Goodbye

 

Milkshakes and Pattycakes is retiring for the time being. I have enjoyed posting recipes and more recently, documenting the multitudes of global food I was lucky enough to try on my round the world trip. But for now, I would like to enjoy baking without taking photos and thinking about posting regularly. I still love to bake but unfortunately posting recipes is no longer fun (perhaps evidenced by the one recipe I posted during 11 months living in London). I do love being able to find my favourite recipes here at the touch of a button and I hope you do too.

Adventures in Food: The Philippines

 

{tofu adobo}

The Philippines was the last stop on our round the world trip! We started and finished in South East Asia and The Philippines was a beautiful, friendly and delicious spot to visit. As with all of the countries we have visited, we balanced trying traditional dishes, with any cravings (usually something fresh), restaurants that were highly recommended (whatever the cuisine) and what we could conveniently find (often tourist food: pizza, pasta and burgers). Here's what I tried in The Philippines.

Adobo is a classic dish, but what protein the adobo marinade covers varies greatly. I was able to try the vinegar/soy sauce/garlic marinade over fried tofu. I always love to try a vegetarian version of a local dish.

{calamansi juice}

I took this photo for my mum and brother, who love lemon and lime flavoured drinks! Calamansi are small local limes used in drinks and for delicious curd to be spread on toast.

{lumpia}

Spring rolls, or lumpia, are popular in The Philippines and make a great snack! And no I didn't eat those chillies!

{champorado}

Chocolate rice pudding for breakfast. Yes, you read correctly! While not all champorados are as flashy as this one (with caramel ice cream, sliced mango and toasted marshmallow), it is a traditional breakfast, believe it or not.

{halo-halo}

It's lurid, it's quirky, it's... interesting. In that special way that only Asian desserts can be! Halo-halo is has a base of shaved ice covered in layers of various toppings, including evaporated milk, cereal, fruit, raisins, jelly and ice cream. I was lucky to have purple yam ice cream to top mine! The textures are great and the dessert has a syrupy sweet vibe going on. Worth a try, but I do prefer creamy/chocolate desserts.

Adventures in Food: Malaysia

{Indian curries}

Malaysian cuisine is a delicious fusion of Indian, Chinese and ethnic Malaysian flavours. It is a fascinating example of how different cultures and cuisines sit side by side, unified as Malaysian. I really enjoyed all of the vegetarian options (largely from the Indian influence) and the diversity in general.



{chee cheong fun}

One of the few Chinese dishes I tried in Malaysia. They are rice noodle rolls often stuffed with meats and veggies. Mine was a scrambled tofu version!

 

{banana leaf}

This was a common way of ordering and eating a mixed lunch. They usually include rice, a curry, a dhal, some condiments and some sides. It's an alternative to a thali (below), the Indian platters, which are also common in Malaysia.

{thali}



{mee goreng}

Quite difficult to get away from as you can order it anywhere you go! Sometimes, though, all you feel like is a simple smoky noodle dish and mee goreng delivers.

{teh tarik}

I enjoyed drinking teh tarik, creamy poured tea, every day. It is really sweet as it contains condensed milk, but who doesn't love a hot sweet tea? Traditionally the tea is poured from a height which creates the froth and bubbles.

{egg tarts}

Egg tarts in Malaysia are a nod to the Southern Chinese influence. Happily, you can find them everywhere!

{roti kaya}

I had roti kaya on the days when I couldn't stomach curry or vegetables for breakfast (Western breakfasts are uncommon). Roti is a delicious grilled flatbread which is only improved when filled with kaya. Kaya is a sweet spread made from coconut cream, eggs and sugar. Kaya is a traditional nyonya, or Peranakan, dish, one of the few I tried (most were meat based).

{cendol}

Cendol is a surprisingly yummy dessert made of layers of shaved ice, pandan flavoured rice noodles, beans, coconut milk and palm syrup. It sounds pretty horrible but is actually nice! Other toppings such as corn and fruit are sometimes added.

Adventures In Food: Hungary

{kurtoskalacs}

Hungary was the last stop on our Eurotrip. We spent five days staying in a fantastic apartment in Budapest. It was a great opportunity to rejuvenate over a couple of days to ensure we were fresh for SE Asia, while still seeing a lot of what Budapest had to offer. In terms of food, at this stage of our trip I was getting a bit sick of the carb-heavy options that had marked our route for a month or so. We cooked a little in our apartment and also sought fresher tastes in the form of foreign food. These are the classic Hungarian dishes that I tried.

Kurtoskalacs are peddled to all the tourists, but for good reason as they are quite unique and of course delicious! They are made from a long strip of sweet dough that is wrapped around a short cylinder, covered in butter and sugar and roasted until shiny, caramelized and crunchy. Sometimes they are rolled in nuts or cinnamon just before serving. They are truly huge so share with a fellow sweet tooth!

 

{langos}

I am familiar with langos as festival food in Australia- cheap and greasy. That really is the basis of this snack (that I ate for dinner at the Christmas markets- Hungarian food is very meat-heavy). It is a fried dough base topped with sour cream, cheese and lots of garlic. Make sure you buy a freshly cooked, warm langos as they just go a bit greasy and chewy after a while.

{turo rudi}

Although I normally focus on home-cooked foods on this blog, Kyle and I couldn't pass up a cheesecake chocolate bar. 'Turo' is a sweet quark cheese and it is dipped in dark chocolate to form a bar. I usually prefer a piece of cake over a packaged treat, but it is fun to branch out a bit sometimes.

Adventures In Food: Vienna

{coffee houses}

Meeting friends at a coffee house is part of daily life in Vienna. Kyle and I made sure to visit at least one for each day of our stay. The cakes are too delicious to resist!

{sachertorte}

Sacher torte is a dessert with an exact moment of creation, by Mr Sacher of course. It is a dense chocolate cake with layers of apricot jam and a chocolate ganache-type icing. You can't really taste the apricot but it adds moisture and sweetness to the dark chocolate cake.

{apfel strudel}

There is lots of crossover between German and Austrian food. We enjoyed spaetzle and mulled wine (while wandering around the Christmas markets!) in Austria. On the other hand, while apple strudel is common throughout Germany, it really is an Austrian dish. Expect layers of flaky pastry mingled with sweet cinnamon apples and raisins. This one was served with both whipped cream and a custard- yum!