Mlynec being part of Zatisi Group definitely offers amazing food and even wonderful views. We have only been to two and it seems like the unwritten rule is to tantalise guests by serving gorgeous dishes befitting to the fabulous view they have. As they say, location! location! location!

If the dinner at Bellevue was worth it because of the magnificent view of Charles Bridge from afar, Mlynec will hand you the bridge on a silver platter. Up close and personal.

Like Bellevue, the view of the bridge and being right next to Vltava river makes everything else a little less...noticeable. Oh well (it's not a full-on rant, just a tiny bit complain), service could have been more attentive, like Bellevue. A little more attentive, a little more explanation of what the order of dishes will be, a bit more smile, but whatever shortcomings there were that day, the view made up for it. Alright, that's a lie, the view and the FOOD, made up for it.

Basically, because Alex isn't really the "course" type of kid, he just wanted his main. I don't even remember if he ordered dessert. 

Bearing in mind, I am still suffering from some health issues caused by an allergic reaction somewhere, so really I'm am not in the mood to be addressed to, any less than one would in a decent and nice place like Mlynec.

We all had our appetizers, then Alex's main course followed right after we finished our first course, which is the same dish as Jason's and hubby's. 

Our mains didn't arrive for more than 10 minutes. It was a bit disjointed, and hubby, when hungry can be quite vocal. I guess most of us are. I on the other hand, didn't want to spoil the meal and this nice treat, I couldn't be bothered. I am more concern about finding a physician right after lunch.

Hubby inquired about the late mains and our designated server explained the logic behind the order.

Since Alex didn't ask for appetizers, they didn't want him to wait longer without eating. Empathy, that's good. Initiative, another plus. It was all good intention you see? As a parent and a mother, of course I appreciate it and get where he is coming from. But the way it was explained was a teeny tiny bit on the irritated side. 

It would have been nicer had he explained the order of courses as he deemed fit so we are aware and not left wondering. Then, we wouldn't have to ask for it. Or better yet, he could have asked whether Alex will mind if his main course arrives with the rest of our mains. Guests want to be taken care of but also in parallel, likes to be in charge. 

Obviously, whatever appetizer we ordered, Alex had a taste of. That's how we are. We like to force feed them (just kidding). We like to open up our kids palate to different tastes, so really Alex was not starved. Frankly speaking, he was too busy taking selfies and photos of the bridge.

That minor incident aside, it was still a lunch we totally enjoyed. In the end we were all smiles. We're fed and we're happy with what we ate. Come bill time, I was more than willing to give a generous tip. I think it all boils down to cultural differences and hunger games.

Asians like us, no matter how exposed we are to different cultures, still appreciate warm and hospitable service like how it's done in our continent. We all have to compromise, I know. Be more flexible and understanding that sometimes, if not most of the time, "When in Rome, do what the Romans do".

Of course I have to have my wine, right off the bat. With it, whatever I can munch on while waiting for the main attraction. Some uneventful bread sticks, it's nice but not that exciting. Although, these sticks might have disappeared in mere seconds, since we were actively chatting and going through our to-do list for the remainder of our vacay before we leave Czech (with a heavy heart!). 

Goat Cheese Gervais, Burned Peach, Homemade Gingerbread, Fresh Herbs. That is my first course. Just imagine church bells ringing when sweet peaches and salty and creamy goat cheese married in my mouth. 

It was an explosion of flavours like .... well, let's not go there. I nibbled and savoured every bit of this masterpiece. Thinking of it alone makes my mouth watery. 

Poached 62°Organic Egg, Smoked Duck Breast, Peas, Chanterelle. Jason had this and I dove into it a little bit. I am greedy! What can I say? Do you know what feelings you have when you see something so cute you want to pinch it? Well, I felt the same with this dish. 

A little bit of the duck, a slither of the chanterelle, a good spread of the coulis on the concoction, a leaf or two, deliver them with gusto to your mouth and you will savour every chew. Honestly, the egg is an added twist, I wouldn't really say it's the main star, it's more like the honourable mention. By the way, this egg is similar to what we had in Bellevue, though Mlynec separated the yolk from the white. The cooking method however makes this dish safe for preggers to eat.

Green Lettuce Salad, Beet, Young Carrots, Orange with Coriander Dressing. Hubby ordered this for his first course. He wanted to try the duck confit but, knowing his taste, I advised him against it. He likes salad though and this salad looked inviting. 

