Asian Food Fix Berlin

Two weekends ago, my fiance and I drove to Dresden to stock up on groceries and go check out an Asian food market that he read about somewhere.  After driving around in a couple circles, we located the Asian food store where we proceeded to buy lots of random items such as rice noodles, soba noodles, chili chicken sauce, lemongrass, curry pastes, canned lychee, jasmine rice and mirin.  What can I say, we’ve been craving Asian food.

Living in Prague is certainly not like living in Shanghai, Hong Kong or Toronto where you have access to ingredients such as the ones I listed, in most mainstream grocery stores and food markets (not much schlepping involved).  As another example, On New Year’s Day, we went to a restaurant in TTTM SAPA, the large Vietnamese market in Prague 4 (very far), and despite the fact that most restaurants and stalls were closed, the one we found was only so-so.  I will return to SAPA on a regular day to try that shopping and dining experience again. There is a point to all this talk about Asian food and cravings. It is gearing up to the topic of this post:  Where I want to eat Asian food in Berlin!

Currently, my (growing) Berlin Asian restaurant wish-list is as follows:

1. Monsieur Vuong– Upbeat Vietnamese- reviews here and here (clearly states it has the best spring rolls EVER)

2. Cocolo Catering– A mobile Japanese soup kitchen with a dinner only ramen bar in Mitte- see menu here, and a review here.

3. Co Co– Bahn Mi heaven- except the Wednesday Chef says not enough kick in the hotsauce which is a bit disappointing but I will still give it a shot.  Foodspotting seconds the sentiment with chili is not standard. Hrmff!!  I like spicy food.

4. Sian– Vegetarian Vietnamese with a bit of meat on request

5. Dudu– Pan Asian restaurant which I’ve already been to but want to go back- see Unlike.net’s review here and I mentioned briefly in this post here.

6. Transit– Thai/Indonesian food that I read about on the Berlin Loves You blog.

6. Chen Che’s tea party- aka afternoon tea Vietnamese style- Read more about the Vietnamese tearoom here

via Transit

via fotocommunity.de

via lovely wee days

Top Five Hotels for 2012

Last year, I made a solid dent in my European exploration goals and was fortunate to travel to Madrid, Amsterdam, Milan, Florence, London, Berlin, Vienna, Prague (I live here- so it’s a given), Rovinj, Graz, and Linz.  I walked, ate, and window-shopped my way through these cities and merely scratched the surface of these destinations.  When I travel, I subscribe to the slow travel philosophy and would rather let a city unfold by taking in fewer sites and up-ing the neighbourhood strolls, cafe pauses, grocery and market shops and check out tips from spotted by locals.   As 2012 gets underway, another year of travel is upon us and my research is in full force.

I typically scour websites, articles, blogs, Hipmunk, Airbnb and Tripadvisor to figure out where I want to go and stay.  So far, here are my top five hotels that have made my list of where I would like to stay in 2012.  I think I’ve got my bases covered with sun, mountains, vineyards, a loft and a historic retrofit-turned modern hotel. On a slightly unrelated note to hotels, is anyone familiar with these two travel resources: Magazine Hidden Europe or the Matador Network ? I just stumbled upon both and I am excited to give them a read for recommendations- they look very rich in information.

Here are my top five picks of hotels that look down-right awesome.

5. Vivere Suites and Rooms, Arco Trento, Italy-This place looks super relaxing nestled in the mountains of North Eastern Italy in Arco Trento. You can drink wine from Vivere’s vineyard and indulge in delicious Italian food. Sign me up!

via splendida

4. Hillside Beach Club, Fethiye, Turkey- Tucked into a secluded bay on the Aegean coast, Hillside Beach Club looks like  a massive, but fun holiday village with 333 rooms on the property.  Now, I am not the person who usually has their bags packed and runs to a “holiday village” but I am willing to make an exception for Hillside Beach Club.  As a place to explore, relax and recharge, it looks terrific.  Plus, it has received some impressive reviews.  25+ weather from April to October isn’t bad either. They have five categories of rooms (A-E) and lots of activities.

via latebreaks

3. The Conservatorium Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands- I am super excited about this place, and slightly biased because this is where I am getting married.  I fell in love with the Conservatorium the first time I discovered it while it was still under-construction. The Conservatorium represents my favourite type of architecture because it takes something old and turns it into something new while preserving the past.  This hotel was an old bank (you can see pigs in the wall tiles), opposite the Van Gogh museum.  The property was purchased, gutted, re-designed, renovated and received a new look by Italian architect Piero Lissoni including massive glass addition that is simply stunning. You’ll here more about this one as I get closer to the wedding.

via holland.com

2. Matelote, Antwerp, Belgium- Cosy, utilitarian and modern is what comes to mind when I think about staying at the 12 room Hotel Matelote in Antwerp.  I love the look of the loft bedrooms and neutral colour palette designed by local, Peter Deelen.

