Limitless

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Grace

Marks to this movie which comes up with an original concept. Bradley Cooper plays an author who has extreme writer’s block. He comes across an old friend who supplies him with a new drug which allows him to access parts of his brain he normally doesn’t access. For the day he is able to operate in overdrive, he writes his book in no time at all but that’s not enough for him until eventually he is brought into one of the biggest mergers in business history by Robert De Niro. There are bad guys and there are good guys who are bad buys.

The movie is action packed, extremely violent and fast-paced. Bradley Cooper proves that he can do justice to an action role. Solid acting in support roles by De Niro and various other cast members. The only let down, as with many movies in this category, is the predictable end. Still it was a nice ride to the end.

Experimental Food Spectacular: Food’s Past and Future

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Grace

And for something a little educational … but still involving food of course. Heh heh. The VA& in conjunction with The Experimental Food Society organised a lecture tonight on the The Past and Future of Food and Experimentation. The evening started, logically, with the past as presented by Professor Roland Rotherham, a known food historian, and Master Chef and Butter Sculptor Simon Smith. Professor Roland started the talk and then, after referencing a favourite dish of his, Simon would do a demonstration. This part of the talk was actually a little slow for me. Professor Roland was funny enough and sure he gave us some interesting facts but it just wasn’t that exciting I’ve never been a great history student! And the food demonstration was less than thrilling too as there was no electricity allowed in the lecture room so all Simon could make was salads.

The second half of the evening was much more interesting and really grabbed my attention. Food Futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye took us through what we could expect in food over the next 18 months. Some of her predictions were way out there but in a very exciting way. She predicted such developments as:

Chocolate that would clean your teeth at the same time you ate it

A greater focus on those foods which are multi-functional

People actually being able to grow their own meat in the way we grow vegetables – apparently NASA started the investment into research into this and then PETA took it over. (Tip:Google “Cocoon grow meat” and you’ll find heaps of articles from 2009 regarding this concept cooker)

Chocolate covered bacon

We should see insects hitting our plates big time

Food coming from vending machines – in Japan I’ve already seen that you can have cans of hot coffee or chocolate from the vending machine, in Amsterdam you can get foods like burgers and chips, but Dr Morgaine was predicting that you could actually choose your ingredients and the machine could produce your meal for you

South America is going to be a big influence on our eating

Alfajor, kind of like jaffa cakes, are going to be the new Cupcake

Food science. Clearly the molecular dining of places such as El Bulli and Fat Duck have already been a hit in recent times. But there will be a move toward even more utilization of science through chocolate syringes, food tattoos and scratch and sniff food

Ice Cream Sandwiches – Dad you’re ahead of your time. Dad was making us ice cream sandwiches from when we were little tots

Geometry will feature in the way we present food. E.g. Pizza Cones. They looked pretty cool on the slideshow she had. Things coming in balls.

Olfactory themes – so people indulging in jus the smell of food. She predicts there will be USBs which can be used to emit smells

Absolutely fascinating! The talk was worth it just for that part of the night. Actually, I was rather surprised at the types of people in the audience. There were a heap of what seemed to be students – they were all fastidiously taking notes. I felt like a student again!

If there was one disappointment of the evening it was in the catering/refreshments. I was expecting more than the free wine/juice and small cakes by the POP bakery. I thought there might have been more exciting items on offer – such as the chocolate covered bacon!

Brekkie with Nic and Paul and family

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Grace

My BFF from when I was in school (sooooo many years ago) was in my part of the world with her family so we had a catch up over breakfast at their hotel. I was so jealous to hear about the travelling that they had been doing – including hitting Euro Disney. I’m sure it would have been a very interesting challenge for three adults juggling the four kids and a baby!

Children’s Hour

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Grace

I have to be honest the only reason I wanted to see The Children’s Hour was for the celeb factor of Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss but actually, despite the almost depressing story-line, I did end up enjoying the play for itself. Oh I also recognised one of the actresses from the television show Skins!

The surprise for me was just how slender and tall Keira was. Of course you see her movies and the pap shots and yes she has a good figure – but its not until you see her live that you appreciate just how slender she is.

The Children’s Hour is set in an all-girls boarding school run by the two characters played by Keira and Elisabeth. One of the girls at the school gets into trouble and runs away from school to her grandmother’s place where, to cover up tells a lie that the two are having an affair. Being the early 1930s this was quite the scandal and of course lives and relationships are ruined.

