Ten Course Meal?

Go on then!

In order of appearance: Suckling Pig, Crab Balls, Scallops and veg, Lobster, Chicken and Prawn Crackers, Abalone and veg, Seabass, Chow Mein, Egg Fried Rice, Lotus Buns

Now that's REAL Chinese food!

Continue reading this post..

Chinese Take-it-Away Please

I always wondered why (and got slightly offended) some people comment that Chinese food is 'greasy'. Hey, that's my FOOD, you're talking about! Naturally, I jump to the defence when someone speaks against the greatest cuisine in the world. Ok, ok, I'm just exaggerating to make a point, I love ALL foods as you well know. (Chinese is the best, though).

Then last week, my friends and I decided to order some takeaway and instinctively, I chose what I had recalled as my favourite Chinese takeaway in Chichester. Yes, it had actually been quite some months (a year even), since I had ordered a Chinese takeaway.

This particular takeaway had never failed to please me and I have happy memories of enjoying the dishes when I was a takeaway-eating maniac uni student. Hm, though there was that time when we stumbled into the shop to get some chips and I was appalled to find that they charge over £1.50 for one portion! I say, I made quite a fuss.

Well, anyway, back to last week. After eating a whole plate of house fried rice, I decided I must have either been quite unlucky with my choice of dish (I HATE it when that happens!) or that I had been such a deprived student back in uni that I used to find all food, tasty or not, absolutely divine.

The first few mouthfuls, great. Then, it just got greasier, soggier, saltier, and just less enjoyable. And that was before it settled in my stomach.

I feel really bad now that I have complained about Chinese food...

Can I just point out that I'm talking specifically about Chinese takeaway rather than the obviously delicious authentic Chinese food a la restaurants and Hong Kong (plus my mother's cooking of course)? Continue reading this post..

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

Some months ago, I went to Zizzi's for a long lunch to catch up with one of my best friends and chose to start with a 'Garlic Pizza Bread'.

Big mistake.

I guess we should have realised from the word 'Pizza' that it would be quite a large portion. Yes, it was garlic bread the size of a pizza. And we had ordered one. Each.

Even the waitress noticed we were struggling and asked if we wanted to wait a while before our mains were brought out. Unfortunately, two minutes later, she brought them out, with an apology that the chef had already made them! I suspect that I didn't finish it but I must have blocked out this memory as leaving food behind is something too shameful for me to admit.

Since that fateful afternoon, I could not face going into a Zizzi's restaurant ever again. Yesterday however, Anita and I were forced to face our fears and go the whole hog with a full three-course meal. (Well, not exactly tied up and shoved into the place screaming, but we had limited restaurant options)

And the result?

Crostini Formaggio di Capra

Sofia

Mela Croccante

I don't know what we were so scared about - I managed every last bite!

She's back! Continue reading this post..

The Most Beautiful Thing I've Ever Filmed..

(well, taken a picture of)

My friends and I popped into Longacre, Covent Garden, for a quick bite and I quite fancied a burger. Chomp, chomp and back out to Chinatown, I thought. Then THIS arrived! Was it on a plate? A chopping board? And don't underestimate the look of that tiny bowl of chips on the side - they were very filling, even for me!

I had some chips (sorry, fries) from MacDonald's a couple months ago (big mistake) and I can't believe that two types of the same food have such different tastes!

MacDonald's fries = salty, greasy, thin, inadequate
Longacre chips = chunky, soft, soggy, yet crispy...

I'm HUNGRY now!

There's always that one meal that, when it arrives infront of you, it just looks so gorgeous that you don't want to touch it for fear of never seeing something so beautiful again...

Well, this moment lasts no more than a couple of minutes because I hate to let my food go cold, but that's why I always have a camera ready to capture such delights :-)

Better than a plastic white bag floating about in the wind, eh? Continue reading this post..

Skinny Cow

No, I'm not talking about those 'healthy' ice creams. (I'm not really a big fan of ice cream actually, I find them too cold. Yes, really!)

