Imereti - Off Fountain Square

Imeretti is again, one of those places, that we have been to a couple of times but have never reviewed. So when we went for lunch this week we decided to write a quick review.

Patisserie Taste Test - Coffee To Go

I noticed the other day a little coffee shop that appeared on the main street just up from fountain square near the Economic University. When walking past today, suffering from lack of breakfast, we stopped for a coffee and croissant. Taste test it is then...

Chinar - Baku

This is now our fourth time at Chinar so we thought we better blog about it. We usually try and get there for lunch as it is very quiet and they do a relatively inexpensive business lunch menu.

Afternoon Tea at the Four Seasons - Old City

Between being pregnant and not wanting to even talk about food and looking after a demanding tiny person, it has been rather a long time since I posted on our blog, but afternoon tea seemed like reason enough to start writing again! It is the Gurban Bayram holiday here in Baku and what better way to start our week off than by having a girly afternoon with high tea at the Four Seasons. 

We had booked a table and pre-ordered our high tea - the only thing we needed to choose was the tea that we would drink with our meal. We opted for fresh mint tea from a rather extensive tea menu. It was a rather pleasant surprise when three tiers of plates were delivered to our table. The menu was not the same as the one online and I was rather disappointed not to have a macaroon to try, but all the same I was looking forward to trying the selection in front of me. 

First up were the sandwiches. The tomato and pesto melba toast was delicious, the jelly-like tomato was sweet and perfectly balanced with the tangy pesto hidden in the fresh cherry tomato. Next up was the salmon blini which was tasty. 

The actual sandwiches were disappointing. They had obviously been made a long time before they arrived at our table, the bread was stale and the edges were hard. The egg mayonnaise sandwich was nothing special and the other one, well I am not sure what the filling was, but none of us finished it. 

Lazy Pizza Recipe

It's taken what feels like an age to get my pizza dough recipe right. I have investigated my way through books, magazines and the internet, exploring all night long doughs, beer doughs (courtesy of Birra Moretti), and 5 minute doughs made with yoghurt. However, I finally found a recipe that works through a blog that Maria reads, and have adapted it slightly for myself. 

Patisserie Taste Test - Entree

Entree is the new kid on the block in Baku. The chain has moved over from Tbilisi, Georgia and has opened three cafe's at once. I popped into the one closest where I live to see what all the fuss is about. Time for another patisserie taste test!

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

It doesn't matter how many bananas I manage to eat during the week, at the weekend there always seem to be a few bananas left in the fruit bowl. I have tried experimenting with banana bread but no matter how hard I try, I am always left with a stodgy heavy loaf that is nothing like the amazing banana cake that I visualised in my head.

This week, the little penguin had his first taste of bananas and I have to say he was not a huge fan. Anyway we were left with rather a lot of quickly ripening bananas that were well past the way I like to eat them, so I decided to try yet another banana cake recipe. This one was adapted from the hummingbird bakery cookbook. I have fond memories of our visits to the hummingbird bakery on Portobello Road and I hoped that this recipe would be the answer to my banana cake woes.

They were great! The bananas developed an almost caramelly flavour while they were in the oven and the cupcakes were light and fluffy. I really like the fact that the final ingredients were the eggs so that I could taste the batter to check the balance of flavour. The only let down was a traditional chocolate buttercream frosting that was far too sweet for the cupcakes so next time I would make them with a chocolate ganache topping. I made these as cupcakes but I think they would be great as a layered cake.

Korchma - Ukrainian in the heart of Baku

First of all, although this may be the first time we are writing about Korchma, it is by far not the first time we have visited. This little gem of a place has been drawing us into it's potato filled basement from the first time we were introduced. We have never had a bad meal here, and after countless times of going, as well as taking any and all guests that have visited us, it is time to tell the world how great they are.

Patisserie Taste Test - Paul and Dalloyau

Croissants and Pain au chocolate, the staple of all good patisseries. With two brand new places opened in Baku recently, we decided to give them a taste test to see which was better. Results after the break... 

Madison - Port Baku

When you talk about burgers in Baku, there used to be only one place, Sunset Burgers. However over the past few months, a larger selection have become available. We have tried a few around town (Casual Brasserie, Rock bar in Kempinski) but the burgers at Madison have toped them all. 

Vapiano - Baku

Vapiano is a chain of restaurants and has opened (relatively) recently in Baku. We've been a couple of times now and the food has been good on both occasions. Service, however, was unpredictable. 

Brunch at the Marriott - Baku

Anywhere you can go and sit for 4 hours, with friends, and eat until you are stuffed is good by me. We have had a couple of brunches in Baku but our favourite by far has been at the Fireworks restaurant at the Marriott Hotel.

Apple and cinnamon cupcakes

I know that it is January and after the excesses of Christmas, I had planned to reduce the amount of sugar that we are eating. So far it has been rather unsuccessful and there seems to always been a new cake recipe to try!

I have been commissioned to make some cupcakes for our mother and baby group so went in search of a recipe that didn't contain too much sugar and that could be eaten with or without frosting for younger palates.