Kuba
Ek het onlangs besoek Kuba vir die eerste keer en het dit! Dit is beslis 'n plek wat ek graag weer sal wil besoek. Dit gesê dat die vind van heerlike vleis gratis etes was 'n uitdaging by tye.
Maar my eerste klein episodes van wanhoop begin nog voordat ek 'n voet op die pragtige eiland curtesy van die Kubaanse nasionale lugredery Cubana. As my vlug vanaf Gatwick wasnt totdat 12.40 Ek het brunch by die ooit vaal, maar die beste van 'n slegte Suid-Terminal klomp wat Cafe Rouge. Ek trap die veel uitgetrap maar altyd hoopvol bagasie vry semi-euforiese eksotiese plek verwagtende roete na die Vs op die eetplek spyskaarte om die groot helder wye aandeelhouding / shopping hangar. Ek het geweet dat ek reeds 'n goeie glas of twee van rooi met my brunch kan hê, dit is Gatwick nie Karnataka na al. Maar na 'n kredietkaart bashing direkte koop van 'n intreevlak DSLR (Dit was noodsaaklik as ek hadnt in staat was om my Coolpix op te spoor op 'n laaste minuut treilvissery van die warboel van my woonstel) …Ek het uiteindelik met die pap sirkel deeg op gemengde sampioene op die byna nice Pasta de Champignons '£ 5,95. Comfort food, amper mooi, maar om meer troos dit nodig om 'n kant van patat £ 2,95 en 'n slaai £ 3,50. Vervelig vervelige vervelige! Maar meer as vervelig Ek veronderstel, skandalig byna as hierdie betaal moes word vir na al. Ek het opgemerk 'n voorliefde in Frans (en pseudo Franse) restaurante vir die gebruik van ongesoute botter. Om my nie heeltemal frankofiel palet ongesoute botter net smaak soos ongesoute vet. Ook skande vir 'n Franse of pseudo Frans of het homself gegee 'n Franse naam ketting die 'Baguette' waarvoor die ongesoute vet was 'n begeleiding en waarvoor hulle £ 2,25 is 'n bietjie goedkoop mandjie stywe lugtig onbelangrik karton.
Toe te voeg belediging vir besering al die personeel is kruiperige oor twee uber ernstige praat en miserabel soek geskik tipes wat blyk te wees probeer om elke gereg op die spyskaart, By nadere ondersoek het ek ontdek hulle eintlik probeer om elke gereg op die spyskaart byt deur byt en dan na ernstige bespreking hulle neer te skryf dinge. Hierdie mense het dit geblyk vir die maatskappy gewerk en was die smaak toets of sou gewees het as daar iets was 'n voorsmakie gehad. Met hierdie twee te suig word tot diens stadig was. Die slaai is anemies, die skyfies was slap, Die wyn is fyn. Ek havent het selfs aan die diaboliese interpretasie van vegetarisme ek teëgekom op die vliegtuig nog. Dit is 'n goeie werk ek didnt 'n toebroodjie op die trein het.
Ek is nie een van die mense wat die lugredery kos waai weg wanneer sy na my gebring, veral as ek een van daardie mense wat almal staar na om te sien wat hulle het, want die vegetariese etes is altyd eerste bedien. So minder as vier uur nadat my duur Cafe Rouge zware kost Ek verwyder die foelie deksel van die klein genoeg amper lekker gedeelte van pasta in tamatiesous, nog anemies slaai en die verpligte koppie verkoelde waatlemoen. Ek was nie honger ly, sodat didnt afguns my bure chocolatey koek. Ek het 'n definitiewe patroon in die lewering van lakto ovo vegetariese maaltye. Daar mag kaas in die grootste deel van die ete, maar dit is nie gewoonlik met klappers daarna as wat dit is met die nie vegetariese maaltye. Enigiets soet en taai word vervang deur ysige waatlemoen blokkies en die klop van botter vervang deur wit margarien (Dit sou sin natuurlik maak vir 'n vegan ete, maar daar was kaas op die pasta). Ek drink die wyn wat bedien is met 'n ete en as ek was om te wees uit te vind was net met die ete bedien word en was nie te koop. Op 'n stadium gelyk of daar 'n man aan die agterkant van die vliegtuig verkoop plastiek koppies rum wees (of miskien was dit 'n hipoglisemiese hallusinasies) maar hy was weg teen die tyd dat ek besluit dit is tyd vir 'n ander drank. Die vlug was dertien uur as daar 'n stop vir die val af passasiers en brandstof by Holguin.
Geen meer verversings bedien vir wat lyk soos agt uur en deur dan het ek was regtig honger weer. Die volgende aanbieding is voorafgegaan deur die welkome skitter van die aktiwiteit van die bemanning, hierdie toestand van afwagting was kort gesny vir my wanneer 'n bestuurder met 'n deadpan uitdrukking plek 'n piesang in 'n plastiese skinkbord voor my. Ek het hom gevra wat was in die toebroodjies wat nou uitgedeel. Hulle lyk soos kaas. Hulle was kaas. 'Dit is nie vir 'n vegetariese, dit is vir 'n vegetariese "hy het my hou my piesang. "Maar ek wil graag 'n broodjie as hulle is kaas". Ek het gaan sit naby die kombuis en 'n lugwaardin begin die bestanddele etiket op die broodjie te lees. "Daar is kaas. Jy eet kaas? In elk geval jy kan nie, u vegetariese "Nou was ek aan die verdagte lyk, die vals vegetariese. "Daar was kaas op die pasta wat jy my gebring" Ek het vir hulle gesê, my senuwees nou gerinkel in honger irritasie. Uiteindelik nadat almal het 'n broodjie is een gegee is voor my geplaas, Gelukkig was daar een links vir die ongemaklike vegetariese.
