Traditional Chinese at Bei Hai

There are very few ethnic restaurants in Kalamata and Bei Hai is the only place one can go to find traditional Chinese food. Before going to Bei Hai, we asked around to see if anyone had tried the food there and of the general public's opinion of the place. Unfortunately, we discovered that many people were averse to eating there because they felt it looked run down and abandoned from the outside. We agree, a little re-decorating and a clean up might be a good idea but regardless, we wanted to discover Bei Hai from the inside. It's true that the interior is very traditional with Chinese art on the walls, a fish tank in the corner (we assumed for good feng shui), and small Chinese artifacts placed strategically around the restaurant. The dining room is quite dark but we felt that added a bit of mystery to the place.

 

The lady who owns Bei Hai is very delightful and not only is she the owner but she manages, cooks and serves! That being said, she made us feel right at home, literally "at home" because at times when we needed service we would just knock on the kitchen door and she would interrupt her cooking to tend to us, always relaxed and with a smile. Iliana was feeling a bit of a cold coming on so she ordered the chicken won ton soup and we got the spring rolls as a starter to share. For our main dishes we ordered the chop suy from the salad dishes, the chicken with rice noodles, the shrimp with egg noodles and two glasses of white wine. The menu was quite extensive and we would have loved to order more, like the duck or the sweet and sour chicken bites, however, the amount we ordered was more than enough for two. We asked for chopsticks as they were not provided, I believe for the obvious reason that eating with chopsticks is a foreign concept to the average Kalamatiano. 

The soup was delicious and just what Iliana needed to sooth her throat. Now I must rave about the spring rolls! First of all, they were huge and clearly home made! I can confidently say that they are the best spring rolls I have ever tasted and I have had Chinese food around the world. The chop suy was good as was the shrimp dish with the egg noodles. The chicken dish with the rice noodles, however, was average. It was a bit too greasy for our taste and the chicken was bland. Although this is a traditional Chinese restaurant, the wine options were Greek and with a very good selection. 

We were too full to order dessert but the fried banana with honey sounded tempting! We'll leave room for it next time. Of course there will be a next time because it's very hard to resist the homemade spring rolls. The Chinese dining experience is most fun in a group where you can share the different dishes and experience the different flavours. The average cost of dining at Bei Hai is approximately 15 euros per person and you will be very comfortably full. So, next time you crave Chinese food in Kalamata, don't judge Bei Hai by its exterior because the traditional home made cooking is definitely worth a try.

Click here to find Bei Hai

Rolla - Για Φαγητό της Μαμάς

Δεν είμαστε όλοι τόσο τυχεροί, να μας μαγειρεύει η μαμά παραδοσιακό φαγητό στο σπίτι. Για αυτό ψάξαμε και βρήκαμε τη λύση στο μαγειρείο "Τα Ρολλά". Το μαγειρείο αυτό βρίσκετε στο ιστορικό κέντρο κοντά στην παλιά αγορά. Μπαίνοντας στο μαγαζί, το πρώτο πράγμα που παρατηρεί  κάποιος είναι ο τοίχος περιστοιχισμένος με βαρέλια που είναι γεμάτα με πατροπαράδοτη ρετσίνα. Το δεύτερο και σημαντικότερο, τα μαγειρευτά φαγητά εκτεθειμένα στη σειρά. Κάθε μέρα αλλά και κάθε εποχή οι επιλογές αλλάζουν σύμφωνα με τα φρέσκα υλικά που παράγουν τα κτήματα του ιδιοκτήτη.

Την ημέρα που επισκεφτήκαμε Τα Ρολλα, χαρήκαμε με την πληθώρα μαγειρευτών φαγητών. Εγώ επέλεξα την ρεβιθόσουπα, η Ηλιάνα το χοιρινό με σέλινο και επίσης επιλέξαμε μαυρομάτικα με σπανάκι και μια φέτα για να μοιραστούμε. Εννοείτε, παραγγείλαμε και ένα τεταρτάκι ρετσίνα μόνο και μόνο για να παρακολουθήσουμε τον σερβιτόρο να μας γεμίζει το καραφάκι κατευθείαν από το βαρέλι!

Τα φαγητά ήταν όλα εξαιρετικά γευστικά. Η Ηλιάνα γέλαγε μαζί μου γιατί κυριολεκτικά, έπεσα με τα μούτρα στο φαϊ. Με δυσκολία πρόλαβε να τραβήξει φωτογραφία από τη ρεβιθόσουπά μου για το blog! Η ρετσίνα μοναδική! Θα την περιγράφαμε, βαριά με έντονα αρώματα πεύκου όπως θα φανταζότανε κάποιος την παραδοσιακή ρετσίνα. Σε γενικές γραμμές, μείναμε ευχαριστημένες τόσο με τα φαγητά όσο και με το σέρβις του μαγειρείου. Ξέρουμε λοιπόν, πως όταν μας λείπει το φαγητό της μαμάς Τα Ρολλά θα μας καλύψουν απόλυτα αυτό το κενό.

Βρήτε Τα Ρολλά εδώ

Cafe - Cine...with a view

Today Iliana and I decided to step outside the boundaries of the Kalamata city centre and have a cup of coffee somewhere different. We stopped at Cafe-Cine located on the drive heading to the western beach of Kalamata. The cafe is in a two storey stand alone building with a terrace on the first floor and a balcony on the second floor overlooking the city's tennis club and the endless blue waters of the Mediterranean. The view is absolutely breathtaking from here. The cafe interior is a harmonious mix of old and new with abstract paintings on the walls sharing the space with old movie posters. We also spotted a juke box and some antique musical instruments.

