Fairy tales

Have you seen Shrek 3 yet? Not a message they intended to send across, but I do agree with one point they made regarding fairy tales. These stories are all lopsided, and we are all being fooled by one side of the stories.

Have we ever questioned about the integrity of the princesses? Do all of them have a heart as pure as their looks? Why do they deserve a happily ever after ending just because they were once being cursed by the villains?

Remind you all that roses are pretty but they do have thorns. Sometimes something very fairy can be something very dangerous. Something very innocent on surface can be more destructive than you thought.

5 minutes gourmet

I whipped up a quick but incredibly delicious breakfast this morning.


How do you like your eggs to be prepared? hard-cook, soft cook, scramble, sunny side up? I like my eggs poached. It is actually very easy if you don't mind to eat raw eggs. Here is how I make it:

1) Get yourself a big and deep skillet, and fill it with water. Bring the water to simmering boil and add 1 tbsp of white vinegar.

2) Crack your egg and add to the water. Remember to keep your water at simmering level.

3) The egg will look a little like a floating ghost. Use a slotted spoon to roll the egg white in slightly. Scoop it out after 30 sec.

4) Gently place your egg onto whatever you want to serve: salad, toast, pasta, etc...

I like how the runny egg yolk moisturizes the toast. The black truffle on top adds an incomparable perfume and takes the flavor up a higher level. Something so simple can be amazingly tasty. It only takes me 5 minutes to make, I suggest everyone to try it themselves!

Bloody hell

On Friday I finally started to feel the volatility in this financial market. 60% down in one day and the worst thing is we do own the stock. Perhaps we fell in love with the story too much and eventually lost our judgment ability. Perhaps we should remind ourselves everyday that conspiracy theory applies to all.

Friday night I had great fun with my colleagues. D is leaving the firm and we were out to celebrate her departure. It's been quite some time since I went drinking in LKF and suddenly feeling young again when we were bar hopping in the middle of the night. Everything became so ingenuous when we were downing our drinks and flushing out the true feelings. It is a great team I have and I hate to see people going away. Hope D is up for the best and I would indeed miss her.

Everybody knows I am a habitual and routine person. I can listen to one song incessantly for the whole day. I am drawn to this song recently, it is so beautifully written..I guess it also matches with my grey mood too.

Damien Rice - Grey Room

Big challenge

This past week has been completely dreadful.

I was given the opportunity to prove myself, in pursuit of the career path that I have been working on for years. I was extremely stressful as the project was assigned under a very short notice, as the matter of fact, I need to turn myself into an expert within a week.

Imagine yourself being drilled and grilled by a room full of professionals who each have 10+ years of experience, these are the people who have been in this industry long enough and can detect whether your numbers are right or wrong just by smelling the financial statements. They wouldn't wait for you to finish the presentation but interrogating you with tough and ruthless questions right away. And I pretend to know everything and try to make them feel their questions are stupid.

Not so much a fun experience for a beginner, but I am so damn proud of my efficiency. I thought I could do better if I wasn't that nervous.. but people said I did pretty well already for the first time. It is just a matter of time to find out whether I am in or out.. and whether I have what it takes to survive in this team.

Trendsetter in Patisserie

In the world of art and design, one receives recognition and fame by how well they differientiate themselves and being consistent with their unique style. Citing a few examples:

Frank Gehry in architecture
Picasso in abstract painting
Karl Lagerfeld in fashion
Philip Stark in furniture design
Ferran Adria in gastronomy

In the world of patisserie, it is Pierre Herme.

Ths is what he says - "Ingredients are just one part of the work. You set your standards with the ingredients but taste is a permanent research."

He is bold and adventurous when it comes to combination of flavors. He emphasizes on innovation rather than convention. He is keen on cultivating our taste buds rather than provoking our memories.

A secret snap at the Paris shop.

Here he goes again, "I prefer the sense of detail better than perfection. Perfection is something you do just for perfection, it's alienating. With little details, there is more freedom and surprise."

This is why I discord with what Forrest Gump says, "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you gonna get." Because you can actually guess what's inside a piece of chocolate by its appearance... well, at least I can.

I would rephrase it this way: "Life is like a box of Pierre Herme's chocolate, you never know what you gonna get." - because he would surprise you on the upside.

