Wine tour 2012 - day 2

We went to the Louvre today, expecting to see a big queue as it was free-entry on the first Sunday of the month. Fortunately since we were early we only needed to queue for less than one hour to go in. Weather was gloomy and there was a little drizzle, and it was a bit chilly, but we were all excited.

Just like any tourist, we went to see the most famous artefacts, focusing on the Denon wing, including Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and other treasures. It really would take a whole day or even more if we want to look at each individual piece of art. But as time does not allow (as well as our stamina), we spent basically a half day going to the different areas and left after taking lunch in the cafe.

Going out into bright sunshine, it was so gorgeous that we stopped to take photos of the glass pyramid outside, with Ah Foot as the model. Many people also stopped to look at him and thought we were crazy. But turned out Ah Foot was so good that many of the best photos were taken with him!

We then walked along the avenue to Place de la Concorde, taking a look also at the Luxor Obelisk, and then walked further to Champs Elysees. Visiting our Haagen-Dazs flagship shop, we took a break and had some nice ice-cream. Of course, the ladies began to get itchy with their shopping instinct and we went to the different shops like LV. Since I lost all my credit card, I got the excuse not to buy anything for Ivy, haha!

Afterwards we headed back to the hotel, to meet up with Benny who arrived in the late afternoon. We then went together to dinner, at a seafood restaurant called La Stella. Again, delicious food pairing with some wine, we all enjoyed very much and had a full belly to start our main part of the tour - Burgundy - on the next day...

(to be continued...)

Wine tour 2012 - day 1

Upon arriving at the CX counter Carmen and Ivy tried to ask for upgrade, but the ground staff told us the chance was slim as the flight was quite full on Business Class also. Not having much hope, at the gate, we had a good surprise as Carmen was upgraded. Being a gentleman, I then decided to switch my Business Class seat with Ivy, making me the only one in Economy :(

Unfortunately my neighbor happened to be a sound sleeper who slept for essentially the whole trip, making it difficult for me to go out to even stretch my legs as I was on a window seat. At the end, I watched four movies and did not sleep that much on the flight.

We took a taxi to go to our hotel - Mercure Paris Centre Tour Eiffel. Located very near the tower, it is convenient and modern, with good customer service also. Since it was still early, we dropped our luggage and went for breakfast at a small brasserie nearby, while waiting for Grace. The croissant was really nice.

After meeting up with Grace we started the first stop - Tour Eiffel. The weather was fantastic and there were not that many people. We only needed to queue for a short while before getting our tickets and then taking the lift to the middle platform. We took some nice photos on the Paris scenary but from that point my nightmare started...

There was a queue of people waiting to go up to the higher platform, which we also joined. But I recalled that the ticket we bought did not include going up, so I told the ladies to continue to queue while I went to check with the staff. Confirming that an additional fee was required, I told them no need to queue, but by then they were already a bit far ahead in the line. Before they re-joined me, a lady standing in front of me stopped to take a photo with her mobile, which was weird because there was nothing there. I was a bit puzzled but had to stop and when I thought back that probably was the moment the thief opened my bag and stole my wallet! She basically blocked me from moving and there were a few other people around me at that point.

Right when the ladies re-grouped I sensed something wrong and checked my bag but my wallet was already gone. Very upset as you can imagine, I called the card centres to stop all my credit cards and then came down to the tourist office to report the crime. Fortunately I kept my passport and majority of my Euro separate and those were intact, but still losing close to $8,000 in cash...

My friends tried their very best to comfort me, and after getting the direction of the police station, we went to a cafe to calm down and think through the whole incident, also to list down the items stolen to report in the police station. Since I can't do anything more, I decided to forget as much as possible to enjoy my vacation instead.

Grace had booked a cruise lunch from Bateaux Parisiens and so we went to the pier. Originally I was a bit skeptical about the cruise as generally the food was so-so. However, it turned out to be exceptionally good, with us assigned a window table in the modern, comfortable cruise, having big glass windows and roof for us to look at all the scenary. Also, the food was very nice and paired with different wines. Though a bit sunny, we all enjoyed the cruise very much.

Carmen, Ivy and myself then went to the police station to report the case to get a file for claiming insurance later on. The building was rather like an old primary school, and inside there were a few other people who had similar bad luck. After filling the form and spent close to 45 minute waiting, I got the report and left.

