Figls, voting day in Austria

Oktoberfest menu at Figls

This is a different post today. Today was voting day in Austria. According to tradition which I learnt from my father, one has to go vote in the morning and have some beer and sausages before lunch or 12 o'clock on that day. This is what we did.

Mass Spaten Oktoberfest beer

As it is Oktoberfest season, I ordered one big beer which turned out to be a mass, which is a one litre beer. As I said we had to have sausages.

White sausage with giant pretzels

We had the white bavarian sausages with bavarian mustard with giant filled pretzels. This is the perfect hangover breakfast or a little something after voting. Definite recommendation.

Brasserie Federal Zürich Main train station, Switzerland

Zürich has the best public transport system I have ever experienced. You can land at Zürich airport and take a train to the city or anywhere else in Switzerland right from the airport. When you do not have a lot of time, you can stop at the train station and people in Switzerland meet in between journeys and meetings going towards different destinations at the main train station in Zürich. I was there for that same reason with limited time and stopped at this simple place in order to meet a friend who was going take a train from the station shortly. You won't find places like this at Grand Central Station. 

Brasserie Federal at Zürich main train station

The Zürich main train station is one of the best train stations in the world. This is my opinion. The trains rarely arrive late. You really have to be on schedule and buy your ticket on time or else you will miss your train. At this place I just ordered a beer and the typical sausage they have to offer.

Swiss sausage

The swiss beer goes well with the sausage. It is a good stop of the better sort when at a train station before a long or short journey. We had some local wine afterwards as well. In Switzerland I recommend the whites from Valais. Value for money is ok. 

Mole West, Neusiedl am See, Austria

Mole West is a restaurant which is very popular during summer. It is about a 40 minute drive away from Vienna located in Neusiedl which is also not far from the airport.

Sunset at Mole West

When tying to reserve a table there, one has to reserve at least a week in advance in order to get a table on the weekend. You can always arrive and just wait to get a table. The waiters at the restaurant are mostly Hungarians or Slovakians and do not speak proper German and most probably English. We did get a table outside. The scenery is picturesque and it is also a nice place to just sit by the lake and have a drink at.

Smoked duck breast with beetroot and truffles

As a starter we had the smoked duck breast with beetroot and truffles. This was delicious and a very interesting combination of tastes.

Mole West Fish sticks

We also ordered the fish sticks, which are a signature dish of this restaurant. They contain salmon, scallop, tuna fish with a sesame crust and a giant prawn in potato stripes.

Lobster tortelloni with egg plant puree and trout caviar

We ordered different dishes as main courses. We ordered the lobster tortellini. This dish was presented very well and was sensational in taste. The tortelloni themselves were quite modest in size.

Wild meat with potato croquettes, vegetable and dates rolled in bacon

I ordered the wild meat with potato croquettes, vegetables and dates rolled in bacon. This was absolutely delicious. The meat was tender in its sauce and the combination with the truffles and vegetables was a revelation.

Cooked lamb with rosemary carrots and home made tagliatelle

We also had the cooked lamb with rosemary carrots and home made tagliatelle. This was also an excellent dish. The wine we chose to accompany these meat dishes was a very good Austrian cuvée, the Bela Rex from Gesellmann.

Bela Rex is a cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This wine reminds you of a Bourdeaux wine rather than Burgenland.

Cottage cheese nougat Knödel with raspberry sauce 

We had a typically Austrian desert, the cottage cheese nougat Knödel with raspberry sauce. They were simply delicious and a perfect conclusion of a great meal.

Crème caramel with pistachio ice cream

We also had crème caramel with pistachio ice cream and Powidltascheln. Powidl Taschen is a plum filled desert similar to the Knödel. It was so delicious that we did not manage to take a picture fast enough.

Overall, this restaurant's quality is very good. The scenery is very nice. It is a great hangout on a nice summer day or summer evening with a great sunset. The service is not very good. We asked for a table inside, which was not possible at the time we came and was also not given to us after tables were free. They did give us blankets outside though. This is a place everyone wants to visit anyways, which is why the staff does not try very hard. The food, the location and presentation is very nice. The service staff seems to be seasonal and could be majorly improved. The prices are on the higher side for an Austrian restaurant. For us it was a nice experience with our friends who came to visit Vienna.

Figls, Vienna

Figls is a well known traditional Austrian restaurant in the 19th district in Vienna. The restaurant is frequented by locals who live in the area. This restaurant is a place which you can go to for a business lunch menu or for dinner or just for a beer or a glass of wine with some food. Figls is owned by the same owner who also owns Figlmüller in the 1st district in Vienna. In case you don't know that place, it is a famous schnitzel place. They probably have the biggest and thinnest schnitzel in Vienna but you will have to wait in line for about half an hour to get in. I really recommend this restaurant in the 19th district as an alternative. There is more variety and it is not touristy. You can check out the website for the menu: www.figls.at

Menu

As a starter we had cold beef with salad which is a signature dish of this restaurant.

