Mexican Restaurant Pancho Villa
One of my favourite cuisine; Mexican!
I was happily surprised to find quite a number of mexican restaurants in Cologne. This one had a nice range of cocktails! Food- mouth watering…
Burritos and Fajitas
You bet i was very full…
Mex hat and margarita
My frozen strawberry margarita and tortillas in the mexican basket!
Fried burrito
Not to forget dessert!…. This was the first time i had something really different as a dessert in a mexican restaurant; fried burrito with banana filling with whipped cream and chocolate and strawberry sauce. Awesome! The fried burrito is not at all greasy, the strawberry sauce is sweet and sour which compliments very well with the chocolate sauce and banana filling. I was really not hungry for the rest of the night!
Thai Restaurant
I wasn’t sure now the name of the thai restaurant that we visited.I think it is called Zambirik. Situated along the canal near the Dom. Quite a touristic area. Fortunately it’s a gem between the touristic rows of restaurants. Service was good and attentive. The food was delicious and not too hot and spicy. The waiter told us that they “lower” the level of spiciness.
tom yam gung
Tom yam gung- Good level of spiciness without burning your mouth! The waiter gave us the thai fish sauce and cut chillies in a small bowl knowing that we appreciate authentic food.
spring roll
Thai spring roll- Definitely home made it’s a must try!
red curry beef
Eric’s favourite- Red curry beef. Not too spicy, coconutty,beef was soft and tender, just a little bit too salty for my liking. I prefer green curry tho.
pad thai
This Pad thai was so far one of the best that i had tasted outside of thailand. Comparable to the good ones in thailand. Tasty sweet and spicy.
Thumbs up to the restaurant!
The only thing we noticed in Cologne is that restaurants are not smoke free. The restaurants divided their sitting arrangement into 2 section- one for smokers and at the back for non smokers. The only place that was non smoking was Ludwig restaurant- probably because it is inside the Ludwig museum.I wish eating establishments implement the non smoking rule in the restaurants. Not only it is healthier and also considerate to non smokers but to appreciate good food and such, it’s not appetizing and enjoyable with tobacco smoke filling up the whole place.
Simply deliciously fabulously good! That’s one sentence to sump it up. Whenever i’m in germany i had less dissapointment when it comes to food. Even the normal cafe whipped up delicious simple meal for under 5 euro. Here are some places that we visited during our stay in Cologne city.
The Ludwig Museum Cafe-Restaurant .
http://www.ludwig-im-museum.de/
Lambs cutlet with polenta and home made vegetables
Lambs cutlet with polenta and home made vegetables. Yummy ,i had this for lunch! Great dish, balance and the polenta adds a nice touch than the usual gratin or pommes.
Black ravioli spinach with prawns in skewers.
Eric decided to choose the Hausgemachte Perlhuhn-Trüffelpanzerotti mit Scampispieß (turkey truffel ravioli pasta and prawn skewers in cream sauce). I like this dish too.Smooth cream sauce and a nice soft bite on the ravioli.
I also had a great freshly made vegetable quiche.One of the best i had ever eten. Soft to the bite and the eggs just takes like fresh soft tofu.Thumbs up! Quiche and salad cost less than 5 euro!
Russian cheesecake
A meal would not be complete without dessert isn’t it? Whenever i’m in France or Germany, the pattiserie and conditorei is a big must stop for me! Eric used to laugh at me calling me an old woman when i told him that i used to hang out at cafes or restaurants for tea or coffee with cakes after lunch. My previous stay in Munich had taught me that cakes in germany is a delicacy. From the berliner bollen to the pretzel and the cheesecakes ahhh cheesecakes they are so deliciously light and creamy and not too sweet. They do not taste like factory cakes.If the outside coating of a berliner bollen is full of sugar, the jam filling is not too sweet and the dough is fluffy and not too sweet either. On average the price of the dessert restaurant Ludwig is around 3 euro.
Dear foodies,
I have been wanting to share with you some kitchen tips for Asian cooking. Here are some of my thoughts on kitchen equipment- why do Asians like to use a wok?
Today i will cover a few topics about rice cooker,wok and pans.
Rice Cooker
Whenever i talk about cooking rice, my advise is – buy an electric cooker. Whether it is a small rice cooker or a big one it doesn’t matter because the cooker works best on itself without bothering us when we are preparing Asian food. Note that when preparing Asian food, you are always busy cutting and frying.Releasing one duty that is cooking rice can be a great help.Also always remember to buy a rice cooker that can switch itself to “keep warm” when it is cooked.
Taking into consideration that i cooked a few dishes within 2 hours without having to worry that my rice is over or undercooked or too soggy gives me a sense of relief. I am always greatful to my rice cooker which has been serving me nice fragrant rice, perfect texture for the last 4 years.I am still using it.
Kuali
You might be wandering what is a “kuali”? Kuali is a Malay term for Wok.Most or in fact all Asian homes in Asia has a kuali or maybe more kualis in their kitchen.They used the kuali for almost everything- Sitr frying ,deep frying,frying an egg,frying noodles etc.However one misconception about cooking with a kuali is that we do not make all those kling klang noises when we cooked with kuali at home. Most of the times those cooks at food stalls or the back kitchen of a restaurant make the noises to attract attention or maybe i may not know why…
Aluminium or Cast iron wok?
It is all about preferances.Most of the times a good iron wok will cost slightly more than the aluminium ones. Aluminium ones heats up faster and also retains a steady heat. Whereas the iron ones takes a slightly longer time to heat up but when it does it can retain extreme heat, food cooks in a shorter period of time and retain its flavour.
