I’m scratching my head. I’m a well traveled, adventurous woman. Why haven’t I been to Amsterdam before? This is a city that is tailor made for me – everywhere is walking distance, stunning art galleries, chilled vibe and more importantly, a cheese loving populace. My home for my quick visit was the seriously stylish Andaz Amsterdam, located on the edge of the funky Nine Streets area and frankly, one of the most fabulous hotels I have stayed in. The Netherlands is not known for its cuisine, but it is known for its cheese. Gouda to be more precise. Now I have been scornful of this cheese in the past, until…
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The Long Whey Round
I usually don’t buy the conception of “it’s not the destination, but the journey”. Given my short attention span and inability to sit still (I am what is called, fidgety) and aversion to walking long distances, I usually choose the shortest possible route. However, on my recent European sojourn, I deliberately took the slow boat/train/plane. This resulted in me being more frazzled that usual (I love traveling, hate the process) but I did manage to see four countries in 12 days – UK, The Netherlands, Sweden and finally Oman. If it appears this journey was chosen by randomly throwing darts at a map of the world, you would be close.…
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At Grate Heights – Cheese at 30,000 Feet
As someone who loves to travel, I have had some good and very average meals in the air. Whoever invented the Hot Pocket should be reported to the UN Human Rights Tribunal – it is an implement of torture. When I am lucky, and flush, enough to travel at the pointy end of the plane, I always opt for the cheese plate on the menu. Which had me thinking about how cheese manages to taste so good at altitude. When we fly, our taste buds simply don’t work properly. The low humidity dries out our nasal passages, and the air pressure desensitizes our taste buds, which is why airline often…
- American Cheese, Blue Cheese, brie, British, Cheddar, Cheese, Cyprus, European Cheese, Feta, Food, France, Goat Cheese, Gouda, Greece, Italy, Ricotta, Sheep Milk, Swiss, Travel, Unusual Cheeses, Washed Rind, White Cheese
Honor Roll – Huff Post Lists Best Cheeses
Every day I say a small prayer to a higher power for not being born lactose intolerant. I mean, it would have been difficult to do this blog in the first place. More importantly, what would I talk about at parties? I get asked a lot what I think the best cheese in the world is. The beauty is, there are thousands. The Huffington Post has a similar view to me, in that there is no such thing as a bad cheese. but they have also compiled a list of the 20 best cheeses (in their humble opinion). I agree with all the listed ones, maybe not the order. Check…
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Taking a Pont (L’Eveque)
Summer has well and truly enveloped the Gulf region. I know this for several reasons: 1. It’s really hot. Like 46 degrees hot. Hotter than Satan’s private beach hot. 2. It is so hot it’s that time of year when expats take photos of the temperature readouts in their car and post them on Facebook/Twitter/everywhere 3. There is no traffic in Doha 4. I feel perpetually sniffly because of the Baltic air conditioning in buildings 5. There is a brisk trade in swapping and “borrowing” of the latest box sets and illegal film and series downloads among friends. It’s summer. It’s 46 degrees. What you gonna do? 6. I get…
- Aged Cheese, Artisan Cheese, Cheese, European Cheese, Food, France, French, Goat Cheese, Restaurant Reviews, Travel, Unusual Cheeses, Washed Rind, White Cheese
100 Cheeses Down – You Cheddar Believe It
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but let me tell you this whole caper is trying 365 cheeses in 365 days is no easy feat. Which is why I am celebrating milestones where I can. What started as a simple catalogue of cheese i have eaten and the occasional good meal thrown in, has now evolved into something more – travelogue, food porn site, political commentary, restaurant review and general whingefest blog. That’s the beauty of a blog I guess. So the journey marks it’s first significant moment – my 100th cheese. This tranche of cheese moments is brought to you by my friends at Grand Hyatt…
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Quiche De Resistance
I am so old that I remember when quiche became really trendy in Australia. I am hoping it was the 1980s, but I have an ugly suspicion it was the 1970s. Suddenly it was everywhere and even Sara Lee was making them… Although known as a classic French dish, the quiche originated in Germany. The word quiche means “cake” which came from the German word Kuchen. Today, quiche is considered as typically French. And to be honest, it has become one of my favorite foods over time. What’s not to love about eegs, cheese, pastry and of course, cheese. Quiche lorraine is a popular variant that was originally an open…
- American Cheese, Blue Cheese, Cheese, European Cheese, France, French, Italy, Sheep Milk, Travel, Unusual Cheeses, White Cheese
Wheel of Cheese Fortune
The thing I love about having a blog dedicated to one topic, rather than random musings (I have Facebook and Twitter for that), is that my friends near and far collect the most amazing stuff for me. This comes in the form of websites, newspaper stories and infographics like this one which came from the lovely Sarah Rabbani (who I want to be when I grow up) That’s a chart of 66 of the world’s favorite cheeses and yes, I have already pre-ordered one for the bedroom. For more information check out Pop Chart Lab or here at our friends Buzzfeed Food
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Romano Wasn’t Built in a Day
I was looking forward to a quiet evening in with a bootleg copy of Behind the Candelabra and a cheeky glass of Malbec. Hopes were ashed by a friend, who upon hearing of said glittering bootleg, invited themselves over. Not one to order in, I decided to kill two well dressed birds with one stone and use the hunk of Romano I had in the fridge. Now combining seafood with cheese is controversial. Once in a restaurant in Sydney which shall remain nameless, the waiter refused to give me parmesan for my seafood linguine as “That’s NOT right”. Well, my taste buds maybe wired differently. I had planned a simple…
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Hadju Go – When You Are Hungary for Some European Cheese
I love Hungary, well Budapest. It’s like all of the really good things about Europe – food, wine, history, good looking people – all combined into one easily accessible and reasonably priced place. I like it so much I am vaguely considering buying an apartment there, as my European bolthole (well, more like a money spinner). Hungary makes great wine and also some great cheese. I found this variety of Kashkaval in my Doha supermarket and was immediately smitten. This is a kashkaval-type cheese with the characteristic full, tasty and slighly salty flavour that reminds us of nuts. It can easily be cut, it is stiff but when bent it…