Cold beef with salad, Brattlcarpaccio

Garden

We sat outside in the garden. During summer this is quite nice. You can also sit inside. There is also a smoking section within the restaurant.

Steak with egg and backed potatoes on the side

Beefsteak with vegetables

The restaurant is a nice family restaurant where you can sit for a while. There is no rush. We also had some Zweigelt house selection which went well with the meat dishes we had. I do recommend to try the house beer as well which is home brewed. There is also a good selection of Austrian deserts.

Chocolate cake, Schokokuchen

We had a nice chocolate cake for desert which was warm and fresh with chocolate cream gushing out as you make the first cut. This was absolutely delicious and a great ending. Overall Figls is a down to earth traditional Austrian restaurant with good food and constant quality. They change their menu according to season on a regular basis. The portions are very generous. Value for money in Vienna is definitely on a top level. This is a nice place in Vienna which I definitely recommend. I have been their with many guests who visited Vienna and we always had a nice experience.

Ramien, Vienna, Austria

Kitchen in the middle of the restaurant

If you like Asian noodles, you will see them make them and cut them right in front of you in the middle of the restaurant.

Chicken Curry with noodles

This is a restaurant which I recommend for diversity as I have stated when I started writing this blog. This is a typical place for a business lunch for everyone who works in the vicinity and also not bad for tourists looking for a quick Asian lunch in the greater centre of Vienna. The place is always packed. You can have noodle soups or curries or just noodles with spicy chicken or something of the sort.

Chicken curry with noodles

The chicken curry dish comes with noodles. The portions are quite generous. It is a little spicy which is good if you like it. Overall this is a good restaurant for lunch for a good quick bite in between things. 

Budapest Restaurants and Bars

Buddha Bar Hotel Restaurant

Staying in the Buddha Bar Hotel, we wanted to go for dinner in the restaurant. The restaurant is quite dark but does have the Buddha Bar atmosphere although not near the Paris Buddha Bar. 

Wooden Buddha in the Buddha Bar restaurant

We ordered some Buddha Bar Special cocktail which were ok. After that we wanted to try some local wine. We ordered the local Tokaj wine as well as a bottle of Sake. The sake was very good and given the price, had to be.

We ordered the sushi variation menu as well as á la carte. I ordered the wan tan soup as a starter.

Wan Tan soup

The Wan Tan soup was very good although a big portion with lots of vegetables. There were about 3 wan tans in the soup which were very tasty. It had an interesting taste but you could notice that they gave you a lot of soup and vegetables and few wan tans. Not optimal, but tasty.

Sushi menu

The sushi menu contained the plate you can see on the picture as well as a desert.

Chicken with Buddha Bar spicy noodles and vegetables

We also ordered the chicken dish with vegetables and the Buddha Bar spicy noodles. The chicken was partly fatty. You had to cut off the fat chewy pieces because they were not edible. The Buddha Bar spicy noodles were tasteless. the vegetables were ok but not cooked enough in part. Overall this dish was a great disappointment. I knew that the Buddha Bar is mostly famous for fish, sushi and what not, but did expect something better than this. The quality in Paris is definitely 2 levels above the quality in Budapest.

Cheese cake

With the sushi menu, there was a cheese cake for desert. This was ok. 

In general, the Buddha Bar restaurant in Budapest does give you the Buddha Bar experience and atmosphere. The staff however seems helpless and not prepared for the service level and experience Buddha Bar is prepared to offer. For Budapest, this seems to be a chic place but it is definitely not the experience you would expect from Buddha Bar. I suggest you go find that in Paris our Dubai.

Budapest Ice Bar

There are a couple of these ice bars in Budapest as we later found out. We looked on Tripadvisor an searched for that bar. 

Ice Bar Budapest

You go in, buy a ticket and you get a free drink with the entrance ticket. They also give some sort of overcoat. The temperature inside the bar is -4 degrees celsius. 

Ice Bar interior

They give a drink which is vodka with some juice. When you hold the glass, it seems to be melting. When you order the second one, the glass melts if you use the same one suggesting it is not as cold as they claim. It was a fun experience anyways, good for picture taking.

La Cucina

This restaurant is located on Vaci Utca 20 in the centre of Budapest. When walking past we thought about stopping by. The pizza looked nice and this is also a good place for people watching. 

