Zurich

Zurich, one of my favorite cities. Why? Maybe because it was the first “big” city I lived in when I left home with my innocent 16 years. I made my apprentice ship in the Hotel Zurich, now the Marriott and loved every moment of being there. Zurich is a big city on Friday and Saturday night, but then a small town on Sunday morning. It has the high life, the normal life, plenty of street coffees, shops, just everything and it is on a lake which makes it even more special.

I haven’t been here in many years and must say, not much has changed, the Bahnhof Strasse just got a bit more fancy more jeweler shops and expensive places, but it is still nice. I made a couple of photos to show you the beauty of Zurich and of course will part with a favorite recipe the Zurcher Geschnetzeltes, sliced veal with mushrooms in cream sauce. This is very traditional here, it is easy to prepare and goes perfect with the Rosti recipe I gave you a short while ago, it is actually normally eaten with Rosti

When I go to Zurich I always like to walk down the Bahnhof Strasse with all the luxury shops, I like to pop in a Orell Fussly a well know book shop and the one on the Bahnhof Strasse (corner Rennweg) is in English and has a great array of books. Then I like to walk up Rennweg and like to eat in the Taverna Catalana, a lovely Spanish Restaurant that is there since at least 25 years and is in the same ownership. Jose, the owner still stands in the kitchen and helps out and the food is a delicious and simple fare.

After lunch one best walk downhill, through the old part of Zurich towards the river Limmat. It is a great place to rest a bit and maybe have some ice cream before heading over to the Niderdorf, the “red light district” of Zurich. It is a great place where one can find everything from the top designer shop to the up market restaurant to the pizzeria, pub, bar, private club and x rated move house, everything is next to each other and that makes the Niderdorf so attractive. During my chef apprenticeship I spent many nights there with my friends, having drinks after work.....too young still to do any of the naughty stuff. It is a very save place where everybody can still walk around at 1 AM in the morning and usually it is still very busy at this time of the night.

Zurcher Geschnetzeltes for 4 friends
450 G (1 lb) Sliced Veal
250 G (0.5 lb) Mushrooms sliced
150 G (5 Oz) Onions in dices
Oli, Salt, Pepper

100 Ml (3 Oz) Whitewine
100 Ml (3 Oz) Beef Stock (Demi Glace)
250 Ml (9 Oz) Heavy Cream

Fry the meat in a very hot pan, just for a couple of seconds till the meat turns brown, but is still only half cooked

Take the meat out, then add teh mushrooms and onions. The bottom of the pan is getting brown, when it reaches a dark brown color add the white wine, then the Demi Gace and theh cream.

Season and reduce till the sauce gets thick and creamy.

Just before serving add the veal and bring once to the boil, serve and eat immediately

Pagudpud and 1000 Islands

Pagudpud is a lovely region with it capital Laoag, which is about a 70 km drive. We were up here mainly to relax and enjoy the beach. Saud Beach Resort, like most of the other resorts is straight at the beach and we could walk from our bungalow straight to the beach, just what we wanted. We had some lovely food up here, one especially memorable is the Sinigang we had.

There is plenty to do up here, Laoag has a beautiful church, shops and on the way there is the light house of Bojjeador, lovely rock formations and windmills one can visit, but we were there mainly to be at the beach.

To the surprise of my girlfriend I had some other intentions as well and on our second day in Pagudpud I went down on my knees and asked her to marry me. So yes, I have no more girlfriend, but have now a fiancée! So Pagudpud will always be special to us. The sunsets are incredible, the water is clear and there are not many tourists on the beaches, it is total bliss.

After having a couple of days total relaxation and fun we went south again. There is so much to see onthe way that one easily could make a couple of days out of it. There is Laoag with its beautiful church and then of course Vigan, a place where I think next time we will stay for a night, beautiful hotels, great city, very romantic.

Then we came to the 100 Islands National Park. Another place in the Philippines that is a must see. We arrived not too late; the road going south along the sea is actually quite quick. We found a cheap hotel, clean, air-conditioned and ensuite bathroom for an incredible 1200 Pesos, about 25 US$ and there was a fantastic restaurant close bye, called Maxine at the sea. The food is really good and if you ever in the region you need to pop in there. We had dinner there the first night and then the next day after a lovely boat trip we had a late lunch there again.

The rental of the boats is per boat and we paid 1400 Pesos for 5 hours, visiting the islands, being able to swim on a private and secluded beach and have a wonderful time together. Best is to take a picnic with (Maxine’s does that if you pre book) and do a whole day with swimming and snorkeling. I have some photos from the islands, it is really beautiful here.

