I (HEART) Greece!!

While I was gone on vacation in Nikiti (northern Greece) I realized that it’s been so long since I just relaxed while I was away. Sitting around and do nothing, just relax and all I have to think about was how long I want to sleep in, what I want to eat and which part of the beach I want to fall sleep on.

So here is a list of what I did while I was enjoying a more simple life in beautiful Halkidiki region of Greece.

1. Sleep in, wake up knowing I don’t need any makeup and all I have to wear is a bikini, SPF 30 and sunglasses! (yes, in my mind I look like Cindy when I’m in a bikini! hahaha)

2. Eat breakfast at “Day-by-Day Cafe”; bougatsa sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and a bottle of chocolate milk or tea.

3. Pick a beach to go to, hardest decision of the day! Talgo, Mango, Kalogria….All great…

4. After falling sleep under the sun for a bit, I refresh myself with a cold frappe and water before I go for a swim.

5. Lunch time, juicy pork gyro and a bowl of Horiatiki (village) salad. So refreshing and oh so good!! Apparently the Greeks like their peppers, you don’t get hot peppers on Greek salads anywhere outside of Greece; at least I haven’t seen them.

6. Counting how many people are wearing speedos and kindly point them out to unsuspecting friends for s**** and giggles. Power nap time on the beach. God I love Europe, siesta time and simple living.

Made you look!!!! hahahah

7. Drive back to the hotel while watching the sun go down over the bay.

8. Get ready for dinner by 9, 10 or 11pm. hahaha, and that’s early! On the menu tonight tyrokafteri (hot pepper cheese dip), bread, Fried mussels, grilled squid stuffed with feta cheese with rice, salt cod-fish,  fried zucchini, tzatziki sauce and oh so many other foods. I sooooo miss the food, sigh…. I almost forgot the Greek wine, kinda strange tasting at first but not bad.

9. Drive to Marmaras and hangout at Molos lounge by the water till early morning hours… The Greeks haven’t heard of these lines “Last call” or “closing time”….SUPER!

OR…

10. Drive an hour to Kalithea to go to the “clubs” which are giant-sized roofless buildings; used for entertaining youth with loud music while they are dancing and being intoxicated with a variety of alcohol choices! lol Dance the night and the morning away…Last time check before dropping on my bed still in my clothes from the night before, 6.30am!

I’m sad to be back, but hey now I can start planning my next vacation and that’s exciting! Australia, HERE I COME!!!! 🙂

La Bruschetta

Mouth watering home-made bruschetta

I recently went a little family owned Italian restaurant on St Clair west, just west of Dufferin street, I totally fell in love with the charm and amazing staff and of course the food. I went to taste their set menu for the winterlicious and thought it was worth the $15 spent.

One of the perks for this place is their complimentary plate of bruschetta and hot peppers in olive oil, AMAZING!!!! The staff are very nice and the place have been around for almost 20 years and they are very well-informed about their food and how it’s made, I hate it when you ask the waiter about how something is cooked and all you hear is “uhhhh, uhhhh, I’m not sure…”.

Piantoni Family

Since they are a family run business make sure you check out their work hours before you head over for your Italian feast and make sure you make reservation, since the restaurant is not that big and it gets very busy.

Keep an eye on their wall of fame and old plates with famous people’s notes for the owners about their experience at La Bruschetta, It’s pretty cool, there are plates from 1983 on that wall.

1317 Saint Clair Avenue West
Toronto, ON M6E 1C2

(416) 656-8622

www.labru.ca

Sushi Love!!

I Love food and I enjoy sharing my food stories with my friends. So here’s my first tip, try Ginza’s Fire Kamakachi rolls. They are to die for! I took this picture today while I was having a late lunch with my friend. Doesn’t it look amazing??? I wish I ordered some to bring home with me! hahaha

Fire Kamakachi Rolls @ Ginza

Ramen…Comfort food, Japanese Style!!

Picture this, It’s -25 degrees outside, it’s been snowing all day and your feet are killing you from being in your shoes all day. It’s late at night and you’re just getting comfortable in your coach waiting for your favorite TV show to start. All is missing is your comfort food, a slice of pizza or a cup of hot coco and a big cookie.

Those all sound alright, comforting, warm and familiar but a bit boring. How about breaking that comfort shell a little and trying something new, how about a bowl of Japanese Ramen.

You don’t need to have a degree to figure out what’s in this bowl, soup, noodle, some sort of meat and veggies. There are different variations of this dish, but they all have the same basic ingredients. Some Ramen variations depending on who’s making it are more bland (Japanese version) and some of them got some kick to them (Korean version). It’s interesting how people can get turned off so easily by this dish even though they would probably devour each individual ingredient in under a minute. What is it about a foreign food that makes us go, no thank you.

Japanese beef ramen

There are a lot of misconceptions about ethnic foods. Take Japanese food, they have a lot of raw fish in their cuisines. Don’t be fooled by this common misconception, just because one of their food has it doesn’t mean they all have raw fish in them. Let’s be logical, soup is warm so it’s cooked. Noodles are soft and “slurpy”, cooked. Beef is and lightly fried, COOKED. There’s so much more to the Japanese cuisine than your typical white washed California sushi rolls. Now everybody loves California rolls and can pop 6 of those bad boys in 2 seconds, but back in the day when the rolls came to the western world not too many people would venture out of their comfort zone to give them a try.

So be brave and give Ramen a chance, whats the worse that can happen beside gaining two important lessons. Realizing you can add another food to your list of foods you like and knowing that the Japanese are not just about raw fish!