Macau - an unusual day trip from Hong Kong

It is so nice to know that people care. A FB friend sent a message to ask if I was ok after she noticed that I haven't posted in a while. It was so sweet of her. Thanks Lynn!

It has been exactly a month since I last made a posting. Over this time, we lost a fairly young boating friend and an older cousin to cancer. I haven't had the mood to write, and once I stopped, it was difficult to get back on track.

Some writers are able to produce every day. Some carve out many articles on the same topic, and they can do all these in a half hour. I sometimes wonder if I’m cut out to be a writer. I struggled for days to write An unusual day trip from Hong Kong. It will get better, I tell myself. So while I was waiting for the article to be published on the now defunct AssociatedContent.com, a Yahoo! website, guess who was on Travel Channel doing a show on Macau last night? Chef, author, and TV personality Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations! The daredevil made out like a bandit at the gambling table, ate his way around Macau and ended the show with a bungee jump from the 61st floor of the modern Macau Tower. Way to go, Anthony!

Updated: 9/20/19
I'm a Bourdain fan, and was heartbroken to hear about his untimely passing. The link to that video was broken, and while I couldn't find the original show, I found the above video a fan had taped while watching the show. There was also an article about him in June, a year after his death.

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Smelling the roses in Miami

Stiltsville with Miami skyline in the background

We are big on taking it slow. While many boaters run around trying to complete their Great Loop passage in one year, the 6300 miles trip that covers one third of the eastern United States, we have been tied up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. For the last three years! We have our reasons: the high cost of fuel, and recently a part time job. But it hasn’t always been that way.

We used to cruise full time, traveling up and down the east coast, the Bahamas, and the inland waterway. During these travels, we would spend weeks or months at destinations we discovered and liked. There were many memorable ports-of-call. One special place was Miami.

When we arrived at Rickenbacker Marina in Key Biscayne in December 2002, we thought we had made landfall in a foreign country. Nobody in the marina spoke English! People in the slips next to us were from Puerto Rico and Brazil. We met boaters from Argentina, Cuba, Panama, Venezuela and France. At the bus stop, supermarket and even the post office, Spanish was the first language in this part of the United States. It was definitely a culture shock.

Our slip had a beautiful view of the Miami skyline, but because the marina is situated pretty close to the waterway and the inlet, we rocked and roll much of the time, especially on the weekends. Latin music wafted into the night. We enjoyed long walks along the beach and watched some stunning sunsets. In the food department, we were pleasantly surprised to find good quality and authentic Chinese food at several N. Miami Chinese restaurants, which served up sumptuous dim sum and seafood buffet at very reasonable prices. We also got a good dose of Latin American food at Calle Ocho (Little Havana).

We lingered in Miami for three months, long enough to catch two of its biggest events. Every February, Miami plays host to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival (Feb 19-21) and the Miami International Boat Show (Feb 17-21). Whether or not you are into arts or boats, you will be awed by the designs and creativity. So, if you are in town, take the time to stop and smell the roses!

Interested in seeing Miami in action? Check this video on clubbing in Miami

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Edited: 9/7/17 

Salt and Pepper Shrimp, anyone?

I could not bring myself to do a posting yesterday. It was Valentine's Day, and I got rejected! Via email regarding my "audition" for a guest chef at a local specialty store selling cookware, kitchen appliances and gourmet foods.

The "audition" was on Friday the 13th. I had joined a Travel Writing Group and we had a meeting that same morning. Everyone was encouraged to write an article about a romantic trip or a trip that had gone wrong, or to combine both into one story. I did the latter, and the article can be found in Helium.com - Travel Destinations: Florida by E. Thai. Anyway, the people I met were very professional and of high caliber. I am already looking forward to our next meeting.

I left early to make my next appointment. A week earlier, when I was asked to do an "audition," I simply laughed at the word, not realizing what it all meant. I had never cooked in front of an unknown audience before. Here, I thought I'd just show people how to cook good, fast and simple Asian food. Apparently, that was not enough. What they wanted was a show! The chef/owner said my food was wonderful, but my presentation skills were not a good fit for them. Ouch, that hurts! Then again, if I have that kind of presentation skills, I may have persued a different profession entirely.

I'm just a computer geek with a passion for writing, traveling and cooking. I have many years of experience in the restaurant business, from being a waitstaff, a certified bartender to part-ownership. Although I was never a chef, when push comes to shove, I'd cooked many a dish. Alas, this means nothing. America is obsessed with celebrities and reality shows. Even my favorite chef Ming Tsai is no longer on the Food Network Channel:-(!! And who watches Hell's Kitchen anyway?

When we moved to the boat and traveled up and down the east coast, I had to streamline my cooking big time. The boat galley is a U-shaped one-butt kitchen. We learned to conserve and live with less (water, cooking equipment, refrigerator space, even refrigeration for that matter). We had a space for either a microwave or a convection oven. I chose the latter. Forget appliances like dishwasher and washing machine! South of Virginia, you cannot even get decent Chinese food, let alone Chinese groceries! I learned to provision more efficiently and to substitute.

So after all these years, I have collected and refined recipes for good, fast and simple cooking with an Asian twist. It's all in a document that is waiting to be published. Some day ... I close this posting with the Salt and Pepper Shrimp that I demonstrated at my "audition." Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera, but I assure you it is pretty and tastes very good. Best of all, simple, fast, and dare I say, healthy? Bon Appetit!


Salt and Pepper Shrimp

[Print Recipe]

Serves 2
14 large shrimp (21/25 count), deveined, and with shells on
5 lettuce leaves
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
½ of a jalapeno pepper, sliced thin (optional)
2 Tbsp olive oil

Wash and brine shrimp in ½ teaspoon salt for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
Wash and dry lettuce leaves. Cut crosswise into ½” slices and place in a serving dish.

In a large saucepan or wok, under medium high heat, dry fry shrimp (yes, no oil!) for about 2 minutes. When the color of the shrimp turns pink, turn it and sear the other side for 1-2 minutes.

Sprinkle in the pepper and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt (and jalapeno, if using). Stir until shrimp is well coated. Add olive oil and shake the pan or wok so that the shrimp is well coated with the spice and oil. Pour over lettuce in serving dish. Serve immediately with cooked rice.

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