'Surviving' turn into 'Gorgeous'

I didn't pay much attention for what to eat in Seoul and HK this time. I actually ate a lot of junk food. Feeling stressful...a bit.. So at last, I wanted to eat very good meal. Ye Shanghai is normally my destination but I wanted to try new place. However food in the new place wasn't good... Some place could be noting special or bad even in HK. I was almost crying... my only treat dinner turned disappointed. For cheer me up, I went to lounge bar in intercontinental hotel. A million dollar view is just in front of me with Frozen mango Daikiri. I finally made my day.


Flight from HK to Seoul. Welcome champagne.



Business class in Cathey pacific is quite good, food was even much better than the restaurant I went to in HK! Lucky me I was upgraded!


Wine and cheese.


Looking at Beautiful moon sky. Soon home.

Wan tan noodle in soup

This is from a noodle bar I always go in HK. It's very very local, nothing fancy, I even don't know their name but their wan tan noodle in soup is one of the best. I often eat as breakfast or night snack because they almost open 24 hours. I wish if there is any of these noodle bar in East London rather than all choice we have after midnight is only kebab...

Yee shun milk company

Sweets in HK is quite exciting part of visit. This place is one of the old school sweet place. They are famous for milk pudding. This time I had a coffee milk pudding. It is very creamy yet not heavy, very smooth.

Seoul

Little hectic while I'm staying Seoul this time. Most of meal I had was in a canteen, very Korean basic style, still good balanced diet! That's why most of Korean woman are quite slim and has beautiful skin I think.

Real Pakistani curry

Real Pakistani curry by S. Most of British Pakistani curry using fresh cream but they use yogurt in real. Much more lighter and tasteful. When some cuisine brought to different country, often the dish would arrange to fit other country.


Desert

Malaysian curry

One of the best restaurant I had been this year. Sedap; Very authentic Malaysian. Simple food but at same time sophisticated.

Simple but very fresh beautiful salad.


Almost dry beef curry


Creamy coconuts milk curry. This is one of signature dish from this place.

Sweet level charge

Walnuts cheese cake


White chocolate cheese cake
Both from Macondo where I always go to get nice cakes.

Taiwanese braised pork part two with noodle

Second version of Taiwanese braised pork. Today with Noodle. It was one of the best Ramen i ever made! Pork was so tender because this is third day to reboil.

Taiwanese braised pork lanch box

S's pork dish inspired me to make this. I used very basic recipe, only needed to boil quite long time with very simple ingredients. Simple is the best, this is one of those dish.

Martha Wainwright Sings Piaf

Yesterday I went to see Martha Wainwright singing Edith Piaf produced by Hal Willner. Piaf was one of the greatest singers in the world, has long been recognised as France's finest singer. Also Martha is very talented singer at the present time.

Bang and mash & my first Riedel

Bang and mash for a cold late afternoon lunch. Well, I was a bit busy to finish all paper work, so I left all ingredients and S cooked it for me. Also I got my first Riedel grass, so why not with red wine with it? Slow down with heavy winter food and nice wine. Riedel grass gives real pleasure to taste wine. It is remarkable how grass makes taste different!

Farm house

This is a farm house I always go in Maldon, Essex. A pretty girl call Star will serve you. What a pretty name! She is really charming too. Most of Veg is home grown or local grown here.


Those are what I got this time from Star's farm shop.


S's Fried rice for lunch. Taste very warm, homely Japanese dish. I should head back to London after this.

End of Autumn party

I got a invitation for end of Autumn party from S. I always love her sense for color and texture. It's very warm, delicate and calm.


Welcome soup for cold afternoon lunch. Leak and Potato soup, keep me warm.


My little niece with her hat! She made it by herself! What a pretty color way!


I borrowed the hat too. I love it. Someday she will advice me for fashion!?


Dinner; Baked Sweet potato and Butter squwash which I brought there because I didn't know what is a best way to cook this veg. I always learn quite a lot of things about food, nature and life from S. We always endlessly talking about those subjects.


Main dish; steamed marinated Pork. S prepared from the day before. Melt in your mouth... Sorry my photo is too bad but dish was amazing!


Pumpkin cake.

A winter day with bicycle

Red n' hot Chinese restaurant

Red n' hot Chinese restaurant(www.rednhotgroup.com) serve authentic Sichuan food. Most of menu is ultra hot!

Can we feed 9 billion?

By end of this century, our population predicted to grow to nine to ten billion from 6.5 billion now. In this way, it will be essential to find solution that how we grow food, how we have better fertilizer, how protect food on it's way to consumer etc...

Basically, I try to eat organically but my organic is not so strict. There are couple of reasons. First of all, organic and non-organic doesn't have any special nutritious benefit. Secondly, to grow vegetable need to protect from all pests. In this sense, organic vegetable need fur more pesticide than non organic one. When I was kids, my family use to order vegetable to one farmer who deliver to our home once a week depend on what he have in the field at that moment. We needed to go to help him at least once a month to the field. I remember this man also told me, even organic need to have pesticide to protect veg. We shouldn't be hysteric about too much, just need to know how to use it fairly. Finally, organic certificate is helpful if we don't know where a product come from but there are so many local producer who make their product organically but doesn't have certificate.

The reason why I pick up this topic today is that I went to lecture 'Can we feed 9 billion' in RSC. The lecture was specialized in relationship between food and chemical. However, a lecturer also said that to find the way we have enough food for every person on this planet is related to politics. There was one interesting article in Observer one month ago which made me to go this lecture. 'So much food. So much hunger'. Question was how can so many people be hungry when farmers produce enough food at least in theory? The answers are complex and involve everything from American farm politics and African corruption to war, poverty, climate change and drought. Activist say that some of tools for success are within reach provided the financing and political will persist; those tools include seeds fine-turned to local conditions, fertilizer and better road and other infrastructure improvement.

In same article, they referred a word from Dr, Borlaug, plant scientist who created high-yielding wheat varieties to stave of famine, who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1970. 'World peace will not be build on empty stomachs or human misery. I truly agree and wish we will find a way to solve this problem. So much food but so much hunger is not what we wish for.

Back to Basic

Very very simple Japanese dinner after party time. Rice, miso soup, smoked Jack fish and boiled beans.


Rice, salad and Salmon teriyaki

Breakfast at Ottolenghi

Last day of my long weekend. R called me just before take a Eurostar from Paris. I was lazy enough to stay in bed until two afternoon, so this became my breakfast; Carrot cake with Pinot blanc.


Gift from Paris. Looks like a jewel box. Craftmanship Champagne truffle from maison ou chocolat. www.lamaisonduchocolat.com

Haloween Weekend

Start the day with French toast. Beginning of exciting weekend!


My Halloween Dinner; Ghost pumpkin creature!
From top; Pumpkin brain gratin, Skeleton pork rib marinated with lemon and honey&Chinese pork rib, Pear salad with pumpkin seed, Garlic Bread.


Next day's breakfast. A lot of fruits and pancake.


Full moon pancake.