my virgin trip to italy was (reluctantly) over.......
the trip is awesome awesome! i want to stay there!
tot abt so many things there n got really inspired!
i will break my post into 3 parts for the diff areas we've visited.
loads of pix......
here goes!
7 May 2013 (Tuscany)
we took the nite flight (11 plus) straight to rome.
1st thing we had in rome! we went for some coffee n pastry. not bad!
on train to termini station
went to this famous porchetta shop near termini. wah lau eh.....it is really difficult to navigate thru the busy streets in rome w luggage n rain. but we didnt give up n found this shop after like 30 mins!
basically, they roast the whole pig w herbs n slice them off the pig, serving the meat, the crispy skin......do i need to say more?
the meat was juicy n tender, sweet n fragrant. the skin was crispy n "sticky"(collagen). they serve this with wine. n i had my 1st culture shock. they start to drink at 10am. yes. it was oni 10am.
the owner helped us to stow our luggage at the corner of his shop n welcomed us w his megawatt smile.
it was so good that i ordered additional portion of meat n another wine. i felt abit tipsy after the 2nd glass. toking abt strong alcohol!
burp!
the friendly owner w baby. she seemed to b v popular in italy. u will c in subsequent pictures as in how many men want to take pix w her.
baby drowning herself w water after stealing a few sips of my wine.
on train to florence!
we reached our villa in tuscany after 20 mins drive from florence train station. went to roam around the estate. there r flowers everywhere!
this is where we will b having our welcome dinner.
deep fried zucchini flowers!!!!! finally got to eat it!!!!! it was sweet n chewy. yum!
prosecco! how can we miss this?
chef at work.
2 of our housemates for the nxt 7 days.
this prawn risotto is creamy n smooth. sweet prawny seafoody al dente rice. yum yum.
ravioli w seafood sauce. the calamari was fantastic. crispy n sweet. v nice.
this is so good. the snapper is so sweet! n the rosemary brought out the freshness of the fish. super nice.
i cant rem wat this is. a coffee mousse i think. n we walked back to the villa at abt 10.30pm. my god, it was so dark that we need to walk out with torchlights! n it is SO COLD!!!!!
8 May 2013 (Tuscany)
woke up early to cook bfast. they provide us w eggs, bread, milk, ham, cheese etc..... so good. n we had a herb garden behind our kitchen, so i can go to the back n pluck some herbs for my makan! so cool!
found this beetle on the kitchen steps. we've found out that wat my italian teacher said is true. the houses in italy had natural "aircon". it was actually colder INSIDE the house than the outside. we were like freezing in the house.
saw the herd of horses on our way to the training kitchen.
mixing around w the new classmates. they r so fun to b with! this is my fav group of ppl for our 1 week class.
freshly brewed coffee b4 class. how good can it get?
the bread is huge.
chef (behind): hey bella, wat r u doing to my bread?
baby: opps, 被老外发现了....
end up kena "punished" to stir batter. hahaha.
the herb garden behind the kitchen. these r rosemary.
beautiful mint leaves!
we make fresh pasta by hand too!
working hard.
bruschetta w egg plant, tomato n basil. so yummy. esp w good olive oil. when u have ingredients this fresh n good, less is more.
look at the pasta table!!!! filled w gnocchi.
the guys were drinking n taking pix.....lazy ppl. hahaha.
this ogat's cheese souffle is out of this world. crispy outside, soft , fluffy n juicy(!!!) inside! n the fragrance n saltiness from the cheese = delicious!
ravioli n gnocchi. v heavy. gnocchi v potato-ey n chewy. nice. erica tot that the ravioli yesterday was better (cos she made them). self proclaimed "queen of ravioli". funny woman.
stew beef. tender n rich.
italian classic. tiramisu.
baby: lim ah lim ah
me: zun bo????
baby: xiao ah. u wan me to die is it.
this is the sweet wine they used for cooking the dessert. super strong. but tasted sweet n fruity. v nice!
we went siestra (zzzz) after our heavy lunch....went for a walk nearby n saw this river.
bought back a pizza for dinner. shop opened at 7pm, but we were there at abt 6.30pm. they gladly open the stove for us n served us prosecco (FREE) while we were waiting for the pizza. i love italy!!!!
wine is free flow. yes. free flow.
this seafood pizza is AWESOME. the prawn is so fresh n sweet! n the crust of the pizza is paper thin, sauce for the pizza ia WHITE sauce. v v v nice!
