How About Fashion ?

I haven't watch the recent Fall/Winter Couture Fashion yet until today, which yet the hurricane is still not hitting the city besides 5 minutes of shower each time. More likely, I am getting depressed waiting on this.
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Back to fashion world, can you believe on the Christian Dior Fall/Winter Haute Couture Show, I read the review of Mr.Tim Blanks, I say I agree on your points on the collection, it's positive but where are the negative of the collection. Despites from sorry that John Galliano is no longer at Dior but, his collection is the worst collection of this finest French Designer House. 

Here comes my points of view:


- The collection is lack of creativity - what is it ? cotton ball theme or a circus ?, the whole entire collection didn't come together, they are here and there. Where is the consistency? And last I called 'Disastrous. A carnival without a theme'


- Craftsmanship - wow, Mr. Bill Gaytten, I have and never heard of you or you might never heard of me, but when I google, my name does come up and yours, just the recent couture collection. That's not the point I want to approach here. GRR... you have the whole entire House of Dior, and the technique and pattern cutting is so last seasons, old pattern, old tricks, poor patch-works. I wish I have this team for one season, just give me one season and I'll show you what I can delivery. Pieces coming down of the runway looking like graduate collection, worse than my last ex Boy Friend's graduated collection in 2006.


- Brand Loyalty & Royalty - Is it still Dior ? or is it turning into a young, new avant grade designer brand? Also, there were some reports few days ago, and guess what Mr. Alexander Wang brought up and compared together with Marc Jacob, Raf Simon etc... for the creative position of Christian Dior ? oh please, and come on please. On the other hand, my ideal candidate for Creative Director for Dior is Mr.  Christian Lacroix. I love his romanticism,  the hint of poignant and emotionally fraught through out every pieces that he designed. And Lacroix's design are most restrained and approachable, and I felt so sad before when the fall couture 2009 was his last. He is born and raised in France, his understand about the art of fashion, the grace of women, and the way he makes clothes is unparalleled risking and effortless beauty.

That's all for now, so please if any of LVMH reading this, take a consideration for Mr. Lacroix.


Now, I am back making my Cambodian Style Noodles, and watch for the hurricane coming in!

My Hurricane Flower Arrangement

NYC is totally shut down !

I walked out at my apt to see, what's going on and take some fresh air before the hurricane hit. Surprisingly, everything in this city never sleep, totally shut down - not even a store or a business is open. Everyone is rushing to get stuffs to bring back home as well as returning...

Home Depot

Blooming Dale's

Park Avenue - With none on it for Saturday

The Fog is coming in from the west-side

The day that hurricane is coming in NYC

so, the 1st rain shower just arrived in NYC like minutes ago, quite heavy and along the street, people are running home and getting stuff at the Duran Reade which is around the corner from my fabulous apartment.


It's official, therefore I am starting my Hurricane Menu now

Vietnamese Broken Rice, Served with Marinated Pork Chop & Pork Cake, coloring with Scallions in Olive Oil & Pickle Carrots-Radish

This dish is my all-time favourite for the Vietnamese Cuisine, some may think that it's quite a heavy dish for breakfast, but trust in my words, it's the best rice dish that you can have. In the Vietnamese dish, they always contents 5 elements which is salty, sweet, sour, spicy and earth; it's a combination of flavor and experience in the taste, every dish is different but you can and always taste these elements. It's a harmony!
Earth
Cơm Tấm - Broken Rice: these are the left over from the long-grain or the whole-grain rice that we buy from the market, usually these are throwing away, but to save and ultilize most, they create this dish (i used the whole-grain, and mashed them down; it won't be broken-rice/Cơm Tấm unless, you mashed it).This special dish is usually served with Pork Chop - Sườn, Pork Cake - Chả, Pork Skins - Bì. That's why there is named Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả, the most typical order, but well people tends to be greedy and add-on more stuff such as the sausage, and fried egg etc; what ever they want to it, just dump it in, but hey it won't be the same, leave it to its simplicity.
Mỡ Hành & Dưa Chua -Pickled & Scallion: as a Vietnamese dish, you can't have it without veggie. It's a must have, balancing between the heavy of rice, the protein of meat, and the natural and healthy vegetables. 
Salt
Sườn - Pork Chop: not the average American Pork Chop, not like one of those big ass Pork Chop, those just make me don't want to eat anymore. 3/4 inch slice, the thinner is the better based on my consideration and interest then marinated with caramel glaze, dash of fish sauce, dash of soy sauce, pinch of black pepper and a glove of garlic. Leave it for at least 3 hours, we you get the right favor and result, the longer you wait, the better the meat taste. 

