30DC8: Places I've Lived

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Hong Kong – I was born and spent the first 8 months of my life here, where my family is from. Aptly described by Michael Kors as "Beverly Hills on steroids," Hong Kong is a vibrant and exciting place that requires a certain level of street-smartness to survive in.  In fact, months before I visited Hong Kong for the first (and so far, only) time when I was 10, my mom and aunts prepped me for weeks about how to navigate through dense crowds, how to find a seat on the subway, how not to mess my clothes up eating street food, etc.!  It's also where Cantonese is widely spoken - a dialect that is not pretty to listen to at all but is very close to my heart, because it's very colloquial and cheeky. :) Being from Hong Kong also creates a unique cultural identity in me, because my entire family (with the exception of my younger cousins) were born there when it was a British colony.  I've found that it's nearly impossible to describe to people who don't share a similar situation what it means to be bicultural - especially, I've personally found, if they're from Europe.  And for me, my situation is even more complicated because I grew up in Canada!  Which brings me to my next place...

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Toronto – I grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, which are safe and peaceful. I’m very proud of being from Toronto, and I self-identify first and foremost as a Canadian. In fact, I've been known to raise my hackles when people sh*t on Canadians. :P I’m now back living in my hometown after stints in the following places:

How to Live Abroad (Where to Start & A Shameless Plug)

Chilling at the famous pebble beaches of Nice in April 2009

If you've been reading me for a while (bless you! :D), you probably know that

Entitled to Happiness

Something finally managed to kick my butt out of my self-pitying jag.

Best of 2010: Spain

So recently a very, very good friend asked me if coming to Spain was as amazing as I'd hoped.  She's one of the people in my life who gets all my firsthand observances first, one of the ones I totally don't censor myself with, one of the ones who just knows me really well.  And I've had my share of complaints about being here - my hellish first month, about my living environment, about feeling alienated sometimes, for example.

My conclusion is that it was...

Tasty Tuesday/Cupcake Chronicles: Happy Day

 (*Sorry this post is late - better late than never, right?  I thought I published this yesterday, but as it turns out, I only saved it. XP  Apparently I'm still recovering from the massive brain cell massacre I suffered in Sororityland.)

Oh, Happy Day!
(Oh, Happy Day...)
Oh, Happy Daaay!!!
(Oh Happy Day...)

As promised, I have lots to tell you about Spanish cupcakes!

Representing

I get approached for advice every so often by people who are going to study or work abroad, and there's one main piece of advice that I always pass on no matter where the person is going, no matter why they're going there ...

What I'll Miss About Madrid

As per tradition, I'm doing my nails on a Saturday morning early afternoon after waking up and munching on chocolate-topped butter cookies, while David Tao is making love to my ears.  I can listen to Just Friends (普通朋友) on repeat for hours on end while I do other things - paint my nails, knit, fold laundry, read... Youtube it if you've never heard it before.  You don't even need to understand the lyrics (it's about a guy's sadness that the girl he loves only wants to be "just friends" with him) - the melody is so beautiful.

As I step into the second half of my second last month here, I'm starting to feel a little sentimental.  It was the same situation last time, when I went to live in Nice - I have a love-hate relationship with living in Europe.  On the one hand...

Working in Europe

This sign needs some Spanish on it!

So this is what working in a European office is like.

A couple days ago the head of HR brought around a new colleague to sort of orient him and introduce him to everyone quickly.  She does that from time to time so we're used to it.

My department also happens to be the most gregarious one in the company, so we were trying to talk to him a little bit.  One of the opening questions was, "¿Qué idiomas hablas?" ("What languages do you speak?")

El Día conmemorativo

It's so strange to be living somewhere where no one is wearing poppies.  In Canada, poppies grace many, many coat lapels and breastpockets right after Halloween.

The Chocolate Rhythm

When most people say that they are addicted to chocolate, other people just think that they just must really, really like to eat it.  It's goes further than that with me...I think I might really have a problem.  I'm surprised that I haven't written about it more here, actually.  I'd inject Nutella if I could, although I suppose that would defeat the purpose of tasting it. 

Just like at home, Commercial Land is kind of hyperactive here.  Several days after Todos los Santos (November 1st, which is a holiday here), stores start getting stocked with Christmas things.  Now that December is getting closer and closer, all the supermarkets here are getting filled to bursting with chocolate sweets, most notably an absolute ton of turrón, which is basically nougat, and all kinds of chocolates.

All kinds!  And it's all the good stuff from Europe that I love to eat at home, but it's cheaper because Spain is closer to Belgium and Switzerland and Germany and Italy than Canada is.  I just bought a 16-piece box of Ferrero Rocher for 3.90 €, which would retail at home between $6-8.  ¡Olé!

But that was when I started missing the Chocolate Rhythm at home.  Did you know that chocolate has a rhythm in Canada?  Because there is.  And it's a beautiful one, with its graceful ebbs and flows of brown, creamy deliciousness.

