Happy May Day everyone! Traditionally in Northern Europe this is a huge party time, but I have sort of skipped it this year. However, I did take ten minutes to prepare my own celebratory May Day lunch (which is rare nowadays) and it was a delicious one.

So here's my tip for a quick and tasty spring lunch: fried garlic shrimp with rucola, feta and tomato salad. Enjoyed of course with a glass of light red wine and sparkling water. When complemented with sunshine and Colombian coffee and biscotti, it makes the mind and body very happy. A perfect lunch even if enjoyed alone!

One of the great things about England is the existence of country pubs - no matter how small the village, you are guaranteed to find at least one pub, and often a curry place too. Nothing beats a lovely Sunday roast, but many places have great food on offer on a daily basis, and not only on Sundays. 

Today we got to enjoy the offerings of the lovely The Chaser Inn in the little picturesque village of Shipbourne, in Kent. This village is set within an area of outstanding beauty and it's already such a joy to just drive there on these little winding roads. But this puc is worth the visit not only because of the beautiful location or its charming interiors, but also because the food is very fresh and tasty.

On a a cool, nippy day like today it's so great to enter this old place and be greeted by fires crackling in fireplaces and candles burning everywhere. The pub feels cozy and authentic and it's such a pleasure to visit a place like that - something difference from the daily city chain and their fusion menus. So next time you are in the neighborhood, stop by the Chaser Inn, or rather if you plan a trip there you might want to book a table as it gets rather busy. This family definitely recomments stopping by!  

Such a pretty place inside out - and the food is great!

The inside of the pub is a cozy labyrinth with little nooks and rooms 

Love this room - so full of country charm!

Enjoy the atmosphere created by the open fires and candles

From the light bites selection: Bar grilled steak wrap - absolutely delicious (and look at the fab massive oak table, they don't make them like that anymore!)

From the mains selection: braised half shoulder of lamb 

And today for the little ones: steak fries and lots of veggies as pictures: honey-glaces carrots, steam broccoli with toasted walnuts and cauliflower cheese 

We'll come back in summer to enjoy a bite outside. The pub is located next to the pretty St. Giles Church 

I love the look of the traditional phone boxes - this one stands close to the front of the pub 

The Chaser Inn and St. Giles Church are in the heart of Shipbourne 

My review of The Chaser Inn - Excellent
Address: Stumble Hill, Shipbourne, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 9PE
Open: daily 12-9.30pm (Sunday 9pm), also for breakfast on Thu, Sat and Sun 
"The Chaser Inn is located in a picturesque Kent village, where you are combine a little walk with a lovely meal. The place is well taken care of and cozy, the food is fresh and locally sources and the service is fast and friendly. There are no special child menus, but there are plenty of suitable things on the menu for the littles ones too. You can check the menu and daily specials online at www.thechaser.co.uk. They also tweet frequently about the menus, specials and upcoming events." 

Here's a place one should not miss in Beijing. The artful master of tea - Green T House Living. But not just for the tea, but a meal for all senses with a beautiful presentation, east-meets-west cuisine and the longest list of specialty teas I've ever seen (presented in a really thick book). The space is also a piece of art of its own, and they sell some lovely books, teas and other products there also.

The time stops in this place - it is for relaxation, good company and peace and quiet. And certainly no crowds here. Both the food and service are excellent, and the only con for the place would be the price, but even that really is at par with other quality establishments. 

Visit also their websites to find out about events and workshops they organise. And once you are in the area don't miss the art galleries next door, as a whole this is certainly a unique and calming experience. And I should also mention that this is not only my opinion of the place as Green T House is also 2010 Wallpaper Design Award winner. A lovely place altogether!

My review of Green T House Living tea house/restaurant/art space: Excellent 
Address: 中華人民共和國 北京市崔各庄乡合各庄村318号 / No.318 Cuigezhuang Xiang Hegezhuang Cun, Chaoyang District (tel. 010-64342519), open 11.00-23.00

" A sensory experience of tasty, well-presented food, excellent service, lovely calming music and beautiful surroundings inside out. Take your time to enjoy the place. I think this place would be well-suited for a romantic dinner and I would be more enjoyable without little kids as there is no play area and there is valuable art on display."