It must have tasted good since I wasn't able to even try it.

For the main course, Hubby and boys ordered fish. Preventing the boys from ordering another salmon for the umpteenth time, and hubby's been eating all kinds of meat, they settled for Seared Sea Bass, Vanilla Potato Purée, Dried Tomatoes, Capers, Olives, Baked Lemon Juice. 

It was tasty. I had a bite of it but not so much, seeing it's a small piece and my boys love big portions if what is in front of them are yummy. I didn't want to get more dagger looks from Jason so I stopped trying to steal some of his food. 

Hey you beautiful thing! 

I didn't want to eat it. I just wanted to look at it and take a lot of selfies with it. If it looks tempting here, imagine how enticing it was when it was placed in front of me. 

Any discomfort I was feeling because of my allergy, the pressure in my head that feels like it's about to pop, the irritation at the beginning, they all, melted away, dissolved into the abyss of the delectable creation I'm seeing. Obviously, the discomfort came back a few minutes after we left Mlynec but for now, let me walk you through this kind of production of a broadway performance.

Traditional Czech Duck Confit, Red Cabbage Foam, Potato Dumpling. To be brutally honest, I still am not fully sold with the idea of dumpling and sweet red cabbage type of slaw with a gorgeous meat like duck, but knowing Europeans, they'll retort with, "we don't need you to be sold with the idea of our traditional food, missy! You just have to get over yourself and understand that this is OUR dish". To which I will reply with huge apologies. 

That being said, I can eat this dish, anytime, any day, anywhere. IF, only IF, it is prepared the way Mlynec Chef prepared it. 

The less-flare dish I had in Karlovy Vary was nowhere near this one. I couldn't get passed a few spoonfuls of that plate. Mlynec's version? I wiped the plate clean! I find every component balance, not overpowering each other. Very complementary. Everything was well seasoned. It's like some jazz gig going on in my mouth when I ate it. It was perfection on a plate. Even hubby felt a jealous pang when he had a bite. 

I long for the next time we visit Prague. I hope this dish will make a come back.

I noticed menus in both Bellevue and Mlynec change periodically, which is good. Season-based. Maybe I can make a special request for a price if this baby is not in the list.

For a boy who likes ice cream, he always complain about how cold it is! Jason asked for chocolate ice cream, nothing fancy for dessert. Alex had a taste and then went back to his phone. He is 12 years old any way, his priorities changed. On second thought, we all had a taste of his ice cream. It came with dagger looks of course.

Of course mine has to be better than just chocolate ice cream! I didn't come here for ice creams.

Deconstructed Apple Crumble, Apple ice cream, Walnuts, Caramel, Raisins, Cinnamon. I tell you, it was the perfect ending. Of course I have to have my coffee as the only ending in any meal but you know what I mean. The coffee is a normal progression. This dessert? Luscious beyond words. Look at it! It screams gratification on a plate! Yes, another on of my foodgasm moment. Oh don't be a spoil sport, it's all PG13 talk. It's just one of those dishes that I can't seem to get the hang of a better word.

This ended our sensational lunch at Mlynec. It was like a movie, a whole basket of emotions that we went through in one seating. Definitely unforgettable. 

Mlynec Restaurant
Mon - Sun:
12:00 - 15:00
17:30 - 23.00
Telephone: +420 277 000 777
Telephone: 800 165 963
Fax: +420 246 013  713
Email: mlynec@zatisigroup.cz
www: www.zatisigroup.cz

[*I'll talk about my trip to the Emergency Unit in another post. Let's not ruin the foodie moment, shall we? And don't get any ideas, it has nothing to do with this to-die-for meal :) ]

After a full day tour of Kutna Hora, our day ended with comforting food, 3-hour dinner cruise on Vltava River. 

Picturesque view, just rained weather, live music in the house, it was perfect! 

Eva arranged for everything, all we had to do is walk from our house after a change of clothes, show the staff our print-out booking and board we did.

We weren't super hungry, we were mostly exhausted and needing a really big rest. But how else do you wind down better a full packed day but to sit and relax and choose to eat or not in the next 3 hours.

We have seen Charles Bridge through Riksha tour on a bike, from afar when we dined at Bellevue Restaurant, now we passed by it twice, daylight on our way out and evening when it was fully lit, on our way back. Soon we will walk atop it! That ish zhe plan!

Although it was cold, we can't help but go outside. It would be a shame to miss the view. We saw everything that we didn't see (river side) for the last two days, and probably will not see for the remainder of our vacation here in Prague. 

