Tag: sweets

malkist

we’re in thailand at the moment, and this might be the “snackiest” country we’ve ever been in. everywhere there are salty and sweet bites to be had — it feels practically obligatory to carry around some form of sustenance for the idle time.

we found malkist at the breakfast table of our guesthouse in chiang mai, and became fans of this chocolaty cookie.

it looks deceptively normal, like a butter cookie with a chocolate stuffing, but when you bite into it, the cookie dissolves into flakes (that fall everywhere if you’re not careful). chocolate is chocolate, but the cookie tastes slightly “malty”, which is nice for a change.

i approve!

Post author By ana
Post date January 8, 2019
No Comments on malkist

algarving foooood

bolinhas do carlos

and since the theme of the moment seems to be sweet stuff, i’m going to mention the typical beach snack in portugal too: bolas de berlim! they’re a different species from their german or slovenian counterparts, in that they’re not filled with jam or covered with a thin layer of chocolate. these balls are serious business, cut in half and properly filled with “creme pasteleiro”, a kind of thick egg cream.

as a rule, they’re outstanding everywhere in portugal, but somehow they seem to taste better at the beach… maybe something about all that sea breeze opening one’s appetite? :D men carry them around the beach in styrofoam boxes, shouting out loud “booooooliiiinha!” so that everyone can hear and come to them for their sweet craving.

we like them a lot but truth be told, we don’t go to the beach all that often… so when a friend told us they could be purchased straight from the source, we drove to the factory in olhão and got some!

i have to say, i was a bit skeptical but they were a-ma-zing! still warm from the frying and filled with the freshest egg cream, not too lemony or otherwise weird — just as i like them. what a treat!

sadly, the factory closes over winter, and we’re already counting the days until they’re back in business. see you soon, dear bolinhas!

algarving in portugal

folhado de tavira

you know when things look rather promising and then they turn out to be a disappointment?

yeah. i wanted *so much* to like the cake that bears our new hometown’s name… but in the end, it just wasn’t all that great. i’ve tried it twice now, thinking that perhaps the first try had been a fluke — but i couldn’t finish it in either of the attempts, so i think it’s a lost cause for me.

one has to wonder though, what is the point of a folhado (or puff pastry) that is so saturated in syrup as to ruin all its flakiness and turn it unto an unrecognizable soggy mess? :| why would you do that?

when our friend F came to visit a couple of months ago, he pointed to some in a café and asked what they were made of. the person behind the counter replied “sugar!” and left it at that.

i guess if you like eating sugar, this is good stuff. :D

foooood in portugal

rebuçados da régua

so, before the hiatus, i was going to tell you what we got as prizes in lieu of medals, when we ran in douro back in may. can you guess?

rebuçados da régua, of course! :D they’re an old-fashioned and very typical local confectionery, which is guaranteed to bring back nice memories to everyone who ever traveled in douro’s train line. some old ladies there still make them, keeping the tradition alive.

there are 9 identical sweets in each transparent bag, all wrapped in paper. the sweet is rather basic, made of melted sugar and honey, plus a few secret ingredients, they say. the result is a hard candy that looks almost like a huge amber gemstone. they’re beautiful!

aaah… tastes like nostalgia! :)

in finland traveling

salmiakki ice-cream

we’re in moomin-land for some days, so the next posts will feature a lot of finnish things! it’s not our first time in the country, but we were eager for an excuse to come back, review some of the things we loved the first time round and explore some more.

when i started looking for interesting things to do on this second trip, something popped up consistently… salmiakki ice-cream! :) salmiakki (salty liquorice with a side of ammonium chloride) is an acquired taste if there ever was one. for a candy, it tastes very “uncandy-like”… i don’t particularly like it, and yet, once i open a package, i can’t seem to stop myself from reaching for another piece every once in a while. so the premise of salmiakki ice-cream was intriguing…

today, we saw an ice-cream stand in the market, and naturally we had to give the salmiakki a go. the color was fantastic! the ice-cream itself tasted sweeter than the actual candy to me, which was a pleasant surprise. i quite liked it, though the portion was rather big and by the end of it i was a bit sick… perfect example of “sensory-specific satiety”, my science of gastronomy teacher would say!

bonus: this video of japanese people tasting salmiakki for the first time is quite funny! have you ever tried it? :)