Gresham Palace, Budapest

This beautiful building is a must visit to admire its art noveau
located just a few steps away from our hotel, we have no reason not go drop by
built in early 1900s , it didn't look old nor classical at all
well didn't I just mentioned art noveau a while ago?
hmmmmm

beautiful isn't it?
I felt like I'm in the home of Mr. Dracula
hihihihiiihihihihihi

during the World Wars it was pretty much damaged and vandalized
soldiers resided in this very same spot
:(((((

in 2001 Four Seasons bought this palace and turned it into a luxury hotel
no expenses were spared, and the palace was once again restored.

since it's now a beautiful luxury hotel.....there's alwiz bound to be yummy food
hiak hiak hiak....
and before we could explore the rest of the internal architecture of the palace, our butts landed ourselves at their restaurant

even the ceiling is so exquisite with crystal chandeliers
the waiter was preparing my macaroons....
ok ok ok u'll get to see the pics later.

hmmmm this gave me new idea to serve butter for my guests in the future
just use a cookie cutter and press on frozen butter :))))

a few varieties of bread in different texture

from soft fluffy ones to thin and crispy

I'll never have enough of Goulash in this part of the world
the Hungarian goulash is more watery compared to those in Austria
they like to serve it with "dumplings", lil gnoochi-liked dumplings
the dumplings tasted of really good potatoes
anyway in cold weather places like this....goulash is just perfect
moreover it's spicy with the usage of hungarian pepper and paprika

JS had beef *edited: it was actually Hungarian pork called Mangalica Pork, the highly prized and of a special breed*

and some greens for our daily dietary needs

as for dessert he had a yummy apple rolls

with vanilla cream

:))))))))))))))

 

and as for me...wuahahhahaha...

I dunno which one to choose

hmmmmmmm I wanted to go for those exotic and rare ones
but then my heart was pretty skeptical

after much discussion I finally chose this four
Paprika, Salt Caramel, Raspberry and coffee

yeah have to make up my mind coz the waiter was holding the whole tray for me to choose while I took my own time
and the box ain't light :P

this one here is Paprika macaroon
it's not weird but something new
tantalized my palate

well in LIFE u must try EVERYTHING
at least once, before u decide whether u like it or not
:)))))))))))))

Gresham Restaurant
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace,
Szechenyi Istvan ter 5-6,
1051 Budapest, Hungary.
Tel: +36 1268 6000
www.fourseasons.com/budapest

Zoccai

Zoccai ring with 6.2 faceted Amethyst in 18kt rose gold with diamonds around it
aaAAAaaa *drools*

I've been shopping for my birthday gift
and I'm still SHOPPING FOR IT!!!!
GAH I can't make up my mind

Zoccai was founded in Venice, Italy back in 1839
sigh...how come I was not introduced to this brand when I was in Venice 3 years back?
I would have ta-pau-ed the whole shop if my credit card can stand it

every year they have an exhibition at Baselworld, Switzerland - the world largest watch and jewelry fair, which I dun get time to walk around *even thought I've attended it 5x!!!*
bcoz I'm just too bogged down with my own brand

unlike some Fatty woman with BIG HAIR and her Hermes Croco Birkin going around Baselworld shopping for watches and jewelries with the Rakyat's money
I see her every year in Baselworld *pui!!!*

Anyway let's talk bout happier things like diamonds, gold and precious stones

I can't really decide between the two
but of coz this 4.2 carat of Rose Quartz is more expensive than the earlier one bcoz of the weight of the gold and the number of diamonds

anyway Rose quartz and amethyst are semi-precious stone
my birth stone is actually emerald
but it's so auntie looking
maybe when I turned 40 I'll fall in love with it :P

There's a preview today!!!!! for Carlo Barberis!!!

you can purchase Zoccai jewelries from La Prendo
my favourite place to shop for bags, shoes, accessories - esp when I dun travel
and trust me La Prendo is POISON
I never leave its shop empty handed :P

So if you happen to be in Singapore please do drop by at their shops either in Fullerton or Dempsey
the one in Fullerton specialized only on Jewelries
for handbags and other leather goods, head down to Dempsey Hill

else if you hands are very very itchy now...please log on here
www.laprendo.com

lemme warn u first, if u do buy something from this website
it is entirely your own fault and not mine :))))))))))))))
yippeeeee another eppy day!!!!