The warm sunset, the clouds after it cried, Fred and Ginger (dancing house) building, the family of swans and ducks, floating restaurants, Kampa island up close and personal. The only thing we didn't mind missing were the huge battalion of mosquitoes. They were atop the wall where our boat has to wait in line to cross a higher part of the river.

Basically, boats go to one side, get locked in, the boat gets raised by flooding the section. Once we are on the same level of the next part of the river, off we go!

By the time we came back to the port, it was dark. We are fed, quite rested and now just need a 5 minute-walk to our house and then doze off time right after a cup of coffee for me and tea for hubby.

That wrapped our third night. Wonderful four days in this enchanting place.

Tomorrow's tour is Cesky Krumlov! Dying to see it!

We got lost enough on our first day that we felt we can finally venture a bit further and be lost some more.

Armed with a couple of maps and Rick Steves App and off we go.

Light showers? No biggie, it doesn't look so bad.

I said "let's just do the Old Town Square now and then do the Wenceslas another day". I was thinking about our dinner and the distance.

Sure enough we got lost again and actually ended up at Wenceslas Square. Apparently our house is no-kiddingly close to every single place that matters.

First things first, foodie call. We have to try some hotdogs, streetfood way, standing and while walking.

The sauce made the difference. It's a special mixture with lots of onions and a REALLY generous amount of mustard. I meant REALLY GENEROUS.

Chilly weather made me enjoyed it, Alex did and hubby too,,, Jason had to order another one of a different type because he had to run to his cola after the first bite!

So he got a very plain one with just bread, hotdog and ketchup. They have no mayonnaise!!! Surprising, but hey, welcome to Europe and welcome to something new.

Suffice to say I ended up eating his first sandwich.

Bravery is good but European weather demands smart wanderers. For which we were initially not.

Hubby had to go back home to get some more armour for the now becoming heavy drizzle. Our house comes with umbrellas and raincoats. How awesome is that?

An excuse for my boys to have their desserts, coffee for me and a shmoke while enjoying the square get damper and damper. People watching was also pretty nice. Some were so used to the cold drizzle that they don't really care... they looked like they were walking on sunshine.

We hang out at Kolkovna Celnice Restaurant, somewhere in the alley towards the Powder Tower/Gate.

Since we are gluttons, after a few minutes walk, the hotdog happiness wore off. We stopped at Como for a nice lunch. Did you see my dessert? (fine, I'm keeping it parental guidance!)

Delicious lunch, pricier than the usual Czech fare but reasonable for Dubai standards.

Its location with a terrace sticking out to the side walk, it's a fabulous way to people watch. Stalkers, guard!!!

THE HORSE'S A**

The start of our tour is in front of the National Museum, under the horses a**... I meant tail. That by the way is how the locals meet up at the square. "I'll meet you at the horses' tail"

King Wenceslas is a historical icon for Czech. A smart and benevolent 10th century duke who Christianiased and lifted Czech culture and who the Christmas carol fame refer to when they say "good King".

He was canonised as a saint after his death.

Next to him are four statues. The nation's patron saints with its focus on books. A symbol that enriching their culture is through thinking, rather than fighting.

National Museum is the imposing building overlooking Wenceslas square. 19th century Neo-classical architecture built to show everyone that they are unique and deserves independence from others.

We haven't been in, the facade is beautiful and apparently the interior is rich too but the collections inside are boring.

We will still visit to pretend we're the cast of Mission Impossible where the Museum stood for "the embassy". Where's my evening gown!!!!

I WILL SET MYSELF ON FIRE!

Just a few walk from the good King Wenceslas statue is a patch of green. Looking at it it says Jan Palach and Jan Zajic. Two students who were two of the many heroes who fought for Czech revolution.

Jan Palach in particular was the student who stood in front of the Museum and set himself on fire because he cannot take the oppression anymore and felt no change will happen (if people don't do anything drastic).

All throughout the square are remnants of Czech's period architecture. Neo-gothic, Neo-Rennaissance, Neo-Baroque, Art Nouveau and Functionalism.

The Grand Hotel Europa is the bright yellow Art Nouveau building on your left as you thread down the square.

The scene was set in November 1989. The Velvet Revolution happened here. Every night, people gather in front of this grandiose structure and jangled their car keys. Hundreds of thousands of them, Symbolically telling the communists to pack up and leave their country.

