How to get rid of garlic smells.

Ok, so last post was quite heavy and it had nothing to do with "guide" per se.

But I just had to do it!!!! I needed an outlet for my confusion and anger. And therefore this blog was  the victim.

But let's talk about something totally random and trivial and not-so-useful for some but extremely useful for others.

GARLIC. Right. Let's talk about garlic.

I'm sure most of you have eaten it.

It's pungent. Yes. That may be an understatement but it smells.

I love that smell in the food personally, but some despise it.

But I'm not here to talk about how to get rid of the garlic smell after you eat.
What? That's what you expected? Well, too bad. haaarrhaaarrrr

I mean you can brush your teeth and chew gum or something!!
I heard eating apple also erases the garlic breath but not sure.

What I'm talking about is the garlic smells that you get on your HAND when you cook with it!!!


What??? I don't actually handle garlic, I just buy the ones that's already processed in jars???




Well, I have one word for you: GET OUT.

For those of you who use ACTUAL garlic and suffer from its lasting smell on your hands, here is the solution:

Any guess what this is??????

Wanna know??

Wanna know????

Drumrolll.....

It's just a pebble!!!!!

JK. it's a stainless steel stone.

Believe or not, after you handle garlic, you just use soap and just use this stainless steel pebble to rub your hands and finger, magically the un-sexy garlic smell goes away. 

now you can go ahead and touch some hotties in a bar without those people telling you "are you a chinese cook food by any chance?" and get into an awkward situation. 

you can thank me later. What? where to get it? 

I don't know.... my mom had it and forgot to ask.... JUST AMAZON IT GODDAMNIT.

Sardinia, oh Sardinia Part II

After the last post, i realized that I only talked about food and nothing else.

But hey, you guys should know me by now!! and so do I... about myself.


Today, however, I will show you SOME other things about Sardinia, IN ADDITION TO food stuff.
Sorry, can't get away with it.

BUT I KNOW YOU LIKE IT. I KNOW IT. ADMIT IT.

did I just hear roar of "YES"? great spirit kids!

Enough of chit chat now, here are the photos.

After the great experience at Stazzu, we fell in love with agriturismo in general.

But due to the lack of internet at that time (our agriturismo hotel did not have internet OR TV), we couldn't consult with our smartest friend, Mr. Google. So we had to resort to the old fashioned way of searching:  DRIVING AROUND. And one night we stumbled upon this place called: 

Su Barroccu

we were kiiiinnndd of hoping we could score some roasted pigs but they only offered sea food and fish menu that day. "ok why not," though uncertain, we just gave it a shot.

Appetizers: 

Top photo: potatoes with bottarga (cured fish roe of grey mullet, it's a delicacy!), marinated anchovies

Bottom photo: marinated octopus salad, flounder in spicy tomato sauce

Bottom: Pecorino cheese and anchovies wrapped in grilled eggplants

Those were the appetizers. They were very fresh and quite delicious, although I wasn't a big fan of the eggplant dish. Marinated anchovies were the bomb though. Mmmmmm..... 

First course: Fregole with sea food. Fregole is a type of pasta particular to Sardinia. It looks like lentils but has consistency of soft rice... MMMM DELISH

Another first course: Spaghetti with bottarga. It was simple but flavorful.

NOWW on to the second: this huge grilled fish 

At this point, we were pretty worried because we didn't ask the price in the beginning.

Being all dish fish and seafood, we thought it would be expensive but what the heck it was too late! We kept on eating... and eating...and eating

AND 4 huge grilled shrimps and small fried fish and squid. OMG our stomachs were about to burst at this point. There was one more second dish GRILLED SQUID but we kindly declined. 

The waitress that served us were so eager to feed us, I was skeptical that this place might charge us by plate and we panicked. OMG WE ATE TOO MUCH. but oh well, it was too late anyway.

After the whole course ended with fresh fruits, espresso, and digestive, we asked for the check. 

We were too full and fat to run fast enough to escape so we took the check like men.

The total??

30 euros each. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow, sardinia, I hail before thee. 

The next night we went back there to eat pizza, not the course. we need to let our stomachs rest once in a while you know. but again, we were faced with feast. 

Barroccu, you are another legend. 

Info Here: http://www.subarroccu.it/ 

Anyways!! I hope you enjoyed my post again with this food porn!! Hope you come back for my next.... OH WAIT, that's right, I promised that I will show other things about Sardegna. Got too excited.

