Hi, guys! I was having fried Indomie for lunch and suddenly had an inspiration for the new blog post. This week, let me share with you 4 funny things that I realized when I was in Italy 😊💖👌
Some of you may already know about them, but my new friends and I had a bit of culture shock during our Southern Italy and Sicily tour.
Looking back, it was very funny… I wish I could see our faces back then 😆😆😆
In Italy, Pasta is Served Without Protein
I first visitted Italy in 2017 and laughed at the story saying that if you threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, you would return to Italy.
Fast forward 7 years later, guess who’s back? Yup, I returned to explore the Southern part of the country!
I thought I wouldn’t have a culture shock since I’d been there… but at least I have something to share with all of you, hehe 😄
So, after exploring Pompeii, the group tour went to a restaurant for an included lunch. It was a very diverse group, with people from various countries and nationalities.
It was a sunny day and we had quite a walk exploring the ancient site, so we were a bit hungry. Our faces brightened when our waiter, dressed in traditional Roman attire, came to bring the bread.
Since I was in Italy, I dipped the warm bread into olive oil like it was fat-free. I liked it when the bread soaked well because I could taste the olive oil 👌😍✨
Of course, my body composition analysis after this trip wasn’t good, hahaha… my fat level went skyrocketed 😅😅😅
Then, the appetizer came. It was a spinach lasagna that tasted better than it looked.
Although it was SO good, I didn’t finish it because the main course was said to be pasta with beef cheek. I remembered eating beef cheek stew, it was so tender and yummy… 🤤
And so, the culture shock happened after the waiter served the main course.
Me: (stirring the broad, flat pasta)
Me: “Hm…. I think they gave me the wrong pasta. There’s no beef cheek at all!” 👀
Friend 1: “Mine too… it’s only pasta!” 😦
Friend 2: “Excuse me, is this the right pasta? The menu says our main course is beef cheek pasta.”
Waiter: “This is the beef cheek pasta.”
Me: “But there’s no beef cheek at all?”
Waiters: ??? (discussing among themselves)
The restaurant manager: “Yes, this is the beef cheek pasta.”
Me and my friends after the manager left: 😆😆😆
Friend 3: “Oohh… here it is! The beef cheek (showing a super tiny piece of beef)” 😂😂😂
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We just realized that we had culture shock! Apparently, in Italy, pasta dishes are usually served without meat.
Italians usually eat three courses meals:
- Primo (pasta/risotto)
- Secondo (meat/fish with side dishes)
- Dessert
I told my friends that in Asia, pasta dishes come with lots of protein. Otherwise, people would be angry paying a lot just to eat carbs.
A friend from the U.S. said the same thing. In the country where she lived, the portion of the pasta was so big, with lots of chicken, beef, or seafood.
Well, can I at least have the beef cheek broth? 😂😂😂 Anyway, it was a nice lunch and we enjoyed it!
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In Italy, Go for Carbonara or Seafood Pasta
When you’re in Italy, of course, you’ll want to eat pasta, lasagna, pizza, and gelato because they taste so good there. But… the pasta comes with nothing???
If you want to eat pasta worth your money in Italy, I recommend carbonara, vongole (clam + garlic + olive oil+ white wine), or seafood pasta from a decent restaurant/cafe.
The price may be higher, but you probably get more seafood in your pasta and are more satisfied with the meal. For example, you don’t want to order clam pasta with mostly shells in it, right?
As for carbonara, this pasta dish is super different than the carbonara that’s served in Asia and other countries.
As far as I know, carbonara pasta in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore is cooked with cheese and cream. In some places, the pasta is wet because of the cream, while in other restaurants, the cream is thicker.
Meanwhile, Italian carbonara doesn’t use cream at all. It’s made with eggs, hard cheese, salt, fatty cured pork, and black pepper.
During my trip, I had a really nice carbonara in a beautiful cafe in Salerno. This cafe sells many desserts, foods and drinks at reasonable prices here.
It was the happiest pasta moment I ever had in my life… Literally #foodgasm I regret not eating more carbonara when I was in Italy!! 🤧🤧🤧
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In Italy, Remember to Eat Protein
Apoorva: “I feel sluggish… I need protein!” 😔
Me: “Me too… I don’t want to eat pasta anymore. Today I want to eat chicken or fish!” 😤
Apoorva (my new friend who’s working in France) and I thought we could survive the 10-day tour by just eating pizza, pasta, and bread. But in reality, we couldn’t.
Okay, maybe only travellers with a low budget like us face this problem… The protein dishes in Italy were generally more pricey, plus we couldn’t eat primo and second.
Clara, why didn’t you order one pasta and one protein, then share it?
The thing is, we weren’t sure if it was allowed in Italy. We didn’t want to offend the chefs and embarrassed ourselves… Plus, we usually went separate ways during our free time.
But one day, we had enough. WE WANT MEAT! 🍗🍖
I’ve never been so happy eating grilled salmon 😄
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In Italy, You Can Find ‘Mixed Rice’ Too
I wanted to join a Rome food tour, so I extended my trip for one day after the tour ended. I chose a room in an apartment near the food tour’s starting point.
But apparently, the best thing about the apartment wasn’t the location.
Opposite the road, there was a cafe that sold pastries, pizzas, and fresh-cooked dishes like stir-fried broccoli, grilled chicken, eggplants, meatballs, etc… like a mixed rice stall, European version!
The pizzas were thin and square-shaped (following the tray), freshly baked from the oven. You could choose how big you want your pizza slice and they would cut it for you.
I was sooo happy! Where else could I eat a nice, healthy meal below 10 euros in Italy?
I went there twice and had small slices of two different pizzas, broccoli (FINALLY, FIBRE!), etc. It was difficult for me to find affordable, sauteed vegetables in Italy THAT WEREN’T EGGPLANTS.
I like eggplants, but I didn’t find sauteed spinach, broccoli, or others. It was eggplant, eggplant, eggplant… I wanted GREENS 💚💚💚
Ah, I saw one ‘mixed rice’ place in Salerno! It had fried seafood, sauteed vegetables, potatoes, etc served in big, aluminum containers.
I’m sure there are ‘mixed rice’ places all over Italy, maybe only the locals know where to find them 🤔
Alright, I hope you enjoy reading this blog. Have an amazing week ahead! 🌻🌻🌻
🎉 15% OFF ALL TOURS! 🎉
Click below and enter my discount code:
CLARA15
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