Monday, July 26, 2004

Yums in Dublin

Bought some strawberries, cut them in half and topped them off with "rich and indulgent" double Irish cream. The dairy products here are just amazing and can give Vermont and Wisconsin a good run for their moo cows. Even the Medium Irish Cheddar bought in the supermarkets is so mellow and creamy. Surprisingly, at Marks & Spencer's upscale foodstores, I found bags of Prawn Chips, 2 for the price of 1! For us Pinoys, that's a whole lot of delicious "kropek" for a couple of days. We don't go out to eat too much in this expensive city. There are quite a few very good restaurants but Euro-inflation has brought up the prices equal to the rest of the continent. While doing our laundry this afternoon at the launderette at Great St. Georges Street I read in a local daily that there can still be moderately priced meals to be had in Dublin and moderate was 10-15 Euros for one meal. To us from Florida, a moderate meal would be 5-8 dollars at a nice bay-side place like Giorgio's Bakery & Bistro, or Le Tub in Hollywood's Intracoastal waterway. On the other side of the Liffey the prices are slightly better but the quality not as good as Temple Bar or Great Georges St. Look, only two weeks and I'm already developing the "North of the Liffey" snobbery. Once you cross the charming Ha' Penny bridge, you do see more polyester and sweat pants with two or three white stripes down the sides.

One of the great things about Ireland is the everyday use of those obscure scrabble words we use like QUAY, QUOIT, DINGLE, and CWM.