Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, I’ve discovered a wonderful scenic place just recently and the view just overwhelmed me. Okay, I can’t really say I “discovered” this place, since Richmond Park is the largest park in London, which is pretty hard to miss. The national reserve is home to various animals such as deer, foxes, wild rabbits, and geese, and they are all allowed to roam freely in this massive park.

On my first day at Richmond Park, I spent 3 hours just wandering around (and still didn’t cover all grounds). I trekked through a jungle of overgrown ferns, feeling like I was in the Amazon rainforest; it was so isolated and peaceful that it could’ve been a scene from Anaconda, right before the giant boa jumps out to get the victim. I tramped through a savannah, consciously afraid that a hidden leopard might leap out at me any minute while a herd of deer grazed lazily nearby. I climbed up steep hills that left me breathless, both from the workout and the magnificent view at the top. I crossed a pond (no, I didn’t swim…there is a path that separates the two ponds) and watched a flock of geese playing follow the leader.

I came home with extremely sore legs that I knew would get even worse the following day but it was all worth it. Seriously, how many deer do you expect to see in a city as urban as London??

It’s my family tradition to have a big Chinese feast whenever we have get-togethers for someone’s birthday, and shark fin soup is a staple in those meals. I have a big family so I’ve tasted shark fin soup from quite a number of establishments over the years. Some of those experiences had been mediocre; a faint memory that is only conjured up as a reminder never to visit those particular establishments again. A few are more memorable although some still lack consistency in their food preparation, with the food sometimes being delicious and sometimes just average. At Bangkok Shark Fin though, I am comforted by the assurance that the shark fin soup here will not disappoint, and it hasn’t so far.

The waitress bustled around us, setting down the clay pots containing the shark fin soup (1,000 baht/pot) in front of us with a warning that the pots were extremely hot. Glancing into the pot, the dark amber liquid was boiling away madly like molten lava inside a volcanic crater. Shark fins shaped like Chinese fans lurked beneath the broth, almost as if too shy to reveal its beautiful golden threads. White tidbits of crab meat and morsels of shiitake mushrooms floated like islands in the rich soup. Fragrant coriander leaves and white needles of bean sprouts are served as condiments on the side. The gelatinous strands of shark fin, chewy mushrooms and crunchy bean sprouts add an array of texture to the deep-flavored broth, making this dish a party for the palate.

Quick-boiled Chinese kale came neatly stacked and dressed with glistening oyster sauce on a plate (300 baht). The thick stems had been carefully peeled, leaving only the tender, crispy light green stalks. It was a simple but classic dish that’s hard to go wrong.

This is quite a meal in itself but for those of you with a big appetite, you can try the Pomfret Steamed in Plum Sauce (400 baht). A large mound of ginger slivers and pork fat strips covered most of the fish, with plump, juicy plums peeking out from underneath. Chinese food can be a bit oily but the pungent ginger and tartness of the plums helped cut down the oiliness of this dish as well as adding sharpness to the mildly seasoned fish.

Crab Claws or Prawns Baked with Vermicelli in Clay Pots (800 baht each) are another popular choice here, although my family claims Uncle makes it better. The faint aroma of spices were pleasing to the nose, although I was so full by this time that I only tasted a mouthful of each. The crab claws were packed with meat that easily fell off upon biting into them, but the prawns were a bit overcooked, resulting in the meat being too mushy. The vermicelli were lightly seasoned with a hint of soy sauce. The verdict? My uncle’s version is definitely more flavorful. Looks like I’ll have to ask him for the recipe one day!

We polished off the meal (feast might be a better word) with Gingko Nuts in Syrup (180 baht), which was refreshing and had just the right sweetness. This experience just goes to prove that great company and great food can make up for what’s missing in the ambience.

Bangkok Shark Fin
218/3-4 Siam Square Soi 1
Rama 1 Rd., Pathumwan
Thailand 10330
Tel: 02-251 -0987, 02-250-0976
Open: Daily 10:00am-11:00pm

The opportunity presented itself last Saturday when we arranged to meet for a business/casual dinner at his house. He agreed to grill steaks for the meal after persistent pestering on my part, and although it isn’t as “perfect” as Heston’s steaks, it takes a lot less time to cook, is a lot less complicated, and tastes great!

