Travelogue to Greece, Part II: Meteora and Santorini

After some sightseeing in Athens, my family and I traveled to Meteora. During the road trip, we made a pit stop where I enjoyed my first slice of Baklava.

The baklava had layers upon layers of crispy phyllo dough, bits of nuts, all drenched in syrupy Greek honey. It's definitely a dessert that you need to sit down with a cup of coffee, espresso, or tea--and to be shared--because it is so sweet.

While in Meteora (which in Greek means "in the heavens above"), we visited many monasteries that were literraly "suspended in the air," or set atop of hill tops and rock formations. We hiked up to a few monasteries, but others like the one in the picture below are not really by the public.

For lunch, we visited the simply named Cafe Meteora, which is family-owed and operated.

The place was so charming and had a lot of character--they even had a torch from the 2004 Olympics in Athens!

Every diner was invited to walk through their kitchen and see huge pots of stews, rice, and potatoes. We got a few different dishes, including lamb meatball stew served with rice. It was delicious and hearty.

The better dish though was this stewed lamb. The lamb was so tender and had a wonderful depth of flavors from the time it spent on the stove.

After a wonderful visit to Meteora, we went back to Athens for a night before we flew out to Santorini. We decided to keep things relatively low key and went to Athens' Old Town, Plaka, where there are many shops and tavernas. Because there are many tavernas, we didn't really quite know where to go, so we just chose a random taverna in one of the alley ways in Plaka. The ambiance was really nice, candle-lit tables, and an acoustic guitar band serenading the diners.

We started with this grilled Halloumi cheese. I'm not sure if this was just not the best Halloumi since I've never had it before, but I was not a big fan of the dish.

My sister Pinnerton really wanted to try the Dolmadakia, which are grapevine leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables. Pinnerton thought it was good, but I was really put off by the briny and sour taste, so I really did not enjoy this dish.

And the meal went down hill from there ... We ordered this sad looking plate of stewed lamb, and shared even sadder looking plates of chicken Souvlaki and stew that I don't even want to post.

Finally, we made it to Santorini! After a short flight from Athens, we are ready for lunch. My mom had read somewhere that a little gyro restaurant by the tourist information booth is supposed to be good.

The gyro pita sandwich was a bit disappointing. The meat was not as good of a quality as the gyro we had in Athens.

The Souvlaki suffered the same fall of low quality meat, which made the dish not as enjoyable as it could have been. But who cares about the food, when you're in Santorini--I mean, look at the view!

Santorini is even more beautiful in person--the blue ocean's contrast with the white structures is so breathtaking. If I thought Athens was hot, Santorini is ten times as hot! We were practically drenched in sweat just walking around.

After wandering around the island, we needed to cool down. So, we stepped into this little cafe and sipped on some deliciously strong iced coffee. I don't even drink coffee, but it was so good!

Here's another gorgeous view of this Greek island. 

After we watched a beautiful Santorini sunset, we enjoyed our last dinner in Greece at a rooftop restaurant. I ordered yet another lamb meatball stew--I can't help it, I love lamb and stews! It was not the best meal of the trip, but we were so exhausted by that point that we just wanted to sit somewhere and take in as much of Santorini as we could. 

I would definitely want to go back to Santorini and the other Greek islands, but am not sure if I would return to Athens. Overall, Greece was a fantastic experience! 

Enjoy, 

LMC

Travelogue to Greece, Part I: Athens

After the nightmare called the Bar Exam, most people take the obligatory post-Bar trip as the last hurrah before their law school career officially ends. So, of course, I went back to Thailand to see my family, and off we went to Greece! We arrived in Athens, checked into the hotel, and wandered around the historic city. After a bit of sightseeing, my sister and I needed a little snack. Restaurants all over the city offer street-side gyros served on pita bread--yum! 

Most places offer lamb gyros, but some also offer pork and beef. Definitely a tantalizing sight and smell as you're walking around the city!

Here is our official first lamb gyros sandwich of the trip--and probably the best! The gyros had a nice crust and caramelization from the lamb rotating on the vertical spit. The creamy Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce) and fresh tomato perfectly complemented the gyros on the delicious pita bread. 

