• home
• reviews
  • Restaurants
  • Cooking Courses
  • Cookware Tests
  • Taste Tests
  • Events
  • Reviews Index
• recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Snacks & Starters
  • Dinner Time
  • Sides
  • Drinks
  • Sweet Treats
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Gluten Free
  • Recipes Index
• etc
  • Competitions
  • Food News
  • Travel Stories
• contact
  • About
  • Contact
  • PR Enquiries

Foreign Food Fridays: Beirut, Lebanon

Posted on August 20, 2010

This week it’s a photo that’s not actually mine. I got sent this from my hubby’s Aunty and Uncle who recently visited Beirut (thanks guys!).

Can you believe it’s a street stall selling figs and cherries! Very cool.

Even though my Dad was born in Lebanon, I’ve never been there, so I love seeing the grid-locked traffic he’s always talking about.

Plus, those big plump green figs and shiny cherries look sooo yummy!

Hopefully I’ll get to Lebanon one day, for now I’ll just drool over the lovely Joumana’s blog, Taste Of Beirut. Check it out, it’s totally delicious.

Have a great weekend, Christie x

Foreign Food Fridays: Toulouse, France

Posted on August 13, 2010

The French sure know how to cook a great steak.

Here is a very good example of a perfect rare steak eaten at La Braisiere.

Us Aussies might think we know how to do it best on the BBQ, but nothing I’ve ever tasted even comes close to comparing to this one.

Way back in 2005 our very good friends Celine and Bi took us to La Braisiere for dinner where we ate the best steak of our lives.

In those days, it will still OK to smoke inside restaurants and being in France, naturally everyone was smoking between courses.

It was a very different story when Dillon and I returned there last year in October to re-live that magical first taste.

There was not even the slightest whiff of smoke in the air, but the steak still tasted as good as ever. Served with the crunchiest goose fat potatoes and a large well-dressed green salad it was the perfect meal for a cool Autumn evening.

Of course we accompanied it with a delicious local red wine and smiled ear-to-ear all the way back to our rented apartment (even though it was a good 20 minute walk!).

If you have missed previous Foreign Food Fridays posts then click here to view them.

Have a great weekend, Christie x

Foreign Food Fridays: Barcelona, Spain

Posted on August 6, 2010

I’ve got tears in my eyes as I look at this photo.

It’s for two reasons:

1) I heart Barcelona! Out of the 26 cities we visited last year it was my favourite (tied 1st with Tokyo).

2) Now that I’m pregnant I can’t eat cured meats. Besides, nothing will taste as good as eating pure Iberico ham in the country the lucky (black-hoofed) pig was raised in.

And, I feel guilty guzzling it here in Oz due to the food miles it has racked up, just to enter my hungry belly. Sigh.

This shot was taken at the famous La Boqueria fresh produce market in Barcelona.

I’ve got plenty of other great shots of olives, pineapples, mushrooms, seafood and more – but you’ll have to wait for future Foreign Food Fridays posts for those. (Note: Click those blue words to view all the previous posts!).

Have a great weekend guys, Christie x

Foreign Food Fridays: Istanbul, Turkey

Posted on July 30, 2010

I was completely obsessed with eating these aubergine kebabs in Istanbul when we were there last year. The charred aubergine combined with the spiced lamb mince is a really addictive mix.

When the aubergine is properly done and becomes a super silky texture, that equals pure heaven, for me. I had a perfect version in the first few days we arrived and I went around chasing that first experience the whole time.

A big chunk of aubergine stuffed into a hot piece of pide and topped with a slice of raw onion tastes sooo good! The tomato rice, although nice, is totally redundant.

There were so many other amazing dishes in Istanbul, but you’ll have to wait for future exciting episodes of Foreign Food Fridays for those!

Have a great weekend, Christie x

Foreign Food Fridays: Tokyo, Japan

Posted on July 16, 2010

This bowl of perfectly fresh raw seafood and other yummy ingredients was transformed into a delicious Japanese pancake called Okonomiyaki.

The restaurant we ate it in was in the Shibuya district of Tokyo and it was a very cool experience because the restaurant was set up with little booths that had large flat hot plates built into the tables.

Diners then get to choose from a large menu of options and cook the food themselves. It’s a great, interactive way to eat out!

We were really lucky to have some lovely Japanese ladies in the booth next us. I imagine we looked a bit bewildered when the bowl of raw ingredients was set down in front of us so they gave us a little demo.

For more pictures of the cooking process and a peek inside the restaurant click the ‘Read the rest of this article’ button below. (more…)