Week 42 – Ipswich / Colchester

More travelling this week yet again. I guess moving into a shed is a subconscious move to give myself more reasons to go on site.

Tuesday

I went to Colchester and had dinner at Fai’s noodle bar. It is quite funny that Fai is actually an Englishman. Food was OK for that price but I won’t go again as I can make better Chinese food myself. Food for thought… I always eat alone at home, but yet I found eating alone with better food at good restaurants rather depressing.

Wednesday

I have always wanted to eat at a seafood restaurant and this evening was my first time. The restaurant is at Ipswich and it is called Loch Fyne. The environment is pretty good, I like the way that there is an upper floor and the tables and chairs are a good match for the food. What about the food???

To start with, I had half a dozen of oysters on ice. Impression… the plate setting was good, the oysters were small but fresh. I do have a complain about the amount of broken shell surrounding the oysters. I fully understand it is hard to break open oyster shells but I was eating at a seafood restaurant so I expect the chef to be more careful with how he/she opens the oysters. For the main, I had scallops and king prawns served with a very light garlic and cream sauce. Again, the ingredients were fresh but the prawns were wasted because they spent too long in the oven causing the meat to be tough. What they should do is to lightly cook the scallops and then put the prawns in. Anyway, I am going to give it another go tomorrow.

After yesterday’s dinner, the car seemed awfully quiet so I just stuck a cassette tape into the player (I am poor so no CD/iPOD). When the music started, I realised it was the mixed tape I made for my ex. It has been almost 4 years since we broke up and the tape just got me depressed. Not that I am still crazy about her but it does bring back many memories…

I used this analogy to describe how I felt to Miss C.

“Love is like a stock market. I am like a stock, a stock that doesn’t go up and down like there is no tomorrow. Those who would pick this stock are those who either lost it all before, or afraid to lose. Most girls go for stocks (guys) who are wild and unattainable so that when this stock shot through the roof and made millions, they would feel they made the right choice until it goes bust. The whole point of entering the stock market is to get a chance to win big. Just like love, we would love to get our prince, or princess, to win someone who is ‘out of your league’. Is it wrong to be honest and truthful about who we all are and accept that I am in a certain value range and can only wait?”

There is a different between low self-esteem and brutally honest. I don’t knock myself down, I know who I am and I know how human beings work. I don’t tell myself that I am a prince because I am not one.

Thursday

I returned to Loch Fyne for another seafood dinner. This evening, my pick was the oysters in garlic and breadcrumb to start, then mussels in lime and coconut sauce for main.

The starter was very disappointing. I had the same dish before at Citrus, Sheraton Park Lane near Green Park. It was so good that if I have to compile my top 10 favourites, it would certainly in the top three. Let me explain why I was so disappointed with the dish tonight.

First, the breadcrumb was far too fine. Second, it was cooked in the oven. Third, there weren’t even a hint of garlic in the oysters. Let me put it this way, when I put the oyster into my mouth the breadcrumb just filled my mouth and stuck to the wall. You can’t put fine (grain-size) crumbs in the oven and expect it to give a good taste in the mouth. The oysters were overcooked so you couldn’t appreciate the freshness. What made the Citrus dish so great was that the crumbs were large and the oysters were fried in oil (only for a very short period of time to give the right texture). The result was a very crispy exterior and yet a very juicy and soft inside.

The main was significantly better. When the pot opened, the steam rose and brought a very refreshing smell into my nostril. The mussels were fresh and they were very clean. My pick against that dish was the excessive onions they put into the sauce that left a bit too much of a kick / spice in my mouth.


Friday

Well, completion day today and it is glad to see some money in the bank. Not my money though, but it is still nice.