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Food Notes

Boston – Quesadilla filled with mashed potatoes. London – Pickled eggs at the pub Rome – Sicilian fried chickpea triangles. Panelle. Saturnia – Warm Ewe cheese with pear mousse. Ravioli with ricotta and sage. Ricotta with honey. Florence- lemon ricotta ravioli Siena- cantucci with vino to dip in Pisa – Cecina, a regional (Lucca) chickpea crepe Sardegna – Seada Sardegna – Culirgiones -pasta filled with mashed potatoes. Close to pierogis Menemen- Turkish egg and tomato India: Bhaji Roti (Rotla) with Makhan and good (gore) Puran Puri Daal bhati Pudla Khaman Panda Bharfi Gulab jamun Tropicana pani puri Vietnam Triangle sandwich[…]

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I’m a sucker for a good infomercial

We decided to go to the open air market at Campo di Fiore to stock up on some fruits and veggies. Sitting at one of the stalls was this guy who should have his own spot on QVC. He had these contraptions that turned potatoes into pigtail ringlets and zucchinis into flowering blossoms. I was sold. In fact, I was sold not only once but twice. I bought 2 sets – still not sure why. The challenge was on. Could we go home and recreate this vegetable art that this man promised these plastic contraptions could magically do? We then[…]

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Rome- Mi Amore, you are wooing me with your Cappucinos

I have a new cappuccino addiction. At the corner of the Pantheon is a coffee shop, with only stand up counter service, called Tazza d’Oro. The place is filled with locals and tourists trying to edge their way in for the tiniest sliver of space at the counter. The first time we walked in I was completely lost. People were seemingly just walking up to the counter and automatically getting served beautiful cappuccinos and decadent iced granitas. They barely exchanged words but the barista knew exactly what they wanted. I must have gawked for at least 5 minutes before I[…]

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Gola in Wembley- More Little India

How did all the Gujaratis take over this suburb of London??  I swear from the minute we walked off the train we were bombarded with smells and sights that made us think we were in India.  The only reason we knew we weren’t is because the roads were a little too clean (but only marginally).  There were street food stalls selling everything from dosas to pani puri to seasoned corn kernels.  But what made me stop and shriek with excitement was the gola stand. Now keep in mind that as much as we love Indian street food we CAN’T have[…]

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Fresco – Lebanese

We had lunch today at Fresco, a Lebanese restaurant in Bayswater.  It was pouring rain today and after being charged 140GBP at Snappy Snap (yes that is the name of the photo shop) for visa pictures for all of us, I was just looking to go somewhere and sit down.  The food was good not great.  There’s probably much better Lebanese or Mediteranian food to be found but this was what we settled on.  We got the Mezza Plate and Moussaka.  Both were OK.  Food seemed fresh and the service was fine, but the flavors just seemed flat.  Or maybe[…]

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