Here are the photos.

The most fascinating part of Sardegna (aside from food) is the landscape I think.

Some people prefer the north east coast called Costa Smeralda since it is a popular vacation spot for rich and famous. It is indeed pretty there but also the rest of Sardegna, which is surrounded by mountain and abundant nature, is something you shouldn't miss. 

Old Spanish town Alghero. Very pretty.

Below is the Neptune's Cave. Discovered in 1400s but been there for millions of years... It was quite magnificent I might say. 

Spectacular interior of the cave

We had an idea of turning this place into a disco club but we thought neptune (greek god of sea by the way) will strike us dead if we do that so i guess not. booo.

random cows in the field. OH did I tell you that we bumped into a herd of sheep led by shepherd dog at NIGHT? it was like 12 o clock after coming back from dinner. It was like legit highway and these motherfu%#ing sheep are like "baaahhhh" in our faces. and after that there was a bull on the side of the road... we quickly drove away in fear of the bull charging us... what a great experience eh?

Agriturismo where we stayed for 4 nights. It was literally middle of NOWHERE. at night their sheep are like "baaahhh." 

Last but not least, the beautiful sea of Sardinia. just forever blue blue bluuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeee. 

Unfortunately the weather wasn't so great when we were there but I recommend going to the beach if you visit there!!

Alright. Thanks for sticking with me through this lengthy narrative of my journey. I hope you enjoyed/ found it useful for when you have a chance to visit these places. 

What? I can do all that without your help since we have tripadvisor and google on hands??? 

True... 

Thanks anyway for reading!!

Sardinia, oh Sardinia

WARNING: These photos and messages that entail may be disturbing to some viewers. 


Where to start....

Oh yes, Sardinia!!

that's right. You read my warning. And I did tell you that this trip was all about food: my greatest gastronomic journey yet.
So without fluff and chit chat, let's get down to business folks.

But WAIT!!!! if you are hungry, you may not be suited to view this post. Now is your time. Go grab some snacks quick!!!!






ok, ok. Let us begin the show....

Agriturismo Stazzu Li Paladini

 Everyone knows that the essence of traveling around Italy is to savor their cuisine, and Sardegna is no exception to that. In Sardegna, going to Agriturismo restaurants, (restaurants that are run by local farmers and such who offer particular dishes made from fresh ingredients) would be the best thing to do, if you are looking for an extraordinary gastronomic experience. We went to an Agriturismo called Stazzu near Palau, which we now refer to as "the legend."Anyway, you will have to drive to top of the mountain and wait til they open (at 8:30pm, yes dinner only). 

Piggiesss!!!! Do we eat them? You will see...

We arrived at 8pm so we will have to wait for half an hour. Meanwhile, the restaurant gave us couple glasses of free white wine. That's what I call "southern hospitality." Not quite the same as Ludacris' description but hey! it works for me! 

Finally, hungry as a pair of beasts, we sat down at the table and started devouring Pane Carasau.

It is something between tortilla chips and phyllo. It's thin and crunchy and you eat it like bread. It seems so light so you just forget how much you eat BUT!!! Be careful because you don't wanna be too filled up before the real meal.  Now with a litter of red wine, we are all pumped and ready for war.

Variety of cold cuts, including salumi, lardo and crudo and such. 

The further dish behind cold cuts  was cooked pork (i think) marinated in pickled cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, and onion. It was meaty and tangy at the same time. My favorite appetizers among all!

Roasted zucchini: I think the inside was taken out and mixed with some honey and cheese and then put back to its skin casing. It had natural sweetness similar to pumpkin. Mmmmm delish... 

Mazza Frissa; a traditional dish made of flour, honey and cream. It's definitely heavy but soo sooooo good. It was warm and sweet and fatty and so comforting. 

Polenta cooked with pancetta. Unlike liquid-y gooey polenta, these were cubed. It had also some sweetness but subtle enough to not taste like desert. 

NOW, these were only APPETIZERS. In the midst of devouring, we reminded ourselves that there are first courses AND second courses after these so we fought the urges to finish everything and left some room for our stomach. Nonetheless, everything was so delicious it was difficult to not clean up the plates. 

