My Very Own Self
"Sugar and spice and everything nice, My Dearly Beloved and then Some
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|  || Saturday, October 28, 2006 || AnnouncementWill be away from 28th October to 5th November for my Toussaint* holidays. I’ll in Paris for a chocolate exhibition, good food and better company. Then it’s off to Berlin and Hamburg for pork knuckles, sausages, dear friends and a good dose of History!! Life is good! =) Have timed some posts to appear while I’m away. Let’s see if it works. *Toussaint means All Saints (Tous = All and Saint = Saint) *** My 3rd birthday present, from my father to me. (You will hear about the 2nd soon). Note how the gift has been tastefully wrapped. I do love a pretty present. [Daddy, if you’re reading this I charged it to your card, so thanks! =)].  Pleasure, pleasure and perfect train-ride reading. Amitiés, Lumpy et Zihua. || Thursday, October 26, 2006 || Days 39-41 (13th - 15th Oct) - Italy The world, I think, can be divided into two groups of people. Those, lauded by generations of poets and novelists, who can sit back in quiet repose and silently appreciate the beauty of Nature, and those who can't. I think I belong to the second group. Happily, my happiness does not depend on the opinion of writers in general, most of whom I think are fluffy-headed left-wing idiots anyway. Friday, Day 1 So our destination was the town of Menaggio, by Lake Como, to the north of Milan. To describe it succinctly, it was small, quaint and had good scenery. In short, it is a place for the first group of people. Although to do it justice I did have an enjoyable time by Lake Como. Not great, not excellent but nevertheless, enjoyable. I suppose my placid feelings are a reflection of the sort of place Menaggio is: calm, slow and quiet, not the sort of place to stir strong emotions at all. Being a creature of spirit and heart, naturally it did not call out to me. Still... beauty always recognises beauty and Menaggio at very least was pretty:  [From left to right - Row 1: At the hostel, a boat in French colours!, a pretty little white flower, mountains by the lake; Row 2: Buildings, lakeside scenery, view from the hostel, more lakeside scenery; Row 3: More buildings, lakeside scenery again, another view from the hostel, James, Sin and I on a random street; Row 4: Origami flowers that Shumin and Sin love, more of Menaggio, a duck and her drake, Shumin, Sin and I at a restaurant by the lake]We had an easy first day. Drinks (I had champagne!), lunch (at a Lonely Planet Guidebook recommended pizzeria), check-in, gelato (also recommended, 3 whole scoops!!), a leisurely ramble from street to street and shop to shop, lazing on the hostel terrace in admiration of the scenery then dinner then Monopoly (which by the way I won). Ah the simple life!  [From left to right – Row 1: Sin and I toasting by the lake, Lumpy and my champagne, the bad little elephant-scout, views of the Pizzeria; Row 2: the interior of the Pizzeria, very soft and tender calamari, all-meat pizza, seafood pizza; Row 3: Tiramisu, Tartufo semi-freddo, the Gelaria, my 3 scoops: strawberry, hazelnut and chocolate!; Row 4: Dinner’s restaurant, Occo Buco (pork shank) with semolina, lemon sorbet gelato, us at dinner]Saturday, Day 2 Because I was adventurous and also because Menaggio was that small and because the brochure promised us a market, we went to the town of Como, the largest in the Como Lake district. Alas! Como was a con. Full of tourists, touristically priced yet without touristic charm to redeem it. And the market was… well I’ve seen better pasar malams. To make matters worst, lunch was not good. Although we did have excellent chocolate gelato there. And I did buy a pretty pink pashmina. So I was reasonably happy. Actually I think I’m easy to please. All I need is good food and something pretty. Anyway:  [From left to right – Row 1: Tourist trap restaurant, Church directly opposite restaurant in whose shade we ate, a food shop I went to and a whole shelf of pesto!; Row 2: Bad Fritto Miso, a hideously adorable dog we saw at the market, pasta so sub-standard I can honestly say I can make better pasta than that; Row 3: Little chocolate snacks from an upscale teashop, the patriotic table settings of the tourist-trap restaurant, my gelato—chocolate and orange]Bellagio (yet another little lakeside town) however redeemed the day. It was enchantingly pretty and very Palm Beach in feel. Plus it had many shops with darling little knick-knacks:  [From left to right – Row 1: Bellagio Harbour, one of the many quaint Bellagio streets, a snowman at a Christmas shop (selling only Christmas decorations), the view from the top of the staircase of the Christmas shop]AND I bought Lumpy a friend (from a shop which sold the most precious little porcelain figures)! I had to. He was smiling at me from the window with laughing eyes and so I smiled in return and had to get him. Presenting:   Dinner back in Menaggio at a lakeside hotel. It was the best meal of the trip. Good but not great. France has spoilt me. Sunday, Day 3 An excellent breakfast. The hot chocolate tasted like rich, melted and heated ice cream and the iced brioche I had was delightful.  