We wandered around Athens a bit more, stopping at some outdoor market. The Greeks sure love their dried fruit, nuts, honey, cheese, and yogurt!

Some apricots and oranges preserved in honey. After looking at all the beautiful food, we were ready for a real meal! 

We walked up to a little restaurant and ordered a couple of dishes. We got a plate of lamb Souvlaki, or marinated lamb grilled on skewers, served with the staples--pita bread, tomatoes, red onions, and Tzatziki (excluding that sad handful of fries).

We also got a pork gyros pita sandwich, which came with fries inside. It was like a Greek equivalent of a California burrito--not too shabby!

My sister Pinnerton ordered this dish of grilled eggplant, generously topped with dices of tomatoes and crumbles of feta cheese. I was not a big fan of this dish because there was no texture contrast--everything was just mushy. 

After lunch, we visited the National Archaeology Museum of Athens where we got a taste of how much history is in this country. 

The museum housed, among many artifacts, the famous Gargon's Head (350-325 B.C.!), which represents the head of Medusa, the most famous of the three Gargons. 

We spent the first evening in Greece on some dinner and a show tour (I believe it was called a Night in Athens), which was just awful. I wish we would have stayed away from that and just checked out a local taverna in Plaka (Old Town). 

Our first full day in Athens, we did a lot of sightseeing. We visited the Syntagma Square and made our way over to the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The most famous structure at the Acropolis of Athens is undoubtedly the Parthenon. The architecture and history were reflective in this impressive sight, and, as you can see, they had started a wide scale restoration of the temple and other structures in the Acropolis. 

By the way, Greece is scorching HOT in August! I think we nearly died of exhaustion and heat stroke hiking up to the Acropolis. The blood orange Powerade was definitely a much needed replenishment of electrolytes! 

Since we were starving and exhausted, we just stopped for quick lunch at cafe atop the Acropolis Museum. 

I ordered the sandwich with salami from Lafkada with Cretan gruyere cheese, rocket (arugula), and virgin olive oil. A simple and tasty sandwich that showcased local products.

My parents opted for a smoked trout sandwich with celery and lime. I think they enjoyed it, but I'm not a big fan of smoked trout and celery, so I didn't bother to try any. The cafe at the Acropolis Museum was a nice way to take a breather and enjoy a view of the ancient city.

After a day of sightseeing in the heat, we took it easy for dinner and just walked over to a mall in Athens where there is a small diner on top of the building with a nice view of Athens. My sister and I tried our first ever Moussaka, which is a traditional dish layered with ground meat, eggplant, and bechamel sauce. It's like a Greek lasagna, but I thought this one had a little too much bechamel sauce. 

Part II of LMC's travelogue to Delphi, Meteora, and (the best part) Santorini is coming up next!

Enjoy, 

LMC

The HI Life: Part II

After spending Day 4 snorkeling and laying out in the sun at Hanauma Bay, Mr. Tall and I headed to Ono's Hawaiian Food for dinner, which is a very popular restaurant for locals and tourists alike in Waikiki.  

The restaurant is in a quiet, commercial area, with a nondescript store front. There was a little bit of a wait, but nothing that would deter most people away, as the place seats only about 20-something people at a time.

 Mr. Tall and I ordered the Kalua Pork, Pipikaula (way better at Helena's), Lomi Salmon (which the owner of Ono's joked was the only way that Hawaiians get their vegetable, i.e. onion and tomato), and, of course, my personal favorite, Lau Lau. We also got a side of Spam fried up on the cooktop, and it was salty Spam goodness! While at Ono's, you felt as if you were at a neighbor's home who were cooking up some delicious authentic Hawaiian food. If you're visiting Waikiki, Ono's is a must if you don't want to venture out as far as Helena's for some good local cuisine.

Before Mr. Tall and I knew it, it was our last full day in Oahu. We decided to spend it just hanging out on the beach of Waikiki. For lunch, we walked over to Puka Dog--it's hot dogs with Hawaiian flair!

I got a veggie Puka Dog with lilikoi mustard and habanero garlic lemon sauce, and it was so good! I loved the combination of the sweet lillikoi mustard with the heat of the habanero garlic lemon sauce, all melded together with the perfectly salty dog, held together in a soft bun. I wish we had one on the mainland!

