Showing posts with label master meals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label master meals. Show all posts


I know. I have been a bad girl. A very bad girl. I totally neglected my duty to take care of this precious little blog for completely silly reasons. I told myself I had no time to write. I‘m too busy. I don't know what to write about. But, to be honest, the main reason why I have not written anything the last couple of months was probably the feeling of senselessness that was creeping up. Nobody reads it anyway. People like to watch 6-seconds-videos and read a handful of words on memes. They do not bother to read a whole article. I did not see why I should spend hours on writing a post when my only three readers were my parents and my roommate. And all this Social Media stuff to gain more readers exhausts the hell out of me. It is a science, did you know?

It took me months to figure out that I actually do not care how many people exactly read what I write. It is the writing process itself, the telling of a story. I guess, that is pretty much it...I love telling stories and that is what I will continue to do. Follow your dreams, yaaay!

To get to my point and yes, I know I have said this before: I am back. And no, this was not an invitation to stop reading.

This summer I have spent ten wonderful weeks traveling around North America. It felt so good to be back in the country that feels like home to me, see my former host family again and visit my favorite places from my year abroad in the States. One of these places is New York City.

It was my fourth time visiting this unique city and it still kept taking my breath away. There is this song "New York's Got A Piece Of My Chest" and, boy, it could not be more accurate. I definitely left part of my heart somewhere in between Brooklyn and Washington Square Park.

My trip this summer confirmed this yet again, but it also made sure that I was reminded of the fact that I hate hate hate Times Square. And people. Gosh, these humongous crowds of people pushing and shoving their way through Times Square and Broadway to be the first to see whatever there is to see. I took my boyfriend there, because I mistakenly was under the impression that it was something he just had to see. I considered it part of the whole New York experience. My dear friends, let me give you one piece of advice: It is not. In fact, nothing is.

I am so tired of lines like "X is an absolute must-see" and "If you haven't seen Y, then you haven't seen this city at all". Lines I am, too, guilty of using and believing in. If there is one thing I have learned and finally understood on this trip, it is, that traveling is not about seeing, but experiencing. Let us be honest here: Most sights kind of suck anyway and hurrying from one sight to the next is just downright stressful. I mean, do you actually miss anything if you have not seen the Statue of Liberty up close? I dare say, no.

Really, there is only one thing that you have to do: Wander around the streets and try all the food you find along the way - you know, soak up local culture and all. That is what we ended up doing and here‘s my selection of the best spots we encountered: 



Big Daddy‘s Diner
Address: 239 Park Ave South, btw 19th & 20th St, New York, NY 10003
Lord of the Fries: $5
Best thing on the menu: Bow Wow Wow (Waffle Sandwich with Fries, Hash-Browns, Eggs, Cheese
                                       and Bacon, but I got mine with Avocado instead)


Find them on Facebook (here)

If you seek the perfect American Diner experience, then Big Daddy‘s is the right place for you. Cosy interior design, great music, friendly staff and delicious food - what more could you possibly ask for? They also give their food funny names, which is a definite plus. 
My best friend T and I discovered it in December 2013 during a snowstorm on our way back to our Couchsurfing host and fell in love right away. Since then, I came back every single time I was in the City to introduce it to my travel buddies and Big Daddy‘s has never disappointed. 

T-Bone & the best breakfast on earth


Pokéworks
Address: 63 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018
Hawaiian Classic: $10,50
Best thing on the menu: Poké Burrito


Find them on Facebook (here)

Traditionally, Poke is a Hawaiian speciality - a raw fish salad served as an appetizer. Luckily for sushi lovers like me, you can now get this treat outside of Hawaii, as well. Please do no get me wrong, I would love to go to Hawaii, but I am miles away from being able to afford the flight. Sooo...Pokéworks in New York it is!

You can enjoy the raw fish in a salad, bowl or burrito. My personal favorite is the burrito as it is basically a giant maki roll. Just let that sink in for a minute. 
Choose one of their signature works or build your own poké and mix and match to your satisfaction. 


this is what happiness looks like


Baker‘s Pizza
Address: 201 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009
Pesto knots: 4 for $2,50
Best thing on the menu: all the Pizza!!


