Zinfandel's, Zagreb

Touted as "Zagreb's finest and most expensive dining experience, with dishes which are complicated but perfectly executed", Zinfandel's at The Regent Esplanade Hotel truly does not disappoint!



The weather was really nice and many people were milling about the hotel grounds taking photographs.

When we finally walked into the hotel, the dining room was quite empty but it filled up quickly through the night. Our waiter was a fairly senior fatherly-looking man who reminded us of the waiters you might find at Shashlik but not as grouchy. hehe..

We were shown to a very nice table with a pretty picture window overlooking the lovely fountain square.



After ordering, we were served a refreshing amuse bouche of marinated tuna and pineapples (which tasted like mango). They had a very nice selection of breads too but our fave was onion ciabatta and the paprika cornbread. The dips (Black tapenade, green tapenade, Cheese and Paprika) were interesting. My fave was the paprika (which we've been enjoying throughout our trip in Croatia).



For starters, I ordered a Spiral of Pasta with seared foie gras, crispy filo and crushed peas (see picture above). I had difficulty finishing the starchy pasta which was like a roll of cellophane tape. Mag ordered Tuna Tartar with candied lemon, capers, olives and rucola (see picture below). Can't go wrong with tuna, right?

The mood in the restaurant was formal but fun. There was a big group there celebrating some kind of graduation. We even heard some Japanese ladies singing Sakura while the pianist gamely accompanied them!



For mains, I had the Sea Bass stuffed with 'piperade' and squid ink. We asked our waiter what "piperade" was and he had to go into the kitchen to ask.. oh hoho... Turned out to be capsicum. Mag ordered a very tender and meaty Shoulder of Lamb with rosemary jus.

I asked one of the waiters what "Bon Appetit" is in Croatian and he said "Dobar Tek!" with an exclamation mark!

Throughout the meal, the service was attentive but not intrusive and our bread plate was never empty. The food was good but I would say I've tasted better back home. Still, it was a great experience and not to be missed if you are in Zagreb.

We were so stuffed after the meal and saaaadly too full for deserts but we ordered coffee and it came with the nicest petit fours served that I've ever seen!!

Too full or not, we tried them all! LOL... but what a sweet way to end our Croatian holiday.

Vražji Prolaz Deep Cave Cache

We started off bright and early, eager to start our adventures! I got the car ready while Mag asked directions from some mermaids, which was pretty futile because we got lost anyway! Well not really lost, we were just too impatient and thought we were lost when we were actually on the right track!

We finally made our way to the little town of Skrad.

Vražji Prolaz Geocache - We've been watching this cache with anticipation for a long time before our trip. A cache in a deep cave sounds like a cool challenge for the IndianaJanes duo! LOL...



We were super excited as we made our way towards the cave in the freezing cold!! Brrrr...


..but our spirits were lifted by the clean air and the trickling spring that flowed next to the path.


It was beautiful...!


At some point in this picturesque gorge, we had to walk on these steel walkways and steps. Some parts looked quite worn out but luckily for us, nothing gave way!


After a long climb and some huffing and puffing and thanking our gym workouts that gave us stamina, we finally got to the HUGE cave! The orange line shows the path we took to enter it.


And from the inside-out.


This cave was DARK!!!! Glad we brought our extra-bright headlamps. The ground was slimey and slippery and we slowly made our way inside looking around for the cache.

We found a little pond and I even made my way around it to look into some crevice on the other side. Who knows what lived in that water...


After some searching and banging our heads on the low roof, we managed to find the cache to our great relief!! Our first cache in Croatia!


Actually, the cave is much deeper and we could've explored more if we wanted to but being the dainty (wusses) ladies that we are, we decided to leave that to the professional cavers.


What an exhilarating find!! We made our way happily out of the canyon and on to the next cache..

Here's a short video I took with my little Canon Ixus camera:


FOOTNOTE:
I wonder if we would've been so eager to try this if we knew what Vražji Prolaz means! Did a little googling and found that it means Devil's Passage or Devil's Pass!! Glad I only found out now... cos looking at the pictures again with this new knowledge makes the cave seem quite erie. Who knows what could have been lurking around the DARK DARK corner within the DEEEEEEEEP CAVE.... !!!!!

FURTHER FOOTNOTE:
Reading CK's comment to this entry reminded me that I didn't include this picture of OTHER PEOPLE!!!! CK, see...!! We were not alone... (maybe in all sense of the word)

We're in CROATIA!

