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.All Trips / Asia / Food / Sri Lanka
St. Clair’s Tea Center, Sri Lanka
High in the mountains of central Sri Lanka you’ll find vast plantations of tea. Interspersed among these are tea centers, wherein you can stop, sample some of the local tea and purchase some to take with you. Some of these stops include a free tour of a tea production factory; here you can see how the tea leaves are dried, fermented, roasted, crushed and prepared for market.
Near the city of Nuwara Eliya we stopped at St. Clair’s Tea Center, which is only a tea shop with no adjoining factory tour. St. Clair’s was founded in the 19th century by James Ryan, who was among the first in the region to begin growing and experimenting with tea. The plantation is named …
Tagged Bright Orange Pekoe, mountains, plantations, St. Clair, tea
.All Trips / Europe / Food / Italy
Lunch at Madrid’s San Miguel Market
We stumbled upon this market as we were wandering around Madrid, rather than my usual method of researching and then visiting. Our first glance of the San Miguel market is what you see above. An attractive building of steel and glass that, to me at least, seemed inviting.
Mercado de San Micuel is close to the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. The market opened in 1916 and while not large, is spacious, bright and quite lovely. About ten years ago, after a change in ownership and a remodel, the market transformed from a general market to an upscale venue that focuses on premium food products. As such, it’s a popular place for locals and tourists to pick up lunch or a snack …
Tagged food, Madrid, Market, San Miguel Market
“Pic of the Week”, January 31, 2020: La Biela Cafe, Buenos Aires
You’ll find historic La Biela Café in the upscale neighborhood of Recoleta. La Biela is thought to be the oldest café in Buenos Aires, dating to the mid-19th century when the area was mostly farm fields. The café started serving refreshments to wealthy citizens from San Telmo who were traveling by horse and buggy to their vacation homes further north. La Biela is very close to the Recoleta cemetery and the Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar.
The place is very popular with locals and tourists. In the past seventy years it has taken on a car-racing theme because it was a meeting place for motoring enthusiasts in the early days of car travel, and later …
Jan 30, 2020
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“Pic of the Week”, January 10, 2020: Lassiwala in Jaipur
‘Lassiwala’ is an Indian term for someone who makes lassi, a thick sweetened yogurt beverage. This particular shop in Jaipur is the best known in the city and is considered by some to have the finest lassi in India. It has been visited by politicians, celebrities and many thousands of tourists. LassiWala has been serving its famous drink for over 70 years.
We visited the shop very early one morning, just after dawn. The place already had several people waiting for their drink, which is scooped from a large bowl when ordered. The beverage is cool, frothy, refreshing and delicious.
Lassi is served in hand made red clay cups (mitti ka kulhad) of the kind so common in Rajasthan. Once used, the cup is …
Jan 9, 2020
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.All Trips / Asia / Food / India
A Day in the Chandni Chowk Market, Delhi
One of the oldest markets in Delhi — and perhaps the busiest in all of Asia — is Chandni Chowk, which is close to Delhi’s Red Fort. The market was, in fact, originally designed in the 17th century by Mogul Shah Jahan (who was later to build the Taj Mahal) so that his favorite daughter would have a place to shop near their home in the Red Fort. The shopping area originally had around 1600 shops, but has been completely rebuilt over the centuries and is now an extensive and expansive market area.
Chandni Chowk’s market is known for is its great variety and authenticity: food (especially street food and sweets), clothing (sarees, suits), electronic items, shoes, books, jewelry, car parts …
Tagged Chandi Chowk, Delhi, food, Market
.All Trips / Food / North America / Pacific Northwest / Washington
Spokane’s Pig Out In the Park
For six days every year, ending on Labor Day, Spokane’s Riverfront Park fills with food vendors, music stands and people. This annual event is known as “Pig Out in the Park”. It marks the end of summer, the beginning of the school season and fall. It’s a popular event that’s been around for almost 40 years.
Admission is free for those who just want to listen to one of the dozens of musical acts performing on the concert stage. But the reason most people come is to enjoy great food. This year there were 47 food vendors selling everything from lemonade to teriyaki to sausage dogs. Seems everyone was carrying around several food items as they looked for a cool shady …
Tagged food, Pig Out in the Park, Riverfront Park, Spokane
.All Trips / Europe / Food / Italy
The Art of the Almond
Marzipan is popular treat, especially in Europe, made of ground almonds (almond meal) mixed with sugar or honey — sometimes with added almond oil. It is often molded into the shape of fruit and vegetables and tinted with food coloring, as seen in these window displays in Venice. I though these little pieces of marzipan quite beautiful and tried a piece — tasty but heavy, not really my style.
Besides being shaped to look like fruit, marzipan can also rolled flat and used an icing layer for fruitcakes and the like, and sometimes is used as a baking ingredient, as in a German “stollen”.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)
.All Trips / Asia / Food / India
Delhi’s fascinating Spice Market (Khari Baoli)
My favorite market in Delhi was its spice market, which happens to be Asia’s largest spice market. The market straddles Khari Baoli, a street near the Red Fort. The street’s name is derived from ‘Baoli’, meaning step well, and ‘Khari’, meaning salty.
The market dates to the 17th century. Many of the shops have been in the families for a long time, some even run by the ninth- or tenth generations.
Like all good spice markets, Delhi’s is fragrant, colorful and tempting. Besides a large variety of spices and herbs, you can buy other food items like nuts, tea, pasta and rice. Everything is beautifully displayed.
Khari Baoli is extremely busy — lots of shoppers, traffic, and workers carrying heavy sacs of spices to …
Tagged Delhi, Khari Baoli, Market, Spice Market