Sunday, July 15, 2012

Let's Eat Bogota!

Was assigned to this part of the world at the last minute. Had less than five days to prepare and that includes working hours, a trip to see the doctor in KLCC for the yellow fever jab, packing and buying whatever that is needed. That is why I ended up leaving behind some important toiletries like my regular facial wash and shampoo. 

Anyhow, I had some interesting food in Bogota. First of all, ordering food in Bogota is not an easy feat for non-spanish speaking individuals. Barbequed meat is pretty popular namely beef and chicken. It is a little harder to find seafood here. 


Parilla Carne

Tamales is a very traditional Colombian food. It is made from mashed corn glue with small pieces of chicken and some peas. There is another version of Tamales but it is wrapped in corn husk. Taste wise varies as it depends on how good it is. Had it a few times in another hotel but it was not really good but tried it at another place, I like it.


Tamales

Morcilla or blood sausage or sometimes known as black pudding was terrible tasting (this comes from someone who does not like congealed pork blood found in curry noodles in Malaysia). This version of blood pudding have rice as a filler.


Morcilla

Had typical Colombian lunch which was kinda of like set lunch of the day. It comes with a soup (a choice oc cream or traditional soup), a salad, rice with meat, a side of vegetables, plantain or potatoes and a drink. Plantain is deep fried bananas and the variety of banana is large and not sweet.

Sopas

Salada


Typical Colombian Lunch







Brevas or figs was served during one of those lunch meals and also during breakfast to be topped in the cereal. It is figs cooked in a sugarcane (panela) syrup. Taste wise it was just slightly sweet maybe a little weird. 


Brevas

I had arepas a few times and didn't liked it. Told my colleagues how I felt about arepas and they insist that arepas are good. Finally we went to a more proper arepa stall and ordered one with stuffed champinones and it comes with one single boiled quail's egg. However, I still don't really like arepa even after trying this :p However, the mushroom filling is very good as I am a fan of mushrooms :)


Arepas

Empanadas are really delicious. Basically, it is similar to Malaysia's curry puff concept except that the outer skin is made from mashed potatoes and the filling is made from stir fried minced beef. They are really delicious. It is a popular snack as I see it being sold quite often in shops.


Empanadas


The Innards of Empanadas

Sopas or soup is pretty popular eaten by its own with some rice and more often than not, a slice of avocado. The most popular sopas is Ajiaco pronounced as A-hee-a-co (silent J). Basically, the soup contains potatoes, corn and bit and pieces of meat. It also contains a piece of corn on the cob in the soup. I forgot to take picture of it. Instead, I have a picture of Sopa de Mute which is also sopas with an assortment of beans. This is also eaten with rice, a slice of avocado and a delicious pieces of sweet cheese bread. 


Sopa de Mute

My colleague also recommended this beer called Redd's which he mentioned is a ladies' beer which is really good. As light as Hoegaarden but sweeter.



They have special bottled sauces called picante and they come in various flavours.


Picante

Tried their really traditional alcoholic beverage called Aguardiente which literally means Fire Water. Bought a small bottle to try and boy, it really is strong. Before I even sip it, I could smell just how strong it is. Just managed a sip and it feels hot on the throat. The warm feeling is alright for me but not the taste.


Aguadiente

Obleas is a popular sweet snack and who can choose different flavours. I had mine with arequipe which is also known as dulce de leche, mora and crushed nuts sandwiched between two very thin disc of wafer. It was a delicious treat. Sweet from the arequipe and a little sour from the mora. The nuts lends a nutty bite to it.


Obleas with Arequipe, Mora and Crushed Nuts


Paper Thin

Aromatica is a type of fruit tea and not some aromatherapy stuff. I had it from a number of different places but the one that stood out was at the Sopas place near the place where I stayed. It was delicious as it had some fresh fruit like strawberries in it. Another plus point is that, it looked so pretty :)


Aromatica

After a visit to the Gold Museum in download, we hunted for lunch but instead hung out at the cafe. Ordered something that was displayed on menu with the word Desayunos on it. It came with a huge hot choclate, a portion of cheese and two pieces of bread. The portion was B-I-G. Later I found out the bread is actually Pandebono which was cheesy and desayunos is actually breakfast! Below you can compare the size of a coin and the hot chocolate. 


Food in Colombia was indeed an eye opener for me as it is very different from the part of the world where I stay. Even the rice is cooked a little different with a little bit of salt.