To end our Hawaiian vacation on a high note, Mr. Tall and I started the evening at The Halekulani.

The place to be in Waikiki for cocktail hour(s) is undoubtedly at House Without a Key at The Halekulani. We sipped on the classic Mai Tai and Ambrosia, which came with complimentary house potato chips. We also ordered an appetizer of chicken swekers to go with our cocktails. A full lunch and dinner menu is served at House Without a Key, but most patrons, like us, were there for the pre-dinner cocktail hour and the unbeatable ambiance.

We sipped our cocktails while enjoying the view of Diamond Head, the Waikiki shores, and traditional Hawaiian music and dance under the century-old Kiawe tree. The evening got even more beautiful as the sun set.

I got another cocktail called the Chi Chi, which for someone who's not a big drinker like me was great because it tasted like a coconut smoothie! If you can afford it, I would stay at The Halekulani. But if you can't (like us), definitely visit House Without a Key at least one evening, if not every evening, while you're in Waikiki. The classic cocktails, traditional Hawaiian music and dance, and the Waikiki sunset--it was a beyond perfect way to start our last night in Oahu.

Mr. Tall did some Yelping before we went out that night, which was how we discovered Yakiniku Hiroshi. There is a wide selection of Japanese restaurants in the Waikiki area as there are many Japanese tourists who visit Oahu, and, boy, we we glad we found Yakiniku Hiroshi!

You can order a selection of various (pretty pricey) meats or a la carte for fewer items (and to keep the costs down), and grill the meats yourself at each table's yakiniku grill. I don't remember what the cut above was as it was one of the specials that night, but it was so freakin' delicious.

This was the paper-thin steak grilled up and served with green onions, cripy garlic chips, and Ponzu sauce--totally mouth-watering!

Mr. Tall's favorite of the night was definitely the US Kobe "Toro" Kalbi served with Hiroshi's Special Marinade. The ridiculous marbling made for some of the most tender and flavorful beef we had ever had! If you are a quality meat lover, don't miss Yakiniku Hiroshi!

With all the good eats during the trip, Mr. Tall and I somehow didn't manage to find any Spam Musubi. So, on our way to the airport in the morning, we stopped by 7-Eleven for me to pick up a couple of them. I know that there are probably better Spam Musubi out there, but these were quite tasty, convenient, and satisfied my craving! Since our trip, I have made Spam Musubi at home several times, which is super easy thanks to my Musubi mold.

Unfortunately, there aren't very many good Hawaiian restaurants in San Diego to satisfy our cravings. There was a Leilani's Cafe that opened near Mission Valley, which I thought had the best Hawaiian food in town, but it closed after a very short time (there is still the original location PB). We have found Chamorro Grill on Mission Gorge, which serves Guamanian food but offers many familiar Hawaiian dishes like Kalua Pork and Spam Musubi. Mr. Tall and I have already been trying to figure out when we can make another trip to Oahu or another one of the islands--we definitely left our hearts in Hawaii.

Enjoy,

LMC

Coming next: LMC & familia travel to Greece!

The HI Life: Part I

After my law school graduation and before the Bar prep course, Mr. Tall and I decided to take a trip to Oahu, Hawaii. Neither of us had been to Hawaii, so it was an easy choice for a fun and food-filled vacation. Approximately five and a half hour later on a non-stop flight on Hawaiian Airlines from SAN to HNL, we were there!

Our first stop as soon as we arrived in Oahu was Helena's Hawaiian Food, which is located in a residential neighborhood in Honolulu. The founding chef of Helena's Helen Chock received a James Beard Award in 2000, so needless to say Mr. Tall and I were very excited to try this place. 

We ordered Menu D, which included Pipikaula Short Ribs, Kalua Pork, Lomi Salmon, Poi, and Luau Squid (that green bowl that looks like cream spinach). Of course, it came with a side of Maui onion to eat with chili water and Alaea salt, and Haupia (coconut dessert) to finish off the meal. The first and definitely the best Hawaiian meal of the trip! 