Now, top photo is ravioli stuffed with ricotta and honey with tomato sauce. It was so particular, as I never ate pasta that had sweetness. Honey is frequently used in Sardinian cuisine and I thought it was weird that savory dishes would have honey in it. But I stand corrected; it was AWESOME.

Below is gnochetti (small gnocchi-like pasta) with white ragu (meat sauce without tomatoes). Oh man it was so meaty and heavy and greasy and indeed heavenly.

Below was Zuppa Galluresi. Zuppa means "soup" in Italian so I was relieved for a few seconds thinking it would be a light dish. I was SO WRONG. This was the heaviest dish among all. Basically these are panfried cheese-ball-like-casserole with meat in it. Enough said. At this point, our stomachs were on the verge of exploding. 

Veggies ( i think fennel?) that helps you digest before you move on to second course. 

The main and famous dish; roasted pork. Remember the piggies in the photo? That's right. 

It might sound cruel to those who practice veganism and vegetarianism BUT I think this way, we could really appreciate the life that was sacrificed to feed us. Beside the meat, there was also homemade sausage.

NOW dessert: Seadas. We only got one dessert instead of TWO for each person. This is also particular dish from Sardinia. Dough stuffed with gooey Pecorino cheese and fried. You eat it with honey on top. Heavy? Absolutely. Delicious, OHHH YOU BET.

Two digestives: Red Mirto and white Mirto. Digestive that is very local to Sardinia region. It is made from the myrtle plant that grows in the region. It has herbal, almost tea-like aroma and is very sweet. Perfect ending for such hearty and filling meal... and of course, espresso afterwards. 

Thus was the ENTIRE meal, which we sat through for two and a half hours. 

Everything pretty much was home-made, home-grown and freshly cooked.

"Oh it must be expensive...being all organic and stuff..." you may wonder.

The whole package?

35 euros per person. 

Unfreakingbelievable.

We were stuffed til the next night. 

If you have a chance to visit Sardinia, please visit Stazzu.

Info Here: http://www.agriturismolipaladini.com/

Next post will be about another agriturismo that we visited! Stay tuned and be hungry!

Mmmmmm MYKONOS!!!! Part II

No, I didn't forget nor was I too lazy to write another post.

I didn't have internet for one week.
I freaking week without internet.

Why? Because I was in rural area in a great island called Sardinia.
And I will write about it obviously in next post,
because it was one of the most fascinating gastronomic trips I have ever taken.

Anyways, as I promised a week ago, I would like to further introduce the island of Mykonos from my point of view!! which makes this guide totally UNthorough as a travel guide. OH WELL!

So, in addition to renting a car and randomly driving around this rocky island, I highly recommend you to take a ferry and go to its neighbor island called Delos.

What's in Delos?

One of the most important archeological centers in Greece BABY!!!

Sounds geeky? Oh yes it is, you can bet your behind.

If you are familiar with Greek myth, Delos was a sacred place where Artemis and Apollo were born. 

Delos was once a center for trading and finance in Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Hence, all these ruins of ancient city remain still.
Now, after a long painful decline, no one resides in Delos island; in fact, all the tourists have to return to where they came from by 3 pm.

Mosaic in House of Dolphine

Looong looong way to get to the peak of Mount Kinthos....

Anyways, it was an interesting experience as you basically walk through the ancient city on foot. 

From the top of Kinthos, you can see how big this city once was. 

I highly recommend it for a day trip!

More Info Here: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/delos

SOOOOO!! MOVING ON TO FOOD!!!!

What can I say, tis the most important topic.

I would like to warn you, however, the choices in Mykonos are pretty limited, 

since the island is an touristic site than anything else.

You can find pretty good food nontheless!!

Here are some dishes!

At Kounelas Fish Tavern

 I highly recommend this restaurant!!! 

They have mainly fish dishes, as the name suggests and they are fresh and delicious!

After you choose your appetizers (optional of course), you go downstairs and choose fresh fish to be grilled on the spot!! All the fish are in drawers... Interesting sight ain't it?

Fokos Taverna

They serve you fresh traditional Greek dishes. 

You have to drive to Fokos beach from main city to get to this taverna.

The photo is of lentil salad with feta, cucumber, tomatos and garlic.

They also grill fish for you on the spot but it is quite pricy compared to Kounelas.

And of course, how can we forget gyros.