I fell in love with Yunnan cuisine today. It was my very first experience for food from that region of China and everything just felt so fresh and delicious and less greasy than the Chinese food we normally eat. But the location - Dali Courtyard - is not just about food, but about experiencing the traditional Chinese living in hutongs, those old courtyard home areas that one can still find scattered around Beijing city centre. 

The first challenge was to find the entrance to the restaurant amongst the little narrow hutong streets. We nearly missed this one, as there is just a little sign in the corner of the building, and the entrance through one side of the house to the courtyard isn't grand either. The place itself is small, with around 15 tables or so altogether inside and outside. The decor is simple Chinese wood items, and the soft music playing gives you the authentic buddha bar feel - and makes the mind relax immediately. 

We found the place based on recommendations, and one thing to know here is that there is a set menu that currently costs 120 RMB (a bit less $20 USD). This will give for two people six dishes to share and rice to go on the side: four delicious and fresh vegetarian dishes, one fish and a meat-based dish. They do also ask you first if you have any allergies. Once you have ordered your drinks (we have a pot of chrysantehemum tea and a nice mojito) the dishes start quickly appearing. Note though that they can be a bit spicy as there is plenty of red chillies in almost every dish (and I am known for now tolerating spicy food very well).

A fun thing to know is that apparently no two days are identical when it comes to the selection of the food on offer, which means that we'll definitely be back for sampling some other delicatessens in the future! The service was great and the food excellent - by far the best food I've had in China. My mojito was also excellent (we've had some serious disasters when trying to order margaritas before). We had a lovely lunch and can definitely recommend this place. And an added bonus at the moment is the cutest little puppy they have outside in the courtyard area - pets are so in at least in this area as the coffee houses we visited later on had a lovely cat purring on the sofa... 

My review of Dali Courtyard Restaurant in Beijing (Chinese Yunnan cuisine): Excellent
Address: 67 Xiaojingchang Hutong, Gulou Dong Dajie/ 鼓楼东大街小经厂胡同67号

"Dali is a little gem full of surprises when it comes to the menu - or rather the lack of it as you get to eat whatever they have prepared that particular day. The price is good for Beijing ($20 for 6 dishes at lunch time) and gives a great insight to Yunnan cuisine. It was enough food to feed two people and the food felt fresh and light and full of flavours. The atmosphere feels authentic and intimate and service worked well too. Highly recommended for a visit." 

Yesterday this blog of mine got the follower no. 600, and so suitably we were able to celebrate it with a lovely loaf of banana bread that our kids did all by themselves (I did put the loaf in the oven, Miss A. tested to see when it was ready and I took it out though). So thank you for you all readers who like to read my blog and send me emails and post comments as feedback!

And happy October too - which is one beautiful month when one might be able to enjoy the autumn foliage and of course it's now time to start preparing for Halloween (not so typical here but kids love this festivity, so we'll definitely come up with something...)!

Our yummy banana-walnut bread that the kids made!

So here's the recipe for the banana-walnut bread our kids made: 

• 3 large bananas (mine very pretty black, I just toss old bananas to freezer so we often have ingredients ready) 
• 1/3 cup melted butter (I often make recipes "healthier", so one could add moisture with an extra banana and reduce some of the butter) 
• 3/4 cup of sugar 
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder or 1 teaspoon baking soda (we used banking powder as we had no soda and it worked really well) 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (sometimes I use vanilla sugar 2 tea spoons if I have no extract) 
• a little bit salt 
• Chopped walnuts 1/3-1/2 cup depending how much you like them 
• About 1.5 cups flour 

We still don't have a mixer in the house and this recipe luckily doesn't need one either. First we mash the bananas with a potato masher (so easy and fast) and add the melted butter (20-30sec in microwave will do). Just add the beaten egg, sugar and vanilla. Add the baking powder/soda and salt, and then stir in the flour. Last we add the walnuts. 