Tasty Tuesday: El Brillante

Calamari sandwich with World Cup special edition Spain-coloured peanut M&Ms :D

Cholesterolly foods are delicious. Don't lie, because I won't believe you.

And one of my favourite forms of it is seafood - clams, mussels, crabs, shrimps, lobsters - especially calamari!

Seafood plays a big role in Spanish cuisine because they have a lot of access to the sea, being a peninsula. There are all kinds of seafood tapas, appetizers and main dishes here, and I LOVE them.

So when I was doing my research before coming to Spain, I read up on (affordable) must-try foods in Madrid, and one of them happened to be calamari sandwiches (bocadillos de calamares) from El Brillante.

Person --> Alien

Hi guys!

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who participated in my mini-giveaway - the winners have been contacted by e-mail and the postcards were sent out on Friday, as promised!  It was awesome hearing from you guys and seeing who reads my blog.  :D  Thank you all so much for the support - you mean the world to me!

Next thing I want to address is - it's November, which means it's NaBloPoMo!  

In my...2?+ years of keeping this blog (and another 2, 3 years before that using LiveJournal) I've never participated in NaBloPoMo before, so I'm really excited to try my hand at it this year.   That means I'm going to be posting every day this month, and so I really hope you guys will keep up with me and come back here every day to see what I've been up to. :)

So last night was Halloween!  

Tasty Tuesday: Casa Julio

a.k.a. I Eat Where U2 Eats
a.k.a. If It's Good Enough for Bono, It's Good Enough for Me

What happens when three girls are left with enough money to feed themselves for a week and are told to enjoy “a nice dinner”? They go out for drinks, of course!

Tasty Tuesday: Mercado de San Miguel

This is a MUST GO in Madrid. Must! It’s the kind of place that I’ve been bringing all my visitors to, because it’s just that delightful. I’m talking about, of course, the Mercado de San Miguel.

Tasty Tuesday: Terra Mundi

I am that girl. I had a meltdown and threw a major hissy and just made a huge drama out of not having my needs met. But in my defense, it was a pretty basic need (in the developed world) - my internet wasn't working. My laptop just couldn't pick up the signal for my router, which is situated in my landlady/neighbour's apartment, while all of my roommates were blissfully connected.

I even cried (three times on the third day without connection). I was envisaging the rest of my stay here in Spain sans internet - how absolutely pathetic and sad I'd be - in between desperate gulps of air and sobs of "I don't expect to live in a mansion or any kind of luxurious setting! I just wanted my basic needs covered!!! But I had no hot water and no working toilet in France and now I have no internet in Spain! Why do things like this keep happening when I come live across the pond?!"

And so on.

So that was silly of me. But you're not here to judge me, are you? Of course you're not. Because it's Tuesday and that means I'm going to tell you about something yummy to eat!

I ♥ Fútbolistas

Sorry for disappearing yesterday, guys! I hope all three of you who actually read my blog weren't too traumatized. :P

Last night, my laptop was being a diva and just refused to receive the signal for our router, while all my other roommates were using the internet just fine. Let's hope it'll co-operate from now on, or else I might lose the will to live. I had no hot water in France and now in Spain I have a faulty internet connection, paired with a crappy computer. Yay.

But enough whining from me now - let's focus on happier thoughts. Like Christmas!

I've decided that for Christmas I want a harem full of fútbolistas.

Okay, okay, that's a little greedy...I guess I'll settle for just one. But which one?

Tasty Tuesday: El Capricho Extremeño

This is what Spanish food is, guys - simple, unpretentious, (often) inexpensive and marvelously delicious.

My girl B³ and I were strolling around El Rastro fleamarket a few Sundays ago while she was visiting me, when suddenly, we walked into a street and noticed that everyone around us was holding little, white trays with food on it. I could vaguely see that they were slices of bread covered with all kinds of different toppings (called "tostas" here in Spain). Literally everyone up and down the street were eating these things, so we knew right away that we had to do the same because they must be good!

IT Boys Are Universally Awkward

A Spanish man let a door slam in my face for the first time since I've been here.

Tasty Tuesday: Chocolatería San Ginés

It would be remiss of me to write about the culinary offerings of Madrid without mentioning the famous Chocolatería San Ginés...

Chocolate y churros are a popular breakfast and snack here in Spain. Churros are a kind of...thin pastry, I'd say, that's basically a crispy stick of fried dough that is slightly chewy in the middle (on the left side of the plate, pictured above). They are made to be dipped into hot chocolate (see picture below). They are pretty much nothing like the kind that can be found in Costcos all over North America because the real thing is just incomparable in its texture. :P

The Spanish version of hot chocolate is not for the faint of heart - it is super rich and extra thick, almost like a thin chocolate sauce. The idea is that it's supposed to be thick enough to cling to churros and create a nice coating for them once they're dipped.

