The Food Riots Begin ....

Food Riots.....

It all started when a friend of mine who makes lovely desserts and to die for dinners or lunches started something called " My test Kitchen " .... she then started giving classes... Sapna Anand, is simply great when it comes to food.

Me being in the line of production looked at this as an opportunity to do something with her that will sell and leave the world rocking.... this is because she always keeps saying to me...

Sasha it only takes 30 minutes to do this and that.... and dessert in 30 minutes? Are you serious??

So i sat down one night and wrote Food Riots.... me being the avid traveller and a foodie.... and she being able to fuse anything up in just 30 minutes.... what a perfect combination for a show....

After months and months of discussion and getting the right concept.... we shot our pilot...traveling and looking for the place and trying out local flavours is what the show aims to feature... the most important thing is we want people to know that cooking is not a chore! It can be fun and its certainly easy....

Our show showcases us two girls traveling thru cities in Asia where there is diverse culture, hotels that pick are well suited for us, places of interest and trying so many different type of food and making it into our very own recipe.... from shopping at the grocerries to eating out at the most yummiest places.... to going home cooking up a feast for the family, or having friends over for a cocktail party.... it can be done....

The shooting was fun and we did have a good time.. a new experience for Sapna... but she loved it.... i was happy it turned out well and with all the corporation from the crew to the restauranteurs and hoteliers .... it was all good....

We traveled alot thru KL city and Langkawi, we ate so much .... and we also cooked... for our ladies night cocktail night....... now thats what you call living the life....

The Yellow Cafe ..... Langkawi...

Just the other day... i had a fantastic time at yellow cafe... it was a relaxing evening listening to the sound of the waves while sipping on my favorite cocktail. Its one of the best places by the beach on Cenang...  The staff are very friendly and will attend to your every need... so be sure to be pampered... i surely was...

Everything about this place is yellow.... from Mr Yellow himself to the boards in this place and the chairs till the little scooter hanging at the side of the bar... everything feels so yellow and the ray of sun just compliments this place in the background.

This place is simply yellowlicious..... if there is such a word.... the menu is extensive with a good variety of beers, cocktails and mocktails... and right next door, there is a steak house, when you get hungry after watching the sun setting you dont have to look very far ... just cross over to the Yellow steak house and enjoy a great meal by the beach....

 If you are in Langkawi, this is a must do on your list, you cant come to langkawi and not visit this bar. Its one in a Million... especially when you know you can just sit back take a swig on that beer of yours and take in breeze and the sounds of the waves ... it feels like heaven alright... just remember its an off day on Monday... :)

Cheers!

Ola! From Spain....

The most memorable thing about Madrid.... was ZARA!!! It was at every corner of every street! Yes I did do the girlie thing n shopped till I dropped n my feet were aching but I didn't complain in fear of being told off...

But seriously Madrid was soulful ... Everything in that city had life! The people, the palaces and museums, the shops, the bars, the markets and of course the food!!!

The weather was so nice it suited well for me to walk around all day as compared to the weather when we left cold and wet London. We stayed at very petit hotel the name itself was very apt .... Little Petite Londres right in the heart of Gran Via and very Spanish like. Perfect location and the rooms were clean and comfy. Free wifi was an added value for sure.

The view outside my window

Gran Via is a very popular stretch of shops, bars and hotels. It was always bustling with people and there always something to see. All the local performing acts were shown in this so called stage that the public created.

Everything was in walking distance hence we didn't need to use metro at all and that saved us a lot more money to eat and drink for sure. We walked to Plaza Mayor it was a big square and had lots  of restaurants around where you can just sit and people watch.
We visited the Royal Palace, the Prado museum and the cathedral all very pretty and unique structures. The skies were a beautiful blue just sitting by the fountain and taking in the scenery felt really good and relaxed. The city is clean. There is no litter... I found that to be very impressive.

The Royal Palace

The St Miguel Market was just amazing... It was a food paradise, if ever you feel like you don't what eat just go there and you are spoilt for choices. From paellas to tapas, desserts , wine and beer it's all there. My personal favourite was of course the oysters.... They shuck it right in front of you so u know it's really fresh! Less then a euro for an oyster!!!! That was home for me for a couple of days!

Green Pepers with rock salt.... not spicy at all  

Ok.... Language is a Major problem! Trying to communicate with waiters or just simply asking for directions became a challenge for us! No one really spoke a lot of English. Sign language was how we had to communicate. So my advice is o learn a little Spanish and everything will be perfect... :)

Food and drinks are everywhere and its filled with people any time of the day.... The streets are alive and you can comfortably have dinner at 10pm which was great for as we were continuously eating throughout the day.

Their candy was definitely an eye catcher... They had shops everywhere with long long strips of Candy displayed at the window. Being very inquisitive I had to try one.... Trust me it taste nothing like what it looks like! Extremely rubbery and has a funny sweet and sour taste to it.... Sigh... Never judge a book by its cover they say!!!



But where's the fun in traveling if you dont try these things and make an opinion of your own. Even the waffles tasted different... Not in a bad way though.... We tried Chinese and it was bad... Being a food enthusiast ... N I love Chinese but the Chinese in Madrid was no where near Chinese food!!! It was probably spanishzied! ( if there's such a word) So its best to stick to the tapas and sangria.... It's yummy and will leave you with a happy tummy!