Paween’s Perfect Grilled Steaks
(Makes 4 servings)

• 4 250-g. cuts of good quality steaks, cut into inch-thick fillets (we had Thai-French Sirloins)
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. butter
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Sprinkle the fresh thyme leaves onto the steak and season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Rub the beef fillets with olive oil. Leave to marinate at room temperature for at least an hour.

When ready to grill, heat a griddle pan on high heat. Place the steaks on the pan when it is hot. The olive oil from the marinade will keep the steak from sticking to the pan. Note: Make sure the steak is at room temperature before grilling.

Allow the steaks to grill for one minute before turning it over. Grill for one more minute and flip the steaks over so that you get nice criss-crossed grill marks on the steak. Do the same for the other side, grilling each side for a minute each.

After the fourth minute, spear the garlic halves with a fork and rub it all over the steak. Repeat this step for the other side. Discard the garlic halves.

Spoon the butter into the pan and let it melt. Drizzle the melted butter over the steaks and grill until the steaks have had a total of six minutes of cooking time (for medium rare). Adjust the cooking time according to your preference of steak doneness.

Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before cutting into thick 3/4-inch slices. Sprinkle sea salt on the pink sides and serve.

The steaks that Paween served up were beautifully pink and succulent. You can serve this with a variety of sides and salad or grilled vegetables. We had ours with baked potato skins (heaped with melted cheddar, crispy bacon and sour cream), grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes, and some red wine. What a perfect way to end a perfect day!

I haven’t been to many libraries in my life but it seems that the more modern libraries nowadays are embracing a new concept; one where food, drinks and chit chat are allowed in designated areas. It gives the feel of a coffee shop, and I think that’s where Li-bra-ry got the ideas for their shop from.

This tiny coffee shop has an outdoor seating area and two adjacent rooms inside, comprising a total of about 10 tables, a bar and a long communal table for patrons to sit down with their laptops and wile away the day, which is exactly what we did. The walls are lined with white bookcases, with piles of magazines leaning against each other. In the middle of the communal table were also more stacks of magazines…rest assured you won’t be bored here if you happen to be waiting for a friend.

Li-bra-ry has a simple menu with a mix of European and Thai food. I had the Spaghetti Carbonara (135 baht) which was surprisingly good (but don’t expect al dente pasta here) and Jane had Khun Chai Soi Dao, rice topped with shredded sweet pickled radish and a fried egg with a sprinkling of chopped fresh chilies. Her friend had Kaeng Kiew Wan, or green curry, and although the Brownie Donuts (65 baht) looked delicious, we didn’t have any room left to try them.

This is a great place to just hang out and relax or to get some work done. And, unlike in traditional libraries, you don’t have to keep the noise level to a minimum or tiptoe to the bathroom.

Li-bra-ry
70 Rama 9 Soi 41
Suanluang, Bangkok
Thailand 10250
Tel: 02-718-3993
Open: Daily 10:00am-9:00pm

One of these trips was to a province I’ve never been to before – Ratchaburi, a province that lies next to the border of Myanmar. Our sole purpose in going there was to stay at The Scenery Resort, a peaceful Mediterranean-themed resort in a natural setting with live barn animals for guests to experience life at a farm (albeit a luxury one). This place consists of only 7 individual villas, all uniquely designed, so bookings are filled up very quickly. Luckily, our reservations were for a weekday so we were able to get the 2-bedroom villa. The villa we stayed in was called Ruzi and I loved everything about it, from the country-styled decorations to the rooftop deck for barbecues.

Sheep are the major selling point of this resort, and there are a flock of them for guests to feed and play with. Other activities include archery, horseback riding and kayaking, although we didn’t have time to indulge in all the activities. It really was a pity that we only stayed for one night but it still did the job of rejuvenating me. I would really like to visit The Scenery again, but perhaps in the winter time (if you can call it that in Thailand) so it wouldn’t be so swelteringly hot.

]]> http://www.jupspintoh.com/2010/06/where-the-grass-is-greener/feed/ 5 http://www.jupspintoh.com/2010/05/when-im-excited-i-talk-in-caps/ http://www.jupspintoh.com/2010/05/when-im-excited-i-talk-in-caps/#comments Mon, 03 May 2010 03:41:27 +0000 Jup http://www.jupspintoh.com/?p=960 I can’t believe that I’ve been in the UK for almost 8 months. Time truly does fly!

