Shanghai Hairy Crabs 大閘蟹

Steamed Hairy Crabs on a bed of spinach

I regret that I still do not know how to kill crabs humanely after more than 3 decades devouring them in all the sauces. The last few crabs I've cooked myself were frozen flower crabs and a few of the earlier big stone crabs I'd boiled them alive. Cruel, I know.

We are now in the midst of Shanghai's Hairy Crab 大閘蟹 season. Our driver offered me a pair of live crabs (one male and one female) knowing how much I'm fond of the crustacean. The good thing is that the Chinese mitten crab (known as hairy crab because of the fur on its legs) is often no larger than one's palm and therefore quite manageable. Even though I have seen various cooks kill crab (using different methods and believing in different humane theories), I have mastered no quick method to put them out of their misery, and could only hope to give them less pain by first numbing them in the freezer for 15 minutes and then steaming them in a pot with rapidly boiling water for 20 minutes.

Restaurants in Shanghai would serve hairy crab meat and roe in dozens of ways between september and december though the classic way to eat it normally consists of dipping the steamed crabmeat in some vinegar, minced ginger and soy sauce. As the flesh is supposed to be cooling (yin), the Chinese would often eat it accompanied by some yellow wine (yang) to balance things up.

In the markets they would sell crabs of various grades and prices though I have no idea how to tell them apart and those that are particularly expensive and prized came from Yangcheng lake 阳澄湖 near Suzhou. Every year there would be syndicates pirating the crabs, passing off cheap crabs for Yangcheng lake ones involving laser inscriptions, fake hair etc. Counterfeiting is an art in China and they will do anything in their quest to make profit.

The smaller crab was female, I think

I simply washed my crabs and put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, I heated a pot of water and lined a metal plate with fresh ginger, spinach, Chinese mushrooms, garlic and a red chilli. Placed the crabs in the plate when the water in the pot is boiling and poured a sauce made out of Chinese cooking wine, light soy sauce and sesame oil over them. Op into the steamer to be steamed covered for 20 minutes.

Fresh out of the steamer

Ate one crab hot with a vinegar and soy sauce dip and the other I kept in the fridge for a few hours after it has cooled a little and ate it cold. The hairy crabs were small but the flesh firm and full of flavour. I must admit that I am now tempted to buy a few crabs myself and cook them again before the season's over. Humane crab killing be damned.

Parc Asterix!!!

Obelix!!!

I haven't said my last word after all when it came to amusement parks for 2011. Brought MIL and the kids to Parc Asterix (north of Paris near the airport) when we were last back in France. We prefer it to Disney as we find the queues shorter, the rides more interesting/exciting and the main characters more "intelligent". Asterix is also Franco-Belge humour so it sits better with us.

I have been an Asterix fan for a long time, have read almost every comic book that the Goscinny/Uderzo team had written. "The series follows the exploits of a village of indomitable Gauls as they resist Roman occupation. They do so by means of a magic potion, brewed by their druid, which gives the recipient superhuman strength. The protagonist, the titular character Asterix, along with his friend Obelix have various adventures..."

If you are taking public transportation to join the park, do so from the CDG airport. There is a bus that brings you to the theme park and the RATP sells combined RER-shuttle bus-theme park tickets for a better price than if you had taken them separately. If you were driving parking at Parc Asterix currently costs 8 euros per vehicle.

Entry tickets are not cheap though. It's low season now but each adult ticket still costs 40 euros and child tickets go at 30 euros each. The park only opens on weekends during autumn so check out the calendar before turning up. All performances are in French and one of the dolphins has given birth last summer so they changed their programme and offered only a quiet 20-minute talk about the mammals during showtime.

Demo of what their dolphins can do if they feel like doing so

Stunt show involving "Roman Legion recruits"

Baby Girl with a Roman soldier

It's still a good park to visit if you get the chance. We particularly like the Menhir Express and La Galère (pirate boat) rides and there are also a few big roller coasters. I didn't get to do any this time because the Teenager couldn't stomach them and the Babies are still not tall enough.

Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny Soup

Most people lose weight for the summer. Not only did we (as in Hub, Baby Girl and myself) not shed any kilos, we actually put pile them on merrily. Now that we have moved into the autumn, we realise that we are FAT big time, even pregnant with the kids I've never weighed this much.

Seriously it wasn't my fault : that we are not living in the heart of the city where I could walk to shops (you wouldn't want to take the metro in Shanghai, it actually crashes from time to time - not that I have any public transportation within a 2km radius of my compound); that we had to leave Italy and have so many farewell lunches and dinners; that we had to arrive in Shanghai and eat out every day in the first few months; that we should have guests almost every month and end up eating lunch in restaurants all the time; that I love to eat.

Still, we look horrendously fat. I had to go all the way to London to shop for clothes last week because there is no way I can fit into Chinese sizes. Even H&M carries mainly EU 32/34 here. You could imagine my joy when I was at Coast, FCUK, Monsoon...on the British Isle and found that they carried UK size 16s. Not that I'm happy about wearing UK size 16. But I couldn't possibly keep wearing my XL Club Med bermudas and X-sized T-shirt when there's no way I can keep pretending that I'm on my way to the beach with us being so much into the Fall.

I had to buy 2 LV bags (on behalf of the Chinese girl servicing our villa) at the Champs Elysées the other day and was the only person in Birkenstocks, bermudas and T-shirt in the super expensive boutique. And the nearest beach is like a few hours away by TGV so I wondered what they wondered when they saw me. Luckily I diverted the salesman from my person to concentrate on my past - because I threw names around and the former Sciences Po classmate I mentioned happened to be the guy's former manager (what a bloody small world) and of course he wanted to know more about what she was like when we were at school together...

But it was great spending another person's money chez LV since we are too poor to afford any such branded bags ourselves, though I was a little nervous as I walked through the Gare du Nord with the bags to take my train, having read an article about pickpocketing gypsies in Paris Match not too long ago.

So Hub said we should have soup for dinner. Carrot and coriander Soup, bak kut teh, leek and potato soup, pho, chicken soup, dhal soup, tom yum soup, tomato soup, hot and sour soup, won ton soup...I've done them all. Then he asked for Mulligatawny Soup which much as I adore is a waste of good deboned leg of lamb that I usually buy every week. Then I noticed that Madhur Jaffrey has a recipe that doesn't call for the use of bone (thank you, chicken stock) which would also give me a chance to check out how well-stocked my Indian neighbour (from New Delhi) is seeing that I do not have besan (chickpea) flour.

I managed to borrow a few tablespoons of said flour this morning as we waited for the school bus. Also met her husband as he was eating his breakfast. He works for Pepsi.

No, he didn't offer me free Pepsi. And we have not lost any weight even after eating all those soups.

Mulligatawny Soup (loosely adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's An Invitation to Indian Cooking) :

3 tbsp vegetable oil

8 cloves garlic

2-cm piece fresh ginger

600g boneless leg of lamb (fat removed and cut into small cubes)

1 tsp ajwain seeds

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

1 fresh green or red chilli (sliced)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1,5l chicken broth

2 tbsp lentils

2 tbsp besan (chickpea) flour

juice of 1 lemon

fresh coriander leaves

fried shallots

cooked basmati rice

Heat the oil in a soup pot and brown the lamb cubes in it. Remove and set aside.

Pound the ginger and garlic into a paste. You can see bits of garlic in my soup as I didn't have the patience to pound it into a fine paste.

Fry the ginger-garlic paste in the oil till fragrant. Add in the fresh chilli, ajwain seeds, pepper, salt and ground spices.

Return the lamb to the pot, add the lentils and cover with chicken broth. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for at least an hour or till the lamb is melt-in-the-mouth tender.

Leave to cool and keep the pot in the fridge for a few hours so as to be able to remove the fat easily.

Heat up the soup. Dilute the besan flour in a bowl of water and stir into the hot soup.

Stir in the lemon juice and serve hot with (2 tbsp of) rice, fresh coriander leaves and fried shallots.

Really nice day to be eating this soup as it has been raining non-stop since this morning.

Paris Je T'aime

PARIS

Like many students in the Commonwealth, I dreamt of studying in the UK and sometimes still wonder how things would have turned out if I had done so.

