Travel : Gotthardpass,Swiss & Milan,Italy

Finally,the update of my Italy trip.So,apparently,it was my second time in Italy and gazzilionth time for my husband :P

Well,we choose Italy because of 2 main reasons:I love the country that has many interesting things to visit,and its food!!

As usual,we opted for road trip again this time,because we planned to visit 2 main cities in Italy which are Milan and Venice,and by road tripping there is always a possibility to stop on the way.

And this trip involved of 4 countries.From Germany to Swiss to Italy.And on the way back from Italy through Austria and lastly back in Germany.

The scenic nature view along the way when we reached in Swiss.Switzerland has never dissapointed me with its calm view

Last time going to Italy we drove through a veeeeery long tunnel over the Alps because the time when we drove there it was already winter.This time however,we chose to drive through Gotthardpass,passing Alps at the maximum height of 1500m plus.It was not much different in terms of distance compare to using the tunnel,and foremost we were served with beautiful scenery along the way.Oh,yes,but please bear in mind that the roads of Gotthardpass are narrow with steep slopes!

We stopped at the highest peak of Gotthardpass to enjoy the scenery

See the roads,those are the roads we took

And then we continued our journey to Italy.In total we spent around 5 1/2 hours until we reached Milan.For the accomodation,we opted for a hotel outside of the city center because it's not that easy to park the car in the city center.Our hotel is at the suburb of Milan city,but is easily accessible by metro and rapid train.However as there was a strike of the workers of the rapid train that day,so we had to walk a bit farther to the metro station.

After settled in the hotel for some time,we decided to go to the most famous place in Milan,Duomo and the plaza around.

We were greeted with Duomo and the weather was perfect that day.Very opposite to when I was here 2 years ago,it rained all day long when we were there,plus so cold,plus I was not so well due to morning sickness.This time though,I had a good memory to remember from my Milan trip

When at Duomo Plaza,always be aware of the swindlers trying to trick your money into their trap.They will pretend to be friendly to take your pictures,but later they will ask for your money.My husband had always warned me since last time we were there,so we were quite aware of this scam

She was very happy to catch the pigeons,running here and there without thinking any obstacles in front of her -__-

Piazza Duomo

At the back is the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II,a famous high-end shopping center.Afterall,Milan is famous as a hub for fashion lovers

This time in Milan I wanted to go up the terraces of Duomo as last time I didn't manage to do so mainly because it rained,so the terraces were closed due to wetness.But only me went up there as it is not a suitable place for babies with stroller,so husband had to wait downstairs :P .Oh,ya,the visitors have to pay to go up there.I chose to go up by lift because I wanted to save husband's waiting time.Ok,I lie,I just don't feel like stepping up that day haha :P

Up the terraces

Facing the shopping center from the terraces

The rooftop,people can sit and relax here while waiting for the sunset

After going down the lift,we walked some more towards the direction of the opera house and stopped on the way at a famous Milanese street food called "Panzerotti",a deep-fried pizza with various filling.I heard it was so famous because it tastes good and last time I saw a very long queue of people wanted to buy it.This time though there was no queue at all and I had my hands on this Panzerroti.It was good,although I would say nothing so special about it.It tasted just like Cakoi in Malaysia with tomato and cheese filling inside.

Panzerotti

Leonardo da Vincci statue not far from Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.Last time we went to visit da Vinci Museum in the village where he was born called Vincci

The high-ends shopping center with my very expensive possession :P

The Ceilings of the shopping center

After Duomo and its surrounding,we took the metro to Castello Sforzesco,an old famous castle not far from Duomo.Actually,it is reachable by walking,but since it was getting darker earlier,we wanted to arrive before the sunset.On the way to Duomo,we enjoyed a long walk from the castle and later caught the metro back to the hotel and called it a day.

Castello Sforzesco

Stopped at a pizzeria near the metro station nearby our hotel.I ordered this Calzone,but it was tasteless,to be honest.I can make a lot better Calzone than this :P

Recipe : Homecooking

Hi guys,
We're back again in the cooking segment.Sorry for a little hiatus these past few days as I was quite occupied with several things simultaneously.Life is good,anyway :)

Moist Chocolate Cake

When I was still working in Malaysia,I used to craved after this moist chocolate cake.I never made it on my own,because I can simply buy at Petronas station almost everywhere with Mesra shops.

So,lately,I've been craving for one,so I googled a good and easy recipe and whipped on my own.

For the recipe

1)Whip one big egg together with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil,1/2 cup of fine sugar and 1/2 cup of condensed milk. 2)Sift 1 cup of flour,1/2 cup of chocolate powder,1/2 tsp of Baking powder and 1/2 tsp of Soda Bicarbonate. 3)Add the flour mixture into the batter in no. 1 using spatula and mix slowly and carefully. 4)Add in 1/2 cup of hot water into the batter and again mix carefully and slowly. 5)Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or so at 180 degree celcius.