9 May 2013 (Tuscany)
class started at 10am as usual. things were going great, n alan n micheal were so funny n knowledgable. erica was abit too quiet today.....we wonder y.
new classmates today.....they were nice initially, but things turned for the worse as the class ended on a sour note.
baked some biscotti!
ask u cook u go n pose w fresh garlic.
tripe. look harmless, but smells funky.
we took time to smell some flowers in the middle of class (while the chef is plucking some herbs from the garden)
pose pose!
人比花娇？
i plucked roses (pricked my fingers :( ) for baby. got her flowers everyday in tuscany. from the roadside. hahaha.
look at the big jar of olive oil!!!!
veal.
me: here no gym, muz workout (using the meat pounder)
baby: the pounder is used like this!
me n erica stuffing the squid.
this is so delicious! i am going to cook this dish when i get back to singapore.
salad w zucchini, tomato n basil.
we made this picci (pronounced as pit-chee).erica said she loves bitchy picci. v chewy n filling.
the braised tripe. this dish is simply too much for the ladies. v strong gamey organ-y taste. i like it though. goes well w the red wine. btw, did i tell u we drink for every meal?
chocolate meringue. crispy outside, chewy inside. yum.
vanila gelato. fantastic end to a meal w a cup of italian expresso.
we were enjoying the coffee when that group of new students started a chaos.
halfway thru the class, they told chef that they r vegetarian, n one of them is allergic to spinach.
i mean, come on la. if u have special dietary request, shdnt u tell them earlier?
n bcos of this, they were nt really paying attention during class. yes, i noe u've paid for the class, but it is v rude of them to chit chat n ignore the chef while others r learning. total insensitive arrogant pigs.
well, i heard its a trademark for ppl from that country (clue: they got a statue of a woman by the river in their country). how true.
they gave sacarstic remarks although chef prepared a separate portion of food for them.
n the one w allergy? damn her la. erica was a military doc. so she asked that woman abt her allergy. that stupid woman replied "oh, it triggers my headache when i eat spinach"
erica stared at me when she heard the reply. i was laughing behind.
wtf is this.
n after the meal, one of their companion said that his iphone is missing.
kicked up a big fuss n wanted everyone to look for the pohne for him.
his lady fren was shouting instructions, pushing ppl to " check" their phones so that they did not "take his phone by mistake".
erica, john, me n baby ignored them.
total nonsense.
they cant find the phone(they claimed to b lost) in the end, n they vented their anger by throwing their aprons on the ground outside the kitchen.
chef was so angry!
how rude n uncouth these ppl r!!!!
sigh.
after that, erica told us that she found out that her boyfren was seeing other woman (a slut w lots n lots of tattoos) behind her back n she juz found out abt it this morning.
no wonder she's so quiet today.
i told her to shoot that guy. n she said she mught, since she got a gun.
suddenly i rem, she's from the military.
mati.
we felt sad for her, cos she's such a great person.
hope she will recover from this soon.
after the pizza yesterday, baby n i went to the shop again for dinner.
flat pasta w squid n zucchini. my god, the squid is so fresh n sweet. v nice!
y her face look like this?
her crab linguine. with MUDCRAB. the owner came out w the LIVE crab n showed us, before it ended on this plate. look at the meat n roe. my god. this is better than the sri lanka crab we had. so so so SWEET!!!!! full of the goodness of the sea. meat is so fresh n soft, n its really big. n guess what. its so cheap. less than 15 euros. go figure.
baby's crab eating skills r way way too lousy. she stained her jacket while she was wrestling w the crustacean. the boss saw it (from the corner of his shop), asked his wife to bring her a bib, while he when in n gave us this
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this is amazing stuff. on spray n it removed ALL the stians on ur clothes. no joke.
even the gadget for eating the crab is better than ours.
espresso to end the meal! (i had wine of cos. n it cost 3.50 euros for half litre. join me anyone?)
we went back (using torchlight) at abt 10.30pm. n found out that our villa had a power failure.
WHAT????????
bcos of this, i had my bath wout hot water. n it was like 14 degrees outside.
FREEZING. super cold!!!!!!
must complain.
10 May 2013 (Tuscany)
wat a start to the day. power tripped in our villa, causing a trip in water supply as well.
yes, no water.
luckily it happened AFTER we had our bfast.
COMPLAIN big time.
went to the kitchen too early. another new chef to teach us today (previous 2 days was chef cutie pie), today will b chef lanky.
walked around that area for touristy shots.
look at the zucchini. the flowers on top r nt to b eaten, but to show u how fresh the zucchini is. talking abt fresh produce!