After exploring all of our options, we decided to sit upstairs to enjoy our coffees on a comfortable couch, of course, facing the view. I ordered my usual Americano and Iliana chose a double Greek coffee. The desserts on their menu were so tempting that we also ordered a traditional Greek Ekmek with Kadaifi. Cafe-Cine uses the Spinos coffee brand which isn't my personal favourite but I support their choice of brand because it is local. It was evident in the dessert and the coffees that they did their best to use local products. The Ekmek was as delicious as homemade Ekmek should be.

We were informed that in the summer, every Thursday, Cafe-Cine plays an old movie in an outdoor cinema setting for their customers. This concept really got us looking forward to the summer months when we too can join the Thursday night movie spectators at Cafe-Cine. What we like about this cafe was that it really is different. It's not the place you go to if you want to see and be seen. Opposite, it's a quiet and friendly cafe where one can read a book or bring a laptop to do work, enjoying a relaxing morning overlooking the sea. No doubt, the 1 euro espressos are a catch as well.

Find Cafe-Cine here

Oινοπαντοπωλείον...

Βόλτα στο ιστορικό κέντρο Καλαμάτας, μεσημεράκι 2μ.μ. τι καλύτερο από ένα όμορφο γεύμα σε έναν ιδιαίτερα περιποιημένο χώρο. Μπαίνοντας στο εσωτερικό του Οινοπαντοπωλείου διακρίνεις μια ιδιαίτερα ζεστή ατμόσφαιρα και αυτό οφείλεται σίγουρα στην διακόσμηση του μαγαζιού και συγχρόνως στο φιλικό περιβάλλον. Τα έπιπλα όλα είναι αλά παλαιά, με κάποια στοιχεία σύγχρονης κουλτούρας. Και όπως δικαιολογεί το όνομα του μαγαζιού, κάποιος μπορεί να προμηθευτεί ελληνικά παραδοσιακά προϊόντα σε σχετικά προσιτές τιμές.

Ξεκινώντας να παραγγείλουμε το δίλημμα ήταν μεγάλο, γιατί δεν ξέραμε πιο από τα μεζεδάκια θέλαμε πιο πολύ. Σε αυτό που συμφωνήσαμε από την αρχή ήταν η επιλογή του κρασιού, την οποία θα εκπλαγείτε και εσείς οι ίδιοι όταν θα δείτε την τιμή της φιάλης για ελληνικό κρασί! Εν συνεχεία εγώ επέλεξα τα χοιρινά μπριζολάκια με τη σως λεμονιού, η Χρύσα πήρε το παραδοσιακό πιάτο με τον τραχανά και το σύγκλινο και για τη μέση μια δροσερή σαλάτα με λάχανο και σταφίδες. Η οποία σαλάτα δεν αναγραφόταν στον κατάλογο, γιατί όπως μας πληροφόρησαν εκεί, κάθε μέρα υπάρχουν έξτρα δύο με τρία πιάτα ημέρας.

Παρά τη μικρή ποσότητα των πιάτων η απόλαυση ήταν απερίγραπτη. Διότι σε αυτή την περίπτωση ταιριάζει το ρητό που συνηθίζεται να λένε «Τα μικρά πράγματα είναι και τα πιο ωραία». Αυτό βέβαια δεν ξέρω αν είναι πειστήριο για τους πιο καλοφαγάδες, που θέλουν να συνδυάζουν την ποσότητα με την ποιότητα! Παρόλα αυτά εμείς περάσαμε όμορφα, γευτήκαμε ωραίες γεύσεις και αρώματα και σίγουρα θα κάνουμε ακόμα μια εξόρμηση για να δοκιμάσουμε όσα δεν καταφέραμε αυτή τη φορά.

Roma Pizza Paralia - Not just a chain restaurant

We aren't accustomed to including big chain restaurants in this blog, however, Roma Pizza by the beach is far from your typical chain restaurant. The place is very much a family run establishment proudly run by the same owners for 33 years. The employees also feel as they are one big family because they too have been working in the same Roma Pizza family environment for numerous years. Acquiring this information was such a pleasant surprise that we couldn't resist but include Roma Pizza in our blog.

Walking into the restaurant we felt a warm ambiance and the feeling of walking into a rustic Greek home. The place was beautifully decorated for the holidays with the biggest Christmas tree we have witnessed in an interior space in Kalamata. We walked up the stairs to sit on the balcony level and got a table close to the fireplace that was conveniently burning firewood for the duration of our dinner.

We ordered a tuna salad to share and we each had a small personalized pizza. Iliana ordered the "Special" however, I gave a very difficult pizza order with an array of veggies, pineapples and no cheese of any sort. Of course, we also ordered red wine. The food came in a timely manner and was not only delicious but just the right amount to leave us comfortably full. My pizza arrived just as I had asked which was a pleasant surprise since most places get it wrong. It seems the Roma Pizza staff were up for the challenge!

Finally, the server brought us each a glass of homemade liquor, on the house. It was just right to cure the after dinner sweet tooth. I believe the flavour we were offered was cinnamon but the server notified us that the flavours change depending on the season. Both Iliana and I liked this gesture as an alternative to offering dessert when already full which is what happens at many other restaurants.

 

Overall, after our experience, we don't find it odd that Roma Pizza has survived the challenges of time and remains busy in the beach area during the winters as well as the summers. The family environment in combination with good food and obviously fresh ingredients have clearly payed off over the years. We are definitely going back for more!

Find Roma Pizza Here