1. PHO – this dish has to be one the best those cold, chilly afternoons. I love it! It’s actually pronounced “fur”. It consists of chicken or beef that cooks itself in a complex, tasty broth. There are usually lots of noodles, lime, onions, and green peppers in it to. There are many different kinds of Pho, but this is the most typical one.

2. BUN CHA – This dish is perfect for those summer lunches. It’s made of sweet fish sauce broth with a fragrant of many herbs that are mix with gilled pork burgers. So good.

3. CH CA LA VONG – A great dish for dinner. It consists of sticky noodles with grilled fish, roasted peanuts, fish sauce and many onions that are cooked so softly. It’s a dish with not only lots of protein but also great way to fill you up.

These are the dishes I have tried so far, any I can’t get enough of it. So I can only imagine how great these dishes would be in the land of Vietnam.

Most travelers, I believe, seek diversity. Why would one travel to India? Or Colombia? Or to any other city in the world? We travel to learn about a new culture. To eat their food. To dance to their music. To learn their language. It’s because somewhere inside of us, we are curious and of course, embrace diversity. Living in Italy and Mexico were fabulous experiences. But there was one aspect of both experiences that made me miss home. The food. The lack of culture diversity. In Italy, you’re guaranteed to find delicious Italian restaurants. But if you’re craving Mexican food, good luck finding it. I had the same issue in Mexico. Although Mexican food is delicious and couldn’t get enough of it, it was difficult to find a restaurant offering a different cuisine.

Often times, I  drown in my routine while waiting for my next travel adventure to arrive. Luckily, I live in a cosmopolitan city that allows me to travel across cultures without hopping on a plane.

Festivals

I know not everyone lives in a city that organizes a million festivals per year (I’m lucky enough to live in a vibrant city that does) but nevertheless, browse through your local newspaper for festivals planned in your city. I’m sure you’ll be able to find at least one.

A list of some international festivals: Brazilian Film Festival, World Film Festival, Just for Laughs, International Jazz Festival, etc

Entertainment

You’ll always find international performers touring so here is another opportunity to discover something new. Gotan Project for example, is a group from Paris who (kind of) revolutionized tango. They were recently in Montreal for their world tour. Check out your local listings to see who’s coming to town!

Restaurants

As someone who loves to eat, this is my favorite group! Anyone who lives in a cosmopolitan city, you can find a variety of restaurants that will make you travel without moving from your seat. If you’re not as lucky, print out recipes and cook international dishes! Attempt to make Mexican chile rellenos, Hungarian goulash at home or Brazilian moqueca.

Meeting New Friends

The best way to discover a new culture is by having friends from different backgrounds. How can one meet international people when at home?

• At work or school: Mingle with co-workers who are not in your circle of friends. You’ll get to talk to other people and learn what they’re all about.
• Sign-up for an activity or sport: Do what you like, you may meet someone with the same interest as you.
• Join an online community: Did you consider learning a new language? Conversation Exchange allows people to meet friends online to exchange and learn a new language. If you’re interested in meeting people from a specific country, try looking into country-specific types of groups.

Source: http://www.lidimesnacozinha.com.br

I was actually in Montreal when I first tasted brigadeiros, a Brazilian dessert. It was delicious and I couldn’t eat just one! So I knew that I had to eat some more when traveling in Brazil. And I did. And I did again. YUM! One year after eating my first brigadeiro, I got the itch to attempt making them. Surprisingly, it’s easy!

What are brigadeiros anyway? Brigadeiros are Brazil’s national truffle, normally served at any type of party in Brazil. This type of candy was born in the 1940′s, where its name originates from Brigadier Eduardo Gomes, a politician who ran for presidency during the time it was created.

The recipe is easy, mainly because it only has 3 ingredients- condensed milk, cocoa and butter. You heat all 3 ingredients, let it cool down, roll them into balls to then sprinkle them with chocolate. And voila!  It’s paradise for anyone with a sweet tooth!

Note: For anyone in the Montreal area, I suggest you go to Chez Brazil to try brigadeiros or any other type of Brazilian food.

