Aizome

So I've been treated to some pretty good food this weekend! Last night we went to Aizome which Tim had been just recommended as the best japanese restaurant in Sao Paulo. It's only 3 blocks from where we are living so thought we we would take a visiting friend there for dinner las night. We decided last minute so had Sophie with us but she was good the night before sleeping in her buggy and we were hoping for the best again!

Aizome is a little hidden gem - you would never expect it to be there, just off Brigadeiro Luis Antonio... We hadn't booked so we sat at the bar which I enjoy; I love watching the chef preparing the food, particularly a cuisine like sushi; it's like watching an artist paint. He was using chopsticks to place tiny little flowers or a thumbelina-sized portion of seasoning on some delicately (and generously) cut pieces of fresh fish. Sophie fell asleep on her second walk that Tim took her for, thank god!

They only have a desgustacao menu available at R180 per person (our final bill was R220 per person with wine and drinks) and I have to say the food was absolutely exceptional. The scallop was the highlight along with the chocolate souffle. The portions were small but there were quite a few of them and the entire meal was perfectly sized; I didn't feel like a beached whale trying to get off my chair, usually how I feel when I go for rodizio sushi here!

I haven't tried all the japanese restaurants in town so I'm not sure I can give it 'best japanese' label - but it was pretty damn good! Highly recommend!

Korean BBQ restaurant

Forget Bom Retiro! We were recommended Lua Palace in Vila Mariana / Paraiso which is a Korean BBQ restaurant. It's open from 6 - 9:30pm so make sure you get there at least by 9pm. The floors and walls are tiled, possibly the ceiling as well - I forgot to check - the only purpose I can think of is for easy cleaning... certainly not for decor!


The bulgogi was as good as I've had and we were with friends who had lived in Seoul for a couple of years and can testify to the authenticity. Ontop of all the meat we also made it through extra servings of kimchi, korean pancakes, bibambap. We did stay until 11pm on Friday night and weren't rushed out, though next time will make sure to get there for 6pm to make the most of available eating time! We had 3 hungry guys and 2 pregnant ladies = R75 each.


Lua Palace
Avenida Armando Ferrentini, 182

More dumplings

I was recommended another restaurants in Liberdade for dumplings so I went today to pick up 100 dumplings to put in the freezer - basically for backup when I have the baby. I'm not sure if they will last the next few days. I got 80 pork ones and 30 veggie ones which are amazing. I pan fried and steamed a mix of them.


Their portuguese isn't great, mine is bad. My chinese is awful (I really can't hold more than 1.5 languages in my head at one time) and their english is non-existent but I got the message across!!

Restaurante Jardim Meio Hectare  (半𠺖園 )

Rua Thomas Gonzaga, 65

3207-3133

Pregnant in Sao Paulo

This year has gone so quickly that I've realised that I haven't posted about being pregnant here in Sao Paulo! I am already at 38 weeks... my first daughter arrived at 38 weeks + 2 days... but I'm hoping daughter no.2 will be arriving in 2-3 weeks more time. I have too much to do!

I will be giving birth in Sao Luiz hospital (Itaim) which has 2 natural birthing rooms, which I didn't get to see on tour* as it's in the restricted zone. I also visited Einstein (Morumbi) where the toilets I visited in the visitors area left much to be desired, particularly from what is commonly stated in SP as the best hospital in South America... and Promatre (Paulista), a maternity-only hospital where the guide asked what the little boy's name was (Sophie) and made me cry (it was just one of those hormonal, emotional, pregnant days...).

A few interesting things I learnt on my hospital tours:
- a c-section is generally the same price as a natural birth;
- there is a viewing window for family and friends to watch the entire birth (seriously!);
- you can have as many visitors in the first few days as you would like (common question on tour)
- you can leave your baby in the bercario all day or night (another common question on tour)
-  you can take your camera into surgery and allocate one of the nurses to take photos for you.

Another few things I've learnt about having a baby here:
- the majority of people here know what they are having from week 12 and have usually named the child as well.. we are still working on it, maybe even a Brazilian name since she will be Brazilian! But people are horrified when I tell them that she still doesn't have a name....;
- we also have to prepare an elaborate name sign for the hospital room door so everyone knows her name, usually these are 3-D castles with gold plated names... we have a blackboard and some chalk...;
- there are special colours that the baby (and mother) have to wear on the first 3 days of its life. I've yet to find out what day 1 and 2 are for a girl but it HAS to be red on the third day; the day she leaves the hospital, and i've even heard with a babygro made out of their father's favourite (read: most expensive) shirt;
- it's common to have as many visitors in the first 3 days (I've just realised that this is why c-sections are more common - you can make sure your hair, nails and make up are done so you look fabulous minutes after you've given birth), possibly even people you have never met!
- you have to give these visitors a gift - or a 'lembrancinha'. Everyone visiting us will be getting a cupcake!
- if you have other children it is customary for visitors to bring them a gift as well so they don't feel left out;
- Brazilians love pregnant women and children (unless you are crossing the road...) but generally you are ushered to the front of the queue in shops, supermarkets, post office, airport!