Velvet Revolution, no force were used, no blood were spilled. It was sheer boldness and standing tall and proud together as a nation while demanding freedom from the dictators..

The balcony of the now Marks and Spencer was the same balcony were the famous individuals of Czech, stood to greet and cement the success of the uprising. A rock star, a well known priest, a poet, Alexander Dubcek and Vaclav Havel to name just a few.

Following our guide to some secret nuggets spread across the city, we were brought to an art deco mall of the 1930s. The Lucerna Arcade.

We found Wenceslas riding an upside down horse. It was huge and funny and we're glad to be led to it.

The last side trip before The Old Town Square was a Franciscan garden hidden within another popular place to the locals. Svetnor Mall.  If you want ice creams, this is "the" place.

The Franciscan garden is from the 1600, boasting a playground for kids and offers a romantic rendezvous for couples or... as what we saw, two boys hiddenly smoking cigarettes.

Our tour was cut short because we have dinner reservations at Bellevue. We will resume our self guided tour on Saturday after a series of out of town tours.

Our night ended with a meal to remember. Dinner with a view of Charles Bridge.

The food were great but I think the captivating beauty of the bridge, lit or not, overwhelmed the gastronomic creativity.

That and the fact that for the first time I ate rabbit. There were the usuals but I wanted to try something new, so rabbit it is!


It doesn't really help that while I was eating, my two boys were making cute sad bunny rabbit faces. Aaaargh!

Grainy photos and all, this wrapped our second night in Prague. We are undoubtedly having a blast!

Aptly called frogs with all beautiful things and people surrounding us. We can easily get lost in this city, literally and figuratively.

We flew KLM, and so the journey was pretty long but it's all worth it. We enjoyed the adventure and are looking forward to our quickie tour of Amsterdam on our way back.

Let's begin from, well, the beginning!

*please bear with the photos and typos.. I am writing my updates via iPhone and let's just say I am all thumbs!

I'll fix the photo collage and typos when I come back to home base.

One back-pack each!

It was hard, a definite challenge but it's needed. This is a 10-day trip to 2 cities, essentially. In August we will be touring 8-10 cities and so it's good to practice now and not be stressed out later on.

Granted I and hubby still carry the boys' bags now and again, I still say it's a must to stick to the one bag each. No check-in luggage, no wheels to worry on cobbled streets. Rick Steves is correct when he said, "everytime you travel, do you say, I should pack heavier next time? It's always I should pack lighter, right?."

Really, you don't wear all of your clothes you brought for "just in case". The best strategy is to have a mix and match of attire for different occassions. I actually found out, 6 of the items I brought, I didn't use and 2 of the items I bought were used once. 

For ladies, the pack is longer but we can still trim down.

Knowing my bare minimum as a lady is the best gauge.

I was supposed to only bring 2 footwear but the weather is confused at the moment so I gotta prepare for yes, the "what ifs".

I got my blue suede heels for a dressy dinner we have booked tonight. I got my Timberland boots for those rainy days. Got my Keds for the sunny occassions and got my rubber slippers for the bathroom. However, I can count that slippers for my oldest boy, his feet is the same size as mine. I didn't bring him house slippers so we share it.

I only need it when I'm in the cold floor bathroom. All around the house is wooden flooring or carpet so I'm good.

My footwear then is a total of 3.

Different passengers have different experiences to tell.

With the big plane, from Dubai to Amsterdam, everyone was happy. Then we had to do the transfer.

But first, my loving hubby went to the women's washroom at Schipol airport. He dashed across to the men's side so quickly, I wasn't able to capture the Mr Bean moment :) "I was wondering, why are there women all powdering their faces?.. yikes!"

We transferred to a smaller plane, Fokker, it's called. The name made my boys' giggled a bit,,, fine! A lot! They're the ones who read the airline magazines and told me about it. 

It was a nice small plane, used specifically for short distances. KLM calls them City Hopper.

Jason got scared while Alex loved it. It was a lovely cloudy day.

Clouds are mesmerizing.

Of course my boys asked, if it is possible to stand on them?

The mustard ham, egg and cheese they gave us on the plane was so organically tasty that my boys (including the big one) actually wanted more. Of course I am a spoil sport, told them it's only a little over an hour flight, let's reserve our tummy for Czech treats.

The plan was to take the public bus to the train station and then take the metro to Namesti Republiky and walk.

