Risotto Milanese

 I'm kinda addicted to risotto lately, especially since I got ready to cook instant risotto mix all the way from Italy! So today I made this Milanese risotto using the following ingredient: One pack instant risotto mix from STAR, onions, mushroom, basil, and salami (optional). I also used some oil, butter and Parmesan cheese.

 

Cooking instruction: Sauteed onion with oil till fragrant. Add some salami if you want to. Add mushroom and some butter and sauteed till the mushroom becomes soft. Add basil leave for fragrance (I think this add a certain nice scent to the whole mix, my kitchen smell like heaven after that!). Add the instant risotto mix in, and one bowl of water. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes stirring occasionally. Before done, off the fire, and put some Parmesan cheese and mix it in to get a thick texture. Serve hot. Taste like heaven, and my whole kitchen smells like Italy which brings back lots of great memory of my trip! Good times!

Ref
Star Risotto Milanese

Registering for my Japanese Lesson

You know how a new year is approaching and you are wondering what new year resolution you should make for the upcoming year? Well I have a few targets on my list for 2014, and one of them was to finally give Japanese Language a try. I've always like Japan ever since I went there for a home-exchange program in 2001, and now I have a strong sentimental connection with that land. I try to visit it every 4 years, and I am sadly overdue. So far I've been there 3 times, and all 3 times have been amazing. So my dream would be to be able to go live there for a brief period of time, even if it is only for a few months.

So on 15-Dec-2013, I set off to the Japanese Cultural Society to register for the elementary course in Japanese. The goal was to give it a try for one year. And if I haven't drown by the end of it, I would very much like to carry on and get thru the JLPS (Japanese Language Proficiency Test)  and hopefully be fluent enough to carry a decent conversation by the time I hit 40. Yes, it's part of my bucket list to clear, so better start now than later!

I reached the place at 10:30am, yet my queue number was 140! I had the impression that Japanese was no longer popular now as the K-Pop world take over. Still, they made me queue. I didn't know what to expect, but up I went to the centre, and registered myself anyway for a weekly Saturday lesson. The whole elementary course takes 1 year. And cost less than SGD700 for the full year. Here's a sample of the course fee as of 2014 year enrollment. This does not include text box which is 2 x SGD15 for each book. Books used are actually from San Her Publishing, a Malaysian company! Planning to go back Penang to get some books from there. The books are only RM33 (SGD13) each there.

Well, yesterday 11-Jan-2014, I attended my first lesson, and I must say, it's pretty fast pace! There will be two exam, one in June, and one in December which we have to pass to proceed on. Year 1 will complete Lesson 1 to 16. When I complete till Lesson 50, the teacher say I'll be able to converse in Japanese. The class size is around 25 per person, ranging from young to old, and surprisingly quite a number of guys. The teacher is a Japanese, and does give us some background on how the language is use in Japan, which is a nice touch.

Here's looking forward to my new venture. I'm kinda glad I eventually started my journey on this. I'm planning to go back to Japan in 2015 after I renewed my passport that allows me to visit Japan without a Visa, and maybe get a job there if I complete my course.

So looking forward to it :)

Ref:
Japanese Cultural Society Singapore
JLPT
San Her Publication.

Quotes from Italy

Sharing some words I saw outside a museum in Rome. I thought they were pretty cool. Click image to read.

Accomodation in Italy

I thought I'll just write one entry on our accommodation in Italy unlike previous blog entry where every location has its own entry. Considering the amount of data I want to upload here, I thought it would be easier to write one entry that consist of all the information. So let's start. I only have 4 places to talk about in this post anyway. All accommodation was booked via Hostelwold.com, the internet's best place to find cheap and value for money accommodating.

We stayed in 5 different places in a span of 2 weeks. The start and the end was at Milan Nettuno Hotel (Cost 50 Euro per room per night + 2 Euro per person per night city tax). I have no photos of this establishment what so ever cause well, we didn't really like staying here. It's cheap and convenient in terms of being near the Milan Centrale station and walking distance to the shopping district and all, but frankly, staying here was depressing for us. Period. Next!

Our next stop was at Vernazza, one of the town in Cinque Terre. We stayed at Elisabetta at 5 Via St Francesco (Cost 50 Euro per room per night). It was easy to find as they emailed me the direction to get there. We were suppose to arrive at 1500H, but due to some problem with the train, we arrived at 1300H instead, but the two person who was in the process of cleaning the apartment for us was kind enough to let us check-in. It was a delightful little place located at a slope, which could have easily accommodated 4 person comfortably. It feels very cosy, and they provided drinking glasses and a water cooker which I really like cause that means I can make my own hot chocolate at night. The whole place just feels very homey, and I absolutely adore the glass front door.