人比花娇again????? change smth new la.....
this gadget is awesome. called the "moka pot". used to make espresso. oni available in italy. i bought 2 of this home!
fresh porcini!!!!!
this new classmate is shubert from taiwan (now he is living in texas). speaks good english, v funny guy. passionate n sings well! sang opera w chef lanky when cooking. yes, we listen to italian opera when we were cooking.
chicken liver. for e pate ltr.
sorry for the lousy pix. but this is really awesome!!!! tasted so good. gamey (in a good way, i love it) saltiness w the toasted bread n good olive oil. total yummi-ness.
baby caught me monkey playing w shubert.
k la k la, working hard for food!
this is risotto w saffron n asparaghus. creamy, thick n cheesy.
baby's turn to gossip w shubert.
we made this ravioli (potato w pancetta filling) w porcini sauce. THIS IS THE BEST RAVIOLI I"VE EATEN. super nice!!!!!! the pancetta was so crispy n tasty, the salty goodness pushes the potato in the ravioli to b slightly sweet. n anything wun go wrong w porcini. simply divine.
zucchini w braised chix. rich n filling.
the ricotta pie w chocolate
la viva chinese!
after this meal, we were so stuffed, that we didnt have dinner. n did i tell u that we do not hav wifi or tv in our room? we were in solitary for 7 days. hahaha.
electricity bk to normal. hot water finally!
11 May 2013 (Tuscany)
this is the door that leads to the backyard.
神偷谍影之你是什么人？
ta dah.....
enough of 人比花娇 already!
u can c the morning dew on the flower. can u c the small insect?
tsk. enuff already.
me: got pool.....
me: maybe i shd jump in?
me: jumping......hoot......
人呢？
...........
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.
.
do u really thing that i is so dumb to jump into the water in such cold weather? duh!
2 cups of coffee w diff color. baby liked hers w alot of milk. wtf.
orange bigger than her face. a rare situation.
panna cotta in the making
we tried tomatoes w garlic, basil n olive oil on toasted bread. bruchestta if u wan the official name.
de-boning the duck w my fat arms.
parmaggiano w balsamic vinegar. simply yet so good.
the singing chef
onion tart.sweet n crisy. nice.
gnuidi. it is the "naked" pasta. "nude" pasta with no flour. soft n Q.
gnudi served w sauce. nice n light.
cook halfway went out n look at clouds.
一朵小花送给你
我喜欢大花 -___- "'
florentine orange duck w roased potatoes n rosemary.
baby trying to decorate the panna cotta
she say its heart shaped. i dun think so. mine looked like a road crash, so i think i wun show my "creation" here.
boozing on limoncello in the afternoon.
cheeky massimo (the villa owner) was into homeopathy and palm reading (of all things). he is trying to convince baby that he is a pro in these 2 areas. total quack. hahaha.
told u she is popular here.
after so long, we ran out of clothes to wear. went to the laundry shop to do our laundry.
knocked my head against the soap machine. idiot (nt me. the machine)
i dun really understand the msg. room rate (wat?) - soap(ok), perfume(huh?) n oxygen (??????).....
they seriously need to hire a translator.
meghan drove us up to the hills of tuscany to hav dinner.
appetizer to go w ur wine.
it was communicated that this is a soup (supposed to be). duno hw come it was served like a pancake. n it is salty.hmmmmmm.
something creamy. i dun even rem wat this is.
white beans to go w the steak.
the legendary florentine steak. look hw big this is. the meat here is at 2kg. go figure.
if u ask me, i think the meat is so so oni.
massimo trying his luck on my palm. look at hw skeptical i was.
massimo: let me read ur past n future
me: ya, rite.
massimo: u dun trust me? i learn from the gyspies!
meghan (massimo's wife): n they lie too! his master's name is "google".
massimo: stop interupting me. i am concentrating here.
meghan: y not u read MY palm?
massimo: go read ur own palm urself (pushed her hands away)
me: u two go get a room la.
mediocre dessert.
forgot wat this is.
master massimo changing target after i dismissed him.
although the view was great n the company was fun, the food here really is average at best. charging such a high price for this kind of standard, i felt that it is nt worth ur effort (n $$$) to drive up here just to eat.
maybe we didnt order the right stuff. i duno.
12 May 2013 (Tuscany)
john is a nice man. always aiming for my sunglasses though.
artichoke!
act demure?
i rather eat it!
i am good in making pasta now.
wanted to sing opera, end up i look as if i was stepped on my toes. crap.
cook ma cook, play what play?
me kena caught in the rose garden again.
got us some fresh roses!
v tasty.bruschetta w pork sausage meat. yum.
full concentration in making crepes.
ta dah!!!!
baby: v difficult meh????
me: tsk
baby: c'mon, do it w flair!
