Infused Prawn Oil

Ok, party is over, food is gone and all you have is all those leftovers.
Leftovers, what can you do with them? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you can use every bits and pieces of the residues to make something different?

We were making canapé last Monday. One of our canapé was grill prawns. Flesh of the prawn was the only part we needed for that recipe and we took the leftover shells and heads to make prawn oil and stock.
My first blog of reusing leftover food is prawn oil.

Ingredients:
Prawn heads & shells
Sunflower oil
Optional:
Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Star anise
Cloves
Peppercorn, crushed
Sprigs of thyme
Cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 100°C
2. Heat up a frying pan and add in a few table spoon of oil.
3. Add in the prawn shells when the pan is hot.
4. Pan fry the shells until they turn color (stir occasionally & don’t let them burn)
5. Transfer the cooked shells to a deeper pot.
6. Add in sunflower oil to the pan until it just covers the shells.
7. Add all the spices in the prawn oil and wait til boils
8. Cover the pot with a lid and put in the preheated oven for a 3 hours.
9. Pass oil through a chinois and discard the shells.
10. Keep the oil in containers.

* The shell life of the infused prawn oil is aproximately two weeks in room temperature. Put in the freezer if you want to keep longer.

xoxo,
SF

Morning Special Delivery

Fan beautified my lazy Saturday by delivering me a S&S (special & surprise) breakfast of St John’s custard doughnut and a jar of Damson Jam. She called me 10 minutes after I woke up, said she was on her way for a speed postage. I went down when she arrived, she handed me an paper bag and the jar through her car window and drove off before I could give her a hug.  She’s been physically and mentally here for me while I am going through this rough week. She’s an Angel . Having fresh St John doughnut in my PJs feels pretty awesome !

Lets start with the jam, shall we? Love this jar already by eyes. the simple, cute red label goes  well with the golden cap.  It is printed on mat paper, not those glossy cheap stickers. Loving it more by tthe taste;  it has good balance of sweet and sour. Like it how it has bits of damson flesh but definitely do not enjoy spitting the stones out. Really not those artificial jams which i have in my cupboard.

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Hi Doughnut , I am about to eat you up !

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Oh hi Jam, jammin’ with doughnut ?!

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Muahhahahaa,,,, excitement kicks in just by watching the custard oozing out .

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I don’t think I need to describe the doughnut right? The pictures tell it all. I enjoy having st john’s doughnut but with what Fan did, she took this toothsome cake to another level.

Ms Yeung, thank you so much for everything. Now I’m craving for more doughnuts.

xoxo,

Miss To

Oh tree.

Yahyahyah. My favorite month of the year is soon to begin ! December <3 , it’s a legit time to be crazy over Christmas.  What’s better to start off Christmas craze than getting a real Christmas tree right ?! Although I won’t be spending my christmas holiday in London, I couldn’t stop having the fantasy of decorating my little apartment with christmas ornaments and presents. Hence, I got a mini 3ft tall Christmas tree from Pines and Needles in battersea park. They had a temporary shop in the car park. I am not sure if they still have it now but go to their website for updated locations.

3ft Non drop Nordmann fir . One of them is already mine <3

the taller ones .

Many thanks to AAR for carrying my tree for me, XX.  It is heavier than it seems. We ended up calling addilee.

At home …

Looking proud.

Took me a while to changed its outfit with MONKI’S shopping bag. It was damn dirty and heavy !

Now it is the most beautiful thing in my apartment and it smells nice.  I promise I will post more pictures of my tree after I decorate it.

xoxo.

S.F

A confessional of my recent diet.

I was too obsessed with good food that I almost spent most of my money on eating out since Boo came here. I had too much good food that I couldn’t stop munching munching and munching. My appetite grew. Even when I stay home,  I only eat unhealthy food like instant noodles, chocolate, ice-cream and irresistible sour cream& onion kettle chips. I constantly craved for food. I can’t look at myself in a full-length mirror as I am growing bigger.  Argh!

Starting from today, I have to eat regularly  & healthly before I turn into a monster.

Breakfast:

Mushroom omelet. sides: fresh carrots & bean salad. Drink: frothy mocha.

making the omelet in my new omelet pan :)
Ingredients, 2 eggs, handful of soaked mushroom & grated parmesan cheese.