I guess by now you should be used to my disappearing acts in between posts. Honestly, I don’t want to make any excuses or worse, make a habit out of this but you know, life does get in the way – or schoolwork does, in my case. I have been CRAZY busy (and still is, until the end of the month!) with assignments and preparation for my dissertation now that I am done with classes. I can’t wait to be done with school but it will be a couple more months before I can declare myself a Master in International Business Management.

I do have some exciting news though…I will be going back to Thailand for a month and a half in early June to do some research for my dissertation!! I absolutely CAN’T WAIT!! I already have lists of foods to eat and trips lined up…I will try my hardest to find time to post about them here! (In between working on the dissertation, of course!)

For now, I have to focus on getting my work done on time, which is especially hard when:

1) You have limited time to read journals/do research/complete assignments.

2) Your heart is already set on being back home but you still have a good whole month to go before that is going to happen. (Doesn’t it seem that the closer it gets to something you look forward to, the harder it is to anticipate the wait?)

In the meantime, this is where I mostly spend my time nowadays:

Occasionally I will see interesting things, such as this humongous wood pigeon perched on my fence or cherry blossoms blooming:

And that’s it for now! I know it isn’t much but I just wanted you all to know that I’m still (barely) alive!

On this particular Saturday afternoon, I went out with the family (my 3 housemates) for brunch at fish! Kitchen, a delightful little seafood place not too far from our house. The cozy restaurant is right next to Jarvis, the local fishmonger, so it is guaranteed that the food will be fresh.

Our sole purpose in going to fish! Kitchen was to eat the Mussels Mariniere (£7.95 for starter, £12.95 for main), which lived up to its reputation (practically every table ordered this dish). The bowl came heaped with plump mussels and creamy white wine sauce, which we mopped up with rustic bread until not a drop was left.

Tempted by the other scrumptious dishes on offer, we also ordered the Calamari with Rocket and Lemon Mayonnaise (£6.95). The calamari was crispy but nothing that you can’t get from other places; I did like the idea of rocket with calamari though.

Since England is so famous for fish and chips, of course fish! Kitchen offered a variety of fish to have with their chips and mushy peas. We went with the plaice (£12.95), which was fleshy and fresh, and the batter was extremely light and crunchy. If you want, you can choose your own fresh fish from Jarvis and have it cooked at fish! Kitchen as well.

Although the fish & chips were good, I preferred the Grilled Sea Bream with Spicy Salsa (£11.95), which was one of the daily specials. The sea bream had crispy skin and was lightly salted (by Thai standards, which means it was heavily seasoned by British standards), which provided a complementary contrast with the spicy salsa (which was not spicy at all for a Thai, but still delicious nonetheless).

All in all, we had a satisfying meal and a great time, which amounted to a terrific experience. Oh, and did I mention that our waiter looked like a cross between Robert Pattinson and Orlando Bloom?? That just made our dining experience THIS MUCH more pleasant!

fish! Kitchen
58 Coombe Road
Kingston, Surrey
KT2 7AF
United Kingdom
Tel: +44(0)20-8546-2886
Open: Tue-Sat 12:00pm-10:00pm

I’m sharing the new house with 3 other friends who all love to eat, so planning what to cook for dinner each night is a very big deal for us. The spacious kitchen at the new house presents us with limitless options on what we can possibly conjure up, and each night brings a whole new challenge as we try to create dishes from ingredients that are available in the fridge (this is the problem with not planning a menu in advance…we end up buying random ingredients when we go grocery shopping and then have difficulties trying to put together a dish).

Fried salmon in fish sauce is one dish that doesn’t require a lot of ingredients and is very simple to make. All you have to do is toss the ingredients together, leave the fish to marinate while you go off to do your thing and just come back and fry it!

Fried Salmon in Fish Sauce
(Makes 2 servings)

• 2 fillets of salmon
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 4 large garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• black pepper to taste

Clean the salmon fillets and cut into bite-sized cubes.

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

In a large wok, heat some peanut oil or vegetable oil on high heat. Once the oil starts to smoke, add the marinated salmon cubes. *Note: Be careful not to let the garlic slices burn!

