Hangang River, Seoul

The name of the river is pretty Chinese. Han means "China in ancient time". Gang is a big river. North of the River is the old area of Seoul and the southern part is the newly developed commercial and residential area.

City Hall, Center of Seoul

Finally got to the Center of Seoul. The one at the top is the City Hall. Then the middle is some kind of temple. In front of the temple is the traditional Korean drum. Then the last one is Seoul Plaza Hotel - kind of a typical classic hotel.

Gwangtonggyo, Seoul

Alright, this is something historical - around 600 years ago. Gwang is Kwan in Chinese, Tong is Tung and Gyo is bridge. So you will find the stone of 600 years ago under the bridge on the photo at the right.

Ching Kai Stream, Seoul

This stream is a very long stream from City Hall and it goes through all the way passing Dongdaemun. Actually this stream should be called Cheonggyecheon in Korean. I just romanised their Chinese wording. I do find a lot of Chinese characters in Seoul. This stream is just like what it means in Chinese. "Ching" means clear, "Kai" means stream. So you can tell from the top photo. On the middle, a school class was there. Then the last one, you will see some people walking along the stream. Guess there should be some scenes from those Korean TV drama.

Myeong Dong, Seoul

Myeong Dong is a trendy busy place for the shoppers, especially girls - lots of nice and interesting shops. Saw two interesting buildings in this area. The one is SK something. Then the one in the middle looks like something high-tech. Then the last photo is the busy street of Myeong Dong.

Jimmy, Donald and Jason in MO BKK

As I got some feeback comments on the below blog about how Jimmy (the Geo Bear) arrived HK and hit the road with Donald (a cowboy dog given by my nephew Jason). Here are some photos of both of them and also Jason holding them at our breakfast on the riverside cafe of the Oriental Bangkok in 2006 summer. That was a very enjoable trip.

Slow food Cafe, Seoul

OK, if you are bored with too much fast food, then go for this one - slow food Cafe. Nowadays "slow"means "time". "time" means "luxury". "luxury" means "expensive". A cup of coffee is about US$10 something. Certainly they will serve it slow. Just like what I heard from friend in Paris - making a salad for 1.5 hours and charged for Euros 200. I hope the airline won't take this theory. I don't want the plane to fly slowly.

No stress Cafe, Seoul

What a name we really want to have. This place is crowded with many hip and trendy people. I just passed by it. There are increasingly lots of this kind of restaurant and cafe coming up in not only Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore....almost everywhere.

Gorilla in the Kitchen, Seoul

Well, if you think there is a gorilla in the kitchen, then you would be surprised. The restaurant is run by the famous male movie star Pei Yun Jun (not sure the exact spelling) but (my Korean friend) please correct me here in the blog). This area is now the hittest place for movie stars, artists and designers - forgot the name "xxx dong".. haha, must be dong in the last anyway, as dong means "area".

Samwong Garden, the flagship shop, Seoul

Finally I was brought to Samwong Garden again in Gangnam district. This time it's their flagship shop. Classic Korean design and courteous staff. If you will go to Seoul, this restaurant is a must for you to try.

BBQ beef rib, by Samwong Garden

The beef rib is just like pork rib - meat with some bone and a little fat do taste a lot better. Also noted is that the beef wouldn't be over burnt. Then they would be put aside around the hot charcoal place. Note that they wouldn't put the freshly burnt charcoal. Half burnt charcoal is the best for average heat. That reminded me of Arirang Korean BBQ in Bangkok. Now I can verify Arirang is really Korean style.

condiments

Look at how nice of those condiments. That's why I enjoy the Korean food so much. The colorful condiments already cheer up your mood. A good mood is a good beginning for a good meal and to make yourself good in every good way!

cold noodle

This is the one I missed for the past 7 years. I tried this one in Hong Kong but the noodle and the soup taste is not the same. I also recall in some restaurants they would put some pear slices in it to make it taste even fresher. Interesting I thought I was definitely to get my stomach upset as I can't take chewy food. This time I am ok. Probably it's from the various vegetable I took. Most of all, it's not oily!

cold kimchi soup and onion salad

Samwong made this cold kimchi soup so nice! Actually don't think that kimchi should be extra hot. The Korean hot is unlike the Taiwanese food hot or Thai food hot. Their hot is with a strong flavour of vegetable. Actually I can taste their chilli is a bit sweet (not that sweet from sugar). The Korean culinary culture is awesome in using a lot of different vegetable. Just one cold soup, they put more than 7-8 different types of vegetable. You will also note that they do care about the cutting technique (what we call "knife skill" in Chinese cooking).

beef rib soup

OK, this one is also nice. I was already 110% full, but I still take some of it. So no need to describe... yummy!

