Saturday, November 19, 2011

A cup of tea part 2

What a meal! Just look at this super crusty bread alongside with spicy olive oil and hummus. What a wonderful way to start off your meal. The Riding House Cafe was fantastic. 




Smoked Mackerel pate with sesame toasted bread. 




Probably one of the best salads. Ever. Everything was so fresh! You know when you order a salad and you see the brown spots, God knows how long it has been sitting in a plastic bag..ew. In this case, I had a bowl of fresh delightfulness. Ingredients that stood out were paper thin sliced radishes, fresh peas and corn, avocado, micro greens, and hearts of palm. 



Kedgeree! My new discovery. This wonderful dish, once eaten for breakfast, was brought by the British colonists from India during the Victorian times. It consists of boiled rice, flaked fish (sometimes smoked like in this case), curry, and hard boiled eggs (I prefer them on the softer side). Everything was finished with a handful of watercress. 
I made this as soon as I came home and it's a keeper!



The interior design was wonderful, couldn't keep my eyes off of these chairs. 



The following day I had the privilege of having breakfast at the famous Wolseley. It is a must when visiting London. You should definitely try their Viennoiserie, stunning. One of my favorites is the Canelle, the tiny black one in the middle. It's a French classic, with very specific procedure on how it's made and most importantly, baked on high temperatures in copper molds. 



Look at this perfect honeycomb!




Flea markets - absolutely love 'em! I love anything and everything rustic, vintage, antique...





Always wonderful shots at my favorite coffee shop - Kaffeine -



St. John Bread and Wine. A MUST. This was one of my favorite meals, not just in London but overall. They are the definition of local, seasonal and RUSTIC. The bread is made in house, and it had a slight acidic note to it aka sourdough starter, with beautifully creamy and sweet butter to go with. 


I love Kohlrabi. This was a fantastic way of utilizing this wonderful veggie. Marinated in olive oil and lemon accompanied with capers and arugula. 





Local beer. 



Warm lentil, squash, arugula, greek yoghurt and fried pumpkin seed salad drizzled with pumpkin seed oil. 





Monday, November 14, 2011

A cup of tea part 1

London! I went on a little get away for a few days, eat some great food, enjoy the sunny weather (!) and improve my British accent. Oh London....great city, so much to see.


Flying above the Mediterranean coast is always such a pretty sight. 


Hyde park, real fall. I could have walked for hours. 



Laduree blew me away. Ridiculously good pastries. 



Praline mille feuille


Citrus brioche, to die for. Texture, sweetness, toasted almonds....Pure perfection. 


100% chocolate madness





My favorite coffee shop - Kaffeine

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Short trip to Zagreb

Zagreb - Here I come again! I had a small business trip and an opportunity to visit some of my favorite places including the one and only Elis cafe and the ever fabulous Nik. I got to try his newly roasted Kenyan coffee, which was as good in a latte as it was in an Aero Press. In case you never heard of this fantastic little coffee maker, check it out HERE. It's a discovery!



If I visioned my dream place, Velvet cafe would be IT. I don't remember last time I saw something like it. The interior design, ambiance, drinks, DESSERTS - wonderful! 
Thanks to my dear old school friend,  I got introduced to this place. Please make sure you visit if you are in the area.



Living in the Mediterranean doesn't really give me an opportunity to experience real fall. Coming to Zagreb was as autumn slap in the face! Beautiful parks, reddish leaves, crisp air. Lovely. 



Each trip brings me another new culinary/pastry experience. This time (apart Velvet) it was a tiny rustic (I love everything rustic) restaurant "Lari & Penati". Well hello there! :)



I want my wall to look like this. 
(It's all about that carrot) 




Very light, detoxifying vegetable soup. 


Duck confit  - hells to the yeah. I never had it in Croatia and boy was it good. Crisp vegetables (beans maybe a bit too al dente) roasted potatoes and crispy skin with super moist and well seasoned duck. 




Enjoying the atmosphere up top with mind still at Velvet cafe and their delish desserts, while closely holding a bag of Kenyan coffee beans.