Day (and Night) out in São Paulo

So many things to do, so little time to do them. Finally went Ibirapuera, which is filled with couples, families, and everyone in between strolling, exercising and just hanging out. It’s like the Central Park of Sao Paulo.

And while you all are freezing in NYC or wherever, I enjoyed 78 degree weather, walked around some reservoirs, and got lost. I thought I was leaving from one exit, but apparently I was leaving from another one. I would never have gotten where I wanted to go since I was going North, instead of West. Thankfully, the heat got to me and I saw a taxi stand, got into a taxi and asked to be taken where I was heading, decided to check the map and thought “huh, that’s interesting, no wonder the walk seemed so long, I would never have gotten there!”

In the evening, I dressed up and headed over to Hotel Unique. I’d seen pictures of the skyline and was told I really shouldn’t miss it.

Although I personally think going to a hotel rooftop bar by yourself is a little sketch, I went early enough (6:30pm) for it to not be so bad as there weren’t a lot of people. The view was fantastic and the drink, passion fruit and basil, was delicious (I really like that combination, there’s a passion fruit basil macaron at Gerard Mulot in Paris)

After finishing my drink, I headed over to Tordesilhas, which was also profiled by the NYT in that same article as the restaurant I went to last weekend. The restaurant was incredibly charming on the inside, with a covered courtyard and walls painted a sunny yellow. I especially liked the water fountain feature (unfortunately it wasn’t turned on) and mini bananas growing on their plants (see if you can spot them!).

I had the 7 course tasting menu, but, unfortunately, it didn’t blow me away. But, I can’t complain when a 7 course tasting menu is only R$100 (that’s about $55), so, here we go!

Drink: Caipirinha (this wasn’t part of the tasting menu)

Accompaniment to the tasting menu: Three types of marinated peppers

Not knowing what they were giving me, this is a retelling of what happened in my brain: “Oh hey, what are you? Let me put you in my mouth to find out! Oh you’re very spicy. I can’t spit you out now. Oh this was a bad idea…oh I wonder when the waiter will come with my water…”

Appetizer #1: Tasting of tropical fruits with cachaca and small pieces of chicarrones. I did not drink that cachaca shot.

Appetizer #2: Cheese with honey made of sugar, and fried manioc balls with parmesan

The cheese felt like rubber, so much that is squeaked on my teeth. But a very palatable, somewhat salty rubber, with a sweet coating. The manioc balls had the texture of warm deep fried smooth mashed potatoes, with the outside delivering the satisfying crunch and saltiness of a potato chip

Appetizer #3: Duck cooked in Tucupi, served with Manioc to mix into the broth

The texture of the manioc was a bit like gravel and even after I mixed it into the broth, I was a little afraid I might chip a tooth while chewing it. The greens themselves made my tongue tingle so I freaked out a little thinking I was having an allergic reaction. Apparently, that’s supposed to happen; the menu online in English says “tucupi is a liquid extracted from manioc and the jambu, a vegetable that provokes a light and pleasant numb sensation on the tongue”. Great, and I thought I was going to die. At least I had my epi pen with me!

Entrée #1: Grilled shrimp with thin slices of marinated squash served with tiny greens

Those are totally not tiny greens, and I don’t eat shrimp but wow, that marinated squash was delicious (its hiding under the tiny giant greens).

Entrée #2: Barreado (meat simmered for 12 hours in a closed clay pot)

This was so cute! It came in a mini clay pot and the waiter first poured some manioc flour into my bowl, then ladled some of the stew, mixed it, and topped it with plantains. And wow, those were some good plantains, counteracting with the saltiness of the stew. I love well prepared plantains!

