10 things you mustn’t do at the kilo

/7 Comments/in

Last week I told you a little about the tactics I employ at the kilo restaurant near my work. It’s hardly rocket science, but there are a few things that you should bear in mind when you visit the kilo. 


My top tip is not to lose your ticket. Without the ticket you have no way of proving how much (or more to the point, how little) you ate. Therefore you will have to pay the massive default price, set deliberately high in order to eliminate the incentive to ‘accidentally’ lose your ticket after a big meal. 


Here are ten more tips/rules/guidelines on how to behave at the kilo restaurant (stolen adapted from a recent article in IG): 

========================

1. This ain’t finger-food
Don’t go snacking on food before you’ve paid for it. 

Oh no she didn’t! Uh-huh, eating food you haven’t paid for is a no-no. Image: http://www.ig.com.br/



2. Keep your hair on
Try not to drop hairs in the food (did this one need saying?)

3. No tortoises in the kilo
These places get very busy at lunch. It is very annoying when someone in front is dithering and taking ages to make their mind up. Get in, get your food, get out of the way. The article suggests a tactic I often employ: do a little reconnaissance run by the food first so you know what you want. 


Read more

The Best in the World?

/11 Comments/in

I love cheese. Seriously, I’m a big fan, it’s one of the main reasons I don’t have one of those svelt, uber-bodies that you see on television (one of the reasons – there are others, like weaknesses for butter, paté, wine, beer and aversion to exercise). But anyway, please know that I love cheese. And I miss cheese from England – real Cheddar, Stilton, Blue Wensleydale, Stinking Bishop… drool. 

 

Stinking Bishop – not a classic name, but a seriously good cheese.

 

 

Read more

The Herbs are Smoking!

/4 Comments/in

The best way to describe recent weather in Rio would be ‘changeable’. Yesterday was blisteringly hot, then last night there was a torrential downpour (just after got home – yes!). This morning I woke to a rather tedious drizzle which reminded me of England. 


A day or two of rain doesn’t really bother me (well, unless those two days are Saturday and Sunday!) – I actually rather like a bit of mixed weather. And it seems that I’m not the only one!

 

This Basil ain’t Fawlty! In fact it is getting a little bit too successful.

Read more

The foods you have to try in Rio.

/5 Comments/in

If someone asked me what I thought were the essential foods to try when coming to Rio, I would probably bore them to death with my list of personal favourites. Of course it’s a subjective, erm, subject. I know some of my favourite Brazilian dishes won’t be to everyone’s tastes. A good example would be Tacacá. I don’t think anyone would argue against it being delicious, but the mucus-like goma de mandioca will seriously challenge some people’s appetite. 

Remember this piece of awesomeness from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? Well Tacacá is nothing like this. But at the bottom of the bowl you will find a substance may cause you to reminisce about the last time you had a cold…





But although the exotic dishes are pretty cool (well, I think so anyway), they aren’t the ones I’d describe as essential. The foods you have to try aren’t particularly fancy, but they are a part of everyday life and if I were a visitor, these are exactly the things that I would want to taste first. I’ve covered a few of them already: Pão de queijo, farofa, coxinha, pastel. 


Today I thought I’d tell you about one more.



Read more

Street Runes from São Paulo

/5 Comments/in

About a year ago I spent about a week in São Paulo. I didn’t have much money (and São Paulo is expensive!) so I spent quite a lot of time wandering around and getting a feel for the city. Before going I had read this article on the BBC website, which tells of some of the strong culture of creativity in Brazil’s largest city. 


I was particularly intrigued by mention of Beco do Batman (Batman’s alley), a 100m stretch of alleyway, covered in all kinds of awesome looking street art. Somewhat typically of me, I never got round to going to this place (I’m saving it for my next visit), but while strolling around the streets I did see loads of amazing street art. 


But as well as loads of nice images, I noticed a lot of strange rune-like symbols all over the place.

Read more