Taylor Street Barista, probably known as TSB amongs coffee drinkers. I didn’t realised there was a quality barista near London Liverpool Street station until TW have told me….. =)

Returning to work on the first day after New Year… I manage to approach this barista in 4 people queue(!) and gradually as more and more people return to work… the queue gets longer and now I no longer bother going and look if is worth it because the queue is just toooooooooooo long!!!

Anyhow, I have managed to grab the flat white three times (Only!), each time with a different barista. I must say, the coffee quality vary each time. First cup was the best cup from this grey hair men, the milk was very nicely frothed. Very smooth, it was amazing to have a cup of flat white with that smooth and the bitterness of the coffee was perfect. I didn’t have to add additional sugar into this cup of flat white.
Then, the 2nd cup was a bit luke warm and then, the 3rd cup tasted more like a latte (!) So…………. either the debate of the first impression is always good or just their quality just isn’t consistent!?

I will definitely try it again when I get the chance to… maybe by Easter when everyone start going away!? haha… Shall update you very soon.

La Cafe Anglais. I am not a very good person with review. Let’s keep this as a casual restaurant picture sharing post =)

SA took me there as his “last resort” with his special groupon voucher, ehem, nevertheless it was a good catch up with him and we have greatly enjoy this restaurant… apart from the lack attentive services!

La Cafe Anglais
8 Porchester gardens,
London W2 4DB
Tel: 020 7221 1415

CNY is coming guys!!! Let’s celebrate with me….! I am trying something new this year, which is Red Bean Lin go 紅豆年糕…. 

食譜做法 (食譜參考至小小米桶)

密紅豆 250g
糯米粉 270g
澄麵 30g
水 240ml
黃砂糖 200g (黃砂糖比較又風味，用白砂味道出來有點淡….!)

水和砂糖一起煮溶. 糯米粉和澄麵一切放進大盤裡，然後到入已溶化了的糖水，拌勻。
再加入密紅豆，輕輕拌好，便可以倒進已抹好油的模子。用大火蒸約1小時，便可以放涼後，放進冰箱。
要吃的時候可以切片，煎至金黃。

密紅豆做法
紅豆300g
黃砂300g
鹽1/4 tsp

紅豆泡過夜，然後以多次煮滾再燜的方式燜熟. 我大概做了三次，便直接煮下去。煮一會之後，便關火，蓋著，讓他自己燜熟。 約時候後，便可以開火收乾水份，然後加入砂糖和鹽進去煮至適中的乾身。不要煮太乾，因為涼了便會濃稠起來。^^

1. A portable icecream van
2. A local stall we past through
3. Water ox on the green
4. Amazing green scene
5. Small boy at the village while we was on the quad bike tour
6. Walking around the city hunting for a restaurant
7. Loads of ariel/wire flying around
8. Phnom Penh city street

Another part of Cambodia photos. All taken by my beloved Fujifilm Natura Classica =)

I have to say while we have arrived at the evening on the first night, we didn’t get much impression of the Phnom Penh until the following morning. Of course, we appreciate that the city is quite underdeveloped and therefore we cannot compare how we are used to in London. In fact, it feels like I was going back to the OLD Hong Kong when I was a few years old before coming to London.

Phnom Penh, indeed is very dirty and dusty, I barely willing to speak on the tuktuk while the sand was blowing into my face. I was amazed at how my friend TT kept on chatting! @@ Some traveller suggest to wear a mask while you are riding on the tuktuk but I think sunglass is sufficient to block of the sand going into your eyes =)

While we returned from our quad bike, we decided to take a tuktuk to find a restaurant. Unfortunately, this restaurant was closed for their midday break and straight away we decided to walk to the Friends Restaurant, a very worthy restaurant that helps the Cambodian kids. Should you visit Phnom Penh, Please do make it part of your visit checklist. ^^ Having said that, our route to the restaurant was good… good in the fact that, this gives us a chance to explore the city a little bit. Get more feeling of the city, this is the main purpose of travelling right? No point to be on tuktuk or taxi all the time.

Phnom Penh, was indeed full of motorbike…. Is it similar to the old days China? Wonder how long will it take before everyone can own a car…??

New Year new project… met a new friend before end of 2011. While chatting to TW, I realised we both actually drinks the same coffee, Flat White! Wow, very surprising, because none of my other good friends drink good quality coffee at all. In fact, most of them don’t like coffee. My new year project, would be…. to drink all flat white at all places and blog about! ^^

I still remember my first cup of cuppaccino was drank at 14 years old with my young aunt at Chessington, from those vending machine. Gradualy as you have more experience in life, life style changes.. etc you live to understand and appreciate the art of quality coffee. Coffee is not my daily essential, definitely not, I don’t need that caffaine top up as much.

