reading list 2014

List of books I bought this year:
1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
2. Endless Night by Agatha Christie
3. This House is Haunted by John Boyne
4. Mortality by Christopher Hitchens
5. Wurthering Heights by Emily Bronte
6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
7. Jan Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
8. Life of Pi by Yann Martell
9. The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
10. The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebowitz
11. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
12. The Dinner by Herman Koch
13. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
14. The Best American Essays 2013
15. The Best American Mystery Stories 2013
16. The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2013
17. In Cold Blood by Truman Copote
18. Farenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury
19. On the Shortness of Life by Seneca 

List of books I've finished reading this year:
1. Endless Night by Agatha Christie
2. Mortality by Christoper Hitchens
3. The Dinner by Herman Koch

Looks like I'm a bit behind on my reading.

september: what i ate

Sticky Toffee Pudding at The Barking Dog

Once in a while, when I feel like having a treat, I pop into The Barking Dog. C and I had a wonderful meal a few weeks ago and topped it off with their delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding. The portion was small, but it was just nice after a two-course meal. I do wish that their serving of the honey-flavoured ice cream was more generous though.

Roasted aubergine risotto from Canteen at The MAC

Canteen at The MAC is one of my favourite places to have lunch. Mainly because they don't open for dinner, unless there is a show on. They also do a lovely brunch. And they change their menu every season, so there's always something to look forward to. I had their roasted aubergine risotto over the weekend and it was delectable. The amount of cheese was just right. Pleased as punch.

Home made sumo nabe

 I've really been in the mood for miso-based soup this month and have made the sumo nabe (chanko nabe) many times. You can get the recipe here; almost all of the ingredients are available in asian supermarkets.

Alton Brown's garden vegetable soup

If you're in the mood for a different kind of soup, try Alton Brown's garden vegetable soup. Easy to make in a pinch and very tasty. I usually skip frying up some of the hard vegetables first but I do add in a bit of EVOO for a stronger flavour.

september

A beautiful row of trees sits behind a barbed wire fence

Am I the only one who sees Mondrian at work here?

Ducklings at play in Boucher Road

Waiting for autumn

September felt so long and even now it's still not quite over. Anyway, things that have been keeping me busy this month:

Reading The New York Times online. I caved in and paid for a monthly subscription and I love it!

NYT is an appropriate segue to this beautiful interview of Alber Elbaz.

And onto my next obsession, this wonderful documentary on Bill Cunningham. It's rare to have an opportunity to see into someone's life, and what makes them tick. I loved watching him so much that I wish the film was twice as long.

Also something else that I've been following is Vogue.com's YouTube channel's whimsical series, 73 Questions. Respondents have about 6 minutes to answer 73 questions, no hesitations, minimal editing only.

Reruns of Sex and the City. Now that I'm in my 30s watching a show about women in their 30s, I wonder why I didn't notice how annoying and idiosyncratic they were.

Here's a monthly health tip, watch Doc Mike Evan's YouTube channel.

And here's a giggle as we go into October, Bad Lip Reading's take on Game of Thrones.

Tara!

culture night belfast 2014

I made it to the Culture Night 2014, woot! I popped into The Northern Whig for dinner last Friday before hitting the Cathedral Quarter. The festival was even bigger this year, with more events and performances. I didn't manage to stay the whole way through though, so here are just some of the programmes and acts that I managed to catch.

The Dog Ruff String Band

Caught The Dog Ruff String Band just outside The Northern Whig who were jamming bluegrass music. They were really good and entertaining.

Yarn bombing at Buoys Park

I was looking forward to more yarn bombing at CNB14 and what they did at Buoys Park was really cute. I was hoping to catch the roller derby girls but no luck.

Flowers in Cathedral Gardens

Inside Established Coffee

Love these quotes seen inside Oh Yeah

DSNT

I was actually looking forward to DSNT's installation this time round. But it was a smaller one this year and there wasn't much place for us to stand around or explore. Also, waiting for the lift to take us from one floor to another was also a bit of a pain.

Seen on the ceiling of Belfast Print Workshop

My favourite stop of the night was a tour of Belfast Print Workshop. A guide, Chloe, showed us the etching process and another guide, Neil, talked us through the printing process. Really nice bunch of people and a great place to create art.

Overall, it was a great way to spend Friday night. Looking forward to CNB15!

six songs of me

I was really excited about the Six Songs of Me project when I read about it on The Guardian a couple of years ago. And recently my friends and I have been tagging each other about books, music and movies (all the stuff that are important!) and I fished this great project out to do with my friends.

Just by looking at what people read, watch or listen to gives me an idea of what kind of person they are. If I find out that someone loves Jonathan Franzen as much as I do, in my head I'd imagine us as BFFs already. Haha. Anyway, to give you an idea of the kind of person I am, here are my selections for the Six Songs of Me (tag):

1. What was the first song you ever bought? Electric Youth by Debbie Gibson.
I remember standing for ages in the music store, clutching this cassette tape over and over before deciding to buy it. I loved Debbie Gibson and I used to dance along to all her music videos.

