Russian Coffee Cake

I changed jobs this week, and I couldn’t leave my team without bringing them in a cake.  Over the 1.5 years we worked together, my colleagues have got used to me bringing one in from time to time, so I decided to make an old favourite from the very first vegetarian cookbook I ever bought: Mollie Katzen’s fantastic Enchanted Broccoli Forest.  I stopped eating meat 20 years ago and this cookbook is still serving me well while others have only passed fleetingly through my kitchen!

source: eatyourbooks.com

Russian Coffee Cake contains no coffee.  This might not come as a surprise to readers in the US, where the “coffee cake” concept is more well-known.  I was curious to find out the origins of the recipe.  Apparently, this kind of coffee cake – made with a batter-like mix (this one contains baking powder, baking soda and 4 eggs, but some contain yeast) with the addition of sour cream or buttermilk and normally made in a ring-shaped tin – are common in many Eastern European countries and among Jewish communities.  Sometimes they contain jam and fruit, like this one; others might contain cinnamon.  The ring-shaped tins are often deep and fluted, like a granny’s petticoat – this is why sometimes these cakes are called “babka” in Russian, which means ‘grandmother’.

With a big ‘thank you’ to Mollie Katzen, this is her Russian Coffee Cake:

Batter:

–          1 cup softened butter

lucky colleagues!

–          1 packed cup soft brown sugar

–          4 large eggs

–          1 tsp. vanilla essence or extract

–          1 cup buttermilk

–          2 cups unbleached white flour

–          1 cup wholemeal flour

–          3 tsp. baking powder

–          1 tsp. baking soda

–          ½ tsp salt

Filling:

–          a heaped ½ cup of dark choc chips

–          a heaped ½ cup of whole almonds

–          a heaped ½ cup of dessicated coconut

–          a heaped ½ cup of apricot jam

–          ½ cup of sliced dried apricots

Method:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in the vanilla essence.
2. Sift together the flours, raising agents and salt in a separate bowl.
3. Alternately add some buttermilk and some of the flour mix to the wet mixture, mixing to blend after each addition.  Don’t beat too hard.
4. Blend the almonds in a blender/coffee grinder a little.  Add the choc chips and chop a bit more without turning them into a mush. Mix with the coconut.
5. Spoon half the batter into a greased, deep-sided 10” ring mould.  Smooth it over.  Dollop spoonfuls of jam onto it.  Don’t try to smooth them down.  Sprinkle on the sliced apricots and 2/3 of the chocolate/nut mix.
6. Spoon over the remaining batter, smoothing down carefully.  Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate mix over the even surface. 
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 180°C (until a skewer comes out clean of batter – although you may skewer through some jam or chocolate).
8. It can be quite fragile with the heavy filling in the centre, so leave to cool completely before you attempt to get it out of the tin!

Scottish-Japanese links

I recently discovered a link between Edinburgh, Scotland (where I live now) and Japan, where I lived for two years after graduation.   

Edinburgh man Victor Murphy joined the British Royal Air Force when he left school and retired a group captain in 1971.  He began a lasting relationship with Japan and the Japanese people during the Korean War in the 1950s and also developed a love of art. 

It is thanks to Murphy’s interests in all things Japanese as well as the visual and decorative arts that Edinburgh is now home to his legacy – the Morita Museum of Fine Art. A member of Museums and Galleries Scotland, the museum has around 7,000 items of works of art in the fields of paintings, ceramics, glass, textiles, clocks and furniture.  Items from the collection have been exhibited in Scotland and Japan.

source: http://www.morita.co.uk

The museum is supported by the Victor Murphy Memorial Trust, the chair and founder of which is Kozo Hoshino, who met Murphy following the latter’s retirement when the Hoshino was a young Japanese student of English at Edinburgh University.  Hishino-san, now himself in his 60s, has settled in Edinburgh and runs the charity, museum, and associated businesses.   The Museum and Trust headquarters are also a 3-bedroomed Bed & Breakfast establishment, Art House Morita, which gets rave reviews on Trip Advisor.  The new Art Café Morita, in the tourist heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, has recently opened in support of the Trust.  Both have artworks from the collection on display. Read my review of the cafe here.

the eclectic menu at Art Cafe Morita, Edinburgh

The museum, charity trust, B&B and café are clearly a labour of love.  In the festival city of Edinburgh, they are a guaranteed hit with Japanese tourists and art-loving locals alike.