Dessert #1: Two kinds of Amazonian fruit ice crema (açai and cupuaçu)

MMM, açai, that’s getting a post of its own later. I have no idea what cupuaçu is but it had a really pleasant, milky taste with a bit of a tang (ok I just read apparently its an Amazonian fruit that’s related to cocoa and has the most free-radical killing power, meaning, it’s the healthiest superfruit). That green stuff? I didn’t know what it was. At first I thought it was some kind of passion fruit but those things aren't seeds, they have the texture of tapioca and it made my tongue itchy so I decided to stay away. Then I asked the waiter. It’s that dreaded jambu tongue numbing thing again! Damn you unknown Amazonian plant!

Dessert #2: Chocolate with a touch of tamarind and pepper, served with coffee

I don’t drink coffee but I liked the messy chocolate thing! Does anyone else think the presentation looks a little...off? 

And now my tummy is happily poofy and stuffed. Not nearly as good as my outing last week, but completely palatable and a great deal. However, I'm left wondering whether I would've been better off ordering a la carte, although I think this was a better choice since it lets you try more.

Pão de Queijo

Each morning (as long as I wake up early enough), I get to eat Brazilian cheese bread for breakfast! I love it, its so good and chewy. Apparently its because its made with manioc flour (cassava / yucca). So far, the best cheese pão (hah, that sounds funny, pronounce it!) I had was at a restaurant next to the hotel, but that’s not saying much. There’s also a chain called Casa do Pão de Queijo but they totally disappointed!

I might give them another chance though, but even the supermarket bakery’s pão that I had tonight was better…or perhaps I will have to do a cheese bread taste-off post before I leave!

Also, if you are going to join my tentative NYE party (by tentative, I mean it isn't 100% planned yet, but it will happen), prepare to eat this for dessert:

Yes, all of it is going in my suitcase back to the U.S. and I will be hoping it doesn’t get crushed. Maybe I should put everything in my carry-on.

And, on a side note, I only have two free days (this weekend) and so much stuff I still want to do and places to eat! There are three restaurants I want to go to, all of which would have heavy food (one is a traditional feijoda restaurant, another is a steakhouse, and the last is a traditional brazilian with a modern twist). And on top of that, I still have to go to the park, to buy my mama Havaianas, to go to Avenue Paulista just to check it out, and lounge by the pool because I brought three bathing suits. Well, if I have to look not so great in my bathing suit while I lounge by the pool on Sunday, so be it! Food comes first!

Mercado Municipal

In a city with 15 million people, you’d think there’d be some life on the weekends. But no, not really. Yesterday while walking around I didn’t see too many people. And today, for most of my taxi ride to the Mercado Municipal, I barely saw a person (lots of cars, sure, but no one out and about), until we got to the market.

A little overwhelmed at first, I walked around and decided to get some fruit after I saw that they give out samples! I love samples.

So after trying a bunch, I settled on jaboticaba (look how crazy it grows, on the tree trunk!), sweetsop, a cashew fruit (I just wanted to try it, no samples of that) and a mystery fruit an orange passion fruit that just looked cool.

I think they charged me more than it was, but whatever. The interesting thing is that if you don't have exact change (lets say R$12), they'd rather take less (so R$10).

Then I made my way to the second floor of the market where there are food stalls and seating; super crowded and super loud. I got a mortadella sandwich at Hocca bar which is apparently “the thing” to do there, and I like doing “the thing” to do in places I don’t know.

And again, I don’t speak the language but they insist and ask questions and I don’t know what they’re asking! And then the girl behind me was like “he’s asking where you’re from”. But if I already told you I don’t speak Portuguese, shouldn’t you realize I don’t know what you’re saying? Sigh, I’m helpless over here and all I can do is say “ingles” and smile and shake my head apologetically and use hand gestures. It works for the most part.

For the most part, I’m fine taking pictures but sometimes I feel bad and feel the need to buy something from the vendors whose goods I take pictures of. Spice stalls:

The spices here are so cheap, so I got 8 different spices for R$12 ($7!). I couldn't help myself - I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to spices. You can probably read the labels and understand what they are.