Lunch: I prefer a full breakfast + lunch and light dinner.

1/4 Nando’s peri peri chicken. Sides: fresh carrots & bean salad.

Sauce:  Mic’s Chilli Inferno Extreme.

Dessert: A pack of Popping Candy

Dinner: Cray fish noodle from M&S

& Drink lots of water !!!!

 

exam tmr . good luck everybody !

xoxo.

S.F

2nd day in Paris.

10.May.2o12 

Super early in the morning, I received a call from Dad. He is here!  Dad’s arrival was not on my original schedule. When I planned my trip to Paris, I wasn’t expecting any companion.   This trip was supposed to be me, myself and I. However, dad called me one day and said he was joining my Paris trip.

Anyway, first thing we did in the morning was breakfast. We went to dad’s all time favorite Vietnamese restaurant, Pho 14.  Every time he lands Paris, this is always the first place to go for breakfast.

Raw beef pho.

129, ave de Choisy, Quartier Chinois, Paris, France.

Guilty Pleasure : Patrick Roger @ Victor Hugo! I recommend to pay a visit even if you are not a chocolate fan. The shop is really nice & you would be amazed by the huge chocolate sculpture there.

Get the almond milk chocolate bar ! They are really good !!

Wahh. I wonder how many days I need to finish this ! Or how many people needed to finish it in ONE day !

Lunch @ Le Stresa.

Pre appetizer

Appetizer : Prosciutto Di Parma

Pizza Stresa ! MUST ORDER ! Best dish of the meal !

Spaghetti Alle Vongole!

Scamp Alla Griglia ! yum !

Remember to book your table in advance ! It’s a small restaurant and it is always full.

7, rue Chambiges 75008 Paris.  Tel:01 47 23 51 62

We went to LCB Paris for a little tour. It was a lot smaller & less high tech than the new LCB in London but I think it will be a very good experience if I study there. I still deciding if I should do cuisine there ! Language is my biggest issue. ARhhhhh, i need to work harder on French !
Ice cream time ! We drove a long way to Berthillon just to have a taste of it. I ordered the most popular flavor, wild strawberry and chocolate. YUM YUM YUM !  But Dad said he likes haagen dazs more -.-” grrrrr…..

Sorry, I licked it before I took this. Couldn’t stop myself : p

Dinner @ Taillevent, one of my dad’s fav restaurant !

I apologize for this brief post :(

xoxo.

S.F

Ticket to the City of Dreams

9 May 2o12

6:15. Wake up > Shower > Change > Lock Luggage

7:15. Taxi

7:36. Arrived St Pancras Station

8:15. Aboard Eurostar, carriage 15, seat 24

8:30. Train set out

11:47. PARIS, ME VOILÀ !

Weee !! Paris Paris Paris Paris ! I have planned this trip long time ago and I still can’t believe I am here ! I  was over excited last week which ended up having sleepless nights. lol

Uncle Ping came to the station and picked me up : ))  It was still early to check in at the hotel so he drove me to the Louvre. There was hundreds of people waiting outside, trying to get in. Knowing me, it would definitely kill my mood if I was jammed with hundreds and hundreds of people. So I decided to take the Louvre out of my to do list and

went to my “dying to see” attraction site: Pont des Arts.

Thousand and more couples came to this bridge, locked their love padlocks on the fences and threw the keys in the river. Promising each other eternity. I could really feel the romance. I was surrounded by lovebirds,  holding each other’s hands, kissing and taking pictures with the other love locks. Even the wind was singing love songs to me.

Today I came here single but I promise one day, one day I will come back with a lock, a man & a ring.

Afterwards, we went to the famous Angelina. Hmmm…I’ve tried once and don’t think I will go back again. It’s just nothing special.

We followed David Lebovitz’s footstep to A I’Etoile d’Or, a candy shop that I always longed to visit. I pushed the door, stepped my foot in the little shop and walked into every kids’ fantasy. I saw sweets, only sweets. Sitting proudly, glistening, enticing me to bring them home. I am not a big fan of candies but once I stepped into A I’Etoile d’Or , it rekindled  the sweets obsession I had when I was a kid. My cousin told me, there would always be bags of candies in my hands whenever they visited me.

