Ilene Squires Photography

Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Friday, November 23, 2012

iPhone Series | Ubud, Bali


Ubud was by far my favorite stop in Bali. Notwithstanding hordes of {Austrailian!} tourists, it is simply a magical place, known to vagabounds worldwide as the cultural capital of Indonesia. As I mentioned before, these are only iPhone photos from my trip and when business slows for the winter, I will begin posting stunning SLR photos from my collection. For now, enjoy these teasers. 

*** ALL IMAGES TAKEN WITH iPHONE 4***

A sunset view over the rice paddies in the city center. 



Attending a Balinese Cremation is hard to come by; EVERYONE hopes to have this opportunity during a trip to Bali and we were oh-so-lucky that the Queen had passed just before our arrival. Below is a picture of the royal officals loading her body onto her palatial burial stand, which was carried 2 miles through a village by a group of men, with a full procession in tow.  Simply amazing to witness!
A view of a temple at dusk from the popular Cafe Lotus. 

Yummy Crispy Duck lunch with traditional accompaniments! 

Our first Ubud lunch at Cafe Wayan. 
A night time performance at the Royal Palace. 







The Monkey Forest where it is highly advised to keep your belongings locked and stowed during your stroll. 

A beautiful driveway in Bali City Center.
Rose petal bath, ginger biscuits and tea post 5 hour Balinese spa treatment. The best I ever had! 
Ubud Dream homestay, our room with a view and delicious bed and breakfast. 

After leaving Ubud, we spent 4 days on the beach in Amed, not without stopping for lunch with this beautiful jungle view. 
DISCLAIMER:  these are low quality videos of the palace performance and monkey forest. Dizzy but fun!



Thursday, November 8, 2012

iPhone Series | Sanur Beach, Bali

If you follow me in Instagram (@isquizzle) you have probably seen most of the photos I am  featuring in this iPhone series. I promise there are more "fancy" photos from my DSLR to come, but I have SO MANY great IG photos, it's hard not to share!

After a 3 day stay in Yogya, we landed in Sanur Beach, Bali. A GREAT, less commercial alternative to Kuta, we enjoyed a couple days beachside before heading inland to the cultural capital, Ubud. 

Here's a photo from my morning jog at low tide - this was a fisherman knee deep in the Bali Sea. 
 
 Temples accesible by boat at high tide or a swim/wade at low tide. 
Stumbling upon this night food market, we nearly lost our minds in epicurean heaven. My favorites were the dessert stands which reminded me of my childhood visits to the swapmeet, whiel feasting on Filipino treats.


Friday, November 2, 2012

iPhone Series | Yogyakarta {Yogya}

This summer (eons ago!) I took a {bucket list} trip to Southeast Asia. Upon my return,I was slammed with job after job. Of course, not something to complain about but this left little time to blog about the AH - MAZING trip I took. To top, my travels abroad made it impossible to blog away from home with limited contact with technology (again, a true blessing in disguise). 

So here I am, two and a half months later getting started on my Asian adventure. I am going to start these post with a series of iPhone photos. These images are just teasers, preludes to my "real" {DSLR} photos, where I will tell the full story on each destination. Enjoy the samplers to come! 

After 36 hours of travel from NYC > Hong Kong > Jakarta > Yogyakarta, we had arrived! Oh, and by "we," I mean me and my travel companion, Jaxira. We traveled together for 2 long weeks through Indonesia, which was my first stop on a month long trip abroad. Pictured below is Borobudur Temple, with Mt. Merapi in the distance. 
Yours truly after a 3 am sunrise hike to a viewpoint of Borobudur. 
Our accomodations were lovely, oasis like (more to come, of course!) at D'omah Yogyakarta.

Outdoor Cafe
View of the local rice paddy from the cafe



Connecting domestic flight, on Garuda en route to Bali! 

Monday, May 2, 2011

One Week in Buenos Aires, Gastronomy

Everyone in my inner circle knows me as a foodie. While indulging in a five - star meal, it is not unlikely that I am planning my next one. Out loud.
Buenos Aires was a natural fit for me from iconic dessert fancies to the savory aged meats and cheeses. And who could forget the libations? With all of the European influences on Argentine culture, it is no surprise that wine and beer were not only top notch but often times, cheaper than water!

Have you ever had an alfajor? Nestled between two cake-y cookies you will find a delicious middle filling of dulce de leche. I am not a dessert person, or so that is what I say to justify overeating the savory, but hot-damn! Alfajores are the perfect pairing for a coffee or tea. On a day trip to Colonia de Sacramento across the canal in Uruguay, we encountered these alfajores caseros or, homemade alfajores. 
 Interesting fact about alfajores? They are a derivative of Arab culture, traveling back to the era of Arab rule on the Iberian peninsula. The ones below are topped off in a thin coconut layer. OMG!
 Cafe Tortoni is a Buenos Aires staple. There, one can find anything from decadent desserts, a live Tango show and the famous sifones, better know as seltzer bottles made famous at the turn of the century. 
Ice cream lovers beware! You are going to put on approximately 5lbs with the gelato alone. If ever in Buenos Aires, Freddo, a nationwide chain serving up the most ah-mazing super dulce de leche, is a must - do! 
And this naughty face and finger? Scroll down....
 just topped off an entire container of fresh store - bought dulce de leche! Without a spoon!
 Argentines call a pint a chop, and Quilmes, the national beer, is to die for. If you're in the mood for a moderately priced bottle of Malbec, try Septima. 
 There is a HUGE Italian influence in Argentina, obvious in their dialect of Castellano and their love for limoncello! Mirinda is an Uruguyan soda. 
American brunch eateries, if you are reading, please adopt Lomo al Caballo which translates to: Breaded veal with an egg "riding on it's back." This is the Uruguay edition, Chivito Uruguayo. WHOA. 
No shame in my game! 
We had our finest meal at La Cabrera, in Palermo Soho.
Bife de Chorizo with Roquefort cheese and pureed pumpkin? It was a little slice of heaven.  
We topped off dinner with a dessert for three: champagne, 3 desserts with one to spare. 
 I hold no pretenses; I LOVE street food almost as much as I love processed meat. Yup! I said it. If I wasn't a married woman I would eat cold cuts and cheese off a wooden board for dinner each night. 
If you were wondering what a Choripan is, worry no more! It is just a fancy word for street sausage. Below was the "Tabla Enorme!" Um...
At Lo de Jesus, another quaint Palermo Soho eatery, we had our one cultural foodie experience. By that I mean, we ate things that were rare finds and that I would be OK with never having again. Ever. I grew up eating all sorts of "exotic" things but boy, this Tabla de Carne was out of this world. 
Now that I know what Rinones, Glandulas, Mollejas, and Chinchulines look like, and more importantly, what they taste like, I think these may be the only carnivorous foods I've ever eaten that weren't for me. But don't they look so good?!
Pictured below was the tabla we had on our last night which was far less adventurous than the one at the fancy restaurant! 
A few nights during our trip we hit the local grocer, which you will see below, and made our own tabla with fresh figs, pears, cheeses and chorizo. So tasty on a fresh baguette and artisan olive oil. 
Antonitos, our charming local grocer is featured below. I wish New York had markets like this on every corner. LOVE!