Prague

I never considered myself keen traveller until I started travelling. I guess it’s one of these things where you don’t know what you’re missing
until you try it. These days I literally can’t sit still on my ass. There is still so many places to visit, so many cultures to discover and so much food to eat! Prague was never really on the list of places I wanted to visit, maybe because of the bad reputation
it has in the recent years, hundreds of stag do’s, hen do’s and just in general drunk Brits.

It took us couple of days to work out if we really liked it or not, it wasn’t love at first sight as we had with Budapest couple of years ago. Maybe it was because we couldn’t find any small hidden local places or maybe because we were staying smack bang in
the middle of the Prague with hordes of rowdy men dressed as princesses.
After a night of drinking absinthe in some questionable establishments we woke up the next morning not exactly knowing how, but we ended up with a hand written list of restaurants we need to visit.

That was a life saving move, though with a banging headache and still walking slightly sideways, we went on an amazing culinary adventure. One of the best seafood dishes I ever had. One of the best beef carpaccio I ever had. The biggest selection of oysters
I ever seen. Growing up in a neighbouring Poland, food was always simple but delicious, it was a really rather pleasant surprise to learn that the food oh my, is becoming something rather special in these parts of Europe. However you can still enjoy smoked
sausage with a pile of potatoes and a beer and it won’t cost you more than a few quid.

One of the first places we came across while looking for a drinking hole to keep our hangovers at bay was Zdenek’s oyster bar. Located on a small street Mala Stupartska opposite Baroque Basilica of St. James with only few little tables outside it looked like
a perfect place to have a much needed hair of the dog and maybe a bite to eat. Sipping slowly on a cold, crisp local beer we studied the menu and we fell in love immediately. Vast selection of oysters, seafood, amazing deserts with champagne and wine variety
to satisfy even the fussiest drinkers. After we managed to overcome the initial impulse of ‘ let’s order everything’ we decided to go for harissa prawns and octopus with brittany mussels, peas and shallots.

It was like a little Czech heaven. The hangover was all gone as soon as basket of freshly baked bread arrived accompanied by a caviar butter.
I could sit there all night eating just that. But it was only just a start. In fact it was so delicious we came back to Zdenek’s one more time just before leaving and had more amazing dishes including few varieties of fusion oysters, lobster and most amazing
foie gras with salted caramel and carrot puree – to die for!

And that was it – we were off! Sampling all delicious specialities, from fried potato dumplings, through infinity of steak tartare to one of
the most amazing meals I ever tasted.

It was my husband’s birthday and I wanted to take him somewhere special (well deserved as he needs to put up with me for all these years!) so
I booked a table for two and Kampa Park. Positions just off (or more under) the famous Charles Bridge, it was a perfect location for a romantic dinner. There are times in my life when I think I bit more than I can chew, but on this occasion I was not sure
my body will be able to cope with the amount of food we ordered. We could not make up our mind so we went for:

Salmon 32° with passion fruit, pickled cucumber, soy-ginger sauce and coconut sorbet

King crab ravioli with kaffir lime aioli, tarragon and orange dust

Seared scallops with cauliflower, nuts, raisins and dill beurre blanc with capers

Seared duck foie gras with rhubarb compote, brioche and hibiscus reduction

Olive oil poached halibut with black truffles, crispy bacon, potato mash with French mustard, and vegetable foam

Strawberry cappuccino with vanilla ice cream, walnuts, meringue and forest berries

…Chicken ballotine…

…pigeon…ambulance…

It was a sleepless night for me, greed is a sin. Gluttony is a sin. And a ridiculously stretched stomach should be banned and illegal.

On the whole we had a great time in Prague, the more time we spent talking to the locals, the more it was growing on us and by the time we had
to leave we really loved it.

PS.

Things to try – Potato dumplings, smoked sausage, local beer, sour soup with an egg.

Things to avoid at all costs – Absinthe, slivovitz (unless you want to lose 3 days of your life)