**
Einstein Hospital - To schedule the visit you need to call to 2151-1233 and contact the AGENDAMENTO department or email aline.bering@einstein.br who speaks English.
Sao Luiz Hospital - Solange Porcino is my contact there. She doesn't speak English but has been really helpful. Tel/Fax 11 3040-9100 - Unidade Itaim, comercialmaternidade@saoluiz.com.br
ProMatre - You can email hospitalidade@promatre.com.br

Brazil Makes It's Own Manhattan..

NY Times article on Sao Paulo this weekend...

But I think the comments are definitely worth reading.... how do they find one person to interview who reflects such a small percentage of this city's population?? This population live in a very small, isolated bubble in this city which I think has so much to offer -  you're missing out if you feel it's too dangerous to walk to the restaurant on your corner! Life here doesn't have to be just about bodyguards, bullet-proof cars and hanging in shopping malls...

Free children's books from Itau

Banco Itau are sending free books to children - you just have to register on their site here.

Awesome curry delivery in Sao Paulo

We have had curries from Sabores da India a few times already and they are excellent, as good as a curry you'll find in India or in the UK! Exactly what you need on a rainy Sunday night in Sao Paulo.... 


They need 3-4 hours for 4 people, or 12 hours notice for a bigger party.Their contact details are 85569779 / 32537671, deepali@saboresdaindia.com.br

Snacks:

• VEG SAMOSAS: R$ 1.75/unit
• CHICKEN SAMOSAS: R$ 2.50/unit   
• DHOKLA: (Gram flour, curd, Mustard seed & curry leaves prepared by process of fermenting and cooking on vapors).R$ 40/kg and a kilo will have 55 pieces
• CHICKEN TIKKA: (boneless chicken marinated in curd and spices) R$ 50/kg and a kilo would have 40 pieces
• VEG PAKODA: ( Assorted Vegetables deep-fried with Gram flour coating) R$ 0.50/ unit
• KACHORI: (Puffed Bread stuffed with green peas) R$1.70/ unit

All Snacks are accompanied and one or two type of  INDIAN CHUTNEY’S, Tamarind+ Dates Chutney, Coriander + Coconut chutney,& Mint + Coriander Chutney…………..
Main course:
BIRYANI a Royal dish of the Nizams and the Nawabs, this dish originate in Persia and recently after giving the perfection is served in Sao Paulo by Chef Deepali.

Biryani is prepared with various kinds of meats (i.e. Lamb, Chicken Beef) it’s cooked with Basmati Rice special long grain with aromatic flavor. The Biryani recipe is one of the time consuming preparation in our menu. The meat is marinated with curd and Spices for more than 4 hr and same is cooked for 2:30 hours on slow fire.

Ingredients & Spices like Cardamom Cinnamon Cumminseed Cloves Ginger Garlic Green Chillies Fried Onion & Coriander Leaves give the royal flavor to this dish.

• CHICKEN BIRYANI R$ 50/kg
• MUTTON BIRYANI R$ 60/kg
• PRAWN BIRYANI R$ 80/kg
• VEGITABLE BIRYANI R$ 40 /kg

** Per kg of Biryani is sufficient for 5 guests...

Curry Preparation. Curry are prepared from various sauces based such as Onion, Tomato, Cashew Nut paste and few one are coconut and Cream based. Blended with special spices
Meat Currys (Chicken and Lamb):

• CHICKEN CURRY: R$ 45/kg

• MUTTON CURRY: R$ 65/kg
• CHICKEN KORMA: R$ 50/kg
• CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA: R$ 50/kg
• BUTTER CHICKEN: R$ 50/kg
• ROGHAN GHOST : R$ 65/kg
• KEEMA MATAR: R$ 65/kg ( Minced Meat with Green pea)

Vegetarian Curry’s:

• VEGETABLE CURRY: (assorted vegetables cooked in onion and tomato sauces along with special spices) R$ 40 /kg
• PANEER KOFTA: (Cottage Chess prepared in Caju Paste with various special spices.) R$ 45 /kg
• PANEER MASALA: (Cottage Chess cooked in onion & tomato sauces) R$ 45 /kg
• BUTTER PANNER: (cottages marinated in yogurt and spices & cooked in Butter) R$ 50 /kg

INDIAN BREADS

• ROTIS: (Handmade bread of Integral Wheat flour, salt and water) R$ 1.50 /kg
• PARATHAS:         (Handmade bread of Integral Wheat flour, salt egg & Toasted in Butter.)  R$ 2.50 /unit
• STUFF PARATHAS:  (Integral wheat flour, bread stuffed of various filling either it could be Potato, Cauliflower or Cabbage Toasted in Butter) R$ 5/ unit  

INDIAN DESSERT:  
Very tempting and mouth watering after a sumptuous meal is always incomplete without sweet dish so chose any one to two of this below.