Options - you can grill, which is the best method or sautéed/fry

Chả - Pork Cake: this takes a lot of preparation and work. Ingredients: grounded pork, dried mushroom - let me find the name for you later, cellophane noodles, eggs, a rosemary, pinch of black pepper & all-purpose flour mixed all together and steam it.

Sweet - Sour - Spicy 
That is the Nước Mắm, fish sauce of pour onto the dish. And yet, you can have a good dish without a good sauce, in Vietnamese cuisine, they have pretty much different sauces for different dishes, Vietnamese just loves to dip and dine! For this broke-rice, the fish sauce is mixture of finely chopped garlic & chili, a lime, sugar, fish sauce and water; it's very light not as strong and heavy, it well balance out all of the ingredients

So, do you think it's harmonial ? 

Hurricane Weekend Menu

I woke up at 9h30 yesterday and went to the Bloomingdales at 10h30am for an interview for a what called ''Professional Sales'', sounds fancy but just a sales associate. Danielle - HR person at Bloomy, she is so beautiful and we had couple Q&A and I think I blew it due to my over supper duper hangover from those stupid Vodka drinks that I got at the bar last night, dawn it. Confession wise, I can drink a lot, anything from spirits to wine, but the least thing that I can't take is Vodka.

Well, got back to my apt after the drunken=buzzed interview, I fell back in to sleep and constantly vomiting myself and heard news from radio, to email, to Grindr for the Irene Hurricane. Fact is I never experience any of the natural causes; so now I am waiting for it. Also, been taking the cab for the whole day today in NYC-pricy, the traffic is so bad in the city today, as well as ppl are rushing out to groceries store, hardware store to get water, food, flashlights, etc... and latterly, everything ran out! Besides that each taxi driver share different view and thought about this hurricane, some said 'someone doesn't like us', some said 'is it like the day after tomorrow?', and I said 'what a nice welcoming back party that I have here, experienced the 1st 3seconds earthquake ever and now the what called, HISTORIC hurricane' 

China Town Scene 

The Fridge

After stocking everything in the fridge and make some preparation for the hurricane due to my BFF told me to get some snacks, I said hell no; I don't eat snacks and we only do fresh produce food in this apartment ! Then we headed over to our friend's apt to help them to move in, and all i did for the whole entire moving session was thinking about what should I make first, I even bring along the Choco Pie.



But well, hurricane won't stop me from cooking and making ppl feel goods for the weekend at my apt (I am in the safe zone btw), here are the Hurricane Weekend Menu:

 - Vietnamese Broken Rice with Marinated Pork Chops & Pork Cake - Cơm Tấm Sườn Chả 

 - Cambodian Noodle Style - Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang 

 - OX Tails Soup with steam cabbage

 - Herbs & Chrysanthemum Tea

 - Lingoberry Sake Cocktail

Super Woman ?

Anna Wintour Is Not Intimidating...

One word, it's the real world , face it and admire it and love her !

Spanish

Its pouring rain outside right now and all I can think of is the orange chicken that I could order in, yummy, but I control myself for my abs and my body since I have been way to lazy to the gym; therefore I uploaded the Spanish Dish that I made another day. 

The Paella, this is the 1st attempt so I use the risotto rice, and I stupidly put too much broth in since I was a bit greedy when decided not to drain away the Shrimp Skin Broth with White wine; turns out my Paella is a bit wet. Well, some like it wet, don't they ?

Spanish Paella - Clams, Mussel, Giant Scallops, Shrimp and definitely Hot Spicy Italiano Sausage

Garlic Butter & White Wine Sauce for Mussel n Shrimp 

Decent Design maybe but Nude Underwear perhaps ?

1. No FAKE Stuff/Gown for Red Carpet and Social Event

Model Xuan Lan in What ?

Emma Stone in Lanvin 2011

Runway Lanvin

Another Interest of Mine

Saw this guy in Soho last weekend, the color wise is just so nice, but I only wish the fit of the Orange Pants could be better !

Well I tried to snap a good picture of him, but couldnt since it would be too obvious, he was fine, man or I should say, sexxxy Frenchie. One table next to my at a French Restaurant in Soho Jacques

This guy i met one the train going down to Soho, everything about his dressing was perfect, maybe not the shoes, I was thinking of something more modern !these are very cowboyish ! -1point. Plus point here, he is not using ipad or any high-tech shit that we all know, conservatively the notebook ! But I only wish you were taller than me !

I saw this one at Washington Park, and I fall in love - simply it's just unexpected and beyond !

Last night, at Splash, his look was kool, well combine but I wouldnt be confident enough to get up there ! why I wish I could have taken the frontage !

WOW, Chelsea Pier - What year is this year ? Total American Jock with a Cassette Tape BoomBox , classy !

Unemployment !