Kuali
Myself? I prefer a cast iron wok. The one i have at home and use constantly is the one from Silit. It has a diameter of 36cm but at the same time the base is small meaning i can put the wok even on the smallest ring on the induction plate. It is robust and most important of all easy to clean. Any residue that sticks on the coated surface can easily be removed by soaking it with water within less than a minute i can scrub it off with a soft sponge. Also it is scratchproof. It is lighter in weight than most iron wok and does not give an iron taste in food .Easy for me to carry around. As much as i like a Creuset wok and its products which is also good for its durability,Silit is pretty good for its quality and price factor. With an iron wok food keeps warm longer as it retain its heat for a certian period of time.Not to forget iron woks can be used in most types of stoves.
Enough talk about woks… lets move on to Pans!
All of my pans in my cupboard are non-stick pans. Reason being, i just love non-stick pans.I wash my pans and wok by hand so non-stick pans are easy to clean.It is also ideal for frying if i am not using the wok.Food doesn’t get burn easily too.However always buy a good non-stick pan.One thing to remember is not to use anything metal like a metal slice as it will scratch and damage the surface.
The best quality product will always turn out to be a good investment as it will last you a long time.
Aquamarijn the last of the 4 towers has won the architectural award 2010 in Amsterdam. Here is the story:
http://www.arcam.nl/evenementen/programma_nl.html
’4 TORENS OSDORP’ WINNAAR
AMSTERDAMSE ARCHITECTUUR PRIJS 2010
“… statige eenvoud en bescheidenheid in de vormgeving…”
Amsterdam, 8 april 2010
De winnaars van de Amsterdamse Architectuur Prijs 2010 (de Gouden A.A.P.) zijn het architectenbureau Wiel Arets Architects en de opdrachtgevers Bouwbedrijf M.J. de Nijs Project IV BV en Eigen Haard van het project ‘4 torens Osdorp’. Dit is woensdagavond tijdens een feestelijke bijeenkomst in Felix Meritis bekend gemaakt.
De Amsterdamse Architectuur Prijs is door ARCAM (Architectuurcentrum Amsterdam) in het leven geroepen en wordt toegekend aan architect en opdrachtgever van een in het voorafgaande jaar gerealiseerd project dat volgens een internationale jury boven alle andere uitsteekt. De jury bestond dit jaar uit de Nederlandse architect Marc Koehler, de Belgische architectuurcriticus Christophe van Gerrewey en de Duitse architectuurhistorica Angelika Schnell. Eerdere winnaars waren Dok architecten (2008) en Claus en Kaan Architecten (2009).
Uit het juryrapport:
“Het project ’4 torens Osdorp’ is een project waaraan jaren is gewerkt. In 2009 werd de laatste van de vier woongebouwen gerealiseerd, nu moet alleen nog de laatste hand worden gelegd aan de landschapsinrichting. Die laatste maakte grote indruk op de jury. De manier waarop de vier schijven en de ondergrondse parkeergarage zijn geïntegreerd in een groenzone met eilanden wordt knap gevonden, vooral doordat een subtiele leegte het resultaat is. Lof dus in eerste instantie voor opdrachtgever, supervisor en landschapsarchitect die oude kwaliteiten van het AUP hebben herkend en gewaardeerd. Binnen het stedebouwkundig schema hebben de torens een betoverende werking. Daartoe dragen vooral het abstracte beeld, de statige eenvoud en bescheidenheid in de vormgeving en de rustige detaillering bij. Het project heeft alle kenmerken van een soort ‘hypermoderniteit’ en maakt daarnaast een metropolitane, op de toekomst gerichte indruk.”
Alle 25 genomineerde gebouwen zijn opgenomen in de publicatie Amsterdamse Architectuur 2009-2010 (ARCAM POCKET 23).
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Golden A.A.P. 2010
07.04.10
Wednesday night April 7 the Amsterdam Architectural Prize (Golden A.A.P.) has been awarded to the project ‘4 torens Osdorp’ by Wiel Arets Architects and the commissioners Bouwbedrijf M.J. de Nijs Project IV BV en Eigen Haard.
The nominated projects are on show in an exhibition at ARCAM and are published in the guide Amsterdam Architecture 2009-2010″ .
April 2010
Koelner Philharmonie
Joseph Haydn -The last 7 words..
Last weekend Easter, i had a special surprise from my hubby! He had organized a weekend of cultural activites for both of us. First we went to watch the classical concert orchestra. The Koelner Philharmonie played Hadyn classic -The last 7 words of Jesus. Brilliant and i had a wonderful night.
The next day was a more spectacular surprise- Opera!
We were in suit and dress and watched Don Carlo. From beginning till the end it was just beautiful. ( There was a german translation board above the stage). It was also a full house.
(unfortunately i didn’t bring the camera as it was too bulky for my little purse. Had a few pics on my iphone.)
Chocolate Museum (picture above)
Another place to visit! Check out the shop on the ground floor.. everything from chocolate beer,chocolate fondue etc…
And of course who will miss the Dom !
What i like about this city, it is really a big city that reminds me of Singapore. Good shopping area, the food is good decent value for money and you can find cafes and restaurants at every corner of the street. From argentinian steak, italian food, mexican food to thai food. Even the cocktail menu card is superb! Long list of long drinks,coctails,margaritas etc.. You can take the whole night choosing your drink. They even have mocktails! (non alcoholic cocktail!)
And my favourite? Of course the conditorei! I love german breads and cakes. From my good old days living in Munich, i always visited cafes and conditorei to have my cup of tea or cappucino and a slice of cheese cake. Mind you the cheese cake is not the quark cake that you find in Netherlands and the cheese cake is lighter in taste than the american cheesecake. The german Berliner bol is my favourite too. It’s fluffy, light and the strawberry jam is not too sweet. This combination of a light donut and not too sweet jam is fantastic.
What more can i say.. I love the food and i enjoyed the weekend! Check out my reviews about the food under “Food Review”