• GULAB JAMUN: (Milk Balls soaked in Sugar Syrup) R$ 35 /kg have 25 units.
• GAJJAR KA HALWA: (Carrot cooked in condense milk, topped with dry fruits)   R$ 35 /kg
• RAS MALAI: (ricotta cheese, saffron, cardamom blanched almonds green pistachios) R$ 45 /kg
• SHRIKHAND: (Sweet Golden Yogurt, prepared with nutmeg saffron chopped green pistachios) R$ 45 /kg

Thanking you

Deepali Bavaskar

Clocks change tonight!

Remember to change your clocks tonight!! NZ vs Australia at 6am in the morning!!

http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/cidades,horario-de-verao-comeca-neste-domingo,785460,0.htm

Cirque d'Alegria - CIS Major Fundraiser

The CIS Gala Night, Cirque d`Alegria, is just around the corner on October 22nd! This is CIS’s most important fundraising event and includes live music, a circus performance from Arena de Artes, raffle, silent auction and more! Contact rsvp@cisbrazil.org to reserve your tickets. 

Raffle ticket holders do not need to attend the Gala Night to win. There are many raffle prizes to be won, including a round-trip airfare to Canada, courtesy of Air Canada. There are limited tickets so buy them before we sell out!!

Rugby World Cup in Sao Paulo

Thought I would pay him tribute even though he's not in the WC anymore... 

*OK, so maybe not a Kiwi-England final....


Unfortunately for us here in Sao Paulo the Rugby World Cup games are in the middle of the night. A Kiwi-England Final will be the one I'll pull myself out of bed for (more so to dress Sophie up her in her All Blacks top and wind Tim up!)..

The Quarter-Finals are starting this weekend and Tim has been in a panic as he can't get his VPN to work for tonight's game. I had forgotten about Hotspot Shield *as it stopped working on us a few months ago but I just downloaded it again and hey presto! We've borrowed a friends Sky login so he'll be able to wake up right before the games tonight (wales v ireland at 2am and england v france at 4:30am).

If you are up for actually staying out, or going out at 1am to catch the games, O'Malley's is showing the games live, though god knows what state everyone else will be there who have been drinking there all night!

*Actually he's had to buy another VPN as Hotspot Shield thinks it's in the US so we still can't access skysports

** Some clearer instructions if you are desperate to watch the game but want to just roll out of bed in the middle of the night. Sign up for PureVPN (at least an hour before KO as it takes time for the system to register you) and make sure that when you connect you are connecting to a UK server. Then watch the games live or highlights first thing in the morning on ITV (though they give away the score at the top of the highlight package...)

A to-do-list for your Empregada in Portuguese

The INC runs a facebook group which is pretty handy when you are looking for something, or need some advice from other expats. Here's a list that was just posted of things for your empregada to do. I'll post a blog on all the paperwork we've done for our baba in the near future as there are lots of rules / laws to make sure you abide by!

Cleaning Checklist – Lista de Limpeza

*** This is list was created by Erica Winter and it is based on a list found on Martha Stewart's website.  It's been adapted for Brazil and translated.  Please feel free to use it. ***

Daily – Diário

□ Make Beds – Fazer as camas

□ Manage Clutter – Guardar objetos, brinquedos e roupa

□ Clean as You Cook – Limpa enquanto cozinha

□ Sweep & Mop Floors – Varrer e passar pano no chão

□ Empty trash bins – Esvaziar latas de lixo

Three Per Week – Tres Vezes por Semana

□ Clean bathrooms – limpar banheiros

□ Vacuum floors – Passar aspirador nos tapetes (muito cuidado com as franjas dos tapetes persas)

□ Dust surfaces, furniture, objects, & light fixtures – Tirar pó de todos os objetos, lustres & usar lustra moveis onde for madeira

Weekly - Semanal

□ Change bath mats, towels, & washcloths – Trocar toalhas & tapetes de chão

□ Empty trash and wipe the insides bins – Lavar latas de lixo

□ Wipe mirrors – limpar espelhos

□ Change sheets – Trocar a roupa de cama

□ Discard foods past prime – Limpar geladeira & tirar comida vencida

□ Wipe surfaces & kitchen cabinets– Limpar a cozinha inclusive dentro dos armários

□ Wipe the inside of the oven & toaster – Limpar forno & torradoreira

□ Dust the tops & spines of books, shelves – Tirar pó de livros e estantes

□ Wipe windows & glass surfaces – limpar vidros

Monthly – Por Mês

□ Wipe baseboards and moldings – limpar rodapés, cantos de parede e teto

□ Wipe insides of medicine cabinets – limpar dentro dos armários de åbanheiro

□ Launder duvet covers & mattress pads – lavar acolchoados, e protetores de colchões 

□ Dust shelves & storage bins – tirar pó dos armários de roupa

□ Discard food in the freezer past its prime – descongelar o freezer e tirar comida vencida 

Organic food delivered in Sao Paulo!

A friend has recommended Ponto Verde, an organic shop based in Santo Amaro who also deliver. They get organic milk and yoghurt, and a seasonal fruit and vegetable box each week. I like getting my f+v in my local feira but I'm definitely going to try out the milk and yoghurt this week.

There is also an organic food market in Perdizes on the weekend if you are looking to potter around.