Pierre Herme's jewel box from left to right:
1st row: Mogador (passionfruit chocolate), Garance (fig pate de fruit, chocolate raspberry ganache with cinnamon), Azur (yuzu and lime chocolate), Ouvre-toi (sesame praline nougat)

2nd row: Makassar (salted butter caramel and chocolate mousse), Isaphan (chocolate raspberry ganache, letchi rose pate de fruit), Mathilda (almond praline and lemon zest), Chole (chocolate raspberry ganache)

3rd row: Intense (bittersweet chocolate ganache), Aztec (bittersweet chocolate ganache, orange and balsamic vinegar pate de fruit), Choc Chocolat (bittersweet chocolate, chopped cocoa bean nougat), Bathalzar (caramelized cinnamon milk chocolate ganache)

Last night, I made a batch of Pierre Herme's Chocolate and Fleur de Sel Sablés. These are no ordinary chocolate chip cookies, and in fact the appearance is a bit deceptive of the actual taste. The chemistry of fleur de sel and dark chocolate works well together, and the gooey chunky chocolate chips make a contrast with the sandy shortbread. These are very addictive....

Risk vs. Reward

Attended M's bday dinner Sat night at a wine cellar in the middle of nowhere. It was quite a blast. We started with champagne and casual acquaintance, followed by a seasonal meal and fine wine, and ended with sweets and warm laughter. It is always fun to hang out with a small intimate group of people with similar background and experience.... and so happen most are some kind of 2nd or 3rd degree friends or in the same school way in the past...well..it is a small world indeed, especially in the world of finance.

Coming back from the dinner I've got to wonder, am I really that risk-intolerant?

Looking at the people surrounding me, some flew from one end of the earth to another in seek of better education when they were still in mid teens, some hopped from one job to another almost every year, some left their high-flying career to pursue their low-paying dreams..I didn't seem to have taken that many risks throughout my entire life, went to a college which was only 30min away from home, sticked with the same company ever since I got out of school. The only drastic move was switching from arch to finance.

Am I taking too little risk in expense of greater reward? Should I step out of my comfort zone and embrace the challenges? Probably because I lack the ambition and confidence as driving force..I just want to chill...

Spoiled kids

Two months ago, my nephew dined at Laudree in Paris. He was only six months old.



Fast forward to a couple of years later, Raphael is talking to a school nerd sitting next to him.
R: "Paris? Great place, have been there since I was still in a trolley."
N: "Really?! Isn't that far away?"
R: "Yeah..somewhere in Europe. It was a long flight indeed. Well...my parents love visiting Europe, so this is where I will be going for vacation. How about you, where are you planning to go this summer?"
N ingenuously responded: "Yosemite."
R: "Oh really, haven't we been there for summer camp already?"

Competition among kids is tough these days. Parents need to start early.

Come eat my Sunday

Sunday kicked off with rustic bread and chestnut spread in the morning, followed by black coffee for quick caffeine boast. An hour later, I was stuffing myself with delicious and irresistable nougat candies and lost counts of how many I had eaten. Lunch was parma ham and tomato on baguette. Later I dropped by Hui Lau Shan for melon juice with aloe jelly. Late afternoon, I shared a salted caramel tart and chocolate cappuccino dome with G. Finally, full dinner served by personal chef of ex-China prime minister. OMG...my mouth has been nonstop for the whole day.. isn't this my typical Sunday?!...

Tasting Joel Robuchon's dessert is always an adventure, despite dainty in size but pack with surprising flavors.

Salted caramel tart on the left - the fleur de sel enlivens the buttery taste of caramel and mingles well with the toffee found within layers of sweet cream, my favorite! =P

Chocolate cappuccino cake on the right - light and fluffy truffle cake, my favoriate ingredients of chocolate, coffee, chiffon cake all in one!















Our Yangzhou dinner "揚州御宴" at 上海綠楊 was prepared by renowned personal chef of ex-Prime Minister Jiang. 御宴 means dinner for royal family. This time, we, the twenty sth guys and girls, are the royal families and even summoned the chef for questioning at the end of the dinner. Food was delicious and delicate, similar to Jiangsu cuisine but lighter in flavors. We were amazed by the craftsmanship and artistic presentation. Not a lot of extravegant ingredients but simplicity rules all.

My Routine

I ride horses on Sat and Sun morning at Tuen Mun riding school. Today is no exception. I got up at 7am, packed my gear, got on a bus which would take me one and a half hour to get to TM. It seems a long bus ride, but the bus is actually quite efficient considering the distance I am traveling.

33 degrees today. It was freaking hot to ride under a direct sun. I already started to feel dehydrated after a few rounds of trotting. When the session about to end, Salad had to get off the horse early because she was seeing stars. It is frustrating to ride under unbearable heat, too bad that it is a public riding school and space is limited and we are unable to switch to the afternoon classes as willfully as we wish.

Me&Jubilee

Why I love horse riding so much? It is incredibly rewarding when one is able to ride in harmony with the horse, synchronize own movement with that of the horse, use rhythm of own body to lead the horse to enhanced performance. As conceptual as it sounds, it is difficult to master the skills, and often take years to train to perfection. I am still in the learning process and eager to develop better skills..