I enjoyed Madrid thoroughly ... People were nice,(minus the language barrier) shopping was great and cheap! Food was everywhere and sometimes you can get a sandwhich, or a plate of tapas and glass of wine or beer...... all for 1Euro each... Now isn't that a bargain!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Madrid, Spain

The World Travel Mart

Its been almost a month now since I attended the WTM in London, and I can still feel the buzz running thru me.
It was my first time attending the world travel mart and the intention was two fold, one being to promote my beautiful country Malaysia in particular Langkawi the magical island and the other being wanting to learn more on social media and blogging.




It was indeed an overwhelming experience and I just don't know where to start. It really felt like I traveled most parts of the world all in just 4 days.

The jet lag was definitely kicking at the early part of the day but once everything kicked in the vibes were in full force for my friends from Malaysia and I.








The stands were beautifully created by each country showcasing their own unique features and also promoting culture, tradition and of course food. There is so much to see and from traditional performances to traditional massages. From belly dancers from Egypt, to masseurs from the Maldives.



The ever so popular "Gangnam style" was a crowd puller at the Korea stand with its high techie robots dancing to the tune in perfect choreography.




Art and handicrafts were also a way of showing a uniqueness of a country as was evident at the Malaysia stand where the artist painted "batik" which means printing in wax... wax is dripped on fabric and then dyed to your own colour and design... It was simply amazing.... Also at the Langkawi stand there was Amanda our coffee painter who is extremely talented, she paints with pure crushed coffee beans from all over the world.






When it came to handicrafts I was mesmerised by the hand made jewellery done by a Kazakhstan designer, it was so pretty I wanted to take it home with me but unfortunately it wasn't on sale. I also later learnt about the Silk Road Project for these countries and want to be apart of this somehow but never got around to speaking to the right people. These parts of the world will captivate you, heart and soul and is definitely on my to visit list!



The other thing that I found pretty common was beauty queens parading around the aisles, so elegant and poised I couldn't help but take a photo with Miss Panama .....




There was an award for the best stand and that was won by Honduras, when I entered I understood why they won, it was as if I was traveling in a time machine and it just transported me directly to Honduras. Well deserved award. I even managed to get a picture with the minister herself.








India and Sri Lanka didn't fall short with their cultural performances and costumes which was what made the place even more lively than it already was.





I went for a few seminars during the show on blogging and social media which I thought were extremely useful and through twitter was able to meet up with fellow bloggers alike with different interests and so on... The show also made me decide which countries to visit while I was in London and I decided to go with Madrid and Amsterdam. ...... Stories coming up soon.

All in All WTM is where you meet the world and it is truly beneficial for all tourism sectors be it the ministry or the travel agent or the tour operator or airline company, there's something for all to gain from. Just like how I gained knowledge on social media.

I will return for sure next year... See ya soon WTM 2013

Location:London Excel

Istanbul so much History so much Culture!

I was always fascinated about what Turkey had to offer... i dont know why but i guess it was because of the food and the people i really didnt know why i was so attracted to this country so i decided to go and see for myself. 

Istanbul here i come.... 

It was a short flight from London to Istanbul and once i landed everyone around me started clapping their hands because we were safe and sound on the ground! Hmmmm.... i was already beginning to like the people... 

The drive to the hotel was a very interesting drive, the taxi driver was extremely friendly when i asked him if we could stop to get a kebab he said he will take to the best kebabs in Istanbul... 

we stopped over at a corner cafe, he hopped out and got me one and ran in again, i guess it was illegal to park ... it was so yummy! Nice and hot and the cold weather complimented it. 

I arrived at my very nice hotel the crown plaza in the old city, i didnt expect to be so beautiful,everything was well designed and it looked really pretty. The streets outside was filled people and shops so it was nice to stay in an environment where there is so many locals. Breakfast in the morning was amazing. Such wide spread it was enough till dinner!! 

I found a local tour guide who was extremely helpful and was great company! He took me around the city and to old the famous spots and gave me the run down of the history of each place. The Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace.

The Blue Mosque was not BLUE though....but he did explain that in summer it does shade its blue because of the sun light that is shining through. The interior of the mosque was just amazing, the design and the work done on the insides of the dome makes you wonder how these people all those years ago were so creative and great at their work.... 

Lunch at the tower was really nice i tried turkish bread and of course my tour guide thought me how to drink Rakhi.... interesting flavour... but hard to swallow!!! 

Then we went to the Grand Bazaar, it was a great place where you can find anything and everything from souvenirs to carperts to small little tringklets. I got stuck at a carper shop they didnt want to go... they introduced to me turkish tea and had me sat there for a good 2 hours forcing to buy a carpet, although beautiful it was just not my thing. Thats really something that i didnt appreciate at all they harassed you and became forceful to a point when you just snap and say no!!!!

 

I decided no more bazaar for me.... i then went on to the Bosphoros ... the Istanbul Bhogazi .... it was a really nice sight... watching all the vessels going up and down was really something to look at and the view of the bridge was a nice one too. 

The Bosphoros Cruise was not to be missed... dinner together a dance show... belly dancing.... it was so much fun! I had a ball and also tried to dance like a belly dancer to no avail! hahaha! 

I Visited a few islands as well and i had a great time on the ferry and the views were just stunning.... it was peaceful just watching the birds in the sky.... it was free falling i must say. My favorite was The Princes island. 

I even went to a fresh fish market and it was really nice to see all sorts of fish.... later on i ended at the spice market too and bought a lot of spices back.... really a great experience. 

The food was really good at all the restaurants i tried and to compliment the food there was always music... and it was live. It was really good to listen to traditional and local music and i felt like dancing all the time....  

The biggest city in the world... but everyone was so warm and helpful.... i would really come back again.....