Masks Shortage

I got some masks a few years ago, just so I have a few in stock.  We barely used any of them.  Now I am looking at them online, I definitely didn't pay £50 for them, I couldn't find out how much I paid for the, but it was probably a tenner.  Real economy at work here, supply and demand.

Worst Frozen Corn

Farmfoods frozen corn is quite substandard.   Aldi and Tesco are worse by a country mile.

Energy Switching Cockups

When I switch my suppler in 2018, I got a wrong final bill that took months to rectify.

This year I switch, the switch was fine, but someone else's switch's mixed up, switching me out of the new supplier, resulting a £60 exit fee.  I really cannot be dealing with this!

Christmas Cheeses

So in additional to the normal Christmas marked down nuts, I also picked up a lot of Christmas marked down cheese this year.  They are great treat!

Year of Travel

I got quite a few visitors said they may come this year.  Let's see if it actual happens.  Then I also got a few things lined up myself.  It all sound very exciting!

Bloody Yob

I went to the garage to sort out the bike, only to be notified by my neighbour that some yob was trying to break in and they called the cops on them.

Now I have to sort out my garage door.  Wankers.

Sourdough Attempt III

My third and last sourdough attempt.  The dough was in a good consistency, kneaded, and I took the dough to work to proof in the warm office.  There was definitely some yeast activities, and it smelled very nice, but it still did not rise in the vertical manner!

I gave in and added some dry active yeast.  It turned out okay, very sour.  I just need to get rid of the remaining starter in the one last loaf.

Dry Roasted Cuttlefish Snack

After eating a fresh cuttlefish, I craved for some snack cuttlefish.  I picked up some when I was last in the Oriental supermarket.  They are quite dry, I suppose that is better for the shelf life.  They are as tasty as I remember them!  They are definitely better than beef jerky.

Colour in Han Culture

As the Lunar new year approaches,  some British schools teaches their students some Han culture.   So "red is lucky",  is it really?

So the Wikipedia English page on Colour in Chinese culture concurs,  except they tie their article on colours tying with "five elements".  And everyone knows in order to thrive in the five elements ideology,  all five elements must be balanced or enhanced, so red (fire) is only good for people with "earth element", and red would be bad for you if you are "gold element".

Then when you navigate onto the Chinese page of the same topic,  it has no mention that red is lucky.  It lists out all the colours mentioned in ancient texts,  red is not a big element in that article.

The last big reference,  in culture and languages, to red would be Ming Dynasty (14-17th century)  and their government officials jackets were red and reddish purple when you are a high ranking official,  aka prosperous.   

Then after that,  the Qing is "water element =black" hence they quenched the Ming fire,  and their government official jackets were black. 

I also cannot think of why everything is red in Chinese new year,  if I really have to make up a reason is that,  in early Spring / late Winter,  everyone looks pale and sickly,  and red is the only colour would bring a nice glow to ones face.  

New Fridge

So after some drama, the fridge finally turned up.  It is so much smaller and lighter.  Weight should no longer be the measure of quality, I hope it is the case for a fridge.

Sourdough Attempt II

Failed again!

So I had the dough mix very loose, it was bubbling away but not growing in size.  Then I proceeded to kneading it whilst it is warm, in the process, I burnt out the hand mixer.  I also ended with a really heavy dough that cannot grow.  It went straight into the bin bypassing the oven.

Last and final chance to proof this is doable at home...

Harry's Emigration

Why is this on the news?  Someone you don't know and won't meet quits their job and emigrate to Canada.  This happens to a lot of people everyday.

Sourdough Attempt I

Failed!

My yeast are either lazy or my house is just too cold.

The dough was too stiff so it barely rose.  The crust tasted okay.  Onwards.

Cantucci

So apparently Italian biscotti, ie cantucci does not break your teeth!  How did everyone else get it so wrong?

Tasteless Vegetarian Dumplings

I opted for some shiitake and bamboo shoot dumplings with the Tonkotsu set lunch.   I have not ever had dumplings so tasteless!!  Meat is the way to go! 

Rice Shopping

You know you are a grown when you start comparing and shopping for carbs rather then snacks,  nb instant noodles are snacks.

I walked out of a shop with some rices and another guy walked out of the shop with a big bag of crisps.

Work Pictures

Anything at work that is worthy of a photograph are usually bad.  So I got a lot of complaints from Sarah about the unpleasantness from inheriting my old phone or memory cards.