Next stop was at Riomaggiore, another town in Cinque Terre. We stayed at Viadeibanch (Cost 65 Euro per room per night), an apartment on the 3rd floor in one of the buildings on the main road of the town. Again, we arrived early, so we called to see if we could check-in at 1400 instead of 1500. A nice lady came by to open up the place for us. It was modern looking inside, and we also have access to the 4th floor where the other rooms and office were. There was even a roof top patio, but we didn't go up there as it was raining most of the time. What we did enjoyed was looking out of the window in the morning as you could see the whole street from there. At the back of the apartment, the lady's husband has a space area where he makes wine. We had a chance to see him in action. Lovely place with lovely people. Thumbs up!

After Cinque Terre, we moved to Venice and stayed at Locanda SS. Giovanni e Paolo (Normally Cost 60 Euro per room per night + 2 Euro per person per night city tax, but room price increases on special occasions), which is a small inn. Getting there was slightly challenging as our train from Milan was late 1.5 hours. We had to call to say we won't make it in time as their office close at 8pm. They told us to get the keys from another hotel nearby which is open 24/7. We soon found out that reception there were hardly existing, so it's really kinda private if you like it that way, but hard to find help when you need it. Anyway, this location cost the most in all of our accommodation, and I booked it because of the venetian decorated room they advertise on. We have bedside Murano lamps and a chandelier in our room! And although at first I though breakfast was included, apparently it was not. But no complaints there as we're all expert in finding food anyway. It's located on a lane of a main street, so it can get noisy at times.

Lastly, perhaps our favorite places was surprisingly in Rome, at B&B Casa Suri (Cost 45 Euro per room per night + 2 Euro per person per night city tax). There was no Suri, and there was no breakfast provided, but there was a very nice lady name Daniella and her super chubby cat that took great care of us. We were actually living in a part her apartment, but it was very private. I love the color of the room and how it was decorated. Everything was so pretty and clean. It was located on the 5th floor with an old elevator in the building. Most of the times we just took the stairs. I also found out that the location of the place was on a rough area, south of the Rome Termini Station which was not a recommended place to be in at night. Still, we felt pretty must at home here, probably because the people the guide book was warning others about were etnic groups of Indians, Chinese etc, and we were part of one of the groups. This place also reminded me very much of the apartment we stayed in when we were in France.

Ref:
Milan - Hotel Nettuno
Cinque Terre, Vernazza - Elisabetta
Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore - Viadeibanch
Venice - Locanda SS. Giovanni e Paolo
Rome - B&B Casa Suri

Postcards from Italy

It was an amazing adventure that started out from a DIY paint by number which I got to work on. It was a painting of an Italian Riviera. And I knew that I wanted to visit that painting. So starts the Italy trip planning, in the year 2013, for two weeks. And the key place of visit was the Cinque Terre, 5 towns that look like my painting. I just got back last week, and I am unsure how I should start the blog entry of my trip as there are still severe backlog of other things I have been meaning to blog about. But life is short, and I've decided to just do what I love as this is after all, my own personal blog. So I thought I'll start by sharing with you postcards from Italy. The two on top are of Vernazaa (right), and Riomaggiore (left), the two place that we stayed at in Cinque Terre. The photo was taken at an awesome jazz cafe at Manarola on one rainy afternoon while we were waiting for our train to take us back to Riomaggiore.

My mother has asked that I send her postcard while I was there, as I have cultivated a habit of sending postcards home from places I've visited in the past. She also does not have access to the internet, so postcards were a way for me to keep in touch with her while I am away. Postcards were cheap enough at Italy, you could get some for 50 cent Euro (SGD 0.85) or less. But the postage was ridiculously expensive, at 2 Euro(SGD 3.39)  per card! And it's not even a stamp! It's just a postage label sticker! Pist! I think I send a total of 7 cards home, 2 to myself, 5 to my parents. Luckily 2 of the postcards were sent from Vatican City which understood the concept of stamps. The postcards above are of Venice, and Burono (an island near Venice), and the photo was taken at a cafe at Rome Termini Station while we were waiting to check-in to our hostel.

This last photo was taken in Milan one rainy afternoon while we waited to visit the Last Supper which eventually was not open due to strikes. Somehow I like photos that documents the places that I've been. I did got some postcards from Milan, but those were the first batch, and I didn't manage to take a photo of them. Anyway, this one is taken with a Milan guide book I borrowed from the NLB in Singapore. I took along with me 3 guide books (Milan, Venice, and Rome). It's strange that there are always room for books in my bag even though I'm backpacking :)

It was a great trip. At some point I did get exhausted and missed home. But it is a privilege to be able to travel, and so I will love every minute of it and not complaint. I should target to backpack for one month next time, before my body gets too weary from old age. I love the fact that after one week of backpacking, my arms and legs were all shaped up nicely.

Stay tune as I slowly reveal more photos from my trip. Cheers.