Yann Tiersen

Amélie is probably my most listened to movie soundtrack. My college biffle/music guru introduced it to me. Thus, it became the background to many all-nighters and intense essay writing sessions. So naturally when I learned Yann Tiersen, the composer, would be performing in Budapest, I bounced on the tickets. 

Before the concert, I only knew his work in Amélie, but coming out of it---he is soooo much more than just that one soundtrack. It was likely one of the best concerts I've been to based on the quality, creativity and range of musical compositions. Plus, I loved his attitude. Dude is definitely the shit and he just works his magic on stage without too many extra frills/words. Here are a couple videos to share some snippets of his awesomeness--

A little homage to Amélie

Jack of all trades!

A year ago, Yann and co. met a guy named Martin in Berlin. Martin had composed this collection for the East German Olympic program from 1972-83 and this is the first time it's being performed live. Crazy cool mix!

Taco Night

Globalization is a fun buzzhappening that I always love to grapple with. Some champion how it brings everything to your doorstep so you can experience the "world" without ever having to go further than your closest urban center. While I don't think it can actually replace the firsthand experience of travel, I have noticed a continuous spread of some of the most conspicuous goods and foods from stretches of the world in everyday markets and restaurants. Even present day staples like Nutella and Sriracha used to be a rare find in my childhood.

As a foodie with an ambitious palate, I especially love how different places get creative with global foods. In San Francisco, I experienced not just the classic Mexican burrito but also the Sushiritto (a sushi burrito stuffed with tons of fish, veggies and sauces) and Korrito (a korean bulgogi burrito with kimchi rice).

When traveling/living in different cities, there's usually access to an array of Italian, Western (burgers and other assorted interpretations),  Thai, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indian foods. Not always the most "authentic" but good to have options. However, much to my chagrin, a key cuisine is grossly underrepresented/invisible outside of the Americas. Mexican food.

I think I became particularly hooked to the burrito craze in California last year. Starting off in Sunnyvale, I lived a stone throw away from what is likely hands down one of the best Super Burrito joints in the world,  Tres Potrillos. From the flavor of the chicken to the freshness of the salsa, it was just...wow. Moving to San Francisco, particularly the 24th Street Mission neighborhood, I was surrounded by a dizzying array of Mexican food options. In fact, our neighborhood is home to some of the top contenders and winner of the rigorous nationwide Burrito Bracket Evaluation (although I may still be partial to Tres Potrillos ha).

The international Mexican food void makes sense in terms of historical migration patterns, but you would think with globalization, more people would be spreading the phenomenal flavors. I have seen some feeble trans-Atlantic/Pacific appearances of Mexican food. Bangladesh is notorious for its "book menus" where they attempt to list a smorgasbord of unending options, which you have to cleverly pick through to find the items the restaurant can actually prepare. On such menus, you could find the occasional "taco" or "Mexican" chicken/salad dish, but usually they would just be Bengali roti and meats spiced in a South Asian style. There was also a buzz of excitement with news of Accra's first Mexican restaurant. I ventured over with a big group of people (some who had never even tried Mexican food before) in anticipation of indulging my long neglected craving. Sadly, it was just simply an overpriced ($15-30 a dish...in Ghana!) underwhelming mishmash of flavors (the owners were Lebanese so the "burrito" was more like a Middle Eastern wrap).

The heartbreaking gap in the international food market has at least inspired some fun DIY Mexican food nights/cooking experiments. In Ghana, there would be piles of avocados, fresh tomatoes and bunches of onions lining the streets and my mind would jump to guacamole, which we enjoyed with plantain chips as a delish tortilla chip substitute. In Budapest, we have had fun experimenting with "Mexikoi" spice combinations and whipping up all forms of tacos and clean-out-the fridge batches of chili (quite an excellent vegan option).

So when my former Sunnyvale roommate, Kyle, recently came to visit during his Europe woofing adventure, our fond Tres Potrillos reminiscing naturally led to a delish taco night.

Beans, salsa, guac, peppers, meat for the non-vegans & a side cocktail

We couldn't replicate Tres Potrillos, but a happy food coma worthy night nonetheless.

Needless to say, I strongly believe an international Mexican food diaspora would be a smashing success. The ingredients and spices are accessible in most places. Plus its versatility allows it to be dished out in mass street food style batches or sit-down places with relatively low production cost. Pitch to the next restaurant start-up venture capitalist? 