Pizza

I ordered the pizza. This was just for lunch. Pizza was ok. When they brought a pizza which was slightly black and overcooked they asked me themselves if they should bring a new one. Of course I said that they should bring a new one. I would like to mention that we had ordered a bottle of Hungarian Rosé already. 

Pasta with giant prawns

The pasta with giant prawns was fresh and very tasty. On the whole, this was a good place to stop for a bite. The service was ok and it seemed to be better than most of the place along that street or in the vicinity. 

Cyrano Restaurant Budapest

Strawberry yoghurt cream starter with grenadine

Cyrano was a restaurant we walked past. We thought that this would be a place to try out after having seen the restaurant and the menu from the outside. We went there on a Friday evening. We had some local cocktails as an aperitif. 

Goat cheese on brioche with lavender ice cream

We had a very interesting starter. We had goat cheese on brioche with lavender ice cream. The combination seems odd at first but was rather interesting and very well presented. It was a new experience. 

Goose liver, and beef on langos, Hungarian style

Ordering wine in Budapest is not that easy because most of the local wine is not really drinkable as far as I am concerned. We chose a Mondavi wine because this seemed to be the best choice in terms of value for money. I ordered the Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. Of course I would never order a pure Cabernet Sauvignon but as any mediocre wine connoisseur knows, Californian wines are more like rocket fuel and do definitely not consist of one grape or two. They are simply not oblige to show the complete cuvée on the their label. I do like Mondavi. Either way, the sommelier came along and said that he can only offer the 2010 vintage. We agreed to have it and were not disappointed. Being in Hungary, this was the best wine we had there.

Lamb with Hungarian vegetables and mashed potatoes

We also had lamb with Hungarian vegetables and mashed potatoes. All of their dishes where somewhat interesting with a local touch. This was quite interesting. The service was also good although they did not think about pouring wine or water when needed.

Chocolate cake with liquid chocolate filling

The desert was a highlight. I ordered the chocolate cake which was somewhat like a chocolate soufflé. It came with some berries and ice cream. On the whole, we had a great dinner.

Poppy seed parfait

We also had the poppy seed parfait in a mint sauce with orange zest. This was a rather interesting combination.

All in all, Cyrano was an interesting restaurant. It is modern, with interesting cuisine implementing Hungarian tastes. This is a restaurant I would definitely recommend when visiting Budapest.

Greek Island Santorini

This summer we decided to support the Greeks and visit the island of Santorini. I have already been to Crete which is quite a big island. I had heard of Santorini before and heard that it is actually the best island to visit.

Santorini airport

Tower at Santorini airport

When you arrive at Santorini you realise how small everything seems to be. We took a bus from the plane to the airport which seems more like a bigger bus station. The conveyor belt has no signs whatsoever showing the planes arriving. You just wait and see if you find your bag. The sanitary conditions at the airport finally reminded you that you are in Greece in case you had not realised that yet. The airport tower was rusty and seemed like it was going to fall apart soon. Reminded me of some place in deep Russia only difference being that you do not step out of the plane and go through the gates of the airport right onto the main road of the city/town.

Mediterranean Royal Hotel

Hotel Beach

We had booked a tour and had a bus take us to the hotel. This was ok, because or hotel was only 2 kilometres away from the airport. Now you may think that this will be a very noisy area with planes flying all the time, but it was not. In fact it was never loud with plane flying, which happened about twice an hour during the day. The only loud planes are the military planes, which seemed to be flying from a military base located on the island of which we learned later. The hotel was ok. It had two pools and a beach. We stayed at the royal

Sea

Beach at the hotel

Pool bar

Hotel area, bungalows

The hotel was at the beach. The beach was some kind of black pebble sand. It was better to lie at one of the pools. The sea water itself is actually quite cold and the beach is a stone beach. You need rubber socks/slippers to go into the water. This is something the tour guides don't tell you. It was ok after a while though. The island itself is quite windy. If the weather gets a little worse, it gets even windier blowing the towels away. That was something I did not expect and it was a little annoying.

Winery

We rented a quad bike one day and decided to drive around. Not far away from our hotel, there was a winery. As I am interested in wine, I did want to find out what Santorini has to offer.

As you may expect from a hot climate, Santorini wines would be quite strong from the sun they receive. This is not really the case because of the simple cultivation. 