Bean paste soup

This soup is a bit hot but I can take it. Then I further realise the Korean way of taking soup is to put the steamed rice in it and take it altogether. Well, we really need to re-train ourselves in taking Korean food.

BBQ beef in lettuce, by Samwong Garden, Seoul

More than 10 years ago, my Korean colleague brought me to a very nice BBQ restaurant Samwong in Gangnam (south of the river - actually some of the Korean words sound quite alike Chinese Mandarin or Cantonese). Then I realised the BBQ meat should be eaten in this way. Place the beef on a lettuce, put some bean paste, some kimchi or other condiments as served, fresh garlic slice. Roll it and eat it. In Hong Kong, when we take Korean food, we often eat meat and other condiments separately. Well, there were several times my friends and I went to the Korean BBQ in Wanchai. We brought a scissor to cut all the food and stir fry them on the BBQ place. The Korean lady in the shop showed her interesting look. I think she was really annoyed with our adapting the Korean food culture into a Sino-Korean cooking. Sorry Madam!

Overlord Chicken 霸王鶢, by Tsuei King Lau Hong Kong

Overlord Chicken - hard to find an exact wording for this dish. It may mean overlord, or a tough leader. I guess probably the guy who ordered this must be a tough guy. Or would there be a story behind? Anyway, this chicken is my most favourite Hakka dish. I even prefer it to the famous "chicken smoked in fried rock salt".

winter melon soup

This is the season for various kinds of melon. Personally I don't like winter melon. However, with crab meat, it would be something different.

double preserved eggs with amaranth

If I directly translate this dish into wording like "golden/silver eggs soaking amaranth (莧菜)". Then those foreign speaking people may not know what "golden/silver eggs" mean. Ok, Golden egg is the preserved salty duck eggs. Then for silver eggs, I'm not sure if it's made of duck eggs, but it is preserved with some kind of mud to make it dark. Then this dish used a lot of fried garlic. However, the chef should have put a bit more oil. The amaranth with both eggs are much oil-absorbing.

pork stewed with pickled vegetable 梅菜扣肉

If you like Hakka cuisine, you wouldn't find it a stranger. This Tsuei King Lau did a very nice job for this dish. Actually there was a time we had lunch there and tried to order this one, but it was sold out! So you would know how good it is. Though it's much too strong in taste (as originally this dish should be very strong in taste, sweet, salty together), I took 2 slices of the pork. It's very good for steamed rice. For the past 10 years, I haven't taken 2 bowls of steamed rice. Tonight I did that again....

sea cucumber, fish maw with mushroom

This is quite an expensive dish now. Fish maw's price has been going up by almost 10 to 15 times than 20 years ago. I haven't been able to try to mushroom, but the fish maw is nice. At least it doesn't taste smelly. If you want to buy some nice fish maw, remember to choose those fish maw with less blood vein (actually should be none) and it should be dry enough.

fried shirmp balls

In my memory, it may have been only a few times I tried the fried shrimp balls which was used chopped rice noodle as the coating. The shrimp ball is pretty nice and the chef controlled the frying oil temperature nicely to make it pretty dry after frying.

steamed rice

"Tsuei King Lau" - Tsuei means drunk. However, for the word "King" (doesn't mean king actually), is anyone who is good at Chinese character can tell me the exact meaning of this word. I can only guess it may refer to something elegant in flavour and shape. Correct me if I am wrong. Ok, I often tell that if a restaurant can't cook good rice, then no matter how good their dishes are, I wouldn't remark it as a qualified restaurant. See how they shape up this bowl of rice. It's called "handsome boy" in Cantonese. Don't know why it's named like that. Don't think I am crazy to put the ginger and scallion slices on the rice. Those ginger and scallion slices were soaked in salty chicken soup. It's so so so goooooood.......

