Food - Rome Food Tour!

This is definitely a long overdue post on my Food Tour in ROME! Whooops!

I chanced upon this tour when I was researching on the things to do in Rome and they have raving reviews! Hence, I decided to give it try even though it was pretty expensive. It costs me 59 euros then (Now is euro 65)! But trust me, it didn't disappoint.

The location where the tour is conducted - Neighborhood area of Testaccio. Finally, away with the crowds in Rome. =)

A nicely designed "itinerary" with a map of where and what we were going to eat. 

Our lovely guide, Luna. She's an Australian living in Italy, doing a job that she enjoyed!

We were first brought to the Testaccio covered market, stalls here were passed down from generations to generations. At this place, we were going to have our first tasting!

Mozzarella di Bufala which means buffalo milk cheese. (super fresh, from a market, what you expect right!) It was very juicy and flavorful. But, a small piece was just enough for me. hee.

We walked around the market and it was heart warming to see how friendly the locals were. hee. Then we went to a stall and the uncle was selling 40 over types of tomatoes and we were supposed to taste some of them. 

Well, I was never a big fan of tomatoes let alone eating it raw. But, since I have paid I must at least try right??

We tried 5 types of tomatoes and.............. SURPRISE! The tomatoes were FREAKING NICE lor! 

I tried all 5 and my favorite tomato tasted like grape, juicy and sweet oh, and seedless. hahahaha!

Moving out of the market, we went over to a Gourmet Food shop - E. Volpetti. I didn't quite get the idea of "gourmet food" until I saw what the shop sells. Anyway! there we were standing outside the shop, tasting the plate of nicely prepared "gourmet food", there were ham, salami, cow milk cheese and sheep milk cheese.

I love the ham the most, thinly sliced and it melts in my mouth. =D

I really don't know how to appreciate the cheese even though there was one that has truffle in it, the taste was too strong for me. I cannot bring myself to finish the cheese after one small bite.

Then a lady in my tour asked me: You don't want? I said: You want to have it? She took it and pop it into her mouth like some sweets~ -_-||| Solid.

After tasting the food, we went into the shop to take a look! wooooahhhhhh! Eye opener for me. First time seeing meat placed in racks like that and those hanging ones.... lol...

The guy holding a basket of truffle, 290 euros per kg. *gasps*

Seriously, people will buy this whole thing home?

After E. Volpetti, we were going to Barberini which is a legendary pastry shop. We were going to taste cornetti and tiramisu! Super excited! 

Irresistible! 

Cornetti

Tiramisu in a small chocolate cup.

What I liked about this tour was that, besides eating and eating we also had a chance to walk around the neighborhood area. 

Pyramid, the reason why the station we alighted is called Piramide Station. =)

Used to be a slaughter house.

Then we went over to 00100 Pizza to try Rome's famous fried rice croquet! Suppli alla Genovese.

So excited to be able to eat rice! hahahaha.

Freshly fried for us! Yums!

What is coming to Italy without Pasta right?! I must say the 2 pastas I had in this shop were the best I had during my time in Italy! Da Bucatino is the shop name.

There I also learned that the bread is to scoop up the remaining sauce from the pasta! hee.

Finally, our tour ended with what else but GELATO from Giolitti! Each of us chose 2 flavors. A sweet sweet ending to our tour and I love it! I would recommend this tour if you are going Rome! =D

I must say my tour in Rome was made a little unique because of this tour. Besides those magnificent architecture, I get to know a little more about the place through their food culture. =))

http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/tours/romefoodtours/

Purposeful Traveller - Good tours to share!

Food - My First Beer Appreciation

When I told people I went beer appreciation, a common question was asked: "Did you get drunk?" Am I supposed to get drunk for a beer appreciation? Well...

I sampled 8 beers and enjoyed a 5-course meal! =)

The 8 beers I tried.

I tried my very best to take down some notes while eating and drinking. hardworking student. =P

The sauces for our food.

Before I begin, I must say I am never a big fan of beer but for whatever reasons, I was there, learning to appreciate beer. hahaha.

I was first introduced to Palm, when I first drank it, it immediately reminded me of the beers I tried in Munich! Light and not so hard to swallow. I always find beer too carbonated to even swallow which explains why I never like beer. >.<

Palm with onion chicken soup.

After the soup, it was the 2nd dish - Pork Knuckle!! I had bad experience with "Pork Knuckle" and always thinks that it is too PORKY for my liking BUT! surprisingly this dish prepared by the chef has changed my perception! It did not have that porky smell and it was really crispy! Yums!

The trainer paired this dish with Rodenbach (4th beer from the right) which is a little sour to go with the Pork Knuckle that is alil oily. Same rationale on why I always eat roti prata with Teh-O Limau Ais la. hahaha.

After trying 2 beers, I tried Bavik which is a type of lager? Bluek. I don't like it because it is so carbonated. Big no no for me. hahaha.

After Bavik, I was served with Potato Salad and it was paired with Witterekerke (4th beer from the left)

I love the Potato Salad because it was served chilled and I am always a big fan of POTATO! =P

By the 4th beer, I could feel the effect of the beer, I was getting red but not drunk la.. and I was quite full by then with all the beers~ -_-||| So I went out for a walk...

After I came back, it was my favorite! German bratwursts with mashed potato (potato again!), this dish was paired with Steen Brugge which has an alcohol content of 8.7%, not to my liking either so I ended up eating more sausages than drinking. LOL. 

The mashed potato was yummy!

We tried another 2 more beers - Rose Beer and Peach Beer. I thought my favorite beer for the night would be Rose beer but after I tried the Peach beer, I like it the most! And the peach beer has the lowest alcohol content! I guess I will never be a big fan of alcohol. hahahaha.

Finally, the long awaited dessert, though I was FULL to the max but.. quoting from a friend, dessert is always in a separate compartment!

How can I miss this! LAVA Chocolate Cake!

It's called lava for a reason. =D

The dessert was paired with Trappistes Rochefort which has the highest alcohol content, so I didn't bother to drink much and ensure I finish my dessert instead! Muahahahaha..

And so.. when I ended this beer appreciation, I was not drunk and I was not red anymore. Back to normal. The only thing was.. I was full to the max. =D

Purposeful Traveller - I drank the most amount of beer in my life that night.