© Lynn Sheppard

Essaouira Eateries – part 2

On a recent trip back to Essoauira, I tried another couple of excellent restaurants in my favourite seaside city.  These ones are slightly further up the price and fine dining scale than some of those I reviewed here, but the cuisine at both is well worth the (closer to European) prices.

Taros

the rooftop terrace at Taros

I know well the rooftop bar at Taros – overlooking Place Moulay Hassan, the port and the ramparts, but this is only a small part of the French-owned Taros boutique/ restaurant/ bar/gallery enterprise.  On a cold January evening, we were fortunate to be seated in the restaurant beside a roaring log fire and entertained by the house magician while dining on a truly delicious meal.  The décor is a combination of traditional-style tiled walls, art by local artists and European-style fine dining.  The menu features modern French cuisine using fresh local ingredients, as well as a selection of Moroccan dishes.  The dessert menu is also impressive.  As an example, I started with mini goat cheese and marinated pepper toasts on a bed of salad leaves followed by the daily fish special and – as if that weren’t gluttony itself, we also had desserts – one of us actually managed the moelleux au chocolat with vanilla ice cream!  We washed all of that down with a delicious Moroccan white wine.  The staff were friendly and attentive and the chef, Abdessamad Amahri, was happy to make personal recommendations.  The mains range from around 80-130dh, with starters and desserts averaging 60-100dh.  Wines – as in most Essoauira restaurants – come in at around 200dh a bottle.  That doesn’t make for a cheap dinner, but the price/quality ratio at Taros is excellent value and still considerably less than I would pay for similar quality cuisine in the UK.

Taros, Place Moulay Hassan, Essaouira. Tel: +212 5 24 47 45 72

Le Km 8

a pretty impressive prawn cocktail!

Recently I ventured outside Essaouira to eat for the first time, to this restaurant situated – you guessed it – 8km from the city, in the new town of Essaouira.  It’s a lovely setting – with seating beside a fountain on a patio outside and inside beside an open fire.  (There’s a theme here – winter nights in Morocco are cold!) Another French-owned establishment, Le Km8 has a mainly French style menu featuring daily specials of fresh local ingredients.  We shared a prawn cocktail which was far more impressive than anything of that name I have ever seen before! As a main course, I had a perfectly cooked filet of John Dory and my companion had the fish tajine. We came by car, so I took advantage of a wine available by the glass and we had verbena infusion by the fire to assist our digestion.  This was a blow out dinner (at over 450dh for 1.5 courses each for two of us and only one alcoholic drink) but the cuisine and atmosphere were spot on and it was well worth it for an occasional splurge!

main courses at Le Km 8

Le Km 8, Route d’Agadir, El Ghazoua, Essaouira.  Tel: +212 666 25 21 23

© Lynn Sheppard

Lemongrass winter warmer

 

Beach at Nusa Dua, Bali

In a previous job, I attended the UN climate change talks in 2007 – “COP13” to the climate change policy wonks and wonkettes.  It was very hot in Bali in December, and we hydrated ourselves on litres of fresh ice tea featuring combinations of lemongrass, ginger and lime.

At the same time of year in northern Europe, the weather is very different! 

Market in Ubud, Bali

I am great believer in the benefits of fresh herb and spices at this time of year.  Recently my local supermarket started stocking lemongrass, and suffering with a cold, I struck on the idea to re-create a hot version of our Balinese ice teas.  The combination of strong flavours and steam is perfect for clearing the nose and throat.  (A Thai Tom Yam Kung soup would have a similar effect!).  It’s also great for those trying to detox, as it doesn’t contain caffeine and tastes great without sugar or honey.

This recipe is adapted from one on www.food.com

Lemongrass tea recipe (serves 4)

1. Wash and trim 4 stalks of lemongrass (cut off any green bits) and crush with a steak tenderizer or a rolling pin to release the essential oils.
2. Peel and slice about an inch of ginger and slice.
3. Add the ginger and lemongrass to a teapot and pour over 1 litre of boiling water.
4. Leave to infuse for 5 minutes.
5. Add honey to taste.
6. Relax and inhale the steam as you drink.  Chill out and think of the sunshine!
7. To serve as iced tea, use half the boiling water, infuse and then top up with chilled water and ice to taste. 

Balinese rice terraces

© Lynn Sheppard

懐かしい! Natsukashiiiiiiii~ !!

I came across an article recently in the magazine of the London Evening Standard while travelling… Apparently J-Pop is the latest big trend in clubbing in the Big Smoke.  My involuntary reaction was to think wistfully “natsukashii, na….”

Natsukashii means something like nostalgia.  But that’s a bit lost in translation.  It’s how you react when you think back fondly to a time gone by, perhaps in reaction to seeing an old photo, or hearing an old song.  The concept is well explored in this wordpress blog.

My own J-Pop knowledge is at least 14 years out of date.  So any young hipsters of the London J-Pop scene won’t recognise much in my selection.  But then Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” was number one in the UK this week in 1998 and people still listen to that.  I have no idea why, though, so let’s stop the analogy there.

Some music is timeless.  Some is just pop of its time.  Either way, here is my nastukashii mini-selection (circa 1996-8, ie when I lived in Japan).

1. Pizzicato Five – Groovy is my Name
   Pizzicato Five were at the forefront of the shibuya kei trend – a kind of Japanese nouveau-retro Gainsbourg-inspired, Francophile (and occasionally Francophone), pop-jazz movement in the 1990s.  They were pioneers in sampling (allegedly inspired by DeLaSoul’s brilliant debut album, Three Feet High and Rising) – everything from Astrud Gilberto to the Beach Boys!

2. UA – Rhythm
   I have already mentioned UA’s Milk Tea in my Desert Island Discs post, so here I’ll pick another of her many hits.  Many Asian artists are able to mimic Western genres, but UA really makes each one her own.  This one reminds me of bands on the Acid Jazz label at the time, like the Brand New Heavies or Incognito.

3. Ryuichi Kawamura – Glass
   The lyrics are pure nonsensical soppiness, but it’s slow and I can just about manage the key, so I bought the CD single, and in my efforts to integrate culturally, learned all the words from the sleeve to impress my friends and colleagues in the karaoke booth.  It gained me a bit of street cred with my high school students, as Kawamura – with his floppy fringe and penchant for eyeliner – was also lead singer with Japanese New Romantic-esque rock band Luna Sea.

4. Puffy – Watashi no ikiru michi
   The epitome of late 90s nonsensical J-Pop.  I can’t find the original video online, but it all looked very tame even by 1996’s standards – two pigtailed girls twittering on about following their own path.  It debuted at number one in Japan; is Puffy’s biggest selling single and it starts with a promising guitar chord but really it’s all very cutesy and catchy! (And the absolute simplest for gaijin to learn for karaoke!!)

5. Southern All Stars – 愛の言霊～Spiritual Message
   Formed in the 70s, “Southern” or “SAS” for short have been one of the best-selling Japanese groups over more than 30 years, selling more than 47 million albums and singles in Japan alone.  I had to include this one for its demonstrative superlative use of English in the title.  But I genuinely like the  Latin vibe of this track.  I couldn’t find a version online that wasn’t someone killing it by karaoke but came across this fantastic 1996 J-Pop compilation.  SAS are at about minute 8:15, but don’t let that stop you from listening to the whole lot!

The Nippon-o-philes among you will notice the absence of SMAP.  (I ask you – what kind of a name for a band is that?!) I have to admit, I couldn’t tell their songs apart.  But I did enjoy their cookery show.  Think Ready, Steady, Cook with Boyzone band members instead of professional chefs and you get the gist. 

Have you got to know any J-Pop?  What are your favourites?  Which tracks make you think “natsukashii”?  Post your suggestions in the comments box – maybe you can update my knowledge by a decade or so!

© Lynn Sheppard

Celtic Connections 2012 in Glasgow

Glasgow’s annual Celtic Connections Festival features the best of folk, roots and world music, celebrating Celtic music and its connections to cultures across the globe.  Artistic Director, Donald Shaw (founding member of Celtic supergroup Capercaillie) is successful in drawing artists from the four corners of the globe and generally bringing a bit of sunshine to the long, damp, dreich January nights.

This year was no exception.  From19th January – 5th February, 2,100 musicians from around the world battled the elements to come to Glasgow and bring the city to life for 18 days of concerts, ceilidhs, talks, art exhibitions, workshops, and free events.  Fortunately, the gigs I fancied were both on consecutive Friday nights so I made the short journey through from Edinburgh to the fantastic Old Fruitmarket venue two weeks in a row.

Salsa Celtica and Fatoumata Diawara, 27 January 2012

Fatou and her guitar

I had secretly hoped that, Fatou, who released her eponymous debut album in autumn last year and is tipped to be the latest in a long line of Malian musical legends, would play with Salsa Celtica.  That wasn’t to be, but it was a fantastic two-gigs-for-the-price of one night out.  The Old Fruitmarket is worth the trip alone – full of cast iron and old street signs, it’s a tribute to the heyday of Victorian industriousness in this, the Merchant City of the erstwhile second city of the Empire.

Fatou at the Old Fruitmarket

Fatou was fantastic!  She was a livewire on stage, looking like she really had to discipline herself to actually play her guitar and not just leap around the stage whipping her cornrow plaits and fluffing her neon tutu.  Not that she can’t master that guitar!  She has stated that she likes to mix “new and old styles”: she sings in the Bambara language, but her Wassoulou region musical roots are layered with influences from the great jazz divas.  She’s already done some of the festival circuit and is definitely one to watch!

Salsa Celtica at Celtic Connections

Salsa Celtica are something else all together.  I love their blend of Celtic and Cuban music and their one-big-morphing-collective approach.  To be honest, though, I have seen them plenty of times and might not have made the trip if it weren’t for Fatou.  However, it was definitely worth it – this was one of the best gigs I have seen them play.  The audience (world music enthusiasts and Glaswegians who forgive them for being an Edinburgh band – probably because half of them are Irish, Cuban or Highlanders!) and the venue (plenty of space for dancing) were certainly contributing factors. Most of all, bandleader Toby Shippey was on fine form, navigating the band up and down Scotland and Ireland, across to Cuba and back.  The combination of tracks – including many of their best known from their five albums – was spot on and the place was jumping!

Omar Sosa and Ibrahim Maalouf, 3 February 2012

One week later, back at the Fruitmarket and hoping again for a collaborative effort.  But potential disaster!  One year after the same thing happened to Toumani Diabate on route to the Afrocubism gig in Edinburgh, the same meteorological catastrophe was about to befall Ibrahim Maalouf!  Could he out-trick the Toumani curse and get out of a snowbound Parisian airport to his Scottish gig?

Ibrahim Maalouf

Ibrahim Maalouf walked on stage half an hour late, directly from Glasgow airport.  Literally.  He was wearing tracksuit bottoms and as he apologised for his appearance, he looked like he was still cathcing his breath.  He’d been 17 hours on route and had left the rest of the band at the airport waiting for their luggage and instruments.  Fortunately, his guitarist had arrived earlier that day and between them they had managed to re-arrange three songs of the set for performance on guitar and Maalouf’s trumpet.  With a bit of audience participation, it might work.

It certainly did!  It wasn’t a long set, but it was a brilliant one.  In the space of three songs, Maalouf demonstrated the full range of his expertise as a trumpeter and composer and endeared himself totally to the audience.  The first track was a beautiful Arabic-style composition, inspired by Maalouf’s Lebanese roots.  During the second, the audience provided a vocal accompaniment.  And the third, Beirut, which he composed at the age of 12 in a bomb-blasted neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital, was in no way diminished by the lack of heavy guitar riffs he told us normally featured.  It was a pity he had to leave after such a short stay!

Omar with a glint in his eye!

Omar Sosa came on stage looking like a fantastical freakish imam in a long, red kameez-style outfit complete with crescent moon design, white skull cap and Moroccan babouches slippers.  With tiny round-framed specs which glowed neon green under a UV light and a maniacal glint in his eye.  Not quite what I’d expected from a Cuban. (But maybe I should have done some prior research!)  And then he started going at the piano.  Wow, he can play!  After a lengthy virtuoso performance, his band emerged on stage, embodying the definition of ‘diversity’ – from the Mozambiquan percussionist/bassist with rattles in his trouser legs, to the New Yorkan drummer with dreds past his seat, to the amazing Cuban one-man wind section and the German trumpeter who looked liked he’d fallen out the pages of a 1970s German jazz magazine as he did a great rap, in German.  (He was wearing a brown leather jacket, but I can’t swear if I saw a black polo neck). 

Omar Sosa and his band

The collective sound took syncopation to a whole new level and was a bit too free-form for my taste; my innocent ears found it hard to pick out the Afro-Cuban rhythms I was seeking (although there was a snippet of a salsa riff in there somewhere).  However, Sosa is a masterful band leader and showman as well as pianist: the composed and the spontaneous were indistinguishable and created an incredible spectacle.

© Lynn Sheppard

Golden Bears in the snow at the Berlinale

It is since I moved away from Berlin that I have become a real fan of the Berlinale, Berlin’s International Film Festival, held every year in February. The queuing for and collection of tickets, plus the criss-crossing of the city from dawn until well into the night to see films – although fun – are time consuming and not really compatible with a full time job. It’s much more fun to spend a few days at the Berlinale on holiday. Here are my top tips for Berlinale fun:

The whole city really is a cinema!