via tripadvisor

1. Feldmilla Design Hotel, South Tyrol, Italy- This is a family run hotel with 35 rooms located in the Valle Aurina (Italian), a valley on in the South Tyrolean Alps that boast peaks of 9,850 feet.  Feldmilla is where I would go to connect with nature, hike the mountains and relax.  I am particularly interested in visiting/supporting this hotel because they have a strong sustainability policy part of ClimatePartner. The hotel is climate neutral and does its bit to reduce CO2 with their own hydroelectric generator on site.  On the food end, their restaurant can accommodate gluten free and lactose free (I’m neither)- but always good to know!

via groupon.at

New Year’s Round Up of my Favourite Illustrations

I am a sucker for patterns.  I find there is something so calming about a colourful, repeating pattern.  I came across Orange You Lucky, an illustrator from Ottawa (yeah-yeah Canada!), which is my source of inspiration for this post.

Although today we had sun in Prague, in addition to high-level winds, to brighten your day if you have grey skies where you live, I wanted to share a handful of my favourite illustrations.  The first set, are shots from Orange You Lucky.  I love her use of colour and her patterns are adorable!  I think any of the shots below would look terrific, framed on the wall of a kitchen, living room or in a kid’s room.  I know I have some empty, white walls in my front hall that could use a DIY project and some colour. One of the reasons I was drawn to Orange You Lucky’s illustrations because they remind me of some of my other favourite pattern designers such as Orla Kiely (below) and Marimekko.  Don’t you agree?

Orla Kiely’s “Living” patterns.

Cupcake Berlin

I am soooo going to Cupcake Berlin, on my next trip to the city the end of January.  Just look at their cupcakes!! They look divine and like the North American real deal.

I think I would like to sample their Fantasy Island cupcake which is vanilla cake with a cream cheese frosting and their Lemon Drop cupcake which his vanilla cake with lemon buttercream.  For my vegan friends out there, it is worth noting that Cupcake Berlin also bakes vegan cupcakes, so I may have to sample one of those too.  The vegan brown sugar cupcake looks interesting- worth a shot!  If you are interested in what others who have already sampled their goods have said, Cupcake Berlin has received some blog love form Decor8  who wrote a nice review and from OhCupcakes.  I will be adding my own the end of January so stay tuned.

via cupcake berlin

via cupcake berlin

via decor8

via twitter

Five Hotels from 2011

2011 was a year full of travel, especially with the move to Prague from Toronto.  I had the opportunity to visit some terrific hotels and I had the opportunity to visit some not so terrific hotels.  Seeing that it is the new year and the new year is all about making lists, I wanted to share a list I created of my top five hotels that I stayed at in 2011.  If I can help it, when I travel, I seek out boutique hotels (under 100 rooms) with a strong design story.  These are not your average big-brand, cookie-cutter dwellings. They are unique, have a brand identity and are typically located in artsy, creative neighbourhoods.

Here are my 2011 hotel picks:

5.  The Zetter Hotel in London, England.  The Zetter hotel is a contemporary, boutique hotel in Clerkenwell that gives off the vibe that you are staying in someone’s cool apartment in a quaint neighbourhood of the city.  This hotel is branded to the max with a “Z” on as many consumer touchpoints the designer could find.  There is a cool coffee, tea and snack station on each floor, and rooms are equipped with a great selection of design magazines, mood lights, amazing bathrobes, colourful fleece blankets and bottled water.  Also amazing continental breakfast with kick-ass muesli and homemade jam in massive jam jars. Mr. and Mrs. Smith liked the Zetter and so did the Telegraph.

via unlike.net

4. The Cosmo Hotel in Berlin, Germany.  The Cosmo hotel is located in the fashionable, Mitte district of Berlin and is adjacent to a very impressive and colourful kid’s jungle gym.  The design of the hotel is modern, understated and industrial but with a warm feel. Their colour palette revolves around black in the lobby and hallways with purple accessories contrasted with natural wood or concrete on the floors and white in the bedrooms.  The rooms are massive but all have beautiful windows that let in lots of natural light.  My favourite thing about this hotel was their dining area where we ate every morning for breakfast.  The communal and individual tables were made out of the most stunning wood you have ever seen.  Affordable and well located.  We are staying here again the end of January.  Read more about The Cosmo on Chic Traveler and Style Hotel.

via welt.be

3. Hotel Wiesler, Graz, Austria: Hip as hip can be, Hotel Wiesler is vintage, cool and housed in an old set of buildings dating back to 1870.   The rooms are large and comfortable and have lots of character. The lobby is minimalist-grand and is filled with fabulous and interesting furniture that looks like it is all made from reclaimed wood.  The restaurant has a massive tiled mural that looks like it is from Gustav Klimt and offers a generous spread for its buffet.  Finally, the hotel also boasts its own barber, deli, and Polaroid camera for taking pictures and sending postcards to your friends.  We wanted to stay an extra night when we were there but sadly, this place was fully booked.  Next time!  This hotel is part of the Weitzer Hotel group which has two other hotels in Graz.