I don't like long flights. Somehow I can never sleep properly - the engine is too noisy, my body aches & stiffens up and I get dehydrated. But luckily for us, Air France has a little self-service counter with drinks, snacks and even ice-cream to tide us through the dreadful flight. After 13 long hours to CDG (horrible) airport, we got on a tiny little plane to Zagreb, Croatia.


Beautiful snow-capped mountains below..


Well.. after picking up our rented Seat Ibiza (it's not a very nice car to drive by the way), we drove a short distance to Karlovac. You already know from Mag's post that it's a small deserted town. It must be because it was a Saturday, we think. This is the town that a man and his dog were overcome by powerful gases while walking beside a stream near the Heineken plant here. This happened just last month, in March 2007. Scary... but we survived *phew* cos we're home now...

You can see the chimney of the factory below.


Actually, Karlovac is quite a pretty town.


It's got character from the wounds that it endured during the war. Some parts reminded me of Terezin in Czech Republic. I'm sure in the years to come, the town will repair itself and it will look completely different.


After a long but futile search for opened restaurants (caffe's don't serve food!!), we finally ended up near our hotel (sigh...) and ate at a small bistro. The menu was in Croatian so based on the waiter's recommendations, we ordered some grilled meats and a salad that reminded us of Czech Republic again! LOL... Anyway, this was our first real meal in Croatia... it wasn't too bad but EVERYTHING (and I mean everything) had a generous sprinkling of salt on top!! bleaghhh...!!! >,<

Favourite moments in Croatia

My favourite dog picture :
Bobby - the ONLY Dalmatian we saw on Dalmatia. How weird is THAT?!


My favourite B&B :
Matiki House - Mag is with Sonja, the modern grandmother who runs the farm! Notice puppy Parco chomping off Mag's left hand? LMAO... He's a feisty little thing!


My favourite little town :
Trogir - it's small and pretty!


My favourite National Park :
Plitvice Lakes National Park - the water is so turquoise blue!! You have to be there to experience it. Photos do no justice - I even have to cut and paste 2 photos together because my camera couldn't handle the magnitude of the place!


My favourite ice cream :
Vincek Slastičarnica - a famous ice cream store in Zagreb that also serves an endless variety of cakes and puffs! Resistence is futile!!


My favourite rental car :
Mag doing a car model pose with our cool little Fiat Punto cabrio which we rented for 4 hours on the island of Mljet.


My favourite group picture :
Taken in Dubrovnik with their signature roofs - put my Canon Ixus on timer; thing is, I had to run down some steps and a little distance and just barely made it before the shutter went off! That's why we are laughing in the photo. LOL...

Twilight in Croatia

During our trip, we took LOTS of sunset pictures. We couldn't help ourselves; it was just too spectacular!

The guide books say when in Istria, one of the must-do's is to watch the sunset at Rovinj by the harbour. Rovinj is a cute little town on the West coast of Istria, Croatia and view is magnificent because the sun drops right into the horizon. And it's true... the sunset here is by far one of the most beautiful I've ever seen...









The next day, still in Istria, we travelled South to Pula to see the smaller but almost intact Roman colosseum. We were lucky to arrive late in the evening and saw it bathed in the beautiful golden rays of the setting sun.





When in Rome, do as the Romans do; when in Zadar, sit on the Roman ruins. LOL.. We watched (almost in horror) as kids clamoured over pillars and kicked footballs around empty sarcophaguses. Take them home if you like! (just kidding)





We were treated to a great sunset again.



Our main attraction for coming to Zadar was to see and listen to the Sea Organ. The array of tubes under the marble steps produce a haunting melody while the waves sweep in and out. I suppose one would hear different tones depending on the tidal conditions. Listen to the sound in my short video here.



The busiest old town with the most tourists, the fewest local residents and the most cut-throat prices must be Dubrovnik! Again, we were lucky to catch some sunset shots, but no more sun-dropping-into-the-horizon type of shots...





After a light rain, we freezed our asses off to catch this sunset at a little caffe with the longest name. It's called "Cold Drinks and the Most Beautiful View". More about that in another post (if I remember...)





Flew back to the capitol of Croatia - Zagreb. We seem to always arrive around late evening. The setting sun cast a romantic glow on the otherwise busy city and the Cathedral was glittering like it was actually made of gold!










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