It's been more than a month already since I moved to NYC and been to couple interview and yet still unemployed. I am still keeping up with the positive attitude since I know I will be hired soon, just a bling of an eye!

Strolling down to the Manhattan Downtown to pick up some goodies and cant resist the Century 21, if you all know what that is, a supper discounted shopping department store which used to be NYC secret place, now is the most tourist attraction and shoppers like me...Well I shop high n low, mix n match, and wear things that considering outrageously, guys will get to see later on!

I am sitting at Starbuck in downtown right now waiting for the right moment to go home, and buy bread to to serve with the Beef Bourguignon made lastnight as the European way, and egg noodles for the Asian Fusion way. Too much of free time, therefore I am sharing you all the dishes that I made; here it goes:

Three Color Fettuccini, cooked in Pesto & Sun Dried Tomatoes, tossed with 4 slices of Mozzarella Chese and Tiger Prawn, Big Ass Scallop, and Baby Quid (God Damn Grand Central Market for 100usd for this dish; I aint going there ever again)

FOR EXTRA, here is my version of healthy Ceasar Salad

(these are the ingredients for the fettuccini)

Brussel Sprout & ...- cant remember the name

THE TIPS - use the skin of the shrimps to make the oil, the fragrance of shrimp& garlic = sensational, perfect for cooking, trust me better then any olive oil. I used this oil for both cooking the seafood for Fettucini
 and the salad.

Reason why I made this oil 'cause first day of moving in the apt, i forgot to get the olive oil, I only have the cheap corn oil, then I figured something fancy, which is this ;-)

Use the oil and stir with moon shape onion and mushroom, separate for the seafood and the salad.

Tossed the Brussel Sprout and ... into the wok with the rest of Onion, and use seared Tuna, to have some protein in your dish (as well as Vitamin D), then tossed with homemade Ceasar Salad Dressing

Add the desired lectures in ( I like Arugala, and the fancy lecture - let me google the name later )

There you go, the healthy one, you can taste every single element !

Beef Bourguignon

Hi, I decided to make a blog to write about my cooking experiences as well as dining out, since food is my other passion besides...(which I will tell later on, we need time to get to know each other, right?). Supposedly, I wanted to post for my first entry the 'Cha Ca La Vong' - Vietnamese Northern Style Fish Cake, but due to the sources of my pictures I can't yet, but that would be the next entry. 

At midnight in NYC, after the seeing the movie "Horrible Bosses", I was desperately hungry and determined yesterday not to have any late dinner since I think I have been gaining weight and not looking good in my underwear when naked anymore. So, the trick is going to buy groceries to make the Beef Bourguignon since I still have a nice Carmernene bottle of wine at home, and it's the dish that I wanted to make for a long time since watching the movie "Julie & Julia".

This dish takes quite a lot of preparation, but it's so much fun when cooking at 1:30AM!

Chop the Angus Beef into cubes, and rinse with water

Dry the beef with paper towels, make sure they are dried and don't have access water in the meat.

Soaked the beef in Pineapple Juice and put some Pineapple cubes to have a beautiful color to look at! and leave it for 30mins and prepare other things.

Chopped the Bacons 

Fry the bacons, and take out the crispy bacon pieces and save the fat oil - this will brings alot of flavors to other ingredients.

As you can see, carrots chopped, celeries chopped, washed and trimmed baby tomatoes, and peeled skin shallots - stir fried for 2mins with the fatty of the bacon and take it out.

Put the marinated beef into the pot of fatty bacon oils. Do not put the crispy bacons, shallots and semi-fried garlic in yet. Stir the beef well, make sure its just rarely cook.

Italian sauge, fried with garlic salt, chilly flakes and chilly oil to create texture and semi-flavour.

Dump everything in the pot and add 1/2 bottle of wine of your preference, I use Carmerene! and cook in medium heat.

Use the other half of wine, into a sauce pan, bring to boiled and add garlic, shallots, and season with salt & sugar.

Remember to add a Table Spoon of All-Purpose Flour to thicken the broth, and those shallots are yummy, I ate one!

Pour this sauce in the pot.

Add the rest of the bacon strips, slow cook for 5 hours to get the beef tender and the sugar from the veggies will make it sweet, also remember to add some rosemary & oregano. After 2 hours of cooking you will smell the beautiful flavor, but remember to cook for 5 hours!

This is how it's look after 3 hours of slow cook, the beef is almost soft and could be able to melt in your mouth, but still another 2 hours to go!

And the way I serve, tossed malloreddus pasta with wine and a baguette, ravishing the dish with lectures and a rosemary, plus a pinch of pepper !

Supper Tendered Beef, like Wagyu can melt in your mouth !

And the sausage, yummy, it melts like butter !