via vogue

2. Lone Hotel Rovinj, Croatia:  This hotel was brand, spanking new when we visited and was filled with all the modern luxuries one could ever hope for in a hotel that architecturally, looks like a cruise ship.  I tend to prefer to stay in small or medium size hotels and was a bit apprehensive when I saw the size of the Lone, however, the design is such where you don’t feel like you are on top of the other guests and it has enough space and is designed well so you don’t feel like another number.  Located in the beautiful surroundings of forest and water on the Istrian coast, the Lone hotel is ultra-modern on the inside with amazing couches, chairs and tables (that you can draw on) arranged in living room settings.  Walls are black, furniture is light wood, and all rooms are furnished with contemporary furniture.  It has the most amazing gym and massive spa facilities on the property that is free for guests to use (we used it everyday).  This hotel has received a lot of attention because of its unique architecture and interiors like the article from the Independent, and blog posts from the Contemporist and Design Boom. It is a slice of modern heaven in Rovinj and I would 100% return to relax here.

via positive magazine

1. Dormirdcine Madrid, Spain:  Is a tiny hotel, movie themed hotel in the fashionable, Salamanca district of Madrid.  I don’t even know how I found this hotel other than the fact that I was looking for a reasonably priced hotel where I could stay up the street from my brother, who at the time was living in the city.  As the tag line for the hotel states “Cooltural Rooms,” this hotel has a lot of character and is very “cooltural” with movie themed murals on the walls and contemporary furniture.  The rooms are each designed around the theme of movie and the hotel offers guests free movies to watch during their stay.  Believe it or not, this deceivingly small hotel has 85 rooms, a bar and a nice dining room that serves breakfast.

via go 4 hotels

Has anyone visited these hotels?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Happy New Year

I am sitting in my office as I type this post and already I hear people lighting fireworks in my neighbourhood in anticipation of the new year.  I will be watching the fireworks from my balcony which will give me a perfect view of Prague castle and the Vltava river at midnight.  I am happy to report that new things are coming in 2012 for my blog including a long-time and long-planned re-brand, which should be rolling out in the next couple of weeks.  I am super excited to take my blog up a notch to the next level.  Wishing all my readers a happy new year and a terrific 2012 wherever in the world you are.

via postcards and pretties

Down With Tissue Paper Pom Poms; Up With Confetti System

I am not deliberately trying to be hard on myself when I say “I suck at making tissue paper pom-poms. ” Last year, I was inspired by the tissue paper pom-pom to the extent that I even wrote a post about it “Tissue Paper Pom Pom” in excitement for my upcoming craft project.   Since I wrote the post, I must have made dozens of pom-poms to accessorize parties and brighten up rooms, but to be honest with you, I find that every time I make them, they tear or I can’t get the tissue paper to separate back to the centre.  In the end, my pom-poms look like pom-poms but they are a far cry from the beauties seen in Martha Stewart’s how-to.

So I’ve come up with a solution for all the people out there who tear their tissue paper pom-poms or can’t be bothered with the undertaking: Tissue paper flowers by Confetti System offered at store, Creatures of Comfort, in New York.  Confetti System’s tissue paper flowers, the creation of Nicholas Anderson and Julie Ho, are delicate, colourful and funky looking. If they don’t scream par-tay, I don’t know what does!  Thank you NY Mag Best Bets.  You never fail to fill my life with awesome items and ideas!

via comfort creations

via NY Mag

Moeder Babelutte: What Candy Should Be

Last week in Amsterdam, I had a make-up session with the talented Joeri Vanhove, owner of the amazing store, Red Carpet Queen.  In conversation with Joeri, we were talking about all things food and dining related in our respective countries and he mentioned that Belgium is home to delicious, and gourmet food.  Everywhere you go, they do it gourmet in that country.  I hung on to this gem of information and decided to do a bit of research, having never been to Belgium myself.

I came across a delicious looking candy and confectionary shop that has 10 locations across Belgium called Moeder Babelutte.   The story behind Moeder Babelutte began in 1850 when a woman named Rosalie Desmat and her husband moved to Heist, Belgium. While her husband worked, Rosalie made batches of her mother’s recipe for a candy called Butter Babelutte, which she sold to weathly English and French children who were visiting the coastal town.  A babelutte is like a caramel made with brown sugar, milk, wheat flour, cinnamon and biscuits.  The candy became so popular with the residents of Heist, Rosalie’s candy making turned into a business, Moeder Babelutte.  Over 100 years later, Moeder Babelutte has been revived and expanded.  Has anyone been to Belgium and tried a Moeder Babelutte caramel or chocolate?  I can’t wait to go.

All photos via Moeder Babelutte