Guarana to add to drinks for a caffeine boost, garam masala because it was so cheap, cinnamon sticks for the same reason, as well as fennel, bacon soup mix because adding that to sautéed veggies will make them taste delicious (in my opinion), pink peppercorns just because, and powdered spinach and beets as coloring agents for ice creams and baked goods.

Some other market scenes:

On a side note, it’s in such a sketch area, that when I walked out trying to find a taxi, I had no idea where to go and hoped that I would be OK. And then I saw a taxi stand with one taxi. And again, they start speaking me to in Portuguese, I say “INGLESSSS, fala ingles?” they say “nao” and then continue speaking to me in Portuguese. Sigh. But at least this taxi driver said things I kind of recognized, as in he pointed out sites to me like Praca de Se and the cathedral there, and the MASP.

And I just thought this was funny and accurately described what I was after I finished eating and shopping:

Plantains, guavas and passion fruit

I’ve been in Sao Paulo since Thursday (working) but I had all of Saturday to myself. Being a lazy bum as always and got out of the hotel around 2pm, granted it rained for about 40 minutes before that so I was waiting it out.

I walked over to the Jardins area and Rua Oscar Freire, got a bunch of Havaianas as presents (also waited out the next rain shower there) and then went to Brasil a Gosto which was profiled in the NYT (I swear I didn’t remember what the reporter ordered, my order just happened to be very similar) for a late lunch. Whenever I ask “fala ingles?” they usually say something in Portuguese, which means that no, they don’t speak English. Here, they got one of the maitre d’s / managers (not sure who he was, but he definitely wasn’t a waiter) to take my order and pretty much wait on me hand and foot, but the servers brought my food out, and practiced their English on me. Good times!

I ordered a passion fruit caipirinha. How could I be in Brazil and not have a caipirinha? They also had caipiroskas (with vodka) and whatever a caipirinha made with sake is called. I always forget that passion fruit has seeds, which I don’t know how I feel about yet.

I was thinking about doing the 5 course tasting menu but was told it might be too much food for me, as it was an amuse bouche, appetizer, fish, meat and dessert. I decided to agree with that and order a la carte.

To start I had banana-da-terra (plantain) canapés on a bed of cream cheese and topped with pepper jam. I had to discipline myself to not eat all 8 of them (I don’t think this was meant for one person) but well prepared plantains are always fantastic.

Since their specialty is fish, I went with the grilled sea bass with baru crust, banana (I think it was really plantain) puree, and lima orange vinaigrette. Apparently baru nuts are native to Brazil and really creamy, kinda between a cashew and a peanut. My sea bass was a little overcooked but the accompaniments more than made up for it.

I couldn’t decide what I wanted for dessert. I was debating between cream cheese with guava (Brazilian cream cheese is different) and a baru cake with a molten center, shredded toasted coconut, hibiscus ice cream and caja sauce.

I couldn’t pass up on the Jamaica, JP :)

Pumpkin isn't only for Thanksgiving

Between Paris and Brazil, I got to stay in my favoritest (new word) city while waiting for my Brazilian business visa. It’s always so comforting and familiar to come back. I’m not sure how tourists enjoy the city, I don’t think I would if I were in their shoes. Too much pushing and shoving and NYC isn’t the friendliest place. But then again, I’m the one that does the pushing and the shoving…they just walk too slow for me!

A few months ago JP and I went to Locanda Verde (finally...I mean really JP, I told you once Bruni wrote his review it’d be hard to get prime dinner reservations! Yet you didn’t believe me. Regardless). We went for brunch and decided to start with the pastry platter. Pumpkin Spice Loaf. Oh gosh, I didn’t even know I liked pumpkin before biting down into this. It was crazy delicious and moist.