Binnekort!
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I agree it can be a nightmare trying to find veggie food when travelling. I’ve had similar experiences to your cheese sandwich/banana fiasco and it is infuriating. As regards eating when you get there, as well as googling local restaurants etc I’ve also contacted veggie groups in the past. They have useful local knowledge of what’s available and are usually happy to help 🙂
anyone departing from gatwick south must have been to cafe rouge if in hunger, since the alternatives ere very poor indeed..
and everyone must have experienced some bad service there, since the staff knows customers are there more for necessity than desire of an authentic french bistro.
same disappointment with the baguettes, that, at the time, i excused, given the very late hours..
no excuses for a friend of mine being given the wrong order, even after a busy day, any inesperienced waiter should be able to get the right orders, if he has a notepad, and is serving a table of 3.. and all this in a nearly empty place (maybe 2 other tables)
even then, anyway, we were accomodating, and my friend accepted the wrong order, it was late for the flight, after all, but would have been nice to receive some sort of discount, or at least free fake baguettes..
i was reasonably happy with my naked snails (ja, they don’t even pretend to reuse empty shells, they give you just the bare slug..) and the soggy baguette was a decent dip in all that parsley and garlic sauce..
but next time i will make sure to dress smart, and pretend to fill a secret shopper form, not to escape the bill, but to see if the service improves..
about your flight, i suppose it’s not entirely their fault, it was you to expect a bit too much..
Cubana Airlines must be staffed by cubans, and probably for them, used to so much deprivation, where a slab of meat is a brown luxury item covered in flies at the local market, the idea of a wealthy and healty foreigner refusing such a treat as a meal coming from some animal parts, must look as an insult to their struggles and to their imposed fruit and veg rich diet..
it is probably impossible for them to grasp the differences between vegans, edenics, and macrobiotics alike..
but we cannot blame them for being offered a banana or a boiled egg at the wrong time, after all they just follow directives..
I am a proud carnivore, so i would go for the egg AND the banana, whit cheese on top, but i would also suggest any vegetarian on holiday to keep a couple of cereal bars handy, when abroad, just in case, to avoid starvation..
Pier
I couldnt agree more! Anyone who departs from Gatwick South (regularly) and even a lot of people who havent been to Gatwick South must have gone to the phony Bistro. But we do they put up with it? Personally I would rather have soggy mushrooms on soggy pastry than naked slugs in sauce but why hasnt someone staged a protest along the lines of ‘we wont eat in your grotty overpriced restaurants until they arent grotty and overpriced anymore’? Down with the fake baguettes! On faire la greve!
I found Cubans often to be nonplussed by vegetarianism. On the flight the upholstery of the seats was different and my light wasnt working. The sleepy couple next to me pulled the blind down and I asked them to raise it a little so I could read. There was no interactive entertainment but the seats were bigger with more leg room. The banana incident was a prelude to experiencing it all without eating flesh. I’m no Edenic but they can keep their brown luxury items covered in flies.
And next, proud carnivore, Im going to post a delicious recipe that will have you shouting ‘meat is murder’ before you can say Escargot Bourguignon.
if the recipe that was supposed to make me scream ‘meat is murder’ (once agreed on giving murder a bad connotation) was your penne con melanzane rendition, that failed to hit the mark, not because of the ingredients, I in fact love aubergines, rich in nicotine and with a very peculiar spicy texture, but because all the effort and time spent in cooking could be saved and spent pursuing different objectives..
just yesterday, what a coincidence, i bought in sainsbury’s a jar of roasted greek aubergines imam, that, once chopped in smaller chunks, spread onto slices of mozzarella, and put in a microwave for about 40 sekondes, gives you a very close approximation of your recipe..
just to be sure i was’n fooling myself with the final result, ive just had it as an afternoon snack, without the pasta, of course..
delicious.. ..and within a very reasonable price range (£2.26 a jar)
of course if i had to cook for more than 2 people, your method would be considered, but to indulge myself in a fast treat, i consider my procedure easier..
going back to the murderous recipe, i was expecting something on the lines of the ortolan, blinded songbirds fattened up to 4 times their size in a dark cage, then drowned in a snifter of armagnac, plucked, then roasted for about 6 minute…
such a delicacy that they must be eaten whole, biting off the head, with the diner’s own head covered by a napkin, not to be disturbed during such a feat…
unluckily the practice has been banned in the past 3 years in france, and it would be very expensive to get hold of one in the near future..
good for me, as you know, i am off to vietnam in less than a month, and there, next to dogs, rats and snakes, i will be able to taste drunken prawns, drowned in rice wine..
maybe not the peak of gastronomy, as ortolans are reputed to be, but still some new flavours to add to my library..
after all even Darwin himself wanted to taste every single animal he was coming in contact with..
Darwin was rumoured to have become vegetarian in later life, if so he evolved. He said ‘There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties.… The lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery’. But as you perhaps condone murder you are not being discriminatory.
That dish doesnt really take long to cook at all (I usually make lots of tomato sauce and freeze it so its even easier for subsequent suppers). You could cook it one evening and even if you were all alone I’m sure you wouldnt lose any of your other objectives. It just appears time consuming when every action is listed. Anyway its worth it! I’m pleased, egter, that you enjoyed your jar of aubergines they may have saved the life of a small bird.
You could always add some more plant flavours to your library. Have fun in Vietnam and remember dogs are man’s best friend.