For dinner during our first day in Waikiki, Mr. Tall found a Japanese restaurant in the heart of Waikiki called Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin doesn't just specialize in Tonkatsu, they specialize in Tonkatsu made with Kurobuta, or the Kobe beef of pork. 

First, you grind up toasted sesame seeds, as coarsely or as finely as you'd prefer, to add to their house Tonkatsu sauce. 

The Kurobuta Tonkatsu was tender and well cooked--almost as good as Maisen in Japan! Day 2 in Oahu took us to the top of Nu'uanu Pali and the beautiful beach of Lanikai. For a late lunch, Mr. Tall and I went to Young's Fish Market, which is such a great Hawaiian plate lunch/takeout spot.

I tried my first Lau Lau, which is a traditional Hawaiian dish of pork and butterfish wrapped inside taro leaves, and was hooked! The dish sounds a bit strange and doesn't exactly look appealing, but the saltiness of the butterfish with the mild yet slightly bitter taste of the taro leaves made the dish so delicious and comforting.

Mr. Tall got the Kalua Pork, which like other lunch plates at Young's, came with 2 scoops of rice and a side of purple sweet potato, which he really enjoyed. Although Mr. Tall thought the Kalua pork was relatively good, it was his least favorite of the trip. After a quick lunch at Young's, we made our way over to the Shimazu Store for some shave ice!

Mr. Tall got the Rainbow Combo with (blue) vanilla, strawberry, and banana syrup, and vanilla ice cream on the bottom. 

I ordered mine with lilikoi (passion fruit), lychee, and green tea syrup, topped with sweetened condensed milk, all on top of Azuki red bean! It was the perfect afternoon treat after the day at the beach. The Shimazu Store is a small, family-owned operation, which is totally different from the empire of Matsumoto Shave Ice. Even though Mr. Tall and I didn't make it to Matsumoto, we prefer our experience at the Shimazu Store because of its personable service and handmade quality of each order of Shave Ice.

On Day 3, Mr. Tall and I visited the USS Arizona Memorial in the morning, and hiked up Diamond Head in the afternoon. The USS Arizona Memorial site was a great place to visit and reflect on the sacrifice the men and women in service have made and continue to make. For lunch, we stuffed our faces with some more Hawaiian food at the Rainbow Drive-In. We were so hungry that I forgot to take any photos!

Not too far from the Rainbow Drive-In is Leonard's Bakery, the home of their famous Malasadas. Malasadas are Portuguese donut confection that are super popular in Hawaii.

The Malasadas are simply fried dough rolled in granulated sugar or cinnamon sugar. We got half a dozen of them to enjoy after the hike up Diamond Head, and for dessert after dinner that night. Mr. Tall and I headed to the Ala Moana shopping complex to walk around and do a little shopping (taxes are much lower in HI than in CA!). We didn't have any dinner plans, so Mr. Tall did a little Yelping while we were shopping and found that Alan Wong's Pineapple Room is conveniently located inside the Macy's. We started with a Chinese Roast Duck Quesadilla, which was probably the best thing of the night (and that isn't saying too much). 

Mr. Tall ordered a mango and Macademia nut-crusted, apple curry glazed Kurobota pork chop served with Kabocha pumpkin and Mascarpone cheese puree, and he thought it was good. He sure ate a lot of Kurobota pork that week!

We had been eating a lot of heavy dishes, so I thought I would order something light like the seared peppered Ahi with Asian slaw. Although the Ahi was fresh, the whole dish was a big letdown. The prices at the Pineapple Room were high for what I thought was mediocre food--or maybe we just ordered the wrong dishes. The place left me disappointed especially considering the fact that Alan Wong put his name on it! 

That's it for Part I; Part II will be here tomorrow! 

Enjoy, 

LMC

Retro-Blogging: Summer, Part 2

Told you I'd be back sooner than later! Unfortunately, the reason that I can afford to blog today is because school was canceled as many others are due to the fire disaster around San Diego County. I hope everyone and their families are safe and evacuated if necessary. Where I am located, visibility is fine but the air quality is bad. As soon as I step outside, I can smell the burning. This reminds me of the fire storm in 2003 when I was still at UCSD--I remembered that it was snowing ashes and burning debris, and school was canceled for 4 days. I am thankful that my friends and their families, despite the threats to their homes, are safely evacuated. Mr. Tall's office is also closed so we are both home intently glued to the news on TV. Please stay safe out there!