I stood there, wonderstruck, completely captivated by everything in the shop. Too much to handle. I didn’t know where to start! Thankfully, the lady who worked there offered her help and answered my questions patiently. When my trepidation started to ease, I realized Denise Acabo was not there ! NOOOOOOOO ! That’s not right! I was bummed and could only continued my shopping with less exhilaration. When I was standing in the corner, figuring out the taste of  nougat nior in my mind, someone walked in and started speaking french to Uncle Ping. I turned around and there she was !! Ms Denise Acabo !!!! Her sudden presence put my smile back on my face! She looked at me, saw me holding a silver tray with a bar of black nougat, she started to speak lots of french again. Je ne comprends pas, I don’t understand.Uncle Ping said Ms Acabo  was telling me that it was the best nougat bar in the world. OKAY, I AM TOTALLY GETTING THIS BAR ! THIS BAR THAT SHE POINTED AT !! She started asking me did I know David Lebovitz. She even showed me the photo of them taken together.

Hi Uncle Ping !

They use trays instead of baskets ! & that’s the nougat she pointed at !

Picture with Ms Denis Acabo, I was over the moon ! Best part of the trip ! Ooops, hope dad won’t see this. Or else he’s gonna be jealous that HE is not the reason why this trip is so great ! heehee

Showing me the picture of David Lebovitz. Telling me how nice he is and how much she loves him ! SO CUTE !!!!

Dinner @ Chez L’ami Jean which was recommended by Ian. It was a very nice and cosy restaurant. Their menu changes weekly.

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Hawksmoor & Hotpot

Ah. Sunday! Sunday is always my favorite day of the week (only when i am living alone). I usually devote my whole morning to my apartment. Once I get out of  bed, I start my “BIG CLEAN SUNDAY” with some music.  After that, I would always stay on my comfy sofa, watch some tv or surf the net. Sometimes, if I am energetic enough, I would cook / bake something.

This week has been a busy week for me. I feel overwhelmed by school and work. I was both mentally and physically exhausted from learning the final two exam pieces and long hours work, oh yeah and my period.  I didn’t have enough time for myself and my brain to rest. So today, I ditched my “Big Cleaning Sunday” routine , allow myself to wake up at 11 and meet Doug for lunch. We agreed meeting at 12:30 at Covent Garden but I was a little late from last minute vacuuming my hairy floor and Dough over slept. While waiting for Dough, I meandered around Covent Garden and finally decided to sit down at Nero Cafe to read my favorite book.  Doug and I met in front of the Cafe and walk to our Lunch destination: Hawksmoor. Dough said apparently Hawksmoor has the best Sunday roast. Let’s see…

We ordered a Crab & Samphire Salad to share, 2 Sunday roast & a bottle of still water.

I didn’t take picture of the salad. So here we go to the picture of the Sunday Roast.

Sunday Roast:  Rump, cabbage, carrot, potatoes &  yorkshire pudding

The roast , really, there nothing I could pick on it.  R e a l l y  ! Every bits on that plate are scrumptious! I have never ever have a piece of rump so tender before ! I gently poked the side of the rump with my fork and it gently bounced back! It was responding to me!  Every mouthful made you want to close your eyes, swing your body and hum a song.  Not only the rump, the sides were perfectly cooked as well. The cabbage tasted buttery, carrot was glazed with honey , OH  and the potatoes, THEY ARE AMAZINGLY GOOD ! It’s crispy on the outside and very fluffy inside ! How can Hawksmoor do that, how can they manage to make all the food on my plate so perfect and so tasty that it was irrepressible to finish everything on the dish. If you’re only staying here for a few days, Hawksmoor is a MUST GO ! Don’t believe me? Try IT !

After a very satisfying meal, we sauntered to Carnaby street for dress shopping! This was not part of the schedule but Doug said there was a nice dress shop that I should really go to.  I walked in the shop with thought telling me “I won’t wear this or that” but Doug was right ! Few dresses were pretty nice. He insisted me on trying some and I ended up buying two dresses with a good price ! HEEHEE thanks Doug, kk, you’re cool.

Dinner. I invited Jas, Ian & Vishak over for HOT POT ! First time my apartment was so crowded ! It was such a chill and fun dinner. Ian bought two bottles of sparkling wine and they tasted good ! Really easy drinking ! I showed them the dresses I bought and they came up with some crazy ideas. We laughed about it and hopefully we are really gonna DO it  !!