1. A little planning goes a long way!

Kino International

The Berlinale programme is split into several categories, such as Competition (those films up for a Golden Bear prize), Panorama (arthouse films shown in Berlin for the first time and available to buyers), Forum (featuring avant garde and experimental feature films and documentaries), Generation (films of interest to – but not only to – children) and special categories, such as this year’s Babelsberg Studios’ centenary. There are generally a few clear themes (this year’s were the Arab Spring and the nuclear disaster in Japan). The full programme only becomes available at the end of January, so there isn’t much time to select the films you want to see, but it’s essential to carefully plan your viewing to a) avoid trying to be in two places at once and b) ensure you have a Plan B if the tickets for your favourite film aren’t available. Tickets generally go on sale 3 days in advance of the first screening of that film – two per person – and a (very) limited number are available online. Otherwise, you’ll have to join the sometimes enormous queues in the Potsdamer Platz shopping centre. That’s all part of the fun, but you only want to do it once or twice, so make sure you have a plan B for when your favourite film turns red (sold out) on the screens! The queues for internet ticket collection are generally much shorter. Top tip: premiers are popular. If you want to see the film but are less bothered about being the first, it is much easier to book early on for later showings. Directors often show up for Q&A after the showing, even if it’s not the premier.

2. Getting there and getting around

Berlin's Haus der Kulturen der Welt aka the pregnant oyster building - a key Berlinale venue

Berlin is a public transport dream. Despite the high likelihood of snow in February, the buses, trams, underground and suburban rail are frequent, clean, punctual, integrated and run well into the night. Info (in English or German) at: www.bvg.de. The 100 bus is a good West-East shuttle which passes a lot of the main sights and stations as well as key cinemas. Taxis are numerous and much cheaper than many British cities. Berlin is a huge city and films are shown in dozens of cinemas, so plan your travel time into your schedule. Later in 2012, all air transport will be centred on Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, in the former East, following the closure of the two former West Berlin airports. Top tip: You won’t avoid exposure to the elements all together, so wear layers and wrap up warm – this year’s Berlinale opened to serious subzero temperatures!

3. Celeb-spotting

Juliette Binoche illuminated by flashbulbs at the premiere of Elles

As well as seeing some seriously good cinema, one of the pleasures of the Berlinale is promi-spotting (from the German, Prominenten, ie VIP). The opening gala at the Berlinale Palast on Potsdamer Platz offers good opportunities for wannabe paparazzi, as do the nearby 4 and 5 star hotels. Each year there are a couple of stars due in town who folks will literally camp out for (this year’s were Shah Rukh Khan and Meryl Streep). Stars and directors often turn up to screenings (spot the giveaway red carpet for the Competition films) but the best photo and autograph opportunities are the ones you least expect, eg in the street and in bars and restaurants. Each year a different set of hot spots rise and fall on the fashion scales, so watch local press for clues and keep your eyes peeled. Top tip: The majority of celebs in Berlin for the Berlinale are German, so you might want to pick up a copy of German Hello Magazine to help you spot them!

4. Eating and drinking

Vegetarian brunch at Tomasa with a delicious rhubarb juice and soda

As well as for spotting celebs, you’ll need to pop into the odd bar or restaurant for recuperation and sustenance. It is a lot cheaper to eat out in Berlin than other European capitals, and the food is good (although Berlin doesn’t have the number of Michelin stars of other capitals). Berlin waiters are known for their grumpiness, but I made a couple of great discoveries this year. Tomasa has three branches city-wide and we visited their large villa restaurant in Viktoria Park (on Kreuzbergstrasse) in an area where pre-Wall Fall hippies have been replaced by students in flat shares and the professional chattering classes. Tomasa is good value and is great for brunch with friends or family. It features a broad menu of fresh German and European dishes including set breakfasts and a tapas menu, has a kids’ play room and is situated in a spacious park for postprandial walks. The Kreuzberg 61 neighbourhood has a great range of boutiques (on Bergmannstrasse – not open on Sundays) but retains a bit of shabby chic in its secondhand shops.

pan-Asian food and sushi at Kuchi

Kuchi, in the back streets of Mitte (the new city centre), is a pan-Asian/sushi restaurant which was packed to the gills on a Saturday night. Seating is on Wagamama-style benches and the place is decorated with beautiful washi (Japanese paper) lanterns and collages of kimono fabrics. The menu is extensive and authentic and the staff attentive and friendly. We received recommendations which were spot on. If it’s full, there are plenty of options in Mitte, which has become one of Berlin’s main fashion and nightlife districts. Top tip: To avoid queues in the cold and disappointment, book in advance.

5. Sightseeing

Not a golden bear, but a snowy one!

Despite the freezing temperatures and the huge cinematic offer, it’s worth checking out some of the historical and cultural sights of Berlin. I have listed some of my favourites here, but the beaten track is also well worth treading!

And if you are interested in my reviews of the films I saw in the Berlinale 2012, they are here.

© Lynn Sheppard

24 hours in Dublin

 

blue skies over Dublin Castle

 I was recently in Dublin for work and stayed on an extra night to visit a Dubliner friend. As I have been to Dublin before, instead of the usual sights, I took the opportunity to live a bit more like a local for a day, and test the shopping, eating and drinking options.  

Dublin city centre isn’t very big and is manageable on foot.  It’s easy to orientate yourself between the Liffey river and the triangle of Dublin Castle, Trinity college and St Stephen’s Green.   All are worth a visit.

 

Shopping

Unlike many British city centres, there are still many independent stores in central Dublin.  I was particularly intrigued by the fur and cigar shops – neither of which I felt the need to visit but both of which are absent from your average UK High Street.  Grafton Street is home to the familiar international chains and designer outlets as well as home-grown Dunnes Stores, which is like an Irish BhS.  More interesting are the shops in the streets parallel to Grafton Street (stretching back to South Great George St) and renovated buildings which have turned into multi-use spaces for more arty stores, event spaces and quirky cafes.  Examples of these include Powerscourt on South William Street – a converted 18^th century townhouse and courtyard – and George’s Street Arcade  – a renovated Victorian covered market. 

A Christmas tree of macaroons at Cocoa Atelier

Despite some empty lots in the larger shopping streets and centres – obvious victims of the construction boom followed by the economic crash – niche artisan and independent shops seemed to be doing well.  Some of the more interesting ones I spotted included A Rubanesque Ltd (in the Powerscourt centre and selling ribbons – one of many stores cashing in on the make do and mend trend);  New Moon (beautiful locally designed plus imported jewellery in the George’s Street Arcade); Cocoa Atelier (on Drury Street with a beautiful macaroon display in the window); and Le Palais des Thés (a French tea boutique chain which I know from Brussels, on Wicklow Street).

Eating and Drinking 

When I visited Dublin a number of years ago during the height of the boom, it was impossible to get a table in a restaurant without a reservation – for either of the two sittings a night.  Economic circumstances being what they are, I was surprised we had to queue in a number of places, although the wait wasn’t long and reservations weren’t necessary.  And the bars were just as full as ever.  Here are the places we tried:

veggie bento with nasu dengaku; asparagus futomaki; miso soup; brown rice; vegetable tempura; and roast red pepper, pumpkin & tofu salad,

Yamamori Noodles – a large Japanese-style restaurant with bench-style seating and offering a menu of pan Asian dishes.  Despite the geographic breadth of the menu, the Japanese dishes were very tasty and authentic, although the portions were, if anything, rather large.  This smacks of padding out a plate with cheaper ingredients in order to up the price, but I thought my (enormous) bento was good value, although the futomaki sushi was superfluous in addition to a bowl of (brown – most un-Japanese!) rice.  They are obviously doing a lot of things right, as there is also an Oriental Café across the road and a Yamamori Sushi across the Liffey.  Yamamori Noodles, 12-13 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2.  Tel: : (+353) (0)1  475 5001.

 

The Long Hall

The Long Hall –

a typical Victorian Dublin pub: packed to the rafters from which hang impressive chandeliers, a limited range of spirits (no fancy cocktails here), friendly staff and – I am told – an excellent pint of Guinness.  You can’t move, but I am sure many Irish would caution against it with a pint in your hand anyway!  The Lonely Planet calls it “elegantly dingy”.  Getting out again was a long haul, but in Dublin bumping your way out of a pub only elicits multiple “Sorry”’s on all sides and smiles – it seems it’s all part of the craic! The Long Hall, 51 South St Georges St, Dublin 2. Tel: Tel: (+353) (0)1 475 1590. 

Odessa – a modern restaurant plus lounge space and nightclub situated in a large townhouse, Odessa looks the part, down to the beautiful but snooty people employed there.  The food is modern café/bistro style (and features no reference to the Black Sea, as far as I could tell!) with an eclectic  weekend brunch menu.  I had huevos rancheros, which were delicious – the guacamole was one of the best I’ve eaten – and a perfect (very) late breakfast after the night before. Odessa, 13-14 Dame Court, Dublin 2. Tel: (+353) (0)1 670 7634. 