It is the cheapest and the most filling meal if you are looking for wallet friendly food.

BUTTTT! I must warn you such things come with price: HEARTBURN.

There is an alternative though: crepes.

Somehow, the island has many creperies that make both sweet and savory crepes, big enough to fill you up for dinner.

Soooooo That's IT!!!!! Sorry for such an incomplete travel guide, from totally biased point of view. 

We did go to numbers other restaurants but didn't think that was great... unfortunately.

The bars are great too! As I told you in part I, nightlife is great in this island but we were too lazy and lame to go clubbing during our stay.

These two bars are our favorites though

Kastro 

(famous for being gay bar but we thought it was pretty family friendly too)

 very nice ocean view from windows!

Leonidas 

(chocolatier during the day and bar at night. 

If you are lucky they might give you free chocolate! Our favorite spot!)

Outside seatings only!

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed my lengthy and half-a$$ guide. Next post will be about gastronomic journey in rural Sardinia!! Stay tuned!

I graduated...

hence, I chill the eff out.

Another reason to feast... just because it's spring time.

 IT'S FINALLY SPRING!!!!!

These trees are planted near my apartment.

They used to look like skeleton, without flowers or leaves.

But look at them now!!!

All flowery and colorful and cheery and springy!!!

How beautifuuulllll..

To celebrate this flower blossoming occasion, one must.... FEAST!!!!

But guys, I'm not saying this just because I want to feast.

It's a legit festivity in Japan, which is called "Hanami"

--> direct translation, "flower viewing." 

Despite the highly unoriginal name for the event, it is a big deal in Japan.

It usually involves viewing hundreds of cherry blossoms under the tree, eating, drinking, and being obnoxious. 

Sounds silly?? YOU BET NOT.

In Japan, we even have blossom forecast, where the weather cast predicts WHEN the flowers are going to bloom and WHERE.

Some people even pay homeless people to reserve the spot under the trees, especially in popular parks/gardens.

You still think it's silly????!!!

Well just google image Hanami.

There should be thousands of photos that show gorgeous trees with full pale pink blossoms...

There are so many of them that it looks like there is a pink fog in the air for miles....

Oh how poetic. 

But you probably can guess that I, being a feast lover, am much more concerned about what to eat.

There is a saying in Japanese "dumplings rather than flowers," indicating that people are more interested in the feast part, rather than the flowers.

Well DUHHHH-----.

But do not misunderstand me that this even is just another reason for people to get obnoxious...

It is actually a thousand years old tradition, started around Heian period (early 700A.C.). 

It is quite cultural...cherry blossom is also a symbol of Japan... a fragile, delicate and breath taking flowers have always been the subject of poems, paintings, and heck tattoo patterns. 

Anyways, Hanami is still one of my favorite feasts of all time.

Having a good time with your friends and family under the cherry trees full of flowers, that only last for couple of weeks...

This might be just another reason for people to get together.
But don't you think it's quite a sophisticated reason to feast? 

How to get extra something for free at Shake Shack

I know what you are thinking...

I know you are thinking.. "wow yuri, someone's been too lazy to post anything for 14days."

Please! Please don't give me that dirty look!!
I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

Ok, whatever.
Man, I think I am falling into running-out-of-ideas-to-talk-about syndrome that I believe all bloggers face all the time.

Anyways!

So the other day, I was craving burger.
Succulent, meaty, and sexy burger.
It was around 4pm on Sunday.

So what would Yuri do?

Go to Shake Shack!!!
I'm not crazy about that place, to be honest.
I just don't think they are as good as people rave...
That's just me though!!

But I wanted a decent burger without tipping anyone, or being seated.
So I headed to Shaky Shacky.

There were small line, despite the odd time of the day.
I finally got to the cashier, who kind of looked nervous; perhaps it was his first day of work.

I ordered, double shack burger and cheese fries.
Don't judge.

After saying my order, he goes
"do you want everything for your burgerS?"
I caught that he spoke in plural but ignored and said
"no onions"
Then he goes
"Anything else beside burgers?"
I was confused but I said
"um, the cheese fries?"

Then the check-out proceeded.
I wasn't really paying attention and looked back my receipt 2 seconds after he swiped my card.

"WTF $15!!!????"

Apparently he put in extra cheeseburger, as he misheard me when I ordered cheese fries in the beginning.
No wonder he asked me twice and no wonder the burger was plural.

