Tag Archives: Eating

Christmas markets

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Forget the commercial angle where purveyors of tat try to get you to part with your cash for stuff you don’t need. After all, they need money at Christmas as well… just not yours if you’re savvy enough. These events are more of a celebration… a time to eat, drink, be merry, and yes, part with your cash for a noble cause… your own enjoyment and that of those who happen to be special to you!

As an idea, Christmas markets go back a long way… traditionally established in German speaking European nations, and much later adopted by many other countries around the world. After all, if it’s a good idea, why not nick it (there’s a Santa pun in there for some of you).

So, where did it all start… why, Vienna, of course. The oldest and largest dates back to the 13th century. Today, it boasts up to 20 separate Christmas markets around the city! The largest is at Rathaus Park in front of the old town hall…

Meanwhile, another forms a ring around the Stephansdom Cathedral… well, you need to have some tenous link between your visceral pleasures and the religious connotations of the time of year…

Dresden and Frankfurt may want to make various claims of age and size… go ahead, but Vienna takes the prize with this correspondent (and independent historians, apparently).

As for non Germanic countries, take your pick, as many understandably have adopted a good idea for celebrating, just because people like doing it. For me, it was Prague that would provide a second stop on a whistle-stop tour of European capitals leading up to Christmas.

Here, there are two focal points for slurping the Gluwein. The first is in the old town hall square (there’s a theme emerging here of markets and old seats of local government)… who knows why or even cares after a few Santa boots of the hot stuff!

Then there is the ribbon-like affair stretching up Wensaclas Square (town halls being replaced by the national museum in this case)…

Until we speak again, raise a cup to the festive time of year. Merry Christmas to my loyal reader, wherever you are!

Deja Vu

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Coming back to New Orleans again is one thing, but the irresistible pull of brunch at the Palace Cafe on Canal Street comes down to one thing. It’s not the neatly tailored waiting staff, or even the delicate combination of dark wood panelling, white linen tablecloths and shiny floor coverings. It’s not the coffee; far better can be found with a little bit of intrepid searching.

No, it simply comes down to their signature dish… a savoury take on a sweet idea, topped off with a creole muniere sauce of just enough spice. Yes, for my regular reader, I’m once again introducing you to the Crabmeat Cheesecake that is every bit as good to the taste as it is stunning on the eye…

Until we speak again, this cat is simply going to continue suffering in order to bring you these magic morsels!

Going French in the Quarter

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Liberte, Equalite, Fraternite… who cares when you are on vacation looking for a fine brunch without a heart attack inducing smothering of eggs and cheese? Well ladies, at least here you get your own entrance…

Croissant D’Or Patisserie on Ursulines is a must for anyone in the French Quarter of New Orleans looking for a small piece of France… American style (i.e. by not needing to go to France!… or even anywhere outside of America!).

The Brioche French Toast is to die for… well, perhaps not something so dramatic… so add the fruit bowl if you need a life support…

Until we speak again, there are better ways to go, apparently; but in Nou Awlings, who cares, as long as you’re indulging in what life has to offer…

Nuovo Wyndham

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Take a chance, something new is in the wind… Wyndham Arcade that is. Well, you could try this, but I wouldn’t ‘literally’ advise it…

Hair by Cats [2]

No, there is definitely a something old something new vibe going on, as Servini’s has had a revamp, and is ready to tempt me occasionally away from some of Cardiff’s fabulous coffee shops (Coffee#1 & Coffee Barker particularly coming to mind).

Servini's [1]

Servini's [2]

 

The perennial high quality all-day-breakfast with tea or coffee is still there for the die-hards amongst you. But gone is the salad counter, and old-style formica tables with chairs rooted to floor and table to prevent the Wyndham set of old resorting to convenient projectiles if the spoon doesn’t stand up in the tea! Now it is ‘anyone for cushions at ten paces’?

 

 

Servini's [3]

 

I jest, as this has always been a higher class of caff, but now seems to be branching out to slightly wider tastes… you can even indulge in steak with a choice of vino or birra, should the fancy take you.

Servini's [5]

It’s a little bit early for me, so I will stay with the tea, now accompanied by milk in a cute bottle (remind anyone of school?). And, as tempting as the famous old all-day-breakfast was, I couldn’t turn down the chance of a corned beef hash with a difference, and a fried egg to top it off…

Servini's [6]

The open kitchen has been retained… always a sign of confidence in the cooking. And the new staff have clearly been recruited through a customer care symposium, largely unattended by their predecessors.

Servini's [4]

So, until we speak again, if you happen to be drifting by the lower end of St Mary Street, and feel that need for some good quality refreshment, there are now plenty of options in the vicinity, but the all new Servini’s gets a recommendation from this satisfied cat.

Today’s menu

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Juno always had an eye for lunch…

Eye on the prize

She could often be found on the dock of the bay, sacrificing so much of her valuable time in order to inspect the catch of the day…

Cat amongst

But nothing satisfied her more than a good quality pie filling…

Cat amongst pidgeons

Even the challenge of foraging for your own food was not beyond her wit or wisdom. She always believed in the play dead tactic as an element of surprise…

Lying in wait

Until we speak again I leave you with a thought you would never hear from Juno… don’t forget to add some vegetables!

 

A bite on the bullet

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As a cat saunters through the St David’s shopping mall in Cardiff I would be surprised to be confronted by the Japanese scene of Mount Fuji, but that is exactly what my ‘sedentary world travellers‘ reported on their New Year’s Day stroll.

Mt Fuji [1]

 

I am told the style of design for the restaurant is themed on the famous Shinkansen Bullet Train… a kind of meals-on-wheels if I am thinking about my ‘resident old git‘.

  Mt Fuji [2]

It has a further sense of the unique, as most shopping mall eating joints seem to be all-too-familiar chains of look-a-like, taste-a-like, draw them in, feed them, and move them on establishments. Shopping malls are about shopping first, with eating as the add-on. However, the Mount Fuji idea is currently in a chain of two (also available in Birmingham) and focused on the eating experience, with claims to present authentic Japanese cuisine from the Mount Fuji prefecture in Japan.

My ‘intrepid experimenters’ both went for the same starter of Chicken Gyoza:

Mt Fuji [4]

 

This was a pleasant but reportedly unremarkable dish of chicken and vegetables in a pasta shell, with the taste improved by the accompanying soy sauce dip. But this place comes into its own as the main dishes of Pork Stir Fry Donburi (with pork strips, rice, onions, peppers and a ginger sauce) and Chicken Fillet Teriyaki Bento (with rice, salads and pickles):

Mt Fuji [5]

 

A green tea and a nutty-flavoured Japanese latte complemented the early afternoon meal, but the restaurant offers a range of wines and sakes for early in the day alley cats taking a break from their liquid breakfast in a paper bag (no judgement on prospective shopping mall customers there then)!                     Mt Fuji [2]

Friendly and helpful staff were on hand to offer any explanations needed about items on the menu, particularly when selecting from a couple of lattes that you will never find on the menu at Costa, Cafe Nero or the imperious Coffee#1.

Service was leisurely, which makes most of us cats feel welcomed and unrushed; so don’t expect this bullet train to be providing fast food at fast pace.

Another close up of the Chicken Teriyaki certainly makes this cat’s taste buds move into overdrive:

Mt Fuji [6]I have been Juno, bringing you another sample of the great cuisines from around the world, and until we speak again… sayonara.