The Cafes of Prague

After my plethora of Viennese cafe posts (which you can find here and here and here), you would have thought I was done with talking about cafes. On the contrary, I became a little obsessed after my visit to Vienna so I decided to scoop out the best ones in Prague. The best in my opinion, is Cafe Savoy. We came here twice for breakfast and once for an afternoon coffee and pastry. Almost everything was good minus a few slight misses. Cafe Savoy, now owned by the successful Ambiente Restaurant Group, is a Prague institution. It was considered a nouveau and decadent establishment in its day with its neo-renaissance ceiling (you can view some pics here). Now, its a somewhat tourist trap but still serves the best breakfast in the city.

+ the famous Cafe Savoy vanilla milk shake (very liquidy and different from your typical diner milkshake, good but probably wouldn't order it again)
+ the French breakfast which included french toast with maple syrup, sausages, french fries, a boiled egg, blue cheese (which I did not touch) and orange juice

I was very excited to see the french toast offering on the menu but alas it was not the usual Taphouse/Sabrina's type of french toast made with challah bread and covered in sugary/buttery goodness. However, it satisfied by severe brunch craving. The french fries were more like string fries and seasoned really well, and they even came with ketchup! (not something that happens too often in Europe). Not sure why this was dubbed a French breakfast as the only thing that was kind of French was the croissant but we were happy with the big selection of food :)

+Caffe au lait
+ Croissant (a part of the French breakfast)
+ Cheese omelet
+ Housemade bread with butter
+ A very exciting selection of mustards which came with the Prague sausages (not shown).

We also ordered the frankfurter Savoy, one of the cafe's specialties, but they really just reminded us of cafeteria hot dogs. They were also boiled like cafeteria hot dogs. What did make them different was the very interesting selection of mustards and fresh horseradish that came with the dish.  V was really not a fan although I thought they were fine. Put them on a hot dog roll with a bit of the grainy mustard and it would have been a rather classy hot dog.

Sabrina's (again)

Man I must be on some sort of brunch obsession right now (the 3rd post out of 5 to be about brunch?) Seriously, I promise to mix it up after this. But then again, is there anyone who doesn't like brunch?

After a night of much discussion and card playing with some old Parli alums, (all of whom I was lucky enough to finally meet!)  I woke up craving the bacony/egg combo (yet again). My friend having never visited the Philadelphia must of Sabrina's decided that that would be the place we would go. Conveniently enough, I also had my car so we hauled ourselves out of bed over to the original Sabrina's location on 9th and Christian (which I must say is so much more well decorated than the other location on 18th and Callowhill, the place that I visited the fist time). All of the brunch specials were adorably named for the winter holiday season and they were absolutely delicious (so delicious that it might be even better than Rx).

Unfortunately, these pictures came out rather out of focus (i blame my hunger and impatience to eat), but it is probably  because I still need  more practice with my new single focus lens. Luckily, the food looked so good that I don't think its too much of an issue :)

So the brunch specials we had aren't up on the website and I can't remember the festive names of all of them but I do remember that this one had cranberries, gingerbread cookie topping, ricotta cheese, a bunch of nutmeg...needless to say it was GOOD.

Originally, my friend wanted to order a burger (I know, crazy), and then the table behind us ordered this. He took one look at it, looked at the waiter and said "I want that".  Dunno what it was called but it was some sort of chicken cutlet sandwich and it came with paremsan fries (yum).

Ok this one is super out of focus (sorry!). Egg white frittata with turkey bacon.

And this one was mine! Egg sandwich with turkey bacon, arugula, red onions, mozzarella cheese and tomato mayo. And I am not ashamed to say I devoured it all.

30 minutes until the last day of the year! I will try and get in one more post tomorrow before the New Years (!!)

RX Part Deux

The last time I went to RX, I ordered the basic eggs brunch and it was the best brunch I ever ate (oh yes even better than that french toast stuff). Ever since that brunch I have been meaning to recreate it (and secretly dreaming of it when I can't have it).... crunchy, toasty bread (not that icky white stuff), golden potatoes, big salty and bacon and eggs cooked to perfection with a runny yolk.  Enjoy :)

Making the potatoes: cut into little cubes, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper & cayenne pepper, bake in an oven for ~20 minutes and then broil on low for another 5.

bacon!

My friend went with the sandwich route..meh...

 

 

 

 

 

I think this looks much more brunch-y.

Firsts and Lasts

My Canon Rebel xsi came in on Friday! Naturally, I couldn't wait to start snapping pictures and fiddling around with the manual setting. Here are the scenes from the weekend:

last cooked meal at home (and first food shot with the new camera)

Inspired by the brunch I had at Distrito a few weeks back, I made this for my last breakfast at home. Toasted flatbread smeared with refried beans, scrambled eggs with cilantro, fresh tomatoes, sauteed salmon and a crackle of fresh black pepper. I know some people can't stand cilantro but I absolutely love it. My mom put it in practically every dish so naturally, I do too :)

Finally tried Taro Bubble Tea! About time so it is what my blog is named after...Got this one from Koreana. The taste is slightly creamy/milky with a naturally sweet flavor. The bubbles had a great consistency AND I got a a boba tea rewards card. 5 bubbles teas = 1 free one! I shall be frequenting this newly renovated eatery often this semester :)

Kim Bap. Typical but tasty nonetheless.

This baby was SO DELICIOUS. It's not even on the menu. You have to specially request it, I think its "7D"? Basically its spicy chicken with carrots/scallions on a bed of rice, fried egg on top all served in a steaming hot pot. I requested for mine to be EXTRA spicy and surprisingly enough, it actually was! Its so big its enough for two meals :)

Random frolicking on campus :p

That's me on the right with two of my pledge sisters who I saw for the first time this summer!

Helloooo Penn!

(Almost) ready for a new semester :)

Kimbap

Brunchies

After a failed attempt to check out the brunch at Tap House (apparently there's no brunch Saturdays??), our  very hungry stomaches settled for Distrito which was only 1 block away and much closer than the intended Cooperage (6th and walnut). The mash of hot pink and bright blue patterns inside this pseudo Mexican restaurant never fails to put me in a cheery mood. Wanting to gossip more than have a fancy meal, I settled on a somewhat plain but nevertheless, yummy option.

Torta de Huevos - "Over easy egg, Queso Oaxaca, Benton’s Bacon, Avocado, Tomato, Refried Beans, Crema"

This is what my friend ordered - definitely classier but unfortunately, not filling enough for a brunch.

Revueltos - "Shirred egg, goat cheese, chive, smoked salmon, dill cream, caviar toast"

Maybe its just because I'm a Food Network fanatic or maybe its becaues I really really don't like Pod and will forever be biased towards Mr. SS, but in my mind Jose Garces is still the better chef when it comes to the "sceney" restaurants of the city. Of course, my somewhat still hungry friend disagreed. Ok so maybe, our dinner at Continental was somewhat better but I don't think its fair to compare apples to oranges.

I'm thinking another showdown between these two food stars is needed to cast a better judgment. Suggestions for the next restaurant pairing?

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars