Tag Archives: Dessert

FOOD

Born with a Sweet Tooth – Sweden Rocked with its Candy

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Marabou Milk Chocolate

By Lakshmi:

Siddhi and I are fanatics for chocolate, candy and for that matter anything sweet.  So, part of any adventure local or long distance involves a healthy dose of chocolate, candy and dessert.  And Sweden was no exception.

We stopped at grocery and convenience stores and picked up all kinds of candy for consumption as snacks, including that national obsession called licorice.  Naive me…..I thought Twizzlers was synonymous with licorice till I got to Sweden….and here you have all kinds of licorice including salt licorice!  And when Siddhi’s new friend Clarinda gave her a bag filled to the brim with candies, she singlehandedly finished the bag, leaving me one solitary Geisha (a chocolate).

Thanks to our exploration and Clarinda’s recommendation, here’s what we picked up to bring back home.

– Marabou Milk Chocolate:

– Marabou Jordgubb:  A yummy chocolate with strawberry.

– Marabou Apelsin krokant: Chocolate with orange

– Marabou Polka: The yummiest combo of chocolate with crunchy pieces of mint

– Fazer Geisha: Milk chocolate with hazelnuts

– Marabou Premium 70% cocoa orange:  Dark chocolate with orange

– Malaco Gotte Blandant Exotic Fruits:  A fruit snack

– Malaco Gotte Blandat Sursot:   Chewy fruit candy

– Malaco Favorite Mix: Chewy fruit candy

– Bilal Dubbel Dackare: A chewy candy

– Bilar Chewy Candy Cars in Original and Sour

Now in Sweden, since I was walking around so much all day, partaking all of this candy posed no problems.  Controlling my sweet tooth with all this temptation in a more sedentary environment will be a challenge!

If you are born with a sweet tooth and have a favorite candy or chocolate, we would love to hear from you!

FOOD

Lunch at the Four Seasons Sultanahmet, Istanbul – Great history, uninspiring meal

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Four Seasons Sultanahmet

By: Lakshmi 

We wanted our last day in Istanbul to be special, so we headed over for a late lunch to the Four Seasons Sultanahmet in the heart of the old city.  Located a stone’s throw from the 17th century Blue Mosque and a short walk from the grand bazaar, the site was on our list of places to visit since Conde Naste Traveler had done a write-up on how a former Turkish prison had been converted into this luxury hotel.

From the moment we approached the yellow colored facade of the hotel, each of us was trying to envision what the place might have looked like as a prison.  We imagined prisoners looking out of the window into the inner courtyard, visualized them exercising in the central area, and of course saw the stark environment that must have prevailed in place of the perfectly landscaped space with an abundance of perfect topiary and blooms.

After walking through the absolutely stunning property, we settled on dining at  the Season’s Restaurant.  It felt ostentatious to have three people attending to our needs, but the service was discreet, yet efficient.  We ordered the Selection Turkish Mezze Plate, Homemade Ricotta Ravioli – Pine Nut, Dry Fig, Braised Eggplant and Red Currants, Sage Sauce and the Red Lentil Soup – Yoghurt and Crispy Pita Bread.  Every dish was fresh, but lacked flavor.  We were taken aback that a property with access to some of the freshest ingredients could disappoint.  The dessert with ice-cream and an assortment of turkish sweets was mediocre as well.  We had tasted better in less grander surroundings.

As we finished paying for a pretty pricey lunch, the big question was, would we do it again?  And the answer was YES….. the hotel is a must do visit, albeit the next time, we will settle for coffee or drinks.

To read more about the Four Seasons Sultanahmet, click here.

http://www.fourseasons.com/istanbul/