2. What song always gets you dancing? Paper Planes by M.I.A.
My good friend has a theory that we all get restless at about 4pm at work every day. And every day, we'd do something at 4pm to break the monotony of work. Usually we'd be playing this song really loud and displaying some fancy footwork, ha.

3. What song takes you back to your childhood? Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.
I listened to a lot of Michael Jackson when I was growing up. He has so many awesome hits but Billie Jean really stood out. I used to watch this video over and over because I had no idea what was going on, other than it was so cool that the pavement would light up every time he stepped on it.

4. What is your perfect love song? Mayonaise by Smashing Pumpkins.
Actually C (love of my life) is responsible for turning me on to Mayonaise. I just love the opening riffs.

5. What song would you want at your funeral? Beautiful Life by Gui Boratto.
I guess a bit of house/techno wouldn't hurt. And there are very little lyrics in this track. I think the title says it all.

6. Time for the encore. One last song that makes you, you. Say It Ain't So by Weezer.
I picked this track even though the one that I would randomly belt out from time to time is The Sweater Song.

Now, tell me about your selections...

august roundup: what i ate

okonomiyaki

onigiri

okayu

i did not make this: eggs royale

Just a few things I've been making over and over again in August. Except for the Eggs Royale from Canteen at The Mac, which was really good. I think Canteen is really underrated and needs more love. I've enjoyed my food, every time I'm there.

Make Okonomiyaki with Cooking with Dog. Onigiri and Okayu recipes are easy enough to google.

That's all folks!

august roundup

yup, pretty much what happened in august

Great Victoria Street Baptist Church

marshmallows in the sky

it's been a wet august but we still get pretty days like this

August is almost over, which means summer is almost done. It's been getting chilly, with gale-like winds. And leaves are already turning yellow. It's been a quiet and boring month for me. I've been in major cabin fever mode and feeling major restless.

What have I been doing? I binge-watched Orange is the New Black and Fringe. And that's about it. Here's to September!

a year in belfast

All four seasons in one video, in less than a minute. Happy anniversary. 

belfast pride 2014

and we're off!

hi!

the kremlin float

"love is a human right"

the green party showing their support

It was a cold and wet Saturday last weekend. I almost didn't want to go down to the City Centre for the Pride Parade but I'm so glad I did. There wasn't a lot of people, I think on account of the rain, but the atmosphere was great. Lots of family and friends turned up to support people walking in the parade, and I was very moved by the whole experience. Especially, when I saw a father marching with his young son, about 7 or 8. I'm just glad I got to be a part of this. Can't wait for my next one.

dublin vlog is up

I must be on a roll. I managed to finish writing about my Dublin trip and put my vlog together in the same month. Woohoo.

dublin: what i ate

delicious bento from j2 sushi

60 seconds later

ciabatta from the woollen mills

lovely chocolate mud cake

i know it's weird, but i like the pattern left behind after finishing the latte

char siew and crispy fried pork belly from duck but my favourite dish was actually the rice

The food at J2 Sushi Bar and Grill was so good! They also got bonus points because the staff who served us is Japanese. We had the Spider Sushi Bento for 12.50 euros. I will be back!

We popped into The Woollen Mills after a disappointing visit to The Winding Stair bookshop. We were attracted by the causal, industrial looking decor of the restaurant but had coffee and cake at the bakery section instead. I really enjoyed their mint green tea.

Our last stop was Duck, a small cafe that specialises in Hong Kong-style roasts. Loved the char siew and crispy pork belly. But my favourite thing to eat was the boiled rice, haha.

Have you got any recommendations for great food in Dublin?

dublin: summer

On our way, somewhere in Newry

Windmill Lane, near the old Windmill Lane Studios

Near Jervis LUAS station

The Winding Stair bookstore

Outside Mary's on Grafton Street

 Just a few random shots from my short trip to Dublin last week. The two-hour bus ride from Belfast to Dublin isn't so bad. My favourite part is when we go pass Newry and the Mournes. It always looks so picturesque but so hard to capture from a speeding bus.

Followed the Dublin itinerary as suggested in this book and went to visit Windmill Lane Studios. But we couldn't even go in and see the building because it had been cordoned off, I think the land has been sold.

We also visited The Winding Stair bookstore, thinking it would be Dublin's version of Shakespeare and Company, though not quite. 

Another post coming up on what we ate in Dublin!

dublin: the docklands

I can't decide if I like Dublin. It's kinda chaotic and very crowded. But there are parts I like, like The Docklands. Only 15 minutes away from the city center by LUAS, it's tranquil and pretty. I feel like I have space to breathe here; a reprieve from the hustle and bustle.

Do you like Dublin?

what have you eaten lately?

Even though I went home for 10 days recently, I feel like I didn't get to eat everything that I wanted on my list. So I've been trying my hand at trying Asian dishes.

pimping my instant noodles, trying to pretend it's ramen, haha

salmon miso soup, recipe here

laksa from prima taste la mian

ok, i didn't make this. i got this bak zhang from Lee Foods (donegall pass)

inside a bak zhang

bak kat teh!