For the Ganache

1)On a heat stove in a pot,add 1/2 cup of chocolate powder,3 Tbs of condensed milk,1 Tbs vegetable oil,2 Tbs butter and water. 2)Keep stirring until diluted and check the consistency of the ganache by adding water accordingly. 3)Pour on the chilled cake and enjoy!

Beef in Spicy Soy Sauce/Daging Masak Kicap Pedas

My favourite dish inspired by a dish of nasi kandar in Malaysia :P

For the recipe

1)Beef cut into medium thick slices and pre-boiled until cooked thoroughly or half cooked 2)Blend Red onion,a few garlic and a little bit of ginger 3)In the same blender blend pre-boiled dried chilli,we need maybe 4-5 Tbs of this later 4)Now heat the pan with a little bit of oil,and saute the 4 types of the herbs(kulit kayu manis,bunga lawang,bunga cengkih and buah pelaga) until fragrant 5)Now add the blended onion and later the chilli,let it cook for a while until you see the bubbles of oil popping out,then added the pre-boiled beef. 6)Keep stirring and now add the sweet soy sauce/kicap manis as much as you want. 7)Add a little of water,adjust according to your liking,you can add little water if you want the gravy to be thick,or otherwise. 8)Now add the pre-boiled potato(I didn't put last time) and big slice cut of red onion and some red chillis if you want 9)Season with salt and pepper and ready!

One pot Spaghetti Marinara

My second experiment with one pot pasta.This time I tried making Spaghetti Marinara/Seafood using this fuss-free.Only that I don't put the seafood from the beginning because they tend to shrink over time.So,I put the seafood(Shrimp and mussels) only 10 minutes prior to serving.

For the Recipe

1)Dump spaghetti,diced red onion,diced tomato,thick tomato paste ,black pepper,salt,and water in one pot. 2)Cook until the spaghetti is al dente and the water is 70 % soaked by the ingredients inside. 3)You can also add the seafood now and cook some more until the water is almost 90% soaked. 4)At this point you can also adjust the taste by adding salt and pepper rather than putting together at the beginning.

Chicken Rice

As a Malaysian,I dare to say that chicken rice is a must menu once in while.It's very easy to make,and I still remember this is the dish I cooked at secondary school,and it was a hit!

Chicken rice my version

1)Cut the chicken parts accordingly 2)Boil the chicken in water covering the whole chicken.Estimate how much water you need by taking into account that we need to use the broth for cooking the rice and to make the soup3)When the chicken is cooked,take out the chicken,put in a bowl and marinade with sweet soy sauce/kicap manis,oyster sauce,black pepper,a Tbs of honey and salt and let it corporate well for a while. 4)Now we have to cook the rice.Wash and rinse the rice accordingly,put the chicken broth we made before,add some chicken cube,salt(if needed),a bit of turmeric to give the yellow color and few cuts of butter 5)Now we want to cook the soup.In the leftover of chicken broth,add sup bunjut,4 rempah sekawan,chicken cube,cut onion,celery,salt and pepper. 6)For the sauce,this time I didn't prepare the special sauce because I was too lazy :P.I just add chilli sauce,a little bit of the soup and Thai sweet sauce :P 7)When everything is ready,don't forget to fry the chicken(this time though I baked them in the oven,but frying tastes a lot better :P),serve with cucumber,ice salad,and tomato.

Apam Gula Hangus

One time while browsing through my fb,I came across this recipe and this used to be my favourite kuih back in my old company.I have a steamer pot,and all the ingredients are in house.So why wait?I whipped the ingredients and these came out.So yummy.So,I might share the recipe I found on fb as well here if you're interested.

For the recipe(I made only half of the recipe,please double or triple whenever you like)

1)First caremelized 1/2 cup the sugar in a pot until it turns golden brownish and at this point,add 1/2 cup of hot water slowly so that the hot caramelized sugar point spark outside the pot and hit you. 2)In a blender,add 1 egg,1 Tbs of condensed milk(susu pekat) and 1 Tbs butter,and blend well until all is incorporated. 3)Now add the caramelized sugar and 1/2 tsp of Soda Bicarbonate and blend again. 4)Add 3/4 of flour inside the batter and blend a little bit more 5)Pour the batter in the desired mould(I used silicon mini mould for gugelhupf cakes) and steam in the steamer for 30 minutes or until the batter grows bigger and cooked well. 6)Serve with dessicated coconut mixed with a lil' bit of salt

Beef filled Cannelloni

We brought back mainly food only from our Italy trip :P.I love Italian food and always cook some dishes at home.One of my favourites is Beef Cannelloni,but in Germany it is actually quite difficult to find the Cannelloni sheets sold in the supermarket.So In Italy I bought the cannelloni sheets and my husband said it was such a good idea because he also like my cooked beef cannelloni.So we repeated second time in a week!

