Ratatouille and our own adventure with French cuisine

SP and I watched Ratatouille yesterday night. We both enjoyed the movie and it has inspired us to cook a French meal.

As we studied our French cookbooks, Ratatouille (the dish) was ruled out because of its ingredients, namely the zucchini! We flipped through the pages and found a dish which appeals to both of us: honey duck!

We have tasted this dish in one of the small towns in Provence. It was very delicious. It was not sweet, but savory.

The recipe suggested not just any honey, but lavender honey!

Luckily, we've stocked up some great lavender honey on our last trip and the recipe was immediately approved and signed off.

Next, we went to the supermarket and shop for the other ingredients. We went to the poultry section first, the choice was a little limiting: skinless duck breast or duck legs. Both are free range and they both look great. But I picked the duck legs based on the fact that we (I) NEED (love) the skin.

The first thing we have to do is to make the stock, which eventually get reduced to the sauce. We didn't make the stock from scratch because we had steamed chicken the other night and we have saved up the 'chicken essence'. However, SP added too much salt to the steamed chicken and the chicken essence was way too salty. So, we ended up with 'authentic' salty French sauce!

We also have to brush a layer of honey on the duck and then grilled the duck until it is golden and the honey is caramelised. It smells so yummy! The duck is then placed in the oven to roast for 5 minutes. I can't wait!

And for those wondering whether I was working, of course I helped out in the kitchen!

Photographic evidence of me in the kitchen. I'm making the sauce here.

SP was the saucier's helper.

Pouring the sauce on the duck

The finished dish

Ready for dinner.

And the sommelier (SP) has made a great choice. It is a French wine with English label. But who cares! It was a great match for the duck.

The dish tasted very good! I stripped all the meat off the bone and am ready for some more. What's great about the French dish is that it wasn't that difficult to make.

It proves what Gusteau said: 'everyone can cook'!

Greece trip, Jun 2007 - Aegina (Αίγινα)

Aegina is one of the Greek Saronic Islands and it is only 50 km from Athens. As one can imagine, it is a very popular getaway for the modern Athenians.

It is not a big island, only about 85 km sq.

The most convenient (and fun!) way to get around the island is by an ATV.

The island produce a number of crops, but the most notable one is pistachio.

The main tourist site on the island is the Temple of Aphaia from c. 500 BC. Aphaia is a Greek goddess who was worshipped exclusively at this sanctuary. It was a glorious day when we visited. The photos turned out really well:

The temple sits on top of a hill. It offers great view of the sea.

The ATV was great fun so we drove around the island for some more:

Perdika, a small fishing village on the southern side of the island. It is lined with fish tavernas and offers a good view of Moni Island.

The church on the Aegina town harbour

A church that we drove by.

The ruins of Palaia chora (Paleohora). It is a medieval city, where the islanders used to take refuge from pirates. It is very beautiful in person!

We took a late afternoon boat back to Pierus (Athen's main port).

The luxury of travelling in summer. We arrived in Pireus way before it got dark!

Aegina is a manageable day-trip from Athens. If you are in Athens and you've got a day to spare, I would definitely recommend that you do the same.

Greece trip, Jun 2007 - A Michelin-starred restaurant?

Varoulko, according to our research, is one of the best restaurants in Athens. It has (or supposedly has) 1 Michelin-star.

We booked weeks before our trip, and we waited patiently. We thought it was going to be a unforgettable experience.

First impressions:

1. Uneven table (top and edges)
2. Table next to a block, which cuts into dining space
3. Not-so-shiny cutlery
4. Smokers right next to us, while we've asked for a non-smoking table (they moved us to another table later on but they transferred the food and drinks across wrongly)
5. Slow service (the drinks and menu arrived after a whole 15 minutes)

I must say, the service was really poor. Perhaps I am expecting too much.

We ordered the degustation menu:

Veloute of soup with cuttlefish ink. It tastes like lobster bisque, served with a few BBQ prawn pieces. It went well with bread.

We asked for a replacement for the stuffed red mullet. The waiter offered us scallops. However, when he bought out the dish, it was sardines instead. We were both very upset because the waiter never come around to ask us whether sardines are alright (SP doesn't like sardines).

Shrimps in wine sauce. These were actually good-size prawns. The sauce was very tasty and I absolutely love this dish! They overcooked SP's prawns. Again, he wasn't very happy.

Bay prawns moussaka. I swapped the red mullet dish because I said I don't like aubergine. The waiter didn't pick that up and this dish has a fair few slices of aubergine in it. I only had very little of this dish. SP didn't do much better.

White grouper in truffle sauce. The sauce is great, not as truffly as I want, but still great. Oddly, the sommelier recommended a red wine to go with the fish. I find the wine acceptable, because it brings out the woody/earthy taste of the sauce. SP didn't like this at all.

