Cúba
Thug mé cuairt ar na mallaibh Cúba don chéad uair agus an grá é! Tá sé seo cinnte áit mhaith liom buíochas a cuairt a thabhairt arís. Ag rá go raibh a aimsiú dinnéir saor feoil delicious dúshlán ag amanna.
Ach ar mo chéad eipeasóid beag cráite thosaigh roimh leag mé fiú cos ar an oileán tAcht Córtais álainn ar an Cubana aerlíne náisiúnta Cuban. Mar mo eitilt ó Gatwick was not go 12.40 Bhí mé brunch ag an tur riamh ach an chuid is fearr de droch bunch Críochfort Theas atá Cafe Rouge. Trod mé an bagáiste saor leath-euphoric suíomh coimhthíocha bealach expectant i bhfad trod ach riamh dóchasach de féachaint ar an vs ar na biachláir asraon bia ar fud an geal ar fud an gabháltas / hangar siopadóireachta mór. Bhí a fhios agam cheana féin go raibh mé in ann a bheith gloine maith nó dhá cheann de dearg le mo brunch, is é seo Gatwick ní Karnataka tar éis gach. Ach tar éis cárta creidmheasa bashing cheannach toirt de DSLR leibhéal iontrála (bhí sé seo ríthábhachtach mar hadnt mé in ann a aimsiú ar mo Coolpix ar trál nóiméad deireanach ar an clutter de mo árasán) …Chríochnaigh mé suas leis an ciorcal soggy taosráin ar beacáin measctha ar an beagnach deas 'Feuillete de Champignons' £ 5.95. Chompord bia, beagnach deas ach a bheith níos comforting gá sé taobh Fries Fraincis £ 2.95 agus sailéad £ 3.50. Leadránach Leadránach leadránach! Ach níos mó ná leadránach is dócha, scannalach beagnach mar sin bhí a bheidh le híoc tar éis gach. Tá mé faoi deara penchant i bhFraincis (agus pseudo Fraincis) bialanna chun úsáid a bhaint as im unsalted. Do mo pailéad im unsalted nach Francophile leor blas díreach cosúil ramhar unsalted. Chomh maith leis sin scannalach le haghaidh na Fraince nó pseudo bhFraincis nó thug é féin ainm slabhra na Fraince an 'Baguette' a raibh an ramhar unsalted thionlacan agus a muirear siad £ 2.25 Is ciseán beag saor de airy righin cairtchláir inconsequential.
Insult a chur le gortú go léir a bhí an fhoireann fawning thar dhá uber labhartha tromchúiseach agus olc ag lorg cineálacha oiriúnach a bhfuil an chuma a bheith ag iarraidh ar gach mhias ar an roghchlár, ar iniúchadh níos dlúithe a fuair mé amach go raibh siad ag iarbhír ag iarraidh ar gach mhias ar an bite roghchlár ag bite agus ansin tar éis plé tromchúiseach a bhí siad rudaí a scríobh síos. Na daoine sé chun obair don chuideachta agus bhí tástáil blas nó bheadh dá raibh rud ar bith a bhfuil blas. Leis an dá a sucked suas go dtí an tseirbhís a bhí mall. Ba é an sailéad anemic, bhí na fries flaccid, bhí an fíon fíneáil. I havent fuair fiú le léiriú gcailleach gránna de vegetarianism bhain mé ar an eitleán go fóill. A post maith nach raibh mé ceapaire ar an traein.
Níl mé ar cheann de na daoine a tonn amach bia aerlíne nuair a tugadh dom go háirithe mar tá mé ar cheann de na daoine a stares gach duine ar a fheiceáil cad tá siad fuair mar gheall ar na béilí vegetarian a sheirbheáil i gcónaí ar dtús. Mar sin, níos lú ná ceithre huaire an chloig tar éis mo daor Cafe Rouge stodge bhaint mé an clúdach scragall an chuid beagnach blasta bheag leordhóthanach pasta in anlann trátaí, sailéad anemic eile agus an cupán éigeantach melon fuaraithe. Ní raibh mé ocras éad chomh did not mo chomharsana chocolatey císte. Tá mé faoi deara patrún cinnte i seachadadh lacto ovo vegetarian béilí. D'fhéadfadh a bheith ann cáis sa chuid is mó de na béile, ach a ní thugtar de ghnáth le crackers ina dhiaidh mar go bhfuil sé leis na béilí neamh vegetarian. Tá Rud ar bith milis agus greamaitheach ionad ciúbanna melon oighreata agus tá an pat ime ionad margairín bán (Bheadh sé seo ciall ar ndóigh a dhéanamh le haghaidh béile vegan ach ní raibh cáis ar an pasta). Ól mé an fíon seirbheáladh go bhfuil dinnéar agus mar a bhí mé a bheith a fháil amach go raibh ach a sheirbheáil le dinnéar agus ní raibh ar díol. Ag céim amháin tá an chuma a bheith ina fhear ar chúl an eitleáin ag díol cupáin phlaisteacha de rum (nó b'fhéidir go raibh sé seo le hallucination hypoglycemic) ach bhí sé imithe leis an am a chinn mé go raibh sé in am do deoch eile. Ba é an eitilt trí cinn déag uair an chloig mar go raibh stad do dropping as paisinéirí agus athbhreoslaithe i Holguin.
Seirbheáladh Níl sólaistí níos mó le haghaidh an méid a chuma cosúil le ocht n-uair an chloig agus faoin am sin bhí mé i ndáiríre ocras arís. Roimh an tairiscint seo chugainn ag an borradh fáilte gníomhaíochta na foirne, Gearradh an staid oirchill gearr dom nuair a maor le áit léiriú gan gáire banana i tráidire plaisteach i os comhair dom. D'iarr mé air cad a bhí sna ceapairí a bhí á láimh amach anois. D'fhéach siad cosúil le cáis. Bhí siad cáis. 'Nach bhfuil na do vegetarian, tá sé seo le haghaidh vegetarian 'scolded sé a bhfuil mé suas mo banana. 'Ach ba mhaith liom ceapaire mar go bhfuil siad cáis'. Bhí ina suí mé in aice leis an galley agus stewardess thosaigh a léamh ar an lipéad comhábhair ar an ceapaire. 'Tá cáis. Itheann tú cáis? Mar sin féin ní féidir leat a bheith, ordaíonn tú vegetarian 'Anois, bhí mé faoi réir Breathnaíonn amhrasach, an vegetarian falsa. 'Bhí cáis ar an pasta a thug tú dom' Dúirt mé leo, mo nerves jangling anois i greannú famished. Faoi dheireadh tar éis gach duine a tugadh ceapaire a bhí ceann amháin a chur i os comhair dom, ámharaí an tsaoil ní raibh ar chlé amháin don vegetarian awkward.
Ag teacht go luath!
Álainn Valle de Vinales agus iontach Havana, leabhair, scannáin, oidis agus níos mó!
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. Tá eolas áitiúil úsáideach acu ar a bhfuil ar fáil agus de ghnáth bíonn siad sásta cabhrú 🙂
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 (yes, 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..
Piara
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 soicind, 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 nóiméad…
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, however, 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.