Voorschotense Farm Fair 2013

I started to develop a great interest on farm life ever since an Aussie exchange-student, Tim shown us a video recording his typical day in his family's farm in Australia years back.

I was super excited when I spotted this hand-drawn wooden-plate advertising the "Voorschotense Farm Fair 9-Juni 2013" a month ago on my way to Harlem in the train. I quickly marked down the date. This is indeed a highly anticipated farm fair for me, perhaps my very first farm fair in Europe.

Voorschotense Farm is located merely 11 minutes by train from the Hague Central station. Situated strategically next to the Voorschoten train station, the farm fair had indeed drawn a lot of crowds. Just like a mini fiesta, people from all walks of life, young and old gathered here to have fun.

Besides the breathtaking scenes of cattle, sheep and horses munching green on the vast lawn, there were so much to explore in this farm fair.

The demonstration of the trained sheepdogs guiding the sheep home. These sheepdogs are so intelligent where they follow the instructions from their master carefully. There were 3 sheepdogs on 'shift' and each of them waited eagerly for their turns to get into the field. These dogs were indeed very energetic!

The live show of pony pulling the carriage. These ponies are indeed very strong where they can pull a heavy carriage of a weight of an adult and a kid.

Special patting zone was set up for tamed farm animals such as lamb, ponies and piggy. These farm animals were so tamed and you can touch them freely without fear. Check out how fascinated the kids were with these farm animals.

As far as I know, piggy bites but not for this fat piggy. This piggy just sat quietly in its defined wired enclosure and welcome warmth pats from the kids.

There were also quite a number of outdoor farm-like activities for kids which were not usually available for city dwellers.

For a minimum fee of an Euro, kids can enjoy fishing or kayaking at the nearby canals.

I personal like this a lot, the dried-hay slide. With some creative twists, the dried-hay can be turned into a simple playground slide for the kids, plus it was 100% natural!

I had so much fun in the farm fair. I hope to return for the fifth edition of Voorschotense Farm Fair next summer, provided I am still around in the Netherlands!

Cheap and Tasty Eat at Berlin's Railway Stations

Berlin is surprisingly a food paradise. From Western to Middle Eastern and Asian, Berlin has it all. The beautiful part of it is, you don't have to travel far for good food here. The railway stations near you  could be the best place to explore a variety of cuisines. You will be amazed and will definitely be spoil with choices.

In this post, I would like to share with all some of the good food I have tried in Berlin, specifically at the railway stations. Check it out!!

1) Currywurst

Slices of grilled pork sausage in ketchup and curry powder, the Currywurst is an iconic German's fast food. It is so well accepted by both the locals and tourists, the Currywurst stands are like mushrooms after the rain, can be easily spotted almost everywhere. Selling at only €2.5 per portion (usually serve with a seperate bun or baguette), I would say it is a cheap yet delectable snack one should not miss when visiting Germany.

2) Klässig's F!sh & Ch!ps

Can be found in major central stations, the local fast food chain, Klässig's F!sh & Ch!ps specialized in fish and seafood. It has an extensive menu which fits any hours of the day. They serve finger food (fried bite size fish fillets and shrimps), baguette sandwiches and also proper meal such as grill fresh fish with baked potatoes and salad.

If you want something more substantial, the house specialty fish paella could just fit perfectly! The portion of the paella is huge and is loaded with fried fish chunks, squid, prawns and mussels. The salad accompanying the paella is prepared fresh over the counter. Thumbs-up for the fish paella! For a reasonable price of €8.90, the fish paella is definitely VFM (value for money).

3) Kebab and Middle Eastern Kebab Rice

Kebab joint is another popular food joint patronize by the locals as well as tourist alike. As convenience as the bread and sandwiches, the to-go kebab wrap (€4.00) is definitely an ideal pick for the meat lovers. Loaded with grilled chicken (or beef) shreds and fresh veggie such as cucumber, tomato, onion and cabbage, kebab wrap is far healthier than the fast food which is high saturated fat.