So I decided to find out what is the common breakfast, lunch and dinner. The typical breakfast consists of bread, sausage, and usually 2-3 eggs. Yet, most Russians usually consider their breakfast to be their smallest meal of the day. Sometime breakfast only consists of a bowl of Kasha. Kasha is a bowl of boiled or baked buckwheat groats. Of course breakfast comes with coffee too. As for a Russia lunch, well its made up of some sort of salad. A salad includes salted cabbage and cucumber with beets, potatoes, carrots, and usually all salads have sour cream as dressing. Lunch also includes some sort of meat or fish. With dinner to follow as the most common meal in the Russian culture, it’s usually filled with many calories. Only because the traditional meal consist of beef or pork that is layered in baked or fried dough. Some times, the dough is filled with not only meat but also cheese curds, potatoes, and cabbage. Another dish would be rice stuffed in cabbage leaves, or peppers with beef or chicken rolled in sour cream.

Now as I continued my long search for traditional Russian food, it tended to feature large amounts of fat. Although the main reason for this is because people need to keep warm during the long winter months, so this type of food is perfect for that. So is this your type of good food, or would you say it’s too fatty for you?

credit info: http://www.ehow.com/list_6077965_traditional-russian-foods.html

Courtesy of slack12 (Flickr)

Festivals

Montreal is definitely known as one of the festival capitals of the World. As soon as the sun comes out and birds start chirping, you can expect the beginning of festivals. World renowned festivals such as the Jazz Fest, Just for Laughs, Nuits D’Afrique, Beer Fest, and International Film Fest are just to name a few. Then, once the days get shorter and the snow starts falling, festivals such as the Lights Festival and Igloofest are among the most popular. This being said, winter or summer, there is something going on in the city.

Party, Party, Party

People in Montreal are fun! A city of 2 million people and 4 universities, let’s just say that you’ll always find a place to party, regardless of what day of the week it is. The four main streets of downtown Montreal are Mount- Royal, Saint-Denis,  Saint-Laurent and Crescent. Mount-Royal and Saint-Denis are the hip place to be at the moment. Predominantly French, you’ll find interesting bars such as Porte Rouge, Candy Bar and Edgar. Then comes St-Laurent, also known as the Main. Here you’ll find the supper clubs and most popular night clubs of the city. You can dine and party at posh places like Buona Notte, Globe and Med. If you’re looking for a place to dance and go all out, consider partying at Gogo Lounge (retro music with dancing poles on the bar) or Rouge. Finally, we have our famous Crescent Street. The street is popular among tourists in the  city. It’s an ideal place for Happy Hour at Thursday’s and Winnie’s.

If you’re looking to party in style, head to the Old Port. Here you’ll find nice terraces with cool people. Terrasse Bonsecours is a lounge/club in the middle of the port. Otherwise, you can go to Hotel Nelligan, where you can mingle with both locals and tourists on a beautiful roof top terrace. If you’re looking for a club, Confessionnal plays great music!

Although clubs close at 3am, you normally have a few options for the after party.

1. Winter or summer, you’ll quickly notice that the party continues outside. Whether in the old port or on The Main, you’ll see a crowd of people hanging out and laughing before slowly dispersing to..
2. EAT! When in Montreal, you absolutely have to eat poutine, a local dish with fries, gravy and cheese curds. It’s delicious! Go to La Banquise, one of the most (if not the most) famous place in Montreal for poutine.
3. If you’re still looking to party, head to Circus for an after hour party.

Restaurants

Other than partying, we Montrealers enjoy eating! As the second city with the most restaurants per capita in North America (following NYC) and being one of the most multi-ethnic cities in North America, the city offers a great variety of restaurants. Some of my favorite include:

• Sol Y Mar for great and cheap Peruvian restaurants. Both the Ceviches and Parillas are tasty!
• Milsa is a Brazilian restaurant and a great option for you meat lovers.
• Khyber Pass is a tasty and BYOW (Bring Your Own Wine) Afghan restaurant.
• Dans La Bouche is known for both their tapas and great brunches!
• Dai Baffoni for authentic Italian restaurant. Located in the heart of the Little Italy.
• Les Enfants Terribles, located in the Mile End is a cute little French bistro. Keep in mind that the city is filled with many of them. Walk on Bernard Street or Saint-Denis/Mont-Royal if this is what you’re looking for!

Other Cool Stuff

• Montreal is a bilingual city. A large percentage of Montrealers speak both English and French.
• Cirque du Soleil was born in the Streets of Montreal. It’s now the most famous circus show on the planet! A must-see, regardless of the city you’re watching it in.
• Sundays are famous for tam-tams on our Mount-Royal (the actual mountain, not the street). Every Sunday, hundreds if not thousands of people head to the mountain and relax to the sounds of tam tams.
• Our Olympic Stadium, built in for the 1976 Olympics, is famous. Famous for its unique architecture and famous because it turned out to be one of the most expensive stadiums ever built in the World.
• We are known for our extensive underground city with about 2,000 shops over an 18-mile distance.