Butter a loaf pan - we had appr. 3x7 inches so it rose a lot, so 4x8 would work well too. Bake in the over for 50mins-1hour in 175 C (350F) - this largely depends on your over so check occasionally with a wooden stick whether the dough still sticks to it or not to see if's ready (kids love this part). We coudln't wait for the loaf to cool properly and ate it all warm, but it is harder to slice then. Then just enjoy with hot chocolate or a nice cup of tea or coffee!

How lucky we were to stumble across this great restaurant in our district (Shun Yi) here in Beijing - the Filling Station. I'll admit, that so by far I have discovered, that the grass truly is greener on the other side of the fence: therefore, being outside US we really crave for some good ol' burgers. And that is what we got (with Australian meat should I mention, very yummy!)

We also got to enjoy fab decor, real service and enjoyment for the whole family - while we were waiting for the food and sipping our drinks (cold cider!) the kids were enjoying the playroom right next to our table. True to American style there are theme nights with quizzes and stuff, so we'll be back. They even seemed to have all-day breakfast of offer and I'll definitely take on that some other day! 

Now, as with any "western" place, the price is also a bit higher, but still reasonable. Two burger platters, three kiddie plates and drinks set you back about 60 USD, whereas your local Chinese can be in the region of 3-4 USD per platter. Still, not bad. And they also got real toilets there (clean ones) - great when you got kids. We'll be back and introduce the place to some friends too. 

All in all, two thumbs up for the Filling Station!

My restaurant rating for the Filling Station: Good
Address: 8 LaiGuangYing Donglu, 来广营东路8号二楼. Tel 010-84703821

"The food at the Filling Station is good, but depends on what you order - some things they make better than others...The price is reasonable for Beijing, and what makes the great for families is the playroom (it's a bit scruffy, but not so bad that a little hand sanitizer afterwards wouldn't help). The music is nice, although they could change the CD every now and then.

We liked the casual and very US-looking decor also - a breath of fresh air I would say. Also, the bathrooms are pretty clean and don't smell (not so common in China). The level of service varies, and so does the ability of the staff to speak In English. Note also that not all things on menu are always available - I've been drooping after the dry cider ,but by far they have never had it in stock..."

One might not consider 170m (557 ft) that high of an altitude, but when it is a tower it is already something. We've been up to the Estonia's Television tower today and just enjoyed some great treats - good old pea soup, fresh strawberry smoothie, spinach and cheese pastry and cheese cakes.

So yummy and looked great too - definitely recommended!

Mmm, that pea soup 

(Cheese) cake, cake, cake... 

Happiness @ "high" altitude 

Rainbows, flowers, animals...oh the world of crafting pretty snacks for the kids. I wonder if mine have been deprived as they normally get bowls of things to choose from rather than this kind of artful creations?

Nevertheless, they look fantastic, and maybe one day I have time (and desire to try this - or even better, show this picture to the kids and let them loose in a "tasty art lesson"). TGIF!

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One of our kids class parents asked today what kind of food they could buy the teacher to represent where our son is from. A bit tricky I say, they have two nationalities and were born in yet another country, so the kids feel that they a bit of everything.

But hands down - when it comes to food I'd pick the home country to be Spain. Delicious Manchego cheese, all kinds of olives and fresh bread. A quick and easy recipe for a basic tapas, and absolutely no cooking required! I think I'm going to have some now too... What would you provide to the teacher; English, FInnihs or Spanish food if you had the choice (and here I've only found by far the Finn crisps and some licorice...)

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For my birthday last week I had the first ever Beijing duck, a dish that is probably on every tourist must-do list (and was also on my bucket list). Yes, it was good and came with its own certificate as a souvenir. The lovely hostess shows us how to properly wrap our little duck pieces - oh it looked so easy, but I didn't manage to wrap even one that didn't collapse on some end... Maybe next time I'll do better.