Once the salmon cubes start to brown on one side, turn and brown on all sides before serving.

York is a city rich with history and traditions. I’m not going to go into details of each landmark we visited (you can read it in your own time by clicking on the links I’ve provided) but two days in York was too little to see everything, especially on a mellow trip such as ours.

After checking in at Hill Crest B&B, we walked to Clifford’s Tower, an ancient monument for the city of York. Our fingers nearly froze as we snapped pictures after pictures of the old keep (the temperature was around -5°C). Located in the same parameters is the York Castle Museum which unfortunately, we didn’t get to go inside because it was closed by the time we arrived.

We then made our way into town, where we wandered into The Shambles, an old narrow alley with odd-looking buildings selling all sorts of goodies. I felt like someone plonked me down into a Harry Potter movie, particularly after one friend mentioned that The Shambles reminded him of Diagon Alley (even the name sounds like something out of a Harry Potter movie).

The next morning, we set out for York Minster but the view along the River Ouse was so breathtakingly picturesque we had to make many stops to take photos before we got to our destination.

We finally got to York Minster about an hour later, and after walking around the grounds of the cathedral, we climbed the 275 steps that took us up the Tower. The view from the top was spectacular, with snow-covered roofs everywhere and the sun shining weakly in the winter sky.

The climb left us exhausted and starving, so off to Bettys we went for a little afternoon tea. This was my first proper afternoon tea and I couldn’t contain my excitement as I sat in the  luxurious tea room with all the lavish surroundings. I shared the Bettys Speciality Afternoon Tea (£17.75 per set) with a friend, which came with a pot of tea (we chose Chinese Rose Petal Tea), a choice of two sandwiches (we had Oak-Smoked Salmon & Prawn and Roast Yorkshire Ham & Mustard), a sultana scone with strawberry preserves and Yorkshire clotted cream, and a fresh fruit tartlet from the cake trolley. The set was meant for one so we had to order another pot of tea (£3.80 for Yu Luo White Tea), which didn’t really make sense to me because one pot was big enough to share among two.

The Yu Luo White Tea was too mild for me; I preferred the Chinese Rose Petal Tea with its rose essence, which complemented the crumbly light scone. I’ve never had scones before and I’m normally not a fan of pastries but the scone here, with juicy sultanas, fresh cool clotted cream and sweet strawberry preserves, had me oohing and aahing for more. The fresh fruit tartlet was another delicious tidbit although the finger sandwiches were dry and mediocre, which was a shame, since I was looking forward to it the most.

With stomachs full, we ended the day with a brief shopping trip to the York Designer Outlet Shopping Mall and a long walk to the train station to catch our train (which was delayed).

—

For Christmas Eve, my friends and I spent a somewhat quiet evening together roasting ready-stuffed chickens and served them with roasted carrots and tomatoes. We also had baked broccoli and cheese, and Parma ham with cantaloupe. Hmm…yummy!

Christmas Day was spent lying around doing nothing and we went over to another friend’s house for dinner. Since all the shops were closed for Christmas, the town was literally deserted, reminding me eerily of a scene from I am Legend. I half expected zombies to pop out any minute but of course, there were none.

Now that Christmas has come and gone, life has been less hectic – until New Year’s anyway. Hope you all have a great and safe celebration and Happy New Year’s!!

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before that Christmas is my favorite holiday, even though I’m not Christian. The twinkling fairy lights and shiny tinsel just gets me in the festive mood every time.  And this year, I get to (hopefully…*fingers crossed*) enjoy a white Christmas!! I’m really looking forward to that! (And Boxing Day the next day…)

To get into the Christmas spirit, we have our own little German Market in Kingston Town Center selling delicious grilled German sausages in a bun, steak in a bun, chipstix (fried potato slices on a stick), mulled wine, a candy stall and souvenir booths. In addition to the German Market, which was set up in late November, there is also a Christmas Gift Fair nearby.

So here’s a peek into what’s going on in our little German Market:

The mulled wine came in these cute little Christmas mugs, which you can keep for an additional £2.

Ms. Christmas Pudding was skating all around town greeting everyone!

So, I wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas! (As they say in England! )

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