Occasionally, my heart will itch to prompt and get a coffee. And what is the nearest to my office? Is Bean about Town. I still remember my first approach to this coffee stall, when I have placed my flat white order, the barista has actually said “A lot more people drinks flat white now…!”. I still remember his smile and jokey speech. =D

Back to the coffee, their flat white, I have to say…. with the different barista I have had, their flat white do taste “slight” different! obviously, this is due to the skills and technique of each barista has but nevertheless the coffee is smoothly strong. Though the foamed milk is not very smooth or very foamed in comparison to other flat white I have tasted. The after taste of the coffee wasn’t very sour though. arh… in fact, I was drinking it cold in the end, not that bitter at all.

I was having a short chat with the barista this time, he actually suggest that taste the coffee without sugar first. If that prove to be too strong for you then add the sugar. I think it was very true about the fact that is it very hard to satisfy the mass with one certain way of making the coffee, so the customer will have to adapt it in some way to your own needs.

Bean About Town
Monday to Friday 0700 to 1600.

1. Village side road.
2. Simple local stall.
3. My favourite chino has gone!!!!!!!! my khaki canvas converse has become sand canvas after =o=
4. The amazing rides.
5. Sugar cane juice with local snacks. WRONG focus!
6. Behind the scene of pressing sugar cane.
7. The daddy and the girl.
8. Cambodian girl that I met at the stall. Personally, I felt it was a powerful picture, if you state at it on full screen. The eye sight.

Continue of the most unforgettable ride!

What I saw throughout this riverside tour was amazing, time went past too quickly! The small villages that we went past by, they look at us as if we are aliens which was not surprised considering my friend Zi is a big asian boy. The kids were waving hello to us and we gave the kids sweets throughout our second half of the tour, it felt good even though we did not help anything but it was good to see the kids smiling.

I still remember the moment we race against each other while getting to know how to control the quad bike. Not knowing anything, I race myself madly on the straight path…. that was amazing! Imagine the wind blowing by you. It was a good decision to put my Ray-ban on, the sun was pretty strong that day and unfortunately, i did have a tan line on my chest! Racing ahead, I even had a crash into the side of the path… haha, my whole body jumped and a big bang on my camera *my heart aches to my dslr + my 24-105*, lucky it was all okay! Guess it was not a good decision to carry my big camera in front. /.\

Not to forget the scary moments that our big boy Zi’s brake was not functioning properly after the 2nd half. T speed and overtook him… I guess we could laugh it off afterward and enjoy that moment of “what if….”. Everyone reckon I was mad to arrange this quad bike tour, I am very glad that I have done this. No one understands apart the two that went on this trip with me…. sometimes, don’t doubt and do it is probably the best, you will never know what lies ahead!  

1. Turn around from tuk tuk. snap!
2. Next to us on the tuk tuk. snap again!
3. The tuk tuk that dropped us off to the quad bike place
4. On the road… the path where i have speed fast!!!!!!!!!
5. Stop by at a stall with a house behind it, loads of aggressive ants
6. The skinny ox. Its probably their most expensive assets?
7. If a wooden house in cambodia cost USD 800, I wonder how much will they have to save for this house?
8. The stall where we have tried our sugar cane juice.

The most unforgettable ride in my travel history. The last one was probably in Taipei, on my friend’s motorbike, riding at night across the city to 誠品, a bookshop that open 24/7. And straight after we went for night food at some GOOD cold noodle stall. That’s good few years ago in 2009. While in year 2011, I went on the most amazing quad bike tour in Cambodia. Its not cheap but it is worth it. No doubt, it is the most amazing thing I have done within my SE Asia trip. kaka~~~ the tour guide was amazing, the scenery, the little ones at the villages. Cambodia is brilliant!

2011 has just gone! Happy new year btw! Wish you all the best, wealth, happiness and most importantly health. xoxo.

1. Tuktuk vs motorbike
2. Tuktuk vs cars
3. honestly, no other transport system, is just motorbike. I dont see a bus even!
4. On a motorbike extended cart
5. Bananas stalls on the side of street
6. Brand new petrol station
7. Side stalls
8. Stalls next to the roads, selling bananas, bananas. bananas….!

Arriving into Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was actually a big decision. Two friends had a big debate on the night before the afternoon flight regarding the flood etc. We sat on our apartment lounge and had a two hours discussion of What if? senario and what can we do etc.  In the early hours of the morning, we rang embassy etc and seek advice of whether we should still heading towards Cambodia. The little devil inside me hope we will still go regardless, but deep down, I know i cannot force the two friends. And what will I give in return to their families if anything happens to them? But thankfully, we’ve managed to land in Cambodia! hohoho~~~

The first impression was…………oh no, its raining, will it flood?? The next matter is, a friend decide to pull out of the quad bike tour we have booked a month ago!!!! omg omg……… no way!!! After some little debates, we jumped on the tuktuk ride and bagged ourselves some food/dinners, munch and early night!

These pictures were taken while we was enroute to the quad bike tour site…. I didn’t open my mouth much due to the sand/dust coming through, very dusty to my surprised! Some advises to wear masks, maybe yes, but don’t make yourself look like an alien =P This actually starts to make me think, the country is indeed heavily rely on tourists, loads of tuk tuk everywhere.

More to come… Have a good Christmas. ^^