The play got off to a bit of a slow start and at first I was a bit unsure about Keira’s accent (seemed to modulate all over the place) and acting at first (felt she was over-acting) but soon settled and really hit her stride in the second half. Generally all the other characters were very well acted particularly by Elisabeth Moss, Ellen Ellen Burstyn and the guy who played Keira’s fiancé (sorry – didn’t get his name!)

The theatre was very full even reaching the closing dates (or perhaps because of.) but one suspects that like me many people were in for the star power. The play itself was just okay without being stunning. The lasting impression I have is a feeling of unease from the malevolence portrayed by Bryony Hannah in playing the girl who causes all the trouble. A very strong performance.

Day out with James

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Grace

The opportunities for discount theatre visits are better in London than any other city in the world. One of the best ways to get discount tickets, but still be sitting in decent seats, are the Day Tickets that many of the popular theatres offer. Not only are they a great bargain they also offer an opportunity to get into shows which are otherwise sold out – such as the Children’s Hour. Starring Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss (of Mad Men fame) and only showing for a limited season this play has been incredibly popular. James and I decided we would try and go for the £15 Day seats which were available from 10am … but in order to guarantee ourselves tickets we had to meet very early … even getting to the box office at 8.30 didn’t guarantee we were first in line – at least three people were already in front of us and the line only got longer as the time creeped towards 10am.

We got our tickets by about 10.05 for the matinee at 2.30 so had a few hours to kill. A walk across the river to Giraffe to grab some breakfast used up some minutes and then, after finding no suitable movie to watch …

… ended up at the Trocadero indulging our little kid! Yeah, JC kicked my butt …

… twice. 😉

Welcoming Cesar

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Grace

Just over a week ago little Cesar was welcomed into the world. I went over to visit the happy family tonight … and in a true sign of strength Caro was already cooking for me! This time a delicious ham … and I even got take away.

Love you guys!

Berlin – The Food

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Grace

Berlin has a pretty fabulous food scene as my brother can attest and over this past weekend I’ve had the opportunity to indulge in just a few of the highlights.

La Lavanderia Vecchio Crocenzi Gastronomie

First stop of the weekend was La Lavanderia Vecchio – The Old Laundry – an Italian Trattoria located in, as it says on the tin, an old laundry! Quite a novelty. The space was light and airy and with a feeling that you were eating out of someone’s home rather than a restaurant. The kitchen was open so you could see and feel what was going on and very cutely they had their own “Trevi Fountain.”

Food is very relaxed and must change on a regular, if not daily, basis. You can go a la carte but the set menu is quite good value and seemed to be the dining option of choice for most people today.

There was nothing complex about our dishes but they were all extremely tasty and fresh. Our mains in particular were pretty stunning.

We were conscious of not eating too much because we had a pretty special dinner .lined up at …

… Maremoto …

When researching the restaurants in Berlin I deliberately looked for a restaurant which gave us something a little out of the norm. Chef Cristiano Rienzner, a student of Ferran Adria of El Bulli fame, is head chef at Maremoto. Cristiano wants guests to “be amazed, laugh, enjoy” the food. Making our visit to Maremoto even more special was the fact that it was going to be private dining – only Pat and myself and another couple! We didn’t know what to expect!

What we got was eating out of someone’s kitchen with chef Cristiano Rienzner and a sous chef catering for our every needs. We felt terrible spoilt and not a little tripped out by the whole experience. Cristiano said he was borrowing a fellow chef’s apartment whilst he was away in Australia! Luckily the couple who were also indulging in the experience were very nice and also spoke very good English so we all had a lovely enjoyable night. They were so enamoured by the experience that this was actually the second time they’d had the private dining experience with Maremoto.

Our evening was a journey through some very fine cooking techniques with a bit of story-telling. Every dish had clearly been thought out to make the most of the particular ingredients that were being highlighted. Take for example our first dish. Tomato. Right, I’m sure you’re thinking, Tomato? That’s a feature ingredient and the first dish of the night? Well, let me tell you that it was stunning. Basically, Tomato Many Ways. Isn’t the plating just beautiful.

And the taste matched the looks. There was Tomato Relish which was melt in your mouth (it was like this sweet I used to eat when I was kid in the Philippines), Tomato Pasta, Tomato Ricotta cheese, Tomato served in a sugar spiral and three different types of tomato seeds accompanied by three different types of salt (including volcanic salt from Hawaii.)

The next course wasn’t a favourite of mine (because it contained an oyster) but I could appreciate the theatre and the technique involved in smoking it. Titled Smoked Oyster and Pearl – the oyster was smoked right in front of us on the table. The oyster itself was also sitting in some sort of emulsion.