If you are not on the go, perhaps you may dine-in for a plate of flavourful Middle Eastern kebab rice (€8.90). The fluffy raisin rice is indeed a highlight. The texture is much better than the normal white rice serve in Chinese restaurants.

4) BackWerk

Just like the Albert Heijn To-Go, the self service bakery, BackWerk can be found in almost every railway station in Berlin. Freshly baked breads, crusty rolls, sandwiches, filled baguettes and rolls, paninnis, an assortment of pastries are on offer. Don't be surprise that the selection here is way more extensive than their sister outlets in the Netherlands. The famous German's pretzels are sold here too.

5) Asia Food

For Asian tourists who prefer Chinese food, especially noodles and rice to fill their tummies, fear not! Cheap Chinese food is absolutely within reach at the railway stations. A generous portion of normal fried noodles is selling at a rock bottom price of €2.50 per serving!! I doubt you can get this price in the Netherlands. If you fancy side dishes such as spring rolls, crispy chicken etc to go with the noodles, you just need to top-up another €2.

Made-to-order menu such as soup based curry noodles, pad-thai, Thai curry chicken with rice, spicy sauce chicken with rice etc are available too. You just need to wait for a 10-15 minutes for your food to be served. Either to-go or dine-in, you have the choice since proper dining area is provided too.

How to best describe my food venture in Berlin? Definitely good food, great price and highly convenient of course!!

My First Taste of Bak Chang (Chinese Dumpling) in the Netherlands

Among the Chinese's festive celebrations, my favourite is always the Dragon Boat Festival (also known as the Dumpling Festival 端午节). It is not the dragon boat which I am fascinated about but the Chinese dumplings or bak chang 粽子!! This is the only time of the year I could taste the best home-made dumplings by Auntie Ngo.

Packed with lavish ingredients such as well-marinated braised pork belly pieces, shiitake mushrooms, chest nuts, salted egg yolk and dried shrimps, her bak chang not only tasted great but also looks good too. She is so skillful in wrapping the bak chang where the glutinous rice hold firmly the fillings and form a good looking pyramid shape after streaming. No traces of  spillage of filling is spotted and the bak chang looks exactly like a shining crystal after unwrapping the bamboo leave. To me, Auntie Ngo's bak chang is a piece of art.

Since the Dumpling Festival is just around the corner, I purposely made a stop at the Ru Yi Bakery to grab a bak chang after my grocery shopping at the Chinatown last Sunday. I also got myself the lotus-leaf-rice as the back-up, just in case the bak chang does not turn out good.

Bak Chang (pork dumpling)

The birds eye view of the pork dumpling

Unlike the Hokkien style bak chang, this GuangZhou pork dumpling is pale in look instead of the appealing brownish colour (colour from the dark soy sauce). Mung beans are added to the glutinous rice for better texture. Overall, I find the pork dumpling is on the bland side and severely lack of ingredients - a small piece of miserable pork, half shiitake mushroom and 1/4 salted egg. 70% of the dumpling is glutinous rice and mung bean.

The side view of the pork dumpling

Check out the side view of the pork dumpling. It does have the pyramid shape of what a typical bak chang should be, but unfortunately just lack of taste profile. Perhaps, the heavy palette of me prefer my bak chang with dried shrimps and chest nuts.

Lotus Leaf Rice

Fall under the same category as bak chang  (since the main ingredient is glutinous rice), the lotus-leaf-rice is literally glutinous rice with minced chicken, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese preserved sausage and dried shrimps. The difference between the two mainly on the wrapping and the shape. The pyramid shape bak chang is wrapped in bamboo leave while the lotus-leaf-rice is wrapped in lotus leaf in oblong shape. Unlike bak chang which can only be eaten during the festive, the lotus-leaf-rice is just a normal dim sum item which is available all year round.

I am totally glad that I actually packed this lotus-leaf-rice along with the pork dumpling. The taste profile of this lotus-leaf-rice is somehow a closer match to the bak chang back home. Perhaps it is the dried shrimps that made all the difference.