Grouper Fish Head Pot

My wife said she has been very working really hard last week and I thought what's a better way to reward her with her favourite dish - one of her favourites! And because we are expecting a special guest in August to try my speciality so I need to start practising now. I went to London Borough's market this morning in search for fresh fish head.

I've sourced the same fish heads from the same fishmonger in the past, today I decided to look around to see if I have other alternative. First stop, I saw a Grouper (aka Coral Trout back in Australia). It's very fresh and its eye as clear and sparkly as my wife's ;-) I spoke to the guy who is busy arranging bream on the front counter. He told me the fish head is actually not for sale as he need it to make fish soup. I've asked him to name a price and I'll decide if I want to buy it or not. I think he really does not want to sell it to me, he weighted the head and decided for a long time before quoting me £10. I thought its on the expensive side so I declined the offer and walked off to my usual fishmonger. Unfortunately, today they don't have halibut fish head.

I cannot go home empty handed right? So I have to execute my Plan B. Luckily, my favourite grocer has morel mushroom today - Bulgarian not French, but hey, beggar cannot be chooser. Then off I went to buy 2 pieces of sirloin from Ginger Pig and 2 pieces of bone marrow. With a fall back solution safely in my hand, I'm starting to think the fate of a perfectly good fish head to be thrown into a pot of London water. I have to rescue it from such a savage scheme, so I thought a tenner it is then. I went back to the fishmonger and see if the offer still valid. He recognised me immediately and gave me a wink. I'm not sure what that wink meant, "now I have that sucker in my net" or "damn, I should quote him £15." Later, I comforted myself for paying extra because they will clean the fish for me while the other does not ;-)

Mean little bugger right? But one fresh bugger...hohohoho....my wife going to suck its eye out!

Just after a quick fried coated with flour. Ready for the next stage - stew in my favourite le Crouset pot. I don't have the end result as we are too busy eating!


My Plan B: Morel from Bulgaria

Need to soak in very salty water in order to....

I didn't believe it when I first researched on how to clean morel mushroom, now I know!

Sirloin from Ginger Pig

End Result

A way to say Thank You

I've injured myself 2 weeks ago. Its only a thumb but to a house husband it meant my wife needs to help out around the house. She washed the dishes but still unwilling to wipe the dining table though ;-). But the best part of it is she bathed me :-) For those who have not try it, get a knife and cut yourself now and hope your wife is as good as mine. After 2 weeks of tender care, my wound started to heal and I'm able to return to my normal post. So I went out to Billings Gate market to get some fresh produce to cook a special Thank You lunch for my wife - Linguine with lobster and langoustine.

For her...

...for me.

Thank you for looking after me for the last 2 weeks. OK now, I gotta go back to wash more dishes ;-)

Teaching personal finance at a London school

I have done some volunteer work at two different schools in the past 2 months: some painting work at a primary school and some teaching at a secondary school. The experience at the secondary school has been an eye-opener for me.

I am at a secondary school today to teach some students about personal finances. The school is located in one of the most disadvantaged community in London. The students are generally from low-income family and it is unlikely that their parents know much about personal finance (in fact, one student told me that his uncle has just gone bankrupted and he asked me what does that mean!)

The students are around 15-16 years old and it was definitely not an easy group of people to deal with. Luckily, the class is actually very well planned out and we are given notes and handouts for each session. Each session consists of some brainstorming, some case study and a game.

At the beginning, we asked the students what they would do if they have moved out of home and earn a gross salary of 12,000 pounds. One particular student put down 'buy a BMW for 6,000 pounds' straight away! :-) it is also surprising how many people actually ignore items such as bills, rent, food, transport!

Later in the session, each student is given spending profiles of fictitious characters, each with 1-2 incomes and 4-5 expenditures. The students had to work out how much each character can save at the end of each month. It doesn't seem to be too complicated but most students struggled. A few actually declared the maths is too hard and gave up. I sincerely hope those student will be able to make ends meet when they finish school and come into the real world.

There are certainly behavioural problems all around the class (there were 3-4 students who refused to do anything). Overall, the teacher manages the student very well. (I think the teacher is very dedicated. She told me that she has been class teacher for this group of students since year 7 and her students have been her pride and joy. It is certainly not an easy job being a teacher in such an environment!) AND this particular school is supposed to be the best in the borough. I dread to think what it is like in other school. (there are security guards in the corridors during recess just to watch the students. Isn't this scary?!)

