Modern Times restaurant, Switzerland

Just a short one, as I'm on holiday and typing on my phone, which I'm not so keen on.

Went to the new 'Modern Times' hotel for supper tonight, it's in Vevey, Switzerland, near where the new Charlie Chaplin museum is going to be.

The food is v good and quite pricey (their specialty is meat, and meat in Switzerland is expensive...) the service was a bit slow, but it's their second week since they opened, so I guess they're still getting used to it all.

To end the meal, and to help with digestion, I went with a Camomile tea, which the menu stated as (something like) "proper real camomile" tea, with a line all to itself in the menu.

I expected loose leaf, given the strainer, but it was just a rather large tea bag. I suppose it does look neater like that, but then once you take the strainer out, the level drops quite a bit.
Still tasty though, and just at the right temperature to keep up with coffee drinkers.

And just because it was rather tasty and pretty, here's a picture of the desert - meringue, red fruit and double cream.

TBT - Throw Back Tea's-day - Japan

Last year, I was lucky enough to get offered a job which sent me to Japan for a weekend. Having never been and always wanted to go, I accepted straightaway, and made sure I got a couple of extra days to do a bit of sight-seeing around Tokyo.

Now, you might be thinking this post will be about going to a tea ceremony, I mean, what's more Japanese than that.

Well, believe it or not, in all my excitement I'd completely forgotten about those...and by the time I got there, I didn't have the time or the budget to go find one.

So that'll be for next time! Hoping there will be one...

But I did get to experience the great culture surrounding tea when going out for meals and being served a complementary cup of tea when sitting down at the table.
I also gave one of their green ice-teas a try...and the flavour was rather unexpected to my western, over-sweetened taste-buds - it was so bitter!

So here are few tea-related pictures of my adventure on the other side of the world, my first ever Asian experience.

The hotel I stayed at for work did have a room kettle, and it was one of the sweetest I've ever seen.

The tea that they served in the media centre at Fuji was also very good and very welcoming. Took a couple of packets home with me, but I think I've drunk them all now. 

Pandino, Hasselt

So my first review for this new blog is for Pandino, a café in Hasselt I've been to quite a few times since moving here two years ago.
It wasn't my first choice for this morning's cuppa hunt, but my first goal, which I thought would make a good first entry, was completely full, and I didn't fancy sitting outside in the drizzle...even with a blanket and heater, it's just not that pleasant on your own.

*Expat note* One thing you get to learn quickly about Hasselt, and Belgium in particular, is that Belgians really like their food, and love going out to eat, so be prepared for nice places to be full a lot of the time...Seriously, I have more trouble finding somewhere quiet to eat here than I did in London!

So, back to the review -  having stuck my head in, and bumped into a colleague, (Hasselt - small yet busy) I went off to try and find somewhere else to get a cuppa, and ended up at Pandino around the corner.

Pandino is a basic café, where you can get a decent soup and sandwich at lunchtime, and has very friendly owners working there. I noticed this morning that they have regulars who come in for their weekly morning coffee and the owners greet them by name and bring them their drink without any need to order.

The clientele on a Saturday morning leans more towards the older generation. Though it does appeal to all ages. My main experience with Pandino had been from going there for lunch occasionally after my Dutch classes. This was my first morning visit.

The tea menu is decent, with decent prices for Hasselt, the average cuppa price from what I'm used to

Before, when I've had tea here, it's come in one of those pot-cup combos, where you can pour it out as you want to, and it tends to stay warm a bit longer. This morning, I was served a cup of tea, with a good sized pain au chocolat with it.

One of the perks of living in Belgium - or at least in Flanders, I need to go get some Walloon cuppas to compare - is that if you order a hot drink in the morning in a café, you will often get a small treat to go with it. That pain au choc was included in the price. I noticed they also had mini croissants and other pastries, but I don't think you usually get to choose.
The water temperature was decent, cool enough to drink right away, but that also makes for a slow infusion, so it cools down quite quickly. They serve Lipton tea, and though the menu says English Blend, it was English Breakfast tea, the triangular sachets.

As I was quite peckish, I'm glad that it was more than just a biscuit on the side, and I'll have to remember this place next time Sweet Coffee is full.