Typically, people (well, mainly those who don't have to work) go to their local taberna to enjoy chocolate y churros in the morning while engaging in leisurely conversation and/or catching up on the latest gossip. Because many chocolaterías close very late or open very early in the day, chocolate y churros are also a very popular post-clubbing snack.

However, what's less well-known but just as popular with locals are porras. Porras are just thicker versions of churros (on the right side of the plate in the picture above). They're quite similar to Chinese fried breadsticks, 油炸鬼, except the Chinese variety is salty, more delicate, less doughy, with more holes in them - when made well, anyway.

And the most famous chocolatería in Madrid is the Chocolatería San Ginés, right in the heart of the city just west of the Puerta del Sol. It's been around since 1894 and this restaurant even has its own Wikipedia page! It's been featured in almost every Spain/Madrid travel guide and travel site I've seen, and I did my fair share of research before coming.

The humble entrance with its forest green door frame isn't very eye-catching, but the interior is quite ornate, with nostalgic décor, marble table-tops and a bar that winds around the side and part of the back of the restaurant. In the summertime, tables and chairs are set up outdoors all around the side of the building so that people can eat and people-watch at the same time.

Having said all this, I must say that I don't love their chocolate. (By the way, this will be one of the very rare times that I'll recommend something I don't absolutely adore.) Their churros are out of this world, but the chocolate has this...almost sort of spicy, nutmeggy taste that I'm not fond of. I like my chocolate pure and refined. Additionally, I prefer the churros over the porras because the porras are too dense and bread-like for me; they remind me of poorly-made 油炸鬼, and the fact that they're sweet throws me.

But since chocolate y churros are Spain must-trys and the Chocolatería San Ginés is the most famous place that serves them, I'd recommend that you give this place a try when you're in town...then perhaps compare the experience with that of a local taberna!

Chocolatería San Ginés
Pasadizo de San Ginés, 5
28013 Madrid
España‎
913 656 546‎

Tasty Tuesday: El Museo del Jamón

Jamón is my new religion. I've been eating it (as well as salchichón and lomo) like it's my job.

The Spanish take their ham very seriously. It's revered; it's almost sacred. And who can blame them? It's so, so delicious. You just can't miss it, because there are tons and tons of legs of ham, hanging from the ceilings of lots of restaurants, shops, bars, supermarkets, and other establishments here.

Where I live in Canada, only the lowest-grade Spanish ham (jamón serrano) is available near me, and it's super expensive - the equivalent of 1 € per slice. The last time I had some at home was from Michaelangelo's supermarket, $6 for five slices. Yikes!

Apart from going to the supermarket, the cheapest place to enjoy Spanish ham in Spain is at the popular tourist haunt, El Muséo del Jamón ("The Ham Museum").

I have to add that I'm a fan of Spanish tourist places. You see, in pretty much everywhere else in the world, tourist places are traps. They hawk poor-quality products for ridiculously inflated prices. However, I've noticed that here in Spain, shops and restaurants geared towards tourists are also frequented by locals, which means that the prices and quality are pretty decent.

El Muséo del Jamón is a chain of restaurants that can be found pretty much all over Spain. Here in Madrid they are absolutely everywhere. There's usually a standing bar and a sit-down area (where prices are higher!), where you can sample a huge variety of Spanish cured meats, sausages, sandwiches, as well as other typically Spanish foods (paella, calamari, garlic shrimp, etc.).

Jamón, of course, is a must-try. The good museum features three types: serrano (lowest grade, about 2,50 € per plate at the time of publication - pictured below), Salamanca (mid-grade, 4,20 €) and ibérico (the good stuff, which costs about 14,00 € a plate!). The difference is in the breed of pig and what they're fed - the best and most expensive kind of ham is jamón ibérico de bellota, which is a breed of black-hoofed pigs unique to Spain that are fed only acorn.

Other great things to try here include salchichón, which is a kind of cured, Spanish sausage. Don't mistake this for chorizo, which has paprika in it and is smoky and spicy - personally, I prefer salchichón, with the yummy peppercorns esconced inside. Lomo, cured meat made with pork tenderloin, is also worth trying. The queso de Manchego (Spanish cured cheese) is tasty as well, although it's a bit overpriced, in my opinion.

I'd stay away from the paella, because you should probably go to a specialty restaurant for that, and I also wouldn't have their platos combinados (platters with meat, potatoes and salad) because you could find cheaper and probably better versions at local restaurants.

In this economy, they've also released a value menu where certain sandwiches and drinks (pop, beer and water) only cost 1 €, so it's entirely possible to have a decent, filling meal for 2 €. Amazing.

So if you want to grab a quick bite to eat in Spain and experience a vital part of Spanish culinary culture at the same time, I'd suggest that you visit El Museo del Jamón.

Photos were taken at the following location:

Calle Mayor, 7

28013 Madrid
España

***P.S. I have a new posting schedule! I'll be posting on my blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and there will be new videos up on my Youtube channel every Wednesday - I hope you keep up with me! :D XOXOXO