It's true.. altitude makes you bloat! My face before boarding in Dubai was starved.. landing in Prague? Like I was fed really mercillesly!

But because we are tourists and the lady at the shuttle's counter was pretty with blue eyes, my hubby made me believe that's the counter for the ticket to the Public bus. Apparently not.

It cost Koruna 600 for the 4 of us, which is practically AED 30 each. Darn cheap compare to their European counterparts.

Shuttle bus was actually a saving grace because when we get off Namesti Republiky station and started walking, we got lost... for about 30 minutes.

Yup that was a loooong time searching for a small street. We were armed with 2 maps, but we were so disoriented, the map just didn't make any sense.

After the jet lag wore off, we found the street then the house, then the bed and we all collapsed!

Our home away from home was sourced from AirBnB. It is a very comfortable place.

Honestly getting lost at the start and walking in streets we are not familiar of, I was a little disappointed when we finally found the house street.

It was hidden. There were few grafittis on the street's wall, the main door looks old, we were tired and hungry and apparently I was dehydrated (from Dubai, I had a few sip of water, bad move!). I didn't fully appreciate how lucky we are to have this place.

We went up the stairs and were greeted by soft beds. It's clean and has all modern amenities and of really good brands. Coffee machine, washing machine, full size fridge and freezer, hot plate cookers, electric blinds, security camera, dishwasher, got my point, everything we will ever need while staying in Prague.

So one by one, we slept until 2 PM. We have to go out and buy groceries and have lunch.

As we walk along getting ourselves oriented with our temporary neighbourhood and as we venture out to other streets, we realised that our house is a short walk to everywhere. The house is a real gem. We cannot be any happier. 

There are graffitis everywhere in the city! It is their own way of saying, "we are a progressive and liberated society". Coming from WWII and going through communist era, the habit of writing their messages on the wall is ingrained in their souls. 

We ended up going to Palladium, which is a 5 minute walk to our house.

Unfortunately we have a tradition of having the first few meals in a good old fashion junkfood chain. It was a toss between MickeyD's or KFC... we went for KFC and enjoyed a different way of frying chicken.It was tasty.

I know it's bad and a sad thing to do in such a beautiful country, but it was so tasty. We discovered that chicken wings are a big thing here. They sell wings in buckets! And we witnessed buckets per person as a meal, everyone nibbling on them, no utensils, just finger licking meal. The way some people build pyramid using pizza crust, I saw in Czech were wing bones. 

We will have to do it too, tomorrow. Probably SHARE a bucket.

For our groceries, we got them from Alberts. It's connected to another mall opposite Palladium and it's in the basement. It looks like it used to be a train station or something, I will find out in the next few days!

We are fed, we have supplies and so we head back home to wait for our tour Riksha.

It's way better than hop-on hop off bus because we were not in an enclosed van. We can feel the breeze, there's a feeling of no barrier from the vicinity at its most natural setting. It was worth it.

We had them pick us up from the house which is really great as getting lost again on still tired body was not ideal. And they dropped us off to the restaurant where we have a booking for dinner. Perfect!

The owner is a half Sudanese, half Czech entrepreneur who personally lead our tour. His name is Arman.

Riksha cost 850 per bike, 200 per drop off or pick up so it cost us 2500 Koruna in total.

1 and a half hour of light tour with a few bits of history and introduction. So ideal for first timers in Prague. Not diluted with facts we can get from books and frankly speaking, we weren't ready for information overload.

We went to important places to get oriented to. We even went further across the bridge and got some tips of more things-to-do in Kampa Island.

Look at where they even brought us, right next to Vltava river to understand how high the last flood of 2002 was! It was a whoaa moment... I mean I know I am small but even a tall person will have a hard time with such high water?

The dropped of point is at Wenceslas Square, Vytopna Restaurace (that's restaurant in Czech). Our drinks are delivered at our station by a miniature train.

I was the supercool mom who researched and booked it.. my kids love me!

We enjoyed our meal to the brim and went walking home. 

On our way, a light drizzle accompany us until we reached home. As I drifted to a supposed to be light nap... apparently the rain became heavy. 

The plan was we'll rest a bit and then hubby and I will hit the streets at night. I fell totally asleep, missed night altogether and woke up past 5 in the morning with make-up still on, unbrushed teeth, unshowered me and contact lens sticking to my eyes!

That's first day for you! Knackered but totally happy.

I hope to write a food review of Vytopna . Their food deserves a full post, if only I can find the photos!