Wine museum

Winery

 When you get to the winery, you can have a tour and go to the wine museum. We skipped the tour and bought the ticket in order to go straight to the wine tasting. The reason for this is that I have been to many vineyards and did not expect to learn anything new about wine in Greece. Getting back to the simple cultivation, I would like to say that the Greeks are even simpler than Italians in some regions, whereas the reason for Italians making simple wines is usually that the conditions are good enough for making good quality wine with the grapes and conditions they have. In short, most Greek wines in Santorini are kept in steel tanks for 6 months maximum and are then bottled. The only wine which is kept in oak barrels for 24 months or more is the Vinsanto which is a sweet wine. Actually it is a sherry. They mainly use Greek grapes. I will not go into detail because I do not think it makes a difference.

Tasting area inside the winery

Obviously, with the methods the wine makers in Santorini use, you can not expect any high quality wine. This is why I only drank white wine, maybe some Rosé. The higher price ranges are also not in any way better so you can stay with the mediocre wine or otherwise drink beer.

Oia

Oia apparently has the nicest sunset on the island. We had the quad and drove there. It took us about 45 minutes. The roads are small. The maximum speed everywhere is 50 km/h. It was very windy that day and my sunglasses were almost blown off driving. I would also like to add that the Greek attitude towards maintenance of vehicles or bikes is different to ours. In short, that fixed brake did not work the way it should have when parking. The quad drove off once and hit Vespa. I could pay the owner 15 Euro for his broken mirror and he was fine with it. In Oia I parked it in front of a big rock. When we came back The quad was stuck onto the rock, which was better then it falling off the cliff into the sea.

As in most places, Santorini has a tourist attraction which everyone has to see. This is the sunset in Oia. When you go there, it seems like the whole island, or all tourists on the island are on the way to see this famous sunset. When you walk up the steep narrow paths you try to make your way through and see people sitting on the streets crowded like ants.

View from the top of Oia

In Oia you can see the typical white Greek buildings with round tops which are sometimes blue.

Typical Greek buildings in Oia

Crouds waiting for the sunset

In order to see the sunset, we made our way all the way up and decided to go into a restaurant (see Santorini food and restaurants). This is recommended as you at least have a place to sit then. The stairs and were crowded and there were almost not places to stand or sit to see the sunset.

Oia sunset

We saw the sunset. It was a sunset. What can I say. I doubt that it is very romantic with the crowds there. You can go there once to have a look but there are better ways to experience the sunsets in Santorini which I will get to later.

Kamari

Kamari was a five minute drive away from our hotel. A taxi to Kamari, like any ride cost about 10 Euros. 

In Kamari there are loads of shops on the way to the beach. You can even rent rooms. There are also a couple of restaurants and bars. They are mainly restaurants though.

In the souvenir shops you can buy almost anything. We bought fake sunglasses for 10 Euros for the beach as well as sun hats. Everything was quite cheap.

There is not that much to see but some bars have live music. There is even karaoke in some bars. We found a karaoke bar which was fun. If you want to go for a stroll and a couple of drinks, it is ok. 

Fira

Fira is the capital of the island. It is filled with all sorts of shops and restaurants. There are many gold and jewelry shops as well.

When we had the quad, we drove to Fira during the day as well walking up the narrow and steep paths at the edge of the mountain village. 

View of other island and volcano

View from the top of Fira

There are several bars in the higher part of the village facing the sea. Many of them have a good view. Cacti grow on the hills. We actually tried a cocktail with cactus juice, which was a non alcoholic one. They were  small and cost 10 Euros, so we drank them and left.

Donkeys going up to the top of the village

The only way to get up to the top of Fira is by foot, as driving up is not possible or allowed except with scooter which is also not possible everywhere. This is why they still use donkeys to bring supplies up to the top of the village. There is also a cable car. From the top of the village you can see a small port. It seems that most visitors coming with cruise ships take the cable car up the village or ride up on donkeys.

Sunset in Fira

We went to Fira one evening and went to Tropical Bar and could see a beautiful sunset which was definitely not worse than in Oia and much nicer to look at. We could comfortably sit in this small bar just for the sunset and wait.

Overall I would like to say that Santorini is a beautiful island. Service and quality on the whole is mediocre. If you are going for a holiday and you want to be at the beach and this is enough for you. Then it is good enough. There is almost no night life which is why I did not mention it. There are 2 or 3 so called clubs which are just bars and some crowded Irish Pubs playing house music. I liked the island very much and most of the people there as well. Everybody tried hard everywhere we went to make our stay more pleasant. Some might say that the Greeks have to try harder because they need the money right now, but who doesn't? That's not an argument for me. They all tried hard and were quite nice. They are not the quickest of all people which is why you have to tell them everything 2 or 3 times, but then you get what you want. If you have visited Eastern European countries you will probably understand the mentality. All in all, I would definitely recommend Santorini for a summer vacation and I would consider coming back.