We later returned JUST to get the pumpkin spice loaf from the pastry counter. And then, while trying to find the recipe, I found out that the pastry chef at Locanda Verde, Karen DeMasco, includes it in her book, The Craft of Baking. I was going to go to B&N to write down the recipe but then I found it online at Lottie + Doof. I’m still going to go to B&N to check it out and make sure its 100% the same (I read somewhere there is also white pepper in the batter, which isn’t in the recipe). And voila:

The flavor was there, the texture wasn’t. I’ll have to try again sometime later but, for now, it sufficed.

Impracticality

I’ve been craving choquettes like whoa for some reason. And, for some reason, they’re actually not very easy to find. All I’m asking for is an unfilled cream puff sprinkled with pearl sugar! I don’t want the ones from Paul, I feel it’s a cop-out to get them from a chain. I want to find a bakery where they aren’t completely hollow on the inside but somewhat dough-y and egg-y still (yes, I know I don’t like eggs, but this is different). I wandered over the La Grande Epicerie today where I gawked at things and had to restrain myself from picking between 10 different kinds of fleur de sel for €10 each (granted, they were quite hefty pots, and they looked gorgeous) by being practical. “Nads, this will not fit in your suitcase. Why do you need this in NYC when you’re going to leave and come back here again? You can get some when you have an apt in Paris.” So that €10 pot of fleur de sel with piment d’espelette is an expense for the near future. It would look beautiful sprinkled on a piece of baked white fish…

Regardless, I managed to pick up some caramels pomme au beurre and some maldon smoked salt (ok fine, maldon salt is british but whatevs). I also picked a log of chocolate flavored with pimente d’espelette, fleur de sel and violette but then put it down because I tried to be practical again. And then in the bakery portion I spied choquettes. And then I decided the line was too long and the guy I got the chocolate from would notice that I didn’t have it anymore and felt bad. Plus I figured I could get some at Bread & Roses, my next stop. So I continued to wander around the store being fascinated and trying as many samples as I could.

After avoiding les pompiers trying to sell their Christmas calendars outside Le Bon Marche, getting somewhat lost, thinking Christian Constant was where I was going (it wasn’t, lets save that for another trip) I found Bread & Roses. Alas, I was foiled and there were no choquettes. I wasn’t really feeling buying anything, but I always feel awkward going into a small store or a bakery and not getting anything. So I decided to get the pur seigle noir aux raisins de corinthe (rye bread with currants). Don’t think of it as jewish rye bread (I really don’t like jewish rye), but its like a moist sourdough studded with plump raisins and a super crispy exterior. Good choice Nads, good choice.

And yes, there is only half a loaf left. I wish I had some really good butter to put on this...fattie Nads, again. The quest for choquettes will continue when I am back in January! Pan de queso will have to do in Brazil. I have a feeling that will be a very, very bad idea

matcha rush

There are really no sidewalks in Paris, at least not in the New York City sense. Its really just a little bit of elevated asphalt next to the sides of buildings, where two people can barely squeeze by each other without stepping off onto the oncoming traffic. And if its raining, and everyone has umbrellas, its an even more dangerous game, trying not to stab each other. But then again, you kinda have to be aggressive in Paris, since no one lets you have the right of way. So I walk around as if I’m in Time Square – you know, pushing and shoving past the throngs of tourists and rolling your eyes if they don’t walk fast enough, which they never do. Although I still haven’t slowed my walking to a Parisian pace…I’m still walking just as fast as I do in NYC. It really is a unique pace over there…unmatched by any other city I’ve ever been to.

And so, while half-sprinting though the rain, battling Parisians with my umbrella on the faux-sidewalks, I clutched my Sadaharu Aoki bag in which a minimalist box contained a Matcha Millefeuille and a Matcha Chocoron.

Ce quoi ca? It’s a chocolate covered macaron. Mon dieu. What will they think of next? 

Truthfully, I was a little underwhelmed. All the pastries were lined up perfectly, each a work of art and a splash of colors. Unfortunately, the millefeuille was a little too much and the chocoron chocolate a little too thick. But then again, who am I to judge as I scarfed down both without a second thought. Must eat salad for 2 days.