Horses are amazing animals and a lot smarter than we thought. As soon as you throw yourself on the saddle, you will be judged by where your legs are, how straight your shoulders, how upright your back and how nice your style. Good horses would try to adapt to your style and be obedient with your cue; bad horses would buck you if you bump on its back too hard or defy if it feels you are green.

So cute

Fashion victims

Following US and UK, today is the launch date for Anya's "I'm not a plastic bag" in HK. The bag is originally aimed to promote environmental friendliness and make it fashionable not to use plasdtic bags. The bag is selling at very low price point, USD15 is extremely enticing for people who love Anya's products.

The bag was sold out in lightning speed in US and UK, but a lot of people bought it not because they needed a grocery shopping bag, rather because it was made by Anya. It is not surprising to me that the bag would spur the same demand in HK.

There's J telling me her friend went to the TST store at 5am and left right away cos' there were already 200 people waiting in line. G got stuck in traffic in front of Landmark on her way to work this morning because the queue was blocking the street. Another S needed to present her ID card to access her office building because the crowd has turned into a chaotic mess.

I can be very certain that the majority of people in line are opportunitists who are abusing this green bag movement and try to resale and make a small profit. Sooner or later, we should see the bag end up sitting in the window display of secondhand handbag stores like milan station, paris station, etc... And the people who are addicted to Anya are being taken advantage of.

What's the underlying problem? The bag is either selling too cheaply, or Anya is not producing enough. It shouldn't be a limited edition in the first place, and should have partner with grocery stores to mass produce the bag. I like the concept behind it but dislike the way they promote it, if it is easier to get, I will definitely snag one for myself.

Christina Aguilera concert

Courtesy of CLSA, G and I went to see Christina Aguilera's concert on Tuesday night. CLSA is the most accommodating broker ever. They have ordered 100 tickets for their clients...basically got the whole block reserved, and organized transportation to the venue. G and I met up at IFC after work and were being picked up by a coach with a whole bunch of finance people. Just in the middle of getting seated in the coach and starting to worry about dinner, the sales people passed out chicken wraps, french fries, soft drinks, even beer and wine to the concert goers. We chowed down the food and totally complimented CLSA for the full service.

After arriving at Asia Expo, we found ourselves sitting in the first row of the left side block. We were so close to the stage the only thing blocking our sights is the handrail. Frankly speaking, I am not a big fan of Christina Aguilera and not very familiar with her recent music, but extremely impressed by her powerful and dominating voice. It is quite amazing to see a little person to have such a giant voice. I think Christina does know what a guy wants by showing her quasi semi porn video and wearing cabaret style outfits during the show.... what can I say, she got pretty nice legs and a hour glass figure.. Towards the end of the show, people started to get loosen up when she sang the older hits, and the night was ended with a standing ovation.

The Fluffy Goddess

Soufflé is like magic - everybody loves to see it and enjoys eating it. I always order soufflé if it is on the menu whenever I visit a restaurant. I have tried both sweet and savory, from lobster to passionfruit; chocolate by far is the best that I have ever had. The uniqueness of soufflé lies upon its fragility, it only has a few seconds of glory at the maximum peak and total fluffiness, as soon as it clashes with cold air, it then get deflated and wrinkles up into a sad and clumsy cake.

Yesterday, when I was debating whether to make a chocolate cake or almond cookies, a sudden crave called for chocolate soufflé. I quickly went to my bookshelf and fetched for the old recipe, within two hours time, I recreated the dessert with additional ground hazelnut. Here is a picture of the happy soufflés enjoying a steam bath in the hot oven.


Making a soufflé can be very tricky and failing is common. I have lots of bad experience before, including overbeating the egg white, curdling the yolks, overmixing the batter, etc, etc.... the demand for precision is particularly painful, and the stress level is like going through a brain surgery. Still, up to today, I need to be fully concentrated whenever I make a soufflé, making sure I don't overbeat the meringue and mess up the procedures, and hold my breath when taking these babies out of the oven. Luckily yesterday the soufflé was able to sustain its peak when I took them out of the oven, I got so excited and kept snapping pictures, forgetting to sprinkle powdered sugar to make it more presentable....anyway, I will make up for it next time..

Better late than never

My first blog was actually registered in 2004, with the ambition to chronicle my baking experience and open a forum for food lovers, together with my laziness and procrastination, the first blog entry has never been made. Now, three years later, Google has gotten impatient with me and decided to eliminate my old blog (with no entry). I figure having a food album is really meaningless if I couldn't share it with my friends and others. I am now pulling myself together and making my belated first entry..... So, finally, my blogging life begins...