Metro Cafe

Metro Café – a French-style café with pavement tables, replica art nouveau wall lights and a jazz soundtrack.  Offering a short menu of soups, sandwiches and cakes, it’s the perfect antidote to shopping-weariness.  The staff are friendly and welcoming, although one is not encouraged to linger long.  My chai tea latte was just the ticket after wandering the frosty Dublin streets! Metro Café, 43 South William St, Dublin 2. Tel: (+353) (0)1 679 4515

We tried to get into the Queen of Tarts café and patisserie in Cow’s Lane, an artsy steep street of cute cafes and retro shops which reminded me of Rue Fossé aux Loups (which is a foxes lane rather than a cow’s one!) in the Marolles in Brussels.  However, it has clearly been in far too many in flight magazines and at lunchtime on Saturday the queue was out the door! Queen of Tarts, Cows Lane, Dame Street, Dublin 2. Tel: (+353) (0)1 633 4681

Bewley's tearoom

No trip to Dublin is complete without at least a cuppa in Bewley’s on Grafton Street – it’s an Irish institution.  It harks back to a bygone era when all the major tea importers had tearooms on the High Street.  Today it has a menu of lite bites such as sandwiches, pizza and pasta plus a huge range of irresistible cakes and pastries.  It still retains an atmosphere of colonial times, with stained glass windows, wooden floors and enormous chandeliers.  Bewley’s, 78/79 Grafton St, Dublin 2. Tel: (+353) (0)1 672 7720 

Sights

I would definitely recommend the well-known tourist attractions (Trinity College, Dublin Castle, etc) but on this trip I enjoyed wandering through different neighbourhoods and seeing how people live.  The Smithfield development, based around the Jameson Distillery, has seen (albeit brief) better times.  It could be like Canary Wharf without the banks.  Instead, it looks like a ghost town of failed dreams and vacant lots; the visible reminder of how dependent on the construction boom the Irish economy once was. Heading into town, we passed the wonderful red brick original fruit market, stuffed to the gills with onions.

Smithfield Fruit Market

We continued through a district where small shops and businesses run by recent immigrants to the erstwhile Celtic Tiger still seem to be getting by, despite more established brands falling on hard times.  We also called in to the GPO on O’Connell St – still a post office and still with its old fashioned fixtures and fittings, despite the monumentous events which took place there at Easter in 1916.

 

 

Carmelite Church

In search of something to visit off the beaten tourist track (which, admittedly, normally leads to a pub in the Temple Bar area), we visited the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street.  Although a mass was taking place, we were able to enter and see the Shrine of St Valentine, which contains a casket of his  relics, a statue of the saint and an explanation of how his remains came to be in Ireland (a gift from the Holy See). In in the lobby there is an explanation of all the shrines in the church, including how 14 February, the day Valentine was martyred in (probably) 269 AD became a feast day.  The day was previously a day on which Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage was celebrated, so the mutation of this day into one to celebrate Valentine’s martyrdom under Emperor Claudius II for practicing his Christian beliefs and marrying couples in secret seems an obvious one.

I am very grateful to Barbara and Joan for being such able tour guides and showing me the Dublin of Dubliners! Sláinte!

©Lynn Sheppard

Morocco in Motion (Pictures)

The Moroccan Government has heavily promoted Moroccan locations and the film industry has grown to the extent that it is possible to do tours of movie sets and studios.  Things have come a long way since the likes of Casablanca (which is just about to celebrate its 70th birthday!), Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much of 1956 (you can eat in the palace where it was filmed in Marrakech) or Orson Welles’ 1952 classic interpretation of Othello.  IMDb lists 766 films and TV episodes filmed in Morocco and it feels like every other Moroccan you meet has been an extra or crew on Hollywood blockbusters. 

Ait Benhaddou – film location favourite

On a wave of globalisation, out-sourcing and the desire for more exotic/more versatile sets, the Atlas Studios in Ourzarzate has become one of the biggest in the world in terms of acreage.  Recall the last film you saw set in a desert, in a bleak sci-fi moonscape, or in Roman or Biblical times, and there’s a good chance it was filmed in Morocco.  Examples include Star Wars, The Mummy series, Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven.  The last two were filmed by Ridley Scott at the ksar (fortified city) of Ait Benhaddou, where he had even filmed Black Hawk Down.  Moroccan locations have doubled as Tibet (in Scorsese’s Kundun), Egypt (in The Jewel of the Nile and The Mummy) and the Arabian peninsula (in The Message, Lawrence of Arabia, various Biblical dramas and – more recently – Sex and the City II).

Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is impressive but my enduring memory of visiting the Ouarzarzate area is of driving around a corner in a bus and glimpsing a village to my right which I instantly recognized as Tazarine from the 2006 film, Babel (although I don’t know if that is this village’s real name).

I watched Babel again recently.  Unlike many of the titles I mention above, it gives some pretty accurate insights into Moroccan life: the small agricultural communities struggling to meet ends meet, cut off from modern services and the opportunities which tourism offers to those with appropriate education to escape into the cities. 

source: http://www.impawards.com

Above all, I was struck again by the simplicity of this life and the willingness of these people with so little to help those who are usually far more fortunate.  This hospitality was my overriding memory of my first trip to Morocco in 2001. Another film I really enjoyed which is set in Morocco (as opposed to just being filmed there) is Hideous Kinky, although the Morocco it describes – of the early 70s – is pretty hard to find these days.

Excellent insights into the complexities of modern life in Morocco are offered by domestic film-makers.  The home grown industry is developing slowly.  The 2008 film Casanegra, about small time hustlers in the city made famous by Bogart and Bacall, was as feted as it was controversial.  At the time, it was seen as a turning point for the domestic industry.  But cinema attendance in Morocco is low and the industry is heavily subsidized –   DVD copies of Hollywood blockbusters are available on every street corner for less than the equivalent of one night’s rental in Europe.

In the mid-2000s there was much bemoaning the stereotypes projected even by domestic film-makers in the Maghreb.  Encouragingly, however, the themes of the late 1990s/early 2000s (in some part determined by the need to pitch for European co-funding and therefore find a subject of interest to audiences in the EU) of human rights, clandestine migration and exile, have given way to a more varied reflection of various aspects of social, political, economic and cultural life within Morocco as the industry has developed in its own right.  The increasing challenges to traditional roles, governance and lifestyles typical of the Arab Spring will undoubtedly fuel further creativity and diversity in the North African cinema.  

It’s not easy to find Moroccan films outside the country other than at specialist festivals.  However, here some which I have seen and enjoyed (all of which – coincidentally – heavily feature Casablanca). 

• Ali Zoua (2000) – Nabil Ayouch – a gritty tale of life on the streets of Casablanca about the street kids who live around the docks, punctuating their grim reality with glue sniffing, small crime and dangerous dares.
• WWW: What a Wonderful World (2006) – Faouzi Bensaïdi – this film feels very French (ie ‘arty’) with its challenging continual branching off of sub-plots which didn’t always have an obvious link to the main story of criminal+cop love interest. You could say that it was all a bit chaotic, trying to pass too many familiar North African messages (exile, poverty, scraping by, the internet age, economic migration, corruption, Islam, etc) in one film. Or you could argue that in a chaotic society in a chaotic city (Casablanca), that’s the only way to tell any story.

• Heaven’s Doors (2006)– Swel and Imad Noury – the Spain-based Noury brothers’ first feature film (made for a remarkable $180,000) uses three main storylines to capture the complexities and frustrations of life in Casablanca and the daily choices young men make to support themselves and their families: between trying to earn an honest crust, turning to petty criminality or trying their luck on the other side of the Straits.
• 

  – Laila Marrakchi – although this film was the most commercially successful film in Morocco in 2006, it is a vapid depiction of how the other half lives. The main plotline – an Arab Muslim girl falling in love with her Jewish classmate – is scarcely developed in favour of a concentration on fast cars and product placement.  This might be novel to a Moroccan audience, but it didn’t impress me.

Happy New Year! Happy New Travels!

2011 was the year I started blogging.  I’ve had some really kind and positive feedback from the people who have taken the time to dip in and read TravelBug and I hope that in 2012 I can encourage more people to do so.

My aim is to develop the blog into an interactive community of people interested in travel and the experience of interacting with different people and cultures.  Please add comments and feedback via the comments box and get the discussion going! If you like the blog, please click “like” or “follow” to receive each post by e-mail.  If you have friends who might be interested, please share the blog by any means you like!

I wish all my readers and fellow-travellers a very happy and prosperous new year. May 2012 be filled with many new discoveries and travels! I already have trips to Dublin, Berlin, Leeds and Morocco planned.  What are your travel plans for 2012?

Happy new year; happy travels!

Bonne Année!

Einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

新年明けましておめでとうございます！

Happy New Year!

 

© Lynn Sheppard