At this point, the manager came around and asked SP how was the meal. SP replied, "Interesting." I think he got the point.

The waiter came around with two desserts: both have cinnamon in it:

Fruity soup and ice cream. Nothing special.

Cheese cake with a cinnamon biscuit base. This is actually quite good.

Towards the end of the meal, the waiter came and clear the table. He knocked over the water bottle and it fell onto my leg and then crashed on the floor. I didn't get hurt, but I got rather wet!

As you may be able to tell, the restaurant has managed to upset SP a lot. The service was that bad. The food is only so-so. The food itself is at Lindsey House's level, but the wine-matching and service are very poor

The meal was expensive, and we are definitely not going back.

Will I make it as a modern girl guide?

I have never joined the girl guide. My brother was a boy scout, but my school didn't offer the girl guide curriculum. The uniform wasn't that pretty so there was no hard feelings anyway.

Girl guides to me was about life survival skills. The kind of skills that you need when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere and you only have a basic pack with three matches, two sticks and one piece of cloth.

But no, a modern girl guide demands skills which are much more practical in the everyday life, as shown by a UK survey:

I've scanned through the list. I can't even do certain things in the Age 7-10 category, namely swimming 100m! But there are certain things in the Age 16-25 catetory that I do well, such as assembling flat-pack furniture (now, that's crucial skill. Who hasn't bought IKEA furniture when they first moved out!) and planning a holiday (these days, I use my 'stand up to boys' skill and 'lead a team' skill to delegate this task! haha!)

I think it's time to re-evaluate my skillset! hahaha.

Happiness

I was reading my brother's blog entry on Zeng Zimo (曾子墨)'s new book, and it reminds me of a recent thought.

Zimo is a successful presenter at Phoenix TV. She is pretty, smart and professional. She is also knowledgeable in her topic area, finance, having worked in an investment bank previously.

She had what many people considered as a perfect life: She was born into a respectable family and she was a top student at school in China. She later received a scholarship to attend an Ivy League school and graduated with top honours. After university, she was recruited into a prestigious and high-paying role at one of the top investment banks. She has worked on some of the largest global deals and because of her strong performance, she was promoted in a few years.

Having lived an exciting life as an investment analyst, she abruptly decided to have a career change, all because of one book. My brother intentionally left out the details of that book, but I just can't resist finding out more about it.

Thanks to Google, I found the story in no time:

　　"...她已经厌倦了“好像永远在路上”、“飞机上昏暗的机舱”里和“酒店陌生的房间”里的投资银行的工作。有一天在去新加坡出差的夜航飞机上，她翻看棉棉的《糖》，突然发觉：“人怎么样都是活，我为什么非要活在别人认为好的生活里？”棉棉的这本小说让她看到了不同人的生活方式，“别人觉得再好的东西，如果自己不喜欢了，做得不开心，为什么还要做？”..."

(
My attempt at translating the passage:
"... She is tired of the life in the investment bank: 'always being on the road', being in 'the dark cabins on the plane' and 'the foreign bedrooms at the hotels'. On a business trip to Singapore, she read the book "Sugar" by Mianmian, and she suddenly acknowledged that, "Every one has to live a life, why must I live in a life which other peoples dream of?" The book has opened her eyes up and let her see other people's lifestyle decision: "Even if other people consider a thing as good, if I don't like it, and not feeling happy about it, what's the point in doing it?""
)

She then decided to quit her prestigious and high-paying job at the investment bank and spent 4 months trying to 'find her dream lifestyle'. At that time, she was around 26-27.

I'm not sure about you, but I know a lot of people (myself included) who suffer from what is commonly known as 'The quarter-life crisis' (QLC). 'Quarterlife' covers the ages ranging from 21 - 29.

Characteristics of quarter-life crisis include (source: Wiki):

• feeling "not good enough" because one can't find a job that is at one's academic/intellectual level
• frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career
  confusion of identity
• insecurity regarding the near future
• insecurity regarding present accomplishments
• re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
• disappointment with one's job
• nostalgia for university and high school life
• tendency to hold stronger opinions
• boredom with social interactions
• financially-rooted stress
• loneliness
• desire to have children (haha!)
• a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you

Sadly, I have suffered from many of the above symptoms.

Some of the symptoms are linked to the affluenza 'disease', which is termed as "a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more." (Source: Wiki) and I have been thinking about this a lot recently.

My decision to move to London was considered as crazy by the people around me: In Sydney, I had free (almost) accommodation, a good job and my good friends.