This is France. Whether they actually live it or not, most believe in it.

As life would have it, turning down an undergraduate scholarship to study in the UK (and opting to do my first degree in Singapore) actually brought me a few years later to Paris on another scholarship (this time Post-Graduate) and down the path of the Overseas Singaporean who would end up calling a few cities in the USA, Spain, Germany, Italy and now China home.

Police interrogating a few Roms/Gipsies - they have been infesting the city stealing/pickpocketing/begging in gangs

But none of the other cities has ever captured my heart or imagination like Paris had. Paris is grand, old, beautiful, mysterious, chic, romantic, rich, snobbish, bourgeois, cultured, timeless, stubborn, cosmopolitan, Black/Arab, French...and I just love it so very much.

A typical French restaurant along the River Seine

The French just love sitting outside cafés to watch the world go by (and be seen)

My 3 children were all born in the city. Baby Girl almost became Spanish, but she held out till we could move back to Paris (by overnight train) and get us a bed in one of its famous public maternities. When Baby Boy was born, we bought a Haussmannien flat near the Arc de Triomphe and proudly called ourselves Parisians - until the nomadic call came and moved us to other pastures.

A building opposite the Notre Dame de Paris on the left bank

The Babies therefore have few memories of their lives in Paris. They couldn't remember that they first saw the light of day in the city, took their first steps in its cobbled streets, ate beef really rare before they could even talk and tasted wine even as they were nourished on their mother's milk.

The Seine in Paris

When Baby Boy let it go that he thought he was German (one of his first words had been "Nein!"), I told Hub that we had to bring the kids to Paris, introduce them to their roots. So before the Chinese Golden Week started, we (as in the kids and I) escaped flew back to France with MIL and when Hub joined us after his business trip to Italy and Germany, we rented a car and drove the family to Paris.

The bouquinistes along the River Seine near the Latin Quarter

Shakespeare & Co. - one of the oldest English bookshops in Paris

We started at the Latin Quarter. Used to live there when I was a student. Walked to Sciences Po every day from Maubert-Mutualité. Paris at 6 one morning in the autumn of 1995 when the streets were just awakening (market stalls being set up, cafés opening for business, peace at the Seine...) marked the very moment when I fell in love with the city. After all these years and now 6 years living away from Paris my fascination for the capital has not dimmed. Paris je t'aime.

The facade

Seen from further away (see the bateau mouche?)

Visited Notre Dame de Paris during Sunday Mass. I love the stained glass windows in the cathedral and realised when I saw the facade that the restoration has finally been completed! The kids all wanted to light candles - and inflation has reached the church too since each small one now costs 2 euros instead of 50 cents a few years ago.

door of the Notre Dame de Paris

Sunday Mass

Love the stained glass windows

We walked through Place St Michel and had a sandwich grec for lunch. I sometimes crave for the kebabs in the area, they reminded me so much of my student days so long ago.

Eiffel Tower contre jour

Then off we went to the Tour Eiffel. I had the smart idea to reserve our visit (not easy to find slots though) online which saved us quite a lot of queuing up. For 13,5 euros each you get to go all the way up to the summit. Something one should do only once (especially for the price) for the view would be just as good on the 2nd floor. The kids were really excited though and we enjoyed the view of Paris on a beautiful sunny day. Competed with each other to spot the monuments and then we admired the metal work as we walked down the tower taking the stairs.

Viewed from below

View of Paris (can you see the Arc de Triomphe?) from the Tour Eiffel

I've been a number of times to the tower, of course. Have even watched the fireworks from the Champ de Mars a few times during 14 Juillet when the Teenager was a baby. Hub brought me once to the Jules Verne up there for lunch which only made this last visit all the more lovely for the memories. We were disappointed though that we couldn't find an ancestor's name engraved on the Tower as the family myth goes. He supposedly worked on the tower with Eiffel.

The Green Wall of the museum

We then walked through the gardens of the Musée du Quai Branly (designed by Jean Nouvel) which housed indigenous art, cultures and civilizations from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas (we've seen a good part of the exhibits in the past when they were in the other now-closed museum). There was a photo exhibition (including works by a few Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian photographers) in the open that continued all the way to the banks of the River Seine opposite and I certainly miss living in Paris for this constant exposure to culture and events.

