Inspiration ...

After watching Master Chef (The UK equivalent of Top Chef) I had an inkling to try something new. Since I've also found some decent priced dishes, I thought it would be worth while to try a new new recipe.  This is actually my first time handling a whole fish, usually it comes to me cut and cleaned.

This is a fresh sea bream bought at the local market. Did not want to make a mess of the kitchen so I got it descaled from the fish monger.

Technically I did not need to gut the fish, but it was good practise. Apparently the key is not to break any of the organs which will affect the taste of the fish if it did.

It took more time than it should, but it worked out well in the end. All that was left was head & bones. I threw the bones away but what I really wanted to do is deep fry the thing and eat it!

Not bad if I say so myself, the cut could be cleaner though. Simply add salt & pepper right before pan frying.

This is the finished product, surprisingly it took no time to cook the fish. I even had time to warm the plate in the oven.

Pan Seared Sea Bream in Truffle Oil

Accompanied by Butternut Squash & Broccoli Frites

On top of Roasted Potatoes & Mushroom Madeira Sauce

With a sprinkling of toasted Pine Nuts

My New Flat! ...

I've moved in for a month now, but nothing has really changed since then. I haven't bought any new furniture except a single dinner tray table. Well, I guess it is dirtier now. It's still a studio, but brand new and up on a higher level. It was night out when I took this pic so there's no view to show you. There's also a long balcony that runs along the length of the windows, can't wait until summer to use it. Gotta love the pot lights tho.

This is the bedroom area, I negotiated having the landlord buy a bed. The most negotiation I did in my life! Also asked the landlord to put in a wardrobe. As for heat, they still use the radiator system here in the UK.

The washroom reminds me of a hotel room, but it has hot water! Something that was missing in my last flat. Although the flat is bit farther from work, it is well worth it.

I think is the best part is the kitchen, there's even enough storage room for everything which is rare for London standards. Can you spot the fridge? It is basically the kitchen cabinet located left of the oven. It is rather small, but suffice for one person.

Well that's the tour of my flat, come join me if you like the place. Let me know first since I will need to go out and buy an inflatable bed. You can occupy the whole living room if you want!

Few days in Paris ...

It has been a while since I had time to upload any pix onto the blog, but time flies before you know it. Enjoy!

These are Paris pix taken in early September when the weather was actually still warm! This is view in front of my hotel room. The architecture is widely different than North America, it feels like your in a different world in itself.

It was the weekend when I got to Paris and unbeknown to me all the stores close on Sundays. Luckily the Louvre was open and of course, one of the spots I wanted to visit. It wasn't the sunniest of days, but at least we didn’t have to wait in line for long.

Once inside, it took forever to look at all the exhibits. Therefore, we opted to leave 4 hours after and viewing only 2/3rds of the place. This picture was taken in the central courtyard of the Louvre. The gentleman beside the pyramids allows you to gauge the proportions. 


The next day, I went for stroll down the Seine River. It was lovely and definitely different than looking at Lake Ontario.

After a nice dinner at Laduree on Champs-Elysees, I made my way to Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately it was closed by then but was still able to take a pic across the street.

On the way home, I had to stop off at the Tour Eiffel since time was of the essence and didn't have time to visit again. People told me it looks better at night and I actually am inclined to agree.

There are many small  nooks & crannies in Paris, it gives you the feeling of a bicycle riding small town feeling.

In the most unlikely places...

This pic was taken in a small street near the Big Ben. At first I thought it was a strip of apartments, but if you look closely you will see they are restaurants.

Church Cathedral...

There are a lot of churches over here, and most of them look the same. This one is near London Bridge.

Pathway ...

Basically one of the many walkways you can walk to the other side of the river.

South Bank Street ...

This is one of the random streets near the river, basically you can see the typical architecture in London in which each building has its own style.

Walking along the river Thames ...

Not that I didn't have time to post new items, just that it took some time to edit pictures, condense the files and find enough bandwidth to upload them. Enjoy, as there is more to come...

This is a panoramic view of a small section of the river Thames, known as the South Bank. It wasn't the sunniest day for pictures but was for a long walk.

I Feel Like Chicken Tonight ...

Wanting to try something new with the leftover chicken thighs (from bulk again),  I decided to separate the skin from the meat and prepare them separately. The skin was oven crisped with salt & pepper, while the meat was pan fried. There was something missing, so I added some colour by incorporating cheesy vegetable mash & balsamic red wine reduction to enhance the flavour.   

Grilled Chicken layered with crispy skin & vegetable mash

The food actually looks bigger than it really is, it is meant as an appetizer portion. After taking the pic, I basically dumped a bowl of rice on top and dug in.

A Day At The Park ...

It was a beautiful day last weekend so I decided to scroll into the Greenwich Park and become a tourist. Besides touring the astronomy building and walking on the Zero time line (more pics to come later), I was also able to get some sunbathing in. Unfortunately the sunlight did not have much affect on my rather pale skin.

This is one of my favourite pics I've taken so far and it's not photoshopped either, lol. Basically it is one of the many walkways in the Park, and vaguely reminds me of Central Park for some reason. It was cloudy at that moment and improved the quality of the shot.