During my time in London, I have been constantly reflecting on the decision and my life here. Of course, there was always the thoughts/dream of living in a bigger home, working on a high-paying job and being the most popular person in town. But what sacrifices will I have to make to achieve that? Suddenly, I realise I am already very lucky:

• I don't have a high-paying or prestigious job, but it is a job that is very interesting and challenging for me. I have also met a very good boss, who is giving me good guidance and support.
• I am even 'further away' from my family, but I love them very much and I know they love me too
• I don't have many friends, but SP is here with me and I have strong relationships with my London friends
• I am living in a tiny 'box', it is compact but it is in a convenient location and I have everything that I need in my home.
• I miss my high school life, but I am also living an exciting life in London

With that resolved, I am feeling much happier. I am no longer pursuring the perfect life which other people think one should live. I am living my life.

Greece trip, Jun 2007 - Ancient Agora of Athens

The Ancient Agora of Athens was essentially a multi-function public space, providing for administrative, political, chimerical, religious and social activities.

Agii Apostoli, one of the oldest Christian church in the area.

Some nice bits and pieces.

The Stoa of Attalos. The building that we see now is reconstructed entirely out of Pentelic marble and limestone in the 1940s.

The colonnade was very beautiful. It offers a lot of photo opportunities.

Like this:

There are a number of marble statues in the colonnades. I love the details on this one.

An excavated piece in the Ancient Agora museum. Guess what it is used for? (answer at the bottom of the post)

The Temple of Hephaestus, who is the god of blacksmiths. The building is sometimes called 'Theseion'.

The Theseion is the best-preserved ancient Greek temple in the world: all its columns and pediments intact. Even most of its original remained.

However, the friezes and decorations have been badly damaged by looters though.

One of the walls of the temple. I didn't know the temples had walls!

Another nicely decorated piece

The use of the Ancient Agora Museum item:

Greece trip, Jun 2007 - The Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis of Athens is one of the most famous sight in Greece.

It is a flat-topped rock which rises 150 m (512 ft) above sea level. For some reason, ancient people decided that it was a good idea to build large buildings, including the Parthenon, on the rock.

We had some bad luck when we were visiting the Acropolis: it was pouring! We both got soaking wet! It is supposed to be always sunny in Greece!

You can see the Acropolis from many places across the city.

Another view of the Acropolis.

You can clearly see here the 'rock' that all the buildings sit on.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a restored theatre on the Acropolis. When we were there, the Athens festival was on and they were running 'Carmen' every night of the week. Tickets were 50+ euro.

The other side of the theatre. audience stands and the stage were restored using marble in the 1950s.

The old 'doorway' to the Acropolis.

The Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis. It was early in the morning, but it was already packed with tourists!
A closer look at the Propylaea.

The Parthenon, the temple of the Greek goddess Athena built in the 5th Century BC. The building sustained a great deal of damage in an explosion in the 17th Century, when the building was used as a gunpowder magazine during Ottoman rule.

The Acropolis Museum is situated at the eastern end of the 'rock'. It has a great collection of masterpieces from the Classical period. It also doubles as a great shelter during the rain! :P

Greece trip, Jun 2007 - Some Greek buildings

In Greece, there are a lot of Greek buildings (hehehe)

Hadrian's arch - a Greek version of the triumphal arch. Two inscriptions are carved on the architrave, one on each side: the first, on the side towards the Acropolis reads "This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus"; the second, on the other side, facing the new city reads "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus". Hadrian was definitely marking his territory.

Temple of Olympian Zeus (Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός), dedicated to the king of the gods, was completed in 2nd AD. There isn't much of the original building left.

The Panathinaiko (Panathenaic) Stadium is the only major stadium in the world built fully of white marble. In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the Panathinaiko Stadium hosted the archery competition, and the finish of the Marathon.

The Library of Hadrian was not just a library, it was a multi-purpose public square and cultural center that contained a garden, works of art, a library, and lecture halls.

SP was told off because he shouldn't be touching the marbles! Shame on him!

The Tower of the Wind was built in the 2nd BC. It served as a weather vane and a water clock. Its eight external frieze depicts faces of the eight winds.

The "Propylaea" of the University of Athens. The bases of the columns and the capitals of the entrance are perfect replicas of the Propylaea of Acropolis. This building now serves as the ceremony hall and rectory.

The Zappeion in the National Gardens. It was purpose-built for the revival of the Olympic Games in modern times. It was used as the main Fencing Hall in the 1896 Olympic Games. In the 1906 Games, it was used as the Olympic Village.

The Zappeion was also the place where the Greece representatives formally signed the country's accession to the EU in 1981. These days, the building is mainly used for events and conferences. When we visited, there was an Italian private function on and there were a few girls dressed in ancient Greece-style robes.