I am also making an effort to take the work picture only using work phone.  They are indeed quite filthy!  I suppose this is my new year resolution!

Branny Pancakes

We decided to find recipe to help to use down the bran.  We found a pancake recipe that would do the trick.  When we came to make it, I divided the recipe in two, but forgot to divide the bran, so they turned out extra branny...   They were edible...  Maybe less bran next time.

Leicester Tim Hortons

We finally went to Leicester's Tim Hortons.  It is the largest in the UK.

We went to the Manchester one before, and I made a mistake in ordering English coffee, ie with milk.  This time they actually offered cream, and it made the coffee tasted so much better, it also help being dark roasted.  We were buzzing with caffeine with that coffee. 

After my Manchester Tim Hortons' breakfast sarnie, I will never get any filled sandwiches from them.  So this time we had baked goods on their own, they were good.

Just remember to order Canadian food in a Canadian joint, simples.

Lotus Seeds Paste Buns

At the giant Oriental supermarket, the selection is catered mostly for catering, and they are not particularly cheap, but the items on offers were good deals.

After the success with the (Royal Gourmet) lotus bean paste buns, which should be translated as lotus seeds paste bun, we got more whilst they were on offer.

So this (Superior Foods) lotus seeds paste buns tasted stronger in "lotus seeds", less "refined".  For these buns, SF is 20% cheaper than RG to start with, and about 50% cheaper whilst on offer, we cannot really complain!

Oriental Supermarket Shopping

I managed to visit various Oriental supermarkets in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Leicester.  My conclusion is that Leeds' supermarkets are actually quite good in meeting my needs.  The selection is not as wide as Manchester's, but the price in Leeds are very good compare with others.

Maybe I should prepare to stash up while I am in London...

Vegan Croissant

Vegan croissant, it was as much an abomination as I imagined it to be, never again.

New Phone Fun

We got a new phone from the January sale.  It was such a good deal that the purple one sold out, we had to re-order.  For a change, this is not the entry level, is one above, imagine that!  This should see us out a decade!

Sardine

Sarah and I caused a little commotion by loudly discussion neither of us eating to eat a sardine, so much so the Venetian guy removed the allocated sardine and give us more squid instead.

Then on the new fishing show, Cornish sardines is having a come back.  Really?  Having eaten some recently, I still don't like them.

Dead Rosemary

After I planned the rosemary out, I completely forgot about it.  When I remember to look, it is very dead.  Maybe I should not bother with herbs.

Annual Nuts Sweep

This year's noticeable offerings were plain roasted, unsalted nuts.  They taste a lot different to the salted version, but they are nice.

Steamer Rack

On a recent Yam Cha, we were inspired to get some gourmet dim sums to steam at home.  My steaming rack finally get its chance to do its work.  Even without the bamboo steamer, they all turned out well, yay!

Flambé Christmas Pudding

I volunteered to flambé Sarah's Christmas pudding.  She was both scared and intruged as always.  So I did the flambé with Cointreau.  It went well, maybe it will become our tradition.

Supermarket Mushrooms

We have been getting mushrooms from the Oriental supermarket for hot pot.  Then I noticed in the recent vegetarian waves, supermarkets are offering a good range of mushrooms.  That saves me trips to Oriental supermarkets, and supposedly getting fresher mushrooms from England!

Grand Tour Venice - Day 5

On the final day, we did mostly travelling.

We checked out, took the ferry to the bus stop.  Because we were early, so we saw a lot of service boats doing deliveries, etc.

We popped into a supermarket to buy the final Italian goodies and lunch, ie bread. 

We got back to Manchester, and caught up with some Mancunians for lunch.

Grand Tour Venice - Day 4

On the second of the island hopping, we went to Murano - the glass island.  We walked around, didn't pick up anything except a shard of scrap glass.



On our way home for lunch, we walked past the fish market, and picked up 3 mantis prawns.  They looked very small, I chose the 3 largest ones.  And for lunch, we picked up a soup mix for Sarah and a cured meat platter for me, yummm.

I took an excursion to the Arsendale, they are quieter than the main tourist area. It is a bit like Lido.


We went to see the Basilica San Marco.



I didn't take any pictures inside, because I read the signs, but apparently everyone just ignored the signs anyway...

We popped to Giudecca, it was very residential and we went to an Italian discounter.



The Mantis prawns were very disappointing, they had hardly any meat on them, and the biggest one already started going bad.  I later researched about it, the lagoon mantis prawn are normally much inferior aka smaller than the sea dwelling ones!