It was a sunny day...

The summer has kinda arrived!

It was a sunny day yesterday. The lavender along the footpath to my apartment block is blooming. Even the bumblebees are out (I wonder where the bees live. I want get some lavender honey for the honey duck dish!)

Sadly, it didn't last. It is cloudy again today.

English weather...

St. John Restaurant, London

I don't quite remember how the conversation around St. John started. But it's vaguely around the Restaurant magazine's best restaurants 2008 winners list:

1. El Bulli, Roses, Catalonia, Spain (Best in Europe)
2. The Fat Duck, Bray-on-Thames, UK
3. Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, France
4. Mugaritz, San Sebastián, Spain (Chef's Choice)
5. The French Laundry, California, USA (Best in the Americas)
6. per se, New York, USA
7. Bras, Laguiole, France
8. Arzak, San Sebastián, Spain
9. Tetsuya's, Sydney, Australia (Best in Australasia)
10. Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
11. L'Astrance, Paris, France
12. Gambero Rosso, San Vincenzo, Italy
13. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London, UK
14. L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Paris, France
15. Restaurant Le Louis XV, Monaco
16. St John, London, UK (Highest Climber)
17. Jean-Georges, New York, USA
18. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris, France
19. Hakkasan, London, UK
20. Le Bernardin, New York, USA

I have heard about St. John a number of times, and I have always thought that the restaurant is at some out-of-city location (like El Bulli, Fat Duck). But it turns out to be right by the Smithfield Market!

Just to get off track a little, SP and I visited the Smithfield Market when we first arrived in London. We were jobless, and we had nothing to do. So we visited the Smithfield Market, which is a 800+ years old meat market (well, the site has been a meat market for 800+ years). Just like the Billingsgate Market, the Smithfield Market mainly caters butcher, shops and restaurants. The trading hours are from 4:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon every weekday, making it just as inconvenient as Billingsgate.

Anyway, back to St John. It is located on St John, which used to be the principal thoroughfare to the market in the old days. The restaurant is specialised in "nose to tail eating", with a strong devotion to offal and other cuts of meat rarely seen in restaurants. The menu changes every day but it covers things like pig's ears, trotters, duck's heart and even squirrel when it is in season (there are so many of them in Hyde Park I can't imagine them not being in season!)

The famous bone marrow and parsley salad. yummmm

Langoutines & Mayonnaise. It was very fresh and the 'flesh' is sweet and firm. It's a bit too much work though.

Cured beef and celeriac. The celeriac goes really well with the cured beef (someone has started eating before I took the photo!!! hehehe)

Chitterlings (pig intestines) & chips, with a BBQ/plum- sauce-like sace

Venison offal & Chicory. As Ms SL said, "best eaten together"

Overall, the chefs, Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gullive, try to follow traditional British recipes, so it's a good place to take overseas visitors to, only if they don't find offal offensive! They also have a big winelist and you can almost get everything by glass, which is great.

Thanks Ms SL for taking me to St John!

For more information:
http://www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk/

Back in London

I'm back in London. It has been a big rush over the past few weeks. SP and I are both glad that we are home. There are so much to tidy up/ sort out!

We won't be travelling until April, so I have plenty of time to catch up on my blog :-)

Locanda Locatelli, London

Locanda Locatelli is a one Michelin-starred restaurant located near Marble Arch. It is very close to Bond Street/ Oxford Street and it must be very popular with tourists!

We were greeted by very friendly staff when we entered. Our waiter is from Rome and he has a very strong Italian accent. This is an Italian restaurant so this is a good sign :)

SP has just returned from Hong Kong so it was great to have spend some time together. We ordered our aperatives (passion fruit cocktail for me and patis for SP) and we took our time to catch up. Then we remembered that we need to leave by 9:15pm (they told us at booking), so we ordered our food.

There is no degustation menu at Locatelli. I haven't had much luck with the degustation menus recently so it doesn't bother me.

SP and I both ordered the carpaccio of beef. Why have the meat cooked when they are of good quality??? The presentation was really nice. The beef is very tender and tasty. The dressing is very simple, but you really don't need much additional flavour when the beef is this good!

We then split a portion of the gnocchi with cepes. I wanted to ordered the dish but I don't think i could have eaten a whole plate of gnocchi by myself. My experience tells me that gnocchi can be starchy and it tastes a bit bland after the first few tasty bites. Not with this dish!! The gnocchi is not starchy at all. It is slightly chewy and I love the texture! The cepes and sauce are very delicious and this is no ordinary gnocchi dish. We both finished the dish with satisfaction. I would order it again!

SP ordered Grilled Plaice (fish) with some vegetables. It is above average. The fish was not that crispy but it was not too fishy at all. So Steven was glad. We ordered some spinach as sides. This is a vegetable that I love more and more of! I just love tender leaves!

My dish of lobster capelli. The smell was incredible! There are tomatoes in this dish, but the tomato taste was not very powerful so it is acceptable. The lobster pieces are a bit small, and I certainly don't think there is a whole lobster in this dish. The sauce is nice and the pasta is very fresh. I think it was slightly overcooked though.

Dessert was chocolate tart with berries. I was already quite full so we shared a portion. There were cooked fruits in the dessert so it was a great turn off for me. I guess they are not to be blamed though. hehe

The wine matching has been very good throughout. We were pleased with all the recommendations and it has made the meal very enjoyable.

In the end, we had a bit of time left on the clock so we took the petit fours slowly. The petit fours was not that great though. The dark chocolate has a grainy, sour aftertaste.

The dining experience has been very pleasant. The restaurant is very dark and I would prefer it to be a couple of notches brighter. I guess they are trying to make it 'romantic'. The service was very good and we were much more satisfied than when we were at Gidleigh Park.

For a one-Michelin starred restaurant, I think this is pretty good.

我的志願...

我的志願...是成為一位傑出的南瓜雕刻家。

Thanks for all the votes.

The results are out: 20 votes for the pumpkin on the right and 4 votes for the pumpkin on the left.

Now, I know you don't care about the votes, you just want to know who carved which pumpkin.

Well, let's just say that I am not the artistic one in our relationship! :)

A couple of people said that the left one if a lazy job, but I actually worked very hard in carving the pumpkin. I certainly took twice the time than SP! I guess it doesn't really show.. hahahaha

And for those who think my pumpkin looks like a penguin. Yes, my original design was the Linux penguin, which was going to be accompanied by the Apple logo on the other side (I know I will at least get one vote that way!). It was all going well..... until the nose of the Linux penguin fell out! After some diagnosis, we have decided that plastic surgery wasn't going to help, so I changed the design to the pacman-like figure.

Anyway, it is not too late to develop my artistic abilities! With this positive thought in mind, I've collected a colouring book from the supermarket. Now I only need some Crayola crayons! haha

Risotto ai Funghi Porcini

SP and I bought some dried porcini from the Italian market. It is very good quality so it is best that we consume it ASAP (that's my reasoning, anyway)

As we were cooking, I simply couldn't resist the temptation to do tastings every couple of minutes. The fragrance of porcini filled up the entire apartment! Luckily, there are still a good amount left when the dish is ready to be served.

We have made our risotto extra rich and it went really well with a glass of wine.

I can't wait until we make this dish again.

If only I bought more of this stuff from Italy, I would be making it everyday! :)

Who makes the better pumpkin? SP or me?

It's almost Halloween time and there are pumpkins everywhere! It looks all too easy, so we thought we will run a pumpkin carving competition this year.


Two contestants submitted their entries: SP and me. So, I am asking you to be the judge.

Please leave a comment with your initials and let me know whether you prefer the pumpkin on the left or the right. I will gather the votes. I will also decide whether you know your left from your right and make the 'adjustments' accordingly... hahahaha :)

This is serious and every vote will count!

Fine dining on the London Underground

Someone decided to have a full dinner dinner on the Jubille Line.

On a different note, there is another Tube related event coming up this Saturday. It is the Tube Zone 1 Challenge and it is a race to visit all Zone 1 tube stations in the fastest time. Dijkstra's algorithm, anyone? You just have to be mindful of the engineering work that are taking place this weekend!

For more information:

http://www.tubechallenge.com/

Mischa Maisky in action

The Cadogan Hall

I've been in London for a year now. To me, one of the main attractions of London is its world-class classical music scene. Top musicians always visit London! (as opposed to Sydney)

During my time here, I am always on the look out for concert which I want to attend. I wanted to see a cello programme. But everyone is playing the Shostakovich Cello Concerto these days, which I just won't pay to watch live. Plus, I've already got Rostropovich's version on DVD. The music was written for him! So it's unlikely anyone can top that!