Driving north and visiting Callao Caves

We found a lovely hotel outside Santiago, we arrived fairly late, but that is as well because we had first dinner before we looked for a hotel. Yes we went to a fast food, Jolly Bee and I had a double portion of the Spaghetti. Spaghetti here is served a bit different than in most parts of the world. It comes with a sweet tomato sauce and Vienna sausage pieces in it, but I like it and will have it many more times.

We drove off around 9 AM with the intention to get all the way up to Pagudpud, the final destination of our trip. Even so the map shows that it is a main road, be aware that in Philippines the roads are usually not that good and go through one town after the other, so there is a lot of stop and go and driving slowly, to drive 400 km takes you easy a whole day.

But then we wanted to see some caves as well. There are plenty of cave systems in the north, so for cave enthusiasts this is a paradise. We stopped at Callao Caves, a nice system of 7 “halls” easily to reach, after one goes up 110 very steep steps in scorching heat. There is another, even bigger system, but one needs to book for that one as this is not open for the general public and one needs a professional guide, headsets and lamps, so that is real adventure!

On the way out we passed very closely a venomous snake.......I hate snakes and looking at this one, there is no way that I will just trek through the bush here.

So after this very welcome stop we put foot again and went all the way up to Ilocos Norte and arrived again after sunset in Pagudpud. We went to Saud Beach and stayed at Saud Beach Resort. A lovely place, but more about the stay up there in the next Blog.

Philippines, traveling to Baguio and seeing the Rice Fields

We are on the way up to Ilocos Norte for a beach holiday. Ilocos Norte is, as it says, all the way to the north, so we have quite a way to drive, but we said that we take it easy and not the direct route. We will drive to Baguio, the Summer Capital of the Philippines and then through the mountain province and the rice fields.

Starting very early in the morning we drove off just before 6 AM to get through Manila before the traffic starts and we got wonderfully though this usually totally congested city. Then we went straight on the Luzon North Highway towards Bagio. Of course we needed to have a quick coffee stop in one of the great petrol stations along the highway. One finds everything there, from restaurants to shops, anything one needs.

As soon as the highway is finished one needs to be patient. The road, even so a very good one, is going through one town after the other, so the drive is slowing down very much, but is is still a lovely drive. One needs to know that the road goes on like this all the way up to the very north. But we turned off at the sign up to Baguio.

The road is getting smaller and very windy and of course, only uphill. If one enjoys driving in the mountains, this is a great way to drive, just be aware, it will continue like this for hours. So we drove up to Baguio, a lovely town in the mountains. It is a big town and the houses are glued to the steep slopes, all the valleys are full of houses.

Of course we stopped and had a look around. The temperature is a couple of degrees colder than on the coast so it is really very nice up here and I think we are definitely coming back here.

And now the big drive started, we went into the mountain province towards Benguet in search of the famous Rice Fields of Benguet. Now, the drive is scenic and beautiful, but you need to know that the road is windy and there is literally one curve after the other, up and down, nonstop. I love driving in the mountains and so does Poala, my Girl friend, so it was no problem, but I am just saying that for the next 5 to 6 hours at least, there is no straight stretch. But we found the rice fields, it is not exactly the right season, but we still saw quite a few of them nice and green, others were full of water and some dry and getting prepared for the next crop.

We went up to the highest point of the Philippine road system at 7700 feet, not knowing before of course, but yes I must say that we had an incredible drive. We actually drove that day from before the sun rose till after the sun set, I know we are mad, but that is us. Mountain Province is lovely and again here we will be back one day to explore more, we will spend more time in Benguet, the center of the Rice Fields were the terraces date back over 1000 years, incredible isn’t it? There are more roads and different ways one can go, so Mountain Province, we will be back.

Tocino, Quatar Airways and going back to the Philippines

Again I am flying, this time so I am happy as I am going back to Philippines to see my girl friend and we will spend three wonderful weeks together. So there will be more nice recipes and some photos from the stunning nature here in Philippines

As usual when I have to pay for my flights, I fly Qatar Airways, not because they are my preferred airline, but as I am on a tight budget I have to shop around and get the cheapest way from A to B. But I have to say that one gets really good value for money. Plenty of movies in a easy to use system, the service is extremely friendly and of course the part that is very important; the food is generally very good and tasty. There is plenty of leg space which is important for me, not that I am overly tall or big, but I am not the smallest person, so the space is highly appreciated.

I got fetched from the airport in Manila and we went first quick to Pampangas Region, north of Manila, to visit some family before going home which is close to Tagaytay and the Taal Volcano. From here we planned our little trip to Ilocos Norte, but more about that in the next Blog.

