Lost In Translation

Chinese Soba

Also known as ramen, from Monday in Chiba near Okubo station and Nihon University.

Good Morning Cafe

I had to make up some classes this weekend so I ate lunch at one of the local shops in the Nakano Central park complex, Good Morning Cafe. ¥1000 lunch burger.

Olsen

Olsen is a Scandinavian restaurant in Palermo Hollywood, so at first I thought I wouldn't go even though it was  a "Top Choice" in the Lonely Planet guide, but this Time Out guide entry convinced me to try it. Furthermore, it was just a short walk form my hotel.

It is an amazing space complete with its own courtyard set back from the street.

The modern interior is also quite stylish.

My tasteful and interesting lunch set included a pumpkin soup with chopped apples in it, pork shoulder with a red fruit sauce mashed potatoes, and a green salad with a glass of wine.

 

Campobravo

Campobravo was a recommended steakhouse by the staff at my hotel and it was very close to the hotel and had a nice atmosphere, so I decided to give it a try.



It was high quality meat as usual, but one half was overcooked so I guess I'll order it medium rare at the next steak house instead of just medium to avoid this next time. The sides here are always massive and I can never finish them.

El Sanjuanino

El Sanjuanino in Recoleta is known for its prices and quality empanadas and stews. I wasn't hungry enough to order a stew though.

Pollo (chicken) empanada with onion and bell pepper.

The Napolitana empanada with tomatoe, oregano, ham and cheese.

Morelia

After the wine tasting I wasn't sure if I wanted to try another steak house or try an Italian place recommended by What's Up Buenos Aires, Moreila. I was won over by the ambiance of the place and decided to stay after poking my head in.

This is the individual sized pepperoni with two types of olives-excellent.

 

Anuva Wine Tasting

Again I was recommended, by the friend who was just in Buenos Aries a few months ago, to join the Anuva Wines Wine Tasting in Palermo. It is a group event led by a native English wine expert, our host was an English woman named Kara, working for the small export company (at the moment they only export to the US). I was too shy to take photos or notes and decided to just enjoy the experience, but I couldn't help thinking I have some friends who would have really enjoyed this experience. The tasting consisted of 5 wines paired with small food portions designed to bring out the flavors of the wines. The first wine was Hom Sparkling Wine (I believe all of them are from the Mendoza wine region from small batch wineries). It was less sweet than most sparkling wines and went well with the tapas like toasted bread with basil, and cream cheese spread. I'm not usually a fan of sparkling wine, but this was light and easy to drink. This was followed by Mairena Torrontes (this is the first I have heard of this grape varietal), a Spanish type of white grape that was paired with a peach and strawberry sorbet. I also really liked this one a lot, since it was dry rather than sweet and I'm also not usually a white wine fan. The next type was the first of three reds, Mairena Bondara (again another varietal that I have never heard of that is French in origin). Surprisingly, we were told that this was the second most grown grape after Malbec due to its popularity in Brazil. This was served with a plate of two types of cheese and two types of salami with bread and crackers as well as a cream cheese, marinated egg plant and pickled yellow pepper. It was complex tasting and dry, one of my favorites. The fourth wine served was San Gimignano Cabernet Sauvingnon Roble paired with a meat-filled empanada (my first of the trip!). It brought out the flavor well. The last wine of the tasting was Carinae Gran Reserve Malbec that was served with two types of truffles. It felt a bit heavy, but it went well with the chocolate. I also enjoyed meeting some other fellow travellrs: all of them were from North America: Wisconsin, Colorado, and Toronto.

Miranda

I found an article from What's Up Buenos Aires and saw that a couple of the recommendations were in Palermo (the area where I am staying). Miranda, in particular looked good, and since I didn't know if I would get around to visiting there for dinner decided to stop by for breakfast since they were open early for that.

I really liked the simple modern decor inside with big windows.

I got a set breakfast with orange juice, cafe con leche, and scrambled eggs with toast. My second egg breakfast in which they only provided salt-what do they have against pepper here?

Don Julio

A friend who was recently in Buenos Aires recommended Don Julio as the parilla (steak house) to beat. Since it was in Palmero not far from my hotel, I decided that would be where I started. And I am glad I did, it was great. I had the Bife de Loma (Sirloin), mashed potatoes, and a couple of glasses for 2010 Die Angeles Malbec (which was more expensive than the steak! 2 X 58 pesos = 116 to 99). I wasn't really that hungry and should have bypassed the potatoes, but he steak was high quality and cooked to perfection.

Bread and two sauces for the steak, I preferred the one on the left.

Makan

Makan is a Singaporean restaurant in Jimbocho that I recently discovered during one of my stints teaching the Nihon University Schooling classes. I liked the mural of SE Asia on the wall. I also liked the ¥750 Hainan chicken set price.