Anyway, I finally found a cello programme that appealed to me last month:

Alexander Polianichko, conductor
Mischa Maisky, cello
English Chamber Orchestra

Tchaikovsky Serenade for String Orchestra
Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme
Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile for cello
Tchaikovsky Suite No. 4, Mozartiana

The venue, Cadogen Hall, is not so well known. The hall was formally a church. It was purchased by Cadogan Estates Ltd in 2000. Cagoden Estates, in turn, is owned by the Earl Cadogan, whose ancestors have been the main landowners in Chelsea since the 19th Century. The current Earl, Charles Gerald John Cadogan, is listed as the 243th richest person in the world on the 2007 Forbe Billionaire List. He owns much of Sloane Street, which lines the exclusive district Knightsbridge, Belgravia, and Chelsea. In the most exclusive residential area of the street, some of the residences have remained as whole houses. And the properties in the area have sold for in excess of £2,500 per square foot on long leases earlier this year!

Back to the concert, Mischa Maisky is one of the top cellist in the world. He won the 6th Prize at the Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1966, so I was really looking forward to hearing this all-Tchaikovsky programme. Again, Rostropovich, being the President of the Organising Committee of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, has made the definite record on Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme. Nevertheless, Maisky, who has studied under the maestro and Piatigorsky, is a well-respected cellists and it is rare to hear the Andante Cantabile live, so I jumped at the opportunity!

Maisky entered the stage after the first piece, and he dedicated his music to his teacher, Rostropovich, which I think was very heart-warming.

Maisky with his cello. Look at the length of the end-pin! His suit was also very interesting.

Maisky played a wonderful interpretation of the Variations on a Rococo Theme. His technique was almost perfect and the tone was very warm and full. He had lots of fun going up and down the fingerboard. The Andante Cantabile was beautiful, even more so than I expected. Maisky was in control the whole time. It was mesmerising. Before I know it, his programme was over!

It is the first time of me hearing a Montagnana live. What an amazing instrument and player. The back of the Montagnana is amazing. I can see the grain all the way from the gallery. The English Chamber Orchestra also put up a wonderful performance. Although the hall is slightly too big for chamber music (it sits around 600 people), the music still carry through reasonable well.

On a side note, I also saw Julian Lloyd Webber, the cellist brother of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Here is a not-so-clear photographic evidence:

He was walking right behind me when we entered the hall. He attended the concert with an Oriental lady and left during the interval. It is a shame because he missed the Andante Cantabile, which was played so beautifully!

I now look forward to more concerts. Hopefully, I can find something nice at the Wigmore Hall in the near future!

Snow in London

This morning, we woke up to this view:

This is our first experience of snow in London.

And to accompany the experience, we had delays on ALL London underground lines :P

A Christmas Carol

No, I haven't read the book. This post is about real carol singing.

Today, I've joined a small group of people to sing at Liverpool Street station to raise money for 'Help the Hospice'.

A bit about Liverpool Street station, it is one of the busiest train station in UK, with around 125 million vistors each year. So there we were, 6 of us, standing near one of the entrance, singing X'mas Carols for St Joseph's Hospice.

'Help the Hospice' is a charity organisation which helps fund and provide palliative care. As some of you may know, I don't sing and I don't really enjoy performing. But it is for a worthwhile cause. 

Singing in a train station is especially difficult because our group is small and we have a big space to cover. I overcame my shyness and put a lot of effort into project my voice. As we warmed up, we were getting a good flow of donations. Nobody threw eggs at us. So it was a pleasant experience afterall. :)

Tornado in London

Limescale

When we first moved into our flat, we found that there are white chalky deposits in the shower and sink. We subsequently found the same thing in kettle and cooking utensils as well! Later, we were told that this annoying white stuff is called limescale, and it still haunts us til today.

So, why are there white deposit all over the place?

It has to do with the quality of water. In Melbourne and Sydney, I never had this problem. It also wasn't a problem when I was in Hong Kong, where the tap water is not drinkable. 

The white chalky stuff is from the hard water, which contains calcium carbonate and other similar salts. The salts are in the water because it has been pumped from or filtered through natural underground reservoirs called aquifers. These salts come from the rocks underground.

Calcium carbonate is rather unusual, in that it becomes less solution when the water is heated up. As a result, there are white deposits in places where hot water has ran by.