We even had a bottle of the local wine, Great Wall, and I think that the older vintages are rather drinkable, contrary to what one often hears about Chinese wines. I must also admit that they make a huge selection of delicious vegetable dishes here - I am completely in awe every time I have aubergine (eggplant); it can be prepared in so many delicious ways!

Our duck is being prepared next to our table 

Time to enjoiy the duck feast 

And since it is Friday I'm going to add my curious Friday picture here too. I've posted this in the Facebook account last week, but here goes again the wonderful birthday bouquet the Chinese way - with blue glittery roses, red and white roses and pink carnations! 

Blue glitter roses and more 

I am just amazed when I see posts about the parties and treats people are throwing - so much that I am thinking it is time for me to find some serious cooking and baking lessons. Just look at these bunting cookies and the treats in this baby party from Glorious Treats. I also love the way mason jars were used for drinks.

There are even step-by-step instructions on how to create this fabulous cookies - well wroth checking out. I so adore these creations, and the caprese salad just looks delicious (and is easy to create) so it's going to be the first I'll make!

if you planning a trip to Mexico, and San Pedro is one of your pit-stops, then here's a must visit place for your agenda: the uber-fabulous Theurel & Thomas French macaroon shop.

Beautiful and tasty macaroon in such a  fashionable all-white setting!

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Need I say more. Miss A will be playing in Alice in Wonderland and we'll be able to see Mad Hatter and friends on stage in May and have been watching Alice DVD with the whole family.

However, we have also encountered another Mad Hatter, which was something totally different and very tasty! A relaxing weekend moment a la Mad Hatter...

A very enjoyable first encounter indeed...

vs. the more famous Mad Hatter portrayed by soon-to-be-single charmer Johnny Depp

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One wouldn't think that the midwinter, or the winter solstice already passed based on the weather here in California (as it is quite sunny and days are pretty long anyway, vs. in Finland where you can be in absolute darkness for up to 3 months). As usual, I am eager to learn about new cultural experiences, and here is a Chinese one related to the winter solstice.

Miss. A has just created in her Chinese cultural club some Tang Yuan - a sweet little Chinese dish enjoyed with the family at the time of winter solstice, called Dong Zhi. I learned that the Chinese way to celebrate it is with these little glutinous rice balls, which are often served in rice broth. They look very cute and Hello Kitty like and are pretty fast (20 minutes or so) and easy to make - or so the friends say, I'll be trying make them with the kids over the weekend...

Recipe link 1 and Recipe link 2

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Joy, she's full of it. She's nuts - coconuts, that is! This is the kind of present I would love to receive (hint, husband...). It's funny, cute and hopefully tastes too - that part will be certainly tested soon. I came across this in my (hopefully last) shopping trip for a newborn baby boy and another little birthday girl, and I happened to find something lovely for myself too. So a fantastic day altogether since the grey day turned into sunshine on my way back home also!

Anyway, this lovely coffee comes from a company called Joe Knows Coffee and they have other fun products on offer too such as Tall, Dark and Handsome, Short, Dark and Cute, Wake Up Joe and French Diva-Nilla. Just got the love these ideas!

We had our wedding anniversary last week and went to celebrate it with a lunch in a contemporary Indian restaurant in Palo Alto (CA) called Amber Dhara. Forget the traditional tandoori and tikka and brace for something a bit more unusual in the menu. We tried the Thail - a la carte assortment platter, and it was fantastic!

This certainly is a place to my taste as it comes highly recommended with good food - and it has a beautiful decor. Just look at the pictures of the lamps I snapped. Amber Dhara has a contemporary decor of dark wood mixed with shades of orange, pink, purple and red - plus at the entrance some funky modern decor including lit cube chairs. Those must look fantastic at night!

A big part of the festive season is eating and drinking of things that are mainly reserved for this time of the year. I can still recall most Christmases where one almost fasts the days before the big moment, and then feasts a couple of days to the point that one doesn't want to see any food for a while. I am determined we will not just overindulge on one day, but enjoy goodies as a steady flow building up to the big day - so I have filled the cupboards with all these international treats.