Szimpla Sunday

Szimpla is a ruin pub in my hood. Ruin pubs are fashioned out of old abandoned buildings and are a circus of odds and ends. It's always fun exploring all the different nooks and crannies and seeing what clever decor has transformed the rundown spaces into artistic pieces. In the past, I had only explored Szimpla at night, when it is quite a...show ha. Bachelor parties donned in milkmaid costumes, British blokes causing a ruckus and all sorts of interesting characters.

Did you know rubik's cubes were invented by a Hungarian?

But, on Sunday mornings the madness transforms into a lovely farmer's market. Farmer's markets are one of my favorite places to troll. Just walking around and seeing the variety of produce, breads, jams, honeys, etc. is so relaxing. I love experimenting with new, fresh flavors. Szimpla hosts a completely locally sourced farmer's market. So crazy wonderful seeing the transformation in the daylight---variety of fresh cheeses/dairy (vegan distress...I had to resist every urge to try the truffle butter...), breads, jams and nut butters, sauces and much more. A perfect start to the day wandering through the odds and ends and discovering delish treats with light jazzy live music in the background :)

Why hello Mr. Gnome!

PEANUT BUTTER! Soooo good and fresh---I got two jars--one salty and one with chocolate

I've never seen so many varieties of honey

Love the fedora and the well-positioned coffee cup ;)

Such happy jazzy music to start the day

The Last Supper

Sunday night was my last omnivore supper. Well, my last (omnivore-dairy-animal product) supper.

Yup, you guessed it---the start of a vegan era.
It all unfolded last week when one of my college biffles/Budapest roomies, Gloria, and I went to a documentary screening. To preface, we have been frequenting a delish vegan restaurant in our neighborhood and trying to be more healthy in our food choices. So when we heard there was another vegan restaurant nearby hosting a documentary screening, we decided to check it out.

We were greeted eagerly by the organizer and a member of the Vegan Society who explained that they have many events from movie screenings to food tastings. They also inquired whether we were vegan/vegetarian/interested and we hesitantly mumbled...interested?

The documentary itself was not revolutionary. It followed the lives of different vegans in London (cook, runner, pregnant mom, etc.) and highlighted the ethics and environmental benefits. The debate on sustainable eating is one that I have engaged in often with different parties, particularly Gloria. In college, I read Peter Singer's Animal Liberation and definitely recognized the ethical dilemma. However, I never attempted to change my eating patterns because of

1. Selfishness: getting through all-nighters was hard enough without depriving myself of the classic late night Wawa subs & I just loved my omnivore foods
2. Cynical Rationalizing: industrialized food is inevitable in the current global food system in order to produce affordable food for everyone so what's one more chicken in the grand scheme of things?

I tried to pick free-range meat options when possible/affordable, but at the end of the day, I was never as intense on following up with it as this classic Portlandia sketch--

But back to present-life choices...
As Gloria and I discussed the documentary/veganism over some savory veggie burgers, a new project began to formulate.

Both of us are training for the half-marathon and we have been interested in working on a documentary together for some time. Gloria is a videographer and has all the skills/journalism background and I simply have an affinity for documentaries. We had recently watched Warner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World and loved musing over all the unique characters and the perspectives they shared. Outliers in Antarctica.

Our exposure to the vegan scene in Budapest intrigued us. When I first think of Hungarian cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is a nice meaty goulash. Before venturing over here, I would have never imagined all the vegan food options/communities present in Budapest. Such an underground presence (funnily enough, all the vegan restaurants we have been to are literally underground ha). Therefore, we decided to create a documentary on veganism in Budapest. And in order to truly experience it--we are switching to a vegan lifestyle for the duration of our half-marathon training (until April 19). Walk the walk to talk the talk.

We started on Monday, but before that had a few last supper(s) centered on the meat/dairy/etc. that we would be missing over the next few months. Fish stew, burgers, and our last supper amid our prep errands--

IKEA swedish meatballs (no longer with horsemeat hopefully...)

Last dairy soft-serve

How is vegan life so far? Awesome. LOTS of cooking and exploring new recipes. I actually find that vegan dishes tend to have a much more varied flavor palate than meat dishes because the focus is really on creative combinations of spices/ingredients. One of our main concerns was getting the necessary dietary needs for our half-marathon training. But we have found lots of good substitutes and are learning quite a lot about different nutrition sources. Did you know turnips have calcium?

I feel energized on my runs as well and had a great time today listening to this old school favorite-

and traveling a new route--

Vajdahunyad Castle in City Park

A Hero's finish :)