Foods We Eat...

The main thing that one does during their holidays is of course EAT!

Since we were in two different cities, will post them in two different sections.

ROME

I have to say that the restaurant service in Rome is not that good. Or maybe I am just too used to the attentive staff of the restaurants here in Jakarta. And the funny thing about Rome is that you are charged a different price when you sit-down to dine. For example, there was this cafe which charges EUR 3 for a takeaway granita. And once you sit-down, the price shoots up to EUR 5. Gila!

We had quite a number of dinners inside our rented apartment...which was kinda nice. I would really recommend staying in an apartment when travelling with kids. It's so much more convenient. I could still feed the boys breakfast whilst still in my PJs! Hahahhaahah...

The supermarket nearby had roasted pork (Italian "Siew Yoke" as my sons put it) which was really yummy. Crispy skin and with layers of fat in between the meat! Heaven! We loved this so much that we had this two days in a row. We actually wanted to eat more of this on our last night, but it was sold out! The Parma Ham was also sooooo good. And the creamy fresh milk! The milk was really really good.....even the boys could tell the difference. They were kinda disappointed with the English milk when we were in London. :-D

There was this Cafe by the Vatican City that I felt was really really CUT-THROAT. All we had was 2 sandwiches, a plate of sausages, a bottle of Fanta and a cup of fruit salad. The bill came up to EUR 49!!!!! Really want to cut the tourists' throats! I forgot to jot down the name of this Cafe. Otherwise sure I will tell people NOT to go there!!!

Other restaurants that we patronised were not so terrible. We went to Galilei which was behind our apartment block.

We had Parma Ham, Spagetti Bolognese, Sausages, Aubergine Parmigiana and a big bottle of water....and the price was EUR 37. Compare this with the GILA Cafe above.

We basically ate in restaurants that are convenient to wherever we were....There were only a few that we selected specifically.

One was Armando Al Panthoen, which is located near the Pantheon. It is listed in TimeOut's Critic's Choice.

Can't remember exactly what we had. Think there was a Seafood Risotto, Spagetti Carbonara, Ravioli, A half-bottle of wine.... The food is okay lah. I think the Italian Food at Portovenere at the Ritz Carlton here in better.

The second place was..... San Crispino. It was touted as the BEST gelato in Rome, and some say Italy!

So of course must go and SAVOUR this gelato. It is located near the Trevi Fountain. It's NOT cheap. EUR 3 for a single-scoop cup. And it's not even full....as the base of the cup is slighly raised from the bottom! But what to do? The gelato is indeed pretty good. After tasting this, boys refused to EAT any other gelato....and we did go back another day. Talk about being spoilt!
(When you first enter, you probably go "Eh? Italian gelato or Indian??" as the staff's all Indian.hahahaahh)

Also, went to Caffe Greco, which is located on Via Condotti. Went there because it was in my DK Guide Book. Opened in 1760 by a Greek, and has been visited by Keats, Byron, Casanova, mad King Ludwig of Bavaria etc.
What's my verdict? Very expensive for so-so coffee! Even S1 said the coffee was not so nice. I had a hot latte, S1 had a cold latte (big boy already mah!) and S2 had a fresh orange juice....and the bill was EUR 23! EUR 7 for each coffee, and S2's orange juice was EUR 9! And that fella just gulped it down in like 5 seconds!!!!!!! Oh well....

LONDON
We had a couple of meals at our serviced apartment. Shepard's Pie, Cumberland Pie, Sandwiches, Pates etc. ...but not as often as I would like. I was looking forward to eating M&S's Chicken Kiev, and perhaps some big fat English sausages, but didn't managed to.

We had quite alot of sandwiches. H absolutely loves the Bacon & Egg sandwiches. I actually like BLT (bacon, lettuce & tomato). We had them in the park a few times. Lovely jubbly. How I miss that!

As you know, we went to Halepi over at Baywater for my birthday. My sister, G and her fiance R joined us. So it was Taramasalata, Hoummos, Lamb Souvla etc etc... with Chianti.

This trip, seems like eating alot of pies. I had pies for lunch both at Porters @ Covent Garden, and another pub (cannot remember name) @ South Ken.
But I have to say that the pies were pretty good at both places. (Except for S2's Shepard Pie at Porters. Don't know why it was soooo sour. Used too much vinegar. But couldn't really complain as it was free for kids)

And of course we had scones and cream! So yummilicious and absolutely FATTENING! At Harrods, we had a tier of scones and various other items - both sweet and savoury. Boys cleared the plate clean!

And then more sweet-things at the Cafe at Buckingham Palace. Yeah. Now I can say that I had tea (err..actually a latte) at the Queen's Residence!!!
Met my old friend D and his wife for an Indian dinner on Sunday night at Khans @ Baywater. Again, G and R joined us. We then had drinks at Whiteleys. You must be wondering how come my boys allowed us the time for drinks... Well, there was an internet kiosk at Whiteleys. Gave them 2 quid each to play their online games which accorded us 2 hours of chatting. :-)

Other places that we ate... some odd Japanese/fusion restaurant near Oxford Circus. Simply ate there because we needed to be quick in order to catch the 'Sister Act' musical.

And being the Chinese woman that I am...of course must go and eat CHINESE food. Went to meet my old friend SH (who drove down all the way from Oxford with her older son) at Royal China for dim sum; to Crispy Duck for crispy aromatic duck and crispy beef (I know. Very angmoh food. But suddenly reminiscent about student days) and to this other Chinese restaurant for KwayTeow and Noodles....

Okay lah. Brain not working already....