So I went back to cashier to cancel my order.
Obviously he refunded me for the extra cheese burger.

BUUUTTT here's the miracle.

When I got to the counter to pick up my goodies,
the extra cheese burger was waiting for me.

As a good citizen, I told the staff the cheese burger was by mistake.

Staff:  "well, we made it already so you can take it."
Me: "what, er, are you sure?"
Staff: "...yeah. I mean it's free for you."
Me: "I know but um, OK!!!THANKS!!!"


End of story.

The moral: when you go to shake shack, mumble your order so the cashier mishears you and charge you for extra something. Then go back to him and complain so he will refund you while the item is already in the making, and take the free stuff.

What a wonderful world.

How to ride trains...elegantly.

I'm sleepy.
This time of the year, I am especially sleepy.
I'm usually a morning person who wakes up before the alarm goes off.
But recently, I've been hitting snooze...
I almost overslept for work once...

SHAME! SOME DISCIPLINE PLEASE!

Anyways. Enough about me sleeping. Oh, but yesterday, I dreamed about myself sleeping.
Isn't that weird? You are sleeping when you are really sleeping as well...

OK ENOUGH YURI, ENOUGH.

So yesterday, I was on a train on my way back home from school, around 9pm,
and I witnessed a few things and the title of this blog crossed my mind.

Honestly, New Yorkers need to ride trains in more elegant manners.
Not that it's any of my business but it's just annoying to see some things.
So here are some things that I saw.

I was standing in line when train arrived. There was this very thin, tall, pretty lady behind me, and several others waiting in line as well. As soon as the door opened, this pretty looking lady pushed everyone out and rushed to the open seat. NOT ELEGANT. 
And then, I was standing on the corner near the door and the train got to the next station. This guy, a broad shouldered man that looked like Peter from Family Guy, came in. He was eating a hamburger with one hand, and he bumped into me with his broad shoulder (I swear it was intentional), then gave me this glare. I mean WTF. NOT ELEGANT. 
While the thin pretty lady was sitting on her comfortable seat and the broad shouldered guy was eating his burger, there was this guy standing across me. He looked normal, until his hand reached near his crotch area and started scratching. Then he went on to put his hand INSIDE his pants to have better scratch. REALLY???? IN TRAIN?? That's why you have to wash your hands after you ride train. You never know who touched what. SO NOT ELEGANT.


All these things happened in 10 minutes or so of riding the train ok?
Imagine being on a train all day long.
I don't want to imagine what I will have to witness.
Here are the basic rules for elegance:

1. Don't fight for seat. Your legs won't break into half.
2. Don't eat in the train. It's just gross.
3. Don't bump into people on purpose. It's mean.
4. Don't scratch your balls. It's just gross.
5. Just stand/sit quietly, or talk with moderate volume of voice.
And just get off the train. Say "excuse me" when you need to push people.

I think these people above need to re-do elementary school.

Have a safe train ride everyone!

Let's wish for happy wonderful marriages to come...

It's March!!! Beginning of the Spring!! And Spring means...??? Fertility season! Just kidding. well, not really.


By the way, did you guys know that March 1st was World Pancake Day?
And of course, me, being obsessed with food, did not eat any pancake.
Tears...


What about March 3rd?? Do you know what this day is??
Hint: fertility.

The answer is.....











World Date Day! Just kidding again.
It's Girls' Day !! (called Hinamatsuri in Japanese)

On girls' day, typically, households with daughters displays these dolls.

Aren't they beautiful???
These represent a marriage ceremony from Heian Period (like around A.D. 800 - 1000 in Japan)







 We put out these dolls maybe a week or two before March 3rd to wish those girls happy wonderful marriages.


BUT you need to take down the dolls as soon as March 3rd ends.

Because the later you take down the dolls, the later the marriages would be.

No wonder all these dads were always so reluctant to store them away.
Not for their laziness, but rather the sad nature of fatherhood towards their daughters....

AAAAND you eat something like this to celebrate!

MMMMM yum....

Yes, every holiday should come with yummy food.
They also have Boys Day (although known as Children's Day now in Japan) on May 5th.

May 5th is a national holiday though, while Girls' day is NOT!


SEXISM!




Anyways, I am not going into that topic now... Maybe sometime...

Happy Girls Day everyone!