Open Top Sambo Stop

Tuna Melt is one of my favourite sambos -I first discovered it in Keogh's Café on Trinity Street in Dublin about 15years ago. Here they used a fresh brown bap, tuna steak, iceberg lettuce, onion, tomato, mayonnaise and melted red cheddar. I became a tuna melt addict immediately!

I love tuna fish, I always have but that's down to my Mom adding a little pizzazz to a fairly bland tin of John West (Steak in Sunflower oil or Water, never Chunks -what are Chunks anyway? and avoid yucky Brine at all costs!) 

Take 2 tablespoons of Helman's Mayonnaise, then the juice of half a lemon, 7 drops of Tabasco, a squirt of tomato purée and Maldon salt & cracked black pepper and mix it altogether until it forms a smooth pink paste. Now add you tuna and smash it in with a fork. Voilá tasty tinned tuna! 

These days quality line & pole caught tinned tuna or more locally caught Mediterranean Yellow Fin, like my personal favourite, Ortiz Atún Claro, are readily available from supermarkets.  http://www.conservasortiz.com/caste/productos/familia_productos.php?subseccion=9&es_delicatessen=no

Although this premium tuna in olive oil is delicious on it's own in salads, I still love to make my Mom's tuna mix for my sambos and here's how to re-create this mouth-watering open-top melter:

 

1. Take a slice of multi-seed bread (I used Lidl's freshly baked loaf), then mash a *quarter avacado onto it. 
2. Put your Roman and red chard lettuce on top, then add your quartered lovely yellow cherry & vine grown tomatoes, and sliced red/yellow baby peppers. 
3. Using your fingers, place your magnificent tuna mix on top, then add slices of Dubliner White Cheddar cheese http://www.dublinercheese.ie/ .
4. Finish with a smattering of spring onions, then grill for 30 seconds until the cheese is melted.
5. Garnish with a bit of the leftover veggies and a drizzle of Balsamic. 

                                              

*With your leftover avacado, always leave the stone in it, squeeze some lemon juice onto the exposed flesh and put it in a ziplock bag and keep it in the fridge, it should last a few more days without going brown.)

Whistlestop Tour of Barcelona

Food: 

For the tastiest tapas, try Tapeo on Calle Montcada
https://plus.google.com/103884012299134124056/about?gl=IE&hl=en-IE#103884012299134124056/about?gl=IE&hl=en-IE

Petra is an eccentric and eclectic restaurant that does quality Catalan Cuisine
http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d1081737-Reviews-Petra-Barcelona_Catalonia.html


Cool Bars:  

Loads of funky/super stylish cocktail bars around Raval square (Red light
area so stick to the square & mind the wallets/handbags). Barceló Raval Hotel is a cylindrical building that has a quality rooftop bar with 360degrees panoramic views of the city, just blaze in & up the lift.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g187497-d1083206-i60045254-Barcelo_Raval-Barcelona_Catalonia.html 

 Hotel Me has a brilliant rooftop bar/club plays sweet tunes & even more brilliant views.
http://www.melia.com/hotels/spain/barcelona/me-barcelona/index.html 

There is an abyss of restaurant/bars on the beach in Barceloneta, but beware the Chiringitos strip to the left when you face the sea are cheesy shiiiiite, to the right of Olympic Port are the more upmarket places. CDLC http://www.cdlcbarcelona.com/carpe-diem-lounge-club  is the very last establishment on this strip, featuring  giant Buddah statues, is by far my favourite because you could buy a bottle of Cava for €20 instead of €10 per drink and the music and atmosphere was great.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/mar/16/barcelona-barceloneta-bars-restaurants-spain

 

Things to do: 

Get the cable car to the top of Montjuic (the big hill overlooking the city). 

There is a secret bar (only open from midday to dusk) on the other side of the castle nestled in the woods. The Olympic stadium is here, the Miro museum is brilliant & the Magic Fountain does its thing every hour on the hour.

http://gospain.about.com/od/barcelon1/tp/Montjuic-Barcelona.htm

Rascal's Rainbow Rancheros

So I got up one Sunday morning & my Zippy fella was hankering for Huevos Rancheros after having them for brunch in Dillinger's Restaurant http://dillingers.ie/ one Sunday so, I looked in the cupboards & thought to myself, I can do that...

1. So I sweated a half diced, half sliced onion, added a few cloves of finely chopped garlic.
2. Chucked in some sliced leek & spring onions, 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes, then left it to simmer for 10mins. 
3. Then in went a finely diced whole chilli (seeds removed), fresh corriander & sage, roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes, & sliced chorizo. 
4. Finally handful of fresh basil, then I made space & cracked in my 4 eggs in & added a pinch of chilli seeds in the yolks & pepper, let cook carefully, maybe put the lid on for a bit of a steam. 

     5. Serve 2 portions on a multi-seed pitta (healthiest) or tortilla with diced avocado on top. 

Umbulé umbulé Rascal's Rainbow Rancheros at the ready!  :D

P.s I made my rancheros again last weekend and this time I added mushrooms, olives and chilli flakes into the just cracked yolks, then sprinkled grated cheese on top for divilment..  