Hungary is a country filled with culture. From taking a boat ride on the Danube to eating tasty goulash in a Hungarian restaurant, there is no doubt you’d enjoy your stay in the country. Budapest, which is the combination of Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube, is a city that will take your breath away. Either strolling through Hero’s Square in Pest or walking through the Castle District in Buda, there is not doubt that your trip to Budapest will be a unforgetable one.

After spending 3 days in Budapest back in 2006, one thing stood out. At every corner, you’ll find a store selling both Paprika and Palinka. So guess what souvenirs I bought my friends and family?! Yup.. you got it! Before traveling to Budapest, I had no idea what Palinka was. For those of you who never heard about it, Palinka is a brandy type of alcohol made with fruit extract (plums, pears, apples, etc). The acohol content is anywhere from 40% to 86%. It’s very strong and not really fruity. So my friend and I decided to buy a few small bottles of the alcohol to try it and give the rest as gifts. Now, let’s just say it didn’t activate my taste buds in the right way but the memory I have of it is great. We bought the Palinka in a small shop near the Parliament. Then walked over to Hero’s Square, sat down on a bench and opened the bottle open. As we sat on this type of stone- sitting, sipping and observing- I can say that my experience with the alcohol is a very memorable one. Would I drink it at home… not really. But at least I can say I tried it.

The other product that’s 100% Hungarian and sold everywhere is paprika. Back then, cooking was of no interest to me. But I still bought a few paprika souvenir bags for family and kept a few for me, knowing it would eventually come in handy. And it did. Although paprika is grown in South America of West Indies and commercialized by California, Spain and Hungary, the Hungarians are those who offer a much richer and flavourful paprika. Most Hungarian dishes involve the use of paprika, a prized spice for the culture.

If you plan on visiting Hungary, don’t forget to try the 2 P’s of Hungary and of course, their main dish, goulash. You’ll enjoy your experience. There is no doubt about it!

As most people, I enjoy eating chocolate. Anything related to chocolate will satisfy a craving. Now, what I didn’t know about Oaxaca before traveling to the region was that I’d be eating one of the best chocolates in the world. Chocolate comes from cacao beans which is grown in tropical climates. In mexico, cacao beans are cultivated in the regions of  Chiapas and Tabasco. But although cacao is not grown in Oaxaca, Oaxaca is one of the first places in the world where you could buy chocolate to go with a choice of spices. 

The word cacao is traced back to the Olmec’s, which was then used by the Mayans and later introduced to the Aztecs who refered to it as “xocolatl” (“bitter water”). When the Spaniards landed in Mexico to colonize the land, they began shipping chocolate to Spain which eventually led to the distribution and popularity of chocolate in Europe.

When in Oaxaca, you’ll see lots of chocolate, but not necessarily the chocolate we’re used to seeing (chocolate bars, chocolate chips or cocoa powder). What you will find is pieces of more bitter chocolate, hot chocolate, mole or tejate. 

The chocolate is made using different spices such as cinnamon, ground sugar or almonds. The hot chocolate in Oaxaca is great. How they make it is still a wonder, a wonder I hope they can maintain forever! It’s thick and a little bitter than what we are used to in North America or Europe but really tasty nevertheless. I spent countless hours sipping on Oaxacan hot chocolate when visiting the region.

The next popular dish is the mole. Mole can be prepared with a variety of ingredients but chocolate mole is one type of mole. It’s a type of “sauce” you can put on rice, chicken or any mexican dish really! Don’t however expect a sweet dish. It’s prepared with lots of spices and very yummy! 

Tejate is a less popular chocolate treat. It’s a cold drink made of chocolate. It can be difficult to find this outside of Mexico. I didn’t personaly try it so I don’t know if it’s good or not. It’ll remain a wonder until I go back to Oaxaca.

I hope all you chocolate lovers enjoyed this post!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v0o27BPIIk]

I Believe. Athletes must believe in themselves, in their capabilities,  if they want to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

I Believe. Doctors around the world must believe that they have the right tools and knowledge to save people’s life.

I Believe. A backpacker must believe in his inner strenght to travel the world and venture off to unknown places.

In the end, regardless of who you are or what you want to do, you MUST believe in yourself! If you think you can do, YOU CAN DO IT!