Find them on Facebook (here)

Baker‘s Pizza is this tiny little pizza shop with a great atmosphere and checks all over the place. I know I use the expression "heaven on earth" far too often, but I am telling you, that is the only one that comes anywhere near to how their Pizza tastes. And wait until you have tried their Pesto knots! They sell their Pizza in a typical New York manner, by-the-slice, but definitely stand out from the crowd. You want to know how good it tastes? So good I went back three times during my eight days in NYC.





xx Lena


Photos taken in: New York City, USA


YINGDEAW homemade - bake from heart
Address: Siam Square One (4th floor ), Bangkok 10330
Ice cream: 75 THB (roughly €1,90)
Best thing on the menu: homemade waffles - my personal
                                            fave: Strawberry Honey Lover)


Find them on Facebook (here)




To all the coconut lovers out there: Thailand is the place for you. Coconut pancake, coconut ice cream, coconut drink, coconut waffle, coconut cake - all coconut everything. As luck would have it, my friend A is madly obsessed with anything that contains the tiniest bit of coconut and proclaimed Thailand her personal heaven. And exactly that passionate and unconditional love for coconuts lead us right to my personal heaven: YINGDEAW homemade. 

Back in February, A and I attended a basic course at a traditional Thai cooking school, where we learned to make five different dishes and yes, you guessed it, two of them had coconut in them. You can imagine how happy A was - not even our cooking instructor could have overlooked the fact that she loves this particular drupe. On account of this, he gave us several tips on where to find his personal favorite coconut dishes in Bangkok. To make sure we actually get to the places he was talking about, he was kind enough to provide a note - only problem was: everything was written in hieroglyphs, uh, Thai. 

So, after a pathetic attempt of decoding, we had precisely two things on our to-find and eat list:
1) coconut pancakes at a local market just around the corner 
2) coconut cake at a cafe in a shopping mall

Long story short: the coconut pancakes are yet to be found and the coconut cake turned out to be rather disappointing. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was quite tasty, but it reminded me of the Austrian quark cake too much. Now you must think, we wasted a whole lot of time for nothing, but no! Right next to the notorious chain cafe that serves the oh-so-famous coconut cake, I spotted a cute little cafe that wanted to be checked out. And, oh, was it worth checking out!!

pure deliciousness
Not only do YINGDEAW homemade serve waffles satisfying every single taste bud in your entire body and a variety of homemade ice creams and cakes, but they also score with their friendly staff and their cosy atmosphere. Can someone please take me back?

So this story confirms once again this one old saying that - I'm pretty sure - goes something like this: "The best things in life you stumble upon while you are on a coconut hunt with your crazy coconut-loving friend." 

xx Lena


Photos taken in: Bangkok, Thailand

BJÖRN Espresso BAR
Address: Maakri 28, 10145 Tallinn
Cappuccino: €2
Best thing on the menu: ALL the coffee

CASH ONLY!

 Find them on Facebook (here)
One of the horrible moments after moving out of your parents’ house – that amazing wonderland of clean laundry and full fridges – is waking up in the morning, realizing you haven’t been to the store in too long and no matter how long you stare at the fridge, it won’t magically fill up. This happens to me approximately five times a week. Let’s just say I am not the biggest fan of going to the grocery store. Too far away. Too much of a hassle. And the store is located in the mall’s basement, which means stairs. No thank you.

So, whenever I open my fridge and face the ugly truth of its emptiness, there is one thing that freaks me out in particular. No milk. Which means black coffee. Which means the day is off to a rocky start. Coffee is the one thing that makes me get up in the morning. And yes, I own more than one bag with some kind of coffee quote on it, given to me by friends who know me too well. But while I just need that delicious stuff in whatever form in the morning, I am a coffee snob. Without milk in it it’s just not the same. And I am not happy.

On mornings like this I have three options:
  • Just suck it up and drink it black – this is the option I go for at the end of the month, for obvious reasons.
  • Stop by the kiosk around the corner, get two cappuccinos instead of one because it’s cheaper – thanks for supporting my addiction, R-Kiosk – and get yelled at by the kiosk lady because I still don’t understand this language they call Estonian. My preferred option when I’m late for class. Not going to say this happens a lot, but, you know…
  • And my favorite one: Spend a couple of hours at Björn’s, because it is just too cozy to leave earlier than necessary and enjoy the best and most stylish coffee in town.