And I had some lovely crusty french baguette to mop up all the gooey goodness, mmmmmmm....

South East Asian Tour Part 3: KL, Singapore & Bali

Kuala Lumpur:
 Go to the Petronas Towers & get your ticket for the Skybridge first thing in the morning -it give you a time to come back. 

Visit the Islamic Arts Museum (formerly Muslim Museum of Decorative Arts)  http://www.iamm.org.my/  & right around the corner is a lovely food market where you can gorge on all sorts of dosa, satay and biryani currys  for dirt cheap! 

A friend who was there recently said to visit the Traders Hotel Skybar where they play funky house & serve tasty cocktails (but it’s a lil pricey).

Singapore:
Hotel 1929 is a good place to overnight, in the centre of Chinatown, with a lovely colonial facade and super funky bedrooms, although some are a tight squeeze! They used to have a hot tub on the rooftop, brilliant combatant of the humidity but unfortunately they got rid of it in favour of a silly sun-deck. 

Raffles Hotel is a must for the original Singapore Sling cocktail. When you walk in the door it's like stepping into a Betty Davis movie; the British Colonial Style, brown leather upholstery on grand armchairs and wicker tables, large wooden fans blow down overhead and everyone peeling monkey nuts and throwing the shell all over the floor. 

Bali:
Candi Dasa is a beach resort to the east of the island, although they decimated all their coral for cement in the 90s so the beaches are washed away, all the hotels have infinity pools & you can get absolute bargain on www.asiarooms.com I think we paid about €35 a night for a 5* with our own luxury bungalow with a four poster bed & own butler etc.

There is fabulous diving on a US cargo ship that was bombed by the Japanese in 1945 & loads to see and do around the area, ancient gardens & villages.

Jimbaran is brilliant for fish dinners on the beach but not much else that we could make out, so we just hit Kuta every day from our hotel.

Kuta has fantastic European fusion restaurants, esp. if you’re sick of Balinese cuisine and just want a bit of steak & mash/pasta but done with panache! There are some really cool bars too & although I can’t remember any names if you just walk up & down the main street you’ll spot them easily I’m sure. One of our favourites was up on a rooftop overlooking the street, it was made of wood and playing funky house.

*Rent a mopehead/car & drive out to Dreamland Beach, out past Jimbaran is amazing -the local food is really tasty (whereever surfers are, the food is usually good) and the waves are spectacular! Be careful if you try to go in for a swim, I nearly got dragged out n lost my cozzie!!

South East Asian Tour Part 2: Cambodia & Vietnam

Siam Reap:
We stayed in a hostel here that was pretty disgusting but it only cost $2 a night & had a free pool table & Angor Beer (best beer in the world bar one which is in Oz) so for 2 nights -no bother! And they usually sort you out with a tuck tuck to bring you around the temples -don’t bother getting up at 5am like some nutters do -10am is fine & after 13 temples you’ll be jaded anyhow -make sure you see the furthest one out & the lightning one &of course the one that is being eaten by the trees!

Indochine is a beautiful restaurant that serves Amok = fish curry -Cambodia’s national dish but very hard to get it really tasty & here it was delish! http://www.cafe-indochine.asia/

New Dehli is the best Indian we’ve ever had although we’ve haven’t been to India yet… & the family are so nice -bring you up all these different sauces & chutneys to taste. http://www.restaurantnewdelhi.com/

Dead Fish Guesthouse is a surreal experience -they have real live alligators in a moat around the bar which you can feed for $2 while enjoying a drink yourself -great craic! 

Phnom Phenn:
We got a $6 bus to Phnom Phenn which lasted 8 hours -make sure you stock up for the journey & bring tissues (toilet situation is dire!) Also buy yourself & good rain cape with a serious hood.

Get yourself & good tuck tuck driver when you land (the one we had was studying in uni & had great english) -make a deal with him to look after you for the few days you’re there, on-call for food & drink place drops etc.  -he’ll bring you to S21 (torture chambers) & the Killing Fields.

While in Cambodia we got visas for Vietnam -they disappear with your passport for a few days but its normal although pretty scary at the time! We went with Happy Happy Tours - hilarious outfit -they make you sing their song when you get on the bus at the border crossing!

Ho Chi Min:
Go to the Cu Chi Tunnels -they’re amazing!! And climb down through both of them -you get a great sense of achievement following the path of the Viet Cong people who lived underground for 26years by going 10m down with zero visibility, being covered in muck and getting seriously sweaty!

I didn't make it to the Mekong Delta but it's meant to be beautiful and the Napalm Museum really eye opening.

