Au Revoir 2010

Best moments of 2010 in non-sequential, non-chronological manner:

All egg-ed out

Weekly ritual

I'm Not Stupid

Birthday bounty

Absolutely again

Reach for the stars

Discovering Macarune

Zee’s wedding weekend

Pop goes the … question

CNY reunion dinner of sorts

Every single thing about London

I know a place where the grass is really greener



It's been a crazzzzzzy year, hasn't it? But at the end of the day, I've learnt -

It’s not what you eat but who you eat it with.

Antwerp

No mater how cliche, I still love the armchair



As if I arrived late at the Madhatter's tea party





Cute baby Starck Ghost chair







Car in a boutique - how awesome





Lunch at Jeanty's





Of course, Yang had to crash my picture

Exki, Brussels

My sister and I spent more time at Exki than what we would like to admit.

It was cold… It was drizzly… The shops were closed… Cathedrals were boring … Trust me, I could go on and on with the excuses.



Not to take a piss at it but hanging out at this café with its nifty supply of fresh baked goods and pastas sounded way better than braving the chills to visit Monsieur Mannekin Pis. And besides before 11AM, their delicous coffee (served with awesome carrot-extract chocolate) was going at 1 euro.

Yes, it’s a chain but tell me in your good conscience you wouldn’t like to hang out here more often?



Besides practicing the fine art of doing absolutely nothing on our vacation, we picked up a few goodies to while away our time.

A puckerish raspberry-pistachio tart , chocolate-slathered somezhing sandwiched with pear and cream, carrort cake with icing … and other breads and pastas that weren’t photogenic enough.



Things that reminded us, Where the heck is Spring?!

I have been here long enough to know that most cakes in Belgium aren’t OMFG but they were better than decent and I always had a lovely time in Exki.

Brugge

Idylic and village-y-like, Brugge is a pretty town, a welcome change from Brussels. As it was Ascension Day, most of its shops were closed - which was a real pity as we chanced upon quite a few interesting boutiques. Despite being armed with a map, we walked around in circles (hey, it was a 0.50 euros map), cruising through its back alleys and nooks.



For such a sleepish weather and town, we had cake in a popular cafe near Saint Salvotore Cathedral. It's cakes and tarts are gloriously displyed by the window so even if I don't provide you with an address, it would be hard to miss this place.



Noisette Flan, which tasted like a milder version of our Chinese egg tarts, smothered with light fresh cream and grounded hazelnuts.





We also had a meringue berries tart that tasted almost like the flan. These were definitely very old-school cakes. Dumpy, conventional slices that needed little introduction or fitting in. What you see is what you get. In fact, I find myself bumping into such old-school pastries throughout our Belgian trip. Nothing similar to the likes of Sadaharu Aoki and Pierre Herme (which really explains their fame).





Phh, we caught a couple of swans nesting too - a first for me.





As much as I like the idea of horse and carriages, I didn't grow up on fairy tales and I'm well aware of how horses smell. The people of the carriages looked happy though.





They don't called this place mini Venice Venice of the North for nothing.



And I leave you with a picture of Yang with a tub of fries and mayo. Now THAT'S a genuine smile.

L'Idiot du Village, Brussels

It was easy enough to get a table without reservation during lunch time but according to a Travel & Leisure article circa 1998 (yup, we're talking ‘the nineties’), L'Idiot du Village was the "hottest restaurant in town". This shoebox restaurant on Rue Notre-Seigneur sits only 35 pax and on a weekday, apart from us, serves lunch to dignified, well-suited-up professionals. Quite an odd observation.



Upping the quirkiness, the hand-written menu was wholly French and had to be roughly translated by our server. A cup of fresh olives accompanied us as we ermed and ahhed through the interesting-sounding menu options.



Frankly, I think both of us couldn't really tell what we were ordering, opting for the "prepare for the worst hope for the best" mentality.


rouget riede au chive, olives bonbon

Yang loved her Mediterranean rockfish, which was pan-fried then stuffed with olives, and accompanied by mashed cougette and chives. I can't describe it properly - nothing was truly surprising yet the entire ensemble was surprisingly good.


saint jacque polees aul laipin, licoide glaciale

Another tickling starter was the scallop and rabbit, which rested with the most interesting salad. I have never had such greens before - they looked as if they were covered with furry dew drops and tasted unpredictably crunchy.



As for the mains, every animal group was well-represented but we easily decided on canette de challans au sang pour deux.



Our server, Er, how do I say ... biiiig duh-uck...

Did you just say, big duck? YE, WE CAN!

The dish took a while to arrive and when I glanced into the open kitchen, the chef within glanced over and smiled as if to say, soon le biiiig duh-uck will be you. Soon enough, I found myself in good company of tender roasted duck, ever-so-slightly pink in the middle.

The “big duck” was served with "potatoes" done in two ways. I poked my way through the caramelized “potato”, surprised by its softness.

Hmm, funny Belgian potato, I thought to myself.

The roasted potatoes were more familiar but I suddenly realized the ‘soft potatoes’ were indeed daikon!



Never had a more beautiful apple tarte grazed our table. Apple tarts are usually very homely desserts but this looked so sophisticated with its apple silvers and slick sugar-glaze finish. I didn’t care for the cinnamon (yuck) ice cream but that just left me with more time with the tarte.



The vanilla ice cream and meringue with caramel sauce was a dessert that agrees on paper, in French and our bellies.



Finally we ended our meal with coffee and financiers (yes, we can!). True to the whimsical spirite of L'Idiot, the sugar cubes were suit-shaped! The frivolous things in life bring out the best in me.



A Royal Flush meal? Maybe =)

Brussels

Aux Armes de Bruxelles, Brussels

Google restaurant guide for Brussels and chances are they will recommend Aux Armes de Bruxelles for traditional Belgian cuisine. The thing about eating at an institution is tradition comes at a price; and when one has been in the business since 1921, “exciting” is hardly the first word one would use to describe this institution.

Right in the heart of a tourist trap (think our Boat Quay), Aux Armes de Bruxelles clings onto its roots, serving up hearty bruxellois fare. Despite the vintage Art Nouveau interior and probably starched uniforms, the ambience was surprisingly relaxed and non-chi-chi.



A few round bread buns, better off filling up a bra, were left largely untouched till I needed something to soak up my beef stew.




Cold from the heavy drizzle and winds, the 3-course set lunch sounded like a good idea to build up some insulatation.



It is hard to fault the couple of croquettes. Both the cheese and chicken croquettes bore thin but sturdy deep-fried armours encasing rich oomphy insides.



The brasserie is known for their moules and frites but like the Manneken Pis, they were anti-climaxically smalllll – now please don’t think dirty. And we all know how mini mussels deprive one of briny succulence it so rightfully deserves. The freshly fried fries were good though.



The carbonnades de boeuf à la Gueuze (beef carbonnade) is perfect rainy day food. However it was half-gratifying as some chunks of the beef were heart-achingly tender but others threatened to leave sinewy bits in your teeth.



Yang loved her chocolate mousse which was pretty good though it was on the hole-lier than thou side. Then again, it is chocolate so I find it very very to resist. I have never ordered crème caramel but I tend to surprise myself on holidays. Smooth but shy of lusciously soft, I had no problems finishing it up but it is probably not a dessert I would go for again.



So there you have it. Our meal at Aux Armes de Bruxelles wasn’t tragically bad but I would only recommend it if you are seeking out a safe and potentially boring traditional Belgian meal.