Now I have to give you another of my favorite Philippine Recipes, it is actually mostly eaten for breakfast, but I think one can eat it all day long. It is called Tocino, it is really something I can not stop eating1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups Brown Sugar
1 cup Honey
3 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons ground pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic finely chopped

Mix all the ingredients with about 4 lbs finely sliced Pork (2 kg and marinate it for one day.

Then fry in in a very hot skillet with a bit of the marinade, till the meat browns and is dry

Holiday in Langebaan, South African West Coast

I have spent the first 10 days of my holiday in the Western Cape, up in Langebaan. Langebaan is a lovely small town directly at the beach, great for kite surfing as there is plenty of wind. We stayed in self catering accommodation on the golf course. that I play golf, but the accommodation is really great, it is called Ellefsen Golf Suites  Not that I play golf, but the accomodation is fantastic and good value for money. We had two bedrooms, a nice lounge and kitchenette, ensuite bath room for the main bedroom and then another big bathroom, there is a BBQ (or Braai in South Africa) on the terrace, parking, swimming pool, children facilities with play room and jumping castle and loads more. It is safe and secure, new and clean and spacious one could not wish for more. I got the website on my sidebar, so have a look for photos and more information, it is very nice here and I feel the price is really value for money.

So you can imagine, every afternoon we went to the swimming pool as the weather was hot and sunny and had a great time. The drive to the beach is less than 10 minutes and there are a couple of nice restaurants there too.

Another thing one can do is to go to the National Park, especially during flower season (August and September) it is absolutely amazing with all the wild flowers and there is as well the West Coast Fossil Park, a lovely outing not too far from Langebaan with a really amazing found of bones. The photos are all from the Fossil Park. If the weather turns bad one can take it then even further and drive to Cape Town where one can find a great Museum with Dinosaurs.

Swiss Rӧsti

Hello everybody

As you can see, the blogs are slowly coming in again, and there is more to come, especially about Philippines. But right now I am just burning to give you a recipe. A very, very simple recipe I made when I was now in Switzerland. It is a national dish made out of Potatoes. It is the famous Rӧsti.

There are two ways on how to make a really good Rӧsti one is with pre-cooked potatoes and the other one is with raw potatoes. Both ways give you an excellent result, but you need to take care of this dish to have really good results. I usually make the Rӧsti with raw potatoes but like both ways the same.

Just a short story about the Rӧsti. In Switzerland are two main types of Rӧsti, the one made in Zurich (where I am from) and the one in Berne. Both counties say that they are doing the original and there is a constant quarrel about whose is the original one. I don’t really care but I want to tell you the difference. The one from Zurich you have to add Onions and Bacon to the potatoes and for the one from Berne Bacon and onions........get the hint? They are actually both the same and don’t forget, we don’t have potatoes since such a long time in Switzerland. The potato came to Switzerland about the same time the rest of Europe introduced this Central American Tuber......

But now to the recipe, don’t forget, it is such an easy dish to prepare, but you need to give it time and love!

1500 G Potatoes

150 G Butter clarified Peel the potatoes and let them cool down completely

200 G Onions Grate them in a Rösti grater

100 G Bacon, smoked Cut onions in a fine julienne

Salt, pepper Cut bacon in a fine julienne

Saute onions and bacon in the butter
Add the potatoes, mix everything carefully
Season to taste
Press the potatoes slightly down
Fry the Rösti on slow heat till golden brown, about 15 minutes
Turn the Rösti and fry the other side till golden brown

Serves 10 people

Flying KLM again

Amsterdam Airport is one of the great airports; good shopping and plenty of restaurants. I have raved about this airport before and still think it is a great one. I walked just briefly through it as I had not too much time till my next flight and yes, the flight on KLM was exactly as I hexpected it. I had a great flight last time and again this time I was pampered. Plenty of leg room in the tourist class, movies were the latest and the food.....was great again

The presentation of the food was already great, modern, simple and then of course the taste, I have to say, was superb. The dessert tasted like home made, everything was fresh, the bread rolls were warm and crispy, but soft inside, what a treat! Yes I like flying KLM they are way up on my favourite and I can only recommend them. (No I am not getting paid to say that, I really like them)

I think on the food side it very much depends from where one flies and not just with which airline. On some airports they are not so good in cooking (like Washington) and some are great ( Amsterdam, Cape Town, Singapore) so even when the airline has specific guidlines, I think it istill very much depends from where one starts the journey.

So finally the flying is over again, at least for the next ten days before going to Philippines, I know I will enjoy my time here in South Africa, always have and I can't wait to see my boys again.