Returning to the hotel, we took a brief rest before going to a Michelin restaurant Aux Lyonnais, started by the famous Alain Ducasse. The restaurant is in a side-street and quite difficult to find, but the food was prepared in traditional style and very delicious. Very reasonable price at EUR233 for four people, we all had a wonderful time.

(to be continued...)

Wineshark weekly - 11 Aug 2012

Someone asked me whether I have stopped writing this blog. I am simply too busy and got too many things to handle (plus a few trips over the last couple of weekends) so really got no time to write. But I will not give up this and really want to connect with you all.

Many of you may already I am leaving my job to join another company in near future. Yes, I am going to Starbucks, taking up a regional role in supply chain. It is a good challenge for me, also requiring me to cover more countries than I have now. There are so many struggles for me because on the one side I don't want to give up my 'investment' here in General Mills, and given the new structure and the expanded role I would get it is also a good career development for me. But having to relocate to Singapore may not be something I will consider at the moment...

While I am starting to do my handover and farewell visits to the markets, I am also working on the last pieces of my long-expected trip to France. With basically all the details settled for the part in Burgundy, Alsace and Bordeaux, the remaining is for the time in Paris which I still need to work on. But I am quite sure it will be a memorable trip, especially for me to charge up before moving to my new job.

The restaurant featured in this week is Hakka Ye Ye, a contemporary Chinese restaurant in Central. It is not a big restaurant, but give me a cozy feeling, with some interesting Hakka dishes. The taste is good, though not exceptional, and it is a good spot if you want to have some quiet time to enjoy some decent food in a good environment. Average spending is $230 per person, which includes three dishes plus drinks for two people.

My wine study has been falling behind quite a lot, and I need to really catch up. This week I only able to do a tasting:

Le Logis de la Bouchardiere Chinon 2006

I will work harder on this blog to make it lively. So bear with me in the interim, and I promise I will give a good sharing on my coming trip!

Wineshark Recipe - 56. Fried Fish Hawaiian Style

Ingredients:

• Fillet of fish - 8oz
• Cooking oil - 1oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Plain flour - 1oz
• Egg - 1
• White wine - 1oz
• Worcestershire - 1 tsp
• Stock - 9oz
• Green bell pepper - 1oz
• Red bell pepper - 1oz
• Lemon juice - 1/2
• Butter - 1oz
• Diced pineapple - 1 slice
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
• Tomato ketchup - 1/2oz
• White thickened - 1oz

First cut the fish fillet and wipe it dry. Marinate with lemon juice, white wine, salt and white pepper powder.

Coat the fillet with flour and then egg, pan fry till it turns yellow.

Use butter to cook the green and red bell pepper, then add pineapple, white wine, Worcestershire, and other seasonings.

Pour the sauce on the fillet.

Wineshark Recipe - 55. French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

• Onion thinly sliced - 10oz
• Stock - 1lb 4oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cooking oil - 1oz
• French bread slices - 2 slices
• Gruye're cheese - 2oz

First prepare the stock. I normally use chicken stock as I don't eat beef.

Heat the pan with cooking oil, then stir fry the onion until it turns slightly brown and fragrant.

Then add the stock till it boils, season with salt and white pepper powder, and add some white wine if you want.

Shred the cheese onto the soup, and then add the French bread.

Wineshark Recipe - 54. Ragout de Porc

Ingredients:

• Pork chop - 2 lb 8 oz (to divide into 8 pcs)
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Black pepper finely - 1 tsp
• Plain flour - 2 oz
• Tomato paste - 2 oz
• Rosemary - 1 tsp
• Bay leaves - 2
• Stock - 10 oz
• Dry red wine - 2 oz
• Carrot wedges - 6 oz
• Onion wedges - 6 oz
• Turnips wedges - 6 oz
• Penne - 1 lb 4 oz

First marinate the pork chop, then coated with flour and pan fry till golden brown.

Stir fry the wedges with oil, then add tomato paste, stock, rosemary and red wine. Add the pork chop later on.

Cook the penne and serve with the pork and sauce on top.

Wineshark Recipe - 53. Crispy Potato Fritters

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 2
• Bacon finely - 2 stripes
• Self-raising flour - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsp

First peel off the potato skin and cut into thin stripes. Soak in water to remove the powdery substance, then dry up the potato stripes.

Add the bacon finely, self-raising flour and other seasonings.

Pre-heat the frying pan with oil, and put the potato so both sides turn golden.