For the recipe

1)For the filling.First roast the minced meat in a pan until cooked and the juice comes out. 2)Add diced onion and/or chopped tomato and cook some more 3)Add Tomato paste,or pasta sauce,but make sure that it is not too watery,we want to the keep the filling close to dry 4)Season with salt,pepper and oregano or Italian herbs. 5)Now we have to prepare the white sauce.In a pot melt butter on a low to medium heat.Pour 2-3 Tbs of flour and mix well with the butter.Then add in milk and keep stirring until the sauce is thick and lastly add cheese(I used Mozzarella) and stir for another few minutes and turn off the heat.Remove from the stove and cool the sauce. 6)Boil the Cannelloni till half of thoroughly cooked 7)Now prepare a casserole.In another small bowl,pour the pasta sauce,salt,pepper and oregano or Italian herbs and mix well. 8)Back in the casserole,pour the pasta sauce and spread nicely all over the casserole 9)Now Arrange the pre-boiled cannelloni but make sure not to put them fully on top of the sauce 10)Hold the cannelloni with hand,and now scoop the beef filling and fill inside the cannelloni nicely until full 11)Now put the cannelloni fully on top of the sauce. 12)On top of the cannelloni pour the white sauce and spread nicely covering all the cannellonis. 13)Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes and for the last 5 minutes change the oven setting to the the top heat to turn the white sauce into a bit of  golden brown 14)Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and ready to dig in!

Travel : Lauterbrunnen & Lake Thun,Swiss

Last update of my Swiss trip.After leaving Stechelberg,we drove heading to Lauterbrunnen Village,and there we decided to walk around the village that situated between 2 valleys.The village is so serene,rich with nature,and very calm.

One of the many waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen

The village

Sungai belakang rumah pun nampak cantik

The closed shops on Sunday in the village

After spent some time at Lauterbrunnen,we drove some more circling another famous lake nearby Interlaken called LakeThun/Thunersee

On the way to Lake Thun

Lake Thun

After Lake Thun,we decided to drive back home.We were a bit tired already by this time,mainly because of our activities that day.So goodbye Swiss,till next time!

We stopped at a view point of Lake Lungern on the way back to Germany.We stopped at Lake Lungern on the day before.

Travel : Mürren & Gimmelwald,Swiss

Hi guys,

So,what we did the next day in Swiss?Our guesthouse is in the middle of two famous tourism spots which one is Interlaken and another one is Lauterbrunnen.

So,that morning we planned to head to Lauterbrunnen and the interesting places nearby.We had no specific plans actually,just saw what we might see or do on the way.So the first place we stopped that day was at Trummelbachfälle,a few series of waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen Valley.Upon arrival,we were informed that kids under 4 years are not allowed to enter the waterfall area :(
So,what can we do but to oblige the rule.

So then,we drove some more in the direction of Jungfrau.On the way we came across a place with a few paragliders and many cars that caught our eyes.It's actually the foothills/cable car site to the top of several peaks including Gimmelwald,Mürren,Bergbahn and the highest in the region Schilthorn,also known as Pitz Gloria,a famous place of one of the 007 series back in 1963.

However,we just took the cable car to Mürren top as the price tickets are still reliable to our budget and time haha.

Oh,yes,if you're wondering,everything here is freaking expensive.Afterall,it's Swiss we're talking about :P.But well,it's one of the most beautiful countries in the world and it attracts many tourists all over the world to come and enjoy its nature.

On the way from our hotel passing by Lauterbrunnen before we stopped at Stechelberg

Arriving at the Stechelberg foothills that is also famous amongst paragliders and wingsuit flyers

One of the many waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen Valley

Arriving on top of Mürren village and were greeted with this view of Jungfrau peak and several others.

Looking down the valley from the Mürren Village

This place is apparently famous for skiing in Winter and hiking in Summer.But since now is off-season,many restaurants,cafes and guesthouses are closed till winter comes.

Mürren Train station

The water from the Alps

In the cable car on the way to Gimmelwald at 1300++ m above the sea level.

Gimmelwald Village,also another half-dead village during this off-season

From Gimmelwald the view of Alps are nicer compared to in Mürren

Various sizes and designs of cow bells

Love from Gimmelwald

Going down the hill in the cable car

The crystal clear water on the foothills