Reunification Express:

Organise your First Class berth ($80) (share with 2 others or maybe more that may be hiding under the covers as we found out & great banter) for the Reunification Express Train, they get sold out really quickly. It’s the most fantastical journey I’ve ever been on-get on the train drunk & risk being run-over by an oncoming train; bring food & more beers, water; join in the 8 bunk berths sing-a-longs if you can find them down the train; wake up & look out the window as you whistle past the women in the padi fields collecting the rice with their conical hats and misty cliffs that defend the land from the beating of the South China Seas…. https://vietnam-railway.com/train/SapaTourist/reunification-express-train

Dalat:
You can get this train either from Saigon for 2 days up to Hanoi or else take a bus to Dalat first in the Vietnamese Rainforest. Here you'll stumble upon a brilliant smoking Café Tung in the centre for coffee & hot chocolate; eat the local noodle soup which is called Pho Bo. 

Theres a deadly rollercoaster that bring you down to Datanla Falls & cable car which journeys right over the middle of the forest. 

Back on the bus to Natrang (a tourist rip-off resort) then its an over night train journey to Hanoi on the Reunification Express.

Hanoi:

Stay in the Cathedral Quarter & drink Bia Oi which is fresh one day old beer -sold at the crossroads as you sit on tiny stools & are handed plastic cup fulls for 8c. after 10 you’re nicely tipsy & no hangover!

South East Asian Tour Part 1: Thailand

Bangkok:

At the Marriot Royal Garden Riverside, even the standard rooms are the epitome of luxury but if you can afford it, get a junior executive suite: enormous kingsize bed, gorgeous linen, turned down at night while you're out, fresh orchids laid on the pillows and your slippers & dressing gowns left out. Twin marble sinks, walk in shower & giant jacuzzi bath, with a view of the gardens, pool and river. When you wake up in the morning, your newspaper is hanging from your bedroom door handle.  Your eyes will pop when they see the scale of the breakfast buffet banquet, with every cuisine catered for and chefs on-hand to cook anything you want, in any way that you want, not to mention the chocolate fountain. The swimming pools are in the centre of U-shaped building, you can swim up to the bar and have a cocktail or get into the 16 person terracotta tiled hot tub. Be careful when walking around at sun-down, with all the beautiful plants and the river, mosquitos are rife, on my first night I was even 17 times on one ankle in 10minutes!

Bed Supper Club: http://bedsupperclub.com/ reminded me of Space Odyssey 2001, it's a cylinder laid on it's side with a gang plank to the entrace, inside everything is white and illuminated with UV light; white leather beds line the sides and tables, where almost naked waiters have the menu written in neon paint across their chests writing. I think we just had cocktails and soaked up the atmosphere, as DJ played house and electro until surprisingly just 10pm!

Cabbages & Condoms restaurant: http://www.cabbagesandcondoms.com/restaurant.php?type=environmental  It felt a bit weird eating delicious noodle dishes on a table mat made of different coloured condoms but then you get used to it because you're in Bangkok!

Koh Samui:

Maenam: north of island -we stayed in Homebay bungalows -€20 per night basic but perfect, beach is nice & quiet too.

Lamai: Look out for this spa resort -kinda rustic all wooden but it does half-day spa with facails, mud wraps, massages & steam baths for only €20!

Bophut: fishing village, does the best barbequed fresh red snapper and is a gateway to Koh Phangan and the infamous Full Moon Parties. *Be sure to put on your life jacket when getting onto the speed boats, they offer them but do not enforce and our boat almost capsized due to their dangerous driving on choppy waters!

*Angela’s Bakery is where to go for brekkie, it’s a wooden restaurant on the opposite side of the road to the beach in between Bohput and Maenam -cumberland sausies are the best you will get in Asia-sambos, salads, milkshakes, everything is fresh and tasty!

*Uncle Noi’s is also on the beach side of the road in this area, only you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled, he only has a plastic seperating his eaterie and the road! He’s a big old Thai guy with a chef’s hat & moustache, his wife & daughter help out, they make the best Thai currys and sweet n sour porks in the world, c.€2 a plate!! 

*Pizzaria along here too but I forget what its called but Luca is the owner, it has a wine coloured front.

Koh Tao:

Tanote Bay, only accessible via 4X4, really remote & amazingly picturesque. This is where www.blacktip.diving.com eco resort is & the safest and soundest place to do your PADI. On the main strip there are some really cool bars & places to eat that are ridiculously cheap so maybe hang around for a night or two after you finish your PADI.

Koh Phi Phi:

Stay on the tSunami side of the island -waaay cheaper -we stayed in huts high up on the hillside (just in case!) but they had a fab infinity pool there & it was dirt cheap -(get a lad with a trailer on his moped to bring your bags up for you, tis an awful hoof!)

Krabi & Raleigh Beach:

You can only get to Raleigh via wooden long tail boat because it’s a headland that juts out to sea -but its worth it -unreal -high cliffs & jungle surrounding this magic beach (looks like the lagoon from The Beach).

While staying in Krabi -hire a moped & visit the Emerald Pool & the Crystal Pools -natural fresh water swimming holes in the middle of the jungle -surreal! http://www.krabi-beach-lover.com/krabi-emerald-pool.html