Steamed "stone clam" fish

Went with my colleagues tonight (27/5/08) to this Tsuei King Lau (醉瓊樓) on Hennessy Road in Wanchai opposite near to Emperor Building. We ordered a menu for 8 persons (but we are only 6). We chose a steamed "stone clam (石蚌)" fish. Though it's a farm fish, the chef still made this dish very nice. First, the soy sauce and the boiling oil is in a good mixture. Look at the slices of scallion. They don't use the deep green parts which is good as the white parts has a stronger aroma. Then the chefs has a very good "knife skill". See how average of each slice of the scallion.

Palm Springs, CA

Spent almost a year in Palm Springs, California in 1994. I recalled I wrote to my friend in Taipei, telling her "seeing the snow up on the Mount San Jacinto but I am on a ground of high heat....". Yes, this is the scene. Also looking at the swaying palm trees. Imagine if they are whispering to you. That's how I came up with my email name whispalms - whispering palms. I treasure this photo so much, witnesses my feeling for Palm Springs.

Suicide Rock, Idyllwild, CA

My best friend brought me to Idyllwild, an hour drive from Palm Desert or from Riverside County, California. It's like another peaceful land somewhere in the Earth. I am very impressed with the smell of the pine trees up there. The Suicide Rock in the photo is a big challenge for the rock climbers, and likely to put someone's life at high risk.

Roller Coaster, Ocean Park

When I was in my 20's, I wanted to try this roller coaster. However, don't know why I haven't been able to fulfill my want. Now I don't have the feeling for it. So grab the chance of when you think you are able to do something. Anyway, I tried the Six Flag Magic Mountain in California in 1994 to make that up then.

Ocean Park, Hong Kong

If there is no competition, there won't be a self-improvement. Because of Disneyland HK, Ocean Park has then strengthened itself and with the recent years of improvement, it has become one of the top 10 theme park in the World. So we can always tell from history, too much ego will definitely mean the beginning of failure.

Coral Island Resort, Thailand

Been to this resort in 2004 and 2005. Loved it because there is no TV, no telephone. For the first time, I could hardly overcome a night without TV. Then on the second night, I really felt a lot of release. Being with such a tranquil nature can't be described in any word.

Shanghai Tan

This is the Famous Shanghai Tan - very colonial. I remember when I studied history about Shanghai. It often related to "French quarter" and "British quarter". China was so ripped off by the 8 foreign powers in the late Ching Dynasty. The buildings can tell the history.

Shanghai Tower

this photo was taken in 2005 at a nice cool evening. Shanghai, another place of east meeting west.

Cannes down town

Look at the middle main road Blvd Carnot, the down town of Cannes. It directs towards a complex by the sea, next to the yacht port. That's the Palais des Festival, where the film festival and other cultural, trade events take place. On the left along the sea, is the famous Cannes beach, where Ritz Carlton, Majestic hotels are.

Cannes airport

Grabbed a good chance of taking this photo of Cannes Airport before landing at Nice Airport, Southern France in January, 2005. This Cannes Airport is actually quite far from Cannes down town; so it's pretty useless when one can consider to fly to Nice Airport and there are lots of various transportation from Nice Airport to Cannes down town.

Taiwan beef noodle

Finally I can find a nice Taiwan beef noodle in Hong Kong. The renowned "First Wife beef noodle" isn't good enough for me, but just a substitute if I want the Taiwan beef noodle. The "First Wife beef noodle" lacks the flavour in the beef. They missed the star anise and the Hua Chieu "花椒" in making the beef. Yet, their beef is a bit too soft. The best beef for me should be tender and a bit chewy. Then the soup should be with some fried chilli oil. Also the most important part is the noodle. This one is a hand-made noodle. Though it's soaked in the soup for a while, it's still chewy. Then we also ordered the soupless noodle with veggie/pork dumplings. It's mixed with the Taiwanese meat sauce. It's pretty good but the meat sauce should be with some fat. Anyway, you are health conscious, this is a good one. OK, this shop is called Taiwan Kitchen (or Noodle) on Wanchai Road in between Charter Hotel and Jade Furniture shop, quite close to Morrison Hill swimming pool. *remarks: this shop was closed in late 2008.

