Through the lens: Venice, Italy

Venezia

Venice was an absolutely magical place that firmly captured my heart. Not only was it beautiful in its own way, but it also had some of the most delicious food I've ever tasted, the most stylishly dressed people I've seen, as well as the friendliest people I met. That is a lot of superlatives for one little city yo!

Also, be sure not to miss Harry's bar. This is the original Cipriani's restaurant and where the carpaccio and bellini were born. Although you can find branches of Harry's across the globe which all serve delicious food, trust me when I say nothing beats the original. Hands down the best meal I've ever had! Evidently there are no photos, as we were incredibly hungry bunnies - so I didn't get to capture it by camera.

An introductory shot of the well known Venetian gondolas

A delightful berry and chocolate gelato from the iconic Florian Cafe

A gratuitous shot of the real Venice!

Did you know there are only 405 licensed gondoliers in Venice?

Sumptuous warm Bruschetta at a local favourite - Capavitti

Fried in extra light batter - calamari and vegetables

Best Tiramisu you'll ever taste!

Views from the Rialto

Stay tuned for my next post where I will whisk you away to Florence!

Tayyabs

I love food. All kinds of different cuisines, meats, fish, fruits...the works.

However, curry has never been a favourite of mine....until I was invited to Tayyabs during my first year at University by some friends. This place is finger lickin' good.

I always order the Pakora for starters, Mixed grill, and small Lamb karahi (portions are large!) with garlic naan bread. To compliment the spiciness, try the mango lassi, definitely the best lassi I've ever tasted.

The Mixed Grill

Some Sweet Mango Lassi                                       Pakora

If you like Indian/Pakistani food or even if you don't, I highly recommend you give this place a go. I am most definitely a curry convert after visiting Tayyabs, and have been back many times since.


Oh, and don't forget to book a table if you want to go for dinner, as it gets packed during peak times (queues and everything!)..or go at some point in the afternoon, tends to be relatively quiet.

Tayyabs
83-89 Fieldgate Street
London E1 1JU

Through the Lens: Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

Batu Caves

Petronas Towers

Kuala Gandah - Elephant Sanctuary

Orchid Park

Chicken and Rice

Homemade Croissants

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” - Virginia Woolf


Personally, I always preferred baking to cooking ever since I was little. It all began when I joined cookery club in Primary school and we would bake all sorts of sweet little treats every week, only to take them home to gobble down in a matter of minutes. That's not to say I have baking skills to rival Nigella Lawson but I do get a thrill out of making something delicious from scratch. 

Now since I've been in Baku-my hometown, for summer holidays, I've been having cravings for authentic French croissants. 

Regrettably I still haven't managed to find a decent viennoiserie to satisfy my doughy desire. After some trial and error, and a disastrous first attempt that ended up with dough as tough as nails, I found this gem of a recipe (that even includes supportive youtube tutorials). (N.B. A tip before you eagerly begin making your treats - the amount of work you actually need to do isn't too long, but you need to make these over at least two days due to the amount of chilling time the dough needs, so plan in advance!)

Ms. Sandra's recipe proved to be a success and I ended up making a dozen buttery, flaky croissants.

The recipe is for plain pastries but I added some ham & cheese, and grated some chocolate right before rolling them into shape. Enjoy!

Homemade pastries

UPDATE: Baku now has a very authentic viennoiserie, everything in store is baked by a French chef and trust me when I say it is absoluteley delicious, Bakuvians and tourists, if you don't believe me, you can find them here.