The built-up can eventually block pipes, as shown in this photo from http://www.tamhil.com:



Scary stuff.

The hard water would also combine with soap to form scum on almost all surfaces. It is often rock solid and is almost impossible to remove.

Worse of all, using soap on the body in hard water can also cause scum to be formed on the skin. This stuff remains on the skin even after rinsing, thus clogging pores and coating body hair. It also encourages growth of bacteria!

So, what're the solutions?

(1) You can scrub off the limescale with the help of chemical limescale cleaner.

(2) You can use an ion exchange water softener, which effectively replaces all the calcium in the water with sodium. It is rather expensive to run and the water may not be suitable for drinking as the level of sodium has increased dramatically.

(3) There is also a third solution, which is not exactly confirmed yet. This involves the use of electronic or magnetic water descaler, which is wrapped around the incoming water pipe to pass a magnetic field through the water. As the water passes through, the salts molecules lose their attraction to one another and are prevented from combining into larger structures to become limescale. The molecules are held in suspension. The water treated in this way will eventually return to its original structure (the limescale forming salt), but the treated water should be used and washed away before this happens.

Right now, to make ourselves feel better about the water we drink, we are using Brita. If you know of any other solutions which works, please let me know.

Anti-climb paint

When we first moved to London, we noticed signs which say 'Warning: Anti-climb paint'.



(Source: http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/acb.jpg)

It sounds like a silly idea and I have certainly not seen them in Australia.

I did some research today and found that it is actually a non-drying oil based paint. In theory, this should make the surface very slippery and impossible to climb. It also marks people's clothes and skin should it come into contact with the paint.

However, the paint that we saw generally look dried. And I don't think it is going to stop anyone from using a rope to climb in.

Anyway, it seems sad that we have to come up with these kind of measure to stop people from entering a premise. *sigh*

Zafferano

I am having dinner at Zafferano tonight.

 
(Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4079041.stm)

Zafferano is the restaurant which bought the giant white Alba truffle for £28,000 in 2004. The chef subsequently left it in the fridge for too long and the truffle became inedible! What a waste!

I was never going to forgive them. But I will have to see tonight! :P

Dining at Zafferano

Zafferano has been forgiven. It's official.

Definitely worth a visit during the truffle season! They have a menu full of truffle dishes!

Bread. The bread are freshly cut at the table in the main hall.

Tuna Scallop Carpaccio. Nice and fresh.

Cured ham with marinated mushrooms. I love the ham. It was definitely freshly cut. Look at the moisture!

Venison with mushrooms in wine sauce. I only tried the mushrooms. Very tasty sauce!

Tagliatelle with white truffle... MUST TRY! very simple yet very satisfying!

Vanilla ice cream with 100 years old Balsamic vinegar and white truffle. The vinegar is sweet and has a very thick consistency. See end of article for more info on this old vinegar.

Here is my reaction to the dessert:

Posing for photos. 'Hurry up! The ice cream is melting!!'

The smell is divine!

I'm digging in!

It's really yummy. Do you want to try some?

No? Ok. I will have the rest!

Update 26/04/2007: I've just realised that Zafferano is a one-Michelin-starred restaurant!

For more information:

Zafferano
http://www.atozrestaurants.com/zafferano/

100 year old Balsamic Vinegar - $USD 500 per 100 ml, no wonder they only gave us 6 drops!!!!
http://www.farawayfoods.com/hundredyear.html and http://balsamic.com/pages/balsamic_article2.htm

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night

It is very noisy around London tonight (5th Nov). There are fireworks all around the place. It's the bonfire night!

What is it all about, you may ask? well, the firework is to mark the failure of Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder plot. You can read more about it here: http://www.bonefire.org/guy/gunpowder.php

Anyway, a long story short: In 1605, a group, led by a person called Guy Fawkers, has gathered barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords in an attempt to blow up the House of Parliament and kill the king. Their plot failed and the conspirators were caught, tortured and executed. Subsequently, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King and the tradition has continued until today, although for a completely different reason.

These days, the bonfire night is held around Britain on several nights around 5th Nov. Each council/regions tends to run their own version, so the theme would be somewhat different. However, since most of the bonfire night are planned by individual councils/suburbs, there are a number of firework display inside London. However, the scale of these firework display is relatively small.

SP and I are living alongside the river so we can see the fireworks in a few places. There are at least four  six nine seperate firework displays at this very moment. Rather noisy, if you ask me.