Hmmm... Filet Mignon

Went to Wall Street to meet up with my friends last night, it's been a while since we last saw each other... Our original plan was to hit theMercantile Grill on Pearl. However, we soon found out Goldman was having an drinking event there, so we ended up in St Maggie's on Wall.

To me, food is just as important as catching up with friends. Aside from our usual sarcastic remarks
towards each other(hahah, that's our way of communicating love and care), the food was fantastic
as well. I had the daily special Filet Mignon served with Lobster & Crabmeat Ravioli and White
Truffle Sauce ($26)... Yeah Yeah I know, for that price, it better be good. Otherwise I'm never
going back again. But it's always good to have a perfectly done steak(medium rare is how I like it).

On the flip side, the small portion reminds me of the days in Argentina, where I can get 10X amount
of meat for half the price. I can't help but wonder where the Argentinians get their beef from.
Seriously, they serve like it's free... I still recall once my guy co-worker asked for the half portion,
the waiter was like:"Um... Sir, you sure about that, that's really for a girl..." Hahahah, that has
been noted in the team forum, and we haven't stopped teasing him ever since...

Bario Chino on Saturday

So I ventured out to the little known Chinatown in Buenos Aires on Saturday. It was indeed tiny, only 2-3 blocks with a couple of restaurants, grocery stores, and other small shops selling miscellaneous stuff. Me and my colleagues just wandered around and had lunch at 'Lai Lai', the food was quite oily, but still... it was good to have something other than steaks and empanadas. Then I got myself some 'oriental' snacks such as cup noodles, milk tea, sushi rolls, and sweet congee, etc... Believe it or not, the supermarkets actually carry alot of stuff from Korea and Japan, I recognize alot of brands I'm used to getting back at home. Anyway, depends on how long I'll have to stay in Argentina, I might go back for more. Bario Chino is a bit far from my hotel, and it is such a hassle to get around here if you can't speak espanol. So far, my spanish vocabs are only limited to food items... That is such a shame consider I took one year of spanish in junior high. 

Chila on Thursday

An upscale restaurant near the hotel, expensive for the amount of food you get. 

Clockwise from top left: starter on the restraurant, deer loin (my first time having deer meat, it was 

delish!), black risotto with shrimp, mussels, scallops, and lumpo roe (for the money I was paying, 

I would've expected more than 2 shrimps, oh well...), filet of sole with tripe juice (couldn't really 

taste the tripe juice, fish was alright, nothing to write home about).

Verdict: The deer loin is the winner here, I never had game before, so it was something different. 

The risotto was done right but lacks in seafood. The ambiance of the restaurant was excellent, 

but price was steep.

International Progressive Cuisine

Went to La Vineria de Gualterio Bolivar for chow last night. The type of food served at this restaurant & bar(which was featured in Time Out Buenos Aires 2008) is categorized as international progressive, that's the first time I heard such a fancy term for food. We had the signature tasting menu which composed of 11 small plates(7 appetizers, 2 main courses, 2 desserts), we also got 2 bottles of agua sin gas(water without gas) and 2 bottles of reds (malbec & cabernet sauvignon), all for $140 Argentinian pesos per person (that's less than $50USD). Even though the portions were alot smaller than the tapas I'm used to in NYC, but boy were they excellent. Each dish had its own unique flair to it and they were all so beautifully presented. I give the meal 5 stars in terms of taste, presentation, creativity/originality, and the use of ingredients, on top of great service and ambiance. The head chef of the restaurant Alejandro Digilio is my new idol in the world of culinary arts. You can tell he puts alot of heart into his food, I would've chatted with him if my spanish wasn't so broke. Anyway, I just cannot recommend the dining experience @ this place enough. Whoever has a chance to visit Buenos Aires should definitely give this restaurant a try. 

Lots of beef = Indigestion

Since Argentina is the cattle capital of the world, beef makes up 80% of people's diet. 3 meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you just can't escape it. I'm not a picky eater myself, as long as it tastes good, I can pretty much eat anything... So last night, we went to this restaurant next to the hotel. Thank god we had someone who speaks spanish, so ordering wasn't a PITA. Let's see...we ordered some appetizers including empanadas and grilled kidneys(Yuck...), steaks(Duh...), and wine(red of course to go with the steak...). I had the filet mignon, I was in absolute disbelief when it showed up. Are you f$cking kidding me? That cut of meat has gotta be at least 20OZ, I've never seen that big cut of steak in my life before. But oh boy, was it good, so juicy and flavorful, done medium just the way I like it. And the red wine Malbec is so easy to drink, I think I'll bring a couple of bottles home. The whole meal was only $60 pesos, that's like less than $20USD. I can't even get a bottle of wine for that price in a NYC restaurant, forget about a good cut of steak... Man, this job is spoiling my pallet BIG TIME. Too bad my waist is not appreciating my efforts. Guess you just can't have the best of both worlds.