Self portraits by the photographer

Albino kids in Black Africa

North African female motorists

Finished the day at the Champs Elysées as the kids wanted to visit our flat near the Arc de Triomphe. Though reasonably big for Paris, it is now too small for us after a few years of living in big houses elsewhere. I've missed it though as it was really conveniently situated, but I guess we'll be happy to come back to it the day we retire.

Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées

The next day was devoted to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica and its surrounding Pigalle (think sex shops and Moulin Rouge) and Montmartre (cafés and artists) neighbourhoods. When I was living at Porte de Clignancourt (next to the Marché aux Puces) I used to walk there because I just love the Hell and Heaven contrast. ND de Paris is more than 800 years old while the S-C is only about 100, if I'm not wrong and they were built in really very different styles. The S-C also had very political origins reflecting the bloody divisions in French society (e.g. Catholics and Royalists vs Socialists, Democrats and Secularists) after the French Revolution and is a symbol of reconciliation in its aftermath. It also provides a very nice view of Paris since it has been built on its highest point.

Sacred Heart Basilica

Lunch was at Bouillon Chartier near the Grands Magasins - a historical institution in Paris. It used to serve cheap workers stews and soups, specialising today in (not-so-cheap) classic French fare. I've heard rumours that some of its waiters bought their places and would never leave till they retire. In any case they are definitely good in mental Maths because the bill is always tallied on the paper table cloth and I've never seen them go wrong. Food was so-so, I usually go there for its ambiance, not its cuisine.

Main dining hall in Bouillon Chartier

The afternoon was spent walking through the Marais, Place des Vosges, Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens. In my earlier years in Paris I have walked through many neighbourhoods in the city for there is no better way to discover Paris than on foot. Pining for a honied doughnut in one of the Jewish bakeries at Couronnes/Belleville, slurping down a bowl of thick rice noodles with pig's intestines at a Wenzhou eatery in rue au Maire, grocery shopping Chez Frères Tang in avenue de Choisy, choosing fish at rue Daguerre/rue Poncelet, digging through boxes of discounted designer wear in Vincennes or rue du Bac near the Bon Marché...

Musée du Louvre

Jardin des Tuileries

We are fond of the Marais and love its cobbled streets, beautiful grand Hôtel particuliers, cafés, museums (e.g. Picasso, Beaubourg, Carnavalet), the fact that Jews, Chinese (some of the earliest migrants), gays, aristocrats, DSK (our notorious Champagne Socialist) all live there...

Place des Vosges - DSK & Anne Sinclair live in one of the buildings

The Swedish Institute in the Marais - we had tea there once a few years ago

Our last day in Paris was spent at the Parc de la Villette where the Cité des Sciences (one of the largest science museums in Europe) and La Géode were situated. I've reserved a 3D movie at the Omnimax theatre and a hands-on Science session at the Cité des Enfants for the kids.

Cité des Sciences and La Géode

We walked through the park to the Cité de la Musique (we've spent a few summer nights there watching open-air movies in the past) and the Grande Halle which used to house the Parisian abattoirs and national wholesale meat market. There was a children's playground where we used to bring the Teenager (when he was little, of course) to play in but unfortunately it was closed for maintenance when we were there.

Lunch was at this really good Au Boeuf Couronné (same group as Bouillon Chartier) that served a good-value lunch menu (33 euros) featuring foie gras, good quality beef, cheese and crème brulée among other dishes. Said to be the "last trace of the Villette’s formerly booming meat industry. And while you won’t find any more butchers in full length aprons, quality cuts of good meat are still king here..." We totally recommend!

I left the family that afternoon and made my way to London alone on the Eurostar. Felt the need to be on my own for a few days much as I love my kids and love looking after them myself. And any excuse to shop in London is always a good one, of course.

The Teenager in the Paris metro - probably not used to it any more after so many years being chauffeured around in a car

Our stay in Paris was short but sweet and hopefully helped the kids to reconnect in a small way with the city of their birth. We do not know if they would choose one day to live in France again, but they know that they can always go back to Paris whenever they feel like it.