Sticking with the seafood theme up next was “Fish meets Granny Smith and Aloe Vera”. A refreshing combination. The fish was very tasty.

Meat came next with the Chinese Version of US Dakota Aged beef. Again demonstrating that no dish was going to be simple this dish was accompanied by gin soaked cucumber (very very strong), miso bubbles, sprouts soaked in a lovely soya caramel and finally the rare beef which was simply melt in the mouth.

Which brings us to desserts. First up was the relatively mild (in comparison to the next dish) lime ice cream sitting along bitter dark chocolate powder and a caramel tuile. The lime was palette cleansing and its lightness combined well with the richness of the chocolate.

Bringing us to the finale – and it was a shocker, literally. Humourously entitled Carmen Elektra this electric ice cream dish, accompanied by a raspberry sorbet and black sesame crisp, blew our mouths away. Incorporating Szechuan peppers into the ice cream produced this tingling/electric feeling in our mouths. What we didn’t cotton on to was the fact that the more ice cream we had (you’d think it would soothe) the more of the peppers we were actually eating. It was certainly and experience – quite uncomfortable at its peak. Poor Patrick suffered the most – he spent a very long time in the toilet, I imagine trying to wash the Szechuan away! Our mouths were numb and tingly for quite a long time after we’d left dinner!

What an evening we’d had. Personal service from the chefs, intimate surrounds and the food. Very special and something to be savoured.

Schneeweiss

The food at Maremoto, whilst good, was thankfully not overwhelmingly filling so when we got up for Sunday brunch we were pretty ready for a big meal. Schneeweiss, or Snow White, has a buffet brunch which consists of, what they describe, as Alpine cuisine. There were cold and hot selections, and a dessert bar. Unfortunately no schnitzel on the buffet but we found plenty to fill our bellies.

I found it really cute that salads and desserts were served in these tiny jars. I guess that encouraged people not to overindulge – the staff weren’t exactly efficient at clearing tables! (Patrick is always quick to remind me that the Germans are not known for their customer service.)

The atmosphere was young and vibrant. Clearly a place that many locals attend – very glad that it wasn’t overrun with tourists! Be warned if you come to Schneewiess that menus are not available in English.

Horvarth

Dinner at Horvarth on Sunday night was my last meal in Berlin. I’d deliberately booked an early Monday morning flight so I could fit in another dinner before leaving – heh heh. This was a surprising gastronomic experience. We opted for the simple three-course set meal since we were still feeling pretty full from brunch.

We were served three different breads to start our meal including a Black pudding bread which had been brouh from Austria. The accompaniments was butter and a rather interesting mayonnaisey pumpkin seed mixture.

Amuse bouche was a rich lemon mousse, autumn mushrooms and black salsify. This was a surprisingly substantial amuse bouche.

The meat set course starter was a terrine type beef jelly thing which held no interest for me whatsoever (Pat said it was a perfectly balanced dish) so I asked instead for one of the vegetarian dishes – parsnip with lemon, endive and semolina dumplings. Excellent dish with the bite of the endive lending itself well to the semolina dumplings.

For our next course neither of us could go past the Baked spring chicken with a potato cucumber salad. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It was juicy, tender, dripping with flavour and surrounded by the lightest crispiest skin. My mouth is watering just thinking about it – and I would pay for a flight just to go back to Berlin to have it again I reckon. Yes, it was that good.

Finally dessert was an apple fritter with sour cream ice cream and caramel sauce. Loved the caramel sauce and the ice cream went surprisingly well with the fritter.

As a finish to our meal we were given a pumpkin seed oil truffle. Very odd – I’ve never had anything quite like it. A very odd combo of the savoury of the oil with the sweetness of the truffle. I’m a fan of pumpkin seed oil any day of the week so this was good for me.

Berlin, Germany

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Grace

It has been over four years since I visited Berlin and this visit was a vastly different experience to that one. For a start I wasn’t hitting the city with a bunch of friends though ironically Laney and her crew were in town as well, rather I was visiting my brother who had been working in Berlin since the beginning of the year. I was happy to skip the typical tourist attractions that I hit last time like Museum Island, Checkpoint Charlie and all the various other historical sites. Instead this visit was filled with animals, Lego, long exploratory walks and … food! (Surprise Surprise!)

Why Go?	Aside from what I said last time go for the great gastro scene and the hippy/trendy vibe.
Weather	Cool and warm, Sunny for the most part
Hints	Make sure you have coins for public transport

The Experience

These were the highlights of my visit to Berlin.