Following which we took a ferry to Veranna (yes, another lakeside town. For the less aware, lakes are usually surrounded by many little towns, a large town not being possible since you can’t build across water and you shouldn’t build uphill). There was a flea market!!  Lake Como and its little towns are lovely places, but after 2 days of being surrounded by mountain ranges seeing only a misty lake I was beginning to feel suffocated. I make a terrible Chalet School girl (the original setting of the Chalet School by the way, is the Archensee mountain range, in Austria, Tyrol). The shame. Possibly if the lake had been blue and clear and lit by sun I would have forgiven it, but it was not so we should not dwell on what could have been. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I abandoned the rest and made a trip to Milan!!  [From left to right – Row 1: The Duomo Cathedral (gorgeous stained glass windows!), buildings, shopping street, Lumpy under a baby archway; Row 2: tablet of a cute old man, Lumpy at the top of the Duomo (I climbed all the steps up!), the view from above, the Galleria (a huge shopping arcade); Row 3: Fascist balconies from which Mussolini made his speeches (I stood on the balconies!!), statute of Da Vinci, outside view of the Galleria, a car with anti-Berlusconi posters all over it; Row 4: good bread at my dinner restaurant, ultra-creamy carbonara—with not cream apparently, it’s all egg!, my tartufo gelato, view of the restaurant (recommended also in the Lonely Planet Guidebook)]Much better. I felt alive again. One can only take that much tranquillity. I suppose I will regret saying that when I am old but youth must be allowed to commit its own mistakes so it may learn from them. Oh yes, while wandering around the lively streets of Milan a random fellow came up and began to talk to me. I simply stared at him and remained mute and he had the cheek to tell me not to be afraid. Eventually though I figured what could he do to me in broad daylight so I decided to use him to get directions. Anyhow after a certain strain of conversation he walked away. The point is seriously, what on earth have the PRCs been doing here. It was quite the adventure. I like adventures. To sum up, peace and quiet are good to have, but give me life and action any day!! Oh and just because:  [Clockwise from bottom left: Woollen pashminas, cloth paintings I found at the flea market and got for a song, little chocolates I got from Como and Semi-Freddo!]
Amitiés, Lumpy et Zihua. || Tuesday, October 17, 2006 || Day 42 - Gifts and Presents.Back from Italy. Will post about it eventually. Anyway, there was a package waiting for me in the mailbox when I got home. My first 21st birthday present!! Ha ha. Those of you who still have not acted click here. Buy from Betula! Though if you're impatient for a reply (Betula being indisposed currently) Sally will do too. And yes, it is very safe to buy from them! Anyway, here it is:   I absolutely love this book! A precious and instructive little manual that every girls needs. To give you a taster, from the chapter Learning to Laugh, I present this choice quote: "There is no greater ornament to conversation than the of silvery notes that forms the perfect laugh... The laugh is a test of good breeding and cultivation... as to grins, very few of them can be described as pleasing. Pretty teeth may redeem some of them from complete ignominy, but, as a rule, the exhibition of whole meadows of pale pink gums is inconsonant with one's ideas of beauty..." Thank you Xin Hui!! =) Amitiés, Lumpy et Zihua. || Thursday, October 12, 2006 || Day 30, or Wednesday 4th Oct - Poitevin Macaroons!!Got some local Macaroons. Chocolate and pistachio.  [Macarons de Montmorillon. Well I think Montmorillon is part of Poitou so that makes them Poitevin] [The Macaroons]Not quite Ladurée. Still, they make a decent snack and were finished in 2 seatings. Mummm. *** Day 31, or Thursday 5th Oct - 1 Month Anniversary! We've been in France for 1 month now and we're still alive!! Celebration at the Magenta (a swanky restaurant along Rue Magenta), Shumin's treat. Also in celebration of my 21st! Food was good. Will let the pictures speak for their own:  [From left to right - Row 1: Table mat, Foie gras pâté, Shumin and her Tiramisu; Row 2: My veau (still have not found out what meat this is) with mushroom cream sauce and pasta, Table mat, Shumin's Ham-and-Mushroom Pizza with a lovely taste of olive oil; Row 3: Me and my Benedictine, solo picture of the Benedictine and once more tha Table mat]Dear Shoo, thanks for the lovely meal! =) *** Day 33, or Saturday 7th Oct - Fête du Chocolat! Took a train up to Chatellerault (which is a lovely suburban-ish town, the sort of place one wants to settle down and raise a family in) for the Fête! Happily it only cost €3!  [From left to right - Row 1: Pretty view of Chatellerault, Honey-and-pain d'épice (a honey spice cake) man, chocolate roses, flavoured chocolate; Row 2: Cognac man, chocolate cakes, Dèscartes chocolate: dark chocolate cover, praline centre studded with crispy crêpe-wafer bits, Macaroons! by Thierry Hathoam; Row 3: Chocolate man, Chocolate-nut-raspberry biscuits, Chocolate couple, Cake woman; Row 4: Chocolate bars, Confiture stand, Sirop stand and guy who looks like Tin Tin (he left Snowy at home), a quaint cottage at Chatellerault]Bought rather a lot of food. Don't I always. A group picture:  [Clockwise: The chocolate-nut-raspberry biscuits, duck rilettes (a meat spread), Dèscartes chocolate, Macaroons!, Maple sweets, chocolate spread]For lunch, we went to Le Shanghai. Run by Vietnamese who learned cooking in Hong Kong, this chain curiously does not serve Shanghai-nese cuisine.   [Top photo: rice, sweet-and-sour pork and furong egg; Bottom photo: still the sweet-and-sour pork, beef with onions and a fried beansprouts, a complementary dish. Maybe it's because I look greedy that I seem to attrach free food. Long may it continue!]Still, even pseudo-Chinese food is welcome! Amitiés, Lumpy et Zihua. Day 3 of Weekend : Sunday, otherwise Day 27 To the north of Central Paris, on the Right Bank, lies a quaint and pretty little place named Montmartre. And, perched high upon this hill of Montmartre, is a church, very formally known as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart or, if you care to be French-ish, la Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. And so it was that on this cold and windy Sunday morning, I paid a visit to Sacré-Coeur.  It is a lovely church, and I think that it has very aptly been named Basilica instead of Church. The term 'Basilica' does so much better capture the exotic magnificence that is the Sacré-Coeur. It reminds me rather of the Taj Mahal.  [The view from the top of Montmartre]I did not take photos of the inside of the Basilica. It was not allowed, and anyway I don't believe in taking photos of the inside of churches. It pains me when that happens; it is as if the church is degenerated into some cheap and common tourist attraction. But then who am I to speak - there was I on a Sunday as a tourist rather than to worship. Oh drat it I still feel guilty for skipping church that day. As it was I did not enjoy my visit much. My conscience was pricking me for having skipped church, and anyway there was too much crowd going in and out of the Basilica. There was no silence and calm. I could not find the peace that one should have from being in a church and it unsettled me for the day. I suppose I deserved it. But one thing I did think was touching: If you should ever visit Sacré-Coeur and look seriously at the architecture, you will notice that right at the top of the Basilica, stands a statute of Our Lord, looking down from his perch on Montmartre*, on the city, houses and streets of Paris, as if keeping constant and faithful watch... which He is, of course.  [The town of Montmartre, itself a joy to be in] [A children's band which happened to be playing that day, playing as well as children can]* by the way you all do know that Montmartre literally means "Mount Martyr" and that Montmartre is a hill, right? *** Anyway, the final food installation for my weekend in Paris. Presenting...  [From left to right - Row 1: Lumpy and my Pierre Hermé buys, a showcase of Pierre Hermé's chocolate stuff, Lumpy in a Pierre Hermé paper bag; Row 2: Pierre Hermé shopfront, the powder blue box of my dreams, Pierre Hermé large macaroons; Row 3: the macaroons I bought with my chocolate cake - chocolate mousse, sponge, ganache and solid dark chocolate, with a bit of gold, more dessert displays, Lumpy with my cake and macaroons]How do I explain Pierre Hermé to you? Think luxury bags. In the world of luxury desserts, if Ladurée is to Louis Vuitton; then Pierre Hermé is to well I guess... erm... a Chloé? *sigh* I'm not good at this. This requires someone like Cuixian or Ali... But anyway, just walk away knowing this: in France, just as there are luxury bags, there are luxury desserts. If Ladurée has a standing in the dessert world somewhat like Louis Vuitton has in the bags world (without the piracy), Pierre Hermé would have a standing I guess like an Dior bag, being more cutting-edge and modern in terms of products (an impending flavour for its macaroons is foie gras and chocolate!!). Vive la France! P.S. Tried to tie a full Windsor for Lumpy with a ribbon. Ended up as a scout's tie instead. Oh well, he does look an adorable and brave little scout. Amitiés, Lumpy et Zihua. || Sunday, October 08, 2006 || Paris Weekend (2)Day 2 of Weekend : Saturday, otherwise Day 26 It is often said that great people have interests outside what they do. I agree. I myself have two deep and extra-legal passions : books and food. Trusting that my friends would not let me down as I turned 21 in terms of books*, thus went Sin and I on Day 2 on a food expedition! Schedule for the day: - Marché at Rue Mouffetard - Leisurely stroll along the River Seine and visiting its boquinists (bookstalls selling second-hand books and quaint paintings. Hope I spelt it right.), Notre Dame, then Shakespeare and Co (a famous expat bookshop. Ok fine, food-cum-book expedition) - Lunch at Boulangépicier (a select bakery) - L'Étoile d'Or (The Star of Gold, which we later found out was a world-famous sweet-and-chocolate store, for its salted butter caramels, and chocolate. The owner is nicknamed "La Reine du Chocolat" or "The Queen of Chocolate"!!) - Tea at the Rose Bakery (excellent English tea place) "Nature's first hue is gold, her hardest hue to hold". So once wrote Robert Frost. Seizing the day, we woke early to go to the Mouffetard Market. It was great. Imagine walking down a beautiful street on cool, clear morning, the street bustling with life yet leisurely-ly unbusy... while eating strawberries and sniffing in the warm, delicious scent of roasting meats, the briny tang of seafood and the luxurious perfume of chocolate WITH an excellent swing band was playing in the background. That was the Rue Mouffetard Market for us. Sheer joy! Some pictures:  [From left to right - First row: little boy looking at seafood, chocolate animals on display, assorted sweets in pretty containers, more chocolate; Second row: Truffles!, one chocolate shop, the swing band that was playing, mushrooms on display; Third row: the rotisserie, part of the market, olive oil shop, display of food; Fourth row: more food, food at the Boucherie (the butcher's), fruits de mer (i.e. shellfish), the Butcher]Remember the rotisserie picture? Well that the bottom of all that roasting meat were potatoes, slowly being cooked by the heat AND with the juices and fat dripping down from the meat. Sin Yee and I bought some.  Starch cooked in fat. A sinful and satisfying pleasure. The Seine, the boquinists, Notre Dame and Shakespeare and Co. were next. I bought a lot pictures and posters (including soap ads). What on earth will I do with them? Oh well.  [From left to right - First row: A boquinist and the distant view of Notre Dame, Close-up of Notre Dame; Second row: The swing band again!! Following us from Rue Mouffetard!, Shakespeare and Co.]Then was late lunch at Boulangépicier (a contraction of baker [boulanger] and grocer [épicier] in French by the way, cause they sell bread and upmarket pesto, biscuits and jam...). I wanted to get the skewer of bread that had been strongly recommended here, but alas it was sold out. So we had the olive bread and sardines which had been tried, tested and proven true here. It was good. (And ha! We got a complimentary chocolate tart!)  [The sandwich, the complimentary tart, and some onion with chorizo bread I later bought. That one was a free sample. Gosh who says the French aren't nice!]Rather full after all that good food. Not that that mattered. I decided I needed to try those salted butter caramels which had been waxed lyrical about here, and, Sin Yee being an excellent host, so we did. Pictures of L'Étoile d'Or:  [From left to right - First row: The shopfront, sweets and chocolate on display; Second row: Sin, the Queen of Chocolate and I, Moulin Rouge]My buys!!  [By the way, these chocolates and caramels are GOOD. Oh till December comes so I can buy them again!] We ended the day by having tea the Rose Bakery (which was also strongly recommended here). Sticky Date Pudding and Orange Citron Cake and English Afternoon Tea (one of my favourite blends).  