Well, someone called me a skinny cow the other day (just in passing) and it actually quite annoyed me. I'm getting really tired of the jabs because I don't exactly choose to look this way. It's not like I'm doing it on purpose to make other people feel bad about themselves. And I'm not necessarily saying that I feel good about myself, because I don't all the time! I've stayed the same weight pretty much my whole life (well I wasn't born the weight I am now but you know what I mean) and sometimes that's a great thing, and other times, it's just a pain. I've got a fast metabolism and don't feel full for too long after I eat so can run around (looking for my next meal alas), but on the other hand, it's a real nightmare trying to find clothes that fit me properly.

Everyone's got weight issues man, but do people have to be so vocal about it all the time? What is this obsession? People start moaning about what they can't eat and feel like they have to justify to everyone why they've eaten what they have: 'Oh, I've been really bad today, I've had 5 Smarties and a sip of Diet Coke - but it's ok because I didn't eat anything bad at all yesterday.'

I can't stand it when people start talking about calories and 'points'. 'Ooh, I did 5 sit ups this morning, so that means I can eat a doughnut!'; 'I lost half a pound this week, I can get a massive Indian takeaway now to celebrate!' Erm, no. 'This bag of sweets is only 2 points but it's alright because I'm allowed 10 points a day.' - oh, so it's ok to eat 5 bags not 6 in one day then, is it?

I'm all for indulgence and treating yourself every now and again but I can't believe that some people actually have these thought processes.

(Apologies to those who know the real relation between calories burnt doing sit ups and the calories in a doughnut because I simply don't know)

Sorry if I'm making people angry because I'm sure this does work for some people but this surely is the main cause of the downfall of all this 'dieting'? And no, I'm not trying to be smug because I'm naturally skinny. 'Oh, you're so lucky you're skinny, you can eat whatever you want!' Well, I don't actually (although, as you know by now, I do eat an awful lot, I must say). They say 'why don't you eat chocolate, you don't have to worry about getting fat!'.

Food isn't all about the weight, people! Perhaps I don't feel like eating something, because it tends to make my skin go bad, turns my mood sour, makes me slump, or is just not what I fancy right now. Just stop obsessing that I'm actively trying to make you feel bad because you secretly want to scoff it yourself and would feel better if there was someone else to do the 'evil' with you. That's why some couples or people who are around each other alot put on weight together.

And no, I'm most definitely not trying to be one of those size zero people. I feel sorry for those who are naturally that size because they must get a lot of stick (no pun intended). Everything's a contradiction in the mags - shock horror pictures of skinny celebs looking frail but turn the page and there's an article on a 7 day slimming plan for the summer. Then there's a feature on 'normal' women who love their curves etc but then circle of truth, there's pages of celebs with bits of flab circled. What are they really going to achieve?

There's no secret. Eat well, exercise more. Stop moaning. Continue reading this post..

A Bit Dim

I love Dim Sum - it's like a mini taster of all the good Chinese food. Because I had trouble picking up Chinese when I was younger (and I still do now, to be completely honest), I made up alternative names to the regular dishes that we get. Though, when we went to Hong Kong the other year, I picked up a great little book which spells out the pronunciation to help you order!

Steamed Bean Curd Rolls (seen jook goon)


Chicken Feet (foong jow)


Shrimp Dumpling (ha gow)


Pork Dumpling (siu my)
'prawn things'


Sesame Balls (jean dway)


Turnip Cakes (law bahk go)
'Square things'


Grilled Dumplings


Paper Wrapped Prawns


Shredded Turnip Puff Pastry
'croissants'


Taro Croquette (woo gock)
'hairy things'

Deep Fried Roast Pork Puff Pastry
(char sui sow)
'triangle things'

So now you know! I had a lot of fun flicking through the little book looking up the right names just now. And it's made me hungry! These aren't all the dishes by the way, there are quite a few 'classics' that we happened not to eat this time round. Perhaps I will just keep adding them to this post as I go! Continue reading this post..