Berliner Unterwelten’s guided tours of the Gesundbrunnen-Bunkers

The non-profit group took us through the main Gesundbrunnen bunker situated under the Gesundbrunnen U-Bahn. Lasting around 90 minutes you wind your way through the various rooms in these these very well preserved WWII bunkers. Along the path of the tour are also various artefacts which demonstrate the ingenuity of the survivors as they crafted various items from military waste. Its amazing to think just how many people crammed into these bunkers during the war – even with just 30 or so of us it felt extremely crowded! And, many years later, the smell is clearly significantly improved – back then it would have been horrific.

There were other disturbing stories and artefacts that we saw including toilets were many women took their own lives rather than live with the stigma of being raped by the Russians. Here is one fact that may surprise – much of the “mountains” or “hills” that exist in Berlin are actually the result of an accumulation of rubble from the war. It is also the reason many roads collapse – the rubbish under the roads settling and causing cave-ins.

Bears in Kollnischer Park

Patrick refused to believe me that there are brown bears in a random park in Berlin. Not attached to any zoo – mother and daughter Schnute and Maxi are brown bears who live unassumingly in the heart of Kollnischer Park, and are the Official City Bears of Berlin. It is a little disturbing to see these lumbering beasts sitting in their little enclosure but I sure was happy that they made an appearance for us.

Legoland Discovery Centre

This was clearly my suggestion for the weekend and though Patrick was a bit doubtful at first I think he ended up really enjoying the experience. The best thing at the Discovery Centre is the Miniland. Its so incredible what can be re-created with Lego – the Miniland even had the fall of the Berlin Wall (with the wall falling and then being re-erected in preparation for falling again) and a rock concert by U2! I like how there was even a time lag effect so that you could see what Berlin would look like from sunrise to sunset and all the way around to sunrise again. Really smart.

Check out Checkpoint Charlie!

The Bob the Builder 4D movie was also interesting … especially as it was in German!! Had us giggling though – especially when we were getting splashed by water … It’s a shame part of the Discovery Centre was shut for renovations – so we missed out on the Lego Factory 🙁

Berlin Tempelhof Airport

The former airport site (closed in October 2008) was opened in May 2010 as a city park. It is now the site for recreational activities and today that seemed to include flying kites, biking, skating … and even dry wind-surfing.

East Side Gallery

1.3km of the Berlin Wall is dedicated to paintings of over 100 artists from around the world. Its inspiring to walk along the wall and witness the paintings expressing the relief and hopes for a free future.

Mauerpark

Mauerpark translates to “Wall Park” and refers to it being part of the Berlin Wall and its Death Strip (thanks Wikipedia.) Most of it is now an open green space but part of it is dedicated to regular a flea market. It has a real bohemian feel to the place. It is also a venue for open air karaoke – quite a crack up!

Enjoying the brilliant weather

It was absolutely brilliant weather over this weekend so we took lots of long strolls including around the river.

A lovely weekend discovering a very livable city. I can totally understand why it’s the next big thing after London, New York and Paris.

And now on to the food!

The Fighter

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Grace

James and I went to see the delicious (my word not James’) Marky Mark in The Fighter tonight at Westfield. The screening was in one of Westfield’s Gold Class or “Scene” screens – a truly luxury experience with reclining seats, private bar, private loos and I think you can get unlimited popcorn if you pay a little extra – tickets are a little on the pricey side but Orange Wednesdays makes it a little more palatable. I was wondering how they control access to the cinema as there was this one lady who clearly didn’t have a ticket and kept sitting down in various seats but having to move as the true occupants claimed their seats. Too bad she picked Orange Wednesday to cheat Vue!

The Fighter is a biographical drama focusing on the life of professional boxers Micky Ward and his older half-brother Dicky Eklund. Mickey has had a modest career and Dicky had one highlight in his boxing career but has since spiraled down into the depths of crack addiction. Dicky is being filmed for what he believes is a HBO documentary on his comeback … but turns out to be a doco on what crack addiction does to a career.

There are no real surprises or thrilling moments in the film (its less about the action in the ring than outside of it) – but it is solidly written and genuinely and passionately acted. I will always love Marky Mark but you gotta give Christian Bale his due – he really has this method acting stuff down pat. Both are well supported by an array of cast members including Amy Adams and Melissa Leo.

Laney’s Chicken and Rice

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Grace

Something more delicious than my brunch this morning (and infinitely better value – ha ha) was Laney’s famed Chicken and Rice. Granted it is made from a packet but its still pretty delicious, and despite being made from a packet it still takes some effort including cooking the rice in the sauce, boiling up chicken, prepping the veg etc.