BJÖRN Espresso BAR is a fabulous new café that was opened only two months ago in the cutest little wooden house a little outside of Tallinn’s Old Town. The little grey house with the red window frames looks way out of place, surrounded by office buildings and schools, which makes it incredibly exciting to enter it. Walking through those bright red doors feels like entering a different world. All of a sudden the stress of the day is gone and you are now part of the cosy, relaxed world of amazing coffee, delicious pastries, fluffy cushions, cosy fireplaces, and chilled people. I am not kidding. It really feels like that.

Conveniently, Björn’s is really close to my university which solved my horrible problem of having to drink burnt cafeteria coffee all day long. The coffee is out of this world, the variety of beans changing constantly and the staff is crazy friendly - and they know everything about coffee - heeeeaven! I always feel very fancy when I’m there. And amazingly, the coffee is still cheap. All of these things explain why I may have spent a lot of time there lately. I just realized this last week, when I walked in and Kalle, one of the owners, looked at me with a knowing expression, saying: “Big cappucino as always?”


For now, Björn’s is definitely one of Tallinn’s best kept secrets, but to be honest, I can’t imagine it to be a secret for long. If you ever find yourself in Tallinn, I really urge you to give this place a try. It is more than worth the walk out of the Old Town. Less crowded & commercialized than the coffee shops in the center. Oh and tourists? Nowhere to be seen. So, what are you waiting for?

xx Kathi

Photos taken in: Tallinn, Estonia


Kohvik Must Puudel (Coffeeshop Black Poodle - CUTE!!)
Address: Müürivahe 20, 10140 Tallinn
Coffee: €1,80
Best meal on the menu: Goat Cheese Quinoa Salad with Berries
                                      or: Coconut Soup with Mushrooms & Salmon

Find them on Facebook (here) & Instagram (here)


So let’s talk about Must Puudel. A Tallinn favorite. I don’t think there is a single person in this town that doesn’t like it. It’s got everything. Great food, the best retro playlists, cool, retro furniture and the coziest retro atmosphere. Basically retro everything. AND its name means Black Poodle in English - can it get any better? It’s a restaurant/coffeeshop during the day and turns into a hip bar at night. The "Black Poodle" is the kind of place you keep going back to – for literally everything. It’s my safe haven. Need to study but can’t concentrate? Must Puudel. Have to write blog posts but feel too lonely writing at home? Must Puudel. No food in the fridge? Must Puudel. Need  a place to work on a project with your team? Must Puudel (& a glass of wine). Plan a date with a random guy you met at a bar one night? Must Puudel (& even more wine). Every single time. Must Puudel.


I was lucky enough to find this place in my first week in Tallinn, when I was standing in line to get into a horrific club that, for some reason, is very popular with exchange students. I was with my flatmates back then. And a German guy that I had met at the airport in Vienna a couple of days earlier and whose arrogant look made me fall for him only one day into knowing him. The two of us couldn’t be bothered to be pushed around by all the drunk people anymore and decided to pop into that interesting bar right next to the club. That night at Must Puudel I decided I liked him not only for his arrogant facial expression, but also for his personality. Worst idea ever. That's what I found out three very flirtatious weeks later. He had forgotten to mention a tiny little detail. His girlfriend. Well, let’s just say that guy is not around anymore.

Months later, when I went on a date with a guy I had briefly met at a bar a couple of days before, I ended up at the same table I had been sitting at that first night in Must Puudel with the German guy. My date was 20 minutes late and once he did show up two Finnish tourists sat down at the same table – because they couldn’t find any other free seats in the bar. Turns out they were super interesting people – a barista who was reconsidering his career path and a stylist for Helsinki fashion week. We ended up talking the whole night and I found myself flirting with the Finish guy instead of my date. Whooopsies. To be fair, he was late. Does that justify it? I don’t know. In any case, I probably shouldn’t take guys there anymore. I feel like the waiters greet me with a knowing look everytime I walk in. But then again, I am paranoid sometimes. 

There are more stories about Must Puudel. Can you tell I spend a lot of time there? But this is enough for now. Enough to make you think the only thing I do in Tallinn is date random guys. Which I am not. But whatever. It makes for great stories every now and again. 

If you ever find yourself in Tallinn, make sure not to miss out on this goodie. You won't regret it. I promise. Oh, and Tallinn locals: Let me know what your favorite place in Tallinn is. I need to branch out a bit.


xx Kathi

Photos taken in: Tallinn, Estonia
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