My cooking - Sweet and sour pork

Well, I haven't made this dish for more than 8-10 years. So at the request of my sisters, I made it again. Anyway, I won't forget how to make it as I used to make this dish a thousand times. Actually I prefer to use the spare ribs with some fat, as the meat with some bone and fats taste better and it will make the coating more crispy when deep frying it. However, I need to care about the kids; so I chose pork loin (actually should be the pork with some fat （柳梅）as it will taste better.), and I purposedly cut the pork in smaller pieces (should be a little bit bigger than those in this photo). So if you make this one, better cut the pork in a size like 1.25"x1.25". It's because if you cut them in too small pieces, the meat inside will dry out easily. However, if you cut it in big pieces, you may not have them cooked to well done. To make the pork more crispy, don't marinate the pork with salt. Just put some soy sauce, white pepper powder (put less if there are kids) to marinate for about 20-30 min. Then put some battered egg into it (not too much). Then use the flour (or flour for deep frying or mix it with some sticky rice flour) for the coating. Actually, if you have time, you may try to dip it with the flour, battered egg and then flour for a dry/wet/dry coating. However, for this one, the coating seems to be a bit thick to me, but this dry/wet/dry coating will make the pork more crispy. So another note is that frying it in 2 sections. First fry them for about 1 minute something. Then let it cool for a while. Then re-fry them at high heat for another 1 minute something to 2 minutes (depending on your stove power). This way, it will make the coating more crispy. Then cut the red, yellow, and green bell pepper and pineapple in similar size pieces. This time I used some pickled baby onoin （喬頭）and cut them in small pieces. If you can find some pickled baby ginger （酸子薑), it will be even better. Then heat up the wok, put some oil in it. prepare some fresh ginger slices. Then put the ginger slices in the wok, follow with the bell peppers for a quick stir frying for about 1 minute with a very very slight dash of salt. Take them out. If you can find some baby red onion (乾蔥), put 6-7 gloves in the heated wok. Stir fry them until you smell the aroma. Then put the pineapple and the bell peppers and the pickled baby onion (or the sliced baby ginger if you have). Stir fry them at high heat. Then put some white vinegar, sugar, ketchup (the quantity portion is one portion of vinegar with the same portion of sugar, the ketchup should be 2/3 portion to the vinegar/sugar together). Prepare some cornstarch for slight thickening. Note that you shouldn't make the sauce too much - just good enough to cover all the ingredients. Remember we are not to make pork in tomato sauce. The best is that you shouldn't find some oil and sauce left on the plate. So the last step is to put the fried pork back into the wok and quick stir fry them. Actually this dish has quite a lot of variety for making it. You may also consider to put the Haw Flakes (山楂片）to make the sauce first for preparation, if you don't use the pickled baby onion or baby ginger. But then if you use haw flakes, you should reduce the quantity of the ketchup.

spiral shells

For this one, I prefer to make it with boiling. Put some ginger slices into the boiling water with some salt and Chinese wine. Then boil it until you see some bubbles coming out from the water. Normally it takes around 2-3 minutes. It depends on how big the shells are. Then eat it with soy sauce with some chopped chili, or with some seafood sauce.

My cooking - Razor clams 豆豉炒聖子

Why it's called razor clams? Look at the shells and it's quite thin and can cut like a razor. I stir fry them with chopped garlic and black bean paste. Remember not to over-cook this one. First heat up the wok, put some oil (better with more oil) and put the garlic and black bean paste into the wok. Then put the clams with some Chinese wine and quick stir fry them at high heat. Cover the wok and let it cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Then put some sesame oil. Better put some chili in it but as there were kids in the dinner, I didn't put it.

My cooking - clams soaked in salty soup 油鹽水浸蜆

I made a salty soup with pickled turnip and Chinese celery (*note the Chinese celery is in a stronger aroma than the western celery). First I boil the soup with the pickled turnip. Put 2 table spoon of salt, and 2 table spoon of oil and a few slices of ginger. Put the cleaned clams into the soup. Boil it until the clams open their shells. Then put the cut Chinese celery, and turn off the heat immediately. Then put some white pepper powder.