There is the Gluhwein, the German version of the mulled wine, or glogg, the Christmas wine just for the sake of the pretty bottle (Electric Reindeer this year). Add some Spanish turron, Swiss chocolates, English mince pies, Swedish gingerbread cookies, German log and cookies...Now if you feel like trying the European treats a great place to find them is the World Market - and the prices are reasonable too.

Mulled wine the German way - Gluhwein. Note also the cute California cab called Electric Reindeer - I just loved the label...

Swiss cholocates and Spanish turron

The rest of the Europe - Swedish and German cookies, German fruit cake, Italian Panettone, English mince pies...

...and cannot forgot the meats. Spanish and Italian of course!

16 days to go to the big day - and if you are wondering whether we made a mistake with the numbers the answer is hopefully no, or there will disappointed kids 16 days from now! Our Santa will actually arrive the eve of 24th with the Finnish tradition, and in January the three kings come with some surprises the Spanish way. I say that this household has some lucky kids! They even get a stocking the English and American way on the morning of 24th,...

So this household is getting busier day by day - the food cupboards are starting to fill up with all sorts of seasonal goodies from Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Finland, England..pretty much from every European country. Santa started wrapping presents also and we all bakes some seasonal delicatessen.

The treat in question is traditional Finnish pastry called Joulutorttu - a sort fo mince pie which can be made from puff pastry and plum jam. They were so popular that we ran out of them before I even had a change to take a picture, but the last image should give a good idea anyway. There are few ways to cut the pastry to make it look fancier, but it does take some practise to make the look really good, so this time I just used this star-type design also...

it's just 16 days to go...

Santa was enjoying some cupcakes and tea while (s)he started wrapping presents, this year Santa's wrapping station hopefully won't have to work late at night the very last day!

This is Finnish Christmas pastry - joulutorttu, which is somewhat similar to mince pies

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We've been shopping at Ikea and filling the food cart with some traditional Nordic goodies. That included several bottles of Glogg, or mulled wine as it better known around here. Traditionally you add a drop of alcohol, some almond flakes and raisins and enjoy with Christmas cookies or other seasonal treats. So delicious!

Note also the special glasses made for that, you take the glass cup and warm the drink and then use the cute metal holder in order to avoid touching the hot glass...

In a household where the superior cook is the master of the house, I normally end up setting up the table, putting out the snacks or appetizer and creating the easy starters. And sometimes I'm baking the desserts. So here comes another one of my no-cooking required setups - and also one of my favourites too. Tapas-style nibbles - perfect for the season are nut mixes, olives and the good old hummus and breads and crackers. I love my salty snacks so the on the way to the table are also here a selection of cheeses (such as Brie, Manchego and my current favourite, three-years aged Canadian cheddar. Fabulous, but it crumbles a lot) and salamis & cured meats.

The starter itself is a salad (hence the no-cooking part) - top a bed of organic lettuce mix with crumbled blue cheese, chopped walnuts (coarsely chopped are fine for this), cherry tomatoes and dried cranberries. Pretty healthy - and way yummy! I normally let everyone mix their own dressing and just bring to the table a tray with olive oil (extra virgin) and vinegar and the sea salt and pepper grinders.

I loved the International day our kids school had this weekend, especially as it was suitably timed close to October 24th to reflect the international United Nation's Day. The idea was for everyone to share a piece of their culture in the form of food and possibly by dressing in national outfits and by bringing some music too.

Surprisingly for a Chinese bi-lingual school we ended up having food from Finland (ours), Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Israel, Russia, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Japan... and of course from the US too - mainly on the dessert side to reflect all the cookies and pies!

The international day is ready to kick off

Korean and Chinese delicatessen

My Finnish summer soup (Kesäkeitto) with rye sandwiches topped with cheese and cucumber

Japanese sushi and Korean BBQ

Interesting Dutch Hutsput - yummy but not sure what the ingredients were

Leaf-wrapped delicatessen - I think this was from Philippines..?

Pisang Cucur - i.e. Banana Fritters

Typical European treats - olives, bruchetta and quiche

I am not calling myself super gready, but I wanted to try a bit of everything and ended up three plates - two for main courses...