I absolutely and completely love Paris!! So much food. Oh yeah and I went to the Louvre. It was closed by the time we finished all our eating. But then I got a nice artistic photo taken.  That was all the art I needed for the day. Gosh I'm such an uncultured glutton. * Those of you who are getting me the voucher(s) I wanted, please note that Betula, my book-seller has unfortunately sufferred carbon monoxide poisoning while on a trip. Thankfully, she's fine but still a little weak now, so don't worry if you don't get a reply from her. All in good time! Amitiés, Lumpy et Zihua. || Monday, October 02, 2006 || Paris Weekend (1)!I am fortunate. Not many people can say this but I spent my 21st weekend in Paris! It seems that with every birthday I take a strong, deliberate step towards the adult world. On my 20th birthday, Dawn-ie, Clare, Vans and I had a serious conversation about marriage and general adulthood; in marked contrast with our generally cheerful, happy but normally unserious banter. On my 21st birthday, Providence decided to introduce me to the vice of the world!! Day 1 of Weekend: Friday, otherwise Day 25 The day dawned bright and shiny and I woke up late for my 0749 train to Paris. So I missed it. Happily, France being the lovely country it is, allowed me to change the ticket to one for a later train (though I had to pay a little more cause the later train was a peak-hour train). Anyhow, I was innocently standing in front of the train schedules, when a nice-and-kind-looking old man came up to talk to me. As you all know, I have always had a soft spot for old men, so I smiled and started talking to him. We talked a bit and then the old man... what was he saying... why... he was offering me money for certain... services!!! I could have fainted! What on earth have the PRCs in France been doing that a guileless and innocuous third party like me should be so rudely propositioned at the train station!! Hélas! Ran away from him and took the train to Paris. Met a Frenchman who started talking to me in Chinese! What do you know!! Turned out that he was a Professor of Maths at Université de Poitiers (where I am studying by the way, ye of useless memory). Gave me a train ticket to meet Sin Yee, my host for the weekend. So kind! There is hope in the world afterall! Here's a picture of my pretty host and her guest:  Once settled at Sin's, we then went on to do the touristy stuff i.e. Tour Eiffel and the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élyseés.But first my 21st Birthday lunch at Chinatown:  [On the menu: Rice, plain rice; sweet-and-sour pork ribs; garlicky chilli fish; bamboo and broccoli and carrot vegetable dish thing]So simple is joy!  [From left to right - First row: Eiffel at an angle, Me, Lumpy and the Arc de Triomphe, A shot of Champs-Élyseés; Second row: More of Champs-Élyseés, The Eiffel normally, Lumpy and Champs-Élyseés; Third row: Lumpy and me outside Louis Vuitton, Still more of Champs-Élyseés, Eiffel sparkling]Anyway, it was at Champs-Élyseés that I encountered my second exposure to vice - I nearly illegally bought a LV bag and wallet!! You see a Chinese tourist had randomly accosted me and aske me to buy them for her since the French were nasty and wouldn't let her buy more. It sounded exciting and a perfectly naughty thing to do and so I did: I entered LV, walked around (and saw an adorable wallet. Were I a spendthrift or disgustingly rich I would have bought it, so much did it attract me.) then asked to buy the goods. The transaction was going through... then suddenly, a security officer came, spoke to the saleswoman, then they shuffled me to a corner... Alas! They knew. And I was truly cornered. And so I could not buy the bag and wallet. Too bad. Oh well it was an exciting experience. You should try it too!! *** Then at night, it was the Eiffel. Sin had brought a candle along so as to wish me a Happy 21st. She was sorry that she could not procure a cake but then what did that matter? The value of the cake would have been in its thought. And so the candle took the place of a cake and I made a wish as I blew it out. Then moments later, as if in celebration, the Eiffel Tower began sparkling! What a brilliant (ha ha) end to a happy day! So there you have it, the first of my 21st celebrations. Propositions, illegal activity and a birthday greeting by the Eiffel Tower as well as the gentle warmth of a special candle. Beat that!   *Though of course, this itself is a controversial point in the gastronimical world, but for the sake of explanation, that is the general idea. |