Continuing on from the last post of my summer in the Motherland: at the beginning of my trip, a girl friend of mine from UCSD had the opportunity to stay with me in Bangkok for a few days, so we took a boat tour through Chao-Praya River and visited the Koh Kret (Kret Island) community. Koh Kret is known for their traditional, handmade pottery and delectable sweets. One of my favorite things that you cannot find anywhere else but Thailand is Ka-Nom Buong. It's sort of like a crispy, mini-pancake filled with coconut cream and Foy-Tong (golden and very sweet dessert made of egg yolks and sugar). The first four pictures show how they make these delicious morsels.

At last, the Ka-Nom Buong are gently folded into a taco-shaped, bite-size dessert.

As we rode around the Choa-Praya, we made various stops around the Koh Kret community. We also saw that the floating community and lives subsisting on the river are still vital in this day and age in Bangkok. We made a stop at small shop with various homemade handicrafts as well as fish cakes--Tod Mun Pla. The fish cakes are uniquely Thai because they are spiced with curry paste and served with the sweet chili sauce vinaigrette and cucumber.

The fish cake lady frying up the hand-formed fish cakes in the ginormous wok.

These fish cakes are served hot in a banana leaf bowl and topped with fried sweet basil.

One of the truly traditional Thai delicacies is Kao-Cher, or rice in iced Jasmine water. I know that sounds really weird, but it's really quite refreshing and delicious. The restaurant along the river that we visited was renowned for its Kao-Cher and traditional Thai desserts. It was actually my first time eating Kao-Cher and I really enjoyed it. The cooked rice are served with iced water that has been fragranced with Jasmine flowers. The rice is served with a variety of sweet and savory sides such as Mee-Krob (sweet crispy noodles), fried Kra-Pi (fermented shrimp paste), and pickled vegetables.

The desserts, including the one that is inside the Ka-Nom Buong, are made with egg yolks, flour and sugar and cooked in a large copper wok filled with syrup. The desserts are all hand-made. Unfortunately, when we got there, they had already finished the batch for the day (we went on a week day so it wasn't too bustling) so we could only see the finished products. They also make a variety of other desserts that you can take and enjoy at home. Because such desserts are so popular, there are other shops that hand-make their desserts in massive quantities.

The Tong-Yip is one of the egg yolk-sugar desserts. The dessert names have "tong" which means "gold" in Thai because of the golden yellow color of the sweets.

The neatly folded bunch of golden goodness are the Foy-Tong, resting before they are packaged. Here are some of the other beautiful desserts there:

Tong-Aek: bite-size sweets made of ground yellow mung beans and topped with gold leaves.

Sum-Pun-Nee: similar ingredients as Tong-Aek but colorful and usually molded with flower imprints.

The next stop we made was at a dessert house that produced a massive amount of Foy-Tong and Tong-Yod. One of the really cool things there were these old-fashioned candy that my mom was really excited to see. From old-fashioned gum to candy bars, my mom grabbed a few things for herself and my grandma to enjoy. The mass production of the desserts was really amazing. They are all still handmade but with the help of some interesting small machinery to help drop the Foy-Tong and the Tong-Yod into the boiling syrup. They sell kilos upon kilos of these desserts to retailers in Bangkok and all around central Thailand. We bought a kilo of the Foy-Tong to share with the family. The desserts are delicious but are quite sweet so one person could only eat so much before you are overdosed with sugar.

The Tong-Yod machine dropping bite-size rounds into the boiling syrup and then transferred into a resting pot.

The Foy-Tong man handling a load of the golden strands desserts.

Man, this entry is getting quite lengthy. I shall end with a handful more pictures from the rest of the trip to Koh Kret. I just realized that I took so many pictures from this trip that you'll all have to read about it for the next entry or so!

Handmade pottery before being fired up at Koh Kret.

Deep-fried flowers at a vendor.

One of my favorite non-foodie pictures: a pagoda at a Koh Kret temple.

I shall leave you with floating vendors serving noodles on the riverside. More good eats in Thailand to come!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary