Bye bye 2011, hello 2012... Marking my one year in Germany!!

Today marks my 1st full year in Germany. Looking back it has been a rather fruitful and interesting year for me. Getting to know all the great freinds in my German class and the different places in Germany that I have visited, Spring/Summer Fests, Canstatter Volksfest, playing DIY lady and also all the recipes that I have not had the chance to try out.. Here's a short picture sum up of my 2011... =)

Some of my great classmates from my German class in Henke Schulungen..

Heidelberg

Tübingen

Bodensee

Düsseldorf

Fireworks @ Blühendes Barock

Mallorca

 Food......

Cola BBQ Sauce Pork Chop

The picture of this dish got a little rave from my friends in FB. Happened to find this a few years ago over the internet and I picked up a lot of 'advice' from others.
For those who are curious and wanna try, this is my final recipe....

Original Recipe Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
• 1 cup cola-flavored carbonated beverage
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tsp plain flour
• 8 pork chops
• salt and pepper to taste

1 onion sliced & sauteed until soft and translucent.

Meat Seasoning

• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Pepper
• Salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C .
2. Mix together the ketchup, BBQ Sauce, cola and brown sugar & 1 tsp of plain flour.
3. Sear pork chops in frying pan to seal in the juices.
4. Place pork chops into a baking pan, spread onions over and pour cola mixture over, coating well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Bake for about 50mins to one hour depending on the thickness of the pork chop.

Mallorca 2011

A change from the cold cold cold Germany... Hmm... We decided for some sun, sea & sand... and the nearest place would be Palma de Mallorca - Spain!! The flight was only 2 hrs which is like going from SIN to BKK.. can't be more convenient.. *winks* On the flight to Mallorca, I was greeted by this magnificent view of 'Mountains in the clouds'.. wow... it was really really beautiful..  

Upon arrival, we picked up our luggages and headed over to the Hertz to get our rented 'baby' and made our way to the hotel - Protur Sa Coma Playa Hotel & Spa. As we took the late flight and arrived at the hotel only at around 9pm, we were kind of starving but it was a nice surprise when the reception told us that they have prepared some food for the late check-in guests and we were free to go and eat at our own timing.. Cool.... 

It is no wonder that they say Mallorca has up to 80% tourists from Germany.. The TV channels in the hotel room consists of mostly German and a few English channels.. LOL.. Mikka was going crazy and was rambling about this being impossible.. Can't even find a single Spanish channel in Spain... Hahaha....

The next day after breakfast, we decided to check out the surrounding area.. We headed down the street towards the beach which is around 10mins walk from the hotel.. (ok.. if your legs are longer probably it will be less... keke) There are many pubs and restaurants along the way and of course souvenir shops.. The beach is of course awesome... Fine sand, great waves.. unfortunately... too crowded.. Well, me n Mikka are not really the beach people so we just hung around and enjoyed the atmosphere.. We parked our butts at one of the beach 'pubs' (dunno if you can call it that... Lol..) and had our first beer in Mallorca.. Spanish San Miguel!! (Note note!! It's not the same as the Philippines one...) 

After the thirst quenching drink, we decided to explore the place a little bit more. We went into the smaller lanes where there are also shops and Mikka decided to get a new pair of slippers as his was 'biting'. We ended up in this Pakistani guy's shop and we were speaking to him in Deutsch in Spain... So ironic.. talking about going international... haha... After threading through the alleys for a bit, we made a pit-stop at this English pub called King's Head to have a bite and something to drink. This place is along the main street so you can't miss it. Great chill-out place to recommend. As we had nothing much planned for the day, we decided to go check out the hotel facilities. Protur has a chain of hotels around the area and it works a little like Club-Med. Hotel guests can inter-use the facilities at all the chains. They have facilities like spa, driving range, archery, shooting, tennis, squash etc... they also have free lessons for some of the facilities on certain days of the week. That is as per schedule so one must check that out at the main clubhouse.

We planned for a little tour of the city and visited many great sites.. First stop was at the town Manacor.. The town is pretty interesting I would say.. We were goin all around snapping away on our cameras. Mikka was however going all crazy driving through the towns as the roads were soooooo small and the sides of the roads are mostly just rock piles. I was thanking my lucky stars that I don't have to drive... Scary... We made a visit to Sant Salvador situated on the top of the mountain of the same name. Its origin dates back to 1348, when the primitive church dedicated to the "Passió de la Imatge" was built. Then we came to Porto Christo which is a small town on the eastern coast of Mallorca. Porto Cristo Harbour is a natural Harbour which still homes small fishing boats giving shelter from storms and in recent years, the New Marina now homes high end pleasure boats. We had lunch in one of the riverside restaurants and the atmosphere was most serene.. Dinners at the hotel is kinda delightful. The dishes that they have on the buffet table was great and the selection is also big. Seafood deprived me had a big grin always after dinner... keke... There was one setback though.. We were to have a complimentary dinner at any one of the restaurants of the hotel chain and we chose this Spanish restaurant Sa Bodega right at our doorstep. Disappointment is the only word to describe the experience. The food was bland and the service was... well.... not up to standard. I would think that the buffet dinner at the hotel dining room was even better.. Sorry.. but thumbs down for this one.

 Mikka made reservations to play golf at one of the nearby courses and so I was left with some free time on my own.. =D I took a little stroll down to the beach again and had lunch at this small place - Restaurante El Sol. The recommendation for the day was fish but I was dying for a grilled squid so I just went with my senses... and boy how right it was... most satisfying meal in a long time.. Since I had the time, I also made a reservation to use the sauna at the hotel. Yes.. you have to make a reservation cos the sauna is all yours within your booking time.. How nice... As it was also in the same place as the indoor pool, so I conveniently also too a short swim to work out my lazy body a little.. Lol... Very nice and relaxing.. also made me sleep rather well.. haha...

On the last day, Mikka managed to make another appointment at a different golf course so off he went to play again... I was not really feeling well so I just hung around at the hotel and had a relaxed day... That night we finally made it 'out of the hotel' for dinner.. Lol.. We went to a nearby restaurant where we finally had Paella... =D I was craving for this eversince we touched down... haha... A little bit salty but still satisfying.. As we had to check out and leave the hotel by 6am, we had to have an early night but I think due to the sudden strong winds earlier that night, I unfortunately caught a cold... So it was a terrible last night with not much sleep for me. Thankfully, the hotel had also food prepared for the early check-out guests so at least we didn't leave with an empty stomach. The flight back to Stuttgart was delayed for around 2 hrs so it was another round of waiting and waiting at the airport.. So this is it for Mallorca this time.. It's a big island with many places that we have not explored yet.. We will be back.. Till the next time!!!

Happy Curry Day!!

I am no big fan of curry but I like it from time to time... The other day when I read a news report about this PRC family who complained that it stinks and is unbearable when their Indian neighbour cooks curry. Well, curry is an Indian food culture and it is only polite to respect and accept. Like they say, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'... The solution that the relevant authorities gave to this complaint was worse.. They suggested to the Indian family that they should only cook curry when the Chinese family is out..... What if they are in all the time?!?!?! I would like to stress that this is not a protest or whatsoever regarding immigration but it is about respect for other cultures... There was a 'Cook and share a pot of curry' event yesterday that was organized over Facebook and caused quite a stir.. More than  60,000 people (both inside and out of Singapore) showerd their support. There were Singaporeans from as far away like the UK, US, Sweden, Norway, Germany etc.. The point here is that everyone must learn to respect another person's culture no matter who or where they are....

 

My contribution to the 'Cook and share a pot of curry' event...

2 Videos to share....

Happy 46th Birthday Singapore!!

It's National Day for Singapore in another few days. I saw this video the other day and I think it is soooo cute.. Just to share with all the other Singaporeans who are away from home...