3 flavoured pasta dough
v nice n Q.
artichoke gratin.
this was one of my fav dish. pork w grapes. pork was tender, skin crispy, best combination of savoury + sweet (from grapes). yummy!
Chocolate walnut cake. rich n moist.
add in the sweet vanila sauce.....ma ma mia!
baby: dun take my pimple la!!!!
we love their food so much, we went back for dinner. we reached at abt 8pm, and the place was PACKED w ppl da bao-ing pizzas! there were like 20 over ppl in there n they order like 7 pizzas EACH. imagine how many pizzas flew out of the oven!!!! n yes, look at the pix. they serve wine in a mini jar, 1/2 litres, 3.50 euro. can dun drink meh?
the humongous serving of salad. 1st time we had raw mushrooms. machiam sponge. in a good way la. nt bad yo.
this time, the boss called out from the kitchen n showed me the live lobster. ask me want or nt.haha. OF COS!!!! this tasted so good! the lobster is so soft! i've nv tasted such a soft lobster before (usually they r quite tough....) this plate is filled w the goodness of the sea. the seafood juice coated every strain of the pasta....every bite into this dish sends an explosion in your mouth, bringing u to seafood heaven. ahhh.......
we cant miss the crab either!
the v nice owners, giorgo n his wife, eleanor.
we love this place! they open at 7pm, but at 9 plus, the boss shouted out from the kitchen that they r closed for the day!hahaha. i oso wan to work here.
we went bk at 10 plus after our dinner. as it was raining, n v v v dark. used the torchlight to find our way back. its an adventure i muz say. saw alot of stars outside our apartment. n it was so cold that baby n i blew out "smoke" when we were watchings stars n chatting! so lomantic hor.....but v cold la.hahaha.
13 May 2013 (Tuscany)
woke up early to hitch a ride from meghan's driver (sending her daughter to school) to the florence central. we r going to the central market!
i've always liked their market. clean, dry n bright.
these r porcini lor.....my god.
yup. brains anyone?
look at the beautiful zucchini flowers!
they sell rabbit meat too!
this tub is for the mozzarella cheese. fresh.
ai lim kopi mai?
mai, wa ai hip siong.
baby loved the cherries here.
we had a cheese, olive oil n balsamic vinegar tasting session.
market is behind the cathedral
i cooked us lunch. we rested for awhile before our farewell dinner.
pricked my finger while i was plucking the flowers......hahahaha.摘花贼的下场.
我们的倒影
monkey playing before the last lesson started
welcome gift = watermelon
zo gang zo gang.
porcini is soaked in milk.
our fav chef, cutie pie luciano
n he manage to de-bone a chix in like erm......7 mins?
b4 u noe it, its done.
we wrap herbs n meat n pistacchio into the chix, roll it n bake it.
this is an awesome "5" cake. passed down by luciano's grandma. apple cake.
make pasta make pasta.
人比花娇之你有完没完
foccacia w tomato n basil. tasted divine. crispy outside, soft n fluffy inside. v v good.
we fried some zucchini flowers, onion rings, porcini mushrooms, carrots......fried food r always nice, n this is like using the freshest ingredients.
u noe, this trip made me realise one thing, that the italians REALLY sing during dinner!
baby enjoying herself w the fried veg w prosecco. dancing around like a bird.
but nt for long. still muz make pasta.
chef doing the emulsification.
risotto!
the chicken roll tasted awesome.
massimo pssing his giant "namecard" to us. making sure we dont lose the "card". thanks man.
the cake w zabaione. LOVE IT. oh come one. who wun like sauce made from alcohol????
cutie pie singing n dancing w uncle.
coffee w zabaione? of cos!!!! we sang n ate n play around, tok, gossip, READ THE PALM, eat more, booze......this is life man. italians really noe hw to enjoy life!
the russian sisters. they r v shy throughout the course. v nice ppl though.
graduate liao.
look at hw he hug baby. do i need to say more?
baby n massimo taking pix of each other taking pix of each other (wtf).
luciano is really our inspiration. he taught us so so so many things. he want us to enjoy life, love ourselves by taking good care of ourselves. he used to work in his own restaurants, lived a fast paced life. until he found a tumor in his stomach. he went for operation, removed the tumor. after that he realised, in order for him to love his loved ones, he have to take good care of himself. so he quit his restaurant life, n came here. he told us "live life slow, enjoy life. if i can do it, so can u".
yes, we can.
we will.
that sums up our 7 days on the hills of tuscany.
nxt post will b on florence, the city where it all started. the renaissance.
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