Rome: Day One

Spanish Steps
Alfredo di Roma; Emperor of Fettuccine
Fontana di Trevi

9:09 Out of bed

9:45 Breakfast: Honey butter in toast, Green tea

10:10 Walk to Villa Borghese park

11 ish I sneeze and a man walking by with a t-shirt that read "Only elephants wear Ivory" said, "Salud!" (in English, Bless you) I thought that was nice. I like people with morals.

12 pm Short coffee stop at the Piazza by via del Corso

14:02 Lunch at Alfredo di Roma. The REAL Fettuccine Alfredo

14:30 Finally bought the coveted Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile. I smell diviiine

14:51 Walk up the Spanish Steps

16:07 Hair-cut and blow dry.

18:20 Second outing of the day

18:47 Made a wish at the Fontana di Trevi

19:30 Had a real full bodied cappucino

20 Dinner: Bresaola and 1/2 a bruscetta

21:03 Return to Albergo Ottocento

Creamy Thai Chicken Soup

Alright, since we are fasting this month, my taste buds get nostalgic for things I've tasted before and might I mention are hard-to-get again. Things like a Greek Lamb Gyros with a minty tzatziki from a street vendor in Bali no less. A half smoked Salmon with banana plantains and a coconut shallot sauce from Laduree, and creamy Thai chicken soup. All of those things were savored on varied vacations, and all are extremely difficult to recreate. However I am adamant about re-creating the latter. It was such a random choice for me at this chic restaurant in Victoria BC, Canada, that I even forgot the restaurant's name! But I'd never forget the taste of that soup. The chicken was shredded just right, the sauce had the right ratio of sweet and spicy, but above all it was undeniably one of the most brilliant creamy soups I ever had. No rice required! *Update: The place is called Med Grill@Mosaic*

While we are on the subject of Thai, I still have Baan Kanya on speed dial. Who is that you say? More like where. Baan Kanya is this little Thai restaurant on 39 rue de Montpensier in the 1st arrondissement, Paris. They have a set menu (with 3 options each) for every night of the week. I happened to crave a yellow chicken curry on the Friday night I was to dine there. Lo and behold, it was the first option on the menu. It was, with no exaggeration, the most amazing curry dish I ever had (and believe me I've had some good curries). The meal was so good my friend and I did not speak to each other until it was over! The place is so small and well decorated; it feels like you are hanging out in some cool person's underground loft rather than dining @ a Thai joint in the back streets of Paris. The tea menu is another thing to rave about. Regrettably, I only managed to go there one last time before I left the "city of lights", and it was a Friday night too. ;p

I took dozens of business cards @ the exit door. I still have them lying around..

Prestat

Every year my dear friend H returns from her summer vacation with new sweets and goodies for us to try. She went ga-ga over the cornucopia of candy and chocolate @ Super Target (infamously pronounced tar-jaay, with people now favoring the nick Targhetto). Butterfingers, Tootsie Rolls, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, SpongeBob SquarePants Gummies, and some of those chewy fruity things wherein you can have a tongue tattoo...that doesn't really stick. These were all things I knew and loved. There was the odd savory item which was a hit as well, something called Chix I believe? They were pretzels stuffed with cheddar cheese; a very interesting tangy combination.

BUT, what stood out from this year's selection was what she got from London town.
Oh the songs I could sing about them, the poems I could pen about them, the dreams I dream about them...They were two humble boxes of Prestat chocolates!! The most heavenly and inspiring confectionery I know!

First I tried the Banoffee Truffles. It tasted like a Banana Cream Pie only without the crust, but the caramel inside more than made up for the lack of Graham Crackers! There was a hint of decaf coffee which, if you ask me, made all the difference. It balanced the sweetness of the white chocolate and the bitterness of the dark chocolate with marvelous flair. And they certainly did well in the banana arena, they used real banana flavorings. None of that artificial mumbo jumbo for the appointed chocolatiers to the Queen!

The second box had a tough job if it wanted to out do the heaven sent scrumptious-ness that is the Banoffee Truffles; but box no.2 did not disappoint.
Within its brown and fuschia container, lined in perfect order, one after the other, were thin round discs of cocoa splendor. It was a box of Organic Milk Chocolate Wafers flavored with Ground Cinnamon. Now, with all due respect to Galler's Milk Chocolate Curry squares, Prestat's round chocolate kicks a$$!!! As you can see my taste in chocolate is a little exotic, but trust me these are divine. Quite honestly I think they were specifically engineered to melt at precisely 37 degrees or whatever the correct temperature of the mouth is. I also found that they are even more scrumptious when lightly dipped in tea with milk. It speeds up the said melting process and heralds a tasting experience one wants to savor again and again. And the key thing is that they are thin, very thin wafers that trick you into consuming more than you need to at a given sitting.

So until I can get myself to visit their playfully candy-land, boudoir looking "mikyajy" a-like store on 14 Princes Arcade in Piccadilly, I'll have to settle for the Belgian alternative right here. I'm not saying they are a bad substitute, not at all. Why, just a bite of their "Pistaches Fraiches" white chocolate bar will have me finish the entire thing in no time at all. What I'm saying is that with something this good out there, it's a wonder I did not discover something this divine sooner. Thank you H for this eye opening experience, and three cheers for the Purveyors of Chocolates!! Hip hip..!!

**Oh and fun fact; Truffles were created in the French town of Chambery (ahem ahem), where the founder of Prestat, Antoine Dufour, brought his family recipe to England. I wish I knew that then, I could've tried all the truffles in that town! Well I did have enough time, three months of time. Oh well, London here we come!'Cuz I doubt the chocolates would survive the shipping process all the way to The Island. bummer**

Photos: prestat.co.uk