No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

It's Time To Travel! What To Bring And What To Leave? The ultimate travel help is here to keep you in check with all your travel preparations. Every now and then, one needs to travel to rejuvenate oneself. It is important too to make sure that before you start your flight search phase, the things you bring with you are the things you need to bring and the things that you should keep away at home are right at home. We don’t want unnecessary stuff that will just add pounds to our luggage. Here are the things that can help you narrow down the stuff you need and your stuff you need to leave behind.  Oh, heads up on the news of the day, Traveloka is throwing great deals including cheap  AirAsia ticket price online.   Air Asia flies to many destinations and one of them is Hawaii and 'quote' from their CEO  ….“By connecting Asean and North Asia to the US our world-class low fares offering, we will make it possible for those who could only dream of a vacation ac...

The ruins of Dunnottar Castle at Stonehaven is perched on a gigantic rocky outcrop with sheer cliffs of 160 ft high.  It is one of the most beautiful medieval fortress in Britain and the site of some of the most fascinating and dramatical historial events in British history.   Sometimes the castle may be closed due to high winds in the castle. We also visited Trump International Golf Links located at Balmedie in Aberdeen which was opened in 2012.

St. Andrews (Old course) in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland overlooking the North Sea is a world renowned golf course for avid golfers and is the largest public golf course in Europe. The ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral,  Scotland's largest and most magnificient medieval church.  It is a prominent landmark highly visible from the sea. We stopped by for lunch in this cafe and for the first time, I tasted savoury waffles.  More often than not, waffles are served with honey, maple syrup or jam but I must admit that savoury ones are truly very delicious. Home made soup served with a warm savoury waffle and salted butter ~ 4.95 pounds Smoked streaky bacon with lashings of maple syrup ~  5.95 pounds Pan-fried steak & caramelised onions, topped with rocket and watercress, dressed with a whole grain mustard sauce, served with fries  ~  9.95 pounds Home made chilli con carne, served with tortillas, cheddar, guacamole,...

Guinness Storehouse is Ireland's No. 1 visitor attraction and a 'must see' should one ever visit Dublin.  More than a million people a year visit the home of Guinness.   Also known as 'Black Stuff', 'Black Custard' and 'Irish Champagne', Guinness was born in the 18th century when water from the River Liffey, Ireland's river which flows through the centre of Dublin was too polluted to drink.  Guinness stout is made from water, barley, roast malt extract, hops and brewer's yeast. Guinness Brewery i s located at St. James's Gate and housed in an old fermentation plant and the story of the black stuff began 250 years ago. We bought tickets for the 7-storey self-guided tour of the Guinness Storehouse to learn all about the world renowned Guinness Stout.  The tour ended with a complimentary pint of Guinness or a soft drink at the Gravity Bar.  When you arrive at the Gravity Bar, whichever way you turn, you will enjoy a breathta...

My blog has been left idle for quite a while as I took time off for a short vacation to Dublin, Ireland and a short stop over in Aberdeen, Scotland.   So, for a change, I'd like to share with you some pictures of my recent trip and food tasted along the way.  The first stopover is ~ Dublin. Bell Tower of Trinity College built in 1842 Trinity College Dublin is internationally recognised as Ireland's premier university and is one of the world's leading research-intensive universities.  Founded in 1592 it is the oldest university in Ireland and one of the older universities in Western Europe. The Library in Trinity College is the largest single chamber library in the world.  The 65 metre long main chamber of the Old Libary, the Long Room was built between 1712 and 1732 and houses 200,000 of the Library's oldest books. When built, it had a flat plaster ceiling, with shelves for books on the lower level only, and an open gallery.  By the 1850's thes...

I would like to share with you some pictures of the food we had for brunch at Scarvelli Cafe and an Italian dinner we had at Olive Jar during my recent trip to Melbourne. Poached eggs with chilli baked beans, bacon and multigrain toasts Fried eggs with dry cured bacon and BBQ garlic confit mushrooms and multigrain toasts Scrambled eggs with dry cured bacon and BBQ garlic confit mushrooms and sourdough toasts Wagyu beef Burger  Dinner at an Italian restaurant ~  The Olive Jar Cafe Hot Salami Pizza Salmon Fettucine Mixed vegetables And for dessert we had Tiramisu Followed by Chocolate ice cream to share And live entertainment from the Boss who belted out some Italian songs much to the joy of the diners!  I do like the picture of the sexy gal on the wall above him - famed Italian actress, Sophia Loren