Walter Bauer Restaurant *One Michelin Star*, Vienna

Bauer is an unpretentious fine dining in Vienna specialising in Austrian cuisine

even its entrance was pretty modest but trust me, do not judge a book by its cover
*I've learnt that lesson hard all the time in life*

getting recommendations for restaurants in Vienna ain't easy
we pretty much have to do it ourselves coz not many of our friends been to this part of the world
thank goodness, we have one Sporean friend aka Alex C who recommended a few good places for us to explore

half the fun of goin to a restaurant in a foreign country is locating it
100% of the time we alwiz managed to find the restaurant but it was the journey through it that made us skeptical

well who would have thought that u need to walk through alleys and lanes full of graffitis
especially lonely ones like this?
but we didn't mind coz Vienna is extremely super SAFE
afterall it was placed at world No. 1 for having the best quality of life
so when u have such high standard in terms of quality everything matters

the restaurant is very intimate and cozy with warm colors
as usual we were the only Asian in this place...
*we hardly find that many Asian tourists in this part of the world coz everyone just tend to flock to the more famous cities like Paris*

**yaaaayy!!! tickets to Paris booked for November :)))))**

I really like their digital clock
Es ist funf vor halb Neun = it will be 5 before half past eight
it's German
so it kept on changing digitally and it took us some time before we understand that this is a clock
:P sorry we are from Kampung Malaysia!!!!

JS was luffing and mocking me *as usual..*
with his "hihihihihihihihihihihi"
-_-
after 3 months, I kinda forgotten wat he was luffing at

sorry I am still catching up on my postings from Vienna and Budapest
>.< time flies man...and before I know it, August is here

Austrians lurve malty bread
good thing was there's not much hassle on bread selection
coz sometimes if u have the whole big bread cart wheeling out, u know that u have to kill some brain cells to make ur selections and endure the explaination by the waiter.
not that I loathed it, it's just that I don't like to pile on bread
but at the same time, I lurved to be pampered with choices and selections
told ya women are complicated beings :P

the amuse bouche was a very yummy high quality austrian sausage
served with a grand cru mustard
well dun forget we are in sausage-land
hahahhahahahahahaha

so pretty!!!
pan seared goose liver with lychee and onions with fried bread

foie gras alwiz have to go with something sweet to cut into those rich taste
I believe we need cholesterol pills to cut into all those ....er.....hehehehhee

it was very well done in terms of execution and flavours
there's some sweet reduction on top of the liver that's so syrupy and yummy

next we had the fillet of fish with parsnip and spinach
I kinda forgotten wat fish it was but it's really juicy and fat but the taste was so balanced with the green taste from the spinach puree at the bottom

JS's glass was so dirty
he has got dirty messy lips :P
wuahahahahahah

these are really nice glasses
Vitis series from one and only Riedel
by the way do u know that Riedel is an Austrian company???
producer of high quality crystal wine glasses, and still owned and run by the same family for the past 250 years!!!!

we were so tempted to buy all the glassware but then how do u carry them home?
anyway out of desperation and vanity I bought really nice vases from an unknown brand
hand carried them all the way home to Malaysia only to have one of it broken
:"(((((( it's not something expensive - only Euro 9 but it's the design that u can't get back at home
will blog bout this broken vase soon :"(((


Pike Perch cheeks with bacon bits and leeks
Perch fish is a lake fish, the first time I had it was in Switzerland next to the lake where it was caught

this fish doesn't taste like ur usual lake fish found in Malaysia
it has a delicate sweetness innit

Laguiole knives
nothing less :)))

collecting knives are also part of JS's hobby
we have a few unopened Laguiole sets at home
maybe he'll use them when he decided to turn psycho and use them on me
hahahahahahha :D:D:D
yes when he decided he had enuff of me
but hey since there's a few sets, we can used it upon each other
:P
most of his knives set cost the same of one of my handbag
another expensive hobby -_-

such sharp knives are meant to cut through meat like this :))))
that piece of grilled chili with olives outshone the meat :P
coz it was so sweet!!!!

sacher torte
do u know that sacher torte aka chocolate cake was invented here in Austria?
:)))))))))

after such a satisfying meal, we walked back to our hotel with joy and contentment
that's the spire of Stephandsom
*click here to read bout our journey inside and up Stephandsom*

Bauer is highly recommended if you would like to try authentic Austrian cuisine, after all it's the best restaurant in this category.
well I believe when u travel, u need to go with an open mind and try everything that's local

Walter Bauer Restaurant *One Michelin Star*
Sonnenfelsgasse 17
1010 Vienna, Austria.
Tel: +43 1512 9871