5PM

Apparently tomorrow and Friday is holiday in Costa Rica, so I will be working at the hotel for the rest of the week. Tres bien (French: very good)! I can finally sleep til 8AM again, then just roll and get up and work in my pajama (well I don't wear pajama, but that's not the point here).

 

Anyway, last weekend the whole team went to volcano Arenal, it was nice but I've never been big on sightseeing. The country inn we stayed at was a bit shitty, I think I had bug bites all over. Oh boy was it hot, I think I'm much darker than I was two weeks ago. India gave me some color, now Costa Rica, maybe I'm destined to get a tan this year. Who knows where I will end up later this year... maybe some scorching hot places...

Week 2 in India

So last Saturday, I went shopping with the group on MG Road. Even though I didn't buy anything, it is still better than staying at the hotel. This Saturday, we went to Mysore (yeah, that's the correct spelling) to tour the famous palace and shop. Again, I didn't buy anything because I don't think I'll wear those in New York and I'm not exactly into craft works. It was a long drive from our hotel, but I made it in one-piece, didn't throw up thank god! Sunday me and a colleague went to the state government building near our hotel to take some pictures then walked to MG road where I had my beloved KFC. KFC in the US cannot compare to those in Asia. The ones in India have many vegetarian options, but they ain't for me. I was just curious how the chicken taste, so I got the original and the hot & crispy chicken pieces, plus a Zinger burger which is just hot chicken sandwich. God I was FULL, but Oh Boy, do they taste good, just like the ones I had in China. After 2 weeks of Indian food, that's what I was craving for, who cares if they're bad for me. Anyway, I'm ready to go home. I think I'll have to go to Baltimore next month. 

P.S: There are advertising boards everywhere on the streets of Bangalore. I expecially like the ones by 

Canara Bank, an Indian bank. Their slogan is 'we all change for the ones we love' and 'together, we can'. 

I can't help but feel empowered by looking at their ads. They might sound cliche but they are also true 

in many cases. After all, we do do things for those around us, more for the ones we love, less for the 

those we could care less.

First week in India

Ok, get ready for this. On wednesday, when we got back from work, the hotel was surrounded by guards, our vehicle was not allowed near, so we had to get off and walk. Walking in Bangalore is not fun, because traffic does not stop for you and there's dust everywhere. Anyway, when we got to the hotel, we had to go through a metal detector, like the one in the airport. So nosy like me, we had to find out what's going on at the hotel. Guess what, the Hungarian prime minister and the Dalai Lama just checked into our hotel. Rumor has it that DL was celebrating his birthday there. Holy Moly... Ok nobody cares about the Hungarian prime minister, but Dalai Lama? I've only heard of that stuff on TV. The floor where DL was staying was guarded by security personnel with guns, too bad I was not on that floor. So that was day 1. Day 2, when we left for work in the morning, people lined up outside of the hotel, so we figured DL was probably receiving them. I couldn't go line up and get DL's blessing cuz we got work to do. Then on Friday, we saw red carpet on the floor in the lobby. Apparently the Dalai Lama was ready to check out. And we got lucky, we got to see the Dalai Lama in person! My colleagues took some really nice pictures, I was stupid enough to leave the camera in my room. Anyway, I'm just touched, I would never able to experience what I'm experiencing now if it's not for this job. Yes there're instances where I complain about my work, but who doesn't? I'm just so so glad how this job has really opened up my eyes.

Landed in Bangalore

So here I am, sitting in my hotel room...sleepless. Haven't seen the city yet, the only thing I can tell is that the airport is so shitty, I've never seen such a crappy airport in my life, so much worse than LaGuardia. Geez, I was the only asian (CJK looking) on my flight... And also why do so many people wanna help me? Ok, I know I don't look like a local, but I'm not handicapped. I think I'm tipping too much... But I don't know how much is enough!