...and one for desserts. I did only try the exotic looking ones as there was so much on offer!

My own offering was a typical vegetarian soup offered in Finland in summertime, hence the name Summer Soup - the ingredients are the kind of that one could grow themselves in that Northern country. One typically eats rye sandwiches with the soup, and the Finnish way of eating a sandwich is to use one slice of bread and to top it off with cheese and cucumber or tomato and lettuce. For those wanting to try this simple, healthy soup here's the recipe - just adjust the amount based on how watery soup you want and how many portions you need. It takes less than 30 minutes from start to dining table - and most time here is allocated for the boiling of the soup, so no hard labour required!

Finnish Summer Soup (serves 6)

Ingredients:

3 carrots, sliced (peeled)

6 medium potatoes (peeled, diced)

1 pack of frozen peas (10 oz - 300-350 g)

1 cauliflower (chop/cut into flowerets)

4 cups of water

5 cups of milk

1 teaspoon salt

some butter for flavour (1-2 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon of fresh parsley finely chopped

Cooking:

1. Bring water and salt to boil, add potatoes, carrots and cauliflower

2. Reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes

3. Add milk, peas and butter, boil another 5 mins

4. Season for more taste if desired, add parsley and serve

It's Friday and ladies who lunch - alone or with friends - normally have a need to for the quick recipe with minimal cooking. And this tasty and Mediterranean healthy one certainly falls into that category.

Salad made out of fresh tomatoes and Greek Feta topped with some sea salt, pepper and olive oil (extra virgin of course). Olive bread to be dipped in herbal olive oil and boiled eggs with mayo mix and spring onions. Light and so delicious. Time and meetings permitting a little sip of nice red and sparkling San Pellegrino to go with it all. Great start for the weekend!

Just because you happen to be lunching home alone doesn't mean that the lunch needs to dull or just a sad mix of all kids leftovers with some sauce and cheese on top (although sometimes that needs to be done too if you don't want to throw all that food away), not does it need to take a long time to prepare. This quick and tasty meal only took 5 minutes to put together and was pure bliss to enjoy, but you either need to have made your soup in advance or have a reserve container ready in the fridge.

The butternut squash soup is spiced up with savory croutons and fresh mint, and the toast is topped with Swiss cheese, Italian ham and little plum (cherry) tomatoes. Cut some fruit to go with it, add a glass of Pellegrino and maybe some wine (think of Mediterranean business lunches), and you are all set. A little tasty highlight to a day working from home!

Now I finally have seen what this buzz is about the Sugar Factory. Sugarize yourself and add some bling too, or some glamour pops a la Hollywood style. This store is full of cute goodness of sugary treats and bling of all sorts. Just like the t-shirt at the entrance announces "I love sugar and diamonds" - it's indeed a very appropriate statement for this place. If you ever come across the Sugar Factory it's definitely worth a visit - all that sweetness is going to make you smile no matter what!

Sweet Sugar Factory in Paris (...of Las Vegas)

My girls would love to have these flashy duckies in their room...

The selection of sogary sweet is endless and the containers you can package them in are so adorable

Lollies of all kinds

A peek to the restaurant-cafe side of Sugar Factory

Chocolate strawberries, pops and little cakes of all kinds

Miss Anaïs managed to persuade us to get this little sugary piecef or her. I guess I rather support a love for sugar than for corn sugar (syrup)

I have finally witnessed those couture lollipops made famous by Kim Kardashian and other celebrities!

Life is about new and cool experiences, and growing up being a bit picky eater I am now trying to make it up and try new flavours (as long as they are not very spicy ones). I was so delighted when my friend took me to this amazing dim sum place, where I got to try many new and delicious dishes.

And to top it off we got to see how authentic dragon's beard candy (sort of Chinese cotton candy) was hand rolled in the restaurant. It was certainly different, and being used to these sticky Finnish flavours it was lovely to try something that just melts in your mount. As Dora (my twins favourite) would have said: Delicioso!