I recently had some of the best restaurant food ever…on board of an airplane! If you ever get a chance to fly business on Austrian Airlines, be prepared for some seriously delicious meals.
It all started with a little something from the flying chef on board..
Which was followed by a selection of appetizers…
Then came the soup. A creamy celery-apple soup of which I didn’t take a picture, because I was too busy enjoying it.
And three different main courses to choose from…
And on to the grand finale…a selection of deserts, cheeses, and fruit. Accompanied by after dinner drinks and sweet wine…
One of the almost cleaned out desert carts…
And the finishing touch after lunch…one of 11 specially prepared coffees from the coffee menu…
We were also served a fantastic light dinner before landing, including a heavenly apricot cake. This is what flying should taste!
Photo by nonyafood.com
I’m a huge fan of black rice pudding. It’s pure comfort food, and especially delicious for breakfast. Black Rice Pudding is very popular in South East Asia where it is widely available from hawker stalls and restaurants alike. This authentic recipe comes from Bee Yinn Low’s wonderful blog about Nonya cooking.
Bee Koh Moy/Bubur Pulut Hitam (Black Sticky Rice Dessert)
200g black sticky (glutinous) rice
Sugar to taste
5 cups water
2 pandan leaves, knotted
1 cup coconut milk plus 1/2 teaspoon salt (mix well)
- Rinse the black sticky rice with water thoroughly until the water turns clear. Please take note that the color will remain “black” or “purple” in color but it should look clear.
- Add water and pandan leaves in a pot and bring it to boil. Add the black sticky rice into the pot and boil it on medium to low heat for 45-60 minutes or until the rice becomes soft and breaks up. Cover the pot with its lid.
- Keep checking the water level, if it’s become too dry, add more water.
- Add sugar to taste.
- Serve the bee koh moy in small bowls topped with a spoonful of coconut milk. If you like it creamier, add more coconut milk.
Enjoy!
Hmmmm….can’t help but wish I’d chosen a different career path and gone to one of the top culinary schools to become a pastry chef. I’d be playing with eggs, sugar, and chocolate all day. How cool is that?!
I love tea, but I’m usually not a fan of drinking cold or ice tea. However, a few years ago I stumbled upon Oishi Green Tea in Laos. One sip from the ice cold bottle, and I was hooked. It was the perfect thirst quencher for a sweltering hot day in the tropics. Ever since I’ve been guzzling down gallons of the Honey Lemon flavor (my favorite!) whenever I’m in South East Asia. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful at finding it in the US or Europe…until last week. I went to an Asian grocery store in Vienna, and lo and behold – they had an entire shelf stocked full of Oishi Green Tea, including my beloved Honey Lemon flavor. Woohoo!! Oh, and if you think drinking tea is only for old ladies, check out the countless health benefits of tea.
Kore wa oishi des!
In 1898, Viennese Josef Manner I invented the Manner Original Neapolitaner Schnitte, or Manner Schnitte as it is known in Austria and well beyond. Five layers of thin, crisp wafers are filled with four layers of delicious hazelnut cream. Today, Manner Schnitten are also offered in other flavors, such as vanilla, lemon, or raspberry, but nothing comes close to the original hazelnut flavor.
Manner Schnitten are an Austrian icon, and many Austrians stuff their suit cases with packs of Manner Schnitten when traveling abroad, because one never knows… They do indeed come in handy when nothing edible can be found in far flung places. Plus, the little image of the Stephansdom (Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral) fondly reminds them of home. In other countries, babies are breast fed, in Austria they are raised on a diet of wafers and hazelnuts. Maybe that’s why they always end up beating the rest of the world in skiing competitions when they grow up… Who knows?
One thing’s for sure. They are the damn best hazelnut wafers in the world. And if you happen to be in Vienna or Munich, go check out the Manner Shops where you can not only fill up on all things sweet, but purchase cool Manner shirts, toy trucks, and the like. Manner mag man eben!