Another Home (The 'Other' National Day Video)

NDP 2011 Theme Song - In A Heartbeat

Düsseldorf

Over the last weekend, we made a short trip to Düsseldorf. As Mikka and myself has not been to this town before, we decided that it would be nice to visit. Mikka's main intention was to go to the Schüco Open 2011 which was held at the Golf Club Hubbelrath. We set off from Stuttgart at 7am and driving time was ca. 4hrs. After we arrived on Saturday, we checked-in at the Holiday-Inn Express Düsseldorf - City North which is about 5-10 mins away from the city by car... A very nice and cosy hotel but not recommended if you are not driving. It took me around an hour to walk to town... =S Shortly after, we made our way to the golf course to take a look in preparation for what Mikka has to expect the next day.. I have to say that the planning for the event was a little chaotic. The traffic from the parking place to the golf course itself was terrible and after we arrived, the staff seemed as clueless as all the others... After a little shuffle here and there, the players were finally introduced as the Match-Play started. Me being smaller than all those Germans was only able to sneak a peak every now and then.. lol.. It was interesting and being my first time at a Golf tournament, I had to say that its really a nice game but still too much walking for 'flat-foot' me.. We decided to go down to town to take a look before everything closes and we still had to get dinner. After a nice walk through Königsallee, the main shopping street in Düsseldorf, we made our way to the Altstadt on the other side where the River Rhein runs through. The Schifffahrt-Museum im Schlossturm is just by the river but we did not have time to visit.. Next time perhaps.. It was a really nice walk along the river, reminded me a little of Köln. Well, its the same river running through.. LOL. We finally settled at this nice little restaurant in the Altstadt - Benders Marie.  They serve local specialities and I have to recommend the ‘Rheinische Sauerbraten mit Klössen, Rotkohl & Apfelmus’.  Day 2 was as hectic... Woke up at 6am to have breakfast and Mikka left the hotel at 7am to avoid the jamm and chaos at the Golf course that is anticipated. I lazed around a little bit more and left the hotel at around 10am. I was contemplating on taking the train but decided not to as the train station didn't look very safe.. Yes, I am a scaredy cat but I would rather walk then get mugged. And so it was a loooong walk to town. My target was the Goethe Musuem which is located at the foot of the Hofgarten. I seriously had no clue where it was. Thank God for Googlemaps.. Lol..  After an hour, I finally stood at the front steps of the museum. The museum itself is 3 storeys and it is interesting to see the old writings, paintings and artifacts dating way back to the 1700's. I spent around 2 hours in there making so many pictures.. After I left the museum, I took a slow stroll through the Hofgarten towards the Altstadt. I was starving by the time I got there but there was definitely too much choices to decide from.. I decided that it would be nice to try something Asian in another German city.. Then a familiar name struck me.. Baan Thai... yes!! Thai food it is.. I finally had my fulfillment of my craving for Thai coffee. It may seem crazy but I was really missing it. The food is not too bad.. My most important Chilli powder is freely available so I am satisfied.. haha... By the time I had finished my meal, my legs were still aching from the long walk from the morning. I was supposed to meet up with Mikka at the other side of the Altstadt so I decided to just go there, find a nice spot to sit and read. I still find it a pity that ALL the shops in Germany are closed on Sundays. If not I could go and get some shopping done... =(  When Mikka finally appeared, we went for coffee and enjoyed the on-goings on the streets of Düsseldorf. This night, we decided on something Spanish.. yeah!! A recommendation from Four-Square landed us in Las Tapas. This restaurant is in Schneider-Wibbel-Gasse (I guess its a famous street) with at least another 3 Spanish restaurants.

We ordered an assortment of Tapas to fill up our not so hungry stomachs. (Unfortunately, cos we both had a late lunch.) Very relaxing and nice atmosphere although the street was a little narrow. Then it was back to the hotel